The fallen goddess was unsure whether she should say that the world moved by so quickly or slowly. It had been a long time since she had fallen from grace and disappeared into the shadows of the world. She had watched for a long time from her perch before decided to grace the world with her appearance once again. She loved this world, whether it was the wilderness to the city. There was a pure memory in the back of her mind of all the adventures she went on when she was a child to the ones who she was immortal. The feeling of mortality felt good on her skin, but this has been the first time since her fall that she had journeyed to Parvpora. It used to be a place that she loved to go because it allowed her to feel the mortality that she could not achieve in Canelux. She felt the most connected to her past and the people around her in Parvpora.

It caused this new sensation to be walking in Parvpora because for the first time in a long time she felt strange in her own skin. She was unsure if maybe this was the first time she was actually faced with the fact that she was no longer the goddess that she once was or maybe the freedom that she was feeling was suffocating her? Maybe she was a creature that needed boundaries to survive because her free nature was more deadly than good? Whatever it was, she tried to push the feelings past and just enjoy where she was. The continental airship ports made her exploring far better than she could have every wished. She had never made the best use of them in the past because she normally used her magic to travel places, but she wanted to walk with everyone else and see the world around her through their eyes.

It also helped that she loved being high in the air. The feeling of flying was always something that she wished she could achieve. It was the same dream that her mother had, but Rhea at least had the ability to learn the power that her father owned. She kept with her strengths because the fear of failure was her least favorite thing but the mortality that she now felt caused her to search harder for the magic her father barely taught her. One day she would learn the magic to fly and would enjoy the wind in a way her mother never could. She did not want to rely on one person to take her there but know it was her own strength that did it. Everything began with yourself before it could ever spread to another. It was better that way and she had learned the hard way many times.

Abed was a beautiful place to travel and once been known as the head place for worship. Maybe it was a pure irony that a fallen goddess would come here but she felt a connection to this place that she could not feel anywhere else. The city was entrancing and suffocating at the same time. It was full of celebrations and colors. She fit in perfectly there with her bright orange dress that hugged her torso than ran loose past her hips barely touching the ground. Beneath the thin layers of orange fabric a glimmer of red and yellow fabric could be seen, when she began to move with quicker steps or danced, it almost appeared as if her dress was mimicking flames. Her warm chocolate curls flowed around her and down her back to her bottom. Her signature smirk never left her lips as she watched the dancers prance through the streets.

Abed, the city that revered the gods and was called sacred. She had learnt the name from her searching in Iria and with effort, she had arrived. For a moment, Gale thought she was back home again. She had felt the same way in her untimely arrival in the capital of Arri. The sights and sounds were both foreign yet so familiar. Both places had aspects of Karkhata–the arid climate and sun of Sularia, and the vibrant color and energy of the sacred city. Ever since she had set foot here, it was as if the place was in a never-ending state of celebration and revelry. She had thought the Festival of the Gilden Moon was taking place before the next day the same activities continued. It was hard to meditate in such a place, yet the dream-walker was not one to be daunted.

With no goods to sell or things to trade, she turned to doing what she knew best to earn her keep. By the roadside she would occasionally perform the traditional dances she had learned from her master, and tell stories to those who would stop by and listen. The tales she told were as many as the stars in the sky, as every single one had come from the sights she had seen in the realm of dreams. Unlike the frenetic, feverish beat of the city hers was a calm and peaceful corner like a pool of spring water in the desert. Those who chose to stay were those who were drawn to the girl's serenity. At the end of the day she did not earn much, but she continued to stay until she fully understood the dream of this island city. She had seen Iria and Sularia. Perhaps she would also find that door between worlds which she was looking for…

The noise made meditation a challenge, as her focus often drifted away from dreaming. There was a sense of unrest in the air, not quite bordering on pandemonium. Abed was beautiful enough, but it was tiring in a way. All that Gale wished for now was to quietly slip away into a dream. Her fiery-orange hair stood out against the camel-colored vest and trousers she wore, and her cotton tunic's only coloration were the embroidery of blue and red around the hems. She looked plain in contrast to the sea of fuschia, sunset orange, deep blues, rich purples, saffron yellows, and viridian greens of the raiment worn by the locals here. The heavy perfume of spices hung in the air, recalling old memories of the Karkhatan bazaar. What surprised her the most were the appearance of great beasts with long noses, wide ears, and horns protruding from the sides of their mouths. They were towering and powerful, yet had a gentle temperament in their eyes. Often they were richly adorned in patterned cloth and baubles as processions of people followed after them, waving fans formed from the plumes of great birds and playing raucous brass and wind instruments. She had never seen such a beast in all of her life, and would have her eyes meet with them whenever they came by.

