|
Escape From Manitou Island: Part 185 |
|
(DISCLAIMER: This part, and all parts hereafter, are works in progress (WIPs) and have not been proofread or checked for plot inconsistencies. I've decided to present them "as is" for now, as there is a significant amount of unfinished material; yet this story has been on hiatus for a long while, I've forgotten certain details, and I have no plans to resume work on it any time soon. Please keep in mind while reading that details may change in the future. Should you spot an inconsistency, however, please feel free to point it out to me for possible correction.)
When the night shows The signals grow on radios All the strange things They come and go, as early warnings Stranded starfish have no place to hide Still waiting for the swollen Easter tide There's no point in direction We cannot even choose a side I took the old truck The hollow shoulder, across the waters On the tall cliffs They were getting older, sons and daughters The jaded underworld was riding high Waves of steel hurled metal at the sky And as the nail sunk in the cloud The rain was warm, and soaked the crowd Lord Here comes the flood We'll say goodbye to flesh and blood If again the seas are silent in any still alive It'll be those who gave their island to survive Drink up, dreamers, you're running dry When the flood comes You have no home, you have no wants In the thundercrash You're a thousand minds within a flash Don't be afraid to cry at what you see The actor's gone, there's only you and me And if we break before the dawn They'll give up what we used to be Lord Here comes the flood We'll say goodbye to flesh and blood If again the seas are silent in any still alive It'll be those who gave their island to survive Drink up, dreamers, you're running dry Lord Here comes the flood We'll say goodbye to flesh and blood If again the seas are silent in any still alive It'll be those who gave their island to survive Drink up, dreamers, you're running dry Drink up, dreamers, you're running dry "Here Comes The Flood" Peter Gabriel ©1977/2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd. All rights reserved TRAILING THE DREAM NATHALIT WAS GENERALLY an unobtrusive creature--aside from the one time she had so greatly influenced past events on Manitou Island--so her methods of finding information were rather gradual and unobtrusive, as well. She was used to the Borderlands, and the Gemfields, but, despite how much she adored the Island, its surface would always be something of a mystery to her. For the most part she kept to her own place, watching over unborn dreams, and except for when the lost spirit Chakenapok had taken over her realm, it was quite peaceful...some would say dull, though she'd never think so. Compared to this, the Island surface with all its activity was almost overwhelming, and as she sent her thoughts out to look around, she found herself skirting the edges of settlements more often than not, it was just so much to take in all at once. The Flint had mentioned that this strange new Dreamspinner in fact lived far from the Island, but she had to start somewhere, with what she knew most. After briefly sensing a few familiar presences, Tal Natha's among them, she let herself drift away, sensing, rather than seeing, the Island fade into the distance behind her. As she went, she mulled over what she'd learned from her few moments looking around. They are all having dreams. Strange dreams...but they aren't coming from the Gemfields, I would know if they had. Tal Natha is the only Dreamspinner upon the Island. So who could be sending such things, if not him? And what place are they coming from, if not my Gemfields...? She wondered if something unknown might have occurred in her absence, when Chakenapok had reigned there, but she hadn't sensed anything. And he hadn't mentioned anything, either. Of course there would be long-term consequences of his past actions, but strange dreams coming seemingly from nowhere didn't seem to be one of them. Perhaps this new Dreamspinner I'm seeking is to blame...? But even as she thought it, she frowned to herself; Dreamspinners usually kept close to where they sent their dreams. Why would a Dreamspinner from way up in Gitchi-Gami be sending such odd messages so far from home? Could one even send a dream that far? Much less scores of dreams? Even Tal Natha had had difficulty sending dreams to Charmian when she'd been on the mainland so long ago... Nathalit wasn't very constricted in her abilities to seek and travel, but at the same time, her power over others was minimal; even her past actions relied more upon subtly influencing others rather than on outright action. So she found herself wandering for quite a while. Every so often she sensed new and curious presences around her, but had to refrain from spending too much time focusing on them, as they weren't part of her mission. By the time she sensed the great lake drawing near, she still hadn't picked up on the presence of another Dreamspinner, and that puzzled her. Wasn't this where she was supposed to be dwelling...? She considered calling upon the Flint to help guide her, but he was probably still busy with the mainlander and the others, and she knew he too had had some difficulty keeping in