A Trial of the Mind

[briarthorn 186]

“Alright….ten, nine, eight…” Briar begins to count down, “Seve- Wait!” She screams out as her guide, friends, and family all begin to run from her. Alone, she takes a deep breath continuing to count, “Six, five, four….” She begins to feel dizzy, the trees warping and changing around her, “Three…...two…..one,” she finishes, looking around. The trees bend and warp around her, the ground becoming wobbly as she tries to take a step forward. She manages a few before falling flat onto her back. She looks up at the sky, the colors changing to reveal a sky with both day and night, sun and moon. Balance. Something she’s held sacred to her for so long. She sat up, the colors of the trees becoming vibrant as the world continued to move and change around her- like liquid. With a goal in mind- Briar takes another step forward. She hears the voices of her family, her friends. They were loud- deafening. Yelling out to her, begging her to stay in the woods. She moved slowly, as if wading through molasses, but she moved nonetheless. The voices were unbearably loud as she approached the shore, her vision blurring and moving, making her dizzy. 

 

She reached the shore, the voices halting as she made contact with the sand. It feels fuzzy, and seems to absorb her in a way. The sound of the ocean is different- seeming to be warped in the same way her surroundings were. The ocean parts for her, in her drugged state. She sees the fish swimming about, and all of the flora that lives at the bottom of the ocean. The fish- which usually frightened her seemed welcoming as she submerged herself in the cool water.  She was content watching the colors, floating for a moment as she felt at peace for the first time in a long, long time. “What are you doing?” echoed a voice. Briar turned about, seeing a familiar face. “What are you doing?” Asked Tahlia again, floating in front of Briar, her legs had become a mermaid tail. Briar tilted her head, though said nothing of Tahlia’s new legs, “Enjoying the colors- I never realized how beautiful fish were,” Briar hummed, tilting her head back to continue watching the fish, her eyes no longer focused on Tahlia. “You have a task to complete Briar, you need to come home,” A new voice calls. Briar looks back to see Amaesil, with a mermaid tail himself. “Just a bit longer- everything looks so lovely,” she said, outstretching her arms like a child. “Mama, please come home,” A new voice called, and this one Briar knew without looking. 

 

Seeing her daughter filled her with a new sense of determination and she willed herself up after a moment to swim, zig zagging through the waves. Everything was loopy and weird- but she was determined nonetheless. As she approached the shore and the Tahorran docks, a wave crashed over her, dragging her under. She didn’t struggle, the drugs making her calm as she looked up at the sky through the ocean. She sunk deeper and deeper, looking up at the moon and sun that appeared for her- perfectly balanced. She laid in the sand at the bottom of the ocean. The water began to suddenly recede from the ocean, draining until only Briar was left dry in the sand. A giant frog appears above her, speaking, “may peace and balance continue to guide you on your journey.” The frog simply stated before hopping away with a large guttural ribbit. Briar awakes in the sand, on the shore of the Tahorran docks. Whether she swam or was washed upon shore by the wave is blacked out from her mind- though she arrived back safe to Elvenesse regardless.

Edited June 21, 2021 by briarthorn