a-pyromaniacal-writer

[a-pyromaniacal-writer]

Inner Turmoil

I sunk deeper and deeper into the inky black waters of the roaring ocean into which I had cast my frail form. Although the surface is turbulent, aflush with the furious white-water of the waves, the void that swallowed me was still and quiet. The subtle tones of creatures large and ancient clicked and roared far in the distance, granting me no pleasure of their company. As the last shimmers of light from the surface flittered out from view, I was finally and truly alone.

There was something so comforting sitting in the abyss. My heart, filled with both righteous fury and unbearable grief, went cold in the darkness. Even the flames of passion went cold here. Despite being engulfed in it, I felt a distinct feeling of water rushing down my back. My skin prickled with sensation as a watery hand from the void pulled me ever under with its riptide. The air was ripped from my lungs, yet I felt no fear. All I could think was of the pain that bleed forth and out from my head. Even as what could only be seen as final moments flooded into my nostrils with their cold tendrils, searing my lungs, nothing compared to the pain I felt before.

The most virulent and festering physical pain compared not to the hole that was in my heart. The loss, the grief, the fear, the pain. Now it was for the waters to engulf, to feel on my behalf. Free me of these chains that bind my soul so that my flesh may feel the warm rays of the sunrise once more. Why must this earthly realm serve as a purgatory for the righteous, a playground for the wicked, and a hell for the average?

With one last watery breath, I opened my arms to the depths, and from them I heard a call. My vision went dark, and all seemed to end. Light would return, and my flesh was finally free. Though my lungs were heavy with fluid, my heart was finally weightless.

[a-pyromaniacal-writer]

Oneiromancy

The sun set as the bustling police department noises settled into the dull hum of the fluorescent lights above. Since crime never sleeps, neither do I; today marks the third row I have worked the night shift. Under most circumstances, I would have never agreed to such grueling hours, but being a new detective has its downsides. At least I had my mom's solar-powered lucky cat toy to keep me company with what little battery it had left. The gentle rocking of its little white paws seemed to lull me towards my inevitable collapse into the hands of exhaustion...

Ring Ring Ring

I lept up in my seat, perplexed by the desk phone. Checking the wall clock, it was nearly midnight. Late-night crimes were hardly a rare occurrence, but they rarely resulted in calls all the way back to HQ. Did something happen to the units on duty?

Ring Ring

No time to think, I grab the phone. Worriedly, I follow the usual script: "Hello! This is Detective Apollo with the Delphi police department's criminal investigations unit. How may I help you?"

"Ah, Apollo, how fitting. It is a pleasure to finally get the chance to speak to you. Finding the time for chit-chat amidst our time's chaos is tricky."

The voice was raspy and vaguely familiar; something felt wrong. With every terse syllable the caller spoke, a chill tickled my ear. "I am sorry, sir, your voice doesn't ring a bell. Could I ask to whom I am speaking?" 

"Consider me an old friend, Lucius." The sound of my real name rang in my ears like shattered glass. "As for who I am, since we seem to be using nicknames, call me Hermes. I always found his work to be befitting myself."

Shaking off the shock, I quavered, "How did you know my name- What do you want? Is this some kind of prank?"

"Far from it, my dear; there is much work to be done. Your presence in Delphi has attracted the ire of a group of fanatics that I have been working so hard to keep at bay. Alas, my efforts are for naught. Since I am well aware their activities tonight will likely attract the attention of your fellow detectives, I wanted to give you a headstart. On the corner of West Ave and North Street, there will be a warehouse-"

There was no way that this was happening right now. The hum of the lights seemed to grow louder as the caller's words swirled in my head. The words fell like water in a glass too full, leaving me lost. Then, suddenly, Herme's monologue paused abruptly.

"Hm, perhaps I should take this from a different angle..." Hermes said as the lights flickered and popped, and my desk shook violently. I jumped back just in time for it to split open, spewing out an inky black mass. The shadowy material swirled together to form a humanoid-like figure whose presence sucked the light and heat from around it.

"Apollo, there is a grave danger that has grown far too large. The fabric of reality trembles before the disgusting visage it rears. If you have any respect for the destiny you are so dully owed," the figure lunged forward, catching me in its amorphous arms as I tripped over my chair, "then I expect to see you at the warehouse on the corner of West Ave and North Street." The mass seemed to emit an icy breath that stung my cheeks. "Am I understood?" 

