A random thought, for @SupremeCripple . Or maybe it's not random ; D
From the moment he opened his eyes, Tristan knew that he was dreaming again, because this landscape was not something he would just visit every day. Beneath his feet, the snow crunched as he tried to get his bearing. The icy wind beat against his face, and the snowflakes started getting stuck in his beard. He was definitely in some sort of glacial area, it was very dark and difficult to make out, but the moon gave just enough light to see the snow for as far as the eye could see. Before him stood a familiar object, the Opiraz, a machine he had not seen in a long time, but a machine that had continued to haunt him for years.
Around the machine were the familiar batteries, the objects in which he knew people were locked up. In the past these were the Silven and other Arken, working together to a nefarious purpose which Tristan did not fully understand. He walked forward, ever closer to the machine, but before he could reach it, the machine seemed to charge up and fire, a light beam stretching into the sky and causing a purple hue to disappear into the clouds. Immediately following, the ground started shifting, or more specifically, the ice plates started shifting. As the snow slid off, and cracks formed, it was obvious Tristan was standing on large sheets of ice and the water beneath was starting to swallow them one by one.
He tried to rush to the nearest outcrop to hold onto, the batteries all around him failing and sinking into the dark deep below. He frantically tried to avoid being swallowed by the water as it took ice plate after ice plate, but eventually slipped and fell onto the last ice plate he could reach before it started sinking too. He tried to crawl to the edge furthest from the water, clawing desperately at the slippery material as the snow started sliding off, before he too would slide off into the water.
The baptism by the cold was unceremonious and unpleasant, the water felt extremely cold, and Tristan felt extremely heavy. No matter how much he struggled, he could not swim back up, and started panicking because of the complete cold darkness around him. Only faint flickers of light shone through the ice from the machine above, drawing ever further away as Tristan's body seemed to drag him down, surrounded by the faintest glowing light as if his body was the only thing left in complete nothingness.
While he continued to struggle, he turned his head left and right trying to find a way out, but all he could see was the drifting corpses of those inside the batteries, their faces lifeless, barely lit up by the golden glow that emanated from Tristan himself. He saw mages and Silven, Mae Draylas, Amir Razavi, Charlie Perrin, Tullion Kearney, Asher Deceres, and even Osric Howlester. It was clear he was drowning, but there was no loss of breath yet, it seemed to last forever, until a more pressing matter suddenly arrived. Just as he turned his eyes left, Mae's corpse was snatched into the darkness beyond his reach. He could feel the movement in the water as the shock wave reached him, until before long, Tullion was snatched from his right. One by one, the corpses that had accompanied him on the descent disappeared, snatched by large coiling shadows that moved through the icy water with elegance. It was here where the true panic started building, the knowing that he wasn't alone. The knowing that something else was in the water with him, something big.
And then, the prickling of the eyes. The always consistent prickling of the eyes whenever "He" would come close. Unmistakable, but fierce, fiercer than anything he'd ever felt before. He closed his eyes, trying to rub out the pain, which was so bad that it seemed to outdo the urgency of the drowning. Just as he thought he was about to be able to open his eyes again, he heard the echoing of a low hissing noise, it reverberated through the water, and even caused his body to vibrate through it. He could feel it down to his bones, stronger than the cold, and harsher than the fear of the darkness. He tried desperately to keep his eyes closed, not wanting to see what was there.
But then, with sudden surprise and fierceness, a lightning struck far above, a storm was raging on the surface. The lightning caused a bright flash of light, and it was in that moment that Tristan opened his eyes, seeing what was around him the entire time, the last thing he would see before waking up in a cold sweat and screaming in his bed.
From the moment he opened his eyes, Tristan knew that he was dreaming again, because this landscape was not something he would just visit every day. Beneath his feet, the snow crunched as he tried to get his bearing. The icy wind beat against his face, and the snowflakes started getting stuck in his beard. He was definitely in some sort of glacial area, it was very dark and difficult to make out, but the moon gave just enough light to see the snow for as far as the eye could see. Before him stood a familiar object, the Opiraz, a machine he had not seen in a long time, but a machine that had continued to haunt him for years.
Around the machine were the familiar batteries, the objects in which he knew people were locked up. In the past these were the Silven and other Arken, working together to a nefarious purpose which Tristan did not fully understand. He walked forward, ever closer to the machine, but before he could reach it, the machine seemed to charge up and fire, a light beam stretching into the sky and causing a purple hue to disappear into the clouds. Immediately following, the ground started shifting, or more specifically, the ice plates started shifting. As the snow slid off, and cracks formed, it was obvious Tristan was standing on large sheets of ice and the water beneath was starting to swallow them one by one.
He tried to rush to the nearest outcrop to hold onto, the batteries all around him failing and sinking into the dark deep below. He frantically tried to avoid being swallowed by the water as it took ice plate after ice plate, but eventually slipped and fell onto the last ice plate he could reach before it started sinking too. He tried to crawl to the edge furthest from the water, clawing desperately at the slippery material as the snow started sliding off, before he too would slide off into the water.
The baptism by the cold was unceremonious and unpleasant, the water felt extremely cold, and Tristan felt extremely heavy. No matter how much he struggled, he could not swim back up, and started panicking because of the complete cold darkness around him. Only faint flickers of light shone through the ice from the machine above, drawing ever further away as Tristan's body seemed to drag him down, surrounded by the faintest glowing light as if his body was the only thing left in complete nothingness.
While he continued to struggle, he turned his head left and right trying to find a way out, but all he could see was the drifting corpses of those inside the batteries, their faces lifeless, barely lit up by the golden glow that emanated from Tristan himself. He saw mages and Silven, Mae Draylas, Amir Razavi, Charlie Perrin, Tullion Kearney, Asher Deceres, and even Osric Howlester. It was clear he was drowning, but there was no loss of breath yet, it seemed to last forever, until a more pressing matter suddenly arrived. Just as he turned his eyes left, Mae's corpse was snatched into the darkness beyond his reach. He could feel the movement in the water as the shock wave reached him, until before long, Tullion was snatched from his right. One by one, the corpses that had accompanied him on the descent disappeared, snatched by large coiling shadows that moved through the icy water with elegance. It was here where the true panic started building, the knowing that he wasn't alone. The knowing that something else was in the water with him, something big.
And then, the prickling of the eyes. The always consistent prickling of the eyes whenever "He" would come close. Unmistakable, but fierce, fiercer than anything he'd ever felt before. He closed his eyes, trying to rub out the pain, which was so bad that it seemed to outdo the urgency of the drowning. Just as he thought he was about to be able to open his eyes again, he heard the echoing of a low hissing noise, it reverberated through the water, and even caused his body to vibrate through it. He could feel it down to his bones, stronger than the cold, and harsher than the fear of the darkness. He tried desperately to keep his eyes closed, not wanting to see what was there.
But then, with sudden surprise and fierceness, a lightning struck far above, a storm was raging on the surface. The lightning caused a bright flash of light, and it was in that moment that Tristan opened his eyes, seeing what was around him the entire time, the last thing he would see before waking up in a cold sweat and screaming in his bed.
