4 min read
Reality Bites - Part 1
April 1, 2019
The day had been bleak, it was spring but the world felt much darker, much more gloomy than a normal spring day might otherwise. All of this because Ryder couldn’t get out of his own head. He continued to contemplate all of the things he had witnessed during his time with Xiu. The valsaros literally had to kill the primal Ryder had created. The frei had lost all control of his imaginings. The reality of the situation was that his creations were real, living and breathing.
The toadstool had learned early on in his days as a frei that his imaginings were ‘real’ to him and him alone. Nobody else had the pleasure of physically touching any of his imaginings. Their hands would go right through anything Ryder created. To him, the sense of touch felt no different between his own imaginings and that of reality. But now everything made sense. Xiu could touch the primal. He could truly feel it. It was something so mind blowing to Ryder that he hadn’t ever thought about before. It made sense once he realized, however. After all, he was basically manipulating live plants to help ease his burden and energy consumption. Though, the fact that he realized they die and wither and rot in real life was a lot harder for him to accept than when he thought they just ‘died’ in his imagination. It was no wonder they stuck around for so long after he had finished. And to top it off, he realized why his magic was taking such a toll on him physically. His latest interaction with the valsaros was a huge eye opening experience.
The death of his creations was so hard to take that he vowed to himself he would never create another being ever again. The past things he created, especially Flairy, filled his mind once again. Did all of his recent imaginings feel pain or suffering when they passed? What did Flairy feel? It was hard to wonder what might be when he wasn’t even aware that they were truly real in the first place.
Being that his mind was so consumed with all of this, Ryder had been having the same nightmare over and over again ever since that day in the forest with Xiu. It always happened the same way…
Ryder is seen floating in a dark, damp forest. He wears a menacing look on his face. Then, with hands held out, he laughs maniacally as the ‘camera’ of his dream pans outward to reveal that those he is closest to (Reuben, Evan, Calista -- even a couple of fellow raevan he had encountered) are all lying limp in the damp grass surrounding him. Lightning flashes and thunder roars. As the dream pans out further, the forest floor becomes darker and with each subsequent flash of lightning, blood and gore seem to appear on his friends and family. Rain begins to fall from the sky as Ryder’s evil smile, lit up by the lightning, is the only thing seen in the darkness. At this point, dark, rotting vines begin to cover the corpses of his loved ones before he wakes in a pool of his own sweat.
The frei couldn’t shake the dream. Every night. Sometimes multiple times a night. This dream haunted him. He couldn’t help but feel depressed and sick after the last week of nightmares. He didn’t want to practice magic any longer. He couldn’t bring himself to do anything. What if these nightmares were foreshadowing something far more sinister? Maybe these powers the Trader had bestowed upon him were actually supposed to make him go crazy. Maybe the Trader expected Ryder to come crawling back and asking for more help. So many thoughts grew in the toadstool's mind. It just didn’t make sense. Is this what his true power was? The power which can create reality? It was disturbing and he wouldn’t stand for it.
This nightmare would not come true. Never in a million years. Ryder wouldn’t let it. From this day forward, he would no longer practice magic.
The toadstool had learned early on in his days as a frei that his imaginings were ‘real’ to him and him alone. Nobody else had the pleasure of physically touching any of his imaginings. Their hands would go right through anything Ryder created. To him, the sense of touch felt no different between his own imaginings and that of reality. But now everything made sense. Xiu could touch the primal. He could truly feel it. It was something so mind blowing to Ryder that he hadn’t ever thought about before. It made sense once he realized, however. After all, he was basically manipulating live plants to help ease his burden and energy consumption. Though, the fact that he realized they die and wither and rot in real life was a lot harder for him to accept than when he thought they just ‘died’ in his imagination. It was no wonder they stuck around for so long after he had finished. And to top it off, he realized why his magic was taking such a toll on him physically. His latest interaction with the valsaros was a huge eye opening experience.
The death of his creations was so hard to take that he vowed to himself he would never create another being ever again. The past things he created, especially Flairy, filled his mind once again. Did all of his recent imaginings feel pain or suffering when they passed? What did Flairy feel? It was hard to wonder what might be when he wasn’t even aware that they were truly real in the first place.
Being that his mind was so consumed with all of this, Ryder had been having the same nightmare over and over again ever since that day in the forest with Xiu. It always happened the same way…
Ryder is seen floating in a dark, damp forest. He wears a menacing look on his face. Then, with hands held out, he laughs maniacally as the ‘camera’ of his dream pans outward to reveal that those he is closest to (Reuben, Evan, Calista -- even a couple of fellow raevan he had encountered) are all lying limp in the damp grass surrounding him. Lightning flashes and thunder roars. As the dream pans out further, the forest floor becomes darker and with each subsequent flash of lightning, blood and gore seem to appear on his friends and family. Rain begins to fall from the sky as Ryder’s evil smile, lit up by the lightning, is the only thing seen in the darkness. At this point, dark, rotting vines begin to cover the corpses of his loved ones before he wakes in a pool of his own sweat.
The frei couldn’t shake the dream. Every night. Sometimes multiple times a night. This dream haunted him. He couldn’t help but feel depressed and sick after the last week of nightmares. He didn’t want to practice magic any longer. He couldn’t bring himself to do anything. What if these nightmares were foreshadowing something far more sinister? Maybe these powers the Trader had bestowed upon him were actually supposed to make him go crazy. Maybe the Trader expected Ryder to come crawling back and asking for more help. So many thoughts grew in the toadstool's mind. It just didn’t make sense. Is this what his true power was? The power which can create reality? It was disturbing and he wouldn’t stand for it.
This nightmare would not come true. Never in a million years. Ryder wouldn’t let it. From this day forward, he would no longer practice magic.