Chapter 61 - Dreamscape

Sian opened her eyes, momentarily disoriented. Darkness invaded her vision, yet she could see. She was no longer in the forest but instead she stood inside a monstrous cavern. The tips of stalactites pierced the mist that shrouded the ceiling high above. The ground under her feet was a mystery in itself. Glassy ebony with endless semi-transparent depth, the polished surface reached as far as she could see and despite the moisture in the air, it was not slick. Not a single seam marred its surface. She slowly turned and no matter where she looked, the floor and ceiling stretched into the distance, never meeting a wall. She stopped, on the edge of her vision she could make out ghostly marble pillars standing in two orderly columns. Putting one foot in front of the other, Sian started moving toward the free standing structures.

Walking, she lifted a hand, her eyes widening in surprise. She wore the black scale gauntlets and polished plate vambraces that she once wore as a warrior of the Order of Scarosant. A warrior of one of the eight great Dragon Sanctums of the old world. The armour was heavily battered and a mixture of blood and dirt coated it in places. Without checking, she could feel the weight of the Dark Flame hanging from her belt. She winced slightly as the memory from a time before the fall of the world came back to her at a rush. The only difference between now and then, the lack of the order of Valkyries that had stood, saluting her as she approached the dais and throne between the columns. She looked up, the pillars drawing closer, the dais and large throne now visible.

She was in Winter’s dream. Or at least a place that she had common ground with Antrandis. That thought stuck with her as she continued to walk, passing the first of the pillars, its height towering above her.

“Common ground.” she said quietly to herself, glancing around, “By the will of the three, this is where they first met.” her voice echoed strangely, both close and far, yet muted as if the echo were inside her own head rather than the expanse of the chamber.

Her mind raced as she noticed the dais in the distance, that simple throne that stood upon it. She remembered her own experience here, in the domain of the Host. The one who controlled and directed the flow of souls to and from the different realms. She had been brought before him, an exception that had caught his eye after the battle of the Shattered Peak. She had been caught unaware, the Valkyries had watched over the massacre. But they reaped no souls, they had been sent for her, the living. Winter was the one tasked with retrieving her. In her memory, Winter walked at her side, proudly escorting her down the open colonnade.

Sian shuddered slightly, the Host had seen fit to personally show his admiration for her ruthlessness, for such a show of reckless vengeance, for the death dealt by her hands on that day. She never thought she would see this place again. Sian continued to walk, the empty throne becoming clear. She could almost hear his laughter, rasping and grating in her ears.

Banishing the thought, she considered that she was walking the stage in Winter’s dream. Antrandis had invoked the dreamscape, allowing both Winter and himself to directly walk within her mind. In Winter’s current state, allowing him to search for a thread of the mysterious voice that she had mentioned. Sian tilted her head, there was something on the edge of her hearing, like a voice that wound itself through the pillars.

Sian turned, looking about, concern starting to grow in her chest. The unadorned marble throne was close now, and she still had not seen or heard either Antrandis or Winter. She broke into a slow run, now looking between the pillars as she approached the dais. As she stepped up onto the first step, a whisper stole around her like a tendril of smoke on the breeze.

“You come here unbidden, Master’s Consort.” said the whisper.

Sian stopped, glancing around rapidly, “Master’s Consort?”

“Do not feign ignorance.” hissed the voice, weaving around the pillars.

She turned, following the trailing whisper as it seemed to come from everywhere, not falling for the barbed words.

“My Master is finally coming for me, Consort. I have had no other, and I will have no other.” came the breath and whisper directly in Sian’s ear.

Sian stood still, “Was the Host of the old world not your master, Winter?” she asked as she stepped up near the throne, “You are Winter, are you not?”

“Perceptive… My Master is drawing close, by Azzar-Kah-Sharn I have waited so long, my entire existence for this day.” said the whisper.

Sian frowned, “By Azzar-Kah-Sharn?”

“He comes.” came the whisper, almost whimpering in desire, hiding behind a pillar, “He is so close, so close, I just need him to look this way. Please, Master.”

Sian looked around, slightly alarmed by the inflection in the whisper. She made the connection to the blighted forest, the voice that was not Winter’s, yet was.

“Winter, who are you really?” she called out.

“I am what was cut out of her.” said the whisper, answering before Sian had finished her last word, “You already know this.”

Sian turned, the sound of the whisper coming from directly behind, her eyes met emptiness.

“Two parts of the whole, two parts...” came the voice through the pillars.

She looked at the throne, “Why is this place important to you and Antrandis?”

Sian turned, looking about, “Winter! Why is this place important? Answer me!”

“Sian?” came Winter’s voice weakly from nearby, “How did you?”

Sian reacted, quickly stepping up to and around the marble throne. Winter was sitting, resting against the back, still propping herself up.

She crouched and looked at Winter, her eyes serious, “Why is this place important to…”

Winter met her eyes with a pained expression, “We are not ready to speak of this.”

“She is not ready to speak of this.” echoed the whisper.

Sian glanced around, her eyes returning to Winter’s, “Where is Antrandis?”

“My Master? I know now. So long, I have been…” she looked deeply into Sian’s eyes, “I have been his from the moment he came here.” she held out her hands, Sian taking them and pulling her into an embrace, holding her tightly.

Winter spoke quietly, “This is the place of my greatest joy and shame. Where I was found and also where my powers were stripped from me, where I was shackled by the three. In doing so, they hid the truth from me. I was a fool, Sian. She warned me.”

“Who warned you?” asked Sian.

“I did, I warned me.” Winter glanced around, “The whisper is me, the rest of me, somehow.”

“You are the rest of me.” echoed the whisper.

Sian frowned, “How could this happen? Tell me Winter.”

Winter shook her head, “I do not know. I first awakened in the old world like this, as you see me.”

Sian looked to the expanse, “Tell me.”

Only the echo of her own voice came back. The other presence was gone.

“Our love found me, the rest of me. He is looking upon me right now.” said Winter, shivering pleasurably as her body grew limp.

Sian desperately held her up, “Winter?”

“I want to be whole. I have been an empty shell for too long, just a shell.” said Winter, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Winter, who is Azzar-Kah-Sharn? Why do I know this name?” asked Sian forcefully, shaking Winter gently.

Winter slowly opened her eyes, “The King of Demons, Lord of the Underworld.”

Sian stared at her, swallowing hard, “The one who…”

“Yes.” Winter said, her voice now failing, her eyes closed.

Sian held her close, glancing about only to find the pillars and throne were gone. Looking back to Winter she found that she was no longer in her arms, only emptiness. Standing, Sian stared into the distance, a deep rumble shook the dream, the floor was collapsing into the ceiling as the ceiling crumbled into the floor. She closed her eyes, withdrawing as the dreamscape gave way. Breathing slowly, the scents of the forest returned, the sounds of the night overtook the deafening silence, the warmth of Antrandis’s back against her chest.

Sian opened her eyes and nestled her face into Antrandis’s neck, kissing him gently before standing. She looked down at the both of them. Winter’s head still cradled in his hands.

“Be careful, my love.” she said before sitting at the base of a tree, resting back against the trunk as she continued to watch over them.

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