Restimil

The Captain of the Jörmungander sits on his chair, eyes closed. The hum of machinery pulsates in his ears. The various smells of electronics, leather, and plastic fill his nose. The slight draft, curtesy of the life-support as well as of the constantly optimised air pressure brush over his skin. This is his very own world. Most Menkar don’t understand how he doesn’t go for surgery to get implants. He doesn’t have to be blind, yet he also doesn’t have to see.

Sure, his blindness has proven more of a problem on land than underwater, but he’s a fast learner and adapted remarkably well. While he had back then already the help of a Being of the Void, it only taught him how to use his senses to their full potential. The rest he did himself.

The only lasting problem Restimil has, due to his blindness, is a minute one. It has to do with the fact he doesn’t know when he falls asleep. Thankfully, his Being of the Void likes to help him with this as it always pulls him into the Dreamworld, despite him not being a Dreamwalker. But therein lies another problem. In the Dreamworld, one projects their body how they perceive it, which in Restimil‘s case means he’s invisible to others. The only things he can make himself known by are his voice and touch.

You’re asleep, whispers his Being of the Void to him.

„I thought as much,“ he replies with an unseen smile. „Since you told me I’m invisible to others in the Dreamworld, I always feel weightless, as if floating. Quite the remarkable feeling.“

Move ahead, it whispers.

Without another word, he moves into the direction he’s facing. After a short while, he hears voices. Familiar voices. Heading towards their point of origin, Restimil ponders what to do next once he’s there. On one hand, he could make himself known. On the other, he could remain silent and eavesdrop.

„Eavesdropping is a rather impolite thing, wouldn’t you agree, Restimil?“, the Being of the Void says, but this time outside his head.

„How cruel of you to call me out like this,“ he replies amused and stops where he thinks she sits — at least judging by the height her voice is at. „I’m just an invisible ghost in here.“

„The unseen invisible or the invisible unseeing?“, she asks, audibly smiling.

„Pick your poison, Void,“ he replies. „Those are mere semantics, but the other one with you… Isn’t that Raun?“

„How do you know?“, Raun asks in a childish manner.

„Your voice, mainly. Besides, there’s just one Menkar in the whole universe, who sees herself as Morphling despite being the Empress of her kind.“

„What’s that supposed to mean, Restimil?“

„Just my thoughts on the matters of appearance, which I am sadly not privy of, Your Majesty.“

„Don’t call me that,“ she replied pained. „I’m the Empress in name only. You know that, Restimil!“

„I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you,“ he replies and reaches for her to ruffle her hair but misses. „But back to the strangeness at hand. Since when can you manifest in the Dreamworld, Void?“

„Call me Vanum,“ she replies carefree. „As for the answer of your questions… I have arrived at Cetus a day or so ago and with my main-splinters closing in on the planet… Well, you can think of that what you will.“

„So, the time draws near,“ Restimil says and sits down to the best of his ability. „Soon our Pact will be fulfilled.“

„You sound sad,“ Raun remarks.

„Because I am. I’ve grown quite accustomed to Vanum in my head and will miss her miserable whispers.“

„Miserable whispers…“ says Vanum, laughing.

„Well, the piece of yours you gifted me is rather melancholic, so to speak. Always whispering, not very active. Felrani’s splinter of yours is much more proactive. And Relten’s a bit more on the nasty side of things.“

„People are complex things, Restimil.“

„Even gods fractured into a myriad of different personalities and thought patterns?“

Instead of answering his questions, Vanum starts to laugh wholeheartedly. Restimil knows her well enough that he won’t get a real answer out of her. Still, he smiles.

„So, why have you brought me in here?“, he asks once she has calmed down. „You usually just allow me some lucid dreams, but not the full package of a Dreamwalker.“

„I want you to prepare Monamira for a pull,“ Vanum tells him in a much more serious tone.

„A pull? Into the Dreamworld?“, he asks, surprised.

„As the things are now, there is a considerable likelihood that I need Monamira to pull at least about fifteen people if not more into the Dreamworld,“ she explains. „At this time, I can’t say for sure if it is even necessary to do so, but I like to be prepared.“

„Mona is currently busy with Aranian Velten.“

„She can finish it, if she so decides, but you remember the deal we have, don’t you? My wishes are more important than your Fleet orders.“

„I remember, Vanum, and I don’t intend to disappoint you,“ Restimil replies slightly indignant and stands up.

She doesn’t answer but, judging by the sounds, she stands up as well. The air shifts. The subtle sound of fabric moving over fabric and skin. A hint of her absolute neutral smell, which he can’t describe further.

„You know, I cannot force you to obey,“ she tells him to his face.

„I know,“ Restimil replies, smiling. „I also know that, should I betray you, your retribution would be swift and without mercy. Besides, our Pact gives me more benefits than neither Marconite nor any other sentient being could offer me.“

Vanum doesn’t talk further and walks away a few steps. Still, Restimil can feel a slight tinge of disappointment in her. You should reign in your tendency for self-sabotage, he thinks, amused.

I do, her part inside him replies.

„Restimil, would you… umm… pleased stay a little longer?“, Raun asks reluctant.

„You need someone to talk to?“, he asks innocently.

„Yeah…“, she mumbles, sounding slightly embarrassed.

„Well, I can’t say no to my dearest Empress.“

„If you continue to talk like this, you can go“, she says sullen.

„What do you want to talk about then?“, he asks and sits down again, hoping to actually face her.

„Nice things.“

„Like what, for example?“

„Stuff you’ve encountered during your space travels.“

„You’re aware I can’t tell you how nebulas look, are you? I don’t even know what the colour green really is, so…“

„But Vanum told me that she has given you the ability to see with the eyes of someone else!“

„But therein lies the problem, Raun,“ he replies chuckling. „Felrani sees colours in a vastly different way than Lappor or Relten. And I just see the world the way they do and think about it if I use this gift. To go with my example of the colour green… To some people, it’s more a shade of blue to others more a shade of yellow, but then blue and yellow can also be perceived differently, so what in the Void’s name is colour?“

„You’re not as fun as usual,“ she replies disappointed.

„Well, I could pick you up and run around the place,“ he suggests.

„Really?“, exclaims Raun about as excited as a real Morphling.

„For real,“ Restimil replies and lifts her while standing up.

Already laughing, he can’t help himself and laugh along as he starts to run around with her in his shoulders. To his relief, it’s next to impossible for him to stumble in the Dreamworld, as he imagines himself floating over the ground.