dreamcrystals | fifth dream 🌱 wake up

Entry tags:

fifth dream 🌱 wake up

Sender: Zelda
To: Everyone
Subject: Passive dream recording (and optional log prompt)
Warnings: Some gruesome imagery (mostly in linked image). Final boss Calamity Ganon is kind of nightmare fuel.

It's dark in this dream, the specific sort of dark that one sees when they close their eyes. Zelda is asleep—dreaming, it seems, of being asleep. It's such a deep sleep that her body feels both heavy and weightless at the same time, as though she's floating on her back in a pool of tranquil water.

"Save her, Link. Save the princess..."

"Good luck, little guy! And give my regards to the princess."

Zelda stirs. The darkness lightens just slightly as she tries to open her eyes, but her eyelids feel so heavy that they fall shut again. She's too tired to wake up. She's only just fallen asleep.

"Your job is far from finished, you know. The princess has been waiting an awful long time."

The voices sound muffled and far away, as though she's hearing them from under the water. She tries to lift her head so the water can drain out of her ears. She recognizes these voices—Mipha, Daruk, and Revali, Champions of Hyrule. It's been so long since she's heard their voices. But who are they talking to?

"Both you and the princess... I know you have suffered much regarding what happened to us Champions. But this is how things had to happen. No one need carry the blame. So please, make it clear so she understands that. Tell her to shed any worries. And let her know... I couldn't be more proud of her."

Urbosa. Zelda tries again to lift her head above water, but the weight of her waterlogged hair pulls her back down again. It's too hard to wake up. She's been awake for so long, decades upon decades, struggling all alone. The last of her strength is just about spent. All she wants to do is rest.

"Open your eyes..."

That... that's her voice. Zelda's voice. But how?

"Please, wake up..."

Zelda can hear the exhaustion in her voice, exhaustion that runs bone deep and permeates every part of her body. It's the same exhaustion she feels right now, that she doesn't want to wake up from.

But she has to wake up. She can't sleep now. She has to maintain the seal holding back Calamity Ganon. Just a little bit longer. Every day, every minute she holds the seal is another minute for Link to free the Divine Beasts so they can finally beat the Calamity once and for all.

With excruciating difficulty, Zelda forces her tired eyes open and the darkness of the dream finally gives way.

At first, everything just looks lumpy and indistinguishable, lit with a murky reddish glowing light. Zelda blinks and rubs her eyes to bring them into focus.

A gruesome face stares quietly back at her, rising and falling as it drags in slow, ragged breaths through a mouth with jagged teeth growing out at all different angles. Its two glowing eyes staring vacantly through Zelda, as though the monster is in some kind of daze. A low, rumbling growl comes from somewhere in the monster's throat as Calamity Ganon begins to stir.

[ Optional log option ]

[ Following the dream, Zelda is making a midnight trip to the Observatory. She's looking frazzled and out of sorts, and for once, the Sheikah Slate is conspicuously missing from its usual place on her hip. The dream sits ill in her mind. It didn't feel like a dream at all, nor was it a memory. She can't shake this terrible feeling that something might be wrong with the seal, the prison in which her real body and Calamity Ganon are trapped within. The princess won't be able to rest until she looks for herself. ]

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[ Somnus has, historically, never been one to check or comment on entries made in the journal. This past week has been different, given that he himself has been considering making an entry for the very first time. As he browses the latest entries, he happens to come across one made by none other than the young princess...

He promptly closes the journal. How cruel of this world, to make one's dreams open for all to see. It is for this very same reason that Somnus rarely chooses to sleep here, save for practicing exercises in dreamotion. And because he has not chosen to sleep this night, either, he instead strolls outside the smithy as he often does. It seems he's not the only one wandering the town at night, for when he spots a figure hurrying towards the Observatory, he recognizes her immediately.

Somnus watches her as she enters, making no move to greet her. Silence falls upon the town as soon as the doors shut behind her, sleepy and serene in a blanket of shadows. He takes a single step in the opposite direction.

