This dream scene comes before the "Sneak Peek" chapter. But it doesn't come directly after the chapter entitled "Dreams" on the Earth's Eye blog. Have I confused you yet? Anyways, just know that this comes before Sneak Peek. As always, comments are welcome. Enjoy.
That night, another dream came to Atrianna while she slept.
They were running. From something or someone, she wasn't sure which. All she could hear was her heart pounding, her jagged breath so loud in her own ears. All she could feel was the adrenaline pumping, her feet stumbling in haste over the uneven ground. Wherever she turned, all she could see was trees. The forest seemed eternal. In the way of dreams, her surroundings were a blur, but a vaguely familiar blur. Ercon ran beside her, the fear etched on his face mirroring what Atrianna could feel on her own features. Suddenly, the forest ended and they were running across the frozen surface of a lake. A nearly-full moon lit the open expanse dimly. Again, some feeling of familiarity nagged at the back of Atrianna's mind, but the adrenaline overpowered every other thought. Ercon, slightly ahead of her now, headed toward a cabin across the lake, seeking refuge. Atrianna started to follow, her feet seeming to move without any input from her, but something felt both very familiar and very wrong about the building. She called out to her friend, quiet but urgent.
"No," she said, without ever having consciously formed any words. Ercon stopped. "Not in there. Come this way." The words seemed not to be her own. Then, again, her feet moved as if possessed. Her feet led herself and Ercon off to the right of the cabin, back into the pitch forest. The darkness of the covered trail closed in around them.
Atrianna awoke with a start. Never before had she had such a vivid dream. Though she was safe in her bed at home, her heart was pounding and beads of cold sweat ran down her forehead. The dream had felt so real, as if she really had been running for her life. Yet the fear was not what stuck most in her mind - it was the fact that she had known where to go, what to do, without knowing.
She took a deep breath to calm herself, and noticed a green glow starting to fill the dark room. Looking down, she realized the glow was coming from the leatherskin pouch hanging around her neck. Curious, she pulled the small round oddity out and was surprised to find it brighter and warmer than ever before.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Sneak Peek!
Here's a sneak peek for any of you who actually look at both my blogs. This is a scene that I had written for Earth's Eye, but I haven't built up to it quite yet. I was flipping through my loose writing and found it, and thought I'd post it for some feedback. Hope you enjoy.
They had to leave. Now. They weren’t safe anymore. They knew they were being watched, followed, and they had to get out of Dörset as fast as possible. Atrianna grabbed what she needed and threw it in her leatherskin pouch. The star was still around her neck, she could feel it’s weight, but she had to check again to assure herself it was really there. So many things had been illusions lately, she felt she couldn’t even trust her own senses. She quickly crossed the hall, careful not to make a sound, and headed for the door. Through the window the moon - almost full now - was sending wan bars of light across the dirt floor, the waxing moon the brightest light in the otherwise dark sky, yet still not bright enough to see clearly by. Stars spattered the sky, but seemed not to give much light tonight. With a last look at the familiar setting of her home, Atrianna slipped through the door and edged her way down the lane to where Ercon was waiting. The thick darkness made her senses sharper. Every shadow made her jump; every noise was a pursuer in her ears.
“You have the Star?” Ercon’s voice was hardly a whisper, yet both could hear the quiver of fear run through his few words. Atrianna held up the necklace for him to see for himself. “Good. Let’s go. I have an idea of where we can hide, if we need to.”
They started down the winding path towards Widow’s Lake. The forest seemed especially dark tonight, which was both a blessing and a curse. The darkness would hopefully hide them from their pursuers, but it would also hide their pursuers from them. Shadows flickered at the edges of their vision; noises seemed louder and nearer than normal; their own breathing sounded too loud in their ears. The slight glow of the star from beneath Atrianna’s tunic was hardly more than a firefly’s glow, but it seemed too bright. Everything was too much – too loud, too close, too vague, too bright, too dark. The forest was a dark blur on either side of her, stretching on forever without end. With a start, Atrianna realized where Ercon was taking her – the old abandoned cabin. The Widow’s haunted cabin. She had laughed just yesterday at the childish fear of a cabin being haunted; now, here in the dark, being followed by unknown men, she understood. She understood what could make an empty building more terrifying than the dark forest. She wanted to protest, to tell Ercon to find somewhere else to hide, but she was afraid to make even the smallest noise in the silence of the forest around them. And she knew they had nowhere else to go. So she followed.
They had reached the lake’s shore by now. Moonlight shone bright on the ice, the almost-full moon low in the sky. A stab of familiarity itched at the back of Atrianna's mind, but she couldn't place it. Ercon paused, uncertain which way to go. The fastest way to anywhere was to cut straight across the lake. But the lake was thawing; the ice wouldn’t hold them both for long. Frustration and indecision battled against calm for control of Ercon’s face, and calm was quickly losing. Behind them they heard a rustling, and that won the battle of indecision for Ercon. He quickly stepped out onto the lake’s icy surface. Atrianna stood, hesitating, on the shore. Ercon reached out his hand to encourage her on. She shook her head. “It won’t hold,” she whispered. The rustling was getting closer, but Atrianna was frozen on the shore. She knew the ice was thinnest in the middle, right where Ercon was headed; she also knew they were most likely being followed, and that their pursuers were getting closer by the second. Closing her eyes and praying to some higher power that they would somehow survive, she stepped onto the thinning ice. The rustling got closer. With every step she anticipated the solid crack that signaled the ice’s protest to their weight. They seemed to move too slowly for Atrianna’s pounding heart, but both were afraid to break the fragile surface of the lake.
