Fractured Paradise (Volume I)
Story: Cren's Stories
Fractured Paradise: A Novel In Progress
by Oliver Smith
OliverSmith@CyberPoet.com
< Addewid Index < Fractured Paradise Index < Volume I Outline
Synopsis : Story
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Fractured Paradise (Volume I)
Story: Cren's Stories Fractured Paradise: A Novel In Progress by Oliver Smith OliverSmith@CyberPoet.com < Addewid Index < Fractured Paradise Index < Volume I Outline Synopsis : Story |
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[synopsis here] |
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After many breaths, Cren started to dream and tell stories, not of their history, but of her own making. She would tell of creatures and landscapes in place she called Addewid. It was covered by vast sea called Biola that extended farther than even the Henin could understand, for they considered themselves to be all that could exist In the midst of this sea Inniscren, an island that was covered and occupied with the wonder and depth of Cren's imagination. There were mountains, rivers, valleys, deserts and plains, and there was life that was sustained by Hesbrid, for that was the source of all breath, just as it was for the Henin themselves. This breath was taken throughout Addewid through the water, the water in Biola sea, the water in the rivers and the water in the lakes, streams, ponds and marsh. Wherever there was water, Hesbrid's spirit would be taken up within the roots of the Prenau, creatures that grew up directly from within the ground of Inniscren. Their trunks would extend into the air and branch out with a multitude of fingers As her dreams of Inniscren grew, the Elements of the Henin found their way into the lives of the creatures that came into existence there. From Gebod came the knowledge that each creature used to understand the world around themselves. s scattered throughout the Biola sea and there was one island, Inniscren, that was larger than all of them. It had mountains, lakes and rivers, and many creatures, each with their own purpose. The concept of physical form and space was difficult for the Henin. Amesryn didn't like the way that these stories all occurred at once, with no order, so he extended his own Element into the telling of Cren's stories, placing a rhythm into the midst of Addewid, causing events to occur in sequence, one after the other, allowing the creatures within Addewid to interact with each other, and anticipate future, as well as remember the past. Within Addewid, there was now a beginning and end within the stories. But this disturbed some of the Elements, at first, for now they were not able to tell where Cren's stories would go. They would have to wait until the end to know, no longer being able to know the whole story at once. With the rhythm of time, Cren's stories left them curious about what the story would have in store for them. Temlad found herself growing with an intense sensation as a story progressed. She was fraught with feelings she couldn't understand, but she allowed them to spring forth from her spirit into the others, who also swelled with a mounting stream of upheaval as Cren's stories were revealed. " Temlad ," said Gebod, "what have you done to us? What is this discomfort you have put within us? There is a difference now when Cren tells her stories." "Yes," responded Temlad , "you are feeling the story as I feel it now. You want the story to end because you want to understand what happens, then you don't want it to end because it is over. I have been feeling that, too." "I believe I am experiencing the feelings of the characters," stated Dothen, surprised. "I become afraid when someone is in danger of being hurt, and I feel something strong when a character is hurt. Should be we allowing ourselves to feel these things?" "Oh, but there are good feelings, too," exclaimed Hesbrid, "as when two characters are touching each other softly." "I don't think this!" expressed Ruvel, angrily, "we are Henin, we should not be affected by such stories!" The other Henin felt Ruvel's anger and remained silent, not understanding how they should react. "Ruvel does have a point," said Deveg, "there is a danger in allowing ourselves to become too drawn in by Cren's stories. We must remember the Cren's stories are not real. We are the only reality, and we become less real when we limit ourselves to the feelings and experience of Addewid." "I believe that we should not allow Cren to tell her stories and that Temlad should keep her feelings to herself. We are the Henin, the ones who have always been. We should not be subject to Amser's time, Temlad 's emotions or Cren's Addewid. It is all too confining and too dangerous to be experimenting with this. Where will it all lead to? I say that it should all be banned from us." "I disagree!" said Temlad , now angry. "I like to feel the emotions brought upon me by Cren's stories, and I enjoy shared those feelings with each of you. Besides, you can't stop me from experiencing these sensations, nor can you stop me from sharing them." "It is true," said Nerth, "that we cannot stop Temlad 's emotions, any more than we can stop Cren's storytelling. Ever since Hesbrid's spirit entered us we exist upon a single breath and partake of all the Elements within us. But we can limit each others power if Cren cooperates with us." "And how is that?" asked Cren. "As long as we are Henin, bound so closely by Hesbrid's Spirit, we are incapable of being free of each other's desire to affect each other through our Elements, but within Cren's Addewid we could take on bodies, just like the characters within Cren's stories. This would allow us to move, breath and think entirely independently. Within Addewid, Deveg's laws could be enforced by creatures created by Cren, in accordance with our joint decisions." "But," responded Gebod, "that would mean that we would have to take on a physical form and live within Addewid, in order for