Library:Through the Lunar Rift VI

Lady FireLotus pens this Journal filled with dark thoughts about the state of Braemar and the rising undead problem. The story was first published on the Shroud of the Avatar Forum, and the first five paragraphs were excerpted in Update of the Avatar #84.

Curiosity and Stone Circles
by FireLotus

It all started with what I thought was a really odd migraine. At least that’s what I thought at the time. You know the kind where you start seeing auras. But there was no pain… things just kept getting brighter, and then they began to wash out. Of course, by that time, I had already closed my book and started imagining what kind of brain tumor could cause something like this to happen. What can I say? I have a vivid, slightly morbid imagination.

And then I stood up. I’m still not sure if that was a mistake. If maybe I had remained sitting, I would still at home. But somehow I doubt it would have made a difference. I could feel it then just as strongly as I feel it now. I was meant to end up here.

The light was blinding. I squeezed my eyes shut against it and held up my hands to try and ward it away somehow. And then the feeling of vertigo… of falling. I’ve never felt more disoriented in my life.

When the vertigo had passed and the intense light that my eyelids seemed unable to block out began to dim, the smell of flowers, sweet as honeysuckle, filled my senses. I began to think that maybe it hadn’t been a tumor at all, but a stroke. Then I felt it; a warm breeze. But it was the middle of winter. I had been bundled up under a blanket on my sofa, reading a book in front of a fire that barely stole the chill from the air. A warm breeze… the smell of wildflowers. Those are things I would have to wait a few months to enjoy.

So I slowly started to open my eyes. Color began to wash in to my vision, replacing the haze. Vibrant greens speckled with points of color. A vivid blue marbled with white above me. A glimpse of violet and gold streaks of energy pulsing around me. My mind raced trying to understand what had happened.

I was someplace I didn’t recognize. Outdoors. In a meadow. In the center of a stone circle. Yes, it must have been a stroke. One that I did not survive.

I soon realized that what had happened to wasn’t the result of a stroke. It was far more magical and wondrous than that. But my wonder was quickly replaced with thoughts of survival. Finding my way through this strange land. Trying to find other people. But that is a memory for another day. Right now, I need to get back to my reason for writing this.

The Lunar Rift outside Owl's Head has begun working again. The locals steer clear of it and whisper fears that if you get too close, you can get sucked into another world. They have no idea how right they are. But there are rumors that the rifts can also be used to travel around this land of Novia. And can’t help but wonder what would happen if I tried to step through the rift again. Where would I end up? Would I end up back home? Do I really want to go home? Like I said, I was meant to end up here. That much I know.

So if I was meant to end up here, why do I have to unrelenting urge to step through the barrier of the stone circle once again and see where the Lunar Rift takes me?