Landscapes

Leah blinks in confusion as her eyes are assaulted by color. What is this place? she wonders. She rubs her eyes, hoping to clear them, but the wonderful landscape in front of her fails to disappear.

The whole valley is painted in blues and purples and greens. They mix and blend so that it is difficult to tell where one color ends and another begins. Above, in an immaculate sky, sunset paints golden yellows across the sky and streaks the gentle, thin clouds with a soft violet hue. Flowers dance around her feet, some reaching high enough to caress her fingers which lie limp at her sides. At the edge of everything, a sweet pink softens and outlines the already idyllic scene.

Leah begins to move dreamily through the swaying stalks. She has no idea how she came to this valley, and she doesn't care. Ahead, she sees the sky shimmering on the ground and realizes that it is a pond; perfectly still and immaculate in its reflection. Leah holds her breath, not wanting to disturb the mirror-bright surface of the water. A gentle breeze flows across the pond, bringing the sweet scent of fresh water and wildflowers to her nose. Off in the distance, the low hills that surround the valley catch her eyes. I want to see it all, she thinks, captivated by the intoxicating beauty of the place.

She walks for hours, though she thinks that may simply be her impatience making the wait interminable. The lovely purple hills seem to get no closer no matter how far she walks. The sun manages always to stay on her right side, no matter how she turns. Leah flips all the way around, glancing for the pond. It is out of sight, hidden behind reeds. So I am making progress after all, she decides. But the journey remains impossible to complete. The sun hangs in exactly the same spot as it did hours ago. And Leah feels dread creep over her.

I'm stuck, she thinks. The feeling of being trapped, even in such a wondrous place, paralyzes her. The soft colors and the wondrous beauty of the landscape lose their hold. A wild thought seizes her. How did I get here? she makes herself think. A breeze sweeps the scent of the wildflowers to her nose and she loses herself in their sweet scent. Freedom, she thinks mindlessly. A cloud covers the sun and she feels tired. Perhaps a quick rest then, she muses.

How did I get so tired all of the sudden? Leah's mind works sluggishly to solve the riddle. When she does, her eyes widen and all her false tiredness is forgotten. Sloth! Clever trick, my friend, but I'm afraid that one wasn't going to work for long! Leah gathers her robes and curtseys elaborately in the middle of a valley to a demon who just didn't work hard enough to please her. As she gathers her wits and prepares to blast herself out of the inescapable valley, the wind begins to hiss around her and the soft clouds blanket the sky ominously.

"I got out of the Tower, and I escaped the slaughter at Ostagar," Leah proclaims. "I'm a master at escaping the inescapable, Sloth. But this time…" A hard glint appears in the mage's blue eyes as she glares at the stormy purple sky. "This time, I'm not leaving without putting your head on a silver platter." A blast of white light explodes through the once peaceful valley. Leah grins at the sheer power as she grabs hold of a strange pedestal and finds herself transported into the Raw Fade.

"So much for the 'all-powerful demon' thing," she scoffs jauntily. "Now I'm off to find my friends." She glances around at the new landscape in confusion.

"But first I need to figure out where I am…"

Again.


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