Obey Pt. 1
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 7:09 am
38th of Saun, Arc 720
Soundtrack
Damned hair.
She kicked at a notable sized rock as she continued on her path. She was cold, but tried her hardest not to shiver.
Scanning the oasis of the sea, she could see nothing but darkness. It was frightening to think of what lie underneath the waves that churned violently in the distance.
She was not in a place she recognized. One minute she had been submerged under countless blankets, whispering a soft tune as she lulled herself to sleep, and the next she had awakened in foreign territory. This branch of Emea was not like the swampy area she had explored many trials before.
She reveled at the thought of finding new adventure, but was timid at the same time. Dreams were not like reality. In reality, she could grasp some semblance of control, but in her dreams, she fought for a handle on the multitude of things that manifested.
Her dreams had often been nightmarish. While certain minute situations were able to be manipulated, her jurisdiction was limited. So many things just… happened, and she had yet to be at the level to control everything that did.
Nevertheless, she remained unswayed by the situations that arose. Such as the cold wind clawing at her back, or the very fact that she was walking seemingly without purpose on a beach of unknown origin.
It was exciting all the same, though. She could experience a different dimension, so to speak, outside of the realm of the mundane. Sometimes real life was monotonous. She relished at the prospect of adventure and dreamwalking gave her that ability.
She could still remember the night she had become lucid, almost as though it had happened only a few seasons ago (which it had).
Cierne stopped at a strange looking plot of vegetation and crouched to investigate. It appeared to be moving. While it was windy, Cierne couldn’t help but observe how the plant was being blown in the opposite direction of the wind. It was like it was fighting against the current, waging an uphill battle against the force of nature of the weather.
Her perplexion and curiosity dissolved several moments after it had formed, pushing her to continue forward. But it wasn’t more than a few strides later when she heard a peculiar sound in the wind.
Attempting (and failing) to brush her wild locks behind an ear, she craned her neck in the direction of the noise. It sounded like the croak of a dying animal.
Recalling the sinister persona her dreams often took, she began to quiver. Petrified of what was likely to follow, she ran.
Unfortunately, the sand was not the best surface to be sprinting on. Cierne fell several times, her feet getting lodged under a thick pile of sand, sending her crashing down towards the unforgiving earth. But her determination to escape harm’s way propelled her forward. After every fall, she hastily picked herself back up and continued to run.
Alas, the croaking sound increased in volume. It was chasing her, and it was growing near.
“Stop!” The Naer suddenly shouted. She was tired of running, tired of being petrified of the unknown. Had she not just told herself she desired abnormality? An escape from the mundane? Had she not just spent countless nights praying to Mastes for some form of excitement?
The natural inclination she felt towards risk and thrill shouldn’t be something that came and went as it pleased, but here it was, affecting Cierne in a way that made her realize just how full of shit she could really be.
She was tired of the self deception. She wanted to be whatever she wanted to. She wanted to consume herself with the dark discoveries she often fantasized about. She loved the macabre, the strange, and the dangerous. So why was she running from something when in the back of her mind she could hear a certain dark discovery calling to her?
There was an ever present confliction roiling inside her. She knew that her race was notorious for saying one thing and meaning the other. So could this not be true for herself? Could she not both desire the frightening but be frightened by it?
Turning to the source of the sound, she tried to resist the instinct to flee. She had tried before and failed, which had caused her to run in the first place, but after some contemplation and mental encouragement, she was trying again.
Practice made perfect after all. Did she not dream to be perfect just like everyone else?
After having turned, she noticed nothing out of the ordinary. There was no mythical beast chasing her. In fact, the croaking call had ceased altogether. The only thing in front of her was the empty beach, the cacophonous ocean, and the myriad of footprints she had left in her hasty attempt to flee.
Moments passed, and just when Cierne believed she had made up the noise, it came again. However, this time there was a physical representation that accompanied the voice.
An enormous raven flew down from an apparent nothingness above her. It landed swiftly and softly at the base of her feet. It was roughly half her size, which was large for a raven. No matter how hard Cierne tried to remain stoic, she could not resist the heavy feeling of alarm that started to settle in her gut.
What was most surprising was when the avian creature spoke. It didn’t speak in caws or croaks, but in her own language, the language most commonly spoken throughout the world.
“Did you feel it?” It asked her. It’s eyes were dark and menacing, devoid of emotion and, if Cierne was being honest with herself, they seemed to be devoid of any sentience whatsoever.
The only reason she knew what this looked like was because she had killed a bird a few trials ago and had watched its life force slowly ebb out of its body. She knew what empty eyes looked like, and this raven’s eyes held an uncanny resemblance.
“Did I feel what?”
Cierne was unsure whether or not she had audibly voiced her question. This was a dream after all; she wouldn’t put it past her to assume the things she interacted with could hear her thoughts. Regardless, she asked again, and this time she felt her lips moving in rhythm to the words that flowed from them.
The bird on the other hand did not move its beak when it spoke. It’s voice wafted not in through her ears, but through her mind as it answered her. This caused more chills to crawl up her spine.
“Did you feel the Call of the Void?”
Cierne took a moment’s worth of hesitation, minding the careful formulation of what she would say next. She didn’t want to sound ignorant, but she also wanted to be honest in case this being knew she was lying and reacted in an offended manner and became hostile.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
The bird laughed. It threw its head back and ruffled its wings as its deep voice infiltrated her mind once more. It was so loud Cierne had half a mind to cover her ears, though it would do her no good.
“You are lying and I can tell,” it said, a hint of malice coating its words. It took a small step toward her. Cierne took a tentative step back in response.
But she wasn’t lying. Was she? Was that feeling she had experienced only moments ago a caving into this thing called the Void? She thought she had just talked herself out of being a wuss. She thought she had simply bucked up and braved whatever dark and mysterious thing had been assumably chasing her. But had she really just mentally surrendered herself to whatever entity this creature was talking about?
“You cannot deceive yourself of the sensations you feel when danger arrives.”
Cierne blinked, her mind thoughtless in ways to respond. Perhaps this being was talking about the things she did in the waking world. The cravings she felt to play with fire, the desire to harm little living things, a vice that seemed unavoidably necessary to quell. Even her lack of concern as to the consequences that came with getting shit faced drunk on lonely nights. The risk, the thrill, the absurd carelessness she held towards danger because her need to staunch the boredom was too great.
Her decision to voice her thoughts was subconscious.
“Do you mean-“
“I think you know what I mean, little girl. You mean to tell me that you’ve never heard the Call of the Void? Have you never experienced a strange sensation upon looking out from atop a cliff?”
Cierne had never been in a situation where she was standing on the edge of a cliff. In fact, she wasn’t sure Quacia had any mountains for her to have tested this notion.
“No.”
“There are other ways to experience the Call of the Void, my dear, as I’m sure you have now made yourself abundantly aware.”
The very act of stopping herself to turn and see what might have been chasing her was such an experience. She had just thought it had been practicing her bravery. Yet, as she continued to ponder, she realized the countless times Diaval had scolded her of her reckless attitude, her drive towards the insane. She had mentioned her sneaking into a seemingly abandoned building to tell ghost stories with her friends once and he had called her crazy. Did she not fear being caught and punished for her senseless choices? No, because it was fun.
Suddenly the raven snapped its beak, a thundering crack that startled Cierne back to the present.
“Come,” it said. “How shall we test your knowledge of the Void?”
x
