[Dream/Video]

[fistfullofmagic]

[For some, sleep is where they retreat when the world just becomes too much to deal with. Alas, ‘tis not a perfect retreat.

Upon falling asleep, Dhaos is not greeted with the fare that is usually associated with dreams. Instead, he sees a vaulted ceiling; very old, and very familiar. On the edges of his vision, four faces are visible. Terror sparks within him when he realizes what he’s lying in. He tries to bolt, only to find that he’s paralyzed.

NO!

His words too seem trapped in his throat. A heavy grinding noise sounds as a great stone lid is sealed over him. He wants to cry, scream, bang his fists against the lid, anything to escape that small dark prison.]

[Then the scene dissolves into white. For a moment, all is still and silent. And then, the faint sound of chimes. …Or perhaps it’s water? Slowly but surely, blue overtakes the white until the two meet at the horizon. Then the image sharpens and the blue transforms into the many tiers of a vast sluice. In the center of one of the many pools, a figure in black and red hovers just above the water. The world shifts again, the figure now in focus, surrounded by azure butterflies that seem to glow from within. Stillness again for a time, the only sound the ever present chimes. Then, Dhaos begins to sing.]

Face to the sea
I hear the wind
Calling me to truth
Close your eyes
And dream beneath
The warmth of skies of blue
Longing to rest my weary bones
So long the path
O be still my soul

[When he wakes, the covers are in complete disarray and his face is wet with tears. He lays there unmoving for quite some time.]


((OOC: Both dreams are interactive, so whether you decide to interfere or bother him about it after he wakes up, just specify which part you’re responding to. The song Dhaos sings is the first verse of “Starry Moonlit Night” from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. The game is also the inspiration for most of the second dream.))

Comments

First Dream | Interactive

[closedcircuit]

[Ky dashes forward, grabbing onto the lid and trying to haul it off. He doesn't think he knows where he is at the moment, but that's not what's important.]

Hold on. I'll get you out of there.

[fistfullofmagic]

[The voice is unfamiliar, but it's enough to startle Dhaos. Someone is...helping him? But...why?

Faintly, he can hear the four humans who had sealed him trying to dissuade his mysterious helper, telling the man that no, he must not free the Demon King.]

[closedcircuit]

D-Demon King?

[Ky pauses for a second, and then reconsiders.]

If you can't prove it then he deserves to be able to defend himself.

[fistfullofmagic]

"Our families have worked on trapping him for generations, ever since he leapt through time to escape justice. He's a danger to the world!"

[That's not true, he thinks. He just wanted humans to stop making Magiteck like the Mana Cannon that destroy their world. Why could they never listen to what he had to say instead of lashing out...? He wants to say all of this, but... The one who had been helping was surely swayed by their words. Even more than the paralysis, it is this thought that prevents him from speaking.]

[closedcircuit]

[Ky hesitates, then sets his chin.]

Is he a current danger? If we bring him out can he escape if I keep an eye on him?

It's important that I hear his side as well.

[fistfullofmagic]

"He can only be harmed by magic. Do you still think you could suppress him if he attacks?"

[The world seems to stand still, as if everything hinges on Ky's answer.]

[closedcircuit]

Yes. I have magic, and I will use it if it becomes necessary. You have my assurance.

2nd Dream | Interactive

[redcladidealist]

[As Dhaos's voice echoes across the water, his red and black reflection on the water ripples, then subtly changes. Another face peers up at him, brunette instead of blond.

Holding out one red-gloved hand, Lloyd reaches down (up?) to the other man. He's not drowning, clearly not in any distress, but he's still completely submerged. But who said any of this had to make sense?]

delayed response is delayed

[fistfullofmagic]

[Slowly, Dhaos mirrors Lloyd's gesture. Another ripple runs across the water's surface. When it settles, the two are face to face. Crystal formations of varying size and hue now scatter the landscape. One has partially encased Dhaos. His calm smile and the way the crystal seems to form the shape of wings gives him an almost fittingly angelic appearance.]

<3

[redcladidealist]

[Lloyd continues to reach for the man's hand, grasping for it all the more urgently when he sees those crystalline wings.]

You don't have to do this, Dhaos. Don't sacrifice yourself. There has to be another way to save the worlds. We just have to look for it.

