Soilse

Lus Na Gréine

Dirty, beat up tennis shoes slowed to a halt in the middle of a grassy field that slowly merged into a lush forest, some distance away. The sun had just gone below the skyline and the only trace of its existence was the fading green light on a now dark sky. Ho Seok looked back towards Seoul, the place he had called home for so long, now just a smudge on the horizon. He felt something pull in his heart, telling him to turn back, but he pushed that urge deep down and forced himself to look the other way. He closed his eyes and took a shaky breath in hopes to collect himself.

No. There is nothing left for you there.

A distant memory of times before the fall flashed across his eyelids. He mentally shook himself. The past was in the past, he had to remember that.

Attempting to distract himself from the perilous memories that danced in his head, Ho Seok decided that he had come far enough, and settled down to make camp for the night. He retrieved a battered sleeping bag from his backpack, and unfurled it onto the cool grass. He lied down and gazed at the stars. It had been so long since he had seen them. In the city, the sky was blocked by clouds of smog and people's despair. But out here, it was quiet, and clear. He could feel the ancient wonder of the Universe, and the stories and mystery that swirled in its depths. Suddenly, a low breeze whispered through the grass, slithering swiftly and silently towards Ho Seok. When it rippled over him, he heard it.

H O  S E O K

He shot up, stricken with panic. Wild, scared eyes tore across the darkened meadow, looking for anyone, anything, that could have said that. Then realization struck, and his eyes widened. The breeze... it said my name. His thoughts raced. It was a female voice, he was certain of it. But Ho Seok knew that voice. He couldn't place it, but he had heard it before. He slowed his own breathing, attempting to calm himself. As he lay back down, his eyelids grew heavy. 'It was probably just my imagination,' he thought as he was consumed by sleep.

•<dreamscape>•

Ho Seok? Ho Seok, can you hear me?

It was the same voice as before. It warbled before settling, light and melodious. As his brain cleared, so did his eyes. That voice... he knew that voice.

"W-who are you," he managed to stutter, "And what are you doing in my head?"

It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is your mission.

The voice seemed to echo all around him, bouncing off of invisible walls, passing through him like he was a ghost. It was terrifying, and wonderful.

"What the hell lady? What does that even mean?"

When the voice spoke again, he noticed how it built before releasing sound, like particles of speech were zooming too an unseen being. Kind of like a reverse echo, he thought.

I wish you no harm. I only came here to help you.

"Okay?" Ho Seok, to say the least, was confused. But he was intrigued, and his curiosity has always been stronger then his rationale. The sheer wonder of an unanswered question, all the 'What if?'s had always captured his focus, ever since he was a child.

Tomorrow at midday, venture into the forest, there you will find one of your missing pieces, one of the pieces you will need to win this war against your own kind. Look for the child of the earth Hoseok. They will help guide you. Now, AWAKEN.

Before he could even get out just one of his many unanswered questions, the dream dissolved around him, melting into white nothing. His eyes fluttered open and sunlight blinded him. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. His thoughts surged and mixed around in his brain, a thunderstorm of questions that he didn't think anyone could answer. But that voice, it had sounded so familiar. He just couldn't put his finger on where he had heard it before. Ho Seok very quickly became aware that this was going to bother him all day if he didn't soon distract himself.