Beyond the Void

Chapter 13, Shadow of a silken cloth

The blossom has become another means of telling the time as it blossoms rarely, although irregularly. The blossoming of a new mark signals the beginning of a new Age. We have recorded until now six blossoms and six Ages in collective history. Although there are unconfirmed records of the blossom having risen many times before.

An excerpt from the diary of Pia...

ANDREW

Five tens since the Mark of the Other One blossomed.

"Deer! I saw the deer again!" Kauri whispered frantically.

There were animals in this god-forsaken realm. They looked like deer, but unlike any anyone had ever seen. They had light blue fur and long flowing tails that followed them in the air. Their antlers were pitch-black. The herd wondered at the group of humans for a little while and then left.

"We should try to hunt tonight. We'll find a good camping spot and some of us can call it a day." Sten sounded cheerful.

"Some of us? What is that supposed to mean?" Jess grumbled.

"We can't all go. Fewer people have a better chance to sneak up on the animals." Sten tried to clear up the misunderstanding. It was becoming harder and harder to get Jess to stay calm.

"No. It's not a good idea to keep splitting up, I told you! We almost got lost that time foraging." Sarah rounded on Sten. "And what do any of us know about hunting? We need to keep moving, so we can find the river!"

"We have barely got by with whatever nuts and berries we could find! We were lucky with rain and water, but we need meat on our menu, now. Look at us! It is a miracle any of us haven't starved to death." Sten gestured and paced around.

Everyone was filthy, dishevelled and had large bags under their eyes. Now that they had come to a stop, most had immediately sat down.

"It's been a month. Judging from where we should be, the river is right around the corner somewhere. We need a few days to pull ourselves together. We've seen animal shit and tracks for days. Birds are suddenly all over the place, we have caught glimpses of animals in the distance and now we ran into this herd! We need to try, at least." He continued. Another day, another fight was about to start.

Andrew felt dizzy. He was not thinking like himself. It was his own fault, really. Ever since he had discovered he could reach out into the world with his senses, he would let the veil cover his mind and bring him these unfamiliar sensations.

There were tiny embers and sparks shining in the darkness, not unlike a starry sky. This must have been what Becca could do. But there was no hidden knowledge or sudden understanding of things. Only the hallucinations and loss of time had gotten worse.

And he couldn't do it for long. He felt nauseous after. The more he reached out into the world beyond, the less he was sure of his own thoughts. He really was not acting like himself recently. He had gotten into small fights with Becca. This had roused Sten's attention even more.

"Shut up, both of you." Andrew walked over to Sten and grabbed his map. "The river is right here. We are probably on the wrong side of a hill and the river is directly east on the other side of this place. Up this hill should be a structure."

"And what if this is the wrong hill?" Lenna pulled out her map.

"The ground has been going downwards ever since the valley. This is the only hill on the route we are following." Eric looked at the map over Andrew's shoulder.