Between the Realms

The domain of the Dreamreaper

Tharia didn’t quite trust the fire sprite. The suggestion to hunt a god seemed sensible if a bit farfetched. While the current state of affairs was a potent proof of concept, she didn’t know to go about it. To make matters worse, this was essentially Sisi’s former owner and she wasn’t exactly friends with the elemental. The human girl kept her eyes on the staff. It was the only source of actual light in this strange demi-world.

A sphere of golden light emanated from the sprite. It peeled away the darkness and revealed something else entirely. Tharia knelt down and ran her hand along the ground. What at first had seemed like the contours of broken dolls, the light had turned into simple cobblestone. It felt cold and slightly wet to the touch. She took two steps to the side and suddenly saw the facade of a building with a large window.

“A god’s domain is a trick of un-light”, Sisi said and snapped a finger, “I’m lifting the curtains. The center of this domain is to your left and straight ahead.”

Tharia looked over her shoulder. The body of Annabelle was curled up just inside the sphere but oddly enough, the darkness did not peel away around her.

“She’s safe for now. Her body can’t be hurt”, Sisi said.

Kill a god. Alright then. All in a day’s work. She took careful steps forward. Her stomach twisted. Even though she could see about one and a half meter in front of her, this felt like walking blind. This was exemplified when a lantern suddenly appeared directly in her path. Tharia dodged by instinct but the motion carried her straight into a wall she hadn’t seen before the light unveiled it. Sisi giggled in response.

“Oh, should I have mentioned that?” the sprite said with obvious glee. Tharia gave it no answer. She rubbed her shoulder and resumed walking. The strange sensation of walking in two places at once befuddled her. In the realm of the Dreamreaper, she was closing in on the edge of a floating island. Yet when the light touched it, cobblestone sprang up like before. Her stomach fluttered as she inched closer to the edge. She could feel the drop. This was so high above, there would be nothing left of her by the time she reached the ground. Yet her mind also told her it was safe to continue.

“The island has come to an end”, she said.

“Keep walking. As long as you have my light, his realm will not influence you”, Sisi said and crossed its legs underneath itself. The tiny body sank down on the miniature cushion. The elemental managed to appear regal by posture alone. Tharia glared at it and then tried to put authority in her voice.

“So I’ve got to trust you?”

Sisi grinned in her direction, “Yep. It’s a delight, really.”

As soon as the elemental ended the sentence, it closed its eyes and at that very instant, the sphere collapsed in on itself. Tharia suddenly stood at the edge of a floating island. Her right foot was above the bottomless pit and her movement carried her forward. She panicked. By instinct, she tried to throw herself around but it only accelerated her fall. The foot sank below where the cobblestone would have been, she was really going to fall to her death.

“Sisi!” she screamed.

“What’s that?” the spirit replied. Tharia toppled over the edge, the wind took hold of her short hair as she plummeted down. Her stomach churned in panic, her breathing was erratic. The heart in her chest threatened to burst.

“Sisariliszimna”, Tharia said. The next second her body slumped onto solid cobblestone ground. The sphere of light was back. She bruised her elbows and hands with the impact but the pain was comparatively minor.

“That’s better, child. You can also call me mother. I’d like that”, the elemental said with schadenfreude dripping from her every word.

“Then I would have to kill you after all”, Tharia replied with gnashing teeth.

“Is that why your family never came to visit you anymore?” Sisi continued provoking her. It was working. Tharia’s struggled with the rage inside of her. No, her family was alive. They had sent her out. She didn’t kill them. Little Tharia was a good girl. And good girls take care of their friends. Feeling her pulse slow down again, she scrambled onto her legs and continued as if nothing had happened. Soon she stood on a circular patch of cobblestone that moved as she did.

Sometimes a street-lantern would enter her vision. This time she was prepared for it. She simply sidestepped it and continued. The elemental in the staff got close to the edge of the cage and let its legs dangle outside of it.

“Ah if only you could see what I’m seeing”, it said. The situation got to Tharia. She could not stand having to rely on someone else. There was but one person that was allowed to see her weak. Sisi wasn’t one of it. Yet she had to swallow her pride and act merry while her mind told her she was really just walking on air in a realm beyond her comprehension. She had started babbling before she realized it.

“Yes, I’m sure you’re seeing all the wonders of the world. There will be bugs on blue wings of light that embrace the last rays of the sun. Maybe the wall just blinked and said hello, wouldn’t surprise me. Or I’m really riding on a pig and just don’t know it yet.”