touch with the strange manitou. She would figure it out on her own. She drifted downward now, sensing out a small island--she knew to go to it, as it wavered upon the planes just like Manitou Island did--and letting herself be drawn to it the way that her own Island drew her. She greeted the stones and sand and trees and water, but was puzzled when she received very little greeting in return; despite their similarities, this place was much different from Manitou Island, and it felt cold and foreign and unwelcoming after the first glance. Shrugging off her perplexity, she drifted about, sensing the various manitous and other beings nearby, and then let herself sink into the ground. The Flint had said the strange Dreamspinner was somewhere beneath the island. Perhaps this place, too, had Borderlands like back at home. She was in no hurry, and so merely kept drifting downward even when she sensed something approaching, also underground, from somewhere off to her side. It was a moment or two before she slowed down a little--because whatever was coming must be plowing its way through solid earth at great speed, and even Mizauwabeekum never dug that fast. She at last halted just as whatever it was passed right through her, or more like where she would have been, had she had any substance. It promptly halted on the other side, and she now sensed that it was some kind of stoneling power, concentrated into rock shape. As soon as she realized this, it came back at her, shoving through the soil like it was water. Horrid creature! I'll hardly allow you to seek her out AGAIN! Nathalit would have blinked, had she had eyes. Instead she just held her place as the large stone plowed through her, not disrupting her presence in the least. Assuming it to be some sort of alarm system set up by whoever owned the island, she began moving downward again, for she thought she at last sensed something down there as well, however faintly. The stone changed course and came plowing after her. Halt!! it cried. Don't you recall what happened the last time you tried this--? Nathalit stopped again. I admit I have never been here before, she said, just as the stone passed through her a third time. You are some sort of guardian here? What--? The stone stopped and she sensed it "turning" to look at her; whatever this being was, despite its physicality, it could apparently see and sense her the way that she sensed it. You--you're not him, it said, sounding confused. I am Nathalit, Nathalit said, and I have never been to this island before. Nathalit...? The stone began rolling around her. She found it curious that it didn't displace the soil, instead passing right through it; she could tell that it was in fact displacing its own essence, rearranging its rock particles, so that it could move through the soil with ease and without gouging out tunnels. Interesting. You feel familiar, somehow, but I cannot place why, it added. A mental shimmer then passed over it and it moved closer in a threatening way. And I do not care! Whatever you are, you do not belong here, and it is my duty to protect her at all costs. So just be off with you... It rolled through her and halted, quivering angrily. Go on, go! I don't care how long it takes, I'll figure out SOME way to shove you out of here! You are guarding somebody? Nathalit asked. Would she be the Dreamspinner I'm seeking? The stone started--mentally, at least. How--how do you know--? What! He DID send you! Leave this place! Even if you make it to her I'll fight you off with every-- Nathalit now moved, passing through the stone. As she did, she opened up her thoughts so that it could see them, the way that manitous sometimes communicated, for she sensed that this must be some sort of manitou. The stone fell silent as she moved through and out its other side; there was a brief silence while she waited for it to collect its thoughts, then they faced each other again. You...you are a Dreamspinner, too, then...? it thought. Not quite, Nathalit replied, yet I am closely related to one, and I have power over dreams, so this is why you think so. You are some sort of guardian here? You are from that Island in the south, the stone said, and she thought the affirmative. The one those humans came from. You are with them--? The Pearl Feather didn't send you? If the Pearl Feather is the same one intent on destroying the Island, then he did not send me, Nathalit replied. I was sent by one Chakenapok, the Flint, who was communicating with a Dreamspinner who resides here... Oh! The stone lit up--mentally, of course. I sensed her communicating with him! They have not gotten along quite well--but--this is beside the point-- It turned again and began rolling. You must be friends with the humans, you know so much about them. And you feel nothing like he did. Follow me this way. He found her for a moment, but I've been trying to keep her safe... Nathalit puzzled over what this might mean, deciding to see for herself. They passed through vast amounts of earth and stone before coming out in a great hollow beneath the ground--a cave--and here the stone assumed more solid form, rolling down the wall as Nathalit floated toward the floor. As soon as they both reached it, the stone shifted form, and Nathalit, now taking