There were some parts of the festivities that were disconcerting to her. The strange dances with sabers and spiked flails were difficult to watch, as they spun them around in a maddening ecstasy. She liked performances, but the people in them did not look happy even if they had smiles on their faces. She preferred the marching animals much more. There were many performers out on the streets, from men clad in a myriad of instruments that played all at once to people who performed tricks with monkeys. There never was a dull moment in the time she spent watching and waiting. Today, Gale cleared her throat and spoke in a loud voice over the crowd that had gathered awaiting for her next story. With hands raised high, she brought them together in a sweeping motion as if clasped in prayer. She bowed, touching her forehead to her fingertips before she spun the tale.

"Long ago in the land of Nod, there lived a king and queen. Their castle towers were built up high, pure and white with pearly sheen. The king wore upon his crown gold and silver wings, while his love–the queen of Nod had a thousand jade and opal rings. Their thrones were carved from ruby stones and adorned by eagles and lilies; and within the reins of their domains lay one hundred thousand cities. Then one night as the moon shone bright, the ground split with a shriek. And from the ground that had split sprung a serpent who swallowed the sea. The rivers dried and the fields died as the seasons brought no rain, thus spoke the king as his people cried: 'The accursed beast must be slain!' In the land of Nod there was a god who heard the cities' prayer, with girded loins he rode on until he came upon the serpent's lair. With voice raised high, he loudly cried: 'Monster, show thy face! Release the sea and let the waters be, and in exchange I will take their place.' The serpent crawled upon its legless form and hissed through fanged teeth–'A god's life for the sea? 'Tis more than a proper trade!' And so it belched the waters and the rain while the valiant god he ate. From within the lizard's skin, the god then drew his blade, and from inside its mouth came a terrible growl as the the deity flayed flesh from skin. With the serpent felled, the god returned and presented to the king its head. 'Fear not o king and virtuous queen, for the hateful beast is dead.' As it is said in the land of Nod, praised are the gods among men. For with their might, they make right what the world makes wrong again."

There was always a calm before the storm. Maybe this case was exactly the same? There was almost something too perfect about this place that the longer she spent there the more it began to scratch her interest. It was beautiful and majestic, but there was the presence of something deadly that started to tick at her mind. Maybe it the power of a god over the area? She had heard rumors that this place was cursed by one of the old gods of Parvpora. There were whispers about it from her perch back in the day about what happened in Parvpora. She was too young to have witnessed it but many books wrote about it and there was a lovely gossip line that occurred among the gods. You could learn a lot just remaining in the presence of them, as she did growing up, or being one. It was almost as if everyone was too happy.

Hazel eyes watched each person that danced and laughed around her. Her steps remained quick and almost dancing with the beat of the music. It continued to almost lull her into a sense of comfort and reminded her very much of past experiences. She kept her ear to the ground, however, hoping to discover anything out of the ordinary. She loved to watch all the people live their life each day at a time. They appeared so happy but she could almost choke on the magic in the air. There was still things that she could easily feel from her years of magic. She loved the feeling but hated it in the same breath.

It was in her normal eavesdropping that she heard the whispers of people boasting about seeing a storyteller getting ready for a tale. It caught her interest quickly because it was the unique thing in this area so far. She had seen enough people dancing and parading around happily. It was growing boring and she had yet to see a single storyteller in the area. She had enough with the normal bards for now. Her lips pressed together in a smirk as she followed the voices of people until she began to hear a voice boasting over the crowd. She could feel the shivers down her spine in excitement as she slowly pushed past the crowd.

‘Long ago in the land of Nod.’

The words come out strong and beckoning. Rhea could not help but muse on how long the storyteller had practiced the story before using it as one of their acts. She had a lot of pride for such people who could remember so much to tell it to the people around them. It was an act that she never was the best at. There was something different about singing and storytelling. She had the singing gene but not the story one. It was probably one of the few things she inherited from her mother. Her father had always been quite good at it. She was only good at coming up with strange things on the spot when she practiced her dream weaving. She got close enough to the action to finally be able to make the sight of the teller. She had already begun to guess from the voice, but she was excited to find a young girl. She looked younger than even Rhea. She remained quiet for now but there were a couple odd glances to her as she smiled curiously. It was not exactly the look of someone enjoying the show, but of someone almost memorizing and grading a performance.

She just loved when people talked about deity. It always left her giggling like an idiot.

As the tale she had spun came to a close, there was clapping from the few who had stayed by to listen. One or two from the crowd placed a few coins before the dream-walker in appreciation for her performance while the rest began to talk among themselves. "Another wondrous story, though it feels somewhat familiar." A man with a curled beard in a bright turban mused stroking the ends of his mustache. "It bears elements from the old epic of Rakasha and the serpent who swallowed the moon. However in that one the demigod shrunk himself to the size of a frog and crawled into the snake's mouth to retrieve the parts of the moon it had eaten." Another Abedi woman in fuchsia and saffron added, "Indeed, but yet it also gives mention to the faith of men whose supplication moved the hearts of the gods and were duly rewarded." A girl about the same age as Gale asked stepping forward from the crowd. "Where did you learn your stories from? Every day when I pass by with my mother to the market you always have a new tale to tell. And each one is just as amazing as the last! How do you come up with something different day after day?" 

