It was to be two years before Sarai would come to the place she would make her own.
Midnight, in the red light of the moon she lit upon the shores of a river and sank down to sleep dreamlessly on its loamy banks, her hair spread to form a halo around her head.
The morning came up her as nearly every other day had for god knew how long. Sarai lifted her head dully, watching the orb climb into the sky before closing her eyes once more and sinking down.
I have slept away the entire night and yet I still tire. A mirthless smile quirked at the corner of her mouth, reminiscent of a grimace more so than anything else. She pulled herself upright, head heavy, and looked about herself tiredly.
Sarai had to admit that as ready as she was to lay down and die quietly, the place around her had a certain beckoning effect. Interest piqued, she moved to her feet and stood looking about, leaning against a tree for support.
Across to the stream and to the left a large cave opened, the black and white stone giving way to darkness the farther back one looked. Streaks of green wound their way through the marbleized rock in an unbelievably natural manner, though Sarai was sure that the color was anything but normal, and as much as she found herself drawn to the stone she was also equally wary of it. Birds called softly to one another over the sound of the stream, providing her a small measure of peace as she picked her way across the water by stepping from stone to stone beneath the liquid surface. Unbelievably she found her feet carrying her toward the mouth of the small cavern, and, resigned, she did nothing to stop her body from carrying out the compulsion.
I suppose this might be how the males of The People feel after a few hundred years. It is said they lose emotion.
Lackluster as she was, Sarai could not help musing to herself as her feet carried her into the cool, pleasant darkness of the cave.
The floor sloped slightly downward, with marks in the stone that suggested there might once have been stairs many hundred years ago. Her footsteps did not echo as she traveled downward, and with each light pat of her bare feet upon the floor fragments of visions floated up to her. Seemingly emanating from the stone, they wound themselves around her.
People have landed on the western shore, people from another world papa!
…it is strange that we have never heard tell of this before…
Sarai closed her eyes briefly to will the voices away. As much as she would love to lose herself in these half-faded recollections she would rather die of her own volition than by starving to death trapped in an endless parade of things that had once happened. Of their own volition, her hands reached up and pressed gently against a tall pair of double doors. They swung open soundlessly at her touch and she glided inside.
Rubble lay all about the cavern room, a large pile at one end suggesting that perhaps there had been another tunnel there before whatever had caused the inhabitants to move had brought the tons of stone crashing down.
There was nothing at all to tell what the main function of the room might once have been, save that the insistent whispers and visions were stronger here, flashing across Sarai's mind with brilliant colors and emotions-like a kaleidoscope of what had come before.
I want to try Papi! That is not fair for Jennel to-
We must block the tunnel off before the invasive force gets here, you know that the old ones-
I don't want to share! Tell her to get her own!
Sarai's knees went out from under her as she clapped her hands over her ears, heart aching almost unbearably. The visions tugged, persisted "Listen, please, we have so much to tell you…" and she almost gave in, the voices and colors running in a riot around her, shouting, laughing, tugging at what little clothing she wore.
She made to stand and found herself stuck fast, looking down in horror. Sarai had sunk down into the stone, now imprisoned up past her kneecaps in rock that held fast against her frantic attempts to move. Despairing, she cried out as the impressions and memories crashed in upon her like a wave. All around, the walls were flickering, bulging, changing shape and luster before her fading eyes as she felt herself grow weaker and weaker until the only thing holding her upright was the stone which prevented her knees from bending so that she could collapse face first onto the floor from fatigue.
The draining of energy became more and more insistent, the walls and ceiling and floor going almost insane, fluctuating and bulging in her distorted vision as she felt herself losing consciousness. Sarai let out one last scream as the energy pulling through her veins wore her nerve endings raw to the point of agony.
And then she simply passed out.