One Day in August - Chapter 5
That morning I woke up, and I had completely forgotten about everything that happened the day and night before. I opened my eyes, and expected to see the bland white colour of my apartment ceiling, and then, turning over, to see my digital alarm clock telling me what time it is. Instead, I was greeted with the fluttering blue material of the tent as it flapped in the wind, and turning over I could see Karkos sleeping on the other bedroll on the other side of the tent. I realized everyone else was still asleep, so I lay in bed for a little while and went over what happened; the forest, meeting Karkos and Ingenia, the stars, Welbret, magic, The Circle, The Ceremony of Ascension… all of it came flooding back and as it did I couldn’t help but smile. I was already starting my own personal little adventure, and today I was going to be learning how to wield magic. But then I remember what Karkos had explained to me; it was a mentally taxing, exhausting process, and again I already felt the pressure, even more so than yesterday. As much as I was looking forward to learning how to use magic, I was already balking at the idea of failing.
Unable to go back to sleep as usual, I quietly slipped out of the covers and put my shoes back on, silently pulling back the canvas door of the tent and walking out into the fresh air of the Cliffside. Last night there wasn’t a whole lot visible, some of the taller trees rose up over the horizon, but due to combination of the darkness and my bad-eyesight (I had just remembered that I never brought my glasses) I couldn’t see very far. Now however the entire view was spread out before me and it was spectacular: In the clear blue sky, a bald eagle spread its wings and flew majestically over the entire scene, nonchalantly drifting on the crest of the breeze. Below it, a vast forest, larger that I had ever seen back in Earth, went right over the horizon; accept directly ahead, where, about a mile away, a large lake was visible in the distance. The sun rose triumphantly over the lake, and even in the distance you could see it the light of the morning sun playing on the flowing surface of the water. To the left a large mountain range reared high up into the sky, and all along it a stone path had been carved, either through natural forces or by magic, right over the forest and towards the north assumingly towards the Sanctum. Seeing the huge scene before me just made me want to shout and hear my voice echo out over the entirety of the world, but knowing Karkos and the rest were still asleep I managed to restrain myself, and found myself content to sit out over the forest on the edge of the cliff. When I was sitting there, still really unable to comprehend what’s been happening, still unable to wrap my head around everything, I could help but feel immensely happy. I always liked change, embraced and went along with it, but back on Earth there was never any change; it was constantly static, the world constantly rotating and completing the same cycle over and over again. Secretly I wished for the collapse that society said was so imminent, at least then perhaps we would get the change that, something which I think a lot of people needed in order to open their eyes in order to recognize how messed up everything really is. I never really spoke about it with anyone, I didn’t want to sound like some kind of socialist, communist weirdo who constantly complains about how “the system is messed up, maaaan” but that’s just how I felt. To finally get away from it all know brought such a sense of relief, a sense of possibility. Here anything was truly possible, and all you needed to do was reach and grasp it.
“Nervous about today?” A voice asked, from behind me. I was a little bit frightened, but thankfully didn’t fall off the cliff. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you”. I looked behind me and Welbret was there, no longer dressed in his black cloak. Instead he was dressed in a simple pair of trousers and a white, tunic-like shirt.
I laughed. “It’s fine, Welbret, don’t worry” I smiled, and stood up. “What’s with the white tunic-like thing you’re wearing?”
He looked down at his shirt. “This?” He said, grabbing the shirt with index finger and thumb, “Oh, I know it’s a bit weird but trust me you’ll get used to it. It’s the style here in Aetheria, for some reason. If I knew how to make clothes myself I’d make something that suited my style a little bit more, but unfortunately I don’t so I’ll just have to make do.”
“Didn’t you pack any clothes before you left with Karkos?” I asked.
“No, I really just took a spur of the moment, trust your guts and go with it decision. There wasn’t a lot of thinking involved,” He explained, “But I still think it was the best decision of my life. Sometimes in retrospect I look back and think ‘oh, I should have brought this, or I should have brought that’ but mostly I’m happy with my decision. Here I’m much happier. Life here is so much more rewarding and inspiring, y’know?”
“Hmm, I get you…” He was certainly right. I was here for all but a day and I still feel happier than I pretty much ever did while I was at home.
“So are you worried about today?” He asked, “Y’know, because of the Ceremony of Ascension?”
I sighed. “Yeah, I am. I have no idea what to do… I’m really scared about missing my chance or something, and I’m going to end up as looking like a failure in some way to everyone.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Have you ever had an operation?”
That was a strange question to ask. I was pretty sure it didn’t have anything to do with the conversation we were having, but I answered it anyway out of politeness.
He laughed. “I know that might seem like a strange question, but trust me I’m getting to that,” He explained. “So if you’ve had an operation, you understand what it’s like to be put under, right?” I nodded. “Good, so imagine you’re going in for an operation, and the doctors have somehow managed to develop a machine that allowed you to stay awake while you were dreaming under aesthetic, and you were able to do whatever you wanted in the dream. Have you ever heard of the concept before?”
