The Temple of Wind and Ruin

Chapter 1

Through blurred vision Rue looked up to find a fear-stricken woman pleading for her. A slender hand, unnaturally elongated, reached desperately from the woman. Rue's mind faltered, unsure of what she was seeing or who the woman was. Her chest tightened at the woman's plea,  sweat beaded on her brow as a wave of dread washed over her, leaving Rue rooted to the spot.

The woman was held back by two large men, their grips firm and unyielding around the woman's upper body. "Rue!" The woman screamed feral and protective her handing reaching desperately for her. The men, stoic-faced, hauled her away with unwavering strength. Behind them, massive, bat like wings ended clawed tips, unfurled, born of shadows and glistening like oil in the dim morning sun, casting great shadows across the clearing. The sight of the men sent a shiver down Rue's spine. Faeries? Rue wondered, sucking in a breath, a strange thought crossing her mind.

Tension hung heavy in the air like late September fog. There was an eerie breeze drifting down from the treetops, grazing her skin with unsettling coolness as her hair stood on end. The breeze carried with it a scent of pine, almost as if the trees themselves were whispering in a tongue so ancient it was unintelligible. Rue glanced around sensing she was surrounded. It was as though the trees could see her. Old and breathing.  Rue couldn't shake the eerie feeling. Something vital was slipping away, just out reach. Rue stretched out within her mind, fumbling for the truth but it slipped - carried away by air as though the wind itself was taunting her.

Panic and disorientation set in as her mind became foggy and lightheaded, sweat trickling down her neck. "Who are you?" She called to the woman. But the woman just stared at her, frozen in place behind the two menacing figures . A sense of urgency surged within her, begging her to run. But her restless legs had become lead beneath her, as if an invisible force held her in place.

She felt half-wake, her consciousness like static in her mind, as her surroundings sifted in and out of focus. The treetops swayed gently in the breeze, turning to a blur of evergreen. This must be a dream, she thought, yet the moment seared into her mind. 

Looking around Rue could see her height seemed to be off by at least a few inches. Yet somehow the unnaturally elongated hands she held out in front of her, like that of the woman's still remained in proportion. But in proportion to what she questioned.

Gazing into the tree line, just off into the distance to her right, she realised she as atop a mountain. Glancing to her left she took in a sudden expanse. A jagged drop plunged to certain death stood a mere 20ft away. It looked easy to slip, too easy to slip Rue thought. The horizon seemed to shift. The oranges and reds of the rising sun seemed to rearrange themselves before her. Clouds hung around the mountain heavy and wet. The moisture in the air glinted on her skin like dew drops in the morning sun.

Despite the stunning view Rue couldn't shake the feeling that something was deeply wrong. Just wrong. The mountain seemed to be tinted with wash of maroon and rubbing at her eyes only made it worse.

"Where am I?" She breathed glancing around as a crack rippled through her from the depths of her core. The sound echoing through the clearing as the world splintered around her. Life ruptured her very cells as her hands braced the ground for impact. Sheer force ripping the air out of her lungs and stealing the scream before she could even make a sound as she tumbled into oblivion. The woman's deathly scream sounding through void, was the last thing she heard.

                                                                                          ~

Rue woke with a start, taking a moment  to realise where she was - and that her cheeks and pillow were soaked with tears.

Her body felt strange as she sat up, as though her mind wasn't completely back in her body. As her feet dangled hesitantly over the side of the bed, Rue recounted the dream, confusion and sorrow spreading across her face. Her eyes narrowed trying make sense of the images of the dream.  Fierce, winged men loomed in her mind's eye. The beating of their taloned wings cast vast shadows. Her muscles tensed recalling the men. Perhaps they meant something, she considered.

Bang. A sudden crash pulled Rue from her thoughts. As a blur of black feathers hit the window closest, opposite her twin bed. Rushing to the window, the cold floor biting at her feet, Rue flung the window open, searching for the bird, but it was nowhere insight. A cold breeze drifted through the window eerily reminding her of that wind from her dream. Closing the window and heading to the adjoining bathroom, Rue attempted to shrug off the strange encounter and the too vivid dream.

It wasn't unusual per se for Rue to have vivid dreams. Ever since her 10th birthday her dreams had become more lifelike. And for the last 9 years her dreams have gotten more bizarre. To the point that Rue noticed herself becoming  anxious about going to sleep, yet part of her was intrigued. Why was she having these dreams she questioned.

But something about the image of that woman hung heavy in her mind as she absent-mindedly brushed her teeth. Something heavy clunked in her chest, raw and aching as the scene replayed from the dream. The woman's scream echoing in her mind. The tooth brush hanging in her mouth was the only sign she had drifted away from her body and back to that memory or rather that dream she corrected. Bracing the sink she breathed heavily trying to ground herself. What had she been watching, she thought. Surely even the dramatised true crime series she loved so much couldn't possibly parallel the sheer terror in that woman's face.

Leaning over the sink, she splashed water on her face hoping to cleanse the lingering dread. Pulling her face up from sink, Rue grabbed the hand towel to the right of the sink, scrubbing at her face. Staring into the mirror Rue couldn't help but see some resemblance in her features to the woman in her dream. The same hazel brown eyes looked back at her. The same upturned lips, curved in a grimace, as the ones the woman had screamed for her with.

Rue tucked her wild wavy, auburn hair behind her ear, attempting to tame it. Heaving a heavy sigh, she strode back through to the bedroom to find an outfit. She decided on a tight black bodycon skirt with a slight slit on the left thigh, a black tank top styled with a long sleeved knitted cover up, which was cropped to reveal her ample cleavage. Paired with black tights and black Mary Jane doc martens. The dread still clung to her, though she tried to focus on the day ahead — a  9am lecture, which gave her 45 minutes to get ready, meet Stacey maybe stop for a coffee  and to walk the 15 minutes to Aeron campus. But even as she rifled through her closet, the echo of the dream lingered, refusing to be shaken.

Despite the desire to shake off the dream, to leave it all behind she knew she needed answers. Answers were what she needed.