Not a Hero

Part 12: The Astral Plane

Training began at the base of Miles' treehouse with everyone sitting cross-legged in a circle. Drodin was no stranger to meditation, and Sophi and Oliver were willing to sit still after days of travel, but Aster fidgeted and sat uncomfortably before any of them even closed their eyes.
Miles sat just like they did and said, "For the first step in your training, we will be traveling to the astral plane of our connected minds. There, we will find your true hearts, which you will need in order to hold your own against the danger in the ruins."
"This is ridiculous," said Aster. "We're all functioning adults here. Some of us are even trying to settle."
Oliver sweat at her statement and said, "Sure, but maybe this'll be good for us anyways. What do we have to do? Just mediate?"
Miles said, "Yes, that is all that is required of you. I on the other hand will cast a spell to connect our minds. Together, I want you to help one another and give each other strength. Not many people are willing to open up, and even fewer will be capable of accepting such invasive actions on the heart."
"I had to do these things when my brother was teaching me druidry. I needed to go inside myself to find my spirit animal," said Drodin.
Oliver asked, "What's your spirit animal?"
"A dodo bird as it turns out. It's... interesting."
"Will we get to see our own spirit animals on this trip?" asked Sophi.
Aster spoke up, "I would assume mine is a creature of great power like a behemoth!"
Miles sighed. "If this were ordinary meditation, I would remind you all to focus, but communication is good for connected spirits. Keep thinking of your spirit animals. It will help the spell and ensure you are connected on the astral plane."
The group silenced themselves and closed their eyes. Oliver kept thinking of different animals that he liked enough to call his spirit animal, bouncing off of wolves, big cats, and even a rhino. At some point however, he realized he was standing up in the middle of a pitch black void. He couldn't see his hands or his feet. His whole body disappeared, yet he felt awake and lucid in his mind. Yes, it was his mind, and he began to create different things to occupy the empty space. The obvious first setting for a fantasy lover, a forest, was the first thing to form. Though faded and blurry, he recognized the gateway to so many different stories. Oliver strolled through his thoughts, and found a metal fence covered, so overgrown with vines and pink flowers that he couldn't see past them. Fortunately, there was an archway in the fence where it opened up to a beautiful garden of a million hues. A lone monarch butterfly fluttered through the garden and led Oliver to Sophi behind a wall of hanging pots.
She held out her hand, and the insect landed on finger, to which she saw Oliver and said, "Oh! You're here! Look! I think I found mine."
Oliver smiled and said, "That's great, but I haven't seen anything for me."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe if we look around, we'll find it."
Oliver nodded and both of them strolled through the garden. The flora didn't change much and seemed to grow thicker the deeper they went into the dream. A fully caged spiral staircase took them above the maze of flowers, high enough above that both of them experienced a slight sickness looking down, though it was only a dream. Around cloud level, the staircase finally ended with the pair setting foot in a giant birdcage with Drodin facing away from them in the center.
The druid turned around and said, "Okay, it's been a while so I don't actually have the dodo bird spirit anymore, but I do have this." Drodin held out a small green pseudodragon perched on his wrist with wings so small it couldn't fly yet, and it would take years before it would fill the rest of the birdcage.
"Oh! What!? That's not fair!" exclaimed Oliver. "I don't even have one yet! How come you get a dragon?"
Drodin sarcastically said, "Can you turn into one?"
"That's not fair! Where's mine?"
Sophi's eyes flicked around the rattling birdcage. "Please, Oliver, calm down. This place doesn't look very safe."
Drodin pointed out with the little dragon on his arm and said, "There's a door over there. I think we can walk through and be just fine. It's just a dream after all."
Frustrated and eager to find his spirit animal, Oliver jogged over and opened the door to a chilling gust of wind that blew into the birdcage. The group gathered around the cage door and stepped out onto solid white clouds that firmly held their footing. The winds grew into a blizzard that engulfed them and forced their eyes shut for the most part.
Under the wind, Drodin shouted, "This isn't good! It's too dangerous! We have to find another place to go!"
However, Oliver was determined to press on and caught a glimpse of a warm orange light in the distance behind the white storm. He turned back and called to his friends, "There's something up ahead! I think it's Aster!" The wind blew off Oliver's cloak as he trudged and forced himself through the blizzard. The wind only grew stronger and colder, but Oliver kept his eyes on the light. Drodin pulled Sophi along as they struggled to beat the blizzard, but once Oliver made it to the light, when he grasped the doorknob of a snow hut, did the wind immediately calm down.
Oliver opened the door and the three of them piled inside to a warm fire and Aster resting her head on a stone bench beside it. Drodin and Sophie made for the fire while Oliver sat next to Aster and asked, "Did you know there's a blizzard out there?"
Aster looked up at the ceiling and said, "Yes, I'm aware of the weather inside my head. I'm more troubled by my spirit animal though." The monstrous princess looked back down in disappointment, and a dark brown house cat hopped up onto her lap, snuggling up to her for warmth.
