Ananiel

A fragile moon hung in the void.

It’s delicate light, piercing the darkness below.

The yielding shadows, shrivelling and stirring,

tugging at the desolate land below.

A frigid breeze drifts ashen snow,

which dances below pale moonlight.

The humming wind whispers it’s futile song,

flaking the barren trees below.

An expansive abyss stretches beyond the moonlight,

encircling this wistful waltz.

The dying wind hums its final song,

as dreary clouds loom over the barren land below.

The abyssal darkness stretched beyond the horizon as I fell past the dazzling moonlight. The tangle of tree branches crumbled to dust as I landed onto a pile of soot. Darkness seemed to weigh down my clothes. I felt my lungs burn with each passing breath. My eyes ached trying to grasp at the finest strands of light leaking from the sky. Silence hummed its dreadful song as I stumbled along this desolate land. Fine specks of ashen snow wavered in the air. I held the cane tightly as the void stirred its delicate soot into the sky. There was no sign of the windows above, nor any sign of any building to return to. My eyes started watering as the realization of the unknown pressed on my chest.

“Where am I? What did I…”

My hands started to quiver and my mouth felt grainy. The air started to taste like salt. Impossibilities can only happen with a clear image of what you want within the realm of possibility… The words drifted gently along the clouds as if they were hidden in the back of my eyelids. In my internal darkness, I recalled the moon. It’s looming presence, right above this murky fog.

“Odd… But maybe it could work.”

I reached for the sky, yearning for something beyond the clouds. A passing memory of the moon flickered in my head. The sea above started to stir, drifting along an unforeseen wind.

Beyond the endless abyss

the line of perspective

Reveals Its delicate light, piercing the darkness below.

Moonlight pierced through, peeking ever so slightly beyond the clouds. I felt an unending wave of excitement forming around me. The delicate moonlight has stolen my gaze. Trails of ash and soot rise into the void-like sky. My eyes watered and my heart ached. A forsaken world stretched beyond the horizon. However, this crumbling land had already lost its stars.

An ever-expansive abyss encircled the moon. The pale moonlight thinned as the moon’s brilliance grew smaller and smaller. Until a speck of light hung in the darkness. A lone star, twinkling above my miniature form. I stood, admiring the speck beyond the darkness, and felt my pulsing heart rippling the seams of this world.

“Wake up… Wake up…”

My eyes open to a panic-ridden Otto shaking at my shoulders.

“Hey! Are you alright?

I meet Otto’s gaze and let out a muffled grunt,

“Ah! You're alive!”

Rising up from the uncomfortable chair, I lean towards Otto,

“So, was it a success?”

A disheartened look filled Otto’s face,

“No… the experiment failed. Got stuck in a murky void and was moving towards nothing meaningful.”

Seeing Otto stirring in his own thoughts, I shake my head

“It’s alright. I will figure something out.”

I turn my head towards the window and watch the soft tapping of rain beyond the night sky.

“...Can I stay here tonight? Or at least until the rain stops.”

A forceful “sure…” leaked out of Otto’s mouth as he quickly got up and rushed through the door behind the counter. I sat quietly, my mind stirring from the recent event. Closing my eyes, I enjoyed the pleasant darkness and headed to the counter.

“Actually, the rain seems to be very light, I think I can make it back to the inn before it gets worse."

I notice a waver in the light beyond the door as Otto pushes the door open slightly.

“That’s fine. You are welcome to come back whenever.”

Picking up Lily’s books and putting back the few books I bought. I check the amount of money I have left.

“5 copper and 5 tin… man I need to start making money soon.”

I thought as I reminisced the silver coins that were once in my pouch. Saying a “farewell”, I pushed open the front door and felt the cold air brushing against my cheeks. The pleasant scent of rain wisps into my nose as raindrops tap on the back of my hand. I let out a sigh as I stepped onto the wet dirt path. Being a reasonable distance away from the library, I admired the sturdy, leafless trees around me. My vision blurred as I started focusing on my breathing. one must “open” themselves to the world and feel the “mana” that is within us all. I felt the surrounding air heat up as droplets of warm rain tapped on my head. My relaxing eyes gazed at the clouds above as a howl was heard in the distance, taking my attention away. I raise my hand towards the sky, grasping at the moon beyond the clouds…

A weight dropped on my chest as my legs quivered. The sound of something approaching crushed the dried leaves in the distance. A silhouette of a 4-legged creature dashed past the treelines. I desperately reached my hip and grabbed at nothing.

“ I left the sword and dagger at the inn… Damn it”

Dread washed over me as I kept my eyes on this creature. It’s movements jumped from tree to tree and was slowly circling around me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

“Feel the mana around me…”

Each passing breath flowed in and out, in and out… in and out… A wolf stood in front of me, its malnourished form and bearing fangs rumbling with an irritated growl. The second step of the process is to imagine yourself gathering energy. Walking the thin line of being barely conscious, you have to take advantage of your imagination … The words seemed to ever gently flow in front of my eyes. Reality and fiction aligned in my head as flickering darkness separated each world. Heat started swelling around me as droplets swirled above my palm. All of my attention shifted to the wolf as its ravenous form instinctively held still.