What
an incredible nightmare! A feverish feeling of fear coursed through my veins.
But as soon as I was awake, any vestige of the nightmare vanished without a
trace, and I felt calm almost instantly. I knew there had been a nightmare, but
it was gone, and failing in my endeavor to recall it, I was soothed.
I opened my eyes, but to no avail, for the room was so dark that all I saw was
the nothingness of a void whether my eyes were open or closed. To make sure, I
blinked several times, and though I felt my eyelids opening and closing, I
experienced no change in my vision. I could not help thinking that there should
be some moonlight or external light that should at least allow me to see
something other than pure darkness. But there was none.
Once I realized what it was that I was facing, I felt the feverish feeling of
fear again. Being so wholly gripped by such a darkness invariably results in
fear. This fear is such a grippingly strong fear that it is certain to paralyze
anyone, from the weak-willed to the most adamantly brave minds. This paralysis
then is accompanied by a warm sensation of numbness that washes over your body,
quelling some of the feeling of imminent danger and providing for logical
thought again. The first thought that came to my mind was that, somehow, I had
gone blind in my sleep. My vision has always been very poor, and it was not
inconceivable that somehow I had finally managed to push it beyond the point of
no repair. Nonetheless, part of my mind was resolutely holding on to the hope
that I was not in fact blind, and that this darkness was explainable by the
sheer darkness of the night. I do not know how long I lay there in the darkness,
frozen in place, waiting for time to save me, counting the seconds as they
turned to minutes and maybe even hours. And with each passing moment, my
resolve crumbled a little bit more, threatening to disintegrate completely into
despair.
Just when I thought for sure I had gone blind somehow, shimmering lights
pierced through the window, dispelling my mind of any such thoughts. The colors
were predominantly vivid violets and bright blues, ranging from the deepest
purple to the shiniest turquoise. A brief moment was all I needed to adjust my
eyes to the light, despite the fact that I was trapped in absolute darkness
just a moment prior. I sat up, finding myself not clothed in pajamas, but in a
stately purple robe adorned with gold lines. I stood up and walked over to the
window. Outside was not the backyard garden with its climbing ivy vines and
tall trees with dull red leaves; instead was a glimmering silver path that
wound through a forest. But these were no normal trees--every leaf sparkled.
What a curious sight! The shock of seeing something entirely different gave way
to a desperate desire, fueled by curiosity, burning inside me. I hurriedly
searched my room for my door, but was not able to find one. Where my door had
been previously, I now saw a blank wall.
Thus, it seemed that the only exit was through the
window. Opening the window was of no problem. The window was covered by a thin
screen purposed to block out insects and bugs when the window was opened. I had
no desire to cut open the screen--after all, replacing it would be costly! I
touched the screen, thinking of a way to get outside without disturbing it,
when I felt the strong force of a sudden gale of wind smash into me. As it did,
I looked up in horror to see the screen had ruptured. Well, so much for that.
At least I didn’t destroy it. Hopefully insurance would resolve that particular
problem.
With such a bright landscape ahead of me, it was absolutely imperative that I
explore. I felt no drowsiness, but rather a strikingly powerful excitement.
Heart racing, I crawled out the window into the luminous forest. What I saw was
one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen, or am likely to see. The
trees were of varying heights, from small saplings barely taller than I was to
towering giants far up into the skies. The aggressively bright tints in the
undergrowth transitioned into medium colors smoothly. And higher up, all one
would see were increasingly darker and darker shades of purple and blue the
higher up in the canopy one gazed. The sky was not discernible from the tops of
the trees. Whether it was complete blackness because it was nighttime or
because the trees blocked out all external light, the roof of the forest was
nonetheless very dark.
Strolling through the forest, I found that the trees were very much alive--the
atmosphere of life permeated the woods as far as the eye could see. The leaves
were crunchier than the dried leaves of fall, and seemed to all carry a sweet
scent. It was as if every leaf was indeed crystal candy, and, were it not for a
fear of potential poison, I would have verified this fact.
