Dreams are the greatest power of mankind. In our waking hours, we dream of more, imagining our futures as they teeter on hopes, hard work, and a little luck. But when we sleep, our subconscious mind takes over, and it is a beast that cannot always b...
"Who are you, and what do you want?" Xin's voice boomed like a proud military commander, and I licked my lips just to come up with the moisture to speak without choking on my tongue. I expected a grumpy old man, not a war general from the Tang Dynasty.
Thanks for the warning, Taro.
"Heidi... Vanders," I cleared my throat when my first name came out like a mouse squeaking. "I'm here seeking truth and answers."
"All who brave the challenge seek such answers, yet the questions vary. What is it you seek the truth of, Heidi Vanders?" Xin's brow pitched, but it wasn't the door in my face. Still, I had to make my words count.
"I wish to know who controls this world and break it free of those chains to lead humanity back to freedom." I'd thought good and hard on what to say, and I'd gone with fancy enough that it sounded like I wasn't fumbling through this but clear in intent.
"A sentient?" Xin scoffed with a roll of his eyes, leaning his glaive on the wall and crossing his huge arms. "Taro sent you here then. Fool is still trying to find his way out of that godforsaken temple. There is no path that leads to freedom here, only one paved on corpses that leads to destruction and regrets." Xin turned from me and reached for the lever to close the door.
I clenched my first as I struggled to come up with something to stop him, but Kearo moved first. With a swift kick, he knocked Xin's hand off the lever and wedged himself between the open door and the threshold of the castle. I took a step back as Xin stood up tall and slammed the butt of his glaive on the ground like he was about to slap Kearo in the face with it.
"And what do you want?" Xin asked with a smile like Kearo was the biggest joke he'd ever heard.
"To crush this world of dreams and nightmares and return everyone to where they belong." Kearo's words tore the smile right off of Xin's face and narrowed his eyes with consideration he hadn't paid me.
Perhaps this was a macho thing, and Xin thought me unsuited because I was short and had no muscle mass.Sure, I didn't have the fortitude or physical strength that Kearo did, but I had twice the heart. It might mean nothing, but I had to fight for this.
"You know as much as I do that this world is wrong," I said, but Xin barely flicked his eyes in my direction. "I'm not some altruist strutting through on airs to be a savior, but I can't sit back and watch people suffer if I can help."
"Humans suffer, Heidi. What world we are in matters little." Xin left my gaze like I was a boring piece of trash rolling by. "Are you prepared to tread on your very soul to bestow redemption on a populace undeserving?" Xin asked Kearo instead. "Are you committed to both suffering the worst pains within you while inflicting them upon everyone in this world as well? Heidi Vanders included?"
"Yes," Kearo uttered, his signature smile lost as his blue eyes darkened like churning ocean waves. "I spent my time seeing the pain and hope this world holds as well as reconciling that which I am willing to sacrifice in order for things to be made right once more. I know where the path leads, and I will fight for it regardless."
I felt like an outsider as I wondered if it was actually someone like Kearo that Xin was seeking. The man had brushed me off, and just as I was wondering how to contact Sven and Ray to take me back down, Xin pulled the lever to the door. Metal dragged open enough to accommodate entry, and Xin stepped out with his eyes focused on me.
"No single person has what it takes to return this world to its original state, Heidi Vanders. There is no shame in having allies who complement your party by providing that which you are lacking. Come..." Xin paused to wait for a name.
"Kearo Red," Kearo offered Xin a hand to shake, but it hung in the air as Xin clenched his glaive with his other hand in his pocket .
"Kearo Red, Heidi Vanders, welcome to the castle of dreams." Xin headed in, and the doors slammed shut behind us with a thunk that had me looking to the lever. No one had touched it, which meant a ghost had closed the door or they'd really oiled the hinges.
With the last slivers of sunlight cut off by the high walls, Kearo and I stood in darkness, his hand finding mine and gripping it as we waited for what came next. Near my feet, golden lights flickered, and I stepped onto softer ground to find fireflies dancing around fertile grasses. I let go of Kearo's hand as I knelt, and they fluttered closer with warmth like little fires. As they gathered in my uplifted hands near my face, dark eyes shined so close to mine that I fell on my behind with a yelp.
Xin laughed in his crouch next to me as he poked a single firefly with a finger. Embers sputtered into the air on contact, erupting into life and multiplying as they flew up around us. The closest settled in hanging paper lanterns to mark a small bridge that led over a stream ahead, and more spread along the water to ignite fire lilies on the water surface.
We crossed it to follow Xin, and the flames lit red and white paper lanterns under the eaves of traditional oriental roofs as he walked along pathways of red wood elevated over white sands. Stone shingles reflected the firelights on the roofs across the courtyard, but they dimmed to shadow as they climbed so high into the sky that the tops pierced the clouds.
Low trees closer to us absorbed clusters of embers like fruit blooms waiting to fall, and as we traversed the walkways of the great pavilion ahead, I was struck by how whole it was. The temple surrounding us was similar to monk Taro's, yet pristine red columns and rafters supported sturdy stone-tiled roofs. The floors shimmered with the reflection of dancing flames as we walked its perimeter unhindered by creaking boards, jagged holes, and forgotten debris.
The sound of a broom drew my attention to the side of our path, and I nearly pushed Kearo off into the sand garden as I jumped back into him. Kearo's hands steadied my shoulders to keep us both upright, and my eyes froze on a watcher not far from our position.
With the face of a turtle, it pruned the bushes at the base of the temple walkway, and another with a golden beak swept the wood of an open room. I spun in a circle to find them near everywhere, patching paper doors, picking up stray twigs, and refreshing the patterns in the sands with rakes from up on the walkways.
We were completely surrounded.
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Word Count: 1963
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