It Had To Happen In My Dreams [Der]

beloved

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May 19, 2015
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As Ashaya placed Nia on the ground, she pulled her knees under herself and leaned forward towards it not wanting to miss a word that was said.

The chief had seen visions too? She knew she couldn't be the only one who saw things before they happened but somehow she felt doubt that she was that connected to someone from centuries ago.

Nia giggled a bit as it drew a smile on its face. She thought it deserved to have a smile.

She looked at its finger as it hovered in front of her face. She could feel the energy pulsating from its entire being and especially from this finger. It seemed to draw her in and though she didn't quite understand everything that was transpiring she felt that somehow there were answers to be found here.

"I just... I want to know where I am come from. Why I am here. I don't remember anything of my life up until a few weeks ago. I just... I don't want to feel misplaced anymore." There was sadness in the girls voice but also some hope. She didn't know if any of this would bring her memories back but maybe..maybe it would help her find some kind of purpose. It seemed that Ashaya had found her for a reason. Hopefully it was a two way street for both of them.
 

Der Lampman

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May 14, 2015
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It knew that there were answers that it could provide with only the slightest touch. Answers to these questions, and to more, should Nia so much as ask. It also knew that sometimes, the answers did not matter as much as the question. Skipping forward to the end was something it had witnessed countless times, and very rarely did it work out well.

Still, she deserved the option. Not just because she inadvertently woke Ashaya up, but because Ashaya lived to share its knowledge and learn more. It lowered the finger, and the rune at its tip dimmed a little, to a warmer glow.

"Ashaya was made
To know,
To learn,
And to teach.


Ashaya can answer your questions.

But that decision
Is not for Ashaya to make.


Ashaya is not
A god,
Whose whims must be obeyed -
Nor is Ashaya
A man,
Whose choice defies fate.


But you,
Your fate is yours
To take and shape.


Do you
Peer through the mists
And skip the road
Or walk on
To learn
On your own?


Reach out to grasp
That which you seek -
Though the taste of knowledge
Gained without growth
Or context
Is often bitter."
 

beloved

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The words hovered in the air and Nia felt a weight on her shoulders. She couldn't place this feeling... It wasn't fear or dread, just this weight. This heaviness. Almost burden.

"I just... I don't want to feel lost anymore." And with those small words, Nia reached her hand up and touched Ashaya's finger.

At first it seemed like nothing had happened. Nia stayed still, her head lowered slightly and eyes fixed on the ground. Her hand stayed touching Ashaya as the girl slowly began to rise. Once she was up right, her lips parted slightly though her face remained turned down, "You... You're very good at mazes."

The voice, while still definitely Nia's, sounded off. It faded from childish timidity to sounding older and not as afraid. Slowly she looked up to the creatures glowing eyes, "But you probably shouldn't have found me." Her eyes suddenly broke away from Ashaya's gaze, fixing themselves back on the ground. "I'm sorry... I don't know what's happening." The anxiety rushing back to her voice.
 

Der Lampman

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"Hmm.

Humanity -
You were not meant
To see beyond the reach
Of your own eyes
Or times.


What you saw perhaps
Was clarity at its purest;
By Ashaya's power dredged
From the depths.

Ashaya's masters knew
That they could not truly know -
And so they crafted
Of stone, of earth,
Of wisdom
And the souls that
Possessed them.


Crafted Ashaya
That it may in their stead
Know.


What you have seen
I do not know.


But what you have seen
Contains glimmers of the truth
Hidden
In minute details.


Perhaps
It is the future
Yet unwritten."

Ashaya drew its finger back, aware that to keep it there further was to risk overloading. It harbored no ill will and did not wish to see Nia's mind broken. It knew the price to pay for knowledge to be steep. There were things that men were not meant to know, and men did not make the best decisions when it came to such things.

Often, they were too rash.

It sat down, folding its massive legs and landing on the earth with a loud thud. It folded its arms as well and waited for a response. Ashaya was never meant to start things - it was meant to chronicle things as they happened, not make them happen - and now that there wasn't anything happening, it elected to wait in silence.​
 

beloved

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Nia's eyes turned back to look at Ashaya as it spoke again. Silent until it pulled its finger away..

