Inside the Dream: The Breaking point

Gentle rains cuts through the forest canopy, caught by the chill wind blowing through the crater cut into the earth of the mountain. Dark shadows dance through the feeble light of the overcast sky, painting the forest in a gray hue as the droplets descend upon the two forms lying amidst the tangled undergrowth surround the roots of an ancient tree, standing testament to the untold ages of a land untouched.

Wisps of energies float over the foliage, the forest breathing in the spiritual auras, pulsating shades of green and violet in every ethereal leaf. Light fey creatures flit through the falling drops, dancing across the petals unheeding to the presence of the forms, pulsing with the flow of energy enveloping the land, a serene symphony of natural power dancing around all that exists in this place.


Xaneria flinches awake, her eyes fluttering open under a heavy moan. The druid lifts, rubbing her eyes calmly but jumps, feeling the area around her almost crushing her body. The heavy air of the power within the dream creeps over her causing her to gasp for air in a wet breath, her finger tips digging into the dirt. A breath breaks through and holds in her lungs as she nearly claws at her eyes, covering her ears then resting the heel of her palms upon her temples, pressing in harshly.

"This place...where... the dream" In realization she stops, and leaps to her feet quickly looking around as if trying to find a clearing in her second sight, hands shaking frantically.


Ailac stirs upon the foliage that he lies upon, branches and vines groaning at the movement in the druid above him, violet whorls of energy spreading like pollen from disturbed leaf and limb. Slowly the druid open his eyes, crystalline amber shining beneath retracting lids, staring up into the canopy of the ancient overhead. He twists his left arm, droplets of water sliding off his bared chest as he feels the branches give way and soft earth beneath his fingertips.

'Clean air.... free of taint.... such soft and fertile... earth?’ Ailac opens his eyes wide, no longer feeling cold stone beneath him, his eyes scanning the canopy overhead, the hidden flashes of energy that pulsate this land in such a familiar manner.


"Ai..lac?" Xaneria stepped back at the sound of the voice and flinched, her hands instinctively moving to her color bone as if to grip at her own throat. She jolts back and forth with her blind eyes, trying to see past whatever blocked her sight, causing her to haunch over lightly, a sharp piercing noise in the back of her mind. The druid took a deep breath stepping away from the druid's voice, biting hard on her bottom lip bringing blood rushing from the puncture.


"Anu terador mali... This is..." The words quiet off his lips, his tone tinged in disbelief. Ailac twists his head to the sound of the voice, shifting himself out of the pulling vines, leaves stuck upon the bottom of his kilt and twined in his hair. "Il'dar? You should not be here... Cenias..." Ailac trails off, cold reaffirmation sinking into his head, this is not the place where he is to confront the fears within his mind, this is the Emerald Dream.

Ailac steps forward, still half in disbelief but shock and concern rushing over his face seeing his Il'dar bent in pain, fresh blood trickling from her lip. "Xaneria... this place. What is happening, this is the Emerald Dream."


"I... I can't feel Cenias, Neyeeva or Eli..." She pauses, her voice shaking. "Where... the nightmare lashed... did it..." a gulp of her own words that choke back to the surface "did YOU kill them?!! Why can't I feel them?! I can always feel her! Why?! Did you do this in your corruption! Are they dead?! What... what is happening?! I ... I... " She shakes her head, as if a scared child backed into a corner by the darkness she speaks, voice trembling, body flinching and curled together as she takes another step back, towards a upraised root just in front of what is a small cliff.



Waves of shock roll through Ailac, shaking his body to the core in fear and concern. "No... I didn't.... no, I did nothing. This is the Emerald Dream.... we should not-" Ailac cuts off with a start, clear eyes taking in the hurt and scared look upon Xaneria's face, and the root behind her foot. "Il'dar, watch out!" he cries, leaping towards her, his body briefly thinning and becoming transparent as the last of the vines binding him slide through him. Covering the distance in a flash he reaches forward, grasping for one of her arms to pull her towards him, away from the edge of the cliff.


