The Empty World | The Empty World Sequence [complete | rewriting]

Four (Draft 3) "Allies"

"I also learned things, while you were away." Maya folded one set of arms across her chest. "I know how to construct and focus a scrying pool."

Morpheus rose. "Show me."

Maya showed him. Most of the necessary items could be found about the tower, the most important of which was a reflective surface. A re-purposed vanity mirror formed the base of the scrying device, with a quantity of water, oil, salt, and ash used in preparation, along with a few amulets. Maya guided Morpheus through activation of the looking glass with various spoken spells and prayers. The final step was focusing.

"It may not work at first," she said, "you need to have a clear concept of who or what you are trying to find."

Morpheus thought of Julien. He pictured in his mind how Julien looked when he was happy. He then touched the edge of the mirror's frame and gazed into the layers of blessed water and glass. A picture began to form, at first a blur of color and shape, and gradually gained detail.

"That's a strong connection."

The scrying glass showed a young man standing near an evergreen tree, inside a room with floral-print furnishings. He was draping shiny threads on the branches.

"He looks different."

"Maybe you didn't focus properly."

"That's Julien. Just—" It took Morpheus a moment to realize what. "Before." Long before Julien had entered the mirage. Before he'd met Morpheus elsewhen. Before he'd become a Vampyre.

Julien was Human.

Morpheus was so intent on watching young Julien he barely noticed Maya leaving his room or the several times Mother came to look in on him. He sat on the floor of his room scrying at the glass uncaring how much time passed. In truth, time didn't pass at all in the Night Regions, at least not in the sense that it did in the Empty World. There were no cycles of day or night or seasons.

Morpheus watched the way he might episodes of an anime series, back to back, one after the other.

He binged Julien's life, aware only of time passing within the glass.

Morpheus had a vague sense of raised voices in the hall outside his room. A stronger presence came and went. Had Sleep visited the tower? Morpheus didn't really care.

He only noticed when Mother put herself in front of his looking glass. "You need to stop."

"I just want to see him."

"Yes, but watching like this, when it's not your task, isn't helpful to anyone. I know your heart is hurting—"

"You don't know!"

Mother's eyes looked directly at Morpheus. "I know. Do you believe you are the only one to ever suffer longing or heartache?"

He shrugged. "It's not usual. Not here."

"You're neither a resident of the Forbidden City or Los Angeles. Here, or in the Empty World, even Angels—"

"Fallen ones!"

"Morpheus." Mother fixed him with a glare and put her hands to his arms. "You know better. Feeling deeply and with empathy isn't the same as acting on those feelings. Murph...."

Mother was saying his binge watching wasn't a healthy expression of his longing. Morpheus bowed his head. Eyes closed, he waved his hand over the glass to disperse the image. "Forgive me."

"Always."

Morpheus opened his eyes; Mother was holding his guitar case. "Have you been playing?"