[Memory] Dreams

[Nam'id]

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.

[Nam'id]

Nam'id ran panicked through the forest. He and Donkey had been on the trail without incident for so long now. How could he be so stupid? He rounded a tree and dropped to a knee. The ground was untouched. There was no way that the clumy pack animal had traveled by here without a trace. The trail was cold.

Nam'id stood and looked around once more. The sun had started to rise on the horizon. He ran for several dozen more paces before crouching by another tree, repeating the ritual. Still no trace. He reached down and pulled a pinch of dirt to his nose before dropping it into his mouth. He spit it out then attempted to claw sticky bits of the muddy substance out with a hooked finger. He wasn't sure why he thought that was a good idea. Almost as if that was something that trackers did. Maybe is stories or some such? He couldn't be sure, save for that it wasn't helpful in the slightest.

He continued on, moving from tree to tree, not realizing the time that had passed until he could see the warm sun overhead. It was also at that moment that he realized he could no longer find the trail.

He looked down at the broken length of rope in his hand. Without Donkey, this was all he had left to his name. He squeezed the braided hemp before dropping it to the ground. He exhaled while looking back up at the sun.

Nam'id slid down the trunk of the tree to rest on the soggy ground. What was he supposed to do now? Lost, with no provisions or supplies. Should he go home? He shook the thought from his head.

He sat for a few moments of self-loathing and contempt. Then, he slept.

[Nam'id]

The Southern Swamps
Arc 708, Ymiden

As he had countless times before, Nam'id found himself falling through the dream…

His eyes fluttered open. A haze settled around him, glowing under the light of the moon. He couldn't tell if a light mist had gathered in the forest around him or if he couldn't shake the fog of his unfinished sleep. He felt stuck in the dream. Not a new sensation, and normally not unwelcome. The dream was always calm while somehow still exhilarating. He loved it. He wanted to stay inside of it most times. Now? At that moment he had a donkey to find.

His sight found the dropped length of frayed rope. He crouched to grab it and scanned the foliage surrounding him. He realized how alone he was.

It was true that Donkey was not the greatest companion in the world. The animal couldn't care less about its personal hygiene, for example. Not uncommon for a pack animal, but not completely ordinary either. It was also a terrible conversationalist. But so was Nam'id. As far as companions go, they did fit well together in that way. In every other way they were indifferent to each other. This didn't mean, however, that at that moment Nam'id didn't ache to have the animal back at his side.

He rubbed his eyes and stood back up. A bright light, lasting no longer than a trill, caught his attention from his peripheral.

Nam'id looked over in its direction, finding nothing but darkness where he had seen appear. He turned in circles looking for the elusive spark. After a moment it appeared once again in the corner of his eye, just beyond the reach of his sight. And once again, it disappeared before it could be found.

Nam'id stood still, patiently waiting for the light to reappear. A familiar ache started in his stomach, warm and anxious. The butterflies. The familiar feeling of content anxiety had been following him since he had left on this journey. He was unsure of its significance, and therefore its usefulness. He shook his head. He had and would continue to assume it meant that he was going in the right direction.

The feeling was stronger than normal, as if he were upside down or riding a horse at alarming speeds, yet he was still. The trees and the grass around him waved in the slight wind, as if participating in a dance with the turning in his belly.

The light reached his peripheral once again, though this time it came from overhead. He looked up and searched for that light, and this time his sight caught it a split second before it disappeared through the foliage overhead. Nam'id shot forward into the shadows of the forest. He would not lose it again.

He ran from clearing to clearing, stopping only when the light would disappear. This never lasted long, as it would reappear once again and shoot off. The chase would start once again. Nam'id continued to follow as a smile began to stretch upon his face. The warmth of his stomach had been getting stronger.

He looked up as he ran and spotted the light as it came to an immediate halt overhead. Before Nam'id had a chance to slow himself his uncovered foot caught something hard. He tumbled forward as he skidded across the ground. For the second time in a trial he found himself spitting the ground out of his mouth.

