Patchwork Universe

Kalyndis · Average Joined: 22 Jan 2004 Posts: 34 Location: Kerya

Kalyndis breached the surface of the lake and took a deep breath. The air still carried the same strange messages that he'd scented when he woke up. He rolled to float on his back for a moment, pondering this strange new morning. The sea was thousands of miles to the east, yet he could smell the salt on the wind. And to the west, the mist-cloaked mountains seemed to bulk larger than they used to. That was odd.

He swam back towards shore until he found sand beneath his feet. Then he unfurled his wings and leapt into the air.

Kalyndis · Average Joined: 22 Jan 2004 Posts: 34 Location: Kerya

The foothills and the jungle were usually shrouded in mist, but it seemed thicker this morning. Particularly in the west, where a darkness loomed. At first, Kalyndis thought a storm was gathering in the mountains, but in that case, why wasn't there any wind coming from that direction?

He flew towards the darkness. Perhaps it was a dust cloud from a volcanic eruption? But there were no active volcanoes nearby, and he would have heard the noise anyway. He pondered increasingly outlandish possibilities as he neared the wall of shadow. It seemed as if he could see something in the mists…

Thump.

Kalyndis flailed his wings as he tumbled through the air. He had indeed seen something, and had bashed his head against it – a giant wall of rock. He regained his balance and levelled out distressingly close to the ground, and somewhat more slowly than before he brought himself towards the barrier. Yes, there it was, solid rock hidden behind the misty curtain, stretching for some distance up and on either side. Kalyndis bumped his nose against it to make sure it was there. This was most unexpected – an upheaval of this magnitude could not possibly have happened without waking him up.

So, he wondered, how high does it reach?

He flew away from the wall as he rose, and began to take in its size. It was at least two miles long, and a mile or more high.

The mist was getting thicker. Kalyndis felt his wings begin to labour, as if he was swimming rather than flying, as if the air was offering physical resistance...

Thump.

He was half-expecting it this time, so he plummeted only a short distance.

Kalyndis · Average Joined: 22 Jan 2004 Posts: 34 Location: Kerya

Kalyndis was beginning to get worried. A mountain-sized wall, and now an invisible ceiling in the air... None of his immediate relatives had this kind of power. But first, to check whether the wall was just on one side...

Several minutes later, Kalyndis was a mile or more east of the village, approaching another wall of mist. From further away it had looked like a perfectly normal morning sky, but as he came closer he could see a gauzy curtain forming in the air. Now he was almost upon it, but this time there was no mass of rock, no looming darkness, but a window onto the sea -- a sea that should be thousands of miles away.

Kalyndis flew through the curtain.

Kalyndis · Average Joined: 22 Jan 2004 Posts: 34 Location: Kerya

And very soon he flew back again.

Humans, he thought to himself. On an island where yesterday there was nothing but jungle. And all the humans are supposed to be on the Eastern Continent.

Kalyndis had seen a few of the hairy bipeds before, when one of the eastern elders had brought a troop of them to perform at a Council meeting. But there weren't supposed to be any loose on this side of the ocean, only properly tailed monkeys and decent, adorable lizardfolk.

Thinking of which, I'd better check on the village.