[Prologue] A Certain Dreamscape

[eclipsehowls]

Nanzing looked back up at the tree and into its limbs that stretched above him.  What wind there was in this place seemed naught to rustle the leaves.  What he had thought was the wind rustling the leaves was apparently just the airbender climbing and moving among the limbs.    The girl eventually came back down, to investigate something else at the base of the tree.  Nanzing didn't want to go near the other airbenders on the opposite side of the tree but this side that he was facing appeared to harbor nothing of importance.  Curling his hand into a fist he placed an ear to the wood as he rapped on it, trying to see if it was hollow, though the tree didn't look like it was.  He was also curious to see whether his hand would pass through the tree.   Had they passed through the tree to come here?  But if they had then why did he not feel it or was it only felt by the airbenders?  Nanzing was too scared of them to ask such a question.    

 

[Miracleist]

@eclipsehowls


It was not hollow, and it was certainly not incorporeal. Its physical existence asserted itself in its response to Nanzing's actions. Knocking on the tree produced a clear and distinct sound that one would ordinarily expect. Its leaves shook a little, gently swaying in the breeze that had yet to cease.

 

[Peaceswore]

Shane looked at the girl and watched her work a brow raised on his head as he listened to her.  "Ah you don't spend much time on the ground do you?  I think I have a right to assume you are either an angel or an airbender.  Maybe one in the same."  He said with a light smile as he stretched a bit.  "Such a lovely, still place.  I feel I can do anything I wish, other then bend that is and have no consequence.  The grass looks amazing, I haven't walked on grass in a while, not bare foot that is.  Maybe I should, I don't see anything wrong with it for now.  And it looks so soft and inviting, there don't seem to be any creatures for me to worry about hurting........"  And with that Shane's shoes were off.  Placing them neatly on the ground so he could find them later he smiled as he let his feet touch the grass.  "Ah... So much better then walking barefoot on a rocky road.  Far far less painful." 


With this he let out a hum as he let his hands fall to his side and he started to walk, once again around the island but this time counter clockwise.  Why?  No reason, but he just had a feeling something of this sight wouldnt' be visible to him once he left... At least not for a time, so he needed to take in the sights now or never.  "One day, I would likely want a home in a place like this. The beauty of the gentle breeze pushing the shutters so they creak a bit.  The beautiful bright green grass showing how well the harvest is doing this time of year.  The sky looking so full and gorgeous, ah if only dreams could be a reality.  Life would be too easy to bother with."  A light chuckle left him and again he went around the island going a tad faster.   'When was the last time I ran.... And the kind of running you do for fun?  Not the kind you do to escape a rapid wolfbat, because I did that a few days ago.  Vicious creatures.  I think I want to run a bit maybe lay down, can I nap in a dream?  Would I go in another dream?  Or will I wake instantly?"  At this thought he shrugged and very suddenly he took off running.  For no apparent reason other than self amusement. 


Smiling to himself as his clothes billowed in from the breeze and his movements he was still in thought but the actions he was doing made it look like his only thought was how to get more wild.  Which wasn't really what he was thinking..... Though the idea of doing a cartwheel crossed his mind, one he didn't follow through after all he wasn't wearing the proper clothes for that... Well he was but he would have to remove the top layer of his clothing.   But he didn't feel like doing that for now so he simply ran around enjoying his time.  After several moments however he noticed a group that seemed to be very invested in the tree that stood alone.  'I haven't talked to anyone maybe I should, as much fun as it is to run around this place.  Maybe a conversation with one of these people could be a nice thing to do as well.  After all the first two people didn't raise any red flags...'  Coming to a halt he took a few breaths to calm his heart rate and do another amazing stretches.  'I have been getting the best stretches since I got here, spirits that feels great.' He thought with a smile before he walked over casually to the group at the tree.


Stopping by someone he assumed to be a firebender he looked at him.  "Anyone knocking back?" He asked casually and in a nonchalant tone as he kept a kind smile on his face.