Paralyzed with fear, I squeaked in hesitant agreeance. With that, the specter was gone, my desk was repaired, and the phone sat off its receiver, emitting a dial tone. I would have thought it was a dream if there had not been a newly placed pink Post-it note with the aforementioned address placed neatly before me. I considered throwing it out as though nothing had happened, but something felt horribly wrong. I felt compelled to investigate the warehouse, if it was even where Hermes said it was.

[a-pyromaniacal-writer]

Separation

Date of Admission: 

January 5th, 2024

Reason for Admission:

Suspected postictal psychosis 

Details of Admission:

At approximately 6 pm on January 5th, 2024, Flynn Bach entered St. Mary's In-Patient Psychiatric Care Facility. The patient's primary complaint involved an ongoing psychotic attack, presenting with severe audiovisual hallucinations and paranoid delusions. Flynn appeared visually well-kempt and emotionally regulated; however, the patient's testimony indicated significant deviations from expected reality, including distorted human figures, unknown voices, shadows that move independently, disturbing nonsensical dreams, and intense feelings of being watched at all times, even when alone.  

Upon further evaluation by the attending physician, Dr. Mayfew, Mr. Bach was noted to have irregular brain activity. Dr. Mayfew asked Mr. Bach if he could recall when the hallucinations began, and he recounted a story of a strange blue stone that he had on his person. The rock was akin to that of a large smooth marble that appeared to be made of glass. Dr. Mayfew inquired if the glowing often preceded the hallucinations, to which Mr. Bach explained that its glowing was constant but intensified and vibrated before major hallucinatory events.  

Following further extensive questioning, the patient was admitted under suspicion of postictal psychosis stemming from previously undiagnosed epilepsy. Staff would attempt to remove the patient's stone as part of the safety protocol for admission; however, the patient became resistant and hostile. The altercation would become violent when one of the nurses touched the stone; at this point, Mr. Bach knocked them onto their back and began mumbling something under their breath repeatedly.

The patient was administered a sedative, and the stone was removed. The object was then sent for testing to determine if it was potentially toxic. Mr. Bach's primary care psychiatrist, Dr. Atreus, was contacted and notified of the patient's state. He requested to be brought onto the case, which hospital administration has yet to determine.  

Upon waking up, Mr. Bach was in significantly better spirits and apologized for the altercation. The patient is currently stable and continuing to be monitored.

[a-pyromaniacal-writer]

The Nightmares are Coming

January 1st, 2024

Dear Diary,

I revisited Dr. Atreus for what had to have been the millionth time this week. He insisted I pick up a journal to document my feelings and experiences in a way that doesn't cost 20 bucks a pop. I am not on hard times currently, but if it allows him to go gray just a couple years later, I can comply with his request.

Since you are but a freshly opened book birthed from the unholy bowels of my local convenience store, it is appropriate to catch you up on the events that have thus transpired. Approximately 3 or 4 weeks ago, I was taking a stroll through the neighborhood when I spotted a strange blue glint among the freshly fallen snow. Upon further inspection, I found a weird blue orb that had seemingly fallen from the sky. It was unlike any stone I had previously seen before; its surface was perfectly smooth and lightly glowed with a mesmerizing pulse. The stone vibrated along with its brilliant pulse, akin to a heartbeat.

Now, any normal individual of sound mind and thought would think to bring such an object to the appropriate authorities for investigation; however, I felt compelled to hold onto and protect it. It was as though someone had reached into the deep recesses of my mind and begun pulling at my strings. Regardless, I gave in and started dutifully carrying the stone on my person from then on. It was at this point that the hallucinations began.

A couple days after finding the stone, I received a knock at the front door while preparing dinner. Upon answering, I discovered a neatly dressed man clad in what is best described as formal business attire. However, something was off from the start. 

"How can I help you today, sir?" I inquired. He simply stared at me, unblinking. I began stepping back and closing the door when the man pushed into my doorway. His head turned to the side as his mouth opened, and water started gushing. I screamed and fell backward, the man continuing to lurch into my home with his ever-contorting face. 

"DO NOT BE AFRAID; THE NIGHTMARES ARE COMING," the man screeched without moving his lips, "HEED THEIR MESSAGE." 

