Elysia & Plutonia

The Gates

Dedicated to the wonderful @Maveea for inspiring the fantasy-lover in me.

• • •

It is unclear how you arrived. Wherever you came from is unknown to you, buried within unreachable memories. You cannot recall your name, who you are, who you know. All you are sure of is that you are utterly lost.

Darkness encompasses you. However, one by one, orbs of soft blues and pinks begin to glow, floating just above the ground ahead of you and lighting a pathway to the left, leading to what looks like a door. Then, all at once, orbs of angry crimson and orange flare to life, leading to a second door on the right.

Illuminated by the gentle light, the door on the left is of beautiful light oak. A faint song of wind chimes and bells come from behind the door. Vibrant green vines grow up the sides of the wood, reaching over the top and hanging around the edges. Flowers of other-worldly colors bloom from the lovely plant.

The door on the left is dark, nearly invisible as it is made of the blackest ebony. A deep echo calls from behind the surface—something like a distant roar of thunder. The orbs leading to the door begin to flicker and brighten like flames of a fire. With greater light, you notice thick, inky vines weaving themselves up the door and over the top. Sharp thorns shoot up from the branches.

Unexpectedly, a woman comes forth from the shadows between the two doors. Her eyes are like gemstones of the palest blue. Her hair falls in waves of snowy white and reaches to her waist. As the glow of the orbs flicker, her bright complexion sheens with iridescence, like tiny rainbow crystals dusting the entirety of her skin. A sheer, lilac dress hangs from her shoulders and reaches to the floor. Then she speaks, and you feel almost as if her voice is in your mind rather than in the air around you.

Welcome, dear traveler.

It seems as though you're lost. I'm sorry to inform you that there is no way back from where you came. The Gates before you shall send you on fateful journeys of different identities, and you must live each one out to its fullest in order to pass onto the next. You can choose which realm you'd like to enter first, but they are parallel, meaning you will have to experience a similar, yet opposite, path in both worlds. It is only after you complete them all that you may return home.

The door on the left leads to Elysia. It is a place of goodness and light, of innocence and dreams. The journeys there will bring you hope and happiness.

The door on the right leads to Plutonia. It is a place of darkness and mystery, of corruption and nightmares. The journeys there, difficult as they may be, will bring you discovery and growth.

The two doors abruptly swing open, revealing water-like surfaces of dancing light. The portal of the oak gate swirls like glistening liquid gold. The portal of the ebony gate spirals like a frothy liquid of silver and violet.

So which will it be, traveler?

Elysia or Plutonia?

• • •

(Find the playlist for both realms on my Spotify! Follow the link in my bio.)

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