Khoraka’s Second Dream

Thinking back over the past few days, you realize that while it's cold and different, there are things about the rhythm of the swamp that remind you of home. As you fall asleep,  your mind drifts back to the jungles of Marquet, and the islands beyond its shores. The sound of the insects and the memory of waves lull you to sleep.

But it is not a restful sleep.

> Like all your dreams, if you can call them dreams, it starts with swirling, inky darkness. The sounds around you amplify, and the humid, warm air is alive with the sounds of the jungle. At a edge of a horizon is a line of green light. As you rush towards it with increasing speed, steep walls emerge on either side of you, black shadows illuminated in the eerie green light, almost casting their own reflections as though made of obsidian. > You are propelled through the opening by an unstoppable force, and the glow now reflects off a vast, edgeless black ocean. It wraps around an unseen coastline, dotted with lights. > But you never quite reach the lights. The ocean recedes, and the sounds of the jungle return. The light reflects off shadowy leaves and tangles of vines. Creatures with green eyes lurk in the darkness, beckoning you in. > Then stone walls. A round chamber. A glint of old gold. You find your feet in the room, and approach the item. > An inlaid circle of gold. Depicted are familiar hooded snakes, and a symbol you do not know, a blade thrust downwards through a skull with eight eyes. In the center of the circle, a massive statue. Half woman, half serpent, with six arms and obsidian eyes. On each arm, a golden cuff. > And then you realize…. You are not alone here. Shadowy figures, four others, stand around the circle. You make out only silhouettes, your disembodied vision sweeping from one figure to the next. Details are scarce. One a is a tall, lithe figure with horns that sweep back from its head. Another figure is slight, agile, and alert, posture proud, its face masked and hooded. The third has a bald head and powerful arms that catch the light. And the fourth is thickly pelted with fur, light glinting off it’s sharp and jagged teeth. > The other participants in this surreal ritual fade. As you watch, three of the of the six cuffs disappear. “Power waits for you. Come and take it.” You reach for the statue… and awake. Return to Summary [https://herebedragons.club/c1e16-illuminations/]