“Oh, that too. I’m just savoring how majestic this is and you’re walking straight for it. You’re brave, child”, Sisi said and chuckled, “In your place, I would have gone the other way. Not many dare to face that thing head on”

Tharia snapped, “Face what?”

No answer was necessary. A strange doglike creature entered the sphere. Six eyes sat on its muzzle and long horns adorned its head. With it came the scent of decay and the reason for that was nauseating. Its organs grew on the outside. They were covered by fur that had gotten slimy. Tharia averted her eyes but the sounds were worse still. Wet, slick sounds of something slapping onto the ground with each step the creature took. Sisi spoke to her with a quiet voice. The spirit had an air of seriousness about her.

“Keep walking. Don’t provoke it”, it said. Tharia tried to forget what she heard and saw. Her mind focussed on the task ahead. She had seen worse. This was nothing. The creature walked past her in a range where she could almost touch it. All six of the eyes were fixed on Tharia and the beast took a momentary pause to observe her every movement. The woman felt as if something slithery crawled up her back, yet she didn’t dare to look back. She just kept walking.

“You did well. This one is gone”, the elemental said. The miniature being stood up and pressed its face against the cage.

“Whatever you do, don’t make any threatening gestures. They don’t seem to be interested in you. Are those cats they’re eating? Since when do cats have two tails and look so mangy and angry?”

“Whiskerhushs”, Tharia said.

“Cute”, Sisi replied and chuckled, “I want one.”

Tharia had to admit. Despite her distrust of the spirit and the earlier show of force, hearing its voice made this march through relative darkness much more bearable. Another creature came into view, this one was even more disgusting than the first. It looked more like a horse. One that walked sideways like a crab and had talons for legs. Thin skin like parchment covered it with strands of something alive clinging to it. When Tharia got close to the creature, she realized it was hundreds of wheat parasites like those in the fields outside. They bit into this poor thing with tiny mouths and sucked it dry. A massive head got close to her and nauseated her with its smell. Dead eyes stared straight into her mind but this moment too did pass, as did her memories of it.

Two steps later, she wasn’t sure what she had really seen. Her mind patched in gaps and pieces until it became nothing but a strange looking horse. A cold shiver ran down her spine. More and more creatures got into her view. Her brain tried to make sense of these things but it proved impossible for her. With each look, her pulse quickened and her unease grew. She didn’t dare to look but had to. It was like something called out to her and forced her to witness these impossible beings in all their details. They changed their shape as she watched. A new head grew out of the neck, it opened its maw and tore off the old one. Grotesquely human looking lips showed Tharia a brought grin.

She held her breath until it hurt. Intense pain filled her chest and a faint voice reached her ears. Her feet suddenly lost contact with the ground. She saw ambient light all around her and plummeted down again. Her mind instantly snapped back, she took a sharp breath of air. Sisi’s voice finally managed to penetrate her daze.

“Good, finally. Now, relax. Don’t move a muscle. You’re not really falling. Listen closely. These things don’t want to be understood, so don’t try to. Consider them like the cursed tongue. Now, are you ready? Because they’re getting awfully interested in you right about now.”

Tharia nodded and the golden sphere popped back into existence. Six of the creature stood around her and examined every detail of her body. One tiny doglike creature gnawed on her boot.

“Now walk”, Sisi commanded. She listened. With purpose, she set one foot in front of the other. Soon, the six creatures lost all interest in her and trotted out of the sphere again. Yet more entered it as well. Their talons scratched along the cobblestone. These were even bigger than the ones before and forced themselves to be acknowledged. One beast had a thumping heart on its tongue, things that should be inside living beings were outside and it nourished two creatures walking side by side. Tharia had stopped walking. More eyes fixed on her. Sisi sighed audibly.

“I see we’re working with a very limited mental capacity here. Alright then. Whatever you do, don’t even think about a purple fluffy bunny with fairy wings.”

Now that was all Tharia could think about. She tried to distract herself but the more she forced the image out of her mind, the clearer it became. The girl understood what Sisi had done. Tell someone to not think about something and that’s all they would do. More creatures entered the sphere of light but they didn’t faze her anymore. She was too busy not thinking how Annabelle best fit into the odd fantasy of winged bunnies.

“Now, hard right”, Sisi said, “Hug the wall. This is the last one.”

Tharia immediately changed direction and headed to the side. Soon a massive brick wall came into view. It filled nearly half of the sphere and she did what she had been told to. With her body flat against the stone, she waited. Rumbling from the ground announced the presence of something massive.

“Cover your head!”