Strangely enough I had. I remember interviewing yet another band member about where they got their inspiration from, and they explained to me that they got their ideas through a process he described as ‘lucid dreaming’. He said it was basically remaining conscious while still dreaming, and controlling the dream to the extent that you’re pretty much god. This band was really ‘out-there’, and hippy-like, so I completely disregarded it as some stoner bullshit. This sounded quite a bit what that guy was talking about though. “Yeah, I’ve heard of it before. Is it called lucid dreaming?”
His eyes lit up. “Exactly! That’s exactly what it is! I remember when I was still trying to get my job as an accountant the idea of lucid dreaming was only really starting to break out into the mainstream, and people were looking at it a bit funny as if to say it sounded like something junkies or stoners would do. But it’s quite real, I assure you.”
“So what as this got to do with doctors and the Ceremony of Ascension?”
“I’m getting there, don’t worry! So yeah, again, imagine you’re going in for an operation, but instead of the doctors it’s The Circle who's operating on you, and they use their magic to put you under and keep you awake while you’re dreaming. That’s what the Ceremony of Ascension is.”
I was a bit confused. Karkos said it was much more exhausting than that. “Wait, hold up. I thought this whole thing was supposed to be really tiring?”
“Oh it is, mentally. See, something I didn’t realize about the lucid dreaming phenomenon, and something I don’t think anyone has really realized up to this day, is that through the entire process, you can literally speak with your subconscious.”
As soon as I said that I wanted to do it straight away. I immediately thought it was an opportunity to speak with whatever it was that slept within me. And I knew it slept there. It was always there, waiting to come out, but I could never find a way. Was that what the magic was, that presence that I always felt inside of me waiting to be released? Is that what the Ceremony of Ascension was, to finally free that which I knew slept within? “Wow…that’s…that’s amazing.” I was truly at a loss for words.
“I know, right? It’s an amazing experience for the most part, but it takes a quite a bit of an ordeal to get there—have you ever felt that it’s there’s something holding you back, something within you inhibiting you from truly reaching your true potential?”
It was true. I never really knew what it was that literally held me back, but I suspected that there was also something inside me, something malevolent, which prevented me coming into contact with my potential. “…Yeah, I think I understand.”
He nodded. “Yeah, that’s your Shadow. You need to get it out of the way in order to reach your potential. You need to metaphorically battle with your own personal demons in order to come into contact with the magical part of your psyche.”
Now I wasn’t so sure I wanted to do it anymore. Battling with inner demons? I was never a fighter. I remember, late at night, between 2am and 3am at night, during the times I used to walk out into the city, all of the sounds of the city seemed to suspicious melt away into silence. It was there, during the time, when I truly became aware of the battle that was raging in me, when my personal demons were at their loudest and when I came closest to being them. It was a struggle to repress them. I gulped “And if I lose this battle? If my personal demons win?”
“Then you remain trapped in your mind. Forever”
My heart literally skipped a beat.
“Trapped in my mind!? Welbret, I—I can’t do this! I didn’t know so many risks were involved. I didn’t know I was possibly going to end up stuck in my own head for—for god knows how long!” I was starting to panic, frantically looking around for something that would help, but of course there was nothing. I wasn’t like I could run away, I didn’t know where I was going or what was out there, and I was completely defenceless. If I came into contact with one of the predators Karkos talked about, I’d be as good as dead.
“Harlow, calm down, it’s okay! Please, relax, breathe, its okay, it’s not that bad,” He grabbed hold of my shoulders. “Listen, no one has ever, and I mean ever, fallen to that fate. Even someone like me, the awkward accountant with no friends, was able to get passed it! It’s scary, I’m not going to lie, and it’s not a walk through the park, but trust me, you’ll be fine.”
I took a deep breath and relaxed for a minute. Take a chance to sit down and analyse the options and the pros and cons of each choice; I can face the Ceremony of Ascension and my inner demons, and probably come out triumphant with new power, or I could be a coward and run away. I could end up being permanently boxed into my own head if I end up failing, or I could come away with a new control over magic. I could run away, and probably survive in the wilderness with nothing to defend myself. Probably. “What other options do I have?”
“Well, as far as I know if someone changes their mind before they take the Ceremony of Ascension, they can be returned back to the normal world, but their memory of everything, The Circle, Aetheria, The Ceremony, Magic, will all be erased and they’ll simply wake up one morning and continue with their lives. But that’s as far as options go, unfortunately” He sighed.
Well, I had come this far I suppose. There was no point coming all the way out here only to ask them to go back again. Regardless, there was no way I was going to go back to all that after seeing what this world had to offer. I had to at least try, and if I get trapped in my mind, I at least I know I gave it the best I could.
