DREAMS of a CLOUD
Peruse the many random ramblings of a writer-in-training as I build stories and develop my craft.
22 October 2022
My mind froze with horror, and I was whisked away to an imaginary battlefield, where elven sorcerers unleashed powerful magics on a faceless horde. It was devastating; if they’d been real people, thousands would have died within seconds. However…
Inside my head, Elsenaia grew bewildered as the setting changed. From afar, based on the video clips I’d seen of them, clips of various mushroom clouds started to play. Then the image zoomed in to blasted homes, vaporized shadows against what remained of the walls showing where people stood. Empty. Desolate. Even the ground was poisoned.
“What is this?” Elsenaia whispered.
15 October 2022
I did notice, however, that none of the memories showed Elsenaia when she was a kid. At first, I assumed that was because magic training started at an older age, but then I caught a glimpse of a child Elsenaia smiling happily at her tutor, and I began to wonder.
Before I could investigate more closely, however, those same mirror walls came down around the memory and pulled it back into the depths of her mind.
10 October 2022
I turned my attention back to the dioramas, and found one that seemed to represent her argument with the guard earlier. While both were jointed like artists’s mannequins, it was curious that only the guard had a proper face, while Elsenaia’s did not. Instead, she wore an elaborate silver diadem I hadn’t seen in real life. On top of that, she was held in place by puppet strings leading to the ceiling, although the guard had none.
30 September 2022
Elsenia grabbed one of my arms. “Wait! Please!”
I turned to look at her. “That’s you, crying on the other side, isn’t it?”
She didn’t answer, but her eyes still pleaded with me to stop. I put one hand on her head and said softly, “If I stop now, who is ever going to let you free?”
26 September 2022
The results of my one-hour brainstorming session to learn more about Elsenaia’s past and why she is the way she is.
24 September 2022
Another time, I was poking around to see if Elsenaia had anything she actively enjoyed doing, rather than felt obligated to do, when I heard her scream from my mind.
I popped over, only to find Elsenaia running desperately from a hulking skeletal figure wearing ominous black armor and wielding a scythe.
“Why do you have Death wandering around your head!?” Elsenaia screamed, and she headed straight for me.
17 September 2022
When I opened my eyes, or whatever I used to see in this astral projection, I stood in a hallway with a red velvet rug running down its length. Scattered down the hall on both sides were doors of every possible shape, size, and material, interspersed with countless small tables. Some had random items, like dolls, books, or even a pair of old boots, whole others projected a 3d image from the surface. The one in front of me had an image of the guard she’d been arguing with before.
16 September 2022
“It seems harsh to kill a bunch of people when our only crime is to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Her eyes flared at that, but she held out a hand, stopping the guards, and stalked up to me. “Very well, then,” she hissed, a dark smile curling at her lips. “Prove it.”
With one eyebrow raised, I asked, “And how do I do that?”
Her smile grew darker. “By letting me inside your head.”