The female druid, consumed in a gasp of fear shakes her head and cringes stepping back quickly as something gets closer to her, only seeing strange and wild colors and scratches before her eyes. Fear breaks through and causes her face to cringe hitting the root and slipping back.


"Xan!" Ailac cries out watching her fingers slip just between his, as she falls back slipping over the edge of the cliff. With a roar of might, Ailac forces his hands down into the earth, a wave of green energy swirling out of his back and about him in an aura of intense power. The root of the tree shudders and groans as the green energy pours into it, expanding and bulging up from the cliff and over the edge. Thick tubers pulsing out from it after the druid, wrapping around her waist and flowing along her back and limbs stopping her decent mere meters from the earth below.


The fall catches her off guard but quickly, Xaneria places her hands on the vines in a gasp. Fear and disbelief wraps around her chest tightly as if she was being crushed, her breathing growing short and fast, brought back and laid upon her weakened legs, hitting her knees, hands covering her face tightly, sobbing.

"Eli.... why... I where am I? What is going on?" She takes another short breath through her tears, her head pounding from the confusion.



Ailac releases the flows of power from his form, letting the root return to its natural flow after setting Xaneria back on the ground safely. Quietly he gets up, feet seeming to ghost upon the ground as he moves to Xaneria's side, kneeling down beside her huddling form and wrapping his arms around, pulling her to his chest. "We are inside the Emerald Dream, Il'dar. I don't know how... or why, but something has drawn us here." Ailac pauses, trying to banish the confusion and fear from his own voice, taking on a comforting tone. "It's alright, we'll figure this out and go back. I'm sure the others must still be in the waking realm."


"The dream.... " Xaneria seemed to be calming, her voice softly resonating from her chest under her hands and tears. "I... failed..." She slowly started to cry again, unable to stop the feelings that shot from her mouth as they crawled up her chest and throat. "Even at this, I failed and trapped us here... how? Why? Why are we hear... within the dream of Ysera. We shouldn't be here, I shouldn't..." she chokes, stopping trying to stop her tears and trembling body, dark fears and sorrows consuming her heart and mind. "I'm not strong enough for this world."


Ailac pulls her tighter to him, gently wiping at the flowing tears with his free hand not cradling her back. "No. You haven't failed." Ailac pauses, closing his eyes tightly to beat back his own fears. "I brought us here. The corruption inside me led us here, where it originates. I'm sorry, I should have known.... But I won't let this harm you, we will return back."


Her hand reaches up to Ailac's face, the druid trying to find something to calm her emotions. "Why... do I feel as if everything inside me is magnified to a point it aches in my chest, my heart burns and I... can't stop crying. All of me... everything is so intense...so inte-" She stops, fear swallowing her face again, frozen momentarily, her eyes looking directly into Ailac's.


Ailac's eyes widen in concern, the look of fear etched into Xaneria's face stinging him. He speaks softly, trying to comfort the fears gripping her, "This is the realm of dreams. Our bodies, the grass, the trees above our heads... All of this sleeps, this is not a world of physical form. All that is here of us is our mind... it can be overwhelming, but it will ease in time. It is alright, we are safe here, I sense none of the corruption the Nightmare brings."


"Yet...the darkness..." Her body trembles as she pushes back from Ailac. "It... it still" Her hand raises, touching her throat in fear. "Within you it still rests.. you couldn't control it... in the waking world, how can you control it at this moment?!" Something dashes past her front, her sight scrambling crazily once more as she shakes her head again and stands quickly backing away from Ailac. “No... I.. I don’t know what...." She stops taking a shortened breath.


Ailac draws his hand back as if slapped as Xaneria scrambles away from his hand, as he moved it past her face in attempt to wrap it protectively around her. "No... it is not here. I can feel my form, I don't know why but it is not here." Ailac raises to his feet, fear and confusion flowing through his spiritual form beneath his concern, stepping forward lightly, his left arm outstretched. "It's alright, I will find a way to get us out of here, free of the Dream and the Nightmare."


