Valandra: The Winds of Time Cycle (Book 1) by Tristan Vick

Author:Tristan Vick [Vick, Tristan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-03-16T18:30:00+00:00

23

Soaring above the viridescent canopy of the Dark Elf forest of Thananor, I recognize that I’m dreaming. Anytime I’m flying through the sky like a bird, with the wind rushing through my hair, I can tell that I’m caught up in a fantastical dream. I’ve always been a lucid dreamer, ever since I was a little girl.

I used to wake up screaming, drenched through my nightgown, because my dreams were so vividly real. Master Kel taught me how to calm my mind and take control of my dreams. He taught me how to tell the difference between what was illusory in my dream and what was the dim echoes of reality seeping in form the waking world.

With his help, I now have complete power in my dreams, which is why it’s so strange that I keep circling the same spot again and again.

Down in the dark green pines of the jagged peaks of the forest, there is an overcast area that is darker than the darkest shade. It seems to be drawing me to it and as I join the birds in a slow downward spiral, suddenly a dark smoke races up toward me.

I feel utter terror at the sight of this demonic fog. It assumes the shape of a giant clawed hand. I am unable to stop and I crash headlong into it.

The sharp tendrils of shadow clasp down on me. I feel my body being crushed under the weight of the giant hand. It no longer feels like wisps of smoke. It is strong and deadly.

Plucking me out of the sky as if I were a mere insect, its drags me to the ground. I smash into the rocky terrain with a bone-shattering crash. The wind rushes out of my lungs. It feels like I’m about to pass out from the lack of oxygen, but I don’t. For whatever reason, I manage to cling to the breath of life.

Pushing myself up off the ground, I crawl to my knees. I notice blood dripping from my mouth. I wipe my bottom lip with the back of my hand. Grunting, I stand the rest of the way up, clutching my ribcage, which feels as though it has been shattered into a thousand shards. It pains me to breathe, but I force myself to slowly inhale and exhale lest I stop breathing in my sleep as well. Always a danger for a lucid dreamer.

I scan my surroundings. The forest I was soaring over is no more. All that exists here is the charred remains of a barren wasteland. All the trees have burned up. As far as the eye can see in every direction, cinders smolder, and it rains ash. Fissures spread out across the valley, branching in every direction, like pulsing veins in the earth. They glow with an ominous red energy that seems to indicate the fading pulse of an entire planet.

In the distance, through the shimmering of the heat mirage, I see a dark figure. It’s blurred by the heat of the cracked and scorched earth.

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