A dream:

You find yourself standing in dark grove of tall pine tree, in front of you in this cluster of trees is a small structure it looks to be built of native stone. It is only about waist high but consists of stones stacked on either side and a thinner but longer slab of stone balanced on the two supports like a kind of table. Behind it appears to be a pile of stone in a almost natural looking formation. Almost a large boulder or chunk of rock that has jut out of the ground. As you feel yourself walk up to the stone table it comes to about your waist. You can feel the cool in the air multiplied in the harsh cold of the stone as you place both hands on the slab. The air around you is still and quiet there is no sound of animals in the area. As you look down you can see that these are nor your hand that rest apon the cold stone. They are the hands of a young woman, longer nails and smaller fingers make this evident.

You or rather the you that you are seeing through is wearing thick cloth and a few furs over top. Dirty blonde hair cascading down each side of your face in a kind of loose braids. You can feel the cold of the stone pulling the heat from your hands as the stone itself becomes warmer. You have been standing now in front of this stone slab for several minutes. You see yourself pull a small knife from your belt and pull up the sleeves of your coat, and you cut your forearm, first one then the other. You place your hands back on the stone slab and the blood begins to run down the length of the forearm and onto the stone. As the blood touches the stone you can see symbols start to appear on the stone. You can not read the text, the symbols themselves appear to be blood crimson in color and become clearer and clearer as more of your blood drips onto the stone. More and more text appears. It does not appear in lines like a page but instead in a series of circles and curved lines that appear to run all over the stone. You have no idea where you would even begin to start if you were going to try to copy down these symbols there appear to start everywhere and there is no distinct start or end to any of the lines. The lines of text curve and whirl and continue to multiply.

Soon the whole stone appears to cover in text, the tips of your fingers are starting to turn blue, maybe its from the blood loss or the cold of the stone or something else. You no longer feel the cold of the stone but instead the sensation of touching the stone is more akin to placing your hands too close to a fire, a stinging or burning sensation. You see yourself raise a finger and choose a point on the slab of text and you can feel your mouth moving as it seems that you are reading the text you cannot hear your own voice but instead all you can hear is a muffled noise, like someone talking with a mouthful of food or when you are underwater and someone tries to talk to you. Your finger traces the text as it continues from where it started around the intricate loops of the mass of text that is front of you.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

You can see as you continue running your finger along the stone where the crimson text is that the blue in your fingers is progressing even further down to the palm of your hand and even starting to move up your wrist. The very tips are dark blue almost to a black. You, or rather the person reading seems to take no notice of this and continues on with whatever task she is doing. As you continue to read you can see that some of the text is starting to disappear in the center of the stone slab. The text appear to be going away in no specific order but it does appear that a blank space is being formed in the very middle of the slab. The more this person reads the more things start to seem off. There is wind now that there wasn't before, you can hear it but you can't see its affects instead it appears to be coming from you radiating in all directions. As you peer into the edges of this person's view you can see snow starting to be pushed away from where you are standing. The stone in front of you, that is behind the table, seems to be shaking or rumbling.

As this person continues to read from the slab you can see the clearing in the text starting to take shape. After a short while it becomes clear that the space is no longer random but has some meaning and intention. The shape of a handprint is made clear in the text. The text that remains seems to shift to form the distinct outline of a hand here in the center of the stone. You see yourself raise your hand and with the other spread the still dripping blood evenly over the palm and fingers of your right hand. You reach your hand out to place it on the slab. Suddenly a voice echoes in your head. You do not know what language that is speaking but somehow you know exactly what he says.

“Is it so agreed?”

You see some hesitation in yourself and you pull your hand away quickly in a jerk from the stone but then once again begin moving it toward the stone. Towards the handprint on the altar.

You wake.