Tharia held both arms above herself. Stone rained down on her frail body. She felt her skin tear open and groaned under the impact. The spark healed these wounds but they hurt nonetheless. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something truly massive enter the sphere. It was a single talon but it was absurdly large. Between this and the wall, Tharia had to hold her breath, just to make her frame even smaller. More stone hailed down and she realized it was rubble. Whatever this thing was, it effortlessly smashed the buildings it walked past. The strong wind tugged on her body as the talon left the sphere again. She simply stood still until the rumbling ended.

“Do you need a moment?” the fire spirit sounded like it felt actual concern for her. The cuts and bruises from the stones were minor and already being healed but her mind didn’t look too well. It showed her flashes and images of the creatures that were gone. Each time, her heart leaped with pain bursting through her chest. She couldn’t get her breathing back under control. The fear of suffocation made it so much worse as well.

“Tharia”, Sisi suddenly said with a calm voice and strange cadence, “Listen, child. Purse your lips. Breathe out through them. Do it. I’m proud of you. You did well. What you’re feeling is normal. Breathe in. These things don’t belong to this world, they came here anyway. Exhale. In time, the three of us will drag these things back. Now though, your love needs you.”

The elemental leaned against the cage and kept the soothing tone in its voice.

“So please Tharia. Fairy. Inhale”, it said, “Now turn left. Continue walking. Start with one step”

It felt odd to be called Fairy by anyone but Annie. It was a crack in her insanity, one she clung to. She did as she was told, she turned and made a single step.

“Wonderful. Breathe out. Another step.”

She made her second step. Soon, she was walking at a normal pace again, yet Sisi still kept giving her very simple instructions that were easy to follow.

“Good. In. Do exactly was my voice says. Keep it in. Now exhale. Very well done. Two more steps, child”, Sisi said.

It took a while but her breathing returned to normal, as did her pulse. Weakness washed over her and her cheeks were stained with crusted tears. The elemental crossed its legs in mid-air and sighed.

“You’re a handful”, the sprite said, “Human minds are such fragile things. Sometimes, your bodies get so excited, they forget how to breathe.”

Tharia cleared her throat. It burned with a dull pain.

“Sisi, thank you.”

“Aye, aye. Now get back on the road, we’ve got ourselves a god to kill and another to rescue, I suppose.”

Tharia didn’t get used to the strange light situation, but she learned to deal with it. They made good inroads working in tandem. She trusted the spirit in guiding her path and in turn, it even warned her about non-living obstacles.

“This about sums it up”, Sisi snarked and brought a hand to its forehead, “Of course it would be a gaudy place like this.”

The human girl had no idea what she referred to until the sphere of light illuminated a large showcase. A large doll stood inside of it. It looked exactly like Annabelle, safe for the obvious wooden nature of the body. Luscious silver hair hung down on a beautiful gown that the real Annie would never even consider wearing. Lifeless eyes, almost too close to her lover, stared ahead. Tharia circled around the showcase and continued on. Another came into view. This too showed a puppet of Annabelle. The doll was dressed in a gown made of black feathers. A longsword decorated with thorns hung at her side.

“This is beyond creepy”, Tharia said.

“That’s a relatively new obsession”, Sisi mused, “their wood still cries in agony. Turn right. We’re almost there”

They came upon small stairs leading up to a large double door. The wood looked expensive and so did the golden letters on the sign above.

“Glassless Mirror”, Tharia raid and earned a chuckle from Sisi for it.

“You can read, I’m impressed.”

Tharia paid it no mind. She opened the double door to the sound of loud creaking. The floor inside consisted of marble with a carpet serving as a sort of guidance. Immediately upon entering, she became aware of a presence looming down on her.

“Child, be careful. He’s here. But I can’t see him... Staff down, right to left, now”, the squeaky voice screamed the rest of the sentence. Tharia listened by instinct. She swung the staff in a quick arc. There was nothing to hit but gold dust sprayed from the weapon.

“Step back”, Sisi commanded. It didn’t wait for her to comply. A barely audible clap rang out. The sphere of light collapsed and Tharia found herself suddenly back in the realm of the Dreamreaper. Her feet stood on top of a crypt. Even without seeing the details, she noticed the images of a feathered reptile snaking its way around two pillars to either side of it. This lasted less than a second. The sphere sprung up again and Tharia suddenly saw the lower half of a doll stand in front of her. Everything from the abdomen up was gone. She noticed the scorch marks where her staff had trailed moments earlier. Sisi had a serious expression on its face.

“If you are to survive this, do exactly as I say. Continue walking along the carpet. No quick movements yet.”