But then he pivots, looking back in the direction of the Observatory. A moment passes, then another. Finally, he turns, following her into the building.

There are few reasons why one might enter the Observatory, but he can guess at which one is hers. For now, he doesn't interrupt her. ]

[ Zelda is completely unaware of Somnus as she heads inside the Observatory. She isn't always completely aware of her surroundings on the best of days, and today is certainly not the best of days.

When she enters, she's expecting to find the Observatory quiet and nearly empty. (It's the middle of the night, after all.) But the scene she walks in on is the exact opposite—an absolute madhouse, busier than Zelda has ever seen it. The researchers (all of them, by the looks of it) are rushing here and there, hauling books and papers and all manner of instruments all over the place. No one even spares her a second glance as she walks inside. ]

Um, excuse me? I need to use the telescope. Can anyone assist me?

[ Zelda tries to wave down a researcher for help, but everyone hurries past without even looking at her, not hearing her (or pretending not to). It's not like she doesn't know how to use the telescope, but you're not supposed to use it unaccompanied. (Aren't you?) ]

[ The Observatory is rather busy this night. The researches seem rather preoccupied with something, too. Perhaps they’re on the brink of some sort of discovery. That, or they’re stressed. Scientists can be rather difficult to read.

But her asking for assisting is his cue. He steps into view, looking very much a timeless specter in a setting of buzzing, frantic productivity. ] Hail, Daughter of Hyrule.

[ Passing through a researcher whose nose remains buried in paperwork as they walk, Somnus practically glides over to her and the telescope. If it’s as straightforward as using the bauble in the Wishing Well, utilizing one to power the telescope should be fairly intuitive. ]

…Let us leave them to their work. I shall assist.

[ Zelda turns just in time to watch Somnus pass right through one of the researchers. The fact that he's a spirit and not a living person is something she has known for a long time, but sometimes these reminders of it take her by surprise. Are you sure it's okay to just walk through someone like that? Zelda glances with concern to the researcher, but they remain oblivious to what happened. No harm, now foul, apparently. ]

Are you sure?

[ Zelda fidgets, casting dubious looks around at the bustling researchers. She's pretty sure that "the rules" prohibit a dreamwalker from using the telescope without the supervision of one of the observatory's staff. A part of her fears that some sort of alarm will go off if she touches the telescope without permission.

But of course, she actually has nothing to be worried about. The telescope is not alarmed in any way. She's also used it enough times in the past that she knows exactly how it works. ]

All right. [ She eventually nods in answer to her own question. It's fine. She's already snuck into the sealed room in the library; it's a little late to be worried about obeying the rules.

Zelda rummages around in her belt pouch for a bauble. ]

You have used this machine before?

[ He is a man who had the position in which many people moved for him. Wielding the authority of a sovereign means he hadn't needed to ask. Death has only made him more untouchable, literally, as a specter. Because of this, he easily crosses the atrium of the observatory to where she stands near the telescope. ]

From my understanding, it is not unlike the wishing well. One uses the bauble.

[ He gestures to what appears to be... some sort of control panel? It appears fairly straightforward. Insert bauble charged with the wish of a vision, get vision in return.

But before that, he casts his gaze on her. ] However, are you certain you wish to see?

I must. If something is amiss, I cannot simply ignore it.

[ There is a look of firm resolve on Zelda's face as she steps up to the panel.

She retrieves the bauble from her pouch and inserts it into the receptacle, much in the same manner as one would insert a coin into a vending machine. There is a small screen set in the panel and a ten-key, where one punches in the coordinates corresponding to their world. Normally, one of the Observatory's technicians would input the coordinates here, but Zelda has memorized them. She swiftly keys in the coordinates. There's a loud rumble as the telescope's mighty gears begin to crank and align the device to the desired coordinates.

As the telescope moves into position, it occurs to Zelda that she hasn't actually told Somnus why she's here. Granted, it's basically a given that anyone using the telescope is doing so to look in on their own world, but Somnus's choice of words suggest that he knows more specifically what Zelda is looking for. ]

You know what I am looking for, then.

[ A pause, and then a slow nod. Although he tries to respect others' privacy when it pertains to dreams, he had happened to find hers. It would have been simple enough to shut his journal then and there, but it seems that she is one of the few that he's... grown some concern about. And although she might already know, he still feels it necessary to say: ]

Knowing may not grant you peace of mind.

[ If her world is as terrible as it had been in her nightmare, then she is powerless to stop its progression while she remains here. None have truly awoken of their own accord. He wishes to make certain that this is not an impulsive move to use a bauble on her part, but instead, something she has prepared to handle, should it instead confirm her fears.

But she's already inserted the bauble. So. ] Pray that it does.

[ Zelda purses her lips. So her nightmare was shared with everyone. Wonderful. Zelda hadn't even bothered to check her journal after she woke up—just threw on the nearest set of clothes and hurried to the observatory. ]

I would rather know the truth than remain blissful in ignorance.

[ She's spent too long allowing herself to live in blissful ignorance here in Songerein. Perhaps the spate of nightmares she has experienced this spring are proof of her negligence in her duty.

The telescope continues to turn. It will take a minute or so to align to a point in time and space that does not exactly match the soul of the associated dreamwalker. ]

Or do you speak from experience?

[ She can't help but wonder why he would come here if only to discourage her from checking in on her world. Has he looked in on his own world since arriving here in Songerein? ]

[ His attention lifts to the telescope as it turns, its clinking gears sound like a countdown. He's already told her at length. The damage to their Star has been done, and it remains in its last, pitiful, writhing throes. He doesn't need to see it to now what's become of it. But even if he himself has no need to see his world, he knows how... trying it can be to witness any once-fertile, thriving land reduced to ruin. ] To witness ruin first-hand... it is a test of resilience.

[ She is already plagued by nightmares of it. Is this not significant enough that she still suffers from scars? Not unlike a war-worn, rattled soldier, unable to sleep for the demons that plague their mind. He knows far too many affected as such, his own descendants included, and he's only been able to watch as they deteriorated.

Somnus looks at Zelda. Measuring her expression, he reads that she is set on her choice. It hadn't been his intention to discourage her, but merely warn. And-- ]

Know that if you choose to endure it, [ His cloak rustles as he lifts a hand, which he briefly places upon her shoulder. The touch is cold, given his undying state, but solid. ] ...I am here.

[ His hand withdraws. ]

[ There's a moment where Somnus seems to simply... watch Zelda. It's not unusual for silence to pass between them—Somnus is hardly the talkative sort—but this is different, as though he's looking for something. Zelda's brows furrow, as they frequently do in his company, and she wonders what he's looking for. He isn't like Link, or the other quiet souls the princess spends a lot of time around. Zelda can rarely read his expressions, as though his visage is carved from the same cold marble his touch so resembles.

But of all the things she might have expected from him (several of which were some form of lecture), supportive words and a reassuring hand on her shoulder were not it.

Zelda lets his words hang in the air for a moment, searching—fruitlessly as ever—for an answer in his face. There's none to be found, but that also doesn't really matter; regardless of why, those words are what she needed to hear.

Zelda's expression, as ever, betrays everything she feels, her big green eyes an open book of her thoughts. There's surprise there, to be sure, but more than that. Gratitude. Resolve. A glimpse of the strength Link has seen in her, the strength that carried her across her ruined country and directly into the maw of the Calamity itself when all was lost. Underneath all the fear and all the trauma is a young woman who has single handedly held off her kingdom's destruction for an entire century. ]

Thank you.

