She closed them as well as she could, and for a moment all her worries came swimming back to the surface like wild horses through a field of black, unable to halt their stampede for fear of losing their footing the moment everything stopped. It was only the soothing touch and voice of of the Grand Caster that managed to pull her away and allow her to focus on softer imagery.
Flowers. The sun. The slim hope, that at best, come the first sign of daybreak there’d be warmth in her heart again.
When she next opened her eyes next everything was bright and pastel.
“Merlin?” Gudako rolled over in a field of pink and blue, her fingertips brushing against the soft petals scattered everywhere beneath her. She had no idea where she was. A dream, probably – but at most, all she knew is that something worked, and that the landscape was brighter than the edge of the abyss. She pushed herself up on her elbows and scanned the area around her until she hit a familiar face. He looked the same as ever, smug and with all the colors of comfort woven into his robes.
“Where is this, exactly?” She wondered aloud. It was here first time. “Have you been here before? Or.. is this somewhere.. made-up?”
Guiding a human into a meditative state was easy -- perhaps even easier than falling back on his magic. Once he saw the lines of worry ease away from Gudako’s face, he leaned down to rest beside her, pillowing his head against his folded arms. His clairvoyance would remain active to a degree while he was asleep; he could afford to join her, if only for a short while, in whatever dream she’d found for herself. Feeling strangely content, the magus shut his eyes and began to search for his ‘Master’ through the expanse of dark.
He wasn’t surprised to find himself in Avalon. Thinking back on the description he’d given to ease her nightmares, it was a fairly close match: A peaceful, quiet place, filled with flowers and devoid of threats to their safety. He strode across the flowers to meet her, staff in hand and glowing blossoms sprouting beneath his boots.
“This is Avalon,” he explained with a smile. “I suppose you could call it my home.” ‘Prison’ would be a more apt description, but he was intending to calm her, not frighten her. It was a beautiful place from an outsider’s prospective; it would be a shame for her to see it as something oppressive. “I wonder... Were you thinking of my Noble Phantasm as you drifted off?” It was a particularly potent spell, one which offered a rare glimpse into Avalon and called upon a fraction of its power. A subconscious pull towards something vaguely familiar would explain how the scenery took shape. “There’s nothing here but flowers and mana, so you don’t have to worry. -- Well, there are some Phantasmal beings, but they won’t bother us. They don’t come to my garden very often.”