“Avoid the middle,” she whispered frantically to Ercon. But he wasn’t listening. He was headed straight for the center of the lake, right where the ice was thinnest. Atrianna could see from where she was that the ice would not hold them; they had pushed their luck as far as it would go, and now they were going to die. They were going to fall through the ice and freeze to death. Atrianna closed her eyes and prayed that death would come quickly. Then she followed her friend, crazy as he seemed, towards the center of Widow’s Lake.
Then Ercon turned off to the right, veering ever so slightly away from the center of the lake. She could see now that she had been right before; he was heading straight for the cabin. She was still running, following her friend, her feet seeming to move without her putting any effort behind the movements. Adrenaline rushed through her, overpowering any other thought. The cabin was almost in sight now. Something nagged at Atrianna's mind, something familiar.
“No,” she said, never having consciously formed any words. Ercon stopped, uncertain. “Not in there,” she continued. “Come this way.”Again, her feet moved as if possessed. Her feet led herself and Ercon off to the right of the cabin, back into the forest. The darkness of the covered trail swallowed them, yet somehow Atrianna's feet found a path through the underbrush.
They had to leave. Now. They weren’t safe anymore. They knew they were being watched, followed, and they had to get out of Dörset as fast as possible. Atrianna grabbed what she needed and threw it in her leatherskin pouch. The star was still around her neck, she could feel it’s weight, but she had to check again to assure herself it was really there. So many things had been illusions lately, she felt she couldn’t even trust her own senses. She quickly crossed the hall, careful not to make a sound, and headed for the door. Through the window the moon - almost full now - was sending wan bars of light across the dirt floor, the waxing moon the brightest light in the otherwise dark sky, yet still not bright enough to see clearly by. Stars spattered the sky, but seemed not to give much light tonight. With a last look at the familiar setting of her home, Atrianna slipped through the door and edged her way down the lane to where Ercon was waiting. The thick darkness made her senses sharper. Every shadow made her jump; every noise was a pursuer in her ears.
“You have the Star?” Ercon’s voice was hardly a whisper, yet both could hear the quiver of fear run through his few words. Atrianna held up the necklace for him to see for himself. “Good. Let’s go. I have an idea of where we can hide, if we need to.”
They started down the winding path towards Widow’s Lake. The forest seemed especially dark tonight, which was both a blessing and a curse. The darkness would hopefully hide them from their pursuers, but it would also hide their pursuers from them. Shadows flickered at the edges of their vision; noises seemed louder and nearer than normal; their own breathing sounded too loud in their ears. The slight glow of the star from beneath Atrianna’s tunic was hardly more than a firefly’s glow, but it seemed too bright. Everything was too much – too loud, too close, too vague, too bright, too dark. The forest was a dark blur on either side of her, stretching on forever without end. With a start, Atrianna realized where Ercon was taking her – the old abandoned cabin. The Widow’s haunted cabin. She had laughed just yesterday at the childish fear of a cabin being haunted; now, here in the dark, being followed by unknown men, she understood. She understood what could make an empty building more terrifying than the dark forest. She wanted to protest, to tell Ercon to find somewhere else to hide, but she was afraid to make even the smallest noise in the silence of the forest around them. And she knew they had nowhere else to go. So she followed.
They had reached the lake’s shore by now. Moonlight shone bright on the ice, the almost-full moon low in the sky. A stab of familiarity itched at the back of Atrianna's mind, but she couldn't place it. Ercon paused, uncertain which way to go. The fastest way to anywhere was to cut straight across the lake. But the lake was thawing; the ice wouldn’t hold them both for long. Frustration and indecision battled against calm for control of Ercon’s face, and calm was quickly losing. Behind them they heard a rustling, and that won the battle of indecision for Ercon. He quickly stepped out onto the lake’s icy surface. Atrianna stood, hesitating, on the shore. Ercon reached out his hand to encourage her on. She shook her head. “It won’t hold,” she whispered. The rustling was getting closer, but Atrianna was frozen on the shore. She knew the ice was thinnest in the middle, right where Ercon was headed; she also knew they were most likely being followed, and that their pursuers were getting closer by the second. Closing her eyes and praying to some higher power that they would somehow survive, she stepped onto the thinning ice. The rustling got closer. With every step she anticipated the solid crack that signaled the ice’s protest to their weight. They seemed to move too slowly for Atrianna’s pounding heart, but both were afraid to break the fragile surface of the lake.
“Avoid the middle,” she whispered frantically to Ercon. But he wasn’t listening. He was headed straight for the center of the lake, right where the ice was thinnest. Atrianna could see from where she was that the ice would not hold them; they had pushed their luck as far as it would go, and now they were going to die. They were going to fall through the ice and freeze to death. Atrianna closed her eyes and prayed that death would come quickly. Then she followed her friend, crazy as he seemed, towards the center of Widow’s Lake.
Then Ercon turned off to the right, veering ever so slightly away from the center of the lake. She could see now that she had been right before; he was heading straight for the cabin. She was still running, following her friend, her feet seeming to move without her putting any effort behind the movements. Adrenaline rushed through her, overpowering any other thought. The cabin was almost in sight now. Something nagged at Atrianna's mind, something familiar.
“No,” she said, never having consciously formed any words. Ercon stopped, uncertain. “Not in there,” she continued. “Come this way.”Again, her feet moved as if possessed. Her feet led herself and Ercon off to the right of the cabin, back into the forest. The darkness of the covered trail swallowed them, yet somehow Atrianna's feet found a path through the underbrush.
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