Bad Dreams... (Attn Ashrak and Nyssa)

[Covai Seriba]

Covai looked around at the reflection of the Black Tower in Tel'Aran'Rhiod. Truth be told he still wasn't used to the farm in it's present from, which made walking the World of Dreams interesting. Buildings Covai never knew of had been existing long enough to have form, yet they flickered away to be replaced by the streets Covai knew when he started feeling nostalgic for the old days.

 

Old days...Covai grinned sadly. Sometimes the world seems to fly by far to quickly. Other times he'd do anything to make life more interesting and spice things up a little. Speaking of which....

 

Looking down at the Storm Leader robes he wore at the moment, sliver lightning adorning the sleeves of the other wise black Asha'man robes, Covai started thinking about the lightning actually being used against enemies.

 

Cursing himself for drifting too far, Covai managed to throw himself back in time to dodge the lightning bolt that stuck from his hands where he had been looking. Tucking himself into a ball Covai let himself spin backwards in the air before creating a platform beneath himself for a safe landing.

 

Lifting his head Covai cursed to note he was not longer in the Black Tower. Telnor had warned him about this during his training, but Covai was still having problems with concentrating on himself AND his location at the same time when he made some of the more drastic changes. Looking down from his position about three feet above the top of the Stone of Tear, Covai decided he really needed to stop thinking of flashy moves. Fun though they may be, with things the way they were at the moment, he didn't want to get too carried away.

 

Concentrating firmly on the training ground of the Black Tower again, Covai was glad he has a solid hold on the World of Dreams again. Over the last, Covai could have sworn Tel'Aran'Rhiod was getting darker. Its probably just my imagination... Covai muttered. The trouble was, here imagination could be a serious problem.

 

Shaking his head as he walked, Covai tried to ignore the nagging feeling in the back of his head. His last few trips into Tel'Aran'Rhiod has been dangerous. Nightmares roaming randomly had nearly cost him his life on a few occasions. He didn't have the same feeling on impending doom, but something didn't feel right.

 

Gripping the handle of the heron-marked blade as it appeared at his waist, Covai narrowed his eyes slightly as he continued. Drift though his mind may, there was no way, an Asha'man, an ex-Storm Leader at that, would be defeated on his home ground.

[silhouette]

The world around her had faded into the world of dreams a while ago. Time moved differently here, but not enough for her to lose track of it. Fickle as this world was, there were similarities to the regular world that she used as reference points as she wandered. At first she had just wandered the dreamscape, searching for dreams that interested her. Her mistress had discovered her through her own dreams, and Nyssa was convinced that she could do the same with others like her. Distance meant little in the Dreamscape, and at first she did little more than wander, hopping from dream to dream until she found a cluster of dreams that intrigued her. Darkness clung to these dreams, not the kind of darkness she usually felt in those sworn to the Great Lord, but they were dark, none the less. Nightmares, dreams laced with worry, little hints of insanity. Interesting. Some of the dreams were warded, though not the way she had expected them to be. The wards she had seen so far were glassy and hard. The wards she saw now were murky somehow.

 

When she peeked into a dream, she found a reason for it. It was the dream of a young man, sitting on the ground in the corner of a room, shivering. He was dressed in black and staring intently at the door as if he expected something to come through it. Something horrible. While he stared, he muttered to himself, too low for her to hear. Nyssa watched as the dream unfolded before her. Other men dressed in black and silver barged through the door. “Don’t!†the young man cried out. Apparently it was already too late. It was as though a light went out in his eyes as one of the men stepped forward and motioned with his hand, a cutting gesture. The young man wailed, a look of horror on his face. Then the dream ended, only to start over at the beginning, with the young man dressed in black sitting in the corner of his room, clinging desperately to something that would be taken from him.

 

“Saidin.†She mused as she stepped out of the dream. “And not just that… could it be?†silence enveloped her once more as she stepped into Tel’Aran’Rhiod, swiftly moving to the location of the dreamer. There was something odd about the place. It flickered, as the dreamworld remembered the way it had been, and not the way it was now. She pursed her lips slightly, thinking of ways to use the information she had just gathered in her benefit. She was stopped mid-thought as she felt someone tampering with the Dream. Someone with the talent. She smiled faintly. Things were getting better by the moment. Stealthily she moved past buildings towards the whereabouts of the other dreamwalker. From behind a building she watched him. He wore the same black as the young man in the dream, yet… differently. With more confidence. Within the blink of an eye Nyssa’s attire changed, from the bright red she had worn into something a little more suited for sneaking around. The dark dress she wore now would shield her from some prying eyes at least.