Trying his best not to laugh, Oliver turned to Aster and said, "Hey, it's really cute. I bet it's got claws too. I know it's not the embodiment of destruction that you wanted, but at least you have one. I still haven't found mine."
In her despair, Aster leaned her head on Oliver's shoulder, making him blush in the light of the fire. Oliver wrapped his hand around her shoulder and looked around the home. It reminded him of the oracle's house in Visterra. To him, the thought of Aster seeking refuge with her mother was more adorable than the cat on her lap.
Not a minute of relief before the fire, Miles appeared behind the group and said, "Are you all satisfied with your spirit animals?"
The group jumped up startled, and Drodin was the first to speak. "Don't sneak up on us like that!"
Oliver said, "I didn't find my spirit animal."
"That's unfortunate," said Miles. "Mine was an elephant. Anyways, we need to get you all to the doors to your deeper hearts." The front door of the house opened up to a jungle, and he gestured to it with his hand. "I've already found them, so come along."
The group stood up and followed Miles through the front door and instantly felt warmer in the tropical climate. Numerous animal calls also came out of the jungle, but none ever showed themselves to the group, even as they followed Miles through all the way to a stony ruin shaped like the head of a dragon. Fire perpetually erupted from the eyes of the dragon ruin, and the heat seemed to intensify as you came closer to its open maw. The group withstood the heat of the dragon's breath to enter the ruin and find a limestone chamber with four painted doors set into the far wall.
"Does everyone have a dragon ruin inside of them?" asked Drodin.
Miles said, "No, it's simply how I wanted you to see it at the moment. Now, I'm certain you can find your door, so please stand by it."
Drodin took his place beside the door painted green, Sophi by the pink, Aster by the red, and Oliver by the last one. Surprisingly, Oliver couldn't make up his mind on what color his door would be, so the paint on the door continually shifted across the spectrum of colors quickly enough that the colors blended together into a speckled grey.
Miles instructed, "Alright, you know your doors, but do you possess your keys?"
Drodin asked, "What? They're stone. Are they even locked?" He turned around and saw the door was different. In the center of Drodin's door, was a bush that grew right out of the stone. "That wasn't there before," he said before noticing the pair of clippers in his hand. "Oh, I get it. I know what to do now." The druid began to cut and prune the shrub, while the others took a look at their own doors.
Sophi was faced with a whirling sphere of golden disks in her door and dozens of locks above it. The contraption spun around so quickly that she was sure any attempt to touch it would shred her flesh. Then, her eyes widened and she held out her hand to use her power and slow down the disks. They moved in a graceful fashion, and their paths became clear to her. However, underneath them, a key hung on the stone, her key. Waiting until the disks moved out of the way, Sophi effortlessly snatched the key off the hook. Aster's door remained a dense stone wall, but with an added circle of pure iron. With one punch from the mighty princess, her fist shattered the iron circle and cracked a button underneath that caused the door to grind open.
Once Drodin finished pruning the door shrub, and Sophi had found the correct lock for her key, three of the four doors opened to their respective owners. Unfortunately, Oliver's door was still closed, so Miles stepped forward to help him.
"What's wrong?" asked the old man.
Oliver turned to him and said, "The door is still the same. It's not showing something different. It's still the same. What do I do?"
"That's strange... " said Miles. "Everyone should have an inner heart. Yours should appear as well. I don't understand why it won't."
"Maybe it's just the door? The door is the whole thing, but then... Does that mean I'm just never going to know who I am?"
"Of course not. Everyone is destined to grow into their existence, from the mightiest warriors to the most gentle of animals. Even the worms below the dirt play a vital role in shaping our world."
"What about everyone else? Hey! What's behind your doors?" asked Oliver.
Sophi opened her mouth to speak, but Miles interrupted with, "I'm afraid it would be best that you don't share what you see. Just remember the door itself and how you opened it, and we will succeed in the true trials of the jungle ruins. For now, let us awaken. I'm sure that seeing the true essence of your soul has worn at least one of you out."
No one said anything as the group immediately fell backwards and opened their eyes to the branches of Miles' treehouse. The sun was beginning to set, and the orange dusk felt somehow appropriate for drawn out stretches.
Drodin asked, "Okay, I had to prune a bush. So what now?"
"Do you remember what shape you turned it into?" asked Miles.
Drodin put his hand on his forehead, trying to recollect the final shape of the topiary. "Uh... No, I can't tell. Why can't I remember?"
"It was a dream," answered Miles. "Very often it's difficult to recall your dreams even if you just woke up, and travelling through the astral plane makes it far more likely you will forget. That is why we will continue to try until you're all able to memorize the keys to your heart."
"I just want to take a sleep," said Oliver.
"Agreed," added Miles. "It's getting late. Let's get some rest, and we'll go again tomorrow. Perhaps Oliver will find his spirit animal and open his door after a good night's rest."