10: Return
2570 Words
Roocean stared at her with an astonished look on his face.
“It’s from where?” Roocean asked transfixed by both the girl and the spear.
Liandra knew he wanted her to say something other than what she’d just said, but she couldn’t.
“It’s from my dream.”
He backed away from her and ran his fingers through his hair.
“I’m going to let everyone know that you’re okay,” he explained.
When he saw her blank expression, he explained.
“You were screaming, probably woke the whole building, then we broke through your door. I’ll have to explain to them. In the meantime, I want you to get to your journal quickly and note everything from your dream down.”
He turned his attention to Robert.
“Can you clean up near the front while she writes?”
Robert nodded.
“Okay, and don’t interrupt her,” Roocean said. “I need her accounts to be as clear as possible.”
Roocean looked at her and the spear and cautiously approached. He hesitated, and then reached out for it. He winced as he accepted it with both hands, gently taking it from Liandra. She suddenly felt empty and cold, like a vital piece of her had just been ripped away. Roocean took it and carefully placed it in the closet. He then silently walked out of her bedroom with Robert, who gave her one last concerned look. She reached out for her journal and pen on her nightstand and began furiously writing down the details of her dream—every single one of them.
******
After all the ruckus in the hallway had died down, Roocean came back into her apartment to check her journal. Like before, he’d allowed Robert to stay. She wondered why Robert was here so late with Roocean anyway. It was just a little before midnight. She was beginning to feel drowsy again and the quiet of the room wasn’t helping any. Robert stood in the doorway taking turns staring at Roocean reading at her nightstand, her fidgeting with her blanket as she waited for Roocean, and whatever it was outside the window that interested him so much. Once he tired of that, he walked around her bed and opened the closet door. Roocean took a break from reading and eyed him warily. When Robert’s curiosity persisted, he gave a warning.
“I suggest you don’t touch that.”
Robert glanced at him, then stared back at the golden spear in the closet.
“Why? Is this thing really from her dream?”
“I’m certain it is. It radiates with some strange energy inside of it, which is connected to her. I felt it as soon as I picked it up. I don’t think it’s wise for you to touch it. It’s just a hunch, but there’s no telling what it might do to you.”
“So, you don’t know for certain. Maybe it can help me in my own dreams.”
“Don’t touch it!”
“Relax, old man. I’m just thinking out loud. If I could take something like this to my dream, I could win.”
Even Liandra could see the massive curiosity in Robert’s pale blue eyes, but he looked sort of angry too.
“So, Liandra, are you a mystic?” he asked.
“Excuse me?”
“Do you or anyone in your family practice craftes?”
“I don’t even know what that is,” she said. “You mean witchcraft?”
“Sure. Do you?”
“No. No one I know does witchcraft and none of us believe in it either.”
“Then what is this in the closet?”
She could definitely hear the anger in his voice now.
“I don’t know,” she stammered. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“Roocean, is this the work of a spellcrafte?” he asked, fixated on the spear.
“It may be,” he said cautiously. “But I must know, how long have you known about craftes?”
Robert studied Roocean and Liandra before replying.
“Since I was a young boy.”
“And you can use them?” Roocean asked.
“Richard, you know as well as I do, that it’s best for me not to answer that.”
“I must know, Robert,” he said, his eyes pleading.
“My knowledge is very limited.”
Liandra couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Was this some extravagant prank? She realized her thoughts mimicked Roocean’s from before. This situation was getting more and more difficult to believe.
“Where did you learn?”
“The little I know, I studied myself.”
Roocean seemed unsatisfied with the answer.
“… What have I stumbled into with the two of you?”
“We need answers from you, Roocean, not more questions!” Robert said.
“Okay, come sit. You’re right. We’ll figure this out right now. First, Liandra, I need you to get rid of that weapon. The longer it stays outside of you, the more of your Life Force it’ll drain.”
“Life Force? What do you mean?”
Roocean walked around the bed to the closet.
“I’ll show you,” he said.
He picked up the spear and carefully handed it to her as she sat on her bed. She took it up with both of her hands and could now feel it humming beneath her fingertips. Suddenly a warm sensation came over her. She looked at Roocean uncertainly.
“It’s only a part of you. Don’t fear it. We’ll just have to put it back inside of you, where it belongs. You see, Liandra, you summoned this weapon from the depths of your mind using your Life Force as a conduit for materialization. That’s my theory anyway. I noticed how tired you became after I separated it from you. I don’t exactly know how you specifically summoned it or why it’s there, but I think I can help you put it back. Are you ready?”
She shivered before pausing then closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“I am, but I have so many questions for you afterwards. Stuff like this isn’t exactly normal. It’s not like learning how to ride a bike or awkward lessons about puberty.”
Roocean smiled and gently clasped her shoulder.
“I’m glad you’ve kept your sense of humor,” he said nodding his head. “But since you mentioned it, this development of yours is exactly like those two things and more. I will help navigate you through this. Now listen to me and grip the spear as loose as you can, only barely keeping it aloft.”
She followed his orders.
“Close your eyes and picture where you found it.”
“There’s nothing there but darkness. It’s literally like finding a needle in the dark.”
“That doesn’t matter, just picture it, the exact spot. Remember how it felt, how you felt.”
She did and found it much easier to do than she realized. All of the feelings from tonight’s dream felt fresh.