I roamed the forest around my room, and was struck by something I can only
understand as a physical anomaly. The rest of my home was nowhere to be found.
My bedroom was constructed in a clearing in the forest. The room was alone in
the forest, with no signs of a backyard, a front yard, the rest of the house,
the street, any neighbors, or even any adjoining rooms to my bedroom. I circled
around my bedroom a full three times before accepting this fact.
It wasn’t until I realized the rest of my home had vanished that I started to
worry about what I was supposed to do. A torrent of cold sweat washed over me.
The forest, the vanishing of the house, and the strangeness of everything here
finally set in, and I felt the overwhelming weight of chaos explode within me.
I could make no sense as to what happened, how it happened, and why it happened.
How was I supposed to get back to the real world? This world that I was in was
most definitely not real. In a strange way I can’t describe, it lacked any and
all feeling of reality. It is a strange topic, and I know for sure I am not
doing it justice here. But I must make an attempt, however feeble. It was
simply as if reality felt very real compared to where I was now.
Completely dumbstruck by the absurdity of the events that were unfolding before
my eyes, I paced back and forth, trying to make sense of the strangeness, to
get even just a bare glimmer of an idea about what was happening, but my
thoughts were a chaotic mess. The more I thought about it, the more confusing
it was. People don’t simply go to bed one night and wake up in strange worlds
the next morning. What happened to the real world? Nothing made any sense,
nothing seemed like it was going to make any sense, everything was confusing
and everything was falling apart! How did I get here? How do I go back? This
world seemed interesting… should I continue exploring, or stay where I am? What
if I get lost here? My panicked thoughts were suddenly interrupted.
“Oh! Hello there!” The voice was deep and distinctly kind. It had a certain
smooth tone that conveyed the utmost certainty, but it was neither arrogant nor
bold. I wheeled around to see a man of medium height and slender build. He
smiled pleasantly, brightening his already smooth profile. Though he did not
look old, he had a full head of brightly gray hair that was not unlike the
color of liquid mercury.
“Who…? Who are you?” Seeing another person in the strange setting shocked me.
He chuckled a moment before responding. “I am the Herald, sender and receiver
of messages, manager of the Grand Caduceus, and the fastest runner you’ll find
anywhere here. What brings you, traveller, to the Etherworld?”
The Herald? The Grand Caduceus? The Etherworld? Was he
just making things up? Did I have the misfortune to meet a wacko as the first
person in this strange place?
“I… I want to know how I got here, what this place is,
and how I can leave.”
“You ask some good questions, some very good ones! Unfortunately, you also ask
some very vexing questions, very vexing indeed! And so, I am afraid I cannot
help you, but perhaps I can help you find the answers you wish to find!”
“Oh,” I mumbled, “how would you go about doing that?”
My disappointment at not having an immediate answer was lost on him. With
remarkable rapidity, he produced a tattered cloth upon which were inscribed
strange characters and illustrations. “Here, have a gander at this map!”
I glanced at the cloth. It vaguely resembled a map, though there appeared to be
no language I recognized; instead, a collection of strange symbols accompanied
each geometric shape which I could at least understand to be markings of
important places.
“We are here,” the Herald continued, pointing to a blank patch in a darkly
shaded area which I assumed was the forest and the clearing that surrounded my
bedroom. He slid his finger across the surface of the map, following a faded
line. “That right there is one of the Binds. Take that, and it will lead you to
places where others will be able to help.”
Again, I was baffled. The Binds? What would those be?
“What exactly is a Bind?”
The Herald seemed confused by my question. “What do you mean? A Bind is just
what it is. It is one of the many that hold our world together.”
I was curious, and so I pressed further. “Well, what do you mean by that? How
do they hold the world together? Why do I need to go find it?”
The Herald became even more confused. “Is it not obvious? The Binds hold the
world together, therefore you must go to the Binds if you want to travel to
different places,” with some annoyance in his tone, as if this were the most
obvious fact in the world and it was inexplicable how anyone could fail to
understand it.
I did not want to anger him, and so I stopped asking, but my curiosity was
still unsated. I resolved to simply go to the “Bind,” whatever it was, and
discover just what this “Bind” was for myself.