 

Again she smiled as she thought of a way to make the night a little more… entertaining. A test was certainly in order. After all, she didn’t encounter that many dreamwalkers. She couldn’t just let the opportunity pass her by. Her forte had always been her control of her surroundings. It had to be, when one’s instructor is as brutal as Lanfear could be. With a thought she created a nightmare image for the dreamwalker to deal with. Nothing too serious, not yet. She didn’t want to chase him away immediately. A rather ugly, drooling trolloc appeared a few yards to his right. With a thought she had the trolloc charge, roaring at the dreamwalker as it did. “now let’s see if you’re any good.†She whispered, waiting for the man to act.

 

~Nyssa Deschain

Dark Dreamwalker

[Covai Seriba]

Covai blade flashed through the trolloc, sliced it clean in half as it charged at him. Sidestepping to avoid the body, Covai have the blade a habitual flick to shake the blood off before he caught himself. There was no blood....no body either.. Covai noted as he looked over his shoulder. Shaking his head, Covai was for grateful he had such a firm image and concentration on the heron blade. Since he couldn't reply on Saidin here, he had to find something that he could reply on. Childish though it may seem, like a hero out of stories waving their sword around, it worked, and that was what mattered.

 

It seemed as if the air around him had changed. Keeping a straight face, Covai rested the sword over the back of his shoulders in apparent relaxation. It wasn't as if there was anyone watching him or anything, but Covai was in the habit of acting as if there was when he came to Tel'Aran'Rhiod. Telnor had caught him out a few times, which irritated Covai to no end. Just as soon as he learned a new trick, or managed a new feat, he soon found out how much more he had to go.

 

It was probably that fact that kept Covai coming back to the World of Dreams, despite the things going wrong. He had reached the rank of Storm Leader of the Black Tower, even learnt the lost art of Traveling from the Dragon Reborn, and yet despite all the he was still as ignorant as a soldier about Tel'Aran'Rhiod.

 

Cursing for letting his doubts creep into his mind, Covai looked around his sudden new surrounding. It was a city of some sort, but without people wandering the streets, or something to give him a hint, Covai had no idea where he had been moved to.

 

Something didn't feel right either. The city had a feeling of... something just doesn't fit... Covai thought. It was probably just his imagination. He had left himself get caught up in a random thought and this was the result.

 

Eitherway, at least he was away from the nightmare that had attacked him before.

[silhouette]

The man dealt with the nightmare creation she had sent his way easily, as if he was used to doing so. Well, that told her a little about his skill, at least. He had killed the creature with his sword, not with his mind. That too was interesting. Nyssa smiled slightly when she felt him disappear. She would find him again, with more easy than one would expect. As soon as Nyssa had a fix on a certain mind, she could find it everywhere. Unless he warded his dreams, of course. Many Aes Sedai did so, but did these… warriors for the Dragon Reborn do the same? She wondered. Perhaps she should find out in a later stage. For now she was quite content with bothering the male dream walker a bit more. Perhaps she could find out who he was, and where he was from…

 

With a thought she felt herself… slipping towards the place the other had gone. When she opened her eyes again she was in a city, a few streets away from the other. She glanced around her, not immediately recognising the city. She decided to find out before confronting the dream walker again. As she wandered through the streets she noticed many canals that criss-crossed the streets. “Illian City?†she mused. It was possible. At times Tel’Aran’Rhiod blurred out the things that kept one city apart from another. She found her answer when an unsuspecting soul wandered into the world of dreams. A young woman, falling in the middle of the street.

 

On any other occasion the girl would have faded from Tel’Aran’Rhiod before she hit the ground, but not with Nyssa keeping her there. With a mere thought she made sure the girl didn’t fall to her death, but she did keep her in the world of dreams. The girl eyed her warily. “Who be you?!†she demanded. “This be my dream! Burn me!†Nyssa smiled cruelly. “This is Illian City, no?†the girl trembled, nodding slowly. “Well then… I see no further reason to keep you here… then again, I don’t see any reason to let you go without a scratch either.†Nyssa turned from the girl, wandering towards the location of the dream walker. Behind her the screams of the young woman filled the square. Unable to return to her regular dreams, the girl was being torn apart by her own nightmares, which came to life in Tel’Aran’Rhiod. Come morning her parents would find her, dead, with a look of horror on her face.

