Caeldren Fri Apr 15, 2011 1:23 amAliana ignited from the bed, her hair collapsing onto her head as it settled down, frightened by her sudden awakening. Eyes wide she surveyed the room. All seemed in place, still and peaceful as ever. Aliana lived in two worlds, one in the shoes of a priestess of her people, revered and beloved; draped in the finest of gowns and embroidered robes and adorned with only the most dazzling of jewelry and trinkets. The city of Aras'alam had always been here home in this life, keeping her warm in the winter with high walls and keeping her safe with the finest of soldiers. Her people had prospered for many years, and now hung at the peak of their civilization, but in her other world, things were not so joyous.
In her dreams, her mind, she was a slave. A prisoner of a race she still knew nothing of; a people who live in the heartlands of fire. For all of her life she had lived by night in this dream, a slave and a captive; tortured endlessly. In all of the years she slept and dreamt, she had never once cried out what they demanded and she thanked the High One's for it had been them who had blessed her with resilience and willpower. Her training and devotion to her people, bred into her from the beginning bound her to the fate of her people and her people to her, and it was this truth that would hold her tongue; but even she knew she could not survive in this dream forever.
Slipping aside her worries she rolled onto her side and slowly sat up in the bed, letting her feet fall like rocks to the cold ground. She had seen the other villages just outside the walls, each small hut had rocky, dirty and snow tossed floors with stone walls; and she always wondered how it was possible to live in such a filthy home. All her life she had been pampered and nestled in walls and floors of stone, sometimes both even covered by lavish rugs and tapestries.
The Temple was by far the most grand of all structures in Aras'alam, stretching high up above the city, keeping watch over the vast open plains beyond and the mountains and woods. It's walls were built of strong stone, and had withstood the harsh winds and the weather for countless generations. The Temple was even fabled to have been left to the Pish'tah by a great and ancient race as a gift in honor of their majesty.
She slowly slipped up onto her feet, letting the cold of the stone below her slink up through her body and up to her head and then as the sensation dispersed she glided softly over the chilly floor to the wardrobe cowering in the corner.
Today was a special occasion, and she tolled out a long, white velvet dress from the wardrobe in exchange for her sky blue nightgown, a gift from the High Priestess herself when she had been brought to the temple to study. As it slid over her head and down to her feet her eyes caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror across the room, and she let her head fall onto it, gazing deep into herself. Deep red and blue marks, almost like scars marred her shoulder and she slipped the dress down her shoulder to look closer. They had grown worse over the night, a parting gift from her dream no doubt.
She slipped the dress back up to it's proper position and let her feet slid along the cold stone floors and then onto a soft but scratchy rug that trailed the halls ahead. Passing the High Priestess's quarters she bowed her head and quickened her pace, slowing once on the other side of the archway. She shuffled down the stairwell set at the end of the hallway, skipping down two steps at a time and then onto the landing below, colliding full speed with the bulky armored solider before her.
"Good morning, priestess."
--to be continued xD--
In her dreams, her mind, she was a slave. A prisoner of a race she still knew nothing of; a people who live in the heartlands of fire. For all of her life she had lived by night in this dream, a slave and a captive; tortured endlessly. In all of the years she slept and dreamt, she had never once cried out what they demanded and she thanked the High One's for it had been them who had blessed her with resilience and willpower. Her training and devotion to her people, bred into her from the beginning bound her to the fate of her people and her people to her, and it was this truth that would hold her tongue; but even she knew she could not survive in this dream forever.
Slipping aside her worries she rolled onto her side and slowly sat up in the bed, letting her feet fall like rocks to the cold ground. She had seen the other villages just outside the walls, each small hut had rocky, dirty and snow tossed floors with stone walls; and she always wondered how it was possible to live in such a filthy home. All her life she had been pampered and nestled in walls and floors of stone, sometimes both even covered by lavish rugs and tapestries.
The Temple was by far the most grand of all structures in Aras'alam, stretching high up above the city, keeping watch over the vast open plains beyond and the mountains and woods. It's walls were built of strong stone, and had withstood the harsh winds and the weather for countless generations. The Temple was even fabled to have been left to the Pish'tah by a great and ancient race as a gift in honor of their majesty.
She slowly slipped up onto her feet, letting the cold of the stone below her slink up through her body and up to her head and then as the sensation dispersed she glided softly over the chilly floor to the wardrobe cowering in the corner.
Today was a special occasion, and she tolled out a long, white velvet dress from the wardrobe in exchange for her sky blue nightgown, a gift from the High Priestess herself when she had been brought to the temple to study. As it slid over her head and down to her feet her eyes caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror across the room, and she let her head fall onto it, gazing deep into herself. Deep red and blue marks, almost like scars marred her shoulder and she slipped the dress down her shoulder to look closer. They had grown worse over the night, a parting gift from her dream no doubt.
She slipped the dress back up to it's proper position and let her feet slid along the cold stone floors and then onto a soft but scratchy rug that trailed the halls ahead. Passing the High Priestess's quarters she bowed her head and quickened her pace, slowing once on the other side of the archway. She shuffled down the stairwell set at the end of the hallway, skipping down two steps at a time and then onto the landing below, colliding full speed with the bulky armored solider before her.
"Good morning, priestess."
--to be continued xD--
