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Chapter 0 - Dream The sun was bearing down on the traveler and his beast-the heat was getting too much for them but only the traveler showed signs of exhaustion. His beast however continued on in the heat-a large load of equipment strapped to its back. They had been walking
for hours and no sign of a city or town anywhere. The lands were flat
so they could see for miles and all they saw was nothing. A few trees
were scattered around and for a while they could see herds of animals,
but now they seemed to be the only living creatures in the area. Not even
a bird took reign over the sky. The traveler couldn’t
take much anymore and decided it would be best to camp for the night and
rest. They would not get to sleep at an inn for another night in a row
and would have to suffer through another one of his homemade stews. Blue skies showed
no sign of rain that might come but the traveler felt best if they headed
for cover. The closest tree was directly in front of them-so they continued
to head that way which was south. He suspected that they would reach the
tree in an hour at best. Maybe more if the beast started to tire. And hour came and
left and the tree had only grown bigger in size and didn’t seem any
closer. What worried the traveler more was seeing that the grass which
once was lush under their feet was now growing more scarce and they could
see dirt. Never before had the traveler seen such a thing for plants grew
so well on the planet. Roads through cities and towns were dirt, but only
because man made the roads that way. Here it made no sense…the grass
was dead for no apparent reason at all. However this did explain why no
herds were seen around…for there was no food for them to feed on.
Clack. The traveler stopped
at the sound, something hard was under this foot and gave a little and
made a crackling sound. Looking down he could see something white below
his foot and moving it aside he could see that grass was not the only
thing dead around here. What he had overlooked was the scattered remains
of bones from animals. He had been so focused on reaching the tree in
the distance that such things just wasn’t noticed…even though
several remains belonged to animals twice the size of his own companion. Hesitation to continue
on as thoughts of what this place really was plagued his mind. Then a
hard jerk from the lead he held as his beast pulled back, almost throwing
the traveler off balance. He turned around and faced his companion and
gripped the lead with both hands pulling tightly against his struggles.
It started to pull harder; digging the traveler’s feet into the ground
but soon stopped and just stared wide eyed toward the tree. The traveler relaxed-easing
up on the lead and the beast took several steps back then calmed down
a little more. Such strange behavior, it made no sense as to why it would
suddenly stir up now. But in a way the traveler could understand…he
was starting to get a bad feeling himself. With the heat dying
down though from the sun slowly setting, it would be for the best the,
traveler thought, to rest here then turn and go another way in the morning.
He unloaded the equipment on the beast and set up the tent, built a small
fire and got what little rations he had left. The beast managed to find
a few tufts of grass to nibble on but nothing to call a meal. The traveler
settled for his stew that carried very little flavor but managed to settle
down his stomach. Maybe he would fall asleep faster that night. Sun had left and the
night sky was out, stars covered the sky and with no moon the whole area
was black. Only the fire provided any light. The beast had fallen asleep
but the traveler was still awake-staring up at the stars as he did most
every night. When he was a child
he believed that every star was a sun and every sun had a planet just
like this one…so he often wondered if there was someone out there
doing the very same thing…and in a sense thinking about him. For
no one else did. Soon the traveler crawled into his tent and fell asleep in his bed then dreams took over. One like never before. Pure white surrounded
him, he couldn’t even see the ground he was standing on-though he
knew it was there. White. For as far as he could see. White. Believed
to be a sign of purity. White. A color of good and truth. So why, surrounded
by such a color, he felt scared and a sense of danger? The feeling to run
but with no idea where to go, Traveler turned around and saw the source
of his fear and unsettling feeling. Black as night there
stood the silhouette of a man with long hair. There was no definition,
no sense of depth or form…the man was as a shadow from every angle.
And no matter how hard Traveler tried and no matter how much he had wanted
to, he could not get his feet to move…to run from Black. All he could
do was stare at were Black’s eyes must have been. When Black tilted
his head to the side, Traveler didn’t understand. He felt deep inside
that Black was trying to tell him something or ask something. He got confused…it
created an ill feeling inside his chest for it was mixed with his fear.
What was Black anyway? Black shifted a little
and his form changed. A large wing erupted from the left side of his back.
Black was an angel with only one wing and it was then realized by Traveler
that this angel was the reason for all that laid dead in the area. Down
to the grass that covered the rest of the world. A high pitch squeal
broke all silence and thoughts that Traveler had. He covered his ears
in hope to muffle the sound but failed to do so. It cut right through
him and created pain throughout his entire body. He could have sworn that
his flesh was slowly being pulled right from his own body…he didn’t
know how long he would last. Now he had changed
his mind. Traveler fell to his
knees; blood was trickling down his arms from his ears, and down his chin
and neck from biting so hard. And his last thoughts were, “I will
do anything just to stay alive.” Or… Would have been his
last thought. After that thought
entered his mind all was silent again. It was not because Traveler had
passed on into the next world, but because Black had heard his cry for
help and stopped the sound. Traveler looked up
at Black with curiosity and now slightly relieved. So Black held out his hands and black flame licked up from his open palms and formed a kind of trident. It was gold but slightly transparent since it was just an image of the real weapon. Traveler stared at the object for what felt like a long time…until he finally understood. He looked back up at Black and slowly stood up. Black dropped his hands and the trident vanished. There was an odd moment between them and though no words were spoken between each other…an understanding was made between the angel and man. And then the traveler
woke up. It was morning and
the sun was above the horizon and continued to reach higher into the sky
slowly. It was casting an orange glow through the tent and the traveler
had to shield his eyes for a moment while they adjusted. He stretched;
the dream had been a dream, and an awkward one at that. He couldn’t
help but chuckle to himself for actually fearing something as silly as
a shadow. It was a new day and he knew it was time to go. But upon walking outside
the tent reality sunk in once again. Laying outside and near by was his
beast, his once traveling companion. His beast was motionless and drained
of all life. The beast suffered from the same nightmare and had died during
the night…the angel did not spare its life. A long moment the
traveler’s eyes did not leave the carcass, but when they finally
had he looked upon the great tree in the distance. Not including himself,
it was the only thing living in the area, and the traveler understood
why. And so Traveler, better known as Judas Atma, headed back north. At night Shadow rules over and at day Light rules over. Light casts Shadow but Shadow defines Light…so is it possible for one to exist without the other? |