A horrible static began to fill the room, and my vision started to go dark. Screaming once more, I closed my eyes and cowered in the foyer, begging for it to stop. Suddenly, a profound calmness overcame me as the room went silent. I opened my eyes and found the door swung open with no one behind it. In an instant, the monster had simply vanished. Fearing that I had lost my mind, I would immediately contact my therapist, Dr. Atreus.

Until now, I had simply been seeing Dr. Atreus for a middling case of anxiety that I could not shake. Upon hearing my absolutely unbelievable tale of horror, he would ask me to come in for an emergency assessment in his office. I would come out clean, but he was unconvinced that this experience was one to be merely ignored. He gave me his number and instructed me to contact him if I were to ever experience such a thing again. Over the next few weeks, his phone would be ringing around the clock.

Whether it was further disfigured apparitions or strange murmurings in the night, I could not escape whatever horror I had called into my world. None of the future hallucinations would engage me in conversation; they would merely watch from afar. It was as though my periphery had been consumed by monstrous figures from beyond this world. Dr. Atreus began to propose that perhaps in-patient treatment may be necessary, as my condition resembled that of an extreme fracture of the mind. Still, I begged for any sort of alternative. Thus, I come to you now, oh wondrous paper angel of reprieve. May you take on this grief so that I may no longer suffer.

With all that said, I am feeling quite tired now. It's best that I lay my head to rest for the day in preparation for what lies ahead. Here's hoping this helps.

With kindest wishes,

Flynn

[a-pyromaniacal-writer]

We Take a Break from our Usual Programming to Bring You...

I know this is not my usual content, and I am still slacking on chapter 2 (I swear it is coming y'all 😭 can't rush the creative process or else you get me having to do a third rewrite of chapter 1 but for every chapter); however, I think for my programmer viewer base, you will enjoy this. As this month's post for the newest blogger gang on the block - The Writer's Gaggle - I will be talking to you about the tragedy that is the exclusive range pattern for the Rust Programming Language.

** DISCLAIMER **

Please do not harass or insult anyone in the GitHub issue I am about to discuss. Rust is a community of civility that doesn't tolerate rudeness towards others.

What are you talking about you madman?

If you have had the displeasure of ever having to write a range pattern in a match statement, you likely ran into the following error:

Following that GitHub link, you discover the now almost seven year old issue that is exclusive range patterns. Why has it taken seven years to resolve this issue? Well it comes down to two main points:

Conflicts with advanced slice syntax

Bike shedding into utter oblivion

Of the two, we will mostly be concentrating on the latter issue, as the prior one is a genuine concern that probably is best solved with special casing the slice pattern in different positions or something to that extent. Also, it's only mentioned in the issue's blocking list and is not actually addressed in the thread of the issue for exclusive range patterns 💀.

Color picking is such a chore

While I may not be an expert on actual implementation, I can see an over-engineering spiral when I see one. Throughout the issue, there seems to be one major thing repeated over and over again:

... exclusive ranges on pattern matching makes it very easy to introduce bugs, as exclusive ranges are very rarely what the programmer wants in a pattern match (emphasis on match!). In these cases, I would argue that having the programmer be explicit is helpful; there is no reason to offer syntactic sugar in this case.

This was a direct quote from early on in the conversation and embodies an ideal that I think is fueling this development bottleneck.

Don't get me wrong, there certainly would be bugs that would come about as a result of this change I am sure. However, one must consider that the overall impact of this bug is minimized by Rust having bounds checking built-in by default. Risks would lie for those who disable it such as in embedded environments, but there is already an understanding of an elevated risk of bugs in that sort of environment (and work is being done to make avoiding those bugs in that area more ergonomic as well).

It ultimately comes down to whether Rust is responsible for protecting programmers from all bugs. This is certainly an issue that the community has faced in the past and will continue to do so for years to come, but it comes to a head with this issue. Something as simple as a consistency fix is being blocked primarily by the concern of the risk of a bug.

Yeet the baby out with the bathwater

Of course, even the proponents of keeping exclusive range patterns out do not want to lose out on consistency, so what do we do? Well why not just get rid of all exclusive range patterns all together!

As proposed on the issue as well, I ultimately find the idea brash compared to other proposed solutions. Exclusive range patterns in loops make sense. Loops have traditionally been exclusive in range, and the fact that ranges in matches are being treated any differently is quite strange.

