Chapter 15
What existed first, Death, or the Mind?
– Written entry from Zaro Lucien’s personal journal
Airess
That night, Airess sat across from Taryn, a hearty fyre crackling between them as they ate the fruits they had stolen.
She tried her best to relax, but still jumped at any sudden sound, no matter how faint.
She gripped the hilt of her dagger they looted as she sat stiffly, gazing out into the dark wood beyond them.
“There’s nothing there,” Taryn said with his back against a tree, legs crossed out long before him. He took a drag of… was it a cigar? She didn’t recognize the distinct smell of that smoke. Taryn pointed to his ears as he exhaled, smoke billowing into the night. “I would hear it before you did.”
Right. She let out a breath, still not used to his enhanced qualities. She turned to face him, a brow arched, silently questioning the odd smell of the cigar he held between his fingers.
“You want to try it? I should warn you, it's a bit stronger than tobacco.”
“No, thank you,” Airess said as she shifted into a more comfortable position. “I didn’t see you swipe that back in town. Is speed another one of your enhanced qualities?”
Taryn cackled, smoke spurting out of his nose.
“Unfortunately, no. We may be the animalistic cousin to your species, but we are not able to move at the speed of light. Speaking of–what qualities do you have? Being half Elven and half Human, I assume.” His eyes drifted to her ears, not as elongated as the Elvens.
“In contrast to the Fae’s physical Magick and senses, Elven senses are quite the opposite.
We are born with a sixth sense, in a way, and are able to sense energies.
Emotions. Intentions, even, depending on how strong one’s senses are.
Although Elven Magick is rare these days, there are some who can still wield energy. ”
His head tilted to the side, “And you have this quality, even being half Human?”
Airess smiled slightly, suddenly proud of her abilities.
She had been so focused on his that she forgot her own and how much it had helped her in her life.
“Yes,” she admitted. “But my power goes beyond just sensing energies. I can see energy. It’s a rare trait, and as far as I know, I’m the only one with The Sight.
It's how I knew you weren’t lying, that you wouldn’t hurt me.
That you were finding your way, just like I am. ”
“You’ve seen my energy?” Taryn asked, eyebrows raised.
“Well, yes,” Airess admitted. “It’s the first thing I noticed about you. Back at the engagement ball, I spotted you in the crowd like the pale moon against the black night. It was actually… beautiful.”
“Beautiful?” Taryn repeated with a smirk as he snuffed out his cigar. “Out of all the things females have called me, that has to be the most complimentary.”
Airess rolled her eyes. Arrogant Fae males and their notorious pride.
“Your aura is the color of your irises, combined with swirls of multicolored energy. It’s the first aura I have ever seen that was so vibrant.”
Taryn pursed his lips in thought. Airess began to nervously fiddle with her dagger, starting to over think she had said too much. Did she freak him out, saying all that stuff about what his energy looked like? Maybe she was being too open, too–
No. She shook her head. She would not allow her mind to drift like this anymore– wouldn’t let her anxiety get the better of her, make her think the worst of everything, everyone.
Airess had lived and thought that way for far too long.
She wanted to live boldly, unapologetically.
She wanted to embody faith and positivity, and that would start with her thoughts.
“Do you know your way around a blade?” Taryn asked, pulling her out of her mind. She met his piercing gaze and shook her head.
“Highborn females aren’t allowed to even touch a blade, let alone wield it.”
Taryn shook his head, clearly not in agreement with the customs that came along with living in court. She examined the dagger that felt foreign in her hand. If they were to be attacked right now, she would have no idea how to use it. That just wouldn’t do.
“Would you teach me how to use this?”
His brows shot up. Airess studied the way his lips twitched up to fight back a smile, and the stubble that had begun to appear after days on end without shaving. She couldn’t help but find him attractive. Airess blinked and withdrew from her thoughts
“I would be happy to. I believe everyone should know how to defend themselves,” Taryn said, pausing to glance at her and the blade. “We’ll start your formal training after we’ve covered some distance.”
“Formal training?”
A wicked grin displayed his canines. “Yes, Haeleth. You’re going to need to learn how to use that blade and self-defense when the time comes.
Because it will. There are creatures and folk out there that will give us trouble.
This journey isn’t for the weak, and I get the feeling you aren’t weak. You just need some guidance.”
She weighed his words. Taryn didn’t think she was weak. That surprised her. No male had ever spoken to her with so much confidence. It was refreshing.
Determination overtook her, “Very well. I’ll take whatever you can give me.”
They conversed for a little while longer before laying down, each of their cloaks acting as their pallet in the spring night. They spoke of finding a body of water to bathe in, and she looked forward to bathing more than she anticipated.
Airess lay down on her back, the starlight peeking at her through the treetops.
She exhaled all the negative energy out of her body and into the open air.
With each breath, she melted further into the ground beneath her.
The earth comforted her, providing a stability that propelled Airess forward.
At last, she had a real plan, a way to get away from here.
She had one goal, and one alone: Freedom.