 

“And now for you…†she muttered, peeking around the corner to she the dark-garbed man. “What do you fear? Is it the same as what the boy feared when I peeked into his dream? Let’s find out…†Slowly but steadily she formed a nightmare with her mind. A mirror image of the dream walker she was stalking appeared before her. With another thought she sent him on his way to appear right behind the other man. “You!†the nightmare barked, glaring murder at the man. “You’ve lost your mind.†The nightmare stated, looking quite calm.

 

~Nyssa Deschain

Evil.

[Covai Seriba]

“You’ve lost your mind.†Covai turned to face the eerily familiar voice behind him.

 

"You gotta be kidding me....[/i] Covai muttered. Letting the sword disappear, Covai scratched the back of his head as he sized up the mirror image he was looking at. Well, at least I think it looks like me... Truth be told, Covai didn't know HOW long it had been seen he'd last seen a mirror.

 

Taking a step forward, Covai tilted his head to the side as the image just stood there. He doubted it was some random nightmare, especially one of his own. And he doubted anybody else had nightmares of him barking orders at them. "Maybe a over pressured recruit....?" Covai muttered. Did he really have such an angry look on his face?

 

Narrowly sidestepping the image's fireball, Covai leapt back to put some distance between the two of them. "Well it seems to want to fight like me..." Whatever caused this thing, it was going to be trouble. Firstly, it was still hanging around, and secondly it seemed to be able to mimic weaves in Tel'Aran'Rhiod. Normally Covai wouldn't be too concerned, but he was just so nice a guy, it was kind of hard to attack himself seriously.

 

"Lets see how long you last against the real thing then..." Covai called, half to himself, half to the image as he steped back and imagined a flurry of earth spikes tearing along to ground at his opponent.

 

Covai cursed as the image merely stepped onto one of the spikes and rode the wave fact a few feet before they dissappeared. Frowning, Covai realised this wasn't going to be easy if he didn't get serious.

 

 

OOC: Nyssa, your turn. You can really kick it up a notch if you like, that way Ashrak can jump in in the middle of it all. :twisted:

[silhouette]

A little thrill of anticipation rushed through Nyssa as she sent her creation forth to bother the other wanderer. She could almost taste it now, the fear the stranger would feel at the sight of himself. This trick worked quite well on some of the darkest of darkfriends. If she had been that kind of person, she would have been rubbing her hands together and chuckling at the mere thought of what she had done. Soon enough though her merry anticipation turned into disappointment. The man was not afraid of his mirror image. He was not afraid of the suggestion of madness. “Well then, let’s see how afraid you are of your own strength.†Effortlessly she sent her creation into a full attack, fireballs shooting from his hands the way she had seen a certain dreadlord do before.

 

The other dreamwalker sidestepped, counterattacking with… some earth weave, no doubt. Nyssa wished for a moment that she could see the man weave. Wouldn’t it be nice to have such power in earth and fire… She shook herself, reminded of the task ahead as the mirror image followed her instructions closely. Fortunately she didn’t have to know the actual weaves to make the nightmare create them, or at least reflections of them to attack the dreamwalker. More fire flew his way, this time accompanied by the shaking of the ground. Let’s see him defend himself against a double attack. Much to her dismay the dreamwalker did, and with ease at that. She almost let out an undignified squeak when the man killed his nightmare twin without so much as a hint of hesitation.

 

It did show her one thing though. She would have to instruct her nightmares to be careful, as the man she attacked with them appeared to be fearless. Instead of just one mirror image she created three now, all attacking the man at the same time. One made the earth explode near his feat, the other shot fire his way, and the third… well, that was a nightmare she was quite proud of herself. Remembering the dream she had visited earlier, she had the nightmare create a blade of spirit, much the way the dreamer had seen in his dreams. While the two other nightmares advanced on the man, constantly attacking him, the third crept forward, the spirit blade ready. “You are not worthy!†It roared suddenly, lashing out at the man. Nyssa imagined seeing the blade close in on the man’s connection to Saidin.