I think the biggest problem when it comes to matches vs loops is that match ranges are often given to you by some standard or external entity, while loops are usually consciously processed. Unfortunately, a lot of data uses inclusive ranges, so you have to remember to translate. Thing is though, you will have this problem if the reverse occurs.

If only there was a way to account for careless mistakes without massively changing the actual language itself. Hmmmm, OH WAIT!

Happy little mediums

We as Rust programmers have the benefit of using a friendly lil guy named Clippy, who for better or for worse, yells at us for code that probably is not what we meant or intended to use. Why not just throw an optional lint in there for people who care? Perhaps the bike shedding crew can devote some of that power into developing generic cases where exclusive was assuredly a mistake.

Regardless of implementation, it gives some pretty major upsides:

People can choose to have it on or off depending on if it is a common issue with them

It allows for consistent syntax that falls in line with current assumptions regarding .. syntax in the rest of the language

Beneficial to the completion of half-open range syntax

What now?

I almost thought the issue had simply been forgotten at one point, as did many other users, but bringing that up brought a whole motley crew of individuals who thought the syntax was simply too confusing and likely to incite bugs. I think while considering newcomers from other languages and new programmers in general is a great thing, this issue is just going to go round and round in circles until the cows come home at this point if something is not done to resolve this.

Newcomers should get used to utilizing clippy anyways, and my own personal biases lean on the side of consistency, especially given I really do not see how this syntax is all that confusing.

In the end, although, I just want a conclusion to this. I need closure. Almost seven years and nothing of actual substance has occurred!? Come on y'all, we can overcome this obstacle. Comment your thoughts here, and if you'd like, spark some more debate and maybe even an end to the notorious Issue #37854:

[a-pyromaniacal-writer]

Update on Episode 2

I know you all must be eagerly anticipating the arrival of the episode 2 rewrite, and that makes two of us. Someone - not naming any names - *cough cough* me * cough cough* happened to get distracted trying to understand the nature of my own universes' concept of time and how time travel would work. That is to say, the chapter will be out in no time, lemme just make a few more deranged graphs trying to explain this:

These were the ones I made. I know two visual representations aren't much, but the amount of thinking that had to go into this was intense lol.

A good friend of mine named Ku also made these graphs, which helped me in my thinking process:

The "eye creation" should be explained in due time on the compendium. See y'all there, and keep an eye out for episode two. I appreciate the patience 💙💙💙 All of this will pay off in the end!

[a-pyromaniacal-writer]

Golden Linings

The bleary lights of the rising suns had just peaked above the horizon when the obnoxious ringing of my front doorbell rudely interrupted my restful sleep. With a jolt, I sat up in bed and rubbed my tired eyes in an attempt to awaken my vision. Davi lay fast asleep, much like a rock at my side. His gentle breaths continued in their sweet smooth pattern, uninterrupted by the noise. Of course, this was not a surprise, as Davi always slept as if his ears were stuffed with clay.

Alas, the doorbell rang once more. Its pleading cries broke me from my tired stupor and convinced me to free myself from the warm clutches of the morning bed sheets. Begrudgingly, I stumbled out of our room and down the narrow hallway leading to the front door. With one swift movement, I unlocked the door and swung it open. "Can I help you?" I grumbled.

Before me stood a tall, slender humanoid clad in an iridescent emerald cloak embroidered with the emblem of the Elder King. They had large, piercing eyes and a long face. An air of regality and pompous indignation exuded from their presence. "I do apologize for the intrusion," they said, looking me up and down in my disgruntled and untidy state. "I seem to have come at a bad time. Alas, the word of the King waits for no one. I have a letter for a Carin Sharnack." They produced a silver envelope from their pocket with gold trim along its outer edge.

Not processing what was going on, I grabbed the envelope and promptly slammed the door closed. "Thank you for your time, have a great day," I yelled through the door. The person on the other side seemed to have said something, but I had not the time nor sense to care. As soon as I had gotten out, I slipped back into the cozy sheets. Despite the commotion, Davi remained fast asleep.

❧

Davi and I awaken a few hours later and begin our usual routines. The gold-lined silver letter remained unopened on the small shelf next to the bed for most of the day. It wouldn't be rediscovered until the 7 suns set, and Davi went to put something on the shelf before bed.

"Carin, what's this weird fancy envelope we've got on the shelf here?" Davi inquired from the room, with me in the kitchen cleaning up.