this to work." "Those are the choices available to said us," Nerth, "exist as Henin outside of Addewid, or take on shapes within Addewid and abide by the laws of Addewid, as established by the Henin." When the Elements absorbed the images from Cren, Temlad felt awestruck, and her feelings melded into the others, and they felt the same way. They started to sense the beauty of the images, leaving they all with a sense of yearning, wanting to experience this place for themselves, not just thinking about it. From Temlad , they learned to feel what it was like to be in Addewid as Cren told her stories. When Cren told of creatures that could fly over the islands and sea they could experience joy, surprise and disappointment when a story took a different direction than they were expecting. They could feel the exuberance of breathe taken inside of a body, a breath that was not taken with the same rhythm as other creatures, and they could feel the silence and peace of a creature as they found a place of seclusion. They could feel the wash of waters coursing over the bodies of creatures swimming in the Biola sea and in the lakes and rivers of Inniscren, and they would gasp with pleasure as they were told of creatures running, leaping and rolling on the ground of Inniscren. They yearned for bodies of their own. It was Newid who gave them the ability to change their existence from that of a Henin, without form, without physical dimensions into bodies dreamed by Cren, and Cren changed her dreams of Addewid into a physical landscape for their bodies to experience. It was when they found themselves moving throughout Addewid themselves that they truly felt alive. As Henin, they shared each others Elements, breathing, thinking, reasoning and creating as part of a common pool of existence, never alone, never truly free, but inside their bodies they were left to explore Addewid in whatever manner they chose, experiencing all of the emotions and feelings that Temlad had given them. But with their bodies there were limitations. They couldn't be everywhere all at once. It took time to move from one location to another, a long time. They could not just listen to each others thoughts or think all at the same time. They had to listen with their ears, speak with their mouths and see with their eyes, forcing them to listen, then speak, then listen some more. And their bodies, their skin and their limbs were so filled with the ecstasy of touch that they were overwhelmed with desire to make contact with everything. But their Elements were limited by their bodies and by Addewid itself, forcing them to decide between their Henin power and their Addewid pleasures. For this reason, they would only spend small amounts of time within Addewid bodies, preferring to exhibit limitless power over the sensations of Addewid. Cren's stories became more varied and complex, and in some instances more intimate. She began to tell stories of relationships between creatures in Addewid, relationships that were carried out to the exclusion of others. These stories generated the greatest of all pleasures for the Henin. Then Cren told a story that involved herself and two other Elements, Trefnuan and Ysrbydan: In the land of Inniscren, Cren extended her long body beside the Duwies river, where she loved to watch the current stream by. She would allow the tip of her tail to dip gently into the swirling waters of life, feeling the warmth and energy of the water's spirit gather within her scales. Grass covered the ground on the bank of the river, presenting many shades of green and brown. Mountains loomed over the Gorthwr valley where Cren lived. She enjoyed tracing the distant ridges with her dark eyes. Gazing up and down the river she could see gaps in the mountains where gorges allowed it to flow into the distant Biola sea, passing groves, forests, lakes, and marshland, all possessing their own forms of beauty, all awaiting her presence. Then Cren heard the rustle of grass nearby and she became excited. It was Hesbrid. She could tell by the rhythm of her hoofs on the ground and the way the leaves of grass twisted away from her furred legs. Soon the tall, slim horns adorning Hesbrid's head towered over Cren. Hesbrid, too, is filled with the emotions of attraction and affection. Sinking to the ground beside Cren, Hesbrid nuzzles Cren's side with her broad nose. Cren curls her form around Hesbrid, drawing her into a roll that slips into the lapping waters of the river. As they caressed and tongued each other, Treven approached from the depths of the river itself, her slick skin sliding into the crevices of the undulating embrace between Cren and Hesbrid, becoming one with the other two, three bodies captured in a moment of ecstasy. The three of them allowed the river to carry them as they clutched tightly to each other. It carried them downstream, almost to the Amser Gorge that cuts through the Amddiffynfa Mountains. Releasing from each other in a splash of labored breath amidst the eddies of the river, Cren and Hesbrid rub the head of Treven as she sinks back into the darkness of the river. They make their way to the bank and take a long gaze into each other's eyes before touching one last time, then they depart, Hesbrid on four tired legs, and Cren slithering into the grass for a long nap, at the foot of towering cliffs. At the end of the story, Cren, Hesbrid and Treven, disappeared from the One and changed their natures to the physical, into the forms described by Cren in the story. They appeared in the Gorthwr Valley, deep in the center of Inniscren, on the bank of the Duwies river. Nerth pulsed with such power that he was unable to contain. His energy flowed from deep within, springing up with new force from the others as they twisted and flexed into a boiling pool of eternity, swelling with power and will, radiating like fingers from the Un. They breathed as one, but their thoughts took them each into new directions. Harmonous in breath - