Not far away, a group of men and women sat atop four-legged creatures she didn't recognize. Almost all the riders were clad in furs and cloaks. But what truly captured her attention after just a brief glance at the newcomers was the man standing nearby, arms spread wide.
He was tall, with brownish skin and large, round eyes that glowed red in the dim light.
His bald head was offset by a long, well-groomed black beard that tapered to a sharp point on his chest. Thick black eyebrows and a flash of white teeth gave him a look that was at once intimidating and imposing. But rather than fear, Ray felt awe. This impression was only amplified by his clothing: he wore a bright red robe, embroidered with fine golden patterns. Around him, flames leapt from the ground, winding around his body. The white-red fire seemed not to harm him. In fact, it almost seemed to embrace him, dancing around him and the ornately carved staff he had planted into the earth.
Ray barely noticed that a ring of embers around her was slowly fading, connected by a line on the ground to the base of the staff. As the last red sparks vanished, the flames around the man died away into a glowing red aura and then into nothingness.
He began walking toward her with a wide grin. Only now did Ray notice that not far behind him stood a woman, also dressed in robes. She had short blonde hair and a playful smile that matched the amused glint in her eyes. Her robe was a rich, fertile green, but unlike the man's, it was unadorned. Her appearance was almost plain, save for the wooden chest she carried under one arm.
She too approached Ray slowly, but kept a respectful distance from the fiery man.
"I... I didn't want this!" Ray suddenly stammered. "I didn't mean to… I'm sorry… please, you have to believe me…"
"Easy there, Sparky. Pull yourself together. You look like dung. Not that surprising, after what you pulled here…"
His deep voice sounded unpleasantly amused.
"I… what…?"
"It's pretty obvious what happened here. Not the first time after an arrival, but definitely the most intense… It's always terrible. But you're not the only one to ever lose control. I'm Eri," he said, gesturing casually to his chest. "Just like Elga over there, I'm lucid. And just like you, I might add. We were on our way here to welcome newcomers like you. To greet you to the Dream and help you find a new home. A place where you belong."
He smiled a bit kindlier now.
"And then… we saw it. The blazing light, so full of beauty. An impossibly bright flash. That's when I knew."
"Knew what?" Ray asked weakly.
"That you would bring change. That you're someone who walks in the light… and can show us something new. Few remember anything important, even when we help them," he said, nodding almost absently toward the chest Elga was carrying. "Even when we do everything we can to learn something new."
"New...? I don't understand. I killed two people. They're dead! I didn't want to, but I had to... I had to save Dio! And now you're telling me that I... what? I don't get it! I don't understand anything…"
Ray shook her head in confusion.
"They woke up, Sparky. They didn't die. Granted, it's not much better, but sometimes details matter. Rest for now while we check if there are others like you here."
Ray winced as a sharp headache shot through her skull.
"Others? What do you mean by that?"
Eri threw a quick glance at Elga, and she, along with two of the other riders, began moving toward the people by the brook. A faint white aura now surrounded her.
She was still carrying the chest and spoke in a calm but firm voice:
"You are all in shock, confused and disoriented. It happens to everyone who arrives here. You were under stress. You felt fear when this young woman lost control of what slumbers inside all of us. Yes, we all carry the Light within us. We are all woven into this Dream. But not everyone is meant to bring change. Whether you are among those who can turn toward the Light and use it, I will now determine. Whether you are what we call a Lucid."
Slowly, she opened the lid of the chest, and a faint light shimmered from within, casting an eerie glow across Elga's face. Some of the bystanders flinched back in fear, while others leaned in, curious.
Although the tension in the air was still palpable, Elga's presence seemed to calm the people, very much unlike Eri's.
"Inside this chest is a crystal touched by the Light. Whoever holds it will see something. Depending on how clear that something, that vision is, we can tell whether the Light shines strongly within you. It's impossible to deceive us. The vision will be the truth, just as the names you speak are the truth. There are things that cannot be denied. Who would like to begin?"
Ray watched as the old man, who had earlier been kneeling beside the unconscious Gima, hesitantly stepped forward. His hands trembled as he reached into the chest and pulled out a polished, crystalline stone glowing with radiant white light.
"Beautiful..." he murmured, barely loud enough for Ray to hear.
"I don't see much… just blurry lights, distant streaks… but it feels so far away..."
He placed the stone back into the chest and looked at Elga, confused.
"It was... beautiful, but it didn't really do much to me. Just distant... I don't even know exactly what it was."
"I think you don't need to come with us," said one of the riders who had accompanied Elga to the group.
He was tall and muscular and seemed satisfied with the old man's words.
"Where should I go then?" the man asked.
"To one of the nearby settlements. It's peaceful there."
"Are there fields to tend? That would be nice..."