“Okay,” I sighed, “I’ll do it. I have no choice.”
“Is everything okay over there?” Came a voice by the tents. It was Karkos; he’d gotten dressed in his usual black cloak and emerged from the blue tent. I didn’t even notice.
“Yeah, everything’s fine, we’re okay” I called back.
“Good. You two better start getting ready, we’re leaving fairly soon.” He turned back to the tent and started rummaging inside it, getting things ready for the journey.
Welbret took a step back from me. “I guess that’s my cue to get my stuff together. Listen, like you said last night, we’re in this together; we can help each other through this. I’m here if you need to me”
I smiled at him “Thanks, Welbret, I’ll keep that in mind”
He moved into his tent to back his things, and it wasn’t long before Ingenia emerged from her tent, alone, raising her hands above her head in a massive yawn. I walked over to her. “Ingenia, Karkos said we need to pa-“
“I heard him, Harlow” She replied, cutting me short. “I’m getting my things ready now.”
She was really starting to annoy me. Maybe her shortness last night could have been put down to tiredness, but here she was now after just getting a good night’s sleep. It wasn’t going to be much longer before I snapped. “Okay, Ingenia, whatever.” I walked away and left her too it, but now with no one to talk to, I realized I had nothing to do. I had nothing to pack, nothing I needed to bring with me. I still had my iPod in my pocket (I couldn’t bring myself to throw it off the cliff) so I popped one of the earphones in and listened to some music. I noticed Welbret was struggling with packing up the tent also, so I decided to go over and help him. Soon enough we had it rolled and ready to carry and he threw it, along with a bag over his shoulder. We quickly got rid of the vestiges of the campfire we had last night, and we soon set off. It was one thing seeing the scenery from a high view point, but seeing it in motion was quiet another; plants and animals, seen vaguely familiar and some completely outlandish, were seen on the path to the Sanctum.
“That’s a Chaemise Plant,” explained Welbret, after I pointed out a long, green vine dangling from the dense canopy ending in a small purple flower. “It dangles from the canopy and attracts small insects like flies, yeah; we have them here too, to the flower. But then get this, the petals on the flower will close and actually eat anything small enough as soon as it touches the petals, like an inverted Venus fly-trap, and absorb the nutrients. Then those nutrients will pass up throw the fine and will help provide the leaves in the canopy with vital minerals and nutrients.”
“Wow, that’s insane. Would they ever eat people?”
He shook his head “I don’t think so. I’ve never head a Chaemise growing large enough to swallow an entire person whole, but I’ve heard of stranger things happening. Karkos or Juno would be the people to ask about that.”
That’s when I remembered that I recognized where Welbret was from. “Oh, Welbret, I’ve been meaning to ask you something. Did you live in New York when you were back on Earth?”
“Because I think I actually remember seeing missing person posters being put up around my area around 4 months ago.”
With that he slowed down his pace and began to think a little bit. “I guess I’m not surprised, but it’s a strange feeling knowing people are looking for you. Maybe I should have thought about family before I left, but like I said I just made a snap decision. There’s nothing that can be done about it now.”
I wondered if my family would do the same for me. How long would it take for them to find out I was gone? A week? Two? A month? I did live alone, I didn’t keep in contact with family, and it’s not like I had very many responsibilities to take care of considering I lost my job. Maybe Mr Mason would have a change of heart and try to re-hire me, finding out that I’ve disappeared? “Do you ever miss anyone back on Earth, Welbret? Girlfriends, family?”
“Surprising not, no,” he said with a sigh, “I never really had a stable girlfriend, and me and my family weren’t on speaking terms by the time I left. To be honest I was happy to disassociate myself from them. There are a lot of memories there that I’d rather not have to bring back up, and they’re all to do with them.”
I nodded. “I see, that’s fine.”. From there the conversation pretty much ended, so I got my iPod and turned my music back on to admire the scenery again.
“Harlow, what’s that in your ear?” I turned around and seen Karkos staring intently at my ear. Everyone had stopped, I assumed by his command, and were looking at me.
“It’s an iPod, you’ve never seen one before?”
He looked confused. “No, I’ve never even heard of it before, what is it?”
“It’s a small device which allows you to digitally carry around music,” Ingenia explained, “they’re quite useful.”
“So it’s from the technological world?” He said. I nodded. “I don’t trust it.” He turned to Welbret. “Does it harm the environment?”
“No, not really. Not that I know off.”
