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which to live, and the Heart to give life and vitality to all that surrounded them.
But this One Creation was not satisfied with its status, and rebelled, attempting to
take the Power of the Heart for their own, to rise up against their Creator. The
Numé, though it saddened him, was forced to Divide the One Creation into the
Dweln and Man and cast them from the Valley of Origin. The Dweln were set
apart as the ones who would slowly lead Man to a realization of his rightful
status and his need for his Creator, but in their distinctness the Dweln became
prideful instead. They watched and waited for an opportunity to rule over Man
who was slowly but surely destroying himself in his degradation. So the Numé
brought the Cleansing, destroying all but a few Chosen from Man to continue the
race, meanwhile taking the form of the Four Elemental Dragons to lead the
Dweln back to the Valley in safety that they might come to a realization of their
Purpose and eventually fulfill it. But in the intervening centuries, both Man and
Dweln had come to worship other gods, made-to-order, undemanding deities that
served the created rather than vice versa. The time for the fulfillment of the Truth
had come, and Tryst had been chosen by the Numé and sent to find the One who
would save the Valley from the Invaders and reveal the Truth, the Verité.
Despite the unbelievable nature of it all, it had a certain ring of truth, and
a distinct familiarity, like a story Kris had heard a long time ago. And then there
was the very real evidence of the surroundings.
The Path, as Tryst called it, changed regularly, yet with no discernable
frequency, as there was no way to judge time, really. The rolling hills let out onto
a vast, grassy plain with scattered copses of trees and jagged boulders stabbing
up from the earth. The sky over this plain seemed alight with the dying rays of
the ever-unseen sun, the colors ranging from pinks and purples to greens and
yellows, with clouds that seemed to shift and change from one indistinct shape to
another in seconds as they blew quickly across the sky. Moments later, the
imminent sunset gave way to full noon as the group descended into an
exceedingly broad, dry riverbed. Strangely enough, the river flowed several yards
above the surface of the riverbed, and the four travelers walked beneath the
impossibly suspended flow; Kris could look up at the fish swimming blithely
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along, and could make out a distorted pattern of white clouds in the sky above the
river.
No one spoke for a time, all of them too busy taking in the wonders of
the Path, and Kris considered the nature of the Path as a preferable alternative to
thinking of what he was walking into as the Hope of the Valley. Tryst had said
that the Path was a result of transcending the limits of Time and Space, to an
extent, thus they were walking in a sort of in-between state, having to cover a
certain amount of physical distance, thus time, to reach their destination, but in a
compressed sense. Was the time that passed only subjective? Kris realized that
by his best estimate, they had been walking for a half or three quarters of a day,
yet he was not hungry.
As if on cue, his stomach growled. That s what he got for thinking.
You hungry, too? Gwen asked, adjusting her path to walk beside him.
She had been a little distant through this whole ordeal, and understandably so.
Kris doubted that this was easy for any of them, but he had asked a lot of Gwen
to follow him into& whatever he was getting into.
Oh, you heard that? Kris replied, smiling. Yeah, I was fine until I
thought about food.
If you wish to eat, Tryst called over her shoulder as she walked
beneath the water, you may take whatever you see on the Path. It is not
necessary for you to eat, but it is not harmful either. It is all in your mind, really.
My mom used to say that when I wanted between-meal snacks, Kris
muttered, and Gwen smiled. The part about it being all in my mind, anyway, he
amended.
I wonder what food we might see& Oh!
Even as she asked the question, Kris saw that bushes had materialized
from nowhere, bushes filled with various fruits and berries, many varieties of
which did not grow on bushes. But he was not about to complain.
They plucked what they wanted as they walked, and the bushes lasted as
long as their appetites. Tryst ate some, but John, walking alone to one side, took
nothing. Kris, sated, walked near to his friend.
Not hungry? he asked, munching on the last of a juicy plum.
John looked askance at him. No. And neither are you.
Kris raised an eyebrow and repressed a sigh. What s wrong?
Nothing. Sorry, John apologized gruffly. This is just all pretty weird.
Pretty amazing, though. He nodded up at the river. I hope this water decides to
keep flowing up there and not down here. It s going pretty fast.
Kris peered at the flow, seeing that John was correct. I wouldn t say
things like that. You saw what happened when we talked about food along the
Path.
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John formed a thoughtful expression, eyeing the flow a bit more
nervously. Good point. They walked along silently for a few moments. So,
what do you think of all of this hero/Hope of the Valley stuff?
Kris shook his head. I don t know& I guess I m trying not to think
about it. I m still waiting for this all to end, turn out to be a dream. Part of me
wants it to, but another part of me wants it to be real.
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