Her body went ridged and only when Ashaya sat and crossed its arms, its eyes clearly waiting on Nia, did she move again. Her eyes grew big and she looked around frantically, as if seeing the space for the first time.

"What... what's going on? Who..where.. How did I get here?" The childish panic returned to her voice in an instant and her body started trembling furiously.

"Your the stone, the stone creature I saw! In my vision!" She screamed suddenly. Her hands quickly came to her mouth and her breathing increased quickly. Her feet felt as though they were glued to the earth and weighted down with her fear and confusion.
 

Der Lampman

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May 14, 2015
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"Hmm..?"
Ashaya had never seen such a reaction from someone it granted the light of insight to before. It seemed to be some sort of quick memory lapse, and quickly Ashaya noted the incident. It was unprecedented, and the unprecedented only brought new information.

Gently, it reached out. Nia was clearly in some sort of panic. Ashaya could only attempt to reassure her that it meant no harm - a tough task for something so massive.
"Child,
Think back
And remember."

The rune on its finger glowed once more. Were she to touch it, she would remember Ashaya and the past few minutes as it would erase the confusion and clear her mind.​
 

beloved

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Something about the creatures voiced suddenly calmed Nia. She couldn't say whether it was only subsiding her bodies state of panic or actually easing her stressing mind but she could have cared none the less. As the great stone creature reached out its hand to her again, its finger tip glowing, somehow Nia knew to reach back.

As soon as her skin touched the stone her body froze and her eyes, locked on the creature slowly began to calm. Her one hand still held over her mouth slowly lowered as her lips parted.

"Don't.. Don't let go."

Her voice regained the tone it had possessed before and her other hand reached up to grab to the stone finger as well. She had to make sure it held contact. There were things the two of them needed to discuss.
 

Der Lampman

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May 14, 2015
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Ashaya simply nodded. It was not in its nature to utter short responses where something long and cryptic could suffice, and yet it knew that now was not the time for such a manner of speech.

Gently, so as to not accidentally crush Nia, Ashaya pressed two of its fingers around her side and placed her into its palm once more.

"This place
Is unfit for such discussion.


Come with Ashaya
And it will show you
A place of peace.


There you can clear your mind
And your doubts
And when you are tired

Ashaya will return you here."


Ashaya then stood up slowly, its full size blotting out the moon and its eyes glowing once more. It towered over the side of the dormitory, and waited for Nia's command.​
 

beloved

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As the creature grab around her waist and moved the small girl into its palm, Nia made sure that she did not stop touching it. She needed to stay in this frame of mind. Not for too long though. No, not too long or that would make things go awry very quickly but she had to talk to Ash. It was the only creature Nia had come in contact with so far who could even possibly begin to understand what the girl needed to say.

"That is fine. But move quickly. I don't have much time and there is much to discuss."

Her voice sounded confident and sure, something that was yet to be heard from the girl. Despite her small size, her eyes seemed to burn with the strength and passion of someone ten times her size. She was a girl on a mission but seemingly one the Nia from moments before had known nothing about.
 

Der Lampman

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May 14, 2015
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Ashaya began to walk, each footfall resounding in the silence of the night. For a while there was nothing but the rhythm of heavy footsteps crunching what foliage could not be avoided, until they came to a clearing, surrounded by trees on all sides. The ground was overturned, broken branches and severed vines lay on the dirt.

It reached up, raising Nia to one of the treetops where the leaves were sparse and the branches were wide and flat. There it placed her, where she could stand level with its eyes.

Nia had abruptly changed in the brief interactions she had had with Ashaya, as if she'd become another person entirely in the span of a few minutes. Whatever sparked her sudden determination, it could be very important and urgent.

Ashaya leaned in closer, placing its face inches away from the branch. It opened its mouth as if to speak, but then closed it and waited. Speaking could possibly interrupt Nia's surge of inspiration, and that wasn't going to work.