[Memory] Dreams
Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 5:41 am
The air was cold when Nam'id awoke to find Donkey grazing a brown patch of grass. The animal was still tethered to a nearby Moukou tree as its bean-covered branches swayed under the moonlight. Nearly dawn, by his best guess. Thirty bits, maybe a break away.
He rose from his bedroll frowning at his failed attempt at fire the night before. Rarely was he able to ignite even the tinder he would gather before stopping for rest. It was a little over an arc ago, that he had left his tribe and village behind. And he had realized early during his travels that he should have practiced such things with more focus. It made little difference, however; Nam'id had been unable to procure even the simplest of game with his lackluster hunting. A emaciated squirrel and the loss of three arrows were all that the Sevir had to show for the attempts. That meal was little more than 60 trials ago, were he to guess it. And his growling stomach agreed with the estimate.
He reached up at the tree, pulling the brown beans from its leaves before depositing them in his pouch. He threw a few into his mouth and began chewing. His mouth watered at the sweet taste, but he struggled to swallow. He was thirsty. He walked to Donkey at patted him before pulling hard on the leather straps on the animal’s flank. Once his supplies and bedroll were in place, Nam'id grabbed the reigns and led the donkey back onto the trail.
Nam'id exhaled exhausted. Another night with hardly any sleep at all. The dreams were coming more and more with each passing trial, pulling him from during the night and pulling him towards it during the trial. It always started and ended the same. High above the ground, moving through the trees away from the setting sun.
He was flying through the trees with amber colored sweet-smelling leaves, towards- or away from? - he did not know. But he flew through regardless, for it wasn't in his dream-state to question the call of the trip. It was, by all accounts, necessary. There was no fear, nor was their excitement. However, there was a sense of being in the travel through the canopy over the forested ground. A sense of existence and oneness with purpose that he didn't understand yet required that he remain in the dream regardless. He would travel with this indescribable feeling of belonging for miles it seemed before he would come to a stop at the site of the river.
The enormous waterway glowed in the moonlight, always in an azure too deep to be natural. It bubbled over silver rocks and flowed with a violence and speed that should have made him afraid. However, in this place of no-place he could not find the fear. Even as he could see the faces from within the water he was calm. Eerie eyes peered from the torrents as he neared, always following him as he moved to the next inevitable step in the dream. When he attempted to fly over it.
He would always think on it, of course, as a good Sevir would. At least for a few moments, as he always knew that his path laid beyond in the foliage on the other side. He moved forward once again, hopping now from branch to branch, on a path that should take him over the river. That river that so wanted him. The leap, and then...
He could see beyond the treeline for the briefest of moments, yet that moment would stretch to infinity. He could see then the next trial's sun peaking from the horizon through the trees. It was a new trial, but how? The sun had set only trills before…
And then the floating down, turning in the air as he went. There was no use, he couldn't make the jump. He never could. The falling though, he did that rather well. The fall would stretch to an unbelievable length of time, allowing him to contemplate what it would be like to have the river swallow him whole. As always, there was no fear in the fall, but simply a resignation of inevitability.
And then he would wake.
Nam'id looked around. How long had they been walking down the trail? He looked at the horizon searching for the morning sun. Dream walking again, he realized. Only for a few breaks this time. He pulled Donkey's reign before the panic set in.His eyes widened as he spun around. The rope was dragging the ground, its free end frayed and broken.
Donkey was nowhere to be found.
He rose from his bedroll frowning at his failed attempt at fire the night before. Rarely was he able to ignite even the tinder he would gather before stopping for rest. It was a little over an arc ago, that he had left his tribe and village behind. And he had realized early during his travels that he should have practiced such things with more focus. It made little difference, however; Nam'id had been unable to procure even the simplest of game with his lackluster hunting. A emaciated squirrel and the loss of three arrows were all that the Sevir had to show for the attempts. That meal was little more than 60 trials ago, were he to guess it. And his growling stomach agreed with the estimate.
He reached up at the tree, pulling the brown beans from its leaves before depositing them in his pouch. He threw a few into his mouth and began chewing. His mouth watered at the sweet taste, but he struggled to swallow. He was thirsty. He walked to Donkey at patted him before pulling hard on the leather straps on the animal’s flank. Once his supplies and bedroll were in place, Nam'id grabbed the reigns and led the donkey back onto the trail.
Nam'id exhaled exhausted. Another night with hardly any sleep at all. The dreams were coming more and more with each passing trial, pulling him from during the night and pulling him towards it during the trial. It always started and ended the same. High above the ground, moving through the trees away from the setting sun.
He was flying through the trees with amber colored sweet-smelling leaves, towards- or away from? - he did not know. But he flew through regardless, for it wasn't in his dream-state to question the call of the trip. It was, by all accounts, necessary. There was no fear, nor was their excitement. However, there was a sense of being in the travel through the canopy over the forested ground. A sense of existence and oneness with purpose that he didn't understand yet required that he remain in the dream regardless. He would travel with this indescribable feeling of belonging for miles it seemed before he would come to a stop at the site of the river.
The enormous waterway glowed in the moonlight, always in an azure too deep to be natural. It bubbled over silver rocks and flowed with a violence and speed that should have made him afraid. However, in this place of no-place he could not find the fear. Even as he could see the faces from within the water he was calm. Eerie eyes peered from the torrents as he neared, always following him as he moved to the next inevitable step in the dream. When he attempted to fly over it.
He would always think on it, of course, as a good Sevir would. At least for a few moments, as he always knew that his path laid beyond in the foliage on the other side. He moved forward once again, hopping now from branch to branch, on a path that should take him over the river. That river that so wanted him. The leap, and then...
He could see beyond the treeline for the briefest of moments, yet that moment would stretch to infinity. He could see then the next trial's sun peaking from the horizon through the trees. It was a new trial, but how? The sun had set only trills before…
And then the floating down, turning in the air as he went. There was no use, he couldn't make the jump. He never could. The falling though, he did that rather well. The fall would stretch to an unbelievable length of time, allowing him to contemplate what it would be like to have the river swallow him whole. As always, there was no fear in the fall, but simply a resignation of inevitability.
And then he would wake.
Nam'id looked around. How long had they been walking down the trail? He looked at the horizon searching for the morning sun. Dream walking again, he realized. Only for a few breaks this time. He pulled Donkey's reign before the panic set in.His eyes widened as he spun around. The rope was dragging the ground, its free end frayed and broken.
Donkey was nowhere to be found.