{San} Awakeabout
It was cold, and he was wet. The first sound he heard was the wind blowing down the dark alley. The first sight to greet his eyes was blinding light, the sort of light that comes from staring into the sun after a lifetime of living in the dark.
He blinked a few times and, when his eyes adjusted, he saw that the light was coming from a bright white sign advertising a "24 hour grocery". He heard a woman talking into her cell phone as she walked into the store.
"I'll be home soon, Richard. I just have to pick up some milk from the store." She said impatiently, before closing her cell phone and walking inside, out of view.
He looked down at his hands, at his clothes, in an attempt to understand how he got here. His mind was foggy, his memories a haze... and his hands were covered in blood. He knew that it wasn't his blood, somehow, but he still needed to clean it off. His clothes were tattered, white linens, unmarked relics of some hospital from which he must have come.
I've got to find somewhere safe, somewhere secure. I can't just stay out in the open or They'll find me.
Who They were didn't cross his mind. The only thing he knew was that he had to stay away from Them, or something very bad would happen to him.
He went to the end of the alley and looked left, then right, trying to gauge his next move. Nothing useful was nearby - a self-storage facility to his left, a bank to his right. He thought for a moment, then decided that he should try to find somewhere safe that he could rest. Left and right were a bust... but there are always more directions than the obvious.
He moved back down the alley, looking for a manhole. He didn't find one.
Your mind can take you there. It has taken you this far, don't let it stop you now.
He stretched out his hand toward the ground, imagining the sewer just a few steps away. In his mind the Seal of Mercury, god of travelers and messengers, flared to life on the pavement. He pushed his Will forward, filling the tapestry his mind had created, making real what was moments ago just a fantasy.
A sickening lurch reminded him that power comes at a price. His nose started to bleed and bruises welled up on the palms of his hands, from which his power had flowed into the ground. All of that was worth it, though, as the spell became real. The pavement became shiny and brittle as colored glass, then cracked and fell away. Beneath it, on the other side of the Portal, the sewer was revealed. The dank, stinking sewer, somehow better than the street but certainly not the best place to be late at night.
He stepped forward and through the Portal. He felt a great pressure upon his chest, as though for a split second he were thrust into a vacuum, and then he exited the other side. His nose wished he'd stayed in the vacuum, while the rest of him was more concerned with the waist deep water filled with shit.
It was going to be a long night. Once he got some rest, he could start to answer some of the questions burning up the back of his mind. Before he could do that, though, he needed to find some dry ground to sleep on.
He blinked a few times and, when his eyes adjusted, he saw that the light was coming from a bright white sign advertising a "24 hour grocery". He heard a woman talking into her cell phone as she walked into the store.
"I'll be home soon, Richard. I just have to pick up some milk from the store." She said impatiently, before closing her cell phone and walking inside, out of view.
He looked down at his hands, at his clothes, in an attempt to understand how he got here. His mind was foggy, his memories a haze... and his hands were covered in blood. He knew that it wasn't his blood, somehow, but he still needed to clean it off. His clothes were tattered, white linens, unmarked relics of some hospital from which he must have come.
I've got to find somewhere safe, somewhere secure. I can't just stay out in the open or They'll find me.
Who They were didn't cross his mind. The only thing he knew was that he had to stay away from Them, or something very bad would happen to him.
He went to the end of the alley and looked left, then right, trying to gauge his next move. Nothing useful was nearby - a self-storage facility to his left, a bank to his right. He thought for a moment, then decided that he should try to find somewhere safe that he could rest. Left and right were a bust... but there are always more directions than the obvious.
He moved back down the alley, looking for a manhole. He didn't find one.
Your mind can take you there. It has taken you this far, don't let it stop you now.
He stretched out his hand toward the ground, imagining the sewer just a few steps away. In his mind the Seal of Mercury, god of travelers and messengers, flared to life on the pavement. He pushed his Will forward, filling the tapestry his mind had created, making real what was moments ago just a fantasy.
A sickening lurch reminded him that power comes at a price. His nose started to bleed and bruises welled up on the palms of his hands, from which his power had flowed into the ground. All of that was worth it, though, as the spell became real. The pavement became shiny and brittle as colored glass, then cracked and fell away. Beneath it, on the other side of the Portal, the sewer was revealed. The dank, stinking sewer, somehow better than the street but certainly not the best place to be late at night.
He stepped forward and through the Portal. He felt a great pressure upon his chest, as though for a split second he were thrust into a vacuum, and then he exited the other side. His nose wished he'd stayed in the vacuum, while the rest of him was more concerned with the waist deep water filled with shit.
It was going to be a long night. Once he got some rest, he could start to answer some of the questions burning up the back of his mind. Before he could do that, though, he needed to find some dry ground to sleep on.