As They Bloom

5 - The Dreamer

You spend the next week in and around the village.

You keep the elders' company and listen to their stories over tea. You teach Zan learn a little of the common tongue. Lillia helps bring in the harvest and teaches the farmers how to ensure their gardens flourish. Most importantly, the two of you listen. To their sorrows, their stories, and their dreams. And with each dream spoken to being, a wisp quickly follows.

At first, there was only a lonesome wisp, bearing Zan's dream of family. But a few days later, there was another, brimming with love – a dream of marriage. The day after there were three. The day after that none. But eventually, the wisps begin to wander in consistently, at least a few every night. And day by day, Mother Tree grows stronger.

You lay on your back in the garden, watching the wisps fluttering overhead. They drift in like dandelion puffs, dancing on the breeze. Lillia sits beside you, the light of the Mother Tree catching on her long, petal-like lashes.

"They're starting to dream again," she breathes in awe as the little wisps make their way home. Each one finds a bud and melts into it, becoming one. Her eyes lock on the Mother Tree, soft and wistful. "Mother Tree used to have so many flowers. I hope you will see them all one day." A little gasp escapes her, and she turns to you. "Do you think the other humans will come and see her when she blooms?"

"Of course they will," you say with certainty. You push yourself up on your elbow and smile at her. "How could they possibly miss it?"

Her ears twitch with excitement. Lillia has grown quite attached to the humans. Even more so because she sees their heart's deepest desires every night, when she tends the buds on the Mother Tree and sees the dreams trapped within.

Whispers begin to spread to nearby villages, of two strange, ethereal beings that descend from the forest and bring good fortune. And soon, people begin to seek out these beings instead of waiting for them to visit.

The first visitor arrives in a flurry of stress and crumpled map. He wanders into the garden from the forest, peering out from behind a bush wide-eyed with wonder. He gasps in awe upon seeing Lillia, who immediately startles and hides with an 'eep!'

You stand, quickly crossing over to greet the visitor. But the enthusiasm with which he greeted Lillia does not extend to you...

"A... Noxian? In the Garden of Dreaming?" he scowls.

"Do Noxians not dream like everyone else?" you ask, steadfast and unmoving. Secretly, you're hoping your voice doesn't betray your nervousness.

The man's jaw clenches, spitting his words as though they are poison upon his lips. "Of conquering, perhaps. And bloodshed."

The sour taste in your mouth persists long after he leaves the garden behind him. Lillia walks up to you and places a gentle hand on your shoulder. A dream glimmers in her other hand, swirling iridescent and flickering in and out of reality.

"He is unkind, but don't judge him too harshly," she says softly.

She holds the dream out to you, where you see a beautiful woman smiling back at you. The dream flickers, smoky cracks appearing within it. A battle – lost. Torches put to the houses. A fire that burnt out of control. Mourning and longing. Lillia has shown you many dreams over the last few days, but none of them were tinged with such agony and loss.

When Lillia releases the dream, it returns to being a wisp on the wind. It flutters weakly, its light fading. Her brows furrow with worry. But with her hand propping it up, and her swinging censer guiding it, even the broken dream finds its place with the Mother Tree.

Thankfully the visitors that follow are less abrasive.

They come from the neighbouring villages and towns. Many come weary, having survived the Noxian army that washed over them like waves upon the shore. They rest, curled up among the roots of the Mother Tree, where Lillia tends their dreams like seedlings. When they awake, you are there for them with tea and kind words. Some are apprehensive, not wanting to trust you. Others are kind, understanding. Either way, you ensure they leave the garden unburdened, their hearts lighter than they were when they arrived.