Her feet sank into the overly soft carpet, it muffled her every sound. This made all the other sounds much more obvious, her breathing, the beat of her heart and even the rustling of clothes.

“Left side. Hard swing, wide arc.”

She quickly brought the staff into a horizontal position and put all her strength into a wide arcing slash. A wooden doll suddenly stormed into the sphere of light. The dead eyes still managed to transport the murderous intent. It wielded an oversized halberd and swung it in Tharia’s direction, but the human girl was faster. The staff arced up and smacked the doll against its head. Pieces of wood flew off, but the doll continued onward. Something organic wiggled underneath the surface.

“Lights out”, Sisi said and snapped a finger. The sphere vanished and she suddenly tumbled to the ground underneath. Remembering what the sprite had said earlier, she tried her best to not move a muscle. The ground shook under her feet and the crypt next to her tilted to the side. Golden light poured out from her staff again and it revealed another exploded doll. Yet two more were already close by.

“Step forward”, the sprite commanded. Tharia’s instincts told her to go back, however. She struggled for but a second and felt a blunt impact knock the air out of her lungs. Her body flew through the air and smashed against a showcase that cracked but didn’t break. Pain flooded her senses but the elemental was relentless.

“On your feet. Now. Staff, vertical, hold out in front.”

She used the staff to scramble onto her feet and then held it out, a halberd came swinging from outside the sphere and locked itself with the staff. The sheer impact dragged Tharia along with the weapon. Tears shot to her eyes as her right shoulder popped out of its socket - and then instantly popped back in thanks to the spark.

“You need body strength”, Sisi said, the sprite whirled around in its cage, “I’m gonna try something and you need to listen precisely this time. No more hesitation, no matter what I say.”

Tharia nodded. She still felt the impact her moment of doubt had brought her.

“Hold out the staff to your left, start running straight ahead”

Tharia brought up the weapon and ran forward as fast as she could. The staff trailed golden dust behind her.

“One meter left.”

She stepped to the side and passed a showcase that suddenly popped into the radius of the light.

“Duck, now.”

Her momentum carried her onwards but she lowered her upper body. Something large passed right above her head. She glanced directly into the face of a doll. It looked so much like Annabelle, that it did give her pause. Then she remembered the urgency of Sisi’s words and continued running while crouched, no matter how much it hurt her lower half.

“Back up, turn hard right.”

The human girl changed direction in accordance. She felt and saw all manner of things pass her bubble. There was a momentary silver lock of hair that barely graced the edge of the light. A throwing knife passed where she had been earlier. The mangled upper body of a doll laid on the ground. Wriggling organic tendrils stuck out from it, the head moved on its own. Murderous eyes followed her every movement.

“Now child, JUMP!”

Yeah. About that. Tharia tried her best but with that several-year-old back-injury, this was just impossible. She pushed herself off the floor but only managed to hurt herself in the process. A meager hop later, she smacked directly into a sudden showcase. Her vision blurred and she bounced back.

“Useless pile of muscle”, Sisi cursed, “Drop on the floor, now. Cover yourself.”

Tharia did as she was tasked. Her body was still reeling from the impact as she pressed herself flat to the floor. A snapping sound rang out. The sphere collapsed around her and she lied down in a pitch-black grave of dolls in the realm of the Dreamreaper. Hands reached up for her. The crypt a few feet away suddenly shuddered as vibrations ran through it. More hands snaked up from the grave underneath her. At least a dozen dolls started to pull her underground when the light sprang back into place and washed them away. Her body was once more on the marble. Intense heat pulsed around her. A raging fire had taken hold. She saw a mannequin step into the light, it was burning and still, the figure lumbered towards Tharia but collapsed into a pile of ash just a few steps away.

“Stand up again”, the elemental said.

Not in the mood to argue, she scrambled back onto her feet. There were minor burns on her back but the light leather armor had soaked up most of it. Destruction was all around her. Not a single showcase had survived, nor had any of the angry living dolls. There was a distinct scent of burned flesh in the air.

“Tharia? Pull up your right hand.”

She did as asked.

“A bit more to the right, good. Now punch as hard as you can.”

Tharia put all her strength into it until she realized the target was her own face. She stopped at the last second and glowered at the sprite in the staff.

“Worth a try”, the elemental said with a shrug, “A large door leads to the back and I can feel the draft of an underground complex. Knowing him, that’s where he will be. Not to hasten you or anything, but this place is coming down and from what I can tell, your friend is losing. Badly.”

End: The shape of dreams. | Coming up: Nightmare's Thorn