stardustcboy's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ...In the Chamber of Dreams... he had braved the dark and stormy Ocean of Sargus, fought the spectres in the Lost City of Twilight, and uncovered the ancient Sword of Heartlight...his journey was near an end. he stood on the shore of the Isle of Destiny, sword in hand, his ship but a wreck upon the sholes, his crew swallowed beneath the waves. it was only him...alone... the cold wind blew from the sea and bit like a wolf to the marrow of his bones. this was it, the moment he had been searching for, the place he had only seen in his dreams. beyond the dark sand of the beach and the line of dense vegetation he could see the golden spires of the Eternal City...glorious still in the ambient gray stormlight. all this time he had imagined what he would do when he reached the Isle of Destiny, pondered the course he would take to reach the Eternal City. now, he was filled with doubt. after all the hardship and loss he was still uncertain of his own ability. The Mark of Shadows, a scar he gained fighting the demons on the Plains of Sorrow, had transformed the left side of his body, he was only half a man... he looked down at the sword sleeping in its scabbard. the jeweled handle sparkled drearily back at him. it was all he had. the weight of this moment crushed him and he fell to his knees upon the dark sand, tears welling from his eyes. "what shall i do?" he pleaded softly. "i am here at last and i cannot move. Great Serpantus, father dragon, show me your wisdom. i must awaken the Dreamer...but i am merely half a man...marked by the Darkness of Baalgorgon...i am not worthy...i am imperfect..." he sobbed and his tears fell to the sand. the cold breeze stirred into a roaring wind and upon the air he saw the magnificent phantom form of Serpantus, father of all dragons. "now is not a time for weeping and doubt young one. fate has chosen you to awaken the Dreamer and so you must. there is no room for fear now. why must you question?" "Oh great father...time and fate has changed me...i am half the man i was...the prophets said i must be pure and just...but i am not. i have been marked by the demons, my humanity is almost gone...soon i will walk with the shadows of Baalgorgon..." "child...you are mistaken. you can cleanse yourself of the mark. the Dreamer will purify you, that is her power...she will awake and cleanse the world with rain and sun...she will shake the foundations of the earth to dust so that nature may begin anew. it is ordained by the stars, the Dreamer will rise and the world will be ripped asunder and rebuilt in one day as the prophets have said." "...but...but...great lord, i am afraid. when she washes away the mark what if there is only half of me? what if i am to die because there is not enough of me to live? what if i do not know who i am or what i am to become?" "this is not the nature of the Dreamer child. have you forgotten all that has led you here? have you forgotten the trials and sorrow you have faced? they have indeed left their mark upon you...but you have gained much wisdom. the courage you have shown, the will, these are but proof that you are indeed a man. do not fear the cleansing of the Dreamer for she is gentle and when she is done you will be much greater than the fathoms of the deepest sea. also, do not doubt that you are fully human. your travels have shown you great understanding in the nature of man...and thus...yourself...the greatest knowledge there is to be had. you know that all men carry the mark child. you have seen it a dozen times yourself...did you not weep when your friend Julius fell to the darkness? did you not mourn when the wrathful fires of Baalgorgon destroyed the Tower of Light? was it not you who brought Cera back from the Chambers of Balgrath where Baalgorgon sleeps? why then do you doubt? stand and fulfill your destiny! rise and awaken the Dreamer so that all the world my sing glory in the light of a new dawn!" he stared at the sand. his hands numb with cold. "you are right great father...i must not lie down when i am so close. but...what am i to do with Elesa? she has been with me in the hardest days of this journey...how am i to protect her from the Awakening? will she not be devoured and remade as i am? as the world? when the mark is lifted and my destiny fulfilled, will i not be a different man unto her? may i not look upon her with new eyes? no memory of the man that stood upon the alter of the Dreamer in the Chamber of Dreams, but a new man remade by the graces of the Dreamer herself? dearest Elesa, her heart may not hold such sorrow...she may break beneath its weight...i pray Serpantus, tell me what i should do?" "your heart will remember child. when the Dreamer awakes all is recreated she will see fit to your rebirth and all your questions will need no answers. you will know what to do when the time is right. just as you should not doubt the strength of your own heart, you should not doubt the strength in the hearts of others. she will be remade as the Dreamer sees fit and she will live and survive as you all must..." "thank you great father Serpantus...i am thankful of your wisdom...i will not fail you...the Dreamer must at last awake..." with that his cold grip tightened over the hilt of his sword, and his legs moved...lifting him from his knees. he stood, eyes penetrating the dark jungles, firm, certain, unmoving... "go child...the stars bid you...finish the final chapter...i am with you always until the end of time..." Serpantus faded, as a cloud before the sun until there was nothing but the shore and the sea and the cold bitter wind. with renewed determination...he took his first step... ~B-)
3:58 p.m. - 2002-10-15 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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