 

Closer and closer, until he suddenly disappeared. “Well, that was to be expected.†She muttered, wondering if he just woke up or if he decided to find a safer place, one free of his nightmare reflections. Her three creations turned towards her. She was the only person there, after all, and they were made to kill. “Oh shut it.†She said when the spirit wielder started about how she wasn’t worthy. With a wave of her hand the three went up in smoke. Where could the man be? It really was quite unfair, leaving her in the middle of that. She wasn’t done with him yet. Closing her eyes briefly, she imagined the location she had been before. The home of the male channellers. If she hadn’t been so sure that she could take the man on, she might have been a little worried.

 

For a moment after she arrived she wondered if she had been mistaken. The streets seemed empty, even if the familiar feeling of being watched was there. It was everywhere in Tel’Aran’Rhiod, after all. “Come out, come out, wherever you are…†she sang, smiling as she remembered the games of her childhood. She saw something move from the corner of her eye and smiled. “Ah, there you are…†and there he was, with his back to her. Just to be on the safe side Nyssa changed her garb from the dress she had been wearing to the cloak and mask she reserved for meetings of the Supreme Council. This time she decided to give the man more to worry about then just a few like him. “You!†her newest creation shouted, it’s voice grating like nails over a chalkboard. Like the dead rising. Two Myrrdraal walked towards the man, their deep black swords drawn. Behind them a horde of trollocs followed, panting like eager dogs waiting to be unleashed. “Let’s see how you steer clear from that, wanderer.â€

[Gareth]

He was standing on the precipeice of a mountain, all around him was a black mist churning and bubbling, it was pure evil, so far below him was fire and molten earth, certain death if he fell. Around him the wind howled chilled him to the bone, and the rain felt as ice adding to the chill. If he stayed up here he would certainly die, but if he fell he would die too, he was at an impass. Sudenly the earth shook and he fell. Down down he fell he fell for what seemed like an eternity. He was only a few feet from the ground, the heat already melting his skin, when above all things he wished he was back in the Tower.

 

He jumped out of his bed so fast he hit the wall. He backed up and rubbed his nose which at first didnt seem to hurt, which he found very strange and almost like he hit the wall again the pain flooded his face. He rubbed his check and as the pain subsided Ashrak looked around. His room was just as he had left it except almost blurry for some reason and a little faded. His door opened and shut on its own and his chair was not where he had left it. Confusion grabbed a hold of him, which had gotten him into trouble before. A mystery was something that he could not turn down. The faded and muddled light that didnt seem to come from anywhere, the self moving doors, all of it was exciting him. The usual bustle of activity in the day was silent another oddity. Ashrak walked outside and started to look around, saw Covia accross the street, a masked woman hidding further down the street, and what could only be called impossible as a horde of Trollocs and two Myrrdraal appeared out of thin air heading straight for Covia. Ashrak called out to Covia and started to run as fast as possible to him, knowing they stood a better chance together since they seemed at first glance to be alone. "Covia what in the name of the Creator is going on here" Ashrak asked as he stood next to the former Storm leader.

 

OOC: sorry for the wait got called out of town on buisness last week on an emergency had to leave immediatly.

[Covai Seriba]

Covai swore. It was the first time that night he had honestly been angry. Not so much at Ashrak, or himself, but the way things were turning out. "I could ask you the same thing!" Covai snapped back. He didn't mean to be rude, but the fact that Ashrak was still there was something Covai was quite ready to handle at that moment. Protecting himself was one thing, but a suddenly discovered new Dreamwalker was another, especially if the man's fear and imagination got away with him.

 

Covai spoke quickly but clearly, his Storm Leader authority clear in his words. "Listen to me, these Trollocs aren't real. None of this is real. But if you take them lightly they will still kill you. Think of this as an illusion of sorts. Can you think of anywhere else but here that you could be, a haven of sorts where these beasts would never enter?"

 

Covai was worried mentioning the world of dreams at his stage would rattle the man too much. Even a slight waver in his thoughts could turn out to be more than Covai could handle. He just hoped Ashrak could will himself somewhere else, or at least give Covai an image so he could take them both there, away from the nightmare around them.

[Gareth]

The tone was clear, it was like Covai was Storm Leader again, Ashrak never found out what exactly happened as to why Covai lost the position but he would never ask.