the shape of a small cloud of mist, found herself being poked skeptically by a young man in grayish deerskins and stone necklaces. "You have no sort of shape like we do?" he asked. "What type of manitou are you?" I am not quite a manitou as you are, Nathalit said. She decided against trying to explain further, and assumed her Ocryx shape, making the young man's eyes grow wide. I hope this will do. I usually have no need of a physical shape, where I live. "Oh! You look like that strange wolf creature who was accompanying them. I doubt the Pearl Feather would lower himself to taking such a shape...she's over here a little bit. But if you plan on speaking to her, I'm afraid you will not get very far." He turned and walked right through the wall. Nathalit tilted her head, waited a moment, then followed; walking through solid matter was no big deal for her, though his actions had been rather unexpected. She again found herself traveling through the earth--rock this time--and then came out into another cavelet, this one smaller than before. She halted abruptly, for the manitou wasn't the only one here now. Nathalit stared at the other figure seated upon the floor, then slowly approached. It seemed to be a young woman with wings, her head drooping forward and her hands in her lap; she was dressed completely in red. The stone manitou knelt beside her, looking up at Nathalit with worry in his eyes. What is her name? Nathalit asked. "Maanaabiziiquae. The Red Swan." Nathalit stared at her a moment more, then said, Tell me what you know of her. "Not very much, I'm afraid. She's been here a very, very long time. I believe she existed even before this island, and the wabanos who live here watch over her. But even though they serve the Pearl Feather, the Pearl Feather knew nothing about her until recently." How did he learn? "I'm not certain, but he came right here himself and tried to get to her! Fortunately..." He trailed off and looked at the strange sleeping woman in red. "She awoke a little...and made him disappear. She's incredibly powerful...but she says she's not powerful enough to defeat him." Awoke? You mean she always sleeps, then? "She used to. As long as I've known her she's been asleep. But lately..." He placed a finger under her chin and gently tilted her head upward so Nathalit could see into her face. The Red Swan's features were slack, indicating unconsciousness, but Nathalit could just barely glimpse the glazed slivers of her eyes. "You see?" the manitou said. "They opened a little bit, some time ago. And they're a little bit more open now. I think she will awaken soon, and the thought frightens me, because nobody seems to know exactly what she is or what she's here for." You think she might be a dark manitou...? Nathalit asked, reaching out and lightly touching the woman's hair. "No...not in the least!" The stone manitou shook his head, adamant. "She lets me see into her dreams...I carry her about there. Oh, that's right, you don't know. I am the Stone Canoe that carries Mishosha to and from this island. But in my spirit form I carry her as well, in her dreams. She has always been good to me, much better than that accursed old man and his witch of a wife. In fact I think in dreams is the only time she's ever felt at peace. But with the Pearl Feather now knowing about her, I feel she'll never know peace again. I believe he wants to destroy her, though for what reason, I couldn't say." Nathalit drew her hand back. She'd been trying to sense the Red Swan's thoughts, and had managed to glimpse a few, but they were all vague and tenebrous. She held her hand out again toward the woman's chest and it started glowing. The Stone Canoe leaned forward curiously, then hopped back with a gasp as soon as he saw her spirit stone. "That...that makes no sense! Why does it look like that?" The great power you sense in her, Nathalit said. Perhaps this explains it. The Stone Canoe looked at her with wide eyes. "But--are you saying she is some sort of dark manitou, after all? How could she have treated me so kindly all those years? Surely she would have shown some sort of sign..." He trailed off, then his hand crept up to his mouth and he started gnawing on his thumbnail. Nathalit waited a moment for him to speak. What is it, that you just thought of? "Well..." He was silent for a long moment before speaking. "I do know that the girl--Charmian--and the Flint you spoke of had some sort of altercations with her...I can sense her medicine, and it's been restless, much more restless than it's ever been...and there was the way she treated the Pearl Feather when he arrived. She tossed him out as if he were nothing. But there was also something she said..." He paused, then met Nathalit's eyes, looking perplexed. "She said that he was the one who put her here." Another long silence as the two of them stared at each other. You mentioned that he did not know of her existence until that moment, Nathalit reminded him. The Stone Canoe gave a frustrated shrug. "And I know he did not! But--well--she said what she said. And he did act as if he knew her from somewhere, though I must insist, he was quite shocked to find her here." So he knows of her, yet did not know she was here, Nathalit thought. And wished for her to