She exhaled, closed her eyes…
And slept.
“Do you feel that? I think I’ve reached her–them – it’s hard to tell the difference from here,” said a young, feminine voice as Airess materialized in front of–what is this?
She stood before a circular portal opening made of swirling, purple flames.
Aside from the portal, she was surrounded by infinite space. It was as if she were standing on an invisible platform, yet nothing was holding her upright.
Looking into the portal opening, her vision cleared as her spirit seeped into the dreamworld. What kind of dreamscape was this? Beyond the flames, she saw two figures, presumably a male and female.
Airess couldn’t make out any distinct features beyond a blur of red hair. The other individual, seemingly male from a tall physique and broad shoulders, had a blur of black hair.
“I definitely feel one of them,” said the female voice to her counterpart.
“Hello?” Airess asked, her voice echoing into the vast expanse, startling herself.
“Do you hear that ringing in your ear? They must be trying to make contact,” said the male voice.
“I hear it,” the female agreed. “But it’s faint. They must still be within the ward.”
Making contact? Within the ward?
“Who are you?” Airess asked.
Suddenly, a black hole materialized to her right, the size of a shield. It started sucking in the black space around her. Her astral body started to stretch towards it. Airess’ heart stuttered as she felt her dreamform being sucked in.
“I’m losing them,” said the female. It looked like she stepped closer to the other side of the portal, right in front of the flames. “If you can hear me in there, get to Rune! Get to R–”
The female's words warped as Airess was sucked into the black hole. Airess screamed out into the void, disoriented. Was she falling, was she floating? Time didn’t exist here. Images, scenes of battle and storms flashed before her eyes.
Then, stars and light as she fell down that familiar black hole. The starry space shifted into a dreamscape revealing a vast ocean before her.
Looking down, she realized she stood at the edge of a cliff, the waves crashing violently against the rocks below. Across from her was a–was that a…wall?
A massive translucent wall made of turquoise aurora jutted out as far as she could see on either side.
Airess couldn’t see through it, the barrier was so thick with energy. A storm gathered overhead, the sky darkening quickly. A crack of lightning flashed.
“For Gods’ sake, not this again,” a familiar male voice complained.
If Airess could feel in the dreamworld, she would feel her eyes bulging out of their sockets. She turned around and saw Taryn standing, his head tilted up to view the sky, completely unaware of Airess’ presence.
She couldn’t believe her eyes.
His dark tan skin in the waking world was replaced with translucent, silver light in the dreamworld.
His curly brown hair wasn’t brown here, but a metallic silver, the locks flowing in the air as if he was underwater.
He was dressed formally with a fitted emerald tunic that reached his wrists and formal black pants rolled up to his calves.
Airess’ jaw dropped. “Taryn?”
His head snapped in her direction, his mouth parting open in surprise before he shook his head in denial.
“Just a dream,” he muttered. Taryn stared at her in astonishment, no doubt in shock to see her in her golden, glittering dreamform.
“Incredible,” he said, more to himself, as if he didn’t believe she was real. Did he not think she was actually here?
Thunder rumbled above them, the wind picking up and swaying the grass at their feet. Behind him was a vast field of dark-colored flowers she didn’t know the name of. Strange, she thought. This night’s dreamscape had changed and shifted into more unfamiliar settings than usual.
“How are you here?” she asked him in disbelief. Airess was utterly dumbfounded. Before her encounter with Ima, she had never made any contact with other astral beings. She mostly appeared as a ghost, only observing memories or other people in the waking world.
His silvery eyes met hers.“I don’t know.”
As if his curiosity got the better of him, Taryn stepped forward and reached out a hand to touch hers. His hand went through her own, but for the first time in her life, she felt something in the dream world. It was faint, but as he made contact with her, a tingling traveled up her arm.
Taryn took a step back and yanked his hand away, as if he felt it too. He stared down at his hand, fingers splayed out for inspection. “Crazy fucking dream,” he muttered again.
She furrowed her brows. “You’re a dreamwalker?”
How is that possible?
“A what?” he said, an incredulous expression on his face, then he shifted his gaze beyond her.
A crack splitting in the air had her whirling to see what he was looking at.
Beyond the cliff and the ocean, lightning had struck the wall of aurora.
It cracked like an egg and began to split into pieces.
The ground beneath them began to shake. The shaking intensified so much that her vision blurred.
It was then when she realized–she was about to wake up.
Funny, how time worked in the dreamworld. A night’s worth of sleep equated to about five minutes in a dream. She knew she was about to wake up to the morning sun.
As expected, the view before them melted away like quicksand. Except this time, she wasn’t alone as she fell through space. Taryn fell right beside her, his yelling out echoed into the void –
Airess sat up immediately upon waking, sweat at her brow as she heaved for air and glanced at Taryn. He was in the same state as her as he looked around in confusion until he found Airess’ face. He shook his head, as if was denying a simple truth that Airess, deep in her soul, knew to be true.
Taryn was a dreamwalker.