Shadras
Illogical
"Alright then. Relax as much as you can and do not be afraid, or push back, or fight against what is about to happen. It will make it more difficult for both of us." Vidar then began to wade forward, up through the stream of the instant past and into her personal present. Her personal being. In other words, the outer fringes of her soul. Without a doubt, she would know he was there. To Vidar himself, the trek in would only be draining if she didn't lash out. If she did, well, it could be quite painful. From Vidar's experiences, the more the creature accepted his presence, the less strain both he and it suffered. In fact, Vidar had noticed that some of his old pack could even enjoy the experience. At least, he assumed a human soul would be similar to the animals and...beasts Vidar had encountered. He almost stopped to contemplate the sheer intimacy it would be to remain like this, two souls mixing together and wonder at what the differences between humans and animals, then shook his head. Regardless of any of this, Vidar needed his focus to find the center.
Outside, Vidar's body began to almost steam, releasing thin wisps of the same blue mist that came from underneath his palm. His right eye itself had gone strangely blank, although it seemed to glow with a flickering light the same hue as the mist. As if light blue flames danced behind them as he worked his magic.
Inside, Vidar had isolated the sets of blended emotion. Where the contradiction lay behind her forced desires and her intentions. Where one set called out with mixed hope and despair, and the other blended terror and hostility. But it was difficult to keep the scent. Any emotional motion Ara made, even the slightest twinge, would send a wave of emotion that washed over the scent. And with the river ever changing, the sets of twisted emotions would move. It forced Vidar to stop and seek the trail again and again, tiring him further and burning precious time. This. Is. Much. More. Difficult. Than a wolf, he thought as he pushed forward step by step.
However, there was, beyond any shadow of a doubt, an alien element. Something that did not belong to Ara. Something that had been added to her. A taint that contaminated the waters of her emotions and that, further downstream, became more and more blended until it matched almost seamlessly. Vidar continued, tracking, face just above the water, as a wolf scenting out prey, stalking forward until he stopped short. Upon the cusp of the beginning of her inner self from which all emotions, desires, thoughts, dreams, and so much more flowed was a net. A red net. A red net so like her tattoo that it made Vidar almost sick. Or that could be the fatigue from trekking the river and how much time he had spent in here.
Vidar approached it, watching as the water flowed through the net, tugging at it and taking something with it. It wasn't wearing down the net. No, it was more that the net was releasing a dye into the stream, coloring it into a shade that it desired. Those tainted feelings were ones that he had been feeling on his way up. Old news. No, what was left was to interact with it in some way as he couldn’t tell if it had a smell, he saw it well enough, tasting it would be a strange course of action, and it made no sound. So he reached out with a single finger.
For a second, Vidar was certain his heart had stopped. Yanking his hand back, Vidar staggered as his heart ground back into action. A hollow mind. Barren as a forest that had been purged by a fire so intense that not even charcoal had been left behind. Only ash. Unbidden and again rose the image of a man wearing an elk’s skull rose to Vidar’s mind. Again he quashed it, but the fear that came with it and the hollow mind remained. What the hell is this? He thought, scrabbling for answers that wouldn’t come. Even more was how deep and how far those tendril spread. Farther beyond this entrance to Ara’s inner being. How far and how deep? He didn’t know, but it was evident that this was more than merely influencing her. Vidar suddenly realized that the finger that had touched the tendril tingled, no, it felt singed. In fact, in merely touching it, he felt even more fatigued. Did it? Did that...thing drain some of my energy?
He had to get out. Had to talk to Ara. Had to get more information. He had no idea how to begin to deal with this, let alone a way to treat it. There was only one lead for that. The mill. He turned around and began to trek back down the river.
Vidar finally reached a point where it was safe to clamber out, back fully into himself. With his return, his body unfroze, suddenly gasping and heaving. Composing himself, Vidar sat up, relaxing his tense body. He told her of what he found, about the net, how it tainted her emotions, how it had drained a part of his energy when he touched it, how it spread far farther into her soul than he could see with his limited vision, and lastly about the strange, hollow mind he had encountered. He also told her of his idea of going to the mill to try and find any information that could further service unraveling the net and helping her Isaac in the long run. “Because,” he said, “the more we know about it, the more likely we can begin to work against it. Until we know more, there’s not much I can do. Not until I’m ready to make the trek again, and that won’t be for...at least a day.” He then turned to talking about how to approach the mill situation.