Edited 2023-05-10 02:46 (UTC)

[ The rhythmic clunk of turning gears falls silent, signaling that the telescope is in place. Zelda looks up at the daunting machine and draws in a shaking breath. Determined though she is, deep down, she doesn't want to do this. Deep down, she wants to remain in blissful ignorance, hiding her head in the sand that is the dream world and enjoying the happiness she's found here. But even deeper down is the conviction that she cannot forsake her beloved homeland.

Exhaling, Zelda steps up to the telescope and puts her eye to the eyepiece. Every other time she's used the telescope, she always saw the same thing—the cocoon, which held both the princess and Calamity Ganon, hanging quietly in the throne room of Hyrule Castle. The excursions of the dream-version of Zelda never appeared to have any impact on the seal and she could sense her real-self's power only just beginning to wane.

But tonight, the telescope is tuned roughly sixty years into her future, to the Hyrule from which Link came. Zelda knew from him that Calamity Ganon was regaining its strength within the seal. Though concerned, the princess tried not to let her thoughts linger on that. There is little she can do about events she has not lived. But that was before her dreams started to get stranger. First the dream with Revali, where Zelda could have sworn he was actually speaking to her. And now tonight's dream, the way the princess called for herself to wake up. She could chalk it up to the strangeness of dreams, but there's a niggling feeling in the back of her mind that tells her it was real.

So tonight, she will look at Link's Hyrule, the Hyrule of her future.

Once again, she sees the cocoon in the throne room. But instead of the quiet scene she is accustomed to seeing, Zelda finds the throne room a crumbling ruin, with Malice creeping at the edges of the room and an eerie red gloom in the air. The cocoon quivers and bulges in a grotesque manner, like a human heart with a collapsed chamber struggling to keep beating. The sealing magic she could once sense easily is now almost impossible to detect.

All of the sudden, her chest feels tight, like the air is being squeezed out of her lungs. Zelda stumbles back from the telescope, clutching at her chest with one hand and sucking in a shallow breath. She's struck by the sick certainty that Calamity Ganon is about to break free of the seal. ]

[ As she stumbles back from the telescope, he's there to catch and support her. With both hands upon her shoulders, he keeps her from falling.

Her reaction is telling, no doubt a confirmation of her fears. He won't ask after the details, instead allowing her to process the vision without interruption. Far be it from him to demand the details, much less have her to recount the horror that it is when she may not be ready to divulge. Besides, it hadn't been too long ago he had entered her knight's nightmare. If the telescope showed anything like it had been in the young knight's dream, then Somnus can imagine the destruction itself.

While different modes of corruption, her Star is also plagued by a blight of darkness. There is no question. She, too, must somehow return to her world to save it, and she must prevent its spread to other realms. ]

Sit.

[ He instructs her, gently, and if she's amenable to it, he will guide her to whatever reading bench is nearby. ]

[ If not for the coldness of his touch, Zelda probably wouldn't have even noticed that Somnus caught her. She's only vaguely aware of the command to sit, to which she nods her consent vacantly and allows him to guide to a nearby bench.

It takes her a minute to gather herself enough to speak. For awhile, she sits with her hand pressed flat against her sternum, concentrating only on the rise and fall of her chest. Once her breathing is regular again, she turns her attention outward again. The tumultuous vision of Hyrule fills her mind, but she tries to ground herself in the reality of the now—the Dream Observatory, abuzz with activity, and Somnus's steadying presence. ]

It is... as I felt in my dream, I believe. [ The words come out slowly as Zelda parses out what she observed. ] I fear that my seal is about to break.

[ He does not rush her when she sits, allowing her to gather her thoughts. When she speaks, Somnus’ brow lowers.

The greatest of terrors lie sealed beneath Lucis. Even then, their captivity was only meant to be temporary by the king who confined them, for their power was too great. Even if defeated once, they would only spawn from blight yet again— and again, and again, for the Scourge has no limits besides light. Given the chance, daemons will endlessly seep up from the ground, manifesting into their forms to further spread their scourge. Complete eradication will only come when the Chosen dispels the darkness. Yet, as the Night has already consumed his world, he knows the devastation that could come when all protective measures break.

