[Quick word before the real part starts - I was not sure whether an applicant is able to introduce their character from OUTSIDE of the specified world, so I took a liberty of doing so. If such action is not permitted, I can surely change the details regarding the character's origin :) ]
Your character has just arrived in a swampy, dim town. As they look around, their gaze is met with shacks and cabins. It smells of rotted wood and wet moss. They duck and step into a tattered tent, illuminated by a series of candles suspended in the air. At the back of the tent, an old hag raises her head, “What brings you to this dingy town?" She begins, then pauses to study your face—”Ah, it’s you. I’ve been expecting you. Sit,” she gestures at a cushion, “Tell me your story.”
After a long venture through the mountain range Killian wasn't expecting any comforts nor any elaborate talks with the locals. All he wanted is to rest, preferably alone, near a campfire, preparing his pocket diary to write down his next dream. This simple question threw him off guard.
- "You were expecting me? How exactly? Did somebody tell you about my coming?" - Killian responded.
- "Ah, foolish child, take a look around yourself." - The old hag raised her hand in the direction of the exit of the tent. From where they sat, only a dim light of a lantern, held by an unknown silhouette, could be seen. - "Do you really think anyone would come here, out of their own will, yet alone, speak to an old dear like me?" - She grunted.
The old hag had a point. Even though Killian wasn't sure where he was, he could easily get an idea that this town wasn't open for folks of his type. Or any other type. Having gone through a million of possibilites in his head, how this conversation could end, he decided to let go of these thoughts and behave like a normal traveller would.
- "My apologies, I didn't mean to offend. But I must ask my question again, just how exactly were you sure about me coming to your town?" - A concerning thought just passed his head. - "Wait - do you see them too? The dreams?"
He did not anticipate this topic - Killian has never encountered anyone else seeing the dreams. From what he had gathered, Every newborn child in his home country had a possibility to posess a skill, talent of some sort, to "submerge themselves in the past" when asleep. Nobody knew what caused this or how to predict what the person would be dreaming of, but every single one of them was related to the long gone past, never experienced by the dreamer in person.
His dreams were always related to somebody from his family tree, long before his birth. The range of those visions was vast - one day he could dream of entire cities, rising and falling, the other about fiddling with book pages inside a library.
Still, this didn't explain the fact that the old lady looked into the future, not the past. This part was impossible for Killian to answer.
- "Huh, you're more clever than you look." - The old hag squinted her eyes. -"I thought Tahomara wanted to get rid of the dreamers entirely, that's a surprise."
Killian did not recall anything related to "getting rid of the dreamers" in his nation, but he reminded himself about that one time where his mother had asked him not to reveal his talent. Perhaps this was the reason?
The old hag slowly stood up and picked up a staff from the ground which slowly began to soak with mud undearneath the tent. - "Don't even think our dreams are similar, boy. I posess the third eye to look what yet awaits us, not what we have already seen. I know what you came for, even though you aren't sure of it yourself." - She pointed the tip of the staff to his face. - "You want to know what happened to your mother and your grandfather, is that correct?"
This was even more shocking for Killian than the fact his visit was to be expected. This was entirely true, even though he hadn't thought of it first, he was about to ask about them.
His mother's disappearance was the main reason, beside the need to escape the country, to risk his life travelling unknown plains, hills and seas.
Similar to her father, Killian's grandfather, she was announced missing in action after a skirmish outside the northern wall of Tahomara where, as the officials had stated, nobody of Tahomara origin was harmed in any way. This didn't add up with the fact that he received a letter of her status with her dogtag bracelet with no signs of wear, with a different surname. Too many facts weren't adding up.
- "Y-Yes, but how -" - Killian reacted, not hiding the shock he was in.
- "Silence! I did not tell you everything about my vision regarding your stay. I already have revealed too much." - The old lady covered her mouth with her hand. - "Keep following the star which brought you here. There you will find your answers!" - She shouted, clearly in distress.
Not even a moment passed until the old lady collapsed onto the ground, as if she was having a heart attack.
Killian, terrified, left the tent in attempt to get anyone's attention. - "Help! We need some help here! Something's wrong with her!"
But nobody was there. The one silhouette, holding the lantern. was standing still.
The one flame inside the lantern quietly went out. It was pitch black.
Killian went into the tent once again, just to see a lifeless corpse, with its life extinguished, just like the lantern's flame.
This night Killian didn't write anything in his diary. There was no dream. No campfire to warm himself up with. No closed eyes. Just a restless night and a star to follow.
- "Will any of my descendants see this night in their dreams?" - Killian wondered.
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