be destroyed. I realize the question is rather ridiculous, but has he any great enemies you know of? The Stone Canoe let out a scoffing noise. "Who isn't his enemy? When he arrived he made it pretty clear that even that horrid wabano isn't serving him anymore!" But none in particular? "Take your pick. I'm afraid I could never narrow it down." She looks familiar somehow, Nathalit said. She reached out to touch her again. I can tell that her thoughts are disturbed...no matter how peaceful her face may be. "You can sense her thoughts?" the Stone Canoe asked; when Nathalit looked at him he leaned forward again. "Well--couldn't you figure out what's going on? For some reason she won't talk to me right now. I keep worrying that she can't reach me. For all these moons, I've been the only one she has. If you could see what she's thinking or dreaming..." I have done such things before, Nathalit said, but it is not right to intrude into someone's thoughts or dreams, unless they allow one to. She simply might not want to communicate with us. "I refuse to believe that," the Stone Canoe insisted. "She's never shut me out before--not once! And even if she intends to now--well--you just said her thoughts are disturbed--obviously she's not in her right head. Not with all of these things that have been happening. I know she's more confused and afraid than anyone--I can feel it. If you could do something to help that, doesn't that make it right?" Nathalit stared at him so long that he began to fidget with his foot a little. You realize that there could be consequences for such actions, she said at last. He nodded. "Of course! I'm not stupid! But everything seems to be having consequences lately--surely this would be the least of them! I'm getting sick of just sitting around!" Nathalit noticed that sometime during this, he'd taken the Red Swan's hand in his own and was squeezing it. She considered for a moment or two, then gestured as she stepped close. Keep hold of her hand, then. If she senses me trying to read her, she might become hostile, and perhaps you could attempt to keep her calm. Do you think you can get through to her at all? "I will try to," the Stone Canoe replied, and, still clasping the Red Swan's hand, he stared at her intently. Nathalit could easily read his thoughts--not that he was trying to conceal them, what with how hard he aimed them at the Red Swan--and was mildly surprised by his apparent devotion to her. She waited a moment or so to allow his messages a moment to get through, if they were going to, before leaning close and placing her head against the Red Swan's. My dream to yours, she said. Your dream to mine. My dream is yours. Your dream is mine. Do you accept? Is your dream mine now...? The Stone Canoe stared at her, distracted by the strange process; then he took in a sharp breath and glanced down, for the Red Swan's fingers had curled tightly around his own. Her eyes fluttered a little, and though she didn't speak, Nathalit felt a change in something; the murkiness cleared, just a little, and she sent a thought toward the Stone Canoe. I am going to follow her dream, she said, and see where it takes me. And a second later, her form began to fade away, leaving the Stone Canoe gasping in surprise. She could have easily left her physical form, such as it was, back in the cave, but decided not to, instead following the flow of the Red Swan's dreams and thoughts, like a leaf being swept along by a stream. It was still too vague for her to make much out, and she wondered over how deeply asleep she must be, that even her own dreams were hidden to her. It was only after some time spent traveling, catching glimpses of things here and there, that a thought occurred to her. Perhaps this is not a true dream at all...but a vision of some sort? Dreams are what I know best--visions, not quite so well. That could explain things. Yet if it is a vision, the power it must take to maintain it for so long, while in such a state, must be enormous beyond imagining... She let herself drift aside, the more easily to catch glimpses of true memories and dreams drifting off to the sides. She could see these more clearly. She learned a little about the Red Swan's life by looking at them, judging that she must have been a powerful manitou once, dwelling among other manitous of her sort; here and there she caught a glimpse of her childhood; and there were of course many memories involving being carried about by the Stone Canoe over a dream version of the great lake above. Those memories were far clearer than the childhood ones. Nathalit could tell that, aside from the most recent, the Red Swan must not recall most of these at all except on this unconscious level. The memories seemed almost like paintings--flat, untrue, mere depictions of things that had happened, but not real in and of themselves. She then turned her head to get a better look at a memory arising to her left and then slammed to a halt, gasping and jerking so sharply that her head--such as it was--twisted around. The shock was so abrupt that it stunned her and left her senseless for a few moments; when she began to recover herself, she blinked in confusion, trying to figure out what had just happened. She looked for the memory, but it was cut