The rider nodded briefly and gestured toward the hill, where the others had gathered with their strange mounts, ready to depart. Slowly, the old man made his way toward them. Ray could feel a deep sense of contentment in every one of his steps, now light and full of energy. She wanted to keep looking at him, but Elga had already called the next woman forward, who took the stone, confused. The woman spoke of barely describable shapes and colors swirling around a tiny point of light behind veils. She, too, soon joined the waiting riders.
It took a while for Elga to test most of the people using the glowing stone. Soon, several groups had formed, each led by riders preparing to set off. In the end, only a few people remained by the brook.
Then Elga approached the woman whose eyes Ray had burned and whose arms she had scorched.
Guilt rose in Ray's chest, making her dizzy.
To her surprise, Elga set the chest down, knelt beside the injured woman, and whispered something to her. The words seemed to have a calming effect, as the woman slowly relaxed.
Then Elga placed her hands on the woman's shoulders and closed her eyes. A gentle, warm glow of fine, shimmering mist began to rise around her, and Ray caught a faint scent of flowers and fresh earth in the air. The mist enveloped the injured woman's head and wrapped around her arms.
A surprised sigh escaped her lips, and she began to sway her upper body gently from side to side, as if carried by a soft dance. For a long while, the light hovered in the dusky air, casting playful shadows across the flowers and grasses. Its glow reflected in the clear waters of the nearby brook, bathing the surroundings in a gentle radiance.
It is beautiful.
When the light faded and Elga smiled with satisfaction, Ray could hardly believe her eyes: The woman whose arms had been burned and whose eyes had seemed utterly destroyed was now completely healed, and she was smiling back at Elga.
"I... I can see again!" she stammered.
"And what do you see?" Elga asked, having reached once more into the chest and now offering the glowing stone to the healed woman.
"I see… green, spongy shapes throwing countless dancing lights at me..."
To Ray's astonishment, a whitish aura began to emanate from the woman... but it quickly faded again. She gasped in surprise.
"You get it, don't you?" Eri murmured. "That's exactly what Elga and I are looking for. If we can see it, it means someone is able to receive the light. She is a Lucid."
The light… the same light I have seen around Gima! So Gima has a gift as well? She can touch the light… But doesn't that also mean she must have seen something truly awful when she looked at me?
Ray shifted uncomfortably on the scorched grass.
Was she really dangerous? Or was everything just one big misunderstanding…?
"What is your name?" Elga asked the young woman, who was still looking around in confusion and relief.
"I... Demoa. My name is Demoa," she murmured, almost as if enchanted.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Demoa. You should come with us. We can show you many things! Before long, you'll be able to use the light just like I do... Would you like to come? To see even more wonders like the one you just experienced? You're lucid enough to become a Sage, like Elga."
"Yes, I'd like that," Demoa said with a bright smile.
"Excellent. Then stay here until we're finished. We'll be leaving soon."
Demoa nodded firmly.
With that, Elga stood up and turned to the next person.
"Can I come too, Eri?" Ray asked almost pleadingly. "Learn to control whatever is inside me? So I can use it for something good? That's why you protected me, right?"
She didn't want to hurt anyone ever again. But she also wanted to be able to protect Dio, without having to make sacrifices.
"Sparky, knowing whether something is truly good is often harder to determine than you think. But yes, we'll take you with us and teach you how to use it. At least enough to make it safe. Lucidity is still a great mystery to us. We can only pass down what we've painstakingly gathered bit by bit. But don't worry, you'll learn the basics of control."
"Can Dio come too?" Ray suddenly blurted out, feeling her face grow hot.
Eri furrowed his brow.
"That one? Back there? Who knows. Maybe. But look around! So far, we only have Demoa, who can use the light well enough. It's rare to find more than one person among newcomers with such abilities."
He cast a scrutinizing glance at Dio, who was watching as Elga approached someone else. He occasionally glanced at Eri whenever he thought the man wasn't looking.
An uneasy feeling stirred in Ray's chest. Dio hadn't seen Gima's glow. And even among those who had seen it, Elga and her companions had judged many of them too weakly connected to the light to be taken along.
Instead, they were sent to nearby settlements.
"But he can still come with us, right? Even if he can't see the light?"
Eri furrowed his brow again and stroked his pointed beard.
"Why are you so determined to have him come, Sparky? What does he mean to you? You haven't even known him that long..."
Ray thought for a moment.
"It's hard to put into words. I feel safe and protected with him. Like nothing could ever happen to me when he is around…"
"Hm," Eri grunted, continuing to stroke his beard.
"What is it?" Ray asked worriedly, but the man only nodded toward Dio, who now stood before Elga.
Dio paid the woman little attention. His lips were pressed tightly together, and his gaze kept shifting between the groups of riders and back to her and Eri. He didn't seem interested in what Elga wanted to show him - though Ray herself was curious about what would be revealed.
As she had done with the others, Elga handed him the stone.
The small object glowed brightly in Dio's hands, and he stared at it.
"I see... nothing."