i'Lahm: Reconstructed
In the depths of his mind, i'Lahm rocked slowly, cradling his knees in his arms. There were no words, only the rush of the storm without. He was crying unabashedly, letting the sobs rattle his shoulders within his tomb. The darkness was somehow comforting, empty and void as it was. And the muffled howl of the gale raged on.
Unexpectedly, the stone shattered into a fine dust as an unearthly scream ripped through his mind, sending him flailing. He landed heavily on a metal floor and blinked hurriedly to clear his eyes. The walls were barren and sleak. A dance of red lights played across their surfaces and vanished. The muffled wind worried him, though it seemed more distant now.
As he spun slowly to take it all in, he found the walls had receded and he stood in the midst of an ancient crumbling gladiator's arena. Warriors appeared as he turned, battling with unbridled fury. A chariot rumbled past, skeletal horses trampling all who stood in their path. i'Lahm raised his sword and charged.
The packed dirt rumbled and began to heave. A giant head rose forth, followed by massive shoulders and arms. As the humanoid creature rose from the ground, i'Lahm saw that it was strangely elongated. It stared at him for a moment and then roared. The air hung heavily on his shoulders. Feet frozen to the ground, it wasn't until something punctured his neck that he screamed.
--
They crawled from the pack. After so long, they had been awakened to serve their purpose. The fast movement, rushing of air, and then the sudden jerk of the canvas capturing air to slow decent had reawakened them. The myriad of spiders swarmed forth, seeking their new patient. With surgical precision, they cleared a patch of skin on the neck of hair and grime. Taking aim, they prepared the injection.
Scurrying hurriedly up and down the straps, several began chirping in alarm. More blades cut away tattered cloth, exposing bleeding wounds beneath. Several more set to work cleaning and mending.
After a moment, one of the spiders hummed thoughtfully, and then began to burrow through the narrow path left by the unsuccessful injection.
--
He screamed until his throat grew dry. His eyes filled with tears, blurring all before him. When the pain finally dulled, he rubbed his eyes gratefully. Knowing that he was in his own mind, he was prepared for almost anything. He did not expect, however, to see himself a dozen times from as many vantage points.
For some reason, he felt relief, satisfied at a job well done. Reaching up to rub his eyes again, he found his perspective skew. All the extra eyes seemed somehow unimportant. More interestingly, time stood nearly still. The two creatures struggling with the metal cone before him hung in the air, their slowed movement barely perceptible. If he could have moved it fast enough, his mouth would have grinned.
The faint whisper in the back of his mind nagged at him, and he decided to investigate. Something was searching, seeking out others. It spoke of a journey above the ground, the curve of the world, the brightness of the stars, small bits of dust collected in the otherwise emptiness of the world around it, and the utter cold. i'Lahm listened for an eternity, stunned. Its voice grew stronger, and he called back. Immediately, he saw the valley about him, then the view panned and centered on him beneath the dirty, taut canvas.
The view shifted again, and he saw the metal cone highlighted in red. The other voice was alarmed, more awakened, and cried out for instruction. Be calm, i'Lahm replied. And the voice obeyed.
As he watched the scene from both his own eyes and those of the voice, he began to formulate a plan.
Unexpectedly, the stone shattered into a fine dust as an unearthly scream ripped through his mind, sending him flailing. He landed heavily on a metal floor and blinked hurriedly to clear his eyes. The walls were barren and sleak. A dance of red lights played across their surfaces and vanished. The muffled wind worried him, though it seemed more distant now.
As he spun slowly to take it all in, he found the walls had receded and he stood in the midst of an ancient crumbling gladiator's arena. Warriors appeared as he turned, battling with unbridled fury. A chariot rumbled past, skeletal horses trampling all who stood in their path. i'Lahm raised his sword and charged.
The packed dirt rumbled and began to heave. A giant head rose forth, followed by massive shoulders and arms. As the humanoid creature rose from the ground, i'Lahm saw that it was strangely elongated. It stared at him for a moment and then roared. The air hung heavily on his shoulders. Feet frozen to the ground, it wasn't until something punctured his neck that he screamed.
--
They crawled from the pack. After so long, they had been awakened to serve their purpose. The fast movement, rushing of air, and then the sudden jerk of the canvas capturing air to slow decent had reawakened them. The myriad of spiders swarmed forth, seeking their new patient. With surgical precision, they cleared a patch of skin on the neck of hair and grime. Taking aim, they prepared the injection.
Scurrying hurriedly up and down the straps, several began chirping in alarm. More blades cut away tattered cloth, exposing bleeding wounds beneath. Several more set to work cleaning and mending.
After a moment, one of the spiders hummed thoughtfully, and then began to burrow through the narrow path left by the unsuccessful injection.
--
He screamed until his throat grew dry. His eyes filled with tears, blurring all before him. When the pain finally dulled, he rubbed his eyes gratefully. Knowing that he was in his own mind, he was prepared for almost anything. He did not expect, however, to see himself a dozen times from as many vantage points.
For some reason, he felt relief, satisfied at a job well done. Reaching up to rub his eyes again, he found his perspective skew. All the extra eyes seemed somehow unimportant. More interestingly, time stood nearly still. The two creatures struggling with the metal cone before him hung in the air, their slowed movement barely perceptible. If he could have moved it fast enough, his mouth would have grinned.
The faint whisper in the back of his mind nagged at him, and he decided to investigate. Something was searching, seeking out others. It spoke of a journey above the ground, the curve of the world, the brightness of the stars, small bits of dust collected in the otherwise emptiness of the world around it, and the utter cold. i'Lahm listened for an eternity, stunned. Its voice grew stronger, and he called back. Immediately, he saw the valley about him, then the view panned and centered on him beneath the dirty, taut canvas.
The view shifted again, and he saw the metal cone highlighted in red. The other voice was alarmed, more awakened, and cried out for instruction. Be calm, i'Lahm replied. And the voice obeyed.
As he watched the scene from both his own eyes and those of the voice, he began to formulate a plan.