Aramora

Chapter 25: Fallible

Amazing cover image made by Shreya_VA <3

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Back on the sea after what felt like no time at all. They were honestly expecting their little expedition in Whiteridge to take a bit longer than it did, but they're not complaining. And now they feel the waves rocking the ship back and forth as they sail southwest across the Recharn Sea.

The rocking makes sleeping a bit difficult for Naomi, who is laying in bed in the cabin below deck, hoping to get enough rest before they arrive in Kilead. The Recharn Sea is notably less smooth than the Orinas or the Cordaian Seas, as the Kileyan sailor serpentines the ship to dodge the jagged rocks that hide beneath the cover of the waves.

She somehow manages to fall asleep after about an hour of trying.

Now, Naomi has never been a very vivid dreamer. Occasionally she'll have a dream she remembers, but it's always vague and never in much detail. Like her mind tries to give her an image, but after a mere glimpse, it's taken away from sight.

But this dream is much more than a glimpse.

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She sees fire raining from the sky. A black cloak shrouds the land in darkness, leaving the flames to be all she can see.

She can't tell where she is. She's scared and crying, but she can't feel the tears. She doesn't know what she's seeing. It's as if she's standing face to face with trepidation, staring into its eyes as you would any beast. But as she tries to stare to meet its formidable gaze, she can't find it. She can't see it, but she can feel its eyes on her.

How? It's just a feeling. It can't hurt her.

The darkness closes in, fading her vision to black as the flames vanish.

She was expecting to wake up, but she stays in darkness.

She then begins to feel the ground shake, but still unable to see anything.

She looks around as best she can, turning her head and spinning around in the black void, when she sees a faint red glow in the distance.

As it's the only thing she can see, she starts approaching it.

The rift to Eutria.

Wanting the dark emptiness to go away, she starts running towards it.

But she stops as the rift starts to glow brighter.

Her blindness ends with a flaring burst of white light.

And then there is nothing as she feels her senses slowly start to return, feeling a hand shaking her shoulder.

"Hey! Come on, wake up!" she hears the soft Irish accent fill her ears and opens her eyes to see Lavern staring down at her with tension that eases once he sees her wake up.

He steps back from the bed and gives her space as she sits up and turns her body to face him. "Lavern? Did we make it to Kilead or something?" she asks. Her hands are shaking for some reason.

Lavern shakes his head. "Nah, that centaur who picked us up at the port says it'll probably be a few more hours before we reach the coast," he explains.

"Then why are you here?" Naomi asks, and she notices her voice sounds a little shaken too.

Lavern chuckles half-heartedly. "It may seem an unfathomable conclusion, but it's because I heard you screaming. You're lucky you didn't wake Malachi or Nisha, and you're even more lucky that Nesosa was already awake, otherwise she'd have shut you up real quick," he says and sees her expression shift to question.