Alya listened to the voice in her head as the Elf explained to her what was going on. She had always thought that she was born mute because it was just a birth defect. That it some sort of mistake that she had been born that way. She didn't doubt a single word that the Elf spoke, she didn't have a reason to doubt her at all. However she felt an overwhelming amount of pressure weigh down upon her as the woman explained that the elves within the Feywild, her people, would suffer if she was to fail.
As the woman described to her the way she meditated, Alya followed suit, thinking that imitating her would probably be for the best, for she didn't really know how to meditate in the first place. She had never done it before. She assumed the cross-legged position, similar to the other Elven woman, her hands on her lap. Alya closed her eyes, a soft tune came to mind. A lullaby that her mother had always hummed to her as a child. A tune that she would never forget. It was soft and melodious, the inflexions in the tune where slow and few. She soon felt as everything seemingly disappeared. The song remaining. As the woman had instructed, she slowly picked away at the song, the different tones disappearing, leaving only one smooth, flat tone.
Suddenly she felt her vision flash. She gasped in surprise before seeing an incredible, beautiful world. She saw many plants and animals that she had never dreamed of, and many fairies and elves, those of the Feywild. Her vision shifted to a massive portal, similar to the one at the tournament in Mauven. She held her breath, thinking that she would hear the same blood curdling scream that she had heard before, but that didn't come. Instead she saw a mountain with many winged beings upon it. The view was amazing. She noticed a familiar looking constellation, one she had seen many a time when looking at the night sky. It was her world that she looked upon. She wanted to see more of what was beyond the portal, but it vanished with a flash.
She could hear cries. Cries of pain, anguish and loss. She could feel tears well up in her eyes as she tried to scratch at her ears, which she could not do. She felt that the Feywild was connected to this plane, but how, she did not know. She watched as a black, reddish shadow moved along the ground, only for it to crawl beneath the earth.
Again her vision changed, but she recognized it to be the same place that she had been viewing before. It was dark, disgusting, twisted. Toxic. The once beautiful world was corrupted. Everything looked dead and evil. Her vision panned across the devastation, she felt her heart sink as she saw the thorny trees and destruction. She could feel an overwhelming pain and sadness well up inside of her as she saw the Fey within a massive shield. She could feel their energy fading, but she didn't know what she was meant to do.
Jaspaiya. A word, or rather something that sounded much like a name, came to mind as the vision ended.
She slowly opened her eyes, she could feel that they were wet from her tears. She turned to look at the Elven woman, who was now glowing and smiling. After speaking, she vanished. Alya felt that she had ascended to another plane. She wanted to shout at the woman. Help me?! How is this suppose to help me?! She wanted to scream. She didn't know what she was meant to do. She didn't know where to start. She felt herself weighed down with pressure. Pressure to perform. This Purpose felt like too much. She was just.. A bard.. What could she do? How could she save those people? Did they expect her to do it alone?
She pulled her knees up, curling into a ball on top of the rock. Her body shuddering from her crying. After a few moments of grief, she collected herself. Or what was left. She crossed the pool of water again, collecting her coat and boots, donning them. She was still wet, but she didn't care. Her suffering was little compared to those in her vision. She quietly strolled into the house, ignoring everyone else, even Echo. She went in before everyone else, Echo following close behind as he noticed his Mother's presence.
It wasn't long before Alya had reached the end of the passage. She touched it the wall. It opened as any door would. A gust of cold air took hold of her immediately. Thankfully, the coat and boots were large enough to cover any exposed skin. However she still felt a strong chill. Echo yipped, headbutting his mother's foot to get her attention. Eventually he received it, being picked up and put into her coat like before, being held by his mother's arms. Alya was thankful for Echo's presence, she could feel some comfort from it.
The elven woman had spoken the truth about one thing. She caught up with Rilana and the others. She felt rather apprehensive about approaching them, but she felt a sense of relief as she approached the Moon Fey, however the elf girl's expression stayed quite grim.
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