"How did you get us in here! Ah." she stops hunching over and flinching. Everything hurts... and I can't stop crying. I feel like I have not felt since... since..." Her eyes open, flashing a purplish hue, a wind pulsating on her back as a darker color emits from her body, whirling in her normal clear and pure green winds, now a hue of darkness, the glow in her eyes form as it pushes out in each direction like a wall. "No!" The marks on her face begin to fade away and her face appears more of that of the Sin'dorei and Quel'dorei. The scar upon her back ignites and she reaches down to her hip grasping at nothing. "Stop! Don't touch me anymore! Why... why is it the men in my life always.... always...." The light glow fades from her opaque eyes, the marks on her face returning in a fade, the scar on her back ever clear now if looked upon, bruises growing upon her arms and legs, she flinches curling down and placing her hand upon her inner left thigh as if being seared in pain. Looking up, the bruises, deep and harsh reappear upon her neck and the scar on her right temple breaks open bleeding. She startles and touches the blood. "Even... Eli..." Her face, broken and fearful, shocked and uncertain, carries wide eyes and quivering lips. Xaneria stands before Ailac, the innocent but terrified face, hand covered in blood that leaked from her forehead and a shake upon her entire form.


Ailac's eyes widen in shock, seeing the marks fading and searing into Xaneria's form, the ghosts of memory alight upon the spiritual form. "Xan, it's alright. They can't touch you here, come back to-." Ailac stops cold as the flesh upon her neck purples and deepens. The memory of that night slamming into his mind, knocking him back a half second unconsciously. The pulsating anger and fear tearing through his veins as he looked upon her limp form, weakly trying to break from his grasp and the ropes of corruption nipping at her flesh. The warm feel of her flesh clasped within his iron grip, the succulent pop as the cartilage of her windpipe collapsed under his fingers. Ailac cried out, clawing his eyes to erase the memory of it, crying out "No!". Tearing his hands from his eyes, he looks back, mortified by the memory of the corruption pulsing through his veins, his eyes pools trembling with waves of fear as he stares at her shaking and bleeding before him.


Xaneria pauses and steps forward, her hand outstretched to Ailac as it shakes, the wounds vanishing from her body like a mirage in the sand. "Aila-" She stops, his motions startling her, feeling his anger, his fear engrossing into her like a flood making her own fears grow more. She pulls back quickly and moves away, her heart racing in fear and confusion as the powers of the dream fill her second sight, making her painfully unable to see anything but amassed swirls of energy, her body pulling closely. "No.. this.. this is not where I wish to be! To..." she pauses and puts a hand to her left eye. "To him... in this dream world to him.. I wish to be he always knew what to do always. My Lord... I... I wish..." Xaneria crunches down more, starting to cry and letting her emotions ride out, tiredly. She cries harder. ~Losing everyone... alone... losing everything... my failures... please let me find some peace in this mess. Lord Larimore... you ... would you have advice for me now?~ she thought as she shook.


Ailac slowly rises to his feet, drawing deep calming breaths of the moist air, ignoring the trickle of the rain as it washes over him. "Xaneria..." he mouths softly, almost fearing to give voice to the name, the pain of the memory still washing over his mind. Slowly he steps forward, reaching out, his hand outstretched, searching to comfort and stop her shaking.


Speaking to herself in louder than normal voice, trying to fight past the screeching and glaring in her head disrupting her sense, Xaneria continues. "My Lord... this situation is so-" She stops looking up towards Ailac quickly in fear and precaution and flinches tight to her body. "Just leave me alone!" she screamed as the wind blew leaves up from the right passing Xaneria and surrounding her in a fading vision. Suddenly the wind vanished instantly and the leaves fell, leaving behind nothing, the female druid gone from Ailac's sight.