Dragonborn

Chapter 10 ~ Up in the Clouds

Gustav tapped his foot impatiently,  "It's about time she came out isn't it?"

"Yes." Moon replied. "Or no." The girl frowned. "Perhaps we should go in after her."

The man sighed. "That's breaking tradition, something which could have serious consequences."

"You know I'm the most concerned person here when it comes to consequences, but if even I think we should do it..." The girl trailed off, knowing that he got the point.

He took a cautious glance at the blackness of the cave before leading the way in. Dragonborns could see relatively well in the dark, and they therefore quickly scrambled down to the sacred lake. On the shore, they found a passed out Akila. She was rapidly changing between her normal and  a humanoid dragon form. He rushed to her side, but Moon shot out her hand before he could touch her.

"Together." She stated.

He didn't question her and instead placed his hands on Akila at the same time as she did. Waves of energy radiated off her, they were so great that he could barely hold on.

"How is she still alive!?" He asked.

"I don't know." Moon replied. "But I do know what's wrong with her."

"What?" He asked.

The girl simply shook her head. "I'll explain it later, but just know that only she can help herself. The only thing we can do is try to absorb as much of the energy as we can."

~

Images were screaming across her mind. Dark towers and pillars of light. Battles of death raged across sacred plains. She felt as if she could see everything and nothing at once. And it hurt. She screamed in agony, feeling like she was torn between two unstable forces and falling from the top of the world through the bottom and back again. Dark hands were clawing at her, dragging her down to an uncertain fate. While in between flashes, the woman in white was screaming something at her frantically. Akila closed her eyes, she didn't want to listen, she didn't want to know. She just wanted to be back in her body, outside of the cave and somewhere warm.

Suddenly, everything went silent. She opened her eyes to an inky black. Am I dead? She asked herself.

"Let go. Cut the line." The white deity's voice was hoarse from screaming. "Cut it or you will die. And you can't die."

Suddenly, the world tore through again and flashes of life, death, light, and darkness surrounded her. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she tried to distance herself from it. All Akila wanted was to be back down to earth and out of this hellish realm of torture. Suddenly, her body felt heavier. It was as if a million anvils had suddenly been tied to her ankles. As she shakily opened her eyes, she thought see saw two familiar faces. But she closed them just as quickly, and even if nightmares would have filled her calm unconsciousness, it would still have been bliss.

~

Akila opened her eyes, and let out a sigh of relief when she wasn't in hell but a comfortable cot. "What happened?" She asked.

Moon stood over her, her dark eyes staring into hers. "She's awake." The seer declared.

Gustav nodded and walked up to her. Gavin was close on his heels, though only the former uttered any words. "What was it like?"

"Huh?"

The man repeated himself, "What was it like?"

She responded with her own question, "Have you ever imagined Hell?"

Gustav nodded solemnly.

"Well its like that, except ten times worse. Things of light and darkness were raging around me, killing me slowly as they grasped at me. The world crashed through its-self a few times, shoved its-self down my throat, burst through my eyes, and swam underneath the waves of reality." She answered.