The Voice in the Well
(Word Count: 2510)
POV: Calydan Trayel
Date: 24th of september, 370
Location: The path between Benars's house and the City of Gandasi.
"So?" Melwyn said as he walked beside Omaren. "What do you think it means?" He looked at me, waiting for my answer. I shook my head as i glanced away, utterly confused by what i had just heard. I wasn't at all what i expected to hear when he and Omaren told me he had a "wild ass dream" this morning. The description wasn't a lie. I took a swing of my waterskin as i recounted what he had described to me. It was confusing, to say the least. The more i though about it however, the more i was convinced that it wasn't a normal dream, but a vision. A prophetic dream, perhaps? But that couldn't be, right? Shapeshifters very rarely have visions in general, and especially not kids. Granted, Melwyn's 14, so he's hardly a kid anymore, but still... And it wasn't just that. What he saw seems so... weird. "Calydan?" I heard Omaren call my name. I turned to him and realised i had been silent this entire time. I looked at Melwyn, who was still looking at me expentently. I cleared my throat. "What you're describing is rather strange, i will admit." I said before pausing to give back the water skin to Omaren, who took a swig from it as well. "I definetly think that the things you saw were more like parts of a fragmented vision, rather than a normal dream." I said as we approched a clearing along the path, halfway to Gandasi. "Or a least, like a mix of the two, but certainly not just a ordinary dream." "I thought the same thing too" Omaren said, and i nodded before continuing. "As for it's potential meaning, well..." I shrugged. "Honestly, i have no idea." Melwyn immediatly deflated beside Omaren, who patted his shoulder in solidarity. "Sorry Mel", i said, and he simply gave a shrug back before taking the water skin for himself from Omaren. "It's fine" he said. "I'll figure it out" "I think it would be for the best if you talked to Benars about that, especialy if it becomes a reccuring thing. He knows more about that stuff than me, you know." Melwyn considered what i said, looking at the waterskin in his hand intensly, before taking a swig from it. He then wiped his mouth and gave it back to me. "Yeah... i should" He kicked a rock along the path "i just wish Makhlem was here right now. I'd rather talk to him about that stuff... no offense" He quickly added as he turned to me. Does he think i'll be offended because Benars is my father? "None taken." I said to reasure him. He sighed before continuing. "It's just that, with the shifter stuff, i'm more confortable talking to him about it." "I can understand that. You've known him for far longer than benars, and he's a shifter like you" i said and he nodded. "I'll talk to Benars when we get back later" Melwyn said as he sat down on a fallen log near the path "It's gonna bother me if i ignore it anyways." Omaren sat next to him. "I can be there if you'd like." He said, and Melwyn nodded, focused in his own thoughts again. He definetly seemed less... joyful than usual, which makes sense considering what he saw. As i was about to take a seat as well, i realised i had to pee. I cursed myself for drinking all that water coming here and tossed the water skin to Omaren. "I'll be right back" i told both of them. Omaren nodded, while Melwyn seemed lost in thought and didn't respond. I walked away from the path and the clearing, and a bit into the surrounding forest. Once far enough away, i unbotonned my pants and did my buisness. My mind wandered in the meantime, first to Melwyn's vision, and then to what i had learned about myself yesterday. My whole life, i had been fascinated by magic. Even after i hard learned that i wasn't a mage, but just a normal human, i kept reading books on the subject. Eventualy, i focused on alchemy, as it was Benars's trade and it was the closest thing to magic i could do. I had resigned myself to the life of a ordinary human, but it was all a lie. I was indeed a mage, and had always been one. Apparently, my magic had been stripped from me as a baby, and Benars, who knew about it, raised me as an human, keeping the secret of my true nature from me until yesterday, when i gained it back for a Soulstone. Becoming a mage again was a big deal for me, obviously. I had dreamed about having magic for years when i was younger, so i should have been happy, but really, i was just confused, and hurt. The fact that Benars, my adoptive father, lied to me about it, for years... He told me that he kept that secret to protect me, and i really wanted to believe him -I think i did-, but it didn't really make me feel much better. Suddenly being told at 16 years old that i was a mage, a shadowmage no less, mages who until i came around, had apparently been extinct, and now i have to attend the mage academy of Palynor to train. He'd just decided all of that for me. But what about all of my plans for the future? What about those? Are they ruined now? I let out a frustrated sigh as i buttoned up my pants again. Suddenly, i heard something in my right ear. Like a faint whisper in my ear. Startled, i whipped around, expecting one of my friends to be there, but they weren't. Are they pranking me? Another quiet whisper, this time in my left ear. I turned around, but was again meant with nothing. I glanced at the dark tree line, as my palms grew sweaty. There's