[fistfullofmagic]

[Dhaos laughs a little. It blends with the ever-present sound of chimes, creating an almost eerie effect. A hand is raised to the boy in red, as if to accept his offer.]

If you can turn back the hands of time as I have, perhaps there is yet a chance to reverse my fate. After all...

[The reflections on the nearest crystals shift, no longer showing the two in the center of the almost-ring. Rather, they show a variety of people; snapshots in time. It quickly becomes obvious that these are a group of people. The most heavily featured seem to be a boy with a red headband and a girl in a healer's habit.]

...This group changed theirs'.

[redcladidealist]

I don't believe in fate.

[Lloyd takes his hand, mana sparking from the contact, then rising, spreading out from behind his back. Translucent, blade-like feathers begin to form, and then suddenly it's as though the mirror is still between them, wings matching wings.]

I believe anyone can do anything if they try. There's always a way. You just have to find it.

[He gestures with his free hand toward the crystal that's partially encasing Dhaos.]

Don't let that idea of fate trick you into thinking you have to give up.

[fistfullofmagic]

[Dhaos laughs again.]

You misinterpret me. This is not "fate." It is simply "time" in a solid form. On the timeline you know me from, not but death awaits me; it is simple fact. However, I am not yet fully bound by this, as you can see.

[His smile becomes quite serene.]

Whatever you learn of me when you wake, do not allow it to drive you away. I have those I yet need to protect, and I cannot do it alone. Give it time, and I will come to realize that too.

[redcladidealist]

You're alive right now, though, right? So long as you're alive, you should have hope.

[The reflection on the water beneath them changes to an image of clouds and sky. Lloyd tugs on Dhaos's hand, trying to pull him into the world below. They have wings. They can fly.]

It takes a lot to drive me away, Dhaos. If you need help, you only have to ask. Let's work together, for the sake of a peaceful world.

First Dream | Dreamwalking

[zelda_hylia]

What are you doing? He's alive, stop that!

[Zelda hurries over to the sarcophagus, putting her hands on the lid and trying to push it off again.]

[fistfullofmagic]

[The lid doesn't budge, but the sound of the voice of someone familiar breaks some of the paralysis. He can still barely move, but...]

Zelda? Zelda!

[The four attempt to convince her to stop tampering with the seal, for the Demon King should not be released upon the world again. Their protests don't seem quite so strong as he thought they might though...]

[zelda_hylia]

Demon King? What are you talking about?

[She ignores them completely and pushes with all her might.]

[fistfullofmagic]

[The sarcophagus - and indeed the entire room - dissolves into a black void, leaving only Dhaos and Zelda. He slowly raises himself into a sitting position. It seems like he's calming down, slowly but surely. ...Then the whispers begin.

Monster.

Demon.

Murderer.

He curls in on himself a little, his face going blank.]

[zelda_hylia]

[After the dream with Zelos, Zelda has been able to tell when she's trapped inside one for the most part. She kneels in front of Dhaos, trying to get him to look at her.]

This isn't reality, Dhaos. It's a dream...

[fistfullofmagic]

...it was a memory before...

[He curls further in on himself.]

...and the voices speak the truth... I am a monster...

Dream One | Interactive!

[grandhealer]

[ Raine was in the room looking at the surroundings of it before turning her head to the sounds of the coffin closing. Immediately she has realized something was wrong about the coffin closing like that.

Quickly, she proceeds to walk over to the coffin to try to take the lid off. Perhaps there was something inside that might be on interest ]

[fistfullofmagic]

[The lid comes off rather easily considering the weight. There is indeed something interesting inside: Dhaos, looking quite justifiably terrified, immediately latches onto his savior like a drowning man to a piece of driftwood. A bit out of character for him normally, but reliving one of your worst memories kinda does that.]

[grandhealer]

[ Finding a person in the sarcophagus was rather shocking to the female half-elf. Especially with how terrified he looks. She knows that terrified look as well so she immediately commences to try to help him out. She holds out a hand. ]

Here. I'll help you out.

[fistfullofmagic]

[Hesitantly he takes her hand, almost as if afraid she'll disappear the moment he touches her. Once assured that his savior is real, he cautiously removes himself from his intended prison. He calms almost instantly after that.]

...Thank you.

[grandhealer]

[ Raine simply shakes her head once the man was out of the coffin. ]

No need to thank me. Though.. would it be too much to ask as to why you were in the coffin?