Vajira

The transition is as smooth as always. The moment Vajira closes her eyes, she wakes up in the world of dreams. She is a Dreamwalker, a rare kind of psychic power enabling her to communicate with others no matter the distance. As long as she knows them and they both sleep at the same time.

Just like any other time she wakes up in a golden field where nailwalkers graze. The giant beasts with their long legs and elegant horn-crowned heads don’t bother with her. Lazy they sway their stripped tails back and forth to not lose contact with the other members of the herd while they look for better pastures.

Vajira walks past them while moving her hands over the waist-high grass. The sun in this world is always setting and, other than on Cetus, it is not intense enough to dry out her skin. She loves to walk in its golden rays and relishes in the warmth it provides.

Without paying attention to her surroundings, she continues to move on.

Directions in the world of dreams are meaningless. One only needs to want to go somewhere or to someone to find them. Using this Vajira closes her eyes and imagines the face of the Menkar she wants to visit. Her success depends on the fact if he’s asleep right now, which she can’t determine. If he isn’t, she has to wait until either he does fall asleep or she wakes up again. But I need to talk to you, she thinks nervously, Please, be here.

Vajira feels uncertain about everything. Talliomere acted so strange. As the leader of the Desertwalkers, he bears great burdens. He coordinates them. He protects them. He finds shelter, water and food. He eases the tensions, which always arise if a large number of people are forced to live close together with not enough resources to fulfil all needs. And there is also the fear. The fear of the Empire. The fear of being attacked. Of being killed. Talliomere has to deal with everyone's fears and not only his own. But the fear he has shown during the conversation with Weldenwall and her had been different. Vajira is certain that there is much more going than he lets on.

It's more about what he hasn't told me than what has been said, thinks Vajira biting her lips. It's something about me. I'm certain. But what could it be? I'm not any different from all the other Menkar in the camp. Maybe he's concerned about my safety but if the Empress finds us everyone is in danger. It doesn't make any sense. Perhaps Tuonis can help me…

Since telling time in the Dreamworld is next to impossible, Vajira doesn’t bother trying to keep track of it. Even if her mind wouldn’t be this jumbled right now, she would just move on. Forward is the only way to go in this world. Perhaps even in the real one… she muses and hugs her braids to her chest.

After an indecipherable amount of time, the landscape around her changes. The meadow with its high grass turns slowly into a thick forest with ancient trees. Their trunks are so wide even ten of the biggest aquaric Drones couldn’t stand and warp their arms around them. A gentle wind rustles through the canopy of blue, red and green leaves where birds and small animals roam the forest in their sleep. Vajira watches some of the large rodents glide through the branches, hunting for colourful birds. They don’t bother her since it is also their dream, and they, like all animals, usually do in the dreamworld what they would do in the real one.

As she moves on, the gnarly roots of the trees become submerged in a thin sheet of crystal clear water. Small red and blue fish swim in sizeable groups around the roots and arches formed by the roots. As Vajira places her foot into the pleasantly cool water the fish swarm around her before dispersing again when she moves on.

The water rises steadily until it reaches ten inches up and licks around her ankles. In front of her the trees open to a large lake. Distantly above the fog covering its surface, she can see high mountains, but her gaze is soon drawn to a giant Flare crossing the waters of the lake.

While the hull still resembles the boat of a fisherman, it is clear that this vessel is an entirely different story. Half the size of a regular space-cruiser this ship can hold up to two thousand people and travel in space just as fast as on the surface of any planet. Its giant Flares, after which this kind of ship is named, glimmer golden, orange and red as they collect the sun- and moonlight to generate enough energy for the jets to keep the Flare about ten feet above the water and the ground while propelling it forward with incredible speed.

„Found you,“ Vajira says and closes her eyes.

A moment later she stands on the deck of the giant Flare where the wind whips around her long twin braids. Slow she opens her eyes again and sees a tall Menkar with long bluish black hair and two light-coloured horns poking out from it. He stands behind the Flares protective rails with his hands folded behind his back. The only movement around him being his long hair the crimson coat he is wearing and his long tail with its large fin on which a prominent golden eyespot is visible.

Vajira sneaks closer and wraps her arms around him. With ease, her hands find his eyes and cover them up, which prompts him to smile.

„How's the high sea, Captain Junpid?“ she asks him.

