Through Desert Sand and Forest Storm

I floated in the darkness, again. The first time, when I came to this world, it was mysterious, terrifying. Now, it's more annoying than anything else.

The god was gone. He'd pushed me in here and left. I wondered, briefly, if I was going to change form again, but doubted it. If he wanted me in a different form, he would've put me in it from the beginning. Probably.

I sighed, confused about the god. What did he want? Why was killing the knight so important to him? And what could he possibly achieve by shoving my mind into some sort of infinite void?

I didn't hurt this time, but I was alone. So, rather than sit around and think, I decided to move. Just push off in one direction, and hope something was over there. I'm not sure what I pushed off of, but it worked. I moved, flying through an endless abyss.

I'm not sure how long I flew for. Time was hard to measure when everything you saw in every direction was just darkness, especially considering I'd never been good at telling time in the first place, but it felt like a while before I found something. I couldn't see what I found, just saw more black, but I could feel it. A river of calm flowing through the darkness. I don't know how an emotion could flow like a river, but it did, slicing through the void like a twisted blade.

I decided to move “upstream,” trying to find where the river of calm came from. Hopefully an exit of some sort, although that wasn't likely.

I felt other “rivers” as I followed the calm, some of anger, some of sorrow. Only one of joy, a river that, although I couldn't see it, I felt sure was yellow. At one point, the river of calm dipped low, heading almost straight down. Fear was down there, and ocean of it, but it was held back by something, an odd force that I could almost see the color of. Almost.

Eventually, I got to the source of the calm. A pillar, tall and indomitable, full of power and a calm fury. Multiple rivers of calm flowed out of it, as did an equal number of rivers of rage and pain. It was. . . strange, to look at something so massive, and not actually see it, but feel it, bigger than anything you've ever seen with your eyes.

“What is it?” I wondered aloud, reaching out a hand to touch it. As I moved my hand, I began to see it, just a faint outline, overlapped by one of a scaled orange paw.

“What the hell?” I looked down at myself, suddenly able to see my whole body. Both of my bodies, actually, as if whatever was deciding what to show me couldn't make up it's mind if I was a sandgator or a human.

I realized, then, that I didn't know what I was. I was a human, trapped in a sandgator's body, on a fictional world, in a part of the world that I hadn't ever known existed. What was I? Was I crazy, was all of this some sort of insane coma dream? Or was it real, did magic and gods exist?

And if it is real, why the hell did that weird-eyed bastard pick me?

I looked around again, casting my senses as far as I could. Rivers of emotion swirled around me in every direction. Fear, anger, sorrow. But also joy, wonder, excitement. Rivers that would drag me down and ones that would inspire me, but none that could give me answers.

Well, only one thing to do now. I looked back to the pillar, then up, towards whatever the top of this place was. I was scared and angry, but that'd never stopped me before, and sitting around here wasn't likely to do me any good. I didn't know what was around here except the pillar, and the ocean of fear below me, so that really only left me with one direction to go.

I flew up the pillar, pushing myself to go as fast as I could. Again, I wasn't sure how long I flew, but after some time I reached the top of the pillar, which, for some reason, I could actually see. It looked like a chessboard. I really should have expected that.

I stepped onto the pillar, still wondering what it was. A familiar voice echoed from behind me, “It's the future. It's why you were chosen.”

I turned around slowly, not sure what to expect from him in this place. A transparent image of the god floated near the pillar.

“My future is a giant pillar, eh? How exciting.”

He laughed. “It's not quite as big in the real world as it is here. And before you ask, no I can't tell you what it is, or where 'here' is. I can, however, say that as your control here grows, mine will lessen. And there's much in here that I'm doing at the moment, all things that you'll have to do yourself when my reach here expires.”

Well, that gave me something to think about. “Why are you telling me these things? Why does it seem like half the time you're trying to kill me and the other half you're trying to help me?”

His face turned a bit more serious, the laughter in it fading. “You're my pawn. You're success is my success, and I want to succeed. Some of the others attempt to command their pieces through fear, more simply placed them in the world and then left, content to watch. Personally, I believe that, in order to accomplish my goals, you need to be as strong as possible. What I do won't make much sense to you for a long time, but it's ultimately for your, and, by extension, my, benefit.”

Huh. Makes sense that he'd want his piece to win, although I wondered how much bending of the rules he was doing. “How do I get out of here?” I asked.

“When you ask the question I'm looking for, I'll send you out.”

What question would he be looking for? Well, what did I know about him? Not much, not nearly enough to guess what he'd want.

An idea struck me. “Who are you?” I asked.

He smiled again, an actual, non-menacing smile. “A complicated question. For now, I'll just let you know my name. Zireahl. Don't forget it.” He held up his hand, and a ball of light appeared in it. Before I could react, he threw it at me. I tried to dodge, but I felt it hit me in the side. I felt pain shoot out from where it hit. . .

~o0O0o~

. . .like someone had shoved a spear into my side. Again.

“He's coming around,” I heard a voice say. Where was I? The last thing I remembered was talking to the god guy on my bed. Then he laughed and pushed me somewhere, and then. . . something about a name? Zireahl? What kind of name was that?

“How're you feeling?” someone asked. It took me a second to place the voice, Sunny.

“Did someone stick another spear in me?” I asked, “because that's what I feel like.”

“Nope, but your wound from the last time someone did opened up again. Goddamn gators, I forgot how much damage you can do to yourself just by walking.” Okay, that information was new. Mental note, find and read a book about my new anatomy as fast as possible.