“You’ve found it. Your ability to recall has greatly improved. Now place the spear where you found it, the exact place.”
“How will this even work?” she asked.
“Never mind, just keep this feeling. Remember where you found it and exactly how you found it. The placement is important. Any alteration from the original placement could affect you in ways I don’t want to fathom. Now focus, Liandra.”
“Okay…”
She pictured it in her mind. This black space looked just like the rest, but it felt like where she’d left off in the dream. She hoped she was right as she lifted her hands to put the spear back into the void. Was she still dreaming this or not? She couldn’t really tell if she had fallen asleep again or not. She heard Roocean’s voice as the spear began to dispel the darkness again with brilliant golden rays.
“Good. Very good, Liandra. You are a natural. You can come back now.”
She opened her eyes and saw Roocean smiling at her, his blue eyes shining. Robert, on the other hand, looked quite upset. Looking at them, she couldn’t tell how much time had passed, if any.
“What have I done?” she asked, awestruck and terrified.
“You’ve done something spectacular, child. I can’t even fully explain or understand it, but I’ll tell you what I do know.”
She nodded.
“Okay, let’s start from the Life Force, yours to be exact. Your Life Force flows through you, through us all really. It provides us all with the vitality we need to sustain life and the energy we need to grow strong and willful. People who can understand and manipulate their own Life Force and the Life Force flowing in the world around them can alter the world with ease and do some truly mind-blowing things. What we term as ‘reality’ is a plaything for someone gifted in the craftes. I’ve met many troubled minds who could’ve been great crafters, but none of them had even an ounce of the potential you’ve just displayed. Both of you have shown me this tremendous potential. That may have something to do with your dreams intersecting. Two raw crafters with potential as high as the two of yours is sure to cause some ‘glitches’.”
“So craftes are literally like magic like what Robert was explaining?”
She felt crazy for even asking. This was madness, was it not? There was no way any of it could be happening in reality as she knew it.
“Well, yes—mostly anyway. I suppose it depends on how you view magic. Craftes literally tap into your life’s energy, so overuse or misuse can easily cause death, especially without the right buffer. Long ago, it was once known by many distinct names across all cultures, by a small sect of practitioners. Over the years there were those who conflated all things mystical into a single conglomerate until no distinction remained. While that muddied the mystical waters, so to speak, it provided a fantastic method of filtering out those who aren’t mystically inclined or well read.”
“I take it you can use them as well?” Liandra asked.
Roocean waved his hand dismissively.
“I never had the patience or aptitude needed to properly learn, so I’m not very good. After many decades, I’m still a novice, which is why I wear all this jewelry.”
“I don’t follow.”
“This jewelry is the buffer I mentioned. Each crafte you cast needs to be connected to a suitable emotion to power it. The easiest way to do this is with an object, like a magician’s staff for instance, but crafters tend to use things that are more personal and practical. A lot of us use jewelry, stuff like rings and necklaces. These stones and metals also help channel the raw Life Force of nature. We can save the essence of a single specific crafte and the raw emotion-fueled Life Force needed to power it inside of each piece of jewelry. This is great for quick and easy use and when you don’t have the power or control needed to cast craftes with an all-purpose buffer.”
She looked at all seven of the rings he wore on his fingers and saw different colored metals and stones. She noticed, for the first time, the tiny black earrings that were nearly hidden at the top of his ears, and the necklace that was mostly hidden under his shirt.
“What does it all do?” she asked.
“I suppose I can trust you both since you’ve given me so much trust.”
Liandra interrupted with an unflattering snort.
“That and who’d believe or care if the two of us claimed to know a real-life magical dream reader? Perhaps our therapists would, to have us committed finally.”
“Smart girl,” Roocean said laughing. “This ring here is charmed with a crafte that induces sleep in someone. This ring has a calming effect when activated. This one helps me translate words from other languages. This one here helps me break down a person’s mental barriers with nothing but my voice. This one shoots a tiny ball of fire. This one gives me some protection, should I be attacked, and this one, well ... I won’t tell you what this one does. I have to keep some secrets.”
“What about the necklace and earrings?”
They enhance my dream reading abilities in different ways. It mostly boosts my own talents. With enough details about your dreams and your firsthand accounts, I can see and experience almost exactly what you did by walking your dreams and observing for myself, but we’re not there yet.”
Now Liandra was shocked.
“No wonder you’re so good at what you do. You have these … craftes to help you.”
“Ahh, but it takes a sharp mind to understand and use all of these tools in the most useful way, so I give myself some credit. And now you know about Life Force and craftes. You also know about the massive power dwelling within you now. You as well, Robert. Neither of you are like anyone I’ve ever seen. You have great power inside of you, for sure. I’m afraid that at some point you’ll both need a better teacher than me.”
“Nonsense, Richard! I’ve only come so far because of you.”
He smiled at her.
“Well, one thing’s certain: I’m going to be on the phone with your parents for a long time tomorrow, because there’s no way I can send you back like this. We have a long way to go, the both of you. Somehow, we keep skipping the proper steps. We’ll need to refocus, starting tomorrow.”
Liandra couldn’t help but grin like a big dumb child on Christmas. Behind all that, she wondered exactly what it was inside of her that made her so special, because at different points in her life she’d felt like whatever it was didn’t want to be discovered.
- Writer
