Dream Sequence and Other Tales from Beyond

Dream Sequence

When consciousness first found her, the moonlight seemed impossibly bright. Powerful gusts of wind continually shuffled all but invisible leaves. At the edge of vision, a wall of trees stretched leafy arms toward the heavens. Momentarily disoriented, she shifted her gaze, first to the dark clouds moving too rapidly through that luminous sky, then to those remarkably tall trees and finally to a small gray flash of movement off to her left.

Shaking sleep from her eyes, she propped herself into a sitting position in order to get a better look at it. At first she could not find the cause of the disturbance. Then it moved again and she saw it. It seemed so ordinary next to the rest of the tableau, that she laughed. Startled, the creature sat up on its hind legs and froze in the manner of rabbits throughout history.

"Well, hello there," she said. "Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you."

The rabbit, perhaps sensing her gentleness, began to shift about, though it still kept a wary eye on the stranger. A night bird, hidden within that impossible forest, added its unearthly call to the scene.

"It can't answer you," rasped a voice from the shadows.

At once the woman snatched up her blanket and held it before her, as if somehow it might have power to protect against a stranger in the night. The approaching rustle of footfalls through leaves chilled her. She held her breath, until the intruder was close enough to behold.

It was tall, perhaps nine feet, with brownish skin not unlike the bark of a sycamore. Its legs resembled the boles of saplings, its arms, slender branches. Its eyes, only now illuminated, were brown and so very old. Its lips, a shade paler, were thin and cracked. The creature shook itself and she realized it wasn't only its approach that created the dry crackling that preceded it. She rose slowly and waited, not yet certain whether or not she was in danger.

"Animals can no longer speak, since the Grand Dawteer has taken the magic." There was such a note of sadness in that all too ancient voice, that she took a step forward and reached out a tentative hand.

"Who is the Grand Dawteer

"A Shadowlord. A creature made of dreams and darkness."

Somehow, she could almost recall such a being. She wrapped herself in the blanket, the sudden chill caused by more than the wind.

"I am the Elvar, guardian of the forests." He bowed low, displaying more flexibility than his hardened exterior would suggest he possessed.

The woman bowed back. "My name is Marlayna."

"I know who you are. I know why you have come. You will follow. There is time to eat and sleep. The trip, no doubt, has been taxing."

"How did I get here "

"We will speak later when you are rested."

"Where is this place "

"Do you not remember "

The area was familiar, as if long ago she had stood in this very spot, yet she could recall no such circumstance. When she didn't reply, Elvar turned and moved toward the forest. Marlayna followed. The trees seemed to mutter and sigh as she walked amongst them and, though she could not understand their meaning, she had no doubt they were communicating with each other. For a time she listened, as if she might suddenly remember the language they spoke. Like everything else, there was something almost familiar about it.