Rashid opened his eyes again and blinked to adjust to the brightness of his new surroundings.
His eyes looked up at the boundless red sky that stretched endlessly.
Red?.....
Rashid blinked and his eyes opened wide in amazement.
Yes, the sky above him was crimson red, far from the usual light blue. It was as if a god had casually painted it a blood-red color.
Rashid was about to stand up, and when his eyes fell to the ground, his astonishment grew again. It was only now that he realized he was sitting at the edge of a huge chasm. It was as if the world had just ended.
Rashid scrambled to his feet and backed away, his heart pounding in his chest. He was inches away from falling in. ..... The abyss?
Rashid couldn't think of another word to describe the hole that stretched as far and as deep as his eyes could see. There was nothing but the abyss in front of him in all directions.
"You might want to get away from there, child. Lest you fall in. And believe me, there's nothing pleasant down there." A deep, old voice sounded from behind Rashid.
He turned quickly and was once again confronted with things that shattered his world view.
The first thing Rashid noticed was a tall tree. So tall, in fact, that it stretched for thousands of miles up in the sky. If there were leaves on this giant tree, Rashid couldn't see them.
The trunk of the tree, which was probably rooted deep underground, was about 10 meters in front of him. It was as if it had been planted there to defy this abyss.
The second thing his eyes fell on was probably the largest whatever it is he had ever seen. The voice that spoke to him probably belonged to this being, as it was the first and only sentient being he had seen in this strange place.
The being was about twice his size and slender. It's body and appearance were hidden under a red cloak with thin white stripes. The upper part of its face was hidden in a veil of darkness. The only thing that could be seen was his mouth, surrounded by a red braided beard that hung down to his chest. There was nothing else to be seen on his body. No feet, no hands, nothing. But strangely enough, it was holding a watering can in it's left hand.... Because it was as if the cloak was holding it. He couldn't see its fingers poking past the cloth.
"Give me a moment, young one. I must finish my duties. I believe you have many questions to ask, don't you?" With its ancient and grandfatherly voice, Rashid felt no malice directed at him. Whatever it may be, his life is not yet threatened.
So Rashid watched as the creature turned and walked towards the giant tree. It crouched down and probably watered the tree. As Rashid walked away from the chasm and approached the creature, he looked at the giant tree again. At that moment, he thought the creature's actions were rather useless. Like throwing a giant whale into a small pond and and hopping for it to survive.
'But herpaps, with everything I've seen so far, there's some supernatural stuff involved,' he thought.
'Or I'm having a weird dream, and a pretty vivid one at that,' he finally thought and looked around once more. There was nothing else in this strange place. The chasm behind him stretched as far as his eyes could see, and the solid ground he was standing on probably stretched far beyond the tree. If there was anything else behind the tree, he couldn't see it. At least his left and his right told him what he needed to paint a picture in his head.
He looked at the ground and noticed for the first time that it was completely white.
'Is that snow?' he crouched down and grabbed a handful of it. The texture felt like that of sand: rough to the touch, with many tiny grains. But it felt a little colder than the one he was used to.
He poured the sand back where he found it and stood up. He was just in time to see the red cloaked creature stand up as well.
It let go of the watering can and a strange scene unfolded before Rashid's eyes. The watering can floated up to the tree and disappeared as if plucked out of existence.
The strangest thing was yet to come. When the creature raised it's left hand, the air shimmered with invisible power. Rashid felt every hair on his body stand on end. A strange sensation ran through his entire being.
The red cloaked being conjured up a swirling, pure white ball of light. It was the size of a basketball and hovered just inches in front of it's outstretched hand. With a flick of its hand, the ball of light floated up to the tree. Like a solid object touching the surface of a liquid, Rashid watched as the ball of light disappeared into the tree. A couple of seconds later, the giant tree pulsed and glowed with a vibrant green light. Rashid heard a deep humming shake the entire atmosphere. As fast as it came, the light dimmed before disappearing and the humming ceased.
The creature crossed its hand behind its back and turned toward Rashid.
"Now that I have finished my duties, we will talk, little one." It spoke and looked at Rashid with its eyeless face. "Your mind is plagued with many questions, I presume?"
Rashid shivered unintentionally at the lack of visible eyes.
"You need not be afraid, for I have no desire to harm you. I'm only needed to shed light on the mysteries that shroud the circumstances in which you find yourself." It spoke again.
Rashid felt himself relax, if only a little.
With nothing threatening his safety, Rashid opened his mouth and was about to ask a question when the creature raised it's cloaked hand.
"Patience, young one. A conversation like the one we are about to have requires a very different setting than the one we are in. I, too, need refreshment after a day of hard work. Come forth, little one." The creature beckoned.
Rashid slowly approached the creature. He was ready to throw every self-defense trick he knew at the creature at the first sign of hostility. But with everything he had seen so far, he doubted the lethality of those in front of this creature.
But as his feet stopped just centimeters from the creature, the expected attack never happened. It merely spoke to him again.
"Don't be afraid of what's about to happen. You will be in no danger."
Rashid wanted to ask what the creature meant, but he soon found out.