His head was pounding. He could feel the blood in his eyes pulsate. The Correspondence throbbed. Colours flashed before him, but they were not colours that were visible, not colours that could be described. The colour of memories that are recalled unbidden. The colour of unkind truths and pleasing fancies. The colour of grief that had failed to harden into regret. Kasrjin’s mind eye fled across the sea, across mountains and twisting valleys, over frozen glaciers and into black granite. Impossibly smooth stone, so smooth that he could feel the skin of his fingers split, even as they stood at his side.
And in the same instant, the sensations were gone. Mercifully, they had abandoned him.
“Ehs Daih...it is a place.†Kasrjin shouldn’t know this information. He knew for a fact that he had never been there. This wasn’t a case of amnesia, of remembering something lost...it was as if his mind reoccupied his body and found something that another mind had left behind. “A cave beneath the mountain. We should be able to reach it...there should be a cave up the mountain path where we can descend.â€
And the dragon’s warning. Every time Kasrjin tried to remember the sensation--a part of him understood--his mind screamed in protest and curled itself away. Was it actually him who understood, though? Or was it someone else who knew what to say and when to say it? The dragon knew.
“The dragon was warning us of danger. Where we are going has things that cannot be fought with steel.†A moth to folly’s candle. Kasrjin recovered, slipping the sword into its harness. His balance returned, strength to his voice--and some measure of doubt--and his muscles relaxed. He turned his gaze to Roen, emerald eyes flashing. “Where we are going...it is an extremely dangerous place. It is a place of freedom. Freedom from laws and rulers. All laws. All rulers. Without exception.†he repeated as if for emphasis. “If you enter...you may not emerge as who you were. You may not emerge at all.â€
Did he truly understand what he was saying? In some ways he did--Kaarad-El did not permit anyone but Tsenkhai for similar reasons--but in other ways he did not. “The dragon...I believe it wished to do us harm. I managed to convince it of our destination, but it seemed to believe that we would not return. Are you willing to take such a risk?†His stare had hardened, as if seeking an answer he could not find. Somehow some of his actions seemed to not be his own.
And in the same instant, the sensations were gone. Mercifully, they had abandoned him.
“Ehs Daih...it is a place.†Kasrjin shouldn’t know this information. He knew for a fact that he had never been there. This wasn’t a case of amnesia, of remembering something lost...it was as if his mind reoccupied his body and found something that another mind had left behind. “A cave beneath the mountain. We should be able to reach it...there should be a cave up the mountain path where we can descend.â€
And the dragon’s warning. Every time Kasrjin tried to remember the sensation--a part of him understood--his mind screamed in protest and curled itself away. Was it actually him who understood, though? Or was it someone else who knew what to say and when to say it? The dragon knew.
“The dragon was warning us of danger. Where we are going has things that cannot be fought with steel.†A moth to folly’s candle. Kasrjin recovered, slipping the sword into its harness. His balance returned, strength to his voice--and some measure of doubt--and his muscles relaxed. He turned his gaze to Roen, emerald eyes flashing. “Where we are going...it is an extremely dangerous place. It is a place of freedom. Freedom from laws and rulers. All laws. All rulers. Without exception.†he repeated as if for emphasis. “If you enter...you may not emerge as who you were. You may not emerge at all.â€
Did he truly understand what he was saying? In some ways he did--Kaarad-El did not permit anyone but Tsenkhai for similar reasons--but in other ways he did not. “The dragon...I believe it wished to do us harm. I managed to convince it of our destination, but it seemed to believe that we would not return. Are you willing to take such a risk?†His stare had hardened, as if seeking an answer he could not find. Somehow some of his actions seemed to not be his own.
