So, there I was, minding my own business in dreamland, when some mysterious voice decided to hijack my sleep.
"Your vessel is sinking; Survive the tides!
The end is coming; Open your eyes!"
It chanted, like an overly enthusiastic GPS warning me I was about to drive off a cliff. Naturally, being the expert napper I am, I ignored it. But then—bam!—a much louder sound jolted me awake. Eyes wide open, I could still hear waves sloshing around.
Was I seasick? Nah. Was I hallucinating? Maybe. My mind was still foggy from sleep, and I was about as coordinated as a newborn giraffe. I tried to sit up, but my balance had other plans, and I flailed around like I was on an invisible roller coaster. My hand shot out, grabbing onto something solid for dear life. When my eyes finally adjusted to the light, I realized I was on a small boat, being rocked back and forth like a yo-yo in the hands of a hyperactive toddler.
Waves, waves, and more waves—everywhere. I clung to the boat's edge, trying not to think about how small, insignificant, and utterly doomed I felt. My brain, slow as it was, finally kicked into gear. "What the heck is going on, and where am I?"
Suddenly, a loud growl reverberated through the air like a dinosaur-sized stomach rumbling after a long nap. I whipped around and—yep, you guessed it—a pair of ancient reptiles popped into view. There, just hanging out on a nearby island like it was Jurassic Park, was an Albertosaurus, looking far too comfortable for my liking. Oh, and behind it, just chilling, was a Brontosaurus stretching its neck like it was doing yoga. In the background? The Rocky Mountains, completing the postcard quality of the scene. I gawked at the Dinos, forgetting for a moment that I was in a life-or-death situation.
The boat continued to drift away, and soon enough, those prehistoric beasts were just a memory. Then, like a brain freeze that hits you three seconds too late, I remembered the dream-voice's warning. Was my boat really sinking? Panicked, I frantically checked for leaks, half-expecting the boat to turn into a colander. But nope, the boat was as solid as my faith in the fact that this was all a really weird dream.
And that's when I realized: I had no idea why I was even in this boat. Did I, like, fall into it during a sleepwalking adventure? Worse, I couldn't remember anything before waking up. No memories, no clues—just a very stylish but completely unhelpful watch on my wrist. It had a whirlpool design on it, which only added to my growing anxiety.
Of course, I had to double-check my surroundings because, you know, whirlpools are generally bad news. But as far as I could see, there were no mini-ocean tornadoes in sight. Just me, the boat, and more water than I ever wanted to see again.
Feeling like Sherlock Holmes on a particularly baffling case, I rummaged through my pockets and found a crumpled piece of paper. Unfolding it, I saw a poem, the same one from my dream:
"Your vessel is sinking; survive the tides
The end is coming; open your eyes.
Live and think but don't you stall
Catch the wizard; go past the fall.
The prophecy is cruel and very clever
The fruitless war goes on forever.
Look to the future but first in your past;
Know that your world is oh so vast!"
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Serenus - Sarcastic Newcomer Edition
FantasySo, here we are, all of us, lost in this mystical realm with zero memory of where we came from. It's like we all took the world's worst vacation, and now nobody can find their way back home. And guess what we have to guide us? A poem. Because why bo...
