Waking Revelations

Amorak slowly opened his eyes to the faces of all those he had met in the past few days. At first, he got a warm feeling inside, but this was quickly replaced by a wall of indifference that had sheltered him for his entire life. He pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"Back off, people," he said irritably. Obediently, they took a few paces back. Never once did they take their eyes off of him.

Each of them bore a different expression. Elsteba looked as if she was fighting the wishes of every muscle in her body to run up to him and throw her arms around him. Jacob wore a film of slight impatience, though failing to hide the happiness inside. Both of the holograms, Gammon and Athelia, were hovering over the rest, almost directly between Amorak and the sun. The light made it impossible to see their faces; indeed, it was a wonder he had even known they were there in the first place.

Then he saw a new face, one he hadn't seen at first. This face was older by far - he appeared to be in his mid-fifties. What shook Amorak far more than his appearance, however, was the expression that it contained; interest, concern, and maybe a little ... fear?

"What happened?" Amorak asked hesitantly, directing the question to the whole group but never taking his eyes off the newcomer. Something didn't feel right about him.

Jacob started to respond, but Elsteba cut him short. "It was really incredible! Remember that bright light? It was actually a spaceship owned by Alsifar here." She gestured at the newcomer. "According to him, you saved us. That is so cool, Amorak! How did you do it?"

This revelation was enough to distract Amorak from Alsifar. "...What?"

"Oh, don't be so modest, Master Amorak," Gammon said, "We are all trembling with anticipation. Do tell us how it happened."

"Maybe I can assist our oung friend here," Alsifar said. Amorak's eyes snapped back to Alsifar's, judging his every move, assessing every word he spoke. He couldn't put a name or reason to it, but something about Alsifar made every fiber in Amorak's body scream out ENEMY.

Whether Alsifar noticed or not, he made no mention to it. "The light you saw eirlier was indeed my spacecraft, but Amorak shielded the whole planet from the true intensity of the light. Otherwise, you all would be blind at best, and burned to a crisp at worst.

"From the minute he sensed something was wrong, his body started seeping out a dark mist, nearly invisible, which blanketed the entire planet with several shades of darkness. If my light hadn't ben present, it would have seemed like the darkest night you have ever seen."

The others all looked at Amorak with a mixture of speculation and awe, but Alsifar retained his same level of concern, if not more so. Amorak returned the look in kind.

Athelia seemed to understand at least a bit of the interaction between Alsifar and Amorak, and decided to steer down a different path. "Let us be joyful now," she said, clasping her hands together, "We are all still alive and well. Let us look on toward the future with high hearts and happy spirits. Jacob, be a dear and help me look for something that we may prepare for dinner."

This was taken as a general gesture to disperse. Alsifar turned his back on Amorak, hiding his gaze from the young man.

As soon as Amorak was free of the old man's gaze, he immediately relaxed - maybe too much. His body reminded him through his aches that it was not done resting yet. Obligingly, Amorak, laid back down on the earth, his mind full of thoughts of new possibilities. Dark mist? When was I able to do that? Then he remembered his vision; the darkness of the chamber, the chanting figures, and the single figure on the table...himself. It was too much to take at the time; Amorak was still tired, and his body was commanding him to rest.

The last thing he heard before he fell into a dreamless slumber was Jacob saying, "Oh great, he's going back to sleep..."