He looked back up and found the light was gone once again. He looked around, but this time it did not reappear. He stood up as a familiar smell reached his nostrils. He breathed in, testing the air. It was water. He moved forward, searching the ground as he went. Beyond a short row of foliage he found it. It was the river of his dreams, dark and violent. A stark opposite to the gentle forest around him. A perfect balance. The jagged stones seemed much less ominous than in his memory, and there were no faces, but he was sure that this was the river of his dream.

The Sevir began searching for a path upward. There were many trees that appeared to be climbable. A few even had limbs stout enough to support the weight or a man. More specifically, the weight of a Nam'id. He chose one and climbed his way to the treetop.

He smiled as he climbed, excited by the prospect that he was finally where he had dreamed of being for so long. He would do it this time. He would leap over the river. He couldn't fail. Not this time.

Once at the top he took a long look at the roaring river below him. The faces were still absent. A good thing. That wouldn't have made him feel any braver. It wouldn't have stopped him either, however.

He looked across to the other side of the trees, judging the strength of a leap that would be necessary to make it to the other side. This was going to be no small miracle to make it across. And Nam'id wasn't sure that he believed in miracles. He had never witness one.

He would not allow the fear to halt the journey. He settled himself and took three measured breaths. He looked at his feet before he allowed his sight to study the limb ahead, memorizing each step that he needed to make the run. He smile faded away as he focused his energy, then he bolted forward.

The first three steps hit their marks as he propelled himself forward. The fourth step, however, landed to the side and slipped off of the limb. Nam'id's shoulder slammed against the rough wood as he tumbled down. He wasn't in his dream, and he was falling. This time he was terrified.

He hit the water below and immediately fell beneath it surface. He struggled to swim upwards but found that the currents were holding him firmly underneath. He could tell that he was moving with the river as the rocky river bed hit him over and over again, tossing his body in different directions. He made it to the top and was able to refill his lungs for only a trill before he was tossed back under again. He fought, and he feared he was losing the battle.

Until the battle was over. The movement slowed and the water became shallow. He found himself on a the bank of the river, completely unaware of how far he had traveled. He drank in the cold air in deep gasps, and pulled himself onto the sanctuary of land.

He head throbbed, as did his shoulder. He rubbed his upper lip and found that his nose was bleeding. And then he felt a nudge.

Donkey pushed him over and onto his back with a rough shove of the snout. Nam'id stared at the animal, then stuck his middle finger up at it. His face then melted into a smile before he grabbed the animal by its mane and pushed their foreheads together. Nam'id couldn't help but be overcome with emotion at seeing the animal, yet there was something else about this place that stole his attention.

He looked around to find that he had washed up into a grove. The grass was low, as was the forest canopy. The mist was gone, but the greenery of the forest looked alive. He stared in amazement at the way the plants in this place stole the glow from the moon and seemed to shine it back out again. And then he watched as something moved in his direction.

It wasn't a light, but rather a shadow. It moved through trees overhead before dropping to the ground, hopping and moving over the ground. It jutted to the side and into a thick bush before it reemerged back in the trees again. Beady eyes stared at Nam'id. He stared back.

You were supposed to follow the river, yes? Not swim in it.

The voice came to Nam'id in a wave. At least this was the only way he would be able to explain such a thing. Nam'id had never heard a voice before. He knew words, but the sensation of hearing them was foreign to him. And while the voice itself didn't come in words either (but rather colors and feelings and intention), this was the closest thing to hearing another's voice that he could possibly have comprehended.

What? was Nam'id's response.

Your swim. You have seen the river, yes? In your dreams. I know you have. But why did you try to jump over an' away?

The shadow moved forward and hopped on the ground once again. Nam'id watched as a whispy, gray-haired, 2-foot-tall monkey walked towards him. It had long straight hairs that ran down the side of its mouth and a long curved tail. It was translucent in its appearance, with wisps of light grey wafting from its body. It came closer and sat in front the the Sevir.

