Nochae. After The collapse of the Acacia
- Atlas, here. Atlas, here.... - the voices that accompanied him were like a secret whispered into the wind, faint and weightless and always just out of reach.
Atlas was having an old dream - Of a place that he could only describe as a night without stars.
- Atlas were. Atlas, were....
Of a time where the voices were his sole companion, his only friends.
Atlas advanced forward endlessly within the fog and as he did so, they played with him when he was bored, showered him with food when he was hungry and brought him water when he was thirsty. Yet no matter how many turns left or right or up or down he took, he could not find the home that they were taking him to; it was only much later that Atlas realised that the voices were just as confused and lost as he was.
- Atlas, ware. Atlas, ware.... - he noticed an uncharacteristic franticness within the voices and a sense of incrogruity started to build within his mind.
*Badump* *Badump* Badump*
There was a dull throb pulsating behind his eyes. Furthermore, the sluggish rhytm of his heartbeat felt unnaturally loud.
- Where?! - he demanded whilst ignoring the breathlesness on the back of his mind.
*Thud*
Atlas's knees collapsed on the ground and as he did so, the faces of the shapes the fog seemed to take took on a mocking smile - Where.....
But before he could hear any type of answer, the voices seemed to take a sudden sharp turn - Atlas - whispering with suddenness in his ear -
*Thud* *Thud *Thud* ...
.....WAKE UP...
*****
The urgency behind the voice forced him awake, a deep breath stirring a sharp sting in his throat.
*Cough* *Cough* Cough*
"Where am I?" - he thought while the colours around him started to sharpen and become clearer, like the world was dragging itself into focus after a long, foggy dream.
The air surrounding him coiled with the colour of ash, every breath leaving a bitter residue on the tongue. - "Wait? Bitter?"
With that thought in mind, Atlas hurriedly touched his face only to realise with horror that his wooden mask was gone, perhaps blown away by the same wind that had brought that damned thing that had hit him in the head, causing him to faint. He touched the back of his head, and he did not feel it to be wet; a stroke of luck if being concussed could be considered one.
Atlas searched for his mask but he did not know whether it was still within his vicinity. Furthermore, the ash blanketed everything, covering the world around in its colour, akin to mist hovering over a lake at dawn; it made the search fruitless. He soon understood he would have to give up on it for the moment.
Furthermore, there were bigger things to worry about - "Acacia". - Or what was left of its remains, which was dancing around him like tainted powder snow.
- Atlas, good? Atlas, well? - the voices in the fog asked.
- Thanks... Chorus - said Atlas in response as he held a fist in front of him.
- *WHoosh*! - Chorus in response mimicked what it assumed to be the sound a fist bump made and as it did so, light converged in the air and moved to touch Atlas's fists.
Followed by that, a cascade of cheerful voices swiveled around Atlas's body before gently and gradually giving away to silence.
"They will want proof, but how should I go about this?" - there was a camera in his mask, but it wasn't as that he could use it anytime soon; nor was there anything to really put behind its lens.
- "I can't just take a picture of whatever this is in my hand and tell them: It's the tree of life!" - They would call him a lunatic if he did that - "And that's just the tip of iceberg. A chirp of that even get back to those of the Accian faith and they would have me hanged before the moon turns"
But he understood that he still needed to bring something back. So he browsed Makhelm in search of a place that would have a working camera.
It didn't take him long to find one - Here.... Here - with Chorus guiding him around he soon arrived in front of a little antiques shop, just some streets away from where he had just woken up.
Inside, after searching for long, Atlas picked up a black film camera. A little thing of the past century that he had only seen within Julietta's office - she had never taught him to use it but he could read the instructions within the box. Anyhow, he realised it had to serve for the ash outside was starting to lift.
"Then all hell will set loose" - if the Acacia had tumbled down, then the protective dome above the sky would have done so with it; Atlas could already feel the monsters outside drooling at the thought of destroying and raiding the whole of the Dome of Nochae.
The ash was a bother but it also served as a veil, masking his movement from anything slithering in this place apart from him.
After reading the instructions within the box, Atlas looked for a high vantage point to settle down, a place that would get him a view of the Sanctuary and anything that might have remained from the Acacia. He refused to believe that a being of such gargantuan proportions could just turn completely into ash.
Thus, Atlas got into position and waited with the lens of the camera pointing in front of him.
The first thing to come into view as the ash receded were the tall slender spires of the sanctuary; topped with finials shaped like trees and spinning wheels, each inlaid with a gemstone that gleamed as far as Atlas was watching. Then the grounds around the latter came into view, sporting orphanages, libraries, sprawling gardens and many more.
Atlas held his finger to the shutter release button, preparing for the moment when the Acacia would come into view.
Yet suddenly, without any warning a golden light glimpsed through the dense ash, starting out as a small spark before gradually filling up his entire vision. In a hurry, he shielded his eyes with a hand.
After what felt like an eternity, the light slowly dimmed and was soon replaced by a gentle hum, the latter charged with a mysterious energy that prickled at one's senses.
Atla's eyes slowly came back into focus and when he caught a glimpse of what had been in front of him - "Oh. For the love of God. Can't we calm down for a second, please? Please?" - he complained inwardly, feeling as if today was just a series of a shock after another.
Replacing Acacia was another tree, this one thinner and smaller, but from its golden trunk and its snow white leaves and to the shining petals floating around it, one could feel it pulsating with a vitality that its predecessor could not compare with - a vitality that complemented more the name "Tree of Life".
Atlas took the camera and continually pressed the shutter button afraid that he would miss even a single detail of the spectacle unfolding before him.
But then he noticed something - "Wait a minute" - it prompted him to squint his eyes. - "Please?" - he said with a slight feeling of horror.
The tree with the golden trunk was surrounded by a myriad of monsters. Some gargantuan in size, some displaying traits unique to them, some perched in the ridges of roofs of the different buildings in the orphanage and all sitting amidst a bed of pale white to rich blues, purples, and even golden flowers. These monsters, contrary to their usual nature appeared to be peaceful and tranquil.
Atlas was smitten by a view he never thought he would see outside the walls - "Just like an image taken out of the fairytales she used to read me."
*Lub dub* *Lub dub*
It was more correct to say he was bewitched for as he started at it for longer and longer, he felt it resonating to something within him - gently calling his name with a familiarity he had only felt with Chorus.