off from her, and she could sense some sort of barrier or wall; it blocked her off from everything ahead. The dream, vision, memory, whatever it was, seemed to be a dead end. She waited for a moment or two; perhaps something would happen on its own. When nothing did, she glanced back at the hazy memories she'd already been browsing. Their flatness, almost falseness, perplexed her. When she tried to feel them, they seemed even more insubstantial. She almost got the feeling that... They are...not her memories...? But if they are not hers...then whose are they? Their flatness...as if somebody merely told her what to remember, rather than she remembered it for herself...that explains this...but where do they come from...? The memories wavered, seemed to retreat. Nathalit lost interest in them. The barrier before her was more important, for it was preventing her from figuring out how to move on. She felt at it mentally; it was incredibly powerful, not quite like anything she'd ever felt before, but seemed to work on a level different from her own. Whatever had put it here apparently was not a Dreamer or a Dreamspinner. Yet they say this Red Swan is a Dreamspinner...but is she, really? Just because one can send out their dreams does not make them a true Spinner. Spinners send out others' dreams...yet all I see here are her own. She then has the ability to send her own dreams to others. If she is asleep, I assume this is the only way she can communicate. Even the Canoe says so...and so if she is not a Dreamspinner, what is she...? Question after question, mystery after mystery...any other being might have been extremely frustrated by now, yet Nathalit had never been that sort. The plain truth was the barrier had not been put up by a Dreamspinner--so she should be able to find a way around it. She felt she would have been able to plow straight through, yet knew that this could be traumatic, and so opted for a more subtle approach. She moved toward the edge of the barrier--which was more an impression of an edge than the real thing, seeing as this was merely a vision--and, following the Stone Canoe's example, let herself drift apart, her own particles merging with those of the barrier as she slipped through. The sensation was incredibly strange, to say the least. She could feel the barrier trying to keep her back, tugging on her, then trying to keep her in pieces, to prevent her from reaching the other side. She didn't fight it, but just kept slipping past, eluding it; there were no more memories or sights around her, nothing but blackness, and it seemed to go on and on. She wondered just how large this barrier was. She tried to sense further ahead of herself to see where it might end and where it would lead to. She didn't fear for her own safety that much, since escape would likely be quite easy, but it was best to be prepared-- Just as she thought this, she was out the other side, without any warning--she gasped mentally and drew herself together, managing to catch one glimpse of her surroundings before-- Another shock--something slammed into her this time, and then she felt herself surrounded and held fast. She froze for a mere heartbeat, then started struggling, the feeling of being caught was so bizarre--it dimly occurred to her that whatever had done this must be incredibly powerful indeed, to not be a Dreamspinner yet to trap a Dreamer so easily-- "What are you doing here?" an awful voice cried. Nathalit gasped again and her fur prickled--fur--with a start she realized that she now had physical form, when she hadn't even assumed it--she was in her Ocryx shape, and something was surrounding her, brilliant blue bands which flickered like lightning, as blue as the sky. Pure panic made her fight them a second more, then she made herself fall still, since fighting was getting her nowhere. She tried to figure out where she was, since the medicine in the glowing bands was such that she could hardly see anymore, they flared so brightly. Over their electric hum she heard the same voice, now lower but still just as harsh, say, "I do not know how you came here again--but I will find out--and when I do, you will never hurt anyone again..." The bands constricted and cut into Nathalit so sharply that she yelped in pain. Instantly she let her mind go open, her thoughts and emotions spilling every which way, hoping desperately that whatever was behind this would sense them and realize that she wasn't attacking. And an instant after this, the bands loosened and broke away, and Nathalit collapsed. She blinked a few times, gasping for breath--even the sensation of hitting the ground was a strange one, and she flexed her arms and legs, trying to get used to it. "What...what are you doing here?" the same voice, now much less harsh, much more confused, echoed itself. Nathalit lifted her head and shook it hard to try to regain her senses. I am not attacking! she exclaimed, in case she hadn't already made herself clear; she didn't want to feel those bands around herself again. I was only following the Red Swan's dream--! "The Red Swan's dream led you here?" the voice asked, and Nathalit finally got the chance to look up, blinking the glare from her eyes. They grew when she recognized the manitou staring back at her. |