“Fortunately, our medic here was able to close the wound more permanently, so hopefully you won't rip it open again. Just don't do anything to crazy for a few days to let it heal all the way.”

“No promises. You now how us slaves get, always partying and dancing and shit.” I opened my eyes, checking where I was. It was a sterile white room, about the size of my room in the compound, with an equal number of beds. A single, barred window was set into the wall farthest from my bed.

“Oh, you're that kinda slave eh? Shoulda told me sooner, I coulda doubled your price.”

“Sold me already? And here I thought I was special.”

“You are special, just not as special as a hundred deben.”

“A hundred?” I ask, “I'm a little rusty on slave prices, is that good or bad?”

“Depends on the slave, but most servant slaves go for anywhere from fifteen to thirty.” Well then, I guess I was premium. “You have a whole lot goin for you though. You're a 'gator, you can fight, you're obedient. If I didn't like who I was selling you too, I probably could've haggled you up to one fifty.”

“Good to know I'm expensive. How long was I out for?”

He looked at the evening sun, visible through the window. “A few hours. A lot longer than you should've been for just a spear wound opening up, although Shine says there isn't any internal damage. You have fainting spells or something you didn't mention earlier?”

“Not that I'm aware of. On a note that I really hope isn't related, what does the name Zireahl mean to you?”

“Zireahl. . . Zireahl. . .the name's familiar. From a. . . story, I think? Oh, yeah, he's some kinda old god or something. Cloud could tell you more, he's into history and stuff.” He paused for a moment. “What do you mean, 'hopefully unrelated?'”

“I've never heard that name before, and now it's running around in my head. Just wondering what was up with it.” Although the fact that it was some old god did not make me feel any better.

“Huh. Sure you're not just going crazy?” He asked with a smile.

“You're assuming I'm not already there.” I sighed, and closed my eyes again. “How long till I'm shipped off to Sky Lily's place?”

“Two days,” he answered, “but I'm pretty sure you'll be okay there, even with your crazy. I've never heard a complaint from a 'gator she owns. Hell, most of the complaints I hear are from the other slaves, saying she treats them too nice!”

“Good to hear.”

He looked at the sun again. “Damn, spent too much time in here. Got stuff to do, and not nearly enough time to do it in. I'll send up Cloud later, kay?”

“Yeah, thanks.” As he left, a nurse came in with cup full of a strange, rainbow liquid.

“I need you to drink this,” she said, “it'll help that wound close up all the way, and should fix whatever kept you unconscious. It really worries us when one of the commanders favorites spends too long in here.”

“Sorry, I'll do my best to keep all mortal injuries to a minimum,” I responded, taking the potion. I looked at it for a moment, before shrugging and downing it.

Turns out, the potion was made with liquid rainbow. How could I tell? Well, the fireball that shot out of my mouth was a big clue.

“Not one for spicy foods?” the apparently sadistic nurse asked as I wheezed out small fires.

“Not at all,” holy shit, that hurt. I'd always been a wimp when it came to spices, and drinking something hot enough to literally make me breathe fire was not a pleasant experience.

“Huh, most 'gators love it. I woulda warned you first, if I'd known.”

“Don't worry about it, I can feel it working.” And I could, the pain from the spear wound fading slowly, as well as my newly gained burns.

“Good to hear, although I'll want you back in here tomorrow morning to check on you again. And don't break yourself, ya hear.”

“Don't worry, I'm just headed straight to bed,” I said. Being unconscious apparently didn't feel anything like sleep, so I was still tired from the long day of walking.

Rise was waiting for me outside the room. “Good to see you back on your feet. Saw Shine going in with a rainbow potion, don't spread it around that you got one of those. Super rare, only Zebra's can make 'em.”

“Oh really?” I wondered if Salheen knew how to make those potions. She mentioned that she'd been owned by a healer, but she'd never said how much she'd learned.

“Yeah, and only the good ones. That's master level work, and there's only a few real potion masters left. And they're generally creepy.” he shuddered, “like Professor Snap. He knows what he's doing, but dear god, didn't they teach you how to make yourself some shampoo? Anyways, I'm your escort across the grounds.”

I gave him a questioning look, wondering why I'd need to be escorted across a guarded courtyard, before I looked around and realized I was in a different building than the one I'd passed out in. This one was full of guards, both in and out of uniform.

So, Sunny apparently didn't think the medic quarters in my building weren't good enough. Or something. But whatever it was, it would have to wait, I was dead tired, and each step only made it worse.

“Hey, you okay?” Rise asked, noting me almost falling over as we started walking. “Oh, she slipped a sleeping aid into that potion, didn't she? That mare, my god. Fuck, stay here, I'm going to grab a unicorn to carry you, you w o n ' t m a k e I t t o o . . . .”

His voice faded out, and suddenly all I could think about was how comfy the ground looked. And felt, after I realized I'd fallen over. A single yawn escaped my body before I faded out into a peaceful sleep.

Author's Note:

Sorry this one took so long, my roomate moved out, and I couldn't afford rent on my own, so I had to find a new place to stay. I found one, but moving took a lot of my time.

And then I needed to stop procrastinating, which took almost equally as long.

Also, bonus points for anyone who can figure out who Professor Snap is based on. And if you can't, you should be ashamed of yourself because it's really obvious.

With love and tacos, Chaos Waltz