He does not wish something similar to happen to her world. Stuck in this dream, she is powerless to stop it from happening. Either she accepts this helplessness or this galvanizes her to act. ]

Your world cannot afford you to remain asleep any longer.

[ His voice is quiet but firm. Instead of his usual, even and low tone, a thin, taught string of urgency stresses his words, and his expression hardens. What happened in his world… should not happen in others, if it can be prevented. ] We must find a means to wake.

[ It's rare to hear a detectable emotion in Somnus's voice, the presence of which prompts Zelda to turn to him. It seems his thoughts are along the same line as hers—it's time for this dream to end, no matter how much she wishes for it to continue. Calamity Ganon has grown in strength, just as Link said, and threatens to undo all the hard work and sacrifices she and the Champions gave on that fateful day.

Zelda gives a single nod in agreement. ]

I think that was what I was trying to do in my dream. The me of Link's time, I think she—I—was trying to wake myself.

But how am I to wake from this world? I know of no one who has woken of their own volition.

[ He has no immediate answer for her, as any true answer as to how to wake does not exist. Somnus's hands fold behind his back, and he turns from her, beginning to pace in front of the bench she sits upon. The observatory researchers avoid his short back to and fro, perhaps because they've seen him walk through someone earlier... or the sharpness of his frown acts as its own repellent.

Some seem content to believe that time functions differently between their waking selves and their dream selves-- that one does not impede on the march of the other, or that they never truly left their worlds. Somnus is not so easily appeased. Dreams have many wonders, but he is not so blinded to ignore the ugliness housed within, the nightmares on display every week, as well as the danger it presents to other worlds. This realm threatens the viability of at least two different worlds, now, so long as key players remain trapped within. This realm may compromise the sovereignty of worlds if nightmares bleed from one to the other.

This a vile realm. ]

There are some avenues of interest we might pursue. [ His head lifts as ideas manifest. ]

The baubles themselves hold the power to give visions or summon facsimiles of items from home realms. They may act as a substrate or conduit. There may be a few researchers who would be interested in seeing us return home, who can help. There may be magic yet to be developed that will sever a link between worlds.

[ Does he knows this for a fact? No, but that's not the point. As severe as his tone is, it seems he's attempting to not have her lose hope.

He stops pacing. Somnus faces her. ] There are possibilities, Daughter of Hyrule, and they merit pursuit.... but perhaps not at this time. For now, you must rest.

Rest?

[ Zelda looks at Somnus with the kind of dumbfounded expression typically reserved for completely outlandish suggestions. Which—for the anxious princess, who has as been worrying her lower lip as she watches Somnus pace—it is. ]

No, I couldn't possibly. This is much too important. There is no time for rest.

[ Anxiety fueled adrenaline is a hell of a drug. She has spent many a sleepless night like this in Hyrule, up alone in her tower working for days on end without break. ]

Perhaps we have simply not yet offered enough baubles for the wishing well to wake someone. I still have a number of them that I have not used.

[ Earlier, he had expected her to despair, given the bleak nature of the vision. Instead she seems invigorated, ready to take action.

…He’s certainly underestimated her resolve. And, perhaps, it is because of that resolve, rather than giving into fear and woe of her situation, that makes an her all the more remarkable. Somnus reconsiders for a moment, then speaks. ]

Perhaps…. [ A call for a pause, a motion of his hand. He can see her mind turning like the wheel of mill. ] Before wasting baubles on the same mechanisms [ The telescope and the wishing well give tried and expected results. ], it is the mechanism itself that utilizes the baubles as catalysts that we must consider.

[ He doubts building something as grand as an observatory is feasible for any two people… but perhaps there is something else they might accomplish between the two of them? Magic…? A spell—

There is one he knows of that shatters the very fabric of reality. ]

Edited 2023-06-08 21:26 (UTC)

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fifth dream 🌱 wake up

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