nobody here... That's also when i realised that i was much further into the forest than i though i was. The clearing behind me was still visible, but barely. I scratched my neck, feeling uneasy all of the sudden. I considered calling out for them, but seeing that the clearing was in sight, it felt unnecessary. "Just gotta head back." I told myself out loud. "They're waiting for me anyways". However, just as i took a step forward, The whisper became a true voice as it called my name. Calydan! "Wha-" i say, turning around for the third time. That wasn't just a weird, incomprehensible whisper, that was someone behind me calling my name, clear as day. But again, nobody was here. I was alone, surrounded by trees. My eyes narrowed as i scratched my head. Am i going crazy? Calydan! On cue, the voice called me again and this time, from the same direction i was looking. It came from somewhere deeper into the woods. It felt... insistent. Like when someone wants you to follow them so they can show you something. Calydan! After hearing the voice call my name for the third time, i found myself starting to walk towards it, as if the mysterious voice was pulling me towards it. Something tugged at me in the back of my mind, telling me that this was a very similar scenario to a children's tale with a rather tragic ending. But i kept walking. Calydan! Stupid dumbass, what are you doing? I said to myself, even as i walked faster and faster, weaving between the trees and jumping over moss covered rocks until i was basicaly running through the woods. Why are you following it? I asked myself. Why can't i stop? Why... Why does it feel so familiar? Calydan! I didn't have time to dwell on that strange feeling as a stumbled into another clearing. Much smaller than the one along the path, and definitely not one used as a resting place. The branches of the tall oak tree surrounding it seemed to lean down and stretch outwards, casting large shadows over the clearing. In it's centre, surrounded by tall, unkept grass, stood a small abandoned well. It was covered up by a rotting wooden roof and overgrown with moss and vines. I spun around, confused as to why the voice had led me to this place. There's nothing here, i should just get ba- I am here My head snapped back to the well. It came from inside, i realised. Gulping down a knot in my throat, i stepped closer to the well. The quieter, indecipherable whispers had continued on the way here, even as it began calling my name directly, but as i arrived up to the well and put my hand down onto the aged stone bricks, they suddenly stopped. "Hello?" I said, immediately feeling dumb for doing so. Did i really think someone was down there? Peering down into the hole, i quickly realised that i couldn't see anything down there, as any light that managed to shine down into the small clearing was blocked by the wooden roof, leaving the well in complete darkness. You have awakened, Young Shadow Startled by how much closer and louder the voice sounded now, i took a few steps back from the well. Holy shit! There IS someone down there! No, not someone... something. Do not be afraid. I want to help you. I clenched my teeth, hesitating about what i should do next. I breifly considered running back to my friends, but the voice was still pulling me closer, and that feeling of familiarity the voice invoked managed to calm my fear down. I went back to the well. "Are you even real? I asked, truly unsure about anything at this point. I heard a little laugh echo from the well. The echo seemed to linger for an unusualy long amount of time in the air, and then, even inside my own head. Somehow. I am real. Do not worry. Your mind is sound. Oh ok, well good to know i guess, i said to myself. I'm not completly crazy, although it is still the same voice talking to me and saying that i'm not crazy for hearing it. Not exactly an unbiased source. I took a deep breath before asking the next question. "W-who-... i mean, what are you, exactly?" There was a long moment of silence as i waited for the voice's answer. You can think of me as... a guardian spirit. "You're a spirit?", I said, furrowing my brows. You could say that. "How old are you?" A loud, booming laugh was all the spirit answered my question with. The way the sound seemed to reverberate in my head sent shivers down my spine. Unwilling to press him further on that, i decided to ask another, more prescient question. "Earlier, you said you were there to help me? Where you talking about my magic? Amongst other things. I stayed silent for a moment, trying to wrap my head around what was happening. This... voice, spirit, whatever, was claiming to be a sort of guardian spirit, which was bizare enough, given that i wasn't the right kind of mage that was able to interact with spirits... There was also the fact that it had apparently waited until i was 16, and the day after i got my magic back to finaly contact me. Those things have to be related, right? As i silently stood over the dark well, lost in thought, the voice spoke again. A piece of advice for you, young shadow. The wolf and the flame aren't to be trusted with your destiny. "My destiny? What do you mean? And who's the wolf and the fl- wait. You mean Melwyn and Omaren? If those are their names, yes "Why? They're my friends?" I said, a hint of skepticism in my voice. "Why shouldn't i trust them?" The voice didn't answer my question, and