 

Ashrak was even more confused now than he was when he walked out into the streets and saw Covai alone against a horde of Trollocs. Everything looked real enough to him, real enough to kill anyway. And it was probably the best illusion he had ever scene.

 

"If it is an illusion it is probably the best I have ever scene, to bad we cant just turn them all into butterflys" Ashrak turned his back on the horde to explain "but I only know of one place that these abominations would not enter. I got lost in the Black Hills as a child and found the most peaceful area of the woods, almost as if nature itself was alive, a....." Ashrak looked around and noticed that he was surrounded by trees and Covai, the Trollocs, and the Tower was gone. "Ok now I am really confused, I was going to say and now I know it is a Stedding but what happend to everything else"

 

Ashrak sat down and waited for Covai to find him, Covia was stronger in the power and more experienced, Ashrak just took in his surroundings, the trees, the butterflies and waited.

[Covai Seriba]

Covai shook his head. He had managed to latch onto the image Ashrak had been forming and take them there in time. The only thing was, this was no steading. Steadings simply didn't appear in TAR, it's like they were a black Void. Thing was, if they were next to one they should be able to see it, but all Covai could see was trees. That mean't either Ashrak was wrong, or Covai had pulled them to the wrong place.

 

Turning to face Ashrak, Covai spoke. "Wherever this is its no Stedding. We couldn't be here if it was." Covai raised a hand to stall Ashrak. "No offense intended, I'm just stating some facts." Covai decided to quickly change the subject, in case their short reprise didn't last long.

 

"Tell me Ashrak, does anything feel odd to you at the moment? Out of shape, misplaced...or just not as it should be?"

[Gareth]

"Wherever this is its no Stedding. We couldn't be here if it was." "I.." Ashrak started before Covai began speeking again. "No offense intended, I'm just stating some facts." Ashrak was only going off of what he had read about steddings being peaceful in comparison to this place but Covai quickly continued. "Tell me Ashrak, does anything feel odd to you at the moment? Out of shape, misplaced...or just not as it should be?"

 

"Yes actually" he replied rather sarcastically, "how about everything. Like how you and I came to be in a Deserted Black Tower that doesnt make much sense, and how that many trollocs got this far south without being noticed. While we were in town I noticed that some of the doors and windows seemed to open and close by themselves. What is gong on?" He asked his confusion obviously bothering him to a point beyond annoyance and bordering on curiosity

 

OOC sorry took so long had an argument between my car and someone elses, no one won

[silhouette]

“Fools.†Nyssa muttered as she stepped out into the open, making the nightmares she had created disappear again. The one she had seen here first was obviously a dreamwalker, if not as skilled as she herself was. The other… she had expected him to fade away soon, but he didn’t. Perhaps a newly discovered dreamwalker? “A cub in a nest of vipers.†No one should be allowed to walk the dream without any proper training. Then again, it did make things easier for her. She decided there and then that she wasn’t done with the pair of channelling fools just yet.

 

Need. It was a very simple and yet very complicated thing within the dream. In a way it was the same as creating dreams and nightmares within Tel’Aran’Rhiod. The same, and yet not alike at all. Need could bring you anywhere you wanted to go, as long as you knew exactly what you wanted. Any mistake, and you could end up in places that could kill you. It required focus, and training to be able to use Need to your advantage. Nyssa had both. She needed to find the dreamwalkers. She pictured their faces in front of her, an exercise Lanfear had forced her to go through many times. When their faces were as clear to her as they would get, she stepped. Shifted. The landscape changed, and she found herself in a forest, hiding behind a tree, listening to the sound of their voices.

 

A little smile curved her lips. It was too easy. Lanfear had trained her for this exact thing. Finding people, in their dreams or in the world of dreams, and driving them mad with fear. They didn’t stand a chance. What is gong on? The telltale question that explained it all. The birth of a new dreamwalker. “Well, let’s see if I can snuff out your light before it starts to shine properly…†she muttered, conjuring nightmares as she spoke. Shadowy creatures started to appear between the trees. Not trollocs this time. Nyssa liked a bit of originality in her nightmares. Creatures of sand and rock moved slowly, haltingly between the trees, as if they were still getting used to their new forms. A thought spurred them on though. “Kill.†She whispered. “Kill them both.â€