Floating. Through an unknown wilderness. Plants and animals never before seen. Strange Creatures with elf ears. No, elves had one point, these had two. Humans, but stronger, more majestic, more beautiful. Then darkness. The longest darkness...
Cody awoke with a start. He had experienced the strangest dream. He had been moving through James Ray, but it wasn't James Ray. It was greener, more vibrant. Almost, magical. And the creatures. Human but not. What does it mean?
It was then that Cody noticed that he was in a small bedroom that was elegantly decorated. A mirror hung from the ceiling and was long enough to settle on the floor. Strange symbols were carved around the edges. Next to the bed he was laying on was an end table that was fashioned to look like a tree stump. A lamp sat on the table with a green shade over it, giving the room an eerie glow. He saw a rug on the floor that was intricately designed. It depicted a beautiful city that lay in an endless forest. The buildings were ancient, but preserved to the point of being flawless. In the middle of the forest was a tree tall enough to have clouds mixed around the branches.
But the thing on the rug that caught his attention was the detail on the small people that could be seen between the buildings on the streets. The city was filled with them. So much detail was put into the rug, that Cody could tell if they were children or adults, male or female, happy or sad. However, one thing seemed out of place. A girl was standing on one of the lower branches of the central tree (low is a relative term, as this branch was still a few hundred feet up). The girl was clothed in something that resembled a tunic, but looked like armor at the same time. Around her waist was a belt that had a scabbard attached to it. A bejeweled sword hilt could be seen. In her hand rested a longbow, and a full quiver of arrows lay across her back.
However, he was only paying attention to the weapons for a matter of seconds. It was the face that mystified him. Beautiful could not even come close to describing her. Her features were sharp, the eyes a deep, almost unnatural, blue, and her dirty blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail that was long enough to rest under the quiver, and still be visible at the base of her spine. The strangest thing though, was the fact that she seemed to be looking right at him.
I feel like I could reach out and touch her.
Since no one was around, just for kicks, he did.
As soon as he did, he WISHED someone was around to see what happened.
Just as his finger made contact with the rug, everything started moving. Towards him. The rug was actually becoming 3-dimensional. Not only that, but everyone started to move. People returned to their lives, the leaves blew in a wind that Cody couldn't feel, even the clouds reformed above the scene, which was still dominated by the huge tree that came up to his chin when Cody was standing.
He let out a shout of surprise and jumped away from the rug. Even without his touch, everything continued to move, as if he had simply been the finishing touch, his finger being their spark of life. Suddenly, the girl on the tree launched herself into the air, falling towards the unforgiving ground. Somehow, she landed on her feet directly in front of a small house and knocked on the door.
At the same time, there was a knock on his door.
Tentatively, Cody called out, "Come in."
The girl walked into the house on the rug just as someone came into his bedroom.
It was the girl from the rug.
"Cody Grayson, come with me," the girl said. Just as she turned to walk out, Cody noticed that she had the same ears as the creatures in his dream. Two. Distinct. Points.