so i pressed on. "And what about the other thing you said, about a destiny. My destiny? What did you mean by that? What is it? There was another long silence before it finaly spoke again. You shall know, in due time. "In due time? What does that even mean? Can you not tell me now or something?" When your soul is rendered complete once again, all the answers you seek will be revealed. His cryptic answer left me with more questions and no answer. All these questions swirled inside my head. My mouth opened and closed, but i didn't know where to start. Before i could decide, i felt a hand on my shoulder. I yelled and quickly turned around, only to be faced by Omaren's confused face. Confusion that changed into surprise as he looked at me. "Whoa, sorry!" Omaren said, putting both hands up. "i didn't mean to scare you like that." I let out a deep sigh and leaned down onto my knees and closed my eyes for a few seconds. "Are you ok?" He said, putting a hand my my back. I stood back up and nodded. "Yeah, i'm... i'm fine." I finaly said, putting my hand on my chest. My heart felt like a drum. "You scared the shit outta me, man" "I can see that" He said, chuckling to himself. "You look like you just saw a ghost or something" I glanced at the well behind me. "I think i heard one instead" I said to myself more than to Omaren. Unfortunatly, he heard me anyways. "Uh?" He said, confused "Are you serious?" but i waved it off with a smile that i hoped masked my worries. I knew i probably shouldn't keep whatever the hell just happened to myself, but i did anyways. I didn't want to freak him out with something that i couldn't even explain. I didn't even know if that whole thing was real anyways. Its fine, i'll deal with it later... "I'm just joking" I said as nonechelantly as i could before gestering towards the well behind me. "I saw it from afar and just came to check it out" Omaren simply nodded before steping closer to inspect it. "It is pretty weird" He conceaded. "Why's there a well in the middle of the forest like that?" He asked, pointing at it and turning to me. I simply shrugged at him, noting that looking at the darkness in the well sent a shiver in me, but there was still that unexplained feeling of familiarity which i couldn't quite put my finger on why it was there. "Let's head back" Omaren suddenly said. "Melwyn's waiting for us" I pried my eyes away from the ruined well and looked at Omaren, and nodded, suddenly feeling the urge to leave this place. "Yeah, let's get out of here" i said, fighting not to glance back at the well behind me. The sooner we get to the city, the sooner i won't have to think about whatever this was.
Date: 24th of september, 370
Location: The path between Benars's house and the City of Gandasi.
"So?" Melwyn said as he walked beside Omaren. "What do you think it means?" He looked at me, waiting for my answer. I shook my head as i glanced away, utterly confused by what i had just heard. I wasn't at all what i expected to hear when he and Omaren told me he had a "wild ass dream" this morning. The description wasn't a lie. I took a swing of my waterskin as i recounted what he had described to me. It was confusing, to say the least. The more i though about it however, the more i was convinced that it wasn't a normal dream, but a vision. A prophetic dream, perhaps? But that couldn't be, right? Shapeshifters very rarely have visions in general, and especially not kids. Granted, Melwyn's 14, so he's hardly a kid anymore, but still... And it wasn't just that. What he saw seems so... weird. "Calydan?" I heard Omaren call my name. I turned to him and realised i had been silent this entire time. I looked at Melwyn, who was still looking at me expentently. I cleared my throat. "What you're describing is rather strange, i will admit." I said before pausing to give back the water skin to Omaren, who took a swig from it as well. "I definetly think that the things you saw were more like parts of a fragmented vision, rather than a normal dream." I said as we approched a clearing along the path, halfway to Gandasi. "Or a least, like a mix of the two, but certainly not just a ordinary dream." "I thought the same thing too" Omaren said, and i nodded before continuing. "As for it's potential meaning, well..." I shrugged. "Honestly, i have no idea." Melwyn immediatly deflated beside Omaren, who patted his shoulder in solidarity. "Sorry Mel", i said, and he simply gave a shrug back before taking the water skin for himself from Omaren. "It's fine" he said. "I'll figure it out" "I think it would be for the best if you talked to Benars about that, especialy if it becomes a reccuring thing. He knows more about that stuff than me, you know." Melwyn considered what i said, looking at the waterskin in his hand intensly, before taking a swig from it. He then wiped his mouth and gave it back to me. "Yeah... i should" He kicked a rock along the path "i just wish Makhlem was here right now. I'd rather talk to him about that stuff... no offense" He quickly added as he turned to me. Does he think i'll be offended because Benars is my father? "None taken." I said to reasure him. He sighed before continuing. "It's just that, with the shifter stuff, i'm more confortable talking to him about it." "I can understand that. You've known him for far longer than benars, and he's a shifter like you" i said and he nodded. "I'll talk to Benars when we get back