“How long will it take to get there?”
The Herald paused for a moment to think, then answered, “It’s not incredibly
far away. It should only be a few hours’ travel.”
“A few hours!” I was flabbergasted. It was a school night, and I worried over
how I was to get back home, let alone get some rest before school the next day.
I thought for sure that a few hours must already have passed since I first got
here, not including the time I lay frozen in the darkness. And then another
thought struck me--my family would notice I was missing in the morning when it
was time to go to school. Everything was unfamiliar and frightening. It took
all I could muster to control the panic. Panic is very interesting indeed-you
will find that it takes up so much space it should squeeze out any rational
thought that seeps into your mind.
“I understand you must be very distressed right now,” said the Herald, in a
much softer tone. “In my forty years at this post I’ve met scores upon scores
of poor souls caught up in the chaos of the world. I find a cup of soothing tea
always helps. Would you like to join me for one? We can sit and have a little
chat, and then probably resolve whatever matters trouble you.”
Had it been a world I was familiar with, under a circumstance where I was clear
of mind, I think I should have turned him down. On the map he showed me, his
house was in the exact opposite direction of the Bind. But, this seemed to be
the only person who knew things about this world and the only person to help me
should I get lost. Deciding I would stop by his home first before embarking on
a further journey, I simply mumbled a brief acceptance and followed him as he
led the way.
We walked along a glittering path that wound through the forest, stepping on
the crunchy crystalline leaves below. Seeing the leaves again brought a rather
childish question to my lips.
“Hey, Mr. Herald! Are these leaves edible?”
He laughed a kindly laugh and replied, “Of course they’re edible! Have you
never heard of the famous crystal trees? These trees are used in all sorts of
cuisine! They are often used as a substitute for sugar, and in many cities,
there are processing plants that create many different products from them.
Every part of every tree you see here is edible, and an experienced cook will
have a thousand recipes for every species you see here!” Then, to prove his
point and to my amazement, he plucked a bright red leaf and prompted took a
bite out of it. To my utter shock, the sound produced by the chewing of the
leaf was thunderously crunchy and strangely reminiscent of firecrackers. He
then added, “Oh, and if you want, you can just call me Herald! Everyone, myself
included, will know who you are talking about.”
Hearing this good news confirm my original belief, I helped myself to a rather
appetizing-looking deep purple leaf with thin blue shards protruding from it.
Drawing it close, I saw the intricate pattern of crystals that was unlike any
leaf I’d seen before. It definitely smelled sweet, but there was also a hint of
tart sourness, like a sweet citrus. These same flavors persisted upon chewing on
the leaf. The leaf’s texture was very strange, however. It seemed to start off
very similar to any hard sour candy, but quickly began to crackle and pop like
the carbonated rock candies that had stirred up such a controversy a while ago.
Finally, after a good amount of time had passed, the popping subsided and in
turn the leaf became sticky and chewy while its flavor sweetened. In this
phase, it seemed very much like bubble gum, except, unlike gum, it dissolved
over time. It was a very strange experience, but also very pleasant. I made a
mental note to take some leaves and seeds with me whenever I left, in the hopes
of studying its scientific properties and duplicating them, or perhaps
cultivating my own farm of these crystal trees once I returned to the real
world, wherever that was. It could be the roots of a wonderful business
venture, one that I was sure could easily put the largest companies of the day
out of business. I daydreamed about becoming a candy tycoon, sitting in a
corner office, gazing at my face on the cover of Fortune magazine, looking
outside at my many skyscrapers housing the many chemists developing new candies
with the mystical crystal leaves, perhaps thinking of the factories constantly
churning out new product… what a wonderful thought!