“Then you may keep it,” He said, “I’m sorry if I alarmed you, it’s been a long time since I was in the technological world, and I’ve learned that it changes quite a lot while you’re gone.” We continued walking down the path. “It must be nearly 30 years now since Juno and the rest found me. She didn’t have grey hair then, she was in her mid-30’s herself at the time, and it was literally the day I had turned 18. I was an orphan, my parents dying in a fire at our home when I was 2 years old. Strangely enough both of my parents were only children, and their parents had died in the years previous, so I had nowhere to go. I ended up growing with other orphaned or abandoned children in an orphanage, but I was never able to get close to anyone. I never made friends and always kept to myself, and for the most part I was left alone. Left to myself all the time I became a very quiet, thought-filled individual, and eventually I started becoming disappointed with life. Like everyone here I felt something more to it which I couldn’t access, but could never exactly pin-point what it was. Thankfully, my potential was recognized, and word was sent that I had what was required to use magic. It was my 18th birthday, and like all the other ones people had forgotten about it, or least didn’t bother acknowledging it. I went to the beach that night, like most other nights when I needed to think, to be alone. It was pretty late, and I was just about to leave, when I noticed someone standing at the shore near to where I sat. They were staring out at the ocean, and their black cloak was billowing in the wind, the lapels catching in the breezing and fluttering in the air. I approached them, something told me to, when they spoke:
“Yeah…it’s quite calming and serene. I like staring out and imagining what’s out there. Even though we already know I suppose.”
“In a world quickly becoming full with satellite technology, every scrap of sea, sky and water is being digitally recorded. It leaves no room for imagination, no room for mystery to exist. Still, staring out at the ocean it feels as though there is a vestige of it left. Does the ocean ever speak to you?”
“I guess it does, in a way. Like you said, it feels like you can pretend that there’s still something there”
“Well what you think if I said I could bring you somewhere you didn’t have to pretend anymore? Where what you’ve been searching for right up until this moment can be given to you?”
Then they pulled back their hood, and introduced themselves as Juno, Messenger of the Circle. She explained to me everything about Aetheria, and magic, everything. I was intoxicated. I remember that she had flaxen blonde hair back then, but you could tell she was going on in years. After she finished telling me about Aetheria, she held out her hand.
“This magical world, Aetheria, is right there for you to see. All you need do is take my hand, and I can bring you there.”
And then I took her hand, she smiled, and we were gone.”
Karkos finished his story just as we came to crossroads as the sun set. In the middle, diverged as the roads were, was a signpost, the pale-wood plunged into the soil. To the right the road descended down into a valley, trees covering each side of the slope, and nestled into the middle, off a significant way into the distance, was a small village of stone and wooden huts. Smoke came from different chimneys of the houses, and in the middle of the village a small square with a stone fountain could be seen, with merchants packing up their wares after a long day of sales. The name “Esterline” was carved into the wooden panel which pointed in the town’s direction, done somewhat crudely with what seemed to be a knife. On the left however, the pathway done the opposite, rising up into towards the top of the valley where stone peaks reared up in sharp summits, the path winding behind them on a long, twisting trail. The name on the signpost read “The Sanctum” and it was done much more elegantly, the letters on the wood carved much more gracefully, done perhaps by magic.
Karkos took a quick glance at the sun’s position in the sky. “At this rate, we’re going to have to postpone the Ceremony until tomorrow.”
I didn’t mind the possibility of delaying the Ceremony, it gave me more time to mentally prepare and wrap my head around it. The prospect of being eternally lost within your own thoughts isn’t really a nice one.
Welbret leaned in beside me and whispered. “Don’t worry, it’s too late. You have until tomorrow.”
“Thanks”. I swallowed back my fear. Little consolation, I suppose, but consolation none-the-less.
“C’mon,” Karkos signalled to me and Welbret, “We’re heading this way” He started walking up the path towards the peaks, and we both followed in earnest. As we climbed, I could feel my ears popping; I guessed we were pretty high up. We followed the winding trail through the mountains, and once again we found ourselves surveying a vast scene once we passed through onto the other side. The land on the other side of the mountains was replaced with a vast sea, the dull roar reaching them up even here as the waves relentlessly threw themselves at the admonitory cliffs. Magic seemed to once again have a part in the formation of the pathway to the Sanctum, the stone hewn out through the mountain in direct passage to the Sanctum of the Circle.
Night when we finally reached the fortress, if you would call it that. It seemed part of the mountains itself, the massive stone walls towering up the massive heights, as big as, if not bigger, than some of the skyscrapers back home. The stars were out again, and beneath it this massive fortress of sheer rock was made visible in the silver light of the huge moon, its gargantuan proportions seated in a throne of stone. Monstrous black doors stood over our company in the flickering light of the torches set in the wall, and at the side, hanging over the ocean, wide windows were set into the face of the structure, letting in glittering streams of moonlight sparkle on the different rooms of the Sanctum. It was bigger than I even imagined.
“Welcome Home, Harlow” Karkos said, with a dark smile.
dededos
blakekathryn
stormborns
pixelskylines
turnnoffyourmind
annaxmalina
germansingergirl
