The Journey

[Zadown]

The Dreamer and Yui Temae stand in the Cabaret Room of the Pen Headquarters. Then the planewalker does a small motion, and the surroudings shift without warning - now the pair stands on a floating light blue disc, suspended in the middle of nothing. Above the disc (if this place does have "above" and "below" as such), shines a hemisphere of great runes, painted to the darkness with the same greyish blue as the disc. In all other directions, a total darkness blocks vision .. or perhaps there is nothing to see. In the horizont float some beautiful spheres, which seem to be made of crystal or glass. It is impossible to really gauge their distance or size, but they give an impression of vastness.

 

The two figures, dwarfed by the size of the place, both first look around and then turn to look at the other person. The planewalker speaks, in a clear, sane voice meant to carry:

 

"Welcome to my storage room, Shadow-walker. I need some things where we are going .. and, even though it might seem impolite, I ask you to be silent until we are there. I need all my concentration to bring you with me ... and I presume we both want to be in the same shape in the end of this journey than you are now. Astral can change the unaware or those who are guided by distracted minds."

 

Dreamer turns to look at the runes and his eyes turn the same shade of blue as the runes and the disc, first flickering for a while to find the exact same color. Then the eyes widen, and his hands disappear below the wrists. Almost as quickly as they are gone, they reappear, the other holding a mage staff, the other a large key. Dreamer pockets the key.

 

With a slight gesture, the surroudings change again.

 

This time the two travellers end up in a cavern. Behind them, the tunnel fades into darkness. Before them stands a massive portal made of stone. It is smooth and no apparent means of opening it can be seen. On the portal's left and right side stand two stone pillars, engraved full of runes, two bone dragons entwined on them. The planewalker stares at the doors and takes the key from his pocket.

 

Yui feels magic being done, and the Dreamer has a look of utter concentration on his face, but does not say a word. Now, having some time to think, she notices how the magic feels muted, weak, impotent here, as if there was a lot less it than usual. Having finished that thought, the Dreamer finishes his spell, and utters the last spell word aloud - a keyhole appears to the doors. He wipes sweat off his forehead and mutters:

 

"Always difficult to do magic in here. This is one of the larges planes, one of those in the middle of the Pearl Necklace of Worlds - huge and dull, and almost without magic. Those who know the Art lose it, those who are masters in it become pupils, and those rare ones who are one with the Art fall down to mere masters of it. A perfect place for a fortress ... but what a work it was to do it..."

 

The dreamer sighs and inserts the key to the keyhole. Light flares in the eyes of the bone dragons, but they merely glance at the planewalker, then fall back to their slumber. The doors swing inwards, opening with one slow majestetic motion, and the planewalker motions for the Huntress to follow, taking a step forward.

 

Only to hit an invisible barrier.

 

"I warded it against the gods! And now I'm marked by Kali!"

 

The Dreamer growls, and his eyes turn yellow with veins of purple, and he hammers the unseen barrier with his fist and his mage staff.

Edited by: Zadown at: 7/29/01 7:27:47 am

[Zadown]

The planewalker goes through a fit of rage, first hitting the barrier, then weaving a violent spell that assaults the barrier with crackling and booming bolts of energy and lastly trying to pull the Kali's pendant from his neck with both hands.

 

All fail.

 

He looks like he is ready to go over the brink, and raw magic swirls around his staff, ready to be woven into a spell. There, at the edge, he stops.

 

He stands still for a moment, then he turns to look at Yui and makes a familiar gesture. The world changes around them, this time to a tropical island in the middle of a tiny sea - tiny, because the borders of the plane can be seen rising in the distance. A soft ambient light fills the place, coming from a deep blue sky without a sun and no shadows can be seen anywhere. A few palm trees sway slightly in a wind that swirls around the place. The atmosphere of the place is very pleasant, the air just warm enough, the wind cooling and soft.

 

Still looking at Yui, the Dreamer speaks:

 

"Well, here we are, shadow-walker. Tell me what I need to know, show me what I need to see, clear the cobwebs from my brain and mud from my eyes."

[Yui-chan]

Yui stands still, for a moment, after the Dreamer's request, simply regarding him thoughtfully as she seeks a plan of action. Well, now you've done it. Some strange intuition babbled nonsense in your ear, and you go off and get yourself taken to a different plane of existence with no thought of what to do to fulfill your promises. Foolish, Yui.

 

Now, what?

 

Dreamer's eyes roll lazily from the upset purple-veined yellow to a serene sky-blue and then to a curious teal as his erstwhile guide hesitates, thinking. After a few heartbeats, however, she nods solemnly and begins to speak.

 

"Very well, Dreamer. Allow me to introduce myself to you properly."

 

Yui bows slightly before him, the length of her ebon cloak flowing around her form. " Watasi wa Temae Yui desu. Hasimemasita," she speaks in a sharp, yet graceful language, giving the formal introduction for her kingdom before reverting to the standard tongue of Terra. "I would be honored if you would call me Yui-chan, as befits my chosen role in existence.

 

"I am a creation of the world called Terra, that which you and I recently occupied. It is a plane of rich magic and violent war, built on struggle and victory at the cost of others, yet still possessed of many beings of both light and neutrality. Though some fight for gain, others fight to protect their ideals, their friends, their homes... This is my world, the knowledge of which will help to bind you and stabilize you to its infinite strength."