Gale thought for a bit, before giving the girl her answer. "I thank you, that my stories have delighted you so. Though these stories belong not to me. These very tales I tell may seem familiar, for indeed they are–as they all once were part of a dream." The Abedi girl was surprised, expecting a less straightforward response. "Is that so? You mean every story you tell was something you saw while dreaming?" The dream-walker nodded, clasping her hands together as she did so. "Yes that is true, effendi." With the questions over, those who had been watching soon moved on to go about their daily business leaving her corner of the street quiet as before. The busiest hour of the day for Gale was now over and she counted her total earnings so far. Enough to buy herself food for today; it would suffice. She wasn't one to fuss over trifles when there were greater worries in the world.

Taking a well-earned rest, Gale pondered what she had gathered about the city so far. Abed was proving itself rather obtuse and enigmatic. Unlike the clear images and sights of prior cities, the dream of the sacred city was filled with haze. Never before had she ever encountered such a dream with so little clarity and lack of concrete substance. Even the most nonsensical and fantastical visions in the dreaming world were sharply in focus. The prevailing sensation over this area was confusion and wild abandon. The dreams of the people here were just as muddled, with splashes of color melting into each other in shifting masses. It was as if they wanted to live in a dream, but did not know which one they desired. A dream, any dream would do. And it was apparent in their dreams' form and shape. As soon as one dream began to form they were already moving onto the next, creating an endless stream of half-developed, partially materialized things that were undecipherable. Many times Gale had to move quickly as to not get swept away in the instability often forcing her to end her walks in the realm of dreams prematurely.

"This place is strange in many ways, in more ways than I can understand." she said to herself. "Surely this must signify something…" As trying as it was, she resolved to learn more in her next session of dream-walking. Perhaps the dream of this place was more complex than the others. Lost in her own thoughts, she did not notice she had caught the attention of one once divine, as well as more than the local market visitors' passing fancy.   

Clapping echoed through the crowd as the story came to an end. It did not take much time for the people who had been listening to slowly disappear into the crowds around them after placing a few coins or just disappearing without a trace. Rhea remained watching everything curiously. A man walked up to the storyteller and began to talk to her. The siren could not help but take this as her chance to move closer to the two listening curiously to the questions that were beginning to pop up from what was left of the crowd. It appeared that the woman had a couple rather interested admirers of her work.

The storyteller’s answers only helped to grow the siren’s curiosity. It had been a long time since she had come across someone in the trade of dreams. She had, obviously, known one dream walker when she was among the deities. He had been an interesting boy and the communication that they had was always delightful, to her at least. There was that twinkle in her eyes as she waited for everyone to finish their questions. The storyteller had yet to notice her watching her, so it only made Rhea more excited. She absolutely loved watching people who had no idea she was there. She was very strange that way.

The woman muttered something as she was looking at the city around her and Rhea took it as her perfect moment. She let her steps move her closer to the woman and leaned slightly towards her. “It’s gods, my sweet.” There was a large smirk on her lips showing off her teeth as she bowed to the girl. “I hope you don’t mind me responding. You did speak the words aloud. I just could not help but answer your question. When you don’t understand something, it is normally because of deity. Have you not heard the rumors of this place?”

Rhea watched the girl curiously wanting to see that first reaction to her appearing before her. She knew she most likely caught the girl by surprise. It was easy to not notice someone watching you, or following when you were amongst the large crowd. It also appeared that the girl may be one that lives with her head in the clouds, or in dreams. She knew this was going to be very interesting meeting.

Gale was surprised, not at the woman–but her answer. So the strange aura enveloping the island was the doing of a god? It would seem plausible, and a reasonable explanation. Nothing was impossible here, in a land of wonders beyond her wildest daydreams. The dream-walker asked innocently, "Is that so, effendi? Would you be so kind as to tell me which of the gods would be responsible for such strangeness? I have not heard of the rumors which you speak of in my time in this sacred city. Please forgive my ignorance. I am but a stranger here." She concluded with a bow, her hands clasped together before straightening again. The world of the two continents never ceased to amaze her with new things to see and new things to learn. It was incredible how different each city was between continents. Iria was busy like a market, yet Abed was like a continual feast–with every day as a holiday. At times she did wonder how the people were able to maintain their way of life, as even parties would grow dull after a while. Sometimes the waking world was even stranger than the realm of dreams.

The woman before her was beautiful and dressed brightly as the locals yet she did not seem like one who spent most of their days in the streets. There was a peculiar air about her, something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She was very knowledgeable, to have known that Abed was under a form of divine influence. Surely even she in her searching would not have ascertained such a thing.