@RaptorHonks@eclipsehowls@anyonenear the tree

 

[eclipsehowls]

There was no hollow sound and his hand did not pass through the tree so that ruled out the fact that the four different elements had passed through the tree to this place.   Nanzing wished he had a piece of paper with him to write these things down, if only to keep things ordered in hopes of figuring things out.    Would climbing the tree high enough reveal any sense of direction or give an idea where they were?  A town...a village...a city...some type of settlement with people?  Even a river might be helpful.   He looked once more up at the tree and then around him, walking away to look around.  Grass...tree...clouds...tree...people of differing elements....tree...sky that was blocked by thick swirling clouds...tree...a ceaseless wind...tree.  Why did he feel like the tree was the big mystery behind why this group of strangers were here?  No matter what he had looked at, his mind and eyes kept going back towards the tree...as if it were pulling or calling him somehow.    Maybe he had hit his head somehow when he had gone to sleep.  


He walked back to the tree.  If he wanted to investigate it further, he might have to walk around it but that meant going near the air nomads.  Something he was reluctant to do yet it seemed that digging in the earth exposed nothing.  This was plant life...that he knew so there had to be water right?  Was there water in the spirit world?  But hadn't he just come to the conclusion that this wasn't the spirit world as he saw no spirits?  Were they invisible?     A voice next to him, caused the firebender to jump, and he looked to see someone was standing beside him.  How long had this person been standing here while Nanzing had been lost in his own thoughts, trying to see what there was to see without going near the edge of the island to peer into the abysmal depths of nothingness below...an abyss that one could not see for the thick clouds concealing the island from possible view by others.   Nanzing shook his head to clear it of nagging and confusing thoughts, the words that this stranger spoke to him taking a few moments to break through his befuddled mind.   "The tree isn't hollow or incorporeal...so we didn't pass through it to get here," Nanzing said slowly, unsure how this stranger would take the advice of a mere teen.  @Peaceswore

 

[MagicPocket]

The large oak tree at the center of the island seemed to be a primary subject of investigation by the interesting gathering of figures. Understandably of course as it was the only feature of this strange place. There was a girl climbing among the branches now, her clothes indicative of the Air Nation yet differing entirely from the older man's, she must be from a pirate clan. There was much talk of the pirates and the menace they inflicted on their own nation as well as others. But she was just a girl, just barely a teenager, he had a hard time imagining her participating in a village raid. He had a sour opinion of them indeed. It never really occurred to him how Air pirates might raise their young with such violence a meer normality of life. If his speculations were true and she was a pirate, did she or other children like her know any better? She probably wasn't even real, if all these figures were just figments of his sleeping mind, did it really matter? 


Ren Fo approached the tree and stared up the trunk through its unmoving canopy of leaves. Seriously, what was he doing here? What was it doing here if it served an purpose at all? He reached out a hand and laid it against the bark, it stood unyielding to his touch. Its texture felt real enough. It was the tree's stillness that disconcerted him. It was like it wasn't even here, just like a projection appearing here while it existed somewhere entirely else. Ren's eyes roamed the tree, up the trunk and along the branches. On a whim he reached up, stretching out his six-foot-two person and grasped the lowest branch.  The toe of his boot dug into a nook and he pulled himself up enough to pinch one of the leaves between his fingers, attempting to pluck it from its branch. 

 

[Miracleist]

@MagicPocket


It was as if a floodgate had opened. The breeze stopped; the leave was removed as intended, but in the same instant, each and every one of the leaves fell out from their branches. As the rain of leaves began, the sun set entirely. In the darkness without the moon in sight, nothing could be seen for a brief moment until the sun re-emerged from the other end, moving across the sky above them. All of these were happening so quickly it would be hard to keep track of the multitude of changes that was happening; gradually, the leaves (of which the tree seemed to have a never-ending supply) began to glow, engulfing the island in light so bright it blinded everyone on the island. 


--- Prologue End ---