Zhuge: to sleep, perchance to Dream

[grimandfatalistic]

Solas would be lying if he said he was not excited at the prospect of teaching someone to Dream. He had carefully studied a map of the city, and cross-referenced it with news articles (what a novelty!) to determine the very best location for Zhuge to learn.

He has enough lyrium. He has the right herbs. He has set up a small sleeping space very near to the building named Bramford, and he has contacted Master Zhuge to alert him to their location. He also sends along the suggestion of comfortable clothing; Solas himself is wearing his cream colored tunic, his trousers, and his footless boots. His staff is nearby, should he require it.

He is very excited. He has a fire to keep them warm, as the evening is a little chilly and sleep comes easier when one is warm and comfortable. When his avid student arrives, Solas looks up. His eyes reflect, as a cat's, the firelight in the dark.

He stands and begins to set wards. Solas has yet to see a giant spider or bear here in Darrow, but he would prefer caution. It is not carelessness that has kept him alive for so long.

"Do you have any questions before we begin?" he asks as he works.

Comments

[anticipate]

The guidance is exactly of the level that Zhuge needs. Unfettered, but also direct and clear. It gives Zhuge as much insight as he needs into what to do to prepare himself, without spoiling him for the outcome, which Zhuge appreciates immensely. He's always rather preferred to receive a surprise.

The drink that he was given seems to take its effect quickly. Though there are endless questions in his mind, Zhuge does his best and attempts to erase them, one by one. It's not an easy task, but he manages by means of answering his questions. Even if that answer is, in most cases, there is no way to know yet.

Soon enough, even the movement of color behind his eyelids goes black, and before long, Zhuge finds the mist clearing to reveal the same field that he was sitting on before, though the color of the sky is a muted fuchsia. The color of the early dawn.

Without a word, he smiles, and begins to stand.

[grimandfatalistic]

"The Fade in Darrow is a bit different from the Fade I am familiar with," Solas says as he steps into Zhuge's field of view. "But, then, the world I am from is vastly different from Darrow." There is a small smile on his face, and his eyes are alight.

All around them, there are evanescent, pale figures, floating this way and that in slow patterns. Their shapes are reminiscent to people, but they lack solidness and definition. Solas bows shallowly to one as it passes. If it notices him, it does not react.

[anticipate]

While Zhuge often delights himself by getting lost in the weeds and the details, what he finds the most striking about the Fade is how everything is painted in muted colors, slightly indistinct and distant. It creates an almost painted-like effect, and manages to be far more deeply evocative of emotion. Keeping politely still, his eyes follow after the pale figures before he bows to those closest to him, one after the other.

"It is good for not everything to be same," Zhuge offers, straightening and meeting Solas' gaze with a grin. "That makes life interesting. To me, everything here is new. Do some people always live in Fade?"