The last words my mother spoke to me.
Excerpted from the Dreamwalker's autobiography.
Date written: unknown.
Copies disseminated during the reign of the Dreamwalker.
"'Goodbye, my son. I should have known this cruel world would never let an old woman such as I lead a happy life, much less bring forth a new, untainted soul. My only wish is that this misfortune could have been shouldered by myself alone. How it pains me so to see you. Nearing your first full year of life and never once able to observe the beauty of the world.
Not once have you been able to see the small birds flutter through swaying branches, riding the wind free of any of our worries. Never have you seen the love in my eyes each and every time I hold you. Even now as I hold you for what may be the last time, my only wish is that I could share even a small portion of my own senses with you. My greatest wish now is to see you smile just once in your short life.
However, I cannot help but be relieved. From the moment you were born, I knew you were destined for greatness. If not for that, why would the heavens strike you down as they have? I know because of this that your life would have been filled with a pain and burden greater than anyone else has ever been forced to bear. I cannot help but hate myself for thinking like this, but I can only ask for your forgiveness. There should be no mother that wishes to see their child in pain. Let the fathers be the ones to wish for the suffering that pushes their children towards greatness and allow us mothers to hope that you can live a life free of pain and despair, free from the agony that infects life in this world.
I would have loved to see you ascend to the peak of this world, to overcome the misery of this existence, to bring us a new light to follow in the eternal night, but all my dreams of your future have long been shattered. I can only hope your soul finds peace in its endless wanderings of the void. I can only hope that you remember my love for you if you are ever lost in the unwaking dream. I can only pray to whatever may hear me and ask for your safety. For now though, I will hold you. I will let you know the warmth of a mother's love for as long as you remain in this waking nightmare known as life.
Rest now, my son. Allow yourself to be pulled into the night. Let the pain you've experienced be left in your body. Let your soul be birthed anew, with the only remnant of this life being the warm embrace I share with you now. May your final dream be one of serenity, order, and love, and hopefully, of this last moment I have been able to share with you, my greatest joy.'
She did not cry. I believe she had long become accustomed to the agony of this nightmare we refer to as life. Fortunately for me, for all of us, her prayers were answered. I swam safely through the endless void and crawled my way out of the bottomless night. The love a mother can show for her child should not be underestimated, as even someone such as myself would be hard pressed to find something that could combat the corruption of a God."
***
We stopped in Aarkile after about half a day of walking. We all needed rest after the day we had. There was also no way we were going to walk all the way to the capital, especially with the Mayors bum legs, so we were going to rent a carriage.
Bear, the kid, and I were tasked with getting accommodations for the night, while Erin and the Mayor went to get mail. Apparently, certain communications were blocked from being sent to the fringe cities – something about it getting intercepted in the past.
Aarkile was a proper city, making the city we came from look like a small village. The hotel we went to was a five story building, much fancier than any building I had ever seen. Bear produced a badge of some kind when we got to the concierge and asked for three rooms. We were given the three keys with no further questions.
Instead of immediately going to the rooms, we went out to meet with the other two. Bear seemed to get uncomfortable being away from the Mayor for too long, but I might've been looking into it too much. We met with them about halfway there, each of them holding a sizeable stack of letters. The Mayor started talking with Bear about accommodations. Erin was staring off into the distance with unfocused eyes; the flesh under her nails was white. I didn't ask.
The Mayor asked which hotel we had picked, saying something about it being the "good one". He seemed excited. It was also made clear how the rooms were split up. The kid and I would share one, Erin would have one to herself, and the Mayor and Bear would be in the last one.
The rooms we had at the hotel were on the top floor, giving us a good view out over the city. They were decadent, almost uncomfortably so. They were the only rooms on the floor, each on a corner, with a common room in the remaining space. The stairs leading up to the floor even had a locked hatch. It was truly the height of luxury. We left most of our stuff in our rooms and went to the hotel's restaurant for dinner.
That night, I heard crying through the wall between my room and Erin's.
***
We got a carriage the next morning. We'd make it to the capital in two days.
At some point, I realized I shouldn't be thinking of the Mayor as "the Mayor", since his town no longer existed. I asked what I should call him. He said most people call him Owl. I probably should've figured that out.