After enjoying the revelry with the group, and taking in the information from the man of the Sword & Shield, we all go back to our homes. It takes me a while to head back home, as it's outside the city walls, a little two-bedroom cabin on the lake. Making my way to the cabin, I find it slightly cold. Taking firewood from the pile outside, I begin to make a small fire in the hearth to help wind down. After this is made, I make myself a cup of chamomile tea and begin to reflect on the last few days. I sit in a rocking chair in the living room, a light blanket on my lap, and drift into meditation, once the tea has been consumed.
The meditative dream that comes to me shows a small walled city on an island surrounded by forest that bleeds into a savanna. In the city, a gleaming tower stands on a central hill, a dark baroque cathedral at its base, and the entrance to a grand library to the right of the cathedral. It seems magic, religion and knowledge are the core of this city. At its gates, a plum-colored tapestry depicts a silvery dragon on its heels. Sweeping down from the dream into the city, my perspective changes to life on the ground. From here the temple and library are larger than expected, and the spiraling tower seems to extend forever. My feet bring me into the temple, where I see a large open area with pews filling only half of the interior, with plenty of room for standing and admiring the fantastical beauty of the place. On the far walls and the stained glass, there are images of the same dragon standing rampant with wings expanded in all of its glory. White marble and platinum inlay allow the afternoon sun to dance across the room, casting a glittering aurora across the ceiling. The whole place feels meant to strike awe into those who walk its halls. A sense of righteousness fills me, as though the dragon's mere presence inspired a desire for true justice.
The doorway on the right leads into an even more marvelous sight; a great library spanning an area far greater than its outer walls would ever think to hold. Walking in, a great hooded figure floats silently above a spiral staircase that leads down seemingly forever. A large copper-embossed tome floats in front of him while a pair of golden eyes stare down at the pages from a faceless void. This figure who may be a personification of Fate himself looks up briefly and stares at me, taking my measure, and then turns back to the book in front of him, turning a page. He never brings his gaze back to me, and I’m glad of it, hoping it means my fate is still unwritten in his endless pages. I look beyond him and see dozens of rows of bookshelves leading into a multitude of rooms. It seems time to look beyond what Fate has in store and explore what lay in front of me.
Soundlessly, I stride toward the next room and see that it steps down into a grand study area. A dozen librarians of all races in dark purple robes wander the area, some scanning texts and researching to their heart’s content, and others placing books and bound folios in their proper place. This grand hall stretches what seems like a quarter mile before the next buttressing archway cuts off the seemingly infinite row of shelves. To my right, I see a few hundred meters until the catwalk I’m on ends and a canal bisects this portion of the library from the shores of the next area. Above what might be called docks I see the words: HISTORY OF THE DWARVES, and I can only wonder how expansive this Grand Library truly is.
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Before I can think more about it, my feet pull me toward the study hall. I find a shelf marked as personal histories and begin searching for famous names. I pass Galheros and somehow find my name. Curious, I pick it up and examine its unassuming cover and open it to the first few pages. Times with my parents spring forth on the pages, but things I’d have no way of recalling from such a young age. I skim ahead and find a far too realistic retelling of the night they perished. It tells more than I’d like, including things only Elizabeth and I would know. Morbid curiosity gets the better of me again and I find my last thoughts before drifting off to dream. An ellipsis stares back at me from the pages as I feel a pull again. Flying backward, weightlessly, my vision shifts and reverses my path. Being dragged through the air out the doors of the temple, I once again see the city from the clouds, and in a flash of bright light, I’m shunted back into my body. My chair teeters toward the tipping point and violently rocks me toward the carpet, waking me from the vision.
Picking myself back up, I notice how low the fire has gotten. I take the mug into the kitchen and place it in the sink. Looking out the back window I see how high the moon is in the sky. It shines brighter than usual against the starry backdrop of the night sky, and I feel something stir in me. There's an urge to run and chase prey that comes over me some nights, especially after emotions get heightened. The hair on the back of my neck stands up as I spy a herd of deer on the edge of the lake. I feel a pang of hunger that shouldn't be there after the meal I just had, but it persists like an itch I can't scratch. Forcing the feeling down, I step away from the window and go to the washroom. Picking up a pitcher, I fill it with cold water and empty it over my head. My vision clears and the canines that were slowly sharpening themselves halt the process as I focus back in on the issues at hand, namely prepping for a calm night's rest. Going around to all the windows, I pull the shades so that none of the moonlight can shine through. I've been fighting this feeling for a few years now and have my rituals to keep myself in check, but it's never a guarantee. This time, I feel wisdom beginning to overpower the primal impulses. At that, I move toward the bed and decide to get some rest and hope for a morning when I don't have to bathe in the lake immediately. Dreams come quickly, though they continue from where the vision left off.