[Carrûn]

Awyrgan tossed and turned in his small hollow by the creekbed. In the midst of his restless thrashings his left elbow thuded into a rock, numbing his hand and sending tingling sensations all throughout his arm. He smacked the hand against the ground a few times in a vain effort to quickly restore feeling and tried to settle back down into some sort of comfortable position.

He had been having a rather uncomfortable night. The fire was burning down and a variety of insects had been buzzing around his face and several larger creatures had been venturing closer to the fire than he would have liked. Moreover, he could not sleep. He had fallen alseep for what seemed like a second only to wake up from a disturbing series of dreams. He squeezed his eyes shut, allowing the visions to flow through his sight again. Smoke, corse laughter. Fear. Pain. He tried to shake the images out of his head. My life has been one of constant strife, why should I dream of aught else? Mother had a belief in dreams but I tend to believe more in actions. Still, he could not sleep. With a start he sat up.

The land was speaking; or rather it was not. A piercing silence broken only by an occasional cricket hung heavily on the surrounding terrain. The earth could sense something that the man could not. He streched himself upon the ground, straining his ears for some pattern he could decipher. He stared hard into the darkness, and up into the stars. It was to no avail; he could not determine why all was still. Yet the sense of foreboding in his stomach was growing and he made a decision.

He rose wearily. Dousing the fire he automatically wrapped his cloak around him against the night breeze only to discover that there was none. Striding up to the road he gazed upward at the heavens. Daughter speak to me, my beloved guide me. I am lost. Turning his face again to the road he set off at a rapid pace to the South.

[ February 14, 2003: Message edited by: Carrûn ]