later" Melwyn said as he sat down on a fallen log near the path "It's gonna bother me if i ignore it anyways." Omaren sat next to him. "I can be there if you'd like." He said, and Melwyn nodded, focused in his own thoughts again. He definetly seemed less... joyful than usual, which makes sense considering what he saw. As i was about to take a seat as well, i realised i had to pee. I cursed myself for drinking all that water coming here and tossed the water skin to Omaren. "I'll be right back" i told both of them. Omaren nodded, while Melwyn seemed lost in thought and didn't respond. I walked away from the path and the clearing, and a bit into the surrounding forest. Once far enough away, i unbotonned my pants and did my buisness. My mind wandered in the meantime, first to Melwyn's vision, and then to what i had learned about myself yesterday. My whole life, i had been fascinated by magic. Even after i hard learned that i wasn't a mage, but just a normal human, i kept reading books on the subject. Eventualy, i focused on alchemy, as it was Benars's trade and it was the closest thing to magic i could do. I had resigned myself to the life of a ordinary human, but it was all a lie. I was indeed a mage, and had always been one. Apparently, my magic had been stripped from me as a baby, and Benars, who knew about it, raised me as an human, keeping the secret of my true nature from me until yesterday, when i gained it back for a Soulstone. Becoming a mage again was a big deal for me, obviously. I had dreamed about having magic for years when i was younger, so i should have been happy, but really, i was just confused, and hurt. The fact that Benars, my adoptive father, lied to me about it, for years... He told me that he kept that secret to protect me, and i really wanted to believe him -I think i did-, but it didn't really make me feel much better. Suddenly being told at 16 years old that i was a mage, a shadowmage no less, mages who until i came around, had apparently been extinct, and now i have to attend the mage academy of Palynor to train. He'd just decided all of that for me. But what about all of my plans for the future? What about those? Are they ruined now? I let out a frustrated sigh as i buttoned up my pants again. Suddenly, i heard something in my right ear. Like a faint whisper in my ear. Startled, i whipped around, expecting one of my friends to be there, but they weren't. Are they pranking me? Another quiet whisper, this time in my left ear. I turned around, but was again meant with nothing. I glanced at the dark tree line, as my palms grew sweaty. There's nobody here... That's also when i realised that i was much further into the forest than i though i was. The clearing behind me was still visible, but barely. I scratched my neck, feeling uneasy all of the sudden. I considered calling out for them, but seeing that the clearing was in sight, it felt unnecessary. "Just gotta head back." I told myself out loud. "They're waiting for me anyways". However, just as i took a step forward, The whisper became a true voice as it called my name. Calydan! "Wha-" i say, turning around for the third time. That wasn't just a weird, incomprehensible whisper, that was someone behind me calling my name, clear as day. But again, nobody was here. I was alone, surrounded by trees. My eyes narrowed as i scratched my head. Am i going crazy? Calydan! On cue, the voice called me again and this time, from the same direction i was looking. It came from somewhere deeper into the woods. It felt... insistent. Like when someone wants you to follow them so they can show you something. Calydan! After hearing the voice call my name for the third time, i found myself starting to walk towards it, as if the mysterious voice was pulling me towards it. Something tugged at me in the back of my mind, telling me that this was a very similar scenario to a children's tale with a rather tragic ending. But i kept walking. Calydan! Stupid dumbass, what are you doing? I said to myself, even as i walked faster and faster, weaving between the trees and jumping over moss covered rocks until i was basicaly running through the woods. Why are you following it? I asked myself. Why can't i stop? Why... Why does it feel so familiar? Calydan! I didn't have time to dwell on that strange feeling as a stumbled into another clearing. Much smaller than the one along the path, and definitely not one used as a resting place. The branches of the tall oak tree surrounding it seemed to lean down and stretch outwards, casting large shadows over the clearing. In it's centre, surrounded by tall, unkept grass, stood a small abandoned well. It was covered up by a rotting wooden roof and overgrown with moss and vines. I spun around, confused as to why the voice had led me to this place. There's nothing here, i should just get ba- I am here My head snapped back to the well. It came from inside, i realised. Gulping down a knot in my throat, i stepped closer to the well. The quieter, indecipherable whispers had continued on the way here, even as it began calling my name directly, but as i arrived up to the well and put my hand down onto the aged stone bricks, they suddenly stopped. "Hello?" I said, immediately feeling dumb for doing so. Did i really think someone was down there? Peering down into the hole, i quickly realised that i couldn't see anything down there, as any light that managed to shine