"What letter?" I said, failing to recall the morning.

"There's a fancy silver letter with what looks like a gold trim on it? I know you were getting into calligraphy recently, but we can't be spending our glimmers on these things-" Davi was interrupted by the crash of a dish. It was at that moment that I remembered the morning encounter.

"So, Davi. I uh got that this morning," I begin as I made my way back into the room, leaving the broken dish behind, "from some strange individual with the insignia of the Elder King." Peeking into the room now, I could see Davi's face had gone pale.

"You're telling me you took a letter from an official of the Elder King this morning?"

"Well, yes, although I have no idea what it's about."

"What do you mean? Did you not ask what it was for? Surely that's something a royal courier would provide."

"I slammed the door in their face and walked away..." We stared at the letter for a few minutes, fearing what might be inside. Whatever it was, if it was related to the Elder King, it had a good chance of not being good. "So, are you going to open it or me?" I asked squeamishly.

"When the seven suns burn out, maybe. I am not touching the contents of that envelope with a 10-meter pole. It is addressed to you, after all."

Dejectedly, I concede defeat with a sigh, "Well, here goes nothing." The letter read as follows:

Dear Carin Sharnak and constituents, 

It is with great pleasure that the Elder King and the everlasting extra-temporal Kingdom of Alaglaceria invite you to attend the 1-centillionth anniversary of the Millenial Starlight Ball as one of our most esteemed and prestigious guests. Take this letter to your nearest rift station as soon as possible to arrange your transportation here in time for the event. If your local rift station cannot provide transport here, we will ensure that the station in the Nullous Dunes does have transportation. Finally, each guest is permitted to have a plus-one. We recommend it is a guest that has yet to attend the ball, but that is optional. Please accept our most gracious request to join us in celebrating the continuation of time and the extraordinary inter-reality star shower.

Best Regards,

Gala Organizers of The Everlasting Elder King

After reading the letter, we sat in a stupor for a bit. The reality of being invited to one of the rarest and exclusive events in the multiverse was hard to process.

"I am going to be honest. I never thought this day would come," Davi said, breaking the silence.

"Me neither."

"Obviously, we can't refuse."

"Indeed."

"How long do we have to pack?"

"Approximately three major cycles. They usually give ample time to prepare. I'll call it in tomorrow to confirm."

"Well, we better hop to packing in the meantime." Davi gave a look of excited determination. With that, we began to prepare for the long journey ahead of us.

[a-pyromaniacal-writer]

UPDATE: I HAVE RETURNED

I have FAILED as a tumblr blog parent 😰. Do not fear, however, for I have returned from my impromptu hiatus. Got hit with COVID and then college, so I was unable to really get anything very good creatively out.

Also NEWS! I have decided that the narrative experiment I attempted to pull with the past few posts did not go as well as I would hoped. Hence, I will be doing some rewrites along with some more consistent poem posts. I will have the original stories still posted, but the Table of Contents will link to the new rewrites. I love you all, and I hope y'all come back for some more inter-dimensional fun.

[a-pyromaniacal-writer]

Echos of Another World

"Doctor Therin, my old friend! I had the documents you requested from Project Crimson Core personally delivered to your desk by one of my assistants. I hope they prove useful to your research."

"Thank you, Doctor Feras," I replied tiredly, "I have been reading documents nonstop for the last week, so I apologize, but it might be a minute before they come to any use."

"Please, call me Albie. Also, are you getting enough sleep, friend?" Albie asked, a tinge of worry hanging on their tone. "You sound tired, and I know how you work without sleep. Honestly, you really must take care of yourself-" 

"Doctor Faras, I am fine." I sighed, "Ever since I took on the role as Chief of the Research Department, work has just piled up a bit." The piles of documents and charts littered my office floor, mixed with empty plates and water bottles, were a testament to that. I can't remember the last time I left the office.

"Malfas, you know I worry." There was a pause, and then they continued, "My assistant informed me of the state of your office; I know things aren't just fine." Their voice crackled along the line as if they were in pain. 

"I promise, Albie. Just give me a few more days, and things will be as they were." I knew Albie would bother me until they thought I was well insistently, but work had to be done. My feeble attempts at compromise felt empty.

"If you say so. HOWEVER, I am coming into the office in about a week to visit and perform a minor equipment test. How about you take a break, and we go somewhere to eat like old times, eh?" Albie chuckled to themself. They reassumed their cheery facade.