 

Pausing, Yui searches the Planeswalker's face for a reaction, hoping she has chosen the right means of helping him. What she sees brings a slight smile to her face, as she watches the shifting hues of his eyes slow and the slight glaze of mad confusion ease from his features. After a moment, he waves her on, intoning a curt "Continue."

 

With a nod, the Huntress resumes giving the rational information that she hopes can ease the emotional chaos within the Dreamer. "The place in which you found yourself, where the demons you summoned were left..." She bites back a shudder inspired by the finger of dread that slides itself along her spine at the thought of the demons and what harm they could have caused by now, forcing herself to continue with barely a pause. "... is the complex of a group known as the Pen is Mightier than the Sword, a gathering of mages and nonmages gifted in the weaving of words. Those you saw... the old man in white, Jakob; the half-elf who harmed himself trying to probe your powers, Peredhil; the old King who called his blade against you, Ozymandias... use their powers of language to inspire and challenge others, seeking and drawing out their true potential. Sadly, they saw the threat your confusion and dismay represented to the people they cared about in that room and our reality... I hope you can understand their reaction to you and your demons. Th--"

 

At that moment, Yui's words are interrupted by a thunderous sound ringing through the tiny plane with such volume that she is forced to her knees by the pain, despite the hands that she has desperately slapped over her ears. The Dreamer listens with mild annoyance as words slam through the air, driven by an indomitable will.

 

"WHERE ARE YOU, PLANESWALKER? I, TOO, HAVE TRAVELED THE BOUNDARIES OF OUR REALITY AND BEYOND. I KNOW WHAT HAS HAPPENED, AND WHAT IT HAS DONE TO YOU. HEAR ME AND FACE ME, MAD ONE! FOR I CHALLENGE YOU, AND I SHALL QUELL THE CHAOS THAT EATS AT YOUR SOUL OR KILL YOU TRYING. YOU WILL REAP NO MORE DESTRUCTION IN THIS REALM OR ANY OTHER. YOUR KING COMMANDS IT!"

 

When silence once more descends, he looks down at the woman, watching as her pain-tight expression slowly relaxes. As she regains her feet, he considers the challenge, and Yui can see it in his features. His eyes being their shifting again, edging towards a red that bodes ill for Terra as he begins the thought of returning to the source of the loud challenge.

 

Acting a bit rashly, driven by the fear that he would return in anger and harm whomever he found, the little woman blurts out "Dreamer, wait!" Moving with the speed of desperation, she snaps her hand out, grasping his wrist intently, though not tight enough to be threatening. "Please look at Terra's reality through my eyes, once. Use your powers. I won't resist you... Clear the rest of the cobwebs by bypassing the inefficient words and look into what I know..."

 

...

 

Editted because the Back button just returned me to a blank screen.

Edited by: Yui Temae at: 8/2/01 3:39:19 am

[Zadown]

The Dreamer stares into Yui's eyes, and his own turn blood-red, looking like open wounds in his scarred face. By reflex, he mutters a spell without really thinking about it, and a nimbus of shimmering energy surrounds him. Then, he blinks, and his thoughts turn sharply to new direction - eyes change to snow white, the nimbus dissipates or is absorbed by the planewalker. He still stares, and still mutters a spell, but the tone of both have changed.

 

Then, the spell he has been preparing hits Yui-chan with the force of a rampaging bull - her first impression is pure white light mingled with pain, then she takes control of herself, feeling how her whole mind surges forward .. and, in the middle of the trip, something huge and torn, chaotic and tattered speeds past to the other direction. The Dreamer has started some kind of mind switch, forcing both to see the other's landscape of the mind.

 

With a jarring impact Yui's mind, wearing the form of her body, appears in the middle of the Dreamer's imagination. Shuddering more from what she sees, not from the rigors of the travel, she rises to her feet and surveys the landscape spreading in front of her: tall metallic buildings, rising from a sea of swirling colors - a wailing wind blows through the place, making keening noises when it hits the torn and decrepit buildings. The sky mirrors the sea in most places and is a chaotic mess of violet, blue, red and yellow, with some thin grey clouds hanging there, suspended, ignoring the wind completely. From the sea, a series of huge tall sharp spikes of iron jut out, each one adorned with crucified corpses, bleeding and moaning in pain. Everything is marked with decay and chaos and torment, but the whole scene has an eerie beauty to it, a sort of ghastly artistry that shows a glimmer of hope. As she watches, a series of rays of light lance through the air, lighting random spots of the sea and some buildings up with their glorious whiteness. One of them hits the Huntress, and even before she has had time to really orientate herself to the surroundings, she feels herself pulled back to her own body.

 

Whiteness ... the barrier between the two minds and the sensation as the planewalker's mind whirls past her own .. and she stumbles with actual physical legs and arms, unable to regain balance after all the mental blows in short succession.

 

The Dreamer helps her up, looking contemplative, his eyes still snow white.

 

"I saw parts of you and some of your memories, Yui-chan. I am not sure if that cleared my cobwebs or created more, but I will ponder what I saw. This will be all, m'lady. Ah, and I trust you will not tell about my fortress or my warehouse - they are my secrets, not yours.

 

As for the payment, I owe you one medium favour, as per agreement. Feel free to call me when you wish."

 

Yui nods in agreement, still shaken, but she notices that she does so to an empty wall in the middle of the Conservatory - the planewalker has sent her back.

 

The End (of this thread)