My daydreaming was interrupted by a sudden change of setting. We reached
another clearing in the forest where the path we had been taking split into
two. One turned to our left, the other to our right. In between the fork in the
road was a heavily worn sign. Inscribed on the sign were two arrows pointing in
the directions of the splits. Following each arrow were bold headings conveying
the cardinal direction of each split (the left split went east and the right
split went west). Under that was a brief list of what I can only guess to be
place names. According to the sign, the easterly path led to the Dunes of
Desolation and the Grand Caduceus, and the westerly path led to the Paradise
Gardens and the Dreamcatcher. Time and again the place would be this strange,
and I felt myself slowly becoming accustomed to it. Furthermore, seeing the
sign somehow affirmed the Herald’s previous assertion that he was indeed the
manager of such a “Grand Caduceus.”
The Herald turned left at the split and I followed. As we walked, I realized
the ground was growing increasingly bright. I looked upwards to see a faint
pink hue in the sky, the color of strawberry ice cream. The clearing where my
bedroom was must have been a very thick growth of trees that blocked out the
sky, and now that we had left the thickest parts of the forest, there were
clearings where light radiated through. Seeing the sky again was comforting,
even though it was very strange like everything else here. You may think that
it is simply because I feared the darkness, but I will remind you that even in
the darkest parts of the forest there were glittering shimmers of light
emitting from each crystal leaf.
Of course, the tint of pink that illuminated the heavens above was like nothing
I had ever seen before. But just knowing that there was a sky encircling the
world and not an endless void above gave me solace. It felt like the sky was a
snuggly blanket wrapping the world in its cozy warmth. I was completely taken
in. But then I thought of my own comfortable quilt in the “real world,” and
anxiety took over. I realized that I still had to return with all possible
speed, and I began walking faster.
Presumably, we were going to go to this Grand Caduceus, and then I would be
able to witness for myself just how grand this caduceus possibly could be.
Previously, I had seen imagery of the caduceus before. It was a rod with a
small sphere affixed to one end and wings protruding off the sides, with two
intertwined snakes weaved along the rod. I could not envision such an object
being described as grand. Perhaps it could be powerful, or holy, or mighty, but
grand? The word didn’t seem quite right.
But then I saw it. An incredibly large white caduceus so colossal it towered
above even the tallest of the crystal trees (which was no small height, I
assure you) and protruded strikingly against its pale pink background. The
closer we got, the taller I realized it was.
We reached the bottom of the Caduceus. The Grand Caduceus was mounted upon a
massively large marble base placed on a small hill. In the side of the hill, I
saw a door, and I pondered what was inside. Seeing twelve different locks, I
was naturally even more curious. I looked upwards, and found that it was
immeasurably tall, but that it seemed to defy the laws of physics as I knew
them. At the base, the shaft was incredibly thin, barely two feet in diameter,
and yet at the top the wingspan appeared to be at least fifty yards. This
architectural feat left me wide-eyed and dumbfounded.
The Herald was clearly amused at my shock, and exclaimed, “It’s not called the
Grand Caduceus for no reason! This marvel can send messages anywhere in the
world within just seconds! It is also the most powerful Caduceus in the entire
world, relaying any message from anywhere in the world. All the other Caducei
are powered by this one, as a matter of fact!” He beamed at it with pride.
“Messages? How does it work?” I was curious.
“Look, up there!” He pointed to several active slivers of gold at the top. Some
coming towards the Caduceus, others were leaving it. These golden slivers were
very strange. They appeared to be flying chunks of golden dust shaped into
various hieroglyphical runes. “Each one of those strips is a message. Some
messages come here and stay here. Others are relayed to other Caducei where
they will reach their recipients. And if I so desire, I can create a message
and send it!”
With this, any doubts I had about the Herald were dispelled. It was good that I
now trusted him to be knowledgeable about this world, for another stranger
sprinted over, shouting as he did so. I turned to face him. He was dressed in
dirty, tattered robes that dragged on the ground as a dashed over. His hair was
long, messy, and hung all the way down past his shoulders, with various beads
tied into it somehow. His face also wore a beard of similar qualities. It was
only because of my relative ease with the oddities of this strange place that I
did not jump upon meeting him.
“Hey! HEY! Herald! Urgent news! The Director wants you to send a message to the
rest of the Council!” His voice was deep and gruff. “One of the Binds in the
southwest is collapsing!”