"Naturally," he said, "we'll be waiting in ambush, to see if we can determine their intentions first before deciding to engage with them or turn back towards the city. If we get there second, we’ll try observing from afar and be ready to run." Vidar stood with noticeable strain, but still with an almost easy grace. He was, however, far more strained than he was letting out. Spending so much time in the river of her emotions before even making the trek up to the fringes of her soul had taken a toll. The trek itself was at least twice as bad. Not to mention, the shock and further drain However, he both needed more information had promised to be Ara’s legs. Vidar would pursue the former and fulfill the latter until the day was done. So he buried the strain and pushed himself to act normally. A physical deception he had used many times before.
"Now, shall we continue on our way?"
@AJPhips
Outside, Vidar's body began to almost steam, releasing thin wisps of the same blue mist that came from underneath his palm. His right eye itself had gone strangely blank, although it seemed to glow with a flickering light the same hue as the mist. As if light blue flames danced behind them as he worked his magic.
Inside, Vidar had isolated the sets of blended emotion. Where the contradiction lay behind her forced desires and her intentions. Where one set called out with mixed hope and despair, and the other blended terror and hostility. But it was difficult to keep the scent. Any emotional motion Ara made, even the slightest twinge, would send a wave of emotion that washed over the scent. And with the river ever changing, the sets of twisted emotions would move. It forced Vidar to stop and seek the trail again and again, tiring him further and burning precious time. This. Is. Much. More. Difficult. Than a wolf, he thought as he pushed forward step by step.
However, there was, beyond any shadow of a doubt, an alien element. Something that did not belong to Ara. Something that had been added to her. A taint that contaminated the waters of her emotions and that, further downstream, became more and more blended until it matched almost seamlessly. Vidar continued, tracking, face just above the water, as a wolf scenting out prey, stalking forward until he stopped short. Upon the cusp of the beginning of her inner self from which all emotions, desires, thoughts, dreams, and so much more flowed was a net. A red net. A red net so like her tattoo that it made Vidar almost sick. Or that could be the fatigue from trekking the river and how much time he had spent in here.
Vidar approached it, watching as the water flowed through the net, tugging at it and taking something with it. It wasn't wearing down the net. No, it was more that the net was releasing a dye into the stream, coloring it into a shade that it desired. Those tainted feelings were ones that he had been feeling on his way up. Old news. No, what was left was to interact with it in some way as he couldn’t tell if it had a smell, he saw it well enough, tasting it would be a strange course of action, and it made no sound. So he reached out with a single finger.
For a second, Vidar was certain his heart had stopped. Yanking his hand back, Vidar staggered as his heart ground back into action. A hollow mind. Barren as a forest that had been purged by a fire so intense that not even charcoal had been left behind. Only ash. Unbidden and again rose the image of a man wearing an elk’s skull rose to Vidar’s mind. Again he quashed it, but the fear that came with it and the hollow mind remained. What the hell is this? He thought, scrabbling for answers that wouldn’t come. Even more was how deep and how far those tendril spread. Farther beyond this entrance to Ara’s inner being. How far and how deep? He didn’t know, but it was evident that this was more than merely influencing her. Vidar suddenly realized that the finger that had touched the tendril tingled, no, it felt singed. In fact, in merely touching it, he felt even more fatigued. Did it? Did that...thing drain some of my energy?
He had to get out. Had to talk to Ara. Had to get more information. He had no idea how to begin to deal with this, let alone a way to treat it. There was only one lead for that. The mill. He turned around and began to trek back down the river.
Vidar finally reached a point where it was safe to clamber out, back fully into himself. With his return, his body unfroze, suddenly gasping and heaving. Composing himself, Vidar sat up, relaxing his tense body. He told her of what he found, about the net, how it tainted her emotions, how it had drained a part of his energy when he touched it, how it spread far farther into her soul than he could see with his limited vision, and lastly about the strange, hollow mind he had encountered. He also told her of his idea of going to the mill to try and find any information that could further service unraveling the net and helping her Isaac in the long run. “Because,” he said, “the more we know about it, the more likely we can begin to work against it. Until we know more, there’s not much I can do. Not until I’m ready to make the trek again, and that won’t be for...at least a day.” He then turned to talking about how to approach the mill situation.
"Naturally," he said, "we'll be waiting in ambush, to see if we can determine their intentions first before deciding to engage with them or turn back towards the city. If we get there second, we’ll try observing from afar and be ready to run." Vidar stood with noticeable strain, but still with an almost easy grace. He was, however, far more strained than he was letting out. Spending so much time in the river of her emotions before even making the trek up to the fringes of her soul had taken a toll. The trek itself was at least twice as bad. Not to mention, the shock and further drain However, he both needed more information had promised to be Ara’s legs. Vidar would pursue the former and fulfill the latter until the day was done. So he buried the strain and pushed himself to act normally. A physical deception he had used many times before.
"Now, shall we continue on our way?"
@AJPhips