down into the small clearing was blocked by the wooden roof, leaving the well in complete darkness. You have awakened, Young Shadow Startled by how much closer and louder the voice sounded now, i took a few steps back from the well. Holy shit! There IS someone down there! No, not someone... something. Do not be afraid. I want to help you. I clenched my teeth, hesitating about what i should do next. I breifly considered running back to my friends, but the voice was still pulling me closer, and that feeling of familiarity the voice invoked managed to calm my fear down. I went back to the well. "Are you even real? I asked, truly unsure about anything at this point. I heard a little laugh echo from the well. The echo seemed to linger for an unusualy long amount of time in the air, and then, even inside my own head. Somehow. I am real. Do not worry. Your mind is sound. Oh ok, well good to know i guess, i said to myself. I'm not completly crazy, although it is still the same voice talking to me and saying that i'm not crazy for hearing it. Not exactly an unbiased source. I took a deep breath before asking the next question. "W-who-... i mean, what are you, exactly?" There was a long moment of silence as i waited for the voice's answer. You can think of me as... a guardian spirit. "You're a spirit?", I said, furrowing my brows. You could say that. "How old are you?" A loud, booming laugh was all the spirit answered my question with. The way the sound seemed to reverberate in my head sent shivers down my spine. Unwilling to press him further on that, i decided to ask another, more prescient question. "Earlier, you said you were there to help me? Where you talking about my magic? Amongst other things. I stayed silent for a moment, trying to wrap my head around what was happening. This... voice, spirit, whatever, was claiming to be a sort of guardian spirit, which was bizare enough, given that i wasn't the right kind of mage that was able to interact with spirits... There was also the fact that it had apparently waited until i was 16, and the day after i got my magic back to finaly contact me. Those things have to be related, right? As i silently stood over the dark well, lost in thought, the voice spoke again. A piece of advice for you, young shadow. The wolf and the flame aren't to be trusted with your destiny. "My destiny? What do you mean? And who's the wolf and the fl- wait. You mean Melwyn and Omaren? If those are their names, yes "Why? They're my friends?" I said, a hint of skepticism in my voice. "Why shouldn't i trust them?" The voice didn't answer my question, and so i pressed on. "And what about the other thing you said, about a destiny. My destiny? What did you mean by that? What is it? There was another long silence before it finaly spoke again. You shall know, in due time. "In due time? What does that even mean? Can you not tell me now or something?" When your soul is rendered complete once again, all the answers you seek will be revealed. His cryptic answer left me with more questions and no answer. All these questions swirled inside my head. My mouth opened and closed, but i didn't know where to start. Before i could decide, i felt a hand on my shoulder. I yelled and quickly turned around, only to be faced by Omaren's confused face. Confusion that changed into surprise as he looked at me. "Whoa, sorry!" Omaren said, putting both hands up. "i didn't mean to scare you like that." I let out a deep sigh and leaned down onto my knees and closed my eyes for a few seconds. "Are you ok?" He said, putting a hand my my back. I stood back up and nodded. "Yeah, i'm... i'm fine." I finaly said, putting my hand on my chest. My heart felt like a drum. "You scared the shit outta me, man" "I can see that" He said, chuckling to himself. "You look like you just saw a ghost or something" I glanced at the well behind me. "I think i heard one instead" I said to myself more than to Omaren. Unfortunatly, he heard me anyways. "Uh?" He said, confused "Are you serious?" but i waved it off with a smile that i hoped masked my worries. I knew i probably shouldn't keep whatever the hell just happened to myself, but i did anyways. I didn't want to freak him out with something that i couldn't even explain. I didn't even know if that whole thing was real anyways. Its fine, i'll deal with it later... "I'm just joking" I said as nonechelantly as i could before gestering towards the well behind me. "I saw it from afar and just came to check it out" Omaren simply nodded before steping closer to inspect it. "It is pretty weird" He conceaded. "Why's there a well in the middle of the forest like that?" He asked, pointing at it and turning to me. I simply shrugged at him, noting that looking at the darkness in the well sent a shiver in me, but there was still that unexplained feeling of familiarity which i couldn't quite put my finger on why it was there. "Let's head back" Omaren suddenly said. "Melwyn's waiting for us" I pried my eyes away from the ruined well and looked at Omaren, and nodded, suddenly feeling the urge to leave this place. "Yeah, let's get out of here" i said, fighting not to glance back at the well behind me. The sooner we get to the city, the sooner i won't have to think about whatever this was.
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| Jan 8, 2025
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The longest journey - Chapter four