The Day of Thunder

Nao was sitting in her little tent with her lantern hanging beside her. Her writing kit was set on her lap and she was making notes of the day's events. She had made a few similar scrolls during her journey, but she had saved most of her supplies for her time here. Even before Shinsei's revelation, she had a feeling there would be much of note in this village.

She was using Agasha's shorthand. That made it easier to make more notes, but it would make it harder for others to read. That could be good or bad, depending on how things went in the coming days. Of course, she was still learning it, so it might not matter at all.

She finally put the kit away and looked down at San sleeping next to her. Most of the people in camp were likely asleep by now. It had been a bust day and the party had surely worn some out. Nao had never been one to go to sleep easily, though. She'd be awake for a while. Even so, she lied down and closed her eyes.

Soon, she would be in Yume Do, though not as a dreamer.

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(D1, EN) Once Upon a Time, Making Notes, Calligraphy (Cipher), Void for +1k1, 2 CR | 4k4-10 ⇒ 11

She finds herself in a dream.

She's barefoot, walking on something soft. As her awareness expand, it's a bank of clouds she's walking on as though they were solid ground. They were dark, though. Shadows tinged with odd red light. Below her, the landscape is also in shadow, shaped in ways land shouldn't be able to do. Vivid green rivers spiderweb across it, flowing down from floating islands.

Ahead of her, the sun hangs still, low on the horizon. At least, it might be the sun. It's black, with a firey corona surrounding it. An eclipse, but one that showed no signs of passing. Wind whips across her form, and she can feel the chill now of a land without Lady Sun's light.

She looked around cautiously. Realm walking was usually safe, as long as she didn't intentionally reveal herself. She should seem like any other dream spirit. But, Yume Do was being corrupted. It's spirits weren't safe. She had to assume she wasn't either.

As she looked at the landscape, the bright corona around the eclipse began to slowly dim.

"Hmm..." she heard a woman's voice behind her. "Someone's gone in the wrong direction."

She turned to the voice to see who it was.

A woman who seemed to be made of thing stone with green fire beneath stood behind her. Horns rose from her forehead, curving delicately, while glowing green lava stood in for hair, somehow flowing over her shoulders in elegant waves before dripping to the ground with a sizzle and solidifying into glossy black stone on the clouds.

She smiled at Nao. "A bit far from home, ne?"

"Not as far as you are." Nao gritted her teeth. "I won't let you harm any of them."

"This is my home," she replied warmly, stepping slowly closer. "And I don't want them to be harmed. Neither does my love. We just want to see you all at your greatest."

"Is it really our greatness, if we need you to achieve it?" she asked.

"Oh yes. Humans are utterly unaware of the vastness of their potential just yet," she replied, stepping up close to Nao. She can feel the warmth radiating off her body. "We want to see a human reach their true apotheosis. We want to help them reach it. That's all."

"Do you want to know a secret?"

"They will make it on their own." She looked at te darkness below. "If you don't take their dreams away. We can trade secrets, I suppose."

"We want to make their dreams come true, Nao-chan," she replied, then leaned forward, whispering in the young woman's ear. "They were not humans, but my love knows the dreams of one of them. The Sun and Moon were once mortal. And humans have even greater potential than that."

She was nervous. Having it so close was terrifying. She tried to remain calm. "They won't be their dreams anymore, if you do."

The secret did make her curious. That must be a very good story. But, there were better ways to learn it.

She whispered back. "We're going to win."

"They will have even greater dreams," she said warmly. She brushes fingers over Nao's cheek like an affectionate parent. "Oh, Nao-chan. That's the beauty of what we are now. Even if we lose, we win. Mortal dreams will only grow as time goes on and you learn more of yourselves. It's fine to let the fruit ripen a little more; it will be all the sweeter when it's ready."

[TN 10 Willpower Roll, please]

"They can't be greater dreams, if they aren't really their's." She said, remaining calm. "A dream isn't simply desire. It's hope. That's a much more fulfilling meal."


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(D1, EN) Once Upon a Time, Willpower, Void for +1k1 | 4k4 ⇒ 14 (TN: 10)

"Why wouldn't the dream be theirs, I wonder? Please, share you philosophy with me," she said, summoning a comfortable chair out of the stuff of clouds and leaning back into it.

"Where would these dreams come from, if not inspired by your influence? How would you think them greater, if not by your definition?" she shrugged. "What do you and your beloved dream of? What happens when Yume Do enters your mind?"

"They come from people's own minds, Nao-chan. Are you saying there's nothing you want to accomplish? No future you would like to see?" She asked curiously. "Do you simply drift upon the waves of causality?"

She smiled. "yume-do doesn't enter our mind... this part of it, anyway. We're part of it."

"There are certainly things I hope for." she nodded. "Things I hope to create or be a part of. Sealing you and your beloved back in your realm, for instance."

"Then wouldn't you say that a dream, like, for instance, making your mark on the Empire, or in Akiha's case, blotting out the sun," she said, gesturing casually to the eclipse, "Is still the person's dream? Even if they have help achieving it, it's still their own true desire."