She felt the waves rock gently beneath her, sighing as she lifted her head from the wooden surface. She drifted along through a dark fog, which hung thick as porridge. Though she found herself in a rowboat, there were no oars, nor any indication as to where she was or how she got there. It was all she could do to sit in silent solitude, her ears filled with naught but the stillness of the water upon which she sat. Slowly, the fog began to part, and shapes came into view. The bright green of her eyes pierced through the veil just enough to find - something - an outcropping? She could make out vague shapes beyond the fog, but the structure was unfamiliar. What she could see was only a small piece, a jagged ridge of metal or stone, smooth on its flat surface, but reflecting no light. In fact, it was black - black as sackcloth. As she drew closer, she saw patterns. There were lines carved or raised, she couldn't tell, but they were clearly part of the surface, and they held runic inscriptions of foreign design. They pulsed of no discernable magic, but they carried meaning, somehow, even to her uninitiated mind - a warning. She could feel her heart drop, sinking into the depths of her stomach, fearing the weight of it would drag her boat beneath the waves until, thankfully, it reached the edge. She felt out with her hand to place upon the surface of the structure. It was soft - not pliable beneath her trembling hand, but neither harsh to her touch. Though it seems to sit at a steep slope, she felt no pull forcing her to one side or another as her weight shifted forward, hurriedly climbing from her vessel. Still, she felt upright. Had she simply imagined the slope when she first gazed upon it, or had gravity lapsed in her brief transit? It was smooth, the surface she sat on, smooth and pristine as if no mark had ever marred it's facade. She glanced back over her shoulder, finding no trace of the boat that brought her here, consumed by the wall of fog which now hung at her back and made for a more impassible barrier than even the water. Water? There was no water. Though there was clearly and edge, she could see nothing beyond or below it, nor would the soft whisper of the waves grace her ears, replaced with a deafening silence. Her gaze turned forward once more, and what was hidden was now revealed. A vast city stretched before her, seemingly infinite in its expanse, and indecipherable in its intricacy. Walkways flew without support. Seemingly level surfaces reached into varying elevations without so much as a slope. Corridors enclosed by walls somehow displayed their interiors to the open air. Twisting, churning spires stretched into the yawning abyss, their grandeur never obscured from her vision, even as they pierced into the aching fog. There was no reason to it, no sense to be made of its design - a city built by a mad architect with no concern for aesthetic pleasantry or Euclidean space. She felt her stomach churn, her head aching to comprehend what laid before her as she dropped onto the surface with a pained groan. Fighting to regain equilibrium, she rose slowly and began to crawl forward. Hands and knees soon gave way to feet, though she was hardly aware of the transition or the force which brought her upright. She wandered through impossible angles and vast yet claustrophobic spaces. There was no telling where she intended to go, nor was the question even on her mind. Her wandering brought her to passage, its opening a triangular portal with no discernable floor or ceiling beyond it. She came to a sudden halt just outside as she peered into the dim cathedral. At the other end, she could see an altar sculpted with the shapes of multiple wide, open maws, containing no teeth and twitching faintly - at least, from the distance, they seemed to. Gradually, and all at once, a sound broke through the still silence. The sound was of a voice - no, voices - a chorus of innumerable whispers and shouts all chanting in unison until their drone formed what sounded like syllables but no longer bore any resemblance to humanoid speech.
It wasn't loud, but it was painful. The sound forced itself against her ear drums as if her body fought to keep the invasive, abominable noises at bay. She knew not the words, but she understood the message, wishing desperately that she hadn't. Knowing what she now knew, she wished to dwell in ignorance. She yearned for silence. She yearned to never hear again. It left a whining ring in her ears, and she could sense the taste of iron on her tongue. She dared not open her eyes as she screamed a silent breath, her voice stifled by the oppressive, overwhelming absence which hung around her.
Her eyes flickered open, blinking as they adjusted to the darkness of her room. Her gaze fixed blankly upon the ceiling over her bed, a brief moment of panic as her hand reached for her collarbone and found only flesh. She lifted her shoulder and reached underneath, fishing out the soulstone amulet from where it had fallen, the cord of braided leather strings still lying on the pillow beside her. She beathed out a soft sigh, staring up into the darkness until the sun shone once more through her window.