„Mighty fine,“ Tuonis Junpid replies complacent. „We raided today another one of the imperial slave-ships and freed a lot of those poor mutated souls without losing even a single one. Now we’re heading back since many of them have expressed to want to become part of us misfits, so to speak. Besides that, the journey has been calm thus far. If it goes on like this, we’re home again soon. But I digress… How was your day?“

„It seems Weldenwall wants to attack the Empress, but Talliomere doesn’t want to bring our people into danger,“ she explains sombrely and steps beside him. „What do you think?“

„A difficult decision to make… I don't think we have enough Menkar capable of bringing the fight to the Empress. Besides numbers, we also lack the ability to get to her. Flares can fly in interstellar space, but they’re not enough to take on the giant warships of the Imperial Fleet. Was Weldenwall adamant about it?“

„No. He has given in quickly but still… I bet he's going to recruit more deserters and the like.”

„Perhaps that’s for the better. We’ll need a lot more people to fight. But for now, I guess the Empress thinks of us Desertwanderers just as a minor nuisance. After all, we only free a few slaves and raid a few military camps on Cetus. Nothing that interferes with her colonies or her conquest of space.“

„I’m afraid Tuonis,“ Vajira says after a moment of silence and leans herself against him.

„It would be foolish not to be afraid,“ he replies and warps his arm around her.

They fall silent for a few moments. The Flare crosses the lake with great speed, parting the water underneath. It heads for the land with the mountains in the distance. But it never gets close. A journey without destination… muses Vajira, while thinking of her favourite novel.

„And how about I’ll take you with me on my next raids?“, asks Tuonis in a low voice and breaks the tense silence in the process.

„You… What?!“ she replies surprised.

„I want you to come with me on the next raid. My ship has enough space for both of us, and since old Geniva has taught you how to fight, I won’t need to worry about your safety. Also, it would be delightful for me to have some company besides Yagari and the crew. While all of them are good people, being around them is a daunting task.“

„You would just have eyes for me and no one else if I went along,“ she jokes and ponders if she should tell him about Talliomere's strange behaviour.

It would be, after all, the right thing. Even if he doesn’t have any answers, Tuonis might offers some insights. Besides, he has to know.

As he wants to say something witty judging from his mischievous expression, Vajira suddenly notices a black hole growing in the starry sky. It looks like the stars get swallowed by something darker than the darkest night. After a moment Tuonis notice it too and cleans his glasses as if he expects the hole to be some dirt on them.

Nervous they watch it grow further as if the sky seemingly consumes itself as it folds itself open. Suddenly, a large red eye appears in the middle of the darkness. The eye looks around then turns inward. A second later red, crumpled looking tendrils fall from the eye and coalesce into something akin to a body. Whatever it is, the tendrils, the eye, and the darkness merge into it. Once everything has vanished into the body, it falls into the lake. With a surprisingly large splash, it vanishes beneath the water.

„What was that?“, asks Vajira and presses herself frightened against Tuonis’ chest.

„Dunno…“, he replies and pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose — a nervous habit.

Suddenly, the crystal clear water of the lake turns into black tar. Giant black bones as if charred by a terrible fire push themselves out of the lake right next to the Flare. Suddenly, the bones form into a hand like one of a Menkar but the size of half the ship. The hand falls again into the water before it can do damage to the Cometgracer.

Just as Vajira thinks this nightmare has ended, a giant skull pushes through the water surface a few yards in front of the Flare. As if screaming or gasping for air it opens its massive jaws.

Vajira and Tuonis watch in silent horror how the skeletal hand re-emerges and reaches for the Flare. But the moment the hand touches the deck it dissolves again. Like a giant wave, black goo washes over the deck and both Menkar. Screaming Tuonis' name Vajira gets thrown out of the dreamworld and wakes up with a choked scream and covered in cold sweat.

—

…

The awareness seeps in. The gears of the mind start working. A memory gnaws at the consciousness, becoming a thought. A thought leaving the consciousness becomes a memory. A memory becomes a certainty.

The destination has been reached. A place to become acclimated to. Now everything becomes a bit easier. A little more manageable.

Not alone. There is a ship. It looks like a big sailing ship, but it does not touch the water. Peculiar. Interesting. On top of the deck stand two creatures. They look like the other one. The who took the sword. The one who is with her for now.

Just a little bit of power. Just a small bit of communication. To communicate one needs a body. For without body the communication becomes stale.

The body cannot be formed yet. It slips away like water. They are pushed away. Their dream vanishing with an unseen blue moon.

The Flare disappears with them. Their dream finished, another one ready to take its place. The lake turns clear again. Time to look for shelter. Because for now, everything is as it should be. Because for now there is nothing more, which can be done except to wait.