Xarus' Dream 1

Xarus found himself standing in a meadow not familiar to him. Birds sang softly from the far off trees boarding his field of view, and a gentle wind moved over the bright green grass. The sunlight beat down on him, warming his red skin, and giving the world around him an odd yellow hue.

The tiefling had come to know this hue well. The deep yellow was a sign that his mother Isis had come to him, to show him her blessings. Fitting, he thought, that on a night like tonight, before I set out, she should come to show herself to me again. As these ideas floated through his mind, Xarus slowly started to get the feeling he was being watched, which was quickly replaced by the knowledge someone was standing close behind him. Turning on his heels, he saw a figure standing before him, shrouded in a yellow robe, a mask covering the humanoid's face. The mask was ivory white, and though it was plainly before him, he could not set a description to it well. This didn't phase him however; though he could not see her face, he knew who stood before him. It could only be one person, dressed in the beautiful golden glow that he was so used to seeing. The Grandest Matriarch herself, who he had devoted himself to. He was compelled to throw himself at her feet, to bow before her, to sing her praises, but at that moment his body wouldn't obey. He felt almost frozen, stuck gazing at the soft white mask and yellow robes before him.

After what seemed like ages, a soft voice rang out in his mind. "Brambles....."

Xarus tried to move his mouth to speak, to ask what his goddess meant, but only air passed from his lips. The voice in his head continued on. "Red...........hand. Bram...st.......re.......nd." Xarus willed himself from the very bottom of his being, from what felt like the pits of his very living soul, and managed to utter a single "Wh-?"

"STOP THE RED HAND."

His eyes snapped open. Sitting up in his own bed, the tiefling was greeted by the rays of the morning sun. They filled the room with a comforting soft yellow glow.