"Sounds like a plan. . ." I sat for a moment, thinking of what to say. It was as if my brain had stopped. The world swirled around me as the walls seemed to melt around me. A horrible darkness overtook me, and I collapsed onto my desk. The faint noise of Albie's insistent cries soon melted into the buzzing hum of water rushing past my head. Before I passed out, I could've sworn I heard someone cry out. It wasn't Albie or anyone else I knew. The voice was so alien, yet so familiar. They called out to someone . . . Their name . . . Davi.

[a-pyromaniacal-writer]

The Inbetween Index

Cracking Dreams:

The first story to bring readers into the Inbetween universe. Sink or swim, readers are thrust into the minds of the protagonists and left to explore the world through their eyes. May the light they see reveal the truth that lies behind the cracks.

Episode 1: Golden Linings

An intrepid couple receive a mysterious gilded letter inviting them to the event of the millennia. With the excitement of getting to meet the Elder King and seeing the mysterious land of Alaglaceria in their hearts, they embark on the biggest journey of their lives so far.

Episode 2: Oneiromancy

A new detective in a new town with far too little sleep gets a mysterious call from a force beyond mortal comprehension. Will he be tempted by the unknown, or run once more from the dangers that lie on the horizon. Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure. Delphi will never be the same again.

The Fractured Compendium:

This blog will be an in-depth dive into the intricate lore of the Inbetween universe through the journalistic musings of one of the Divine Order's top scientist. For those who wish to learn more, this is the story for you.

The blog is now open for viewing. You can find it on the side bar labelled as "Compendium". Updates should be coming to it relatively regularly, but some complex topics may take more time to come out. As with this blog, posts are subject to edits, but I will try to announce it when I do.

[a-pyromaniacal-writer]

To My Amazing Readers

I apologize for the delay in stories recently, I have been going through the fun that is graduating senior year and wisdom tooth surgery prep. As compensation for my time away, I will be posting two story posts sometime tonight as well as setting up a pinned table of contents for y'all. I really hope everyone sticks around with me through all of this craziness coming up. Keep dreaming and traverse the cracks!

[a-pyromaniacal-writer]

Ashen Sands of Souls Long Lost - Episode #2

Time passed, and the darkness descended once more. The smooth white grains of the Nullous dunes withered into harsh black spikes with a sound almost retched. "Not again, please not again." Davi pleaded. The crackling of the sand was terrible before, but with the harsher sands, his shoes whined with every step. "It's only one more cycle - Davi - we can do this," I reassured him, but even I was unsure whether my statement was true. To my dismay, he would call me out on my bluff. "You know that isn't true. We should have never come here" Davi's irritation was palatable, "This freaking abomination of a realm is driving me mad!" He clenched his head in his hands, coming to a stop. I froze, "Maybe we should stop and rest. I am sure we have enough rations to do so-" I said comfortingly, but Davi cut me off. "NO, just stop, stop, stop," he yelled as his body trembled more violently. He fell to his knees as blood began to leak out onto the ground from the sand cutting into their skin. I rushed to his side but felt almost repelled by some unseen force. "Davi, we can't do this right now. Either we rest or keep moving," I pleaded, comforting him and placing a hand on his shoulder. For a moment, he became still.

Suddenly, his head jerked back, and a horrific otherworldly scream was emitted from his mouth. "Bloodied palms on acrid sands whose grains are black with sin. What wondrous blood thee has provided for us to feast." Davi spoke, his eyes glazed over with a pale yellow color. "Who are you, and what have you done to Davi?" I jumped back, drawing my blade. "The child's heart speaks to souls beyond perception, and we have attained contact with their blood. You entered this world seeking an exit, but no one leaves the Nullous plains. All shall sink into its sands and become one with its cycle," the spirit cackled while contorting Davi's body to and fro. "I know of your kind, and you are not welcome," I muttered, "we are no ordinary souls, and the path to escape is laid before us by divine hands. Relieve thyself from my beloved's body or face the wrath of my blade." The spirit threw Davi face-first into the sand, causing blood to flood from his pores. "FOOLISH FOOLISH BOY. YOU THINK YOU KNOW BETTER THAN WE SPIRITS OF THE SAND," the spirit yelled, throwing Davi's head back once more to reveal the bloody mess of his face. I swung my blade through his body with a swift movement and then stabbed it into the ground. Although his body was unharmed, the ground began to crack beneath us as screams filled the air. Adding to the cries myself, I drove my blade further into the ground with all the force I could muster. Davi's body convulsed as cracks formed in the air. It was as if the air itself were made of shattered glass. "PUNISHMENT LIES AHEAD FOR THE DAMNED WHO DECRY THE SPIRITS OF THE DESERT. HOW DARE THEE SLICE OUR SACRED GROUND WITH THINE BLADE YOU BLITHERING FOOL, I-" the spirits were cut off as I slammed the sword down to the hilt with one final push. Reality shattered, and the sand fell out from beneath us. Soon we were enveloped in darkness.

We fell for a long time, although I could not say precisely how long. Eventually, I opened my eyes and found myself lying on a marble floor, staring at a large glass dome ceiling. Davi was next to me, sprawled out. Their wounds were healed except for a few minor scratches and a single scar across his right palm. After turning my head and catching a glimpse of him, I was overwhelmed with adrenaline as I painfully rolled over and pulled him close. "Davi, are you alright?" I whimpered tears in my eyes. "Please be okay," I shuddered while crying into his shoulder. "As good as one can be after being possessed," Davi muttered weakly. His eyes remained closed, but his warm smile returned. "Oh, thank goodness," I sighed with relief, "I'm going to be completely honest; I wasn't sure if my idea would work." Davi chuckled, "Yeah, I kind of guessed after feeling Aeltheyre pass through me. A pretty desperate attempt at breaking a minor possession, don't you think?"

I glared at him, "Well, it didn't seem that bad of an idea until it started causing rifting." With a heavy, pained breath, Davi chuckled and said, "Carin, my darling adorable son of a fairer. Only you would manage to create a crack trying to break a realm spirit possession." He chuckled and then pulled me further into his warm grasp. "Next time, let's not go through the Nullous dunes. Obviously, I don't know my way around there as well as I thought." I was surprised to hear him take responsibility for our soiree deep into the desert. Yet - too tired to argue - I reluctantly nuzzled my head in agreement and slowly drifted to sleep once more.

[a-pyromaniacal-writer]

Dust to Dust, Smoke to Fire - Episode #1

"How long have we been walking?" Davi bemoaned. His feet dragged with every step creating an awful scratching sound as the balsa wood of his sand-shoes dragged across the ground. "Three days as of the last light cycle should my calculations be correct," I responded, irritated. We had been traveling the ivory white dunes of the Nullous desert in search of an oasis to rescue us, but - to our dismay - we had little to no luck. With our resources beginning to dwindle, we would have to keep searching through the darkness if we were to survive.

"Carin, I refuse to take another step," Davi threw himself face-first into the sand and continued to groan. "We've been walking across this god-forsaken plane of existence for too long, and I miss eating things that aren't expired granola bars and stale water." I take off my pack with a sigh and toss it to the ground next to him. "Well," prodding his side with my finger, "if you'd just gone through the rift instead of insisting on finding an oasis, we wouldn't be in this situation. As you can clearly see, they have a much better sense of direction than you." Davi rolls onto his back and glares back up at me, "If you didn't accept that dumb invite to the Moonlight Court, I wouldn't have needed to use the rift." He crosses his arms, exasperated and with a distinct look of frustrated distress. In all fairness, he was correct, but that wasn't to say I would let him know that. "No one rejects an invitation from the Moonlight Court. To do so means expulsion from the Glades of Ioara, which," I look over at him as his face scrunches in further on itself, "I am sure you wouldn't want. Would you?" Davi grunts in agreement and flops back onto the ground. There was nothing he could argue, for losing our home on the glades would be a death sentence. Knowing Davi, he wouldn't get back up anytime soon. I laid back and decided to get some rest while he cooled off a bit.

* * *

Having sufficiently rested, I stood up. "Well, if you want to leave, let's find another crack. I'm sure a good traversal will get you feeling better in no time." I smiled endearingly and helped him up. White grains of sand leaked from every article of clothing that did not stick skin tight. "Ughhh, fine, but would you mind helping me shake out this sand," Davi pleaded as he shook about, trying to free himself from the sandy clutches of his newly dusted clothing. "I thought you wanted to get out of here as soon as possible," I laughed. He did not find my humor amusing, and he grumbled angrily as he followed behind me.