You had the dream. Moaxatl'otatsu dreamt it too. An' I showed you. An' still you tried to run to the sun? Over the river an' through to the other end?

The little being tucked his legs underneath itself and sat down. Nam'id stared back at it before he pushed himself up and sat opposite in the same manner. He leaned his head to the side as he returned a message of his own.

Mo-ax-atl... that is you?... Mox?

Ah yes! came the reply from the monkey. It showed its teeth in a monkey-smile. That is what you have always called me. You have some of the memories, yes?

No.

Bah, that is ok. You will soon. You will see. The memories will come an' all will be the same. Much like you an' me. The same. We have been before, we are now, an' we always have been.

My Ose-bori. Nam'id responded, undestanding.

Yes.

I have been looking for you. The dreams have been guiding me.

Yes an' no. The dreams have been guiding us. We have been traveling together, towards us. You have made the journey, but it has always been us, even though it hasn't. I have been searching for you for a long time, an' a longer time still. Though in the searching I have been you, an' you have been me. You will remember.

Nam'id scratched his head in confusion. Much made sense, however. He was never flying through the trees. He must have been climbing, or even swinging, through them. But the 'us' that Moaxatl... Mox... had been speaking of, well he was pretty sure that the Ose-bori might have been talking in weird riddles of somesort.

Why lead me to the river if you could come get me? he thought

I was, of course. I am you an' you are me. You were coming to get you. I was coming to get me. An' we were always coming to get we.

What a strange experience, thought Nam'id. And not at all what he had expected. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting from his finding his Ose-bori, but this wasn't it. Even though he was lost to his confusion, however, he still felt a strange oneness with the smoke-like being in front of him.

I could have drowned, you know.

Yes. I saw that. I could have drowned, you know. That would have been sad. Maybe next time we will follow the signs, yes?

The signs?

Yes! We follow the road that we follow. We go where we need to go. We always did, we always have. But you? You always look beyond. You try to get where we are not needed. Always going towards the sun. You never pay attention to where we should be. That is why it is not you, an' it is us. Together..."

The monkey reached a long hand out with a single index finger outstretched.

You will remember...

Nam'id looked at that gray, smokey finger. An odd meeting, and an odd fellow. But something in himself said that this is where he was supposed to be. Who he was supposed to be. He reached out with his own finger, and in a flash the creature was gone.

See? We. Now let's go home.

Nam'id.

[Yrmellyn Cole]

Thread Rewards

Overview

First, I’d like to say that this was wonderful writing of very high quality. You are clearly a talented writer. I’m already looking forward to reading more of what you write. I don’t know if this was your intention, but to me, it seems like a theme of “the circle closes” is a recurrent “picture”. Namid’s real life and his dreams meet when he comes to the real river looking like the river of his dreams. One circle closes.

The dependency on the pack-animal who carries his belongings and how vulnerable Namid is to the loss of it, alone in the huge and sometimes dangerous nature that dwarves us makes his desperate search so real. When he ends up injured and bleeding on the bank of the river of his dreams and his lost Donkey finds him. It’s interesting how the bond between the man and the Donkey now seems stronger than he was aware of before. The Donkey is also dependent on Namid. One more circle closes.

Then came the emergence of the familiar, the telepathy and the bonding. It was an excellent story and showed the nature of the sev’ryn spiritual familiar in depth. “ I was, of course. I am you an' you are me. You were coming to get you. I was coming to get me. An' we were always coming to get we.” It has always been so, and now they are one again. The big circle closes.

I’m going to use my reviewer “powers” and give you 15 points for this thread.

A superior read!

Namid

Rewards and consequences

Points: 15

Knowledge:
Navigation x4
Endurance x2

Renown: 10 for Ose-bori bonding as this is an important turning point and will be known by other sev'ryn,


Skill Review: Appropriate to the skill levels

Please use the image code below to stamp your request !

Code: Select all

[align=center][img]/gallery/image/15360/medium[/img][/align]