The Revelation of the Vine: Graft

Chapter 20: Time, Times and Half a Time

  A shock blasted through my mind, leaving behind a shrill ring. The thought echoed, as I grabbed my head, and spun around. My knees buckled beneath my weight, as I staggered, and slammed into the tree trunk to my left. "Arrgghh!" The scream ripped through my throat like a saw blade, as I felt a pair of burning-cold, ethereal hands grab my heart and squeeze. My chest exploded with pain, as I stumbled to the right, slamming into the other trunk of the tree. I felt my heart rate quicken in my chest, as it pounded in my head like a war drum. I felt hands--real hands-- grab my shoulders and heard voices calling to me. They sounded far and muffled like they came through a long tunnel. The hands inside squeezed harder, as a penetrating voice screamed in my mind like a banshee. It shattered the wall of sounds that rose around and within, and everything fell silent when it spoke, "Soon you will be mine." "NOOOOOO!" I screamed, drawing in every ounce of strength that remained in my body, and a wave of Soul Energy exploded outward throwing Jurgen and the Knights away. The cold hands released their grip, as they and the voice faded back into the abyss they came from. My body crumpled to the floor, as I breathed deep, gasping breaths. I felt the lingering frost bite its way out of my chest then spread across the surface of my skin. A fading hum swirled around my inner ears, as the pain slowly began to fade. I rolled onto my back, squeezing my eyelids shut from the light while sucking in huge gulps of air, as my hands slowly moved from my head to my chest, and then flopped to the ground. Jurgen hovered beside me and placed a hand on the top of my shoulder. A soothing wave of warm energy flowed into my neck, then up into my head, clearing the remains of confusion and quieting the hum. It also spread down through my body, sweeping away the remains of the freezing touch, and leaving behind a wake of warmth. My breathing calmed, as my heart rate lowered, and my tense muscles began to relax. "Virgil, I'm here brother. We're here. Just relax." Jurgen's voice grew distant as he spoke, like I was being pulled down into the earth, and my mind fell into a dream. I was hovering in a sea of black emptiness, as great flashes of bright light exploded in the far distance all around me. They expanded in random patterns on the circle of the dark horizon. I felt myself start to move, but was unable to tell which direction I travelled, because the expanding orbs of light always stayed the same distance away. I couldn't remember anything. A small whisper cut through the darkness, as a swirling wave of colors passed through me, "Light." I was suddenly encased in one of the expanding orbs of light. It expanded out like a balloon and then shrank back in, but always remained large enough for me to be encased in the bubble. Inside the walls of the bubble, I saw images that changed every time it expanded, flashes of different places, different lives, different experiences, and events. None of them long enough to register. The voice whispered again, "Life." I was suddenly standing on a cliff overlooking a valley beside a mountain. An eagle flew by, and passed into a cloud, as it drifted in front of the sun. Then I was standing in the valley; a scorpion clicked his claws on a rock in the shadow of a bare tree. Next, I was in a house, where a woman was screaming, and another woman was encouraging her, then the sharp wail of a newborn pierced the air. I blinked and was standing in a large chamber where the flickering flames of candles cast dancing shadows along the walls. Men, women, and children were standing in silent rows clothed in black and grey with their heads hung low in grief; a beautifully crafted coffin lay on a pedestal before them. Then I was kneeling in a meadow under the shadow of a lively tree that was filled with fruit. The sun shined brightly in the clear blue sky as flowers faded into the horizon. The whisper passed by again, "Shadow." I was back where I began, hovering in a sea of black emptiness, but the bubbles of light no longer exploded in the distance. I heard screams echo from far away in the blackness. Cries and moans drifted through the empty space. Deep wails filled with regret lingered. Sometimes it seemed like I passed through areas of the sounds, hearing them for brief instances and then suddenly not. I did not like this place. The swirling colors returned, this time swirling around me as the voice spoke, "Light gives Life, as Life casts Shadow, and Shadow forms Darkness, as Darkness brings Rest." "What do you mean?" I questioned the voice, as the colors continued to swirl. "When a Life is filled with Light, its Shadow is also filled with Light, and the Darkness in which it rests shall retain the Light, but when a Life is filled with Darkness, the Darkness is very great." "But what does this have to do with me?" "Your Life, Virgil Lemniscata, has been lived in service of the Light. You have fought valiantly, and selflessly against the undertow of the Shadow that has crept back into the Transition. And even though you walk through the Shadow of death, do not be afraid. Your Rest shall also be filled with Light. I will never turn my back on you. Now waken, the Seeds are Rooted." "But who are you? What are you?" I asked, as I felt myself being lifted up. "I . . . am . . ." The words echoed, as I ascended through the darkness. The light of the foggy valley filtered through my eyelids, as I awoke from the dream. I slowly opened my eyes, and then blinked a few times to remove the blur. The glowing leaves of the Lemniscus came into focus above me, sending down waves of light. I lifted my head from a pile of leaves that had been placed underneath and looked around. Jurgen was helping Teion to his feet as he awoke from the Sowing. "Rise up, Teion Lemniscata, Knight of the Vine," he said.