Silence.
He remained on edge, but soon relaxed. There was nothing there, not even a creature stirring nearby. He was alone.
He shook his head. His tiredness had allowed his imagination to overcome him, a simple traveller’s error his father had told him about. Often on the road, his father had spoken of times he found himself seeing and feeling things that were not there, just as Jaden was now. It could easily have made a man go crazy if he were not careful. His father had then said to find something else to focus on, something outside of one’s mind—a stone, a scent, a sound, or even the sky. This would stop the mind from wandering to places it shouldn’t.
With a deep breath, Jaden searched for something he could focus on. There was no sound, all creatures were silent, and so he looked at the rings through the clouds. They were beautiful, as always, but he found no comfort in them, feeling strangely small underneath their vast size and height. The stones around his feet had the same effect, but made him feel the opposite, as if he were too big to be standing on this world, leaving him dizzy and slightly nauseated. Quickly he searched for a scent, anything that could take his mind away from whatever was going on, but could find nothing. He paused, standing completely still with only his eyes moving.
Something wasn’t right.
He couldn’t smell anything. This didn’t worry him too much, except that he could no longer hear anything either, even the stream had somehow silenced. He backed away, wishing for nothing more than to leave this place as soon as he could. It felt wrong. It felt evil. It felt … strangely attractive.
He continued to move away, resisting the temptation to walk back toward the large rock. A flicker caught his attention to his left, and then again to his right almost instantly after. This time he was sure he had seen blue flares floating briefly in the air before disappearing less than a second later, like fireflies of another realm visiting only briefly before returning home, or shooting stars that sped across the ground before fading into the atmosphere.
As he stepped out of the clearing, there was a low groaning sound, the first to break the silence, and what little colour there was in the darkness drained from the plants, stream and rocks, leaving them gray but with a blue tinge. Suddenly there was a flash, and he turned away as it knocked him to the ground, causing him to hit his head hard against a fallen tree trunk. His head bounced off and landed heavily onto the ground. The last thing he was able to remember was seeing a gray silhouette glide slowly past him before his vision faded, and he was left in absolute darkness.
Chapter Twelve
One can travel only so far without wonder.
January 18, 997 R.E.
The ashen grasses of Jaden’s dream fell forward, crushed under the gale-force winds ravaging the land. They were stranded—helpless against the storm’s might as their fight for survival was threatened by what should have brought them life. Jaden walked on, trying to find shelter, powerless to do anything for the grasses. Like them, he was alone in this unforgiving place. Even the sunlight had disappeared from this world. The sickening orange glow had gone beyond the dark ocean, replaced by a cold gray that devoured any remaining light there was. The sky bore a giant scar, a great tear through its fabric. It was the source of the cold gray, a jagged strip of luminous white that stretched as far as he could see.
There was only suffering here, no refuge to be found. Everything was dying, and all that he could do was watch it fade before him.
He started to panic. He could feel the pressure building in his chest. He had to do something, get somewhere. With each step he took, it became harder and harder to breathe. He had to get away, had to break free of the chains that held him here. The spirits of old that seemed to dwell in these lands would not allow him rest while he remained. But no matter how far he ran or how much he wanted to be free, he was met with only more fields of broken grasses, more of the barren wasteland, more of the danger that lurked around him.
He began to cough violently as he reached the familiar hill, but this time he failed to remain standing, feeling strangely weakened as he collapsed onto his knees. Determined, he crawled forward a little before more fits of coughing took over him. A shadow passed above, blanketing out even the light in the sky, and the earth began to tremble. The wind howled as it gained in strength and a rumble became so loud it deafened him. He fought hard to look up, to hold back the coughing and see what was around him.
A chance at survival.
The young boy with black hair had returned and was standing several yards ahead with his back turned. Jaden had to get to the boy, to tell him to stop what he was doing, to find peace somehow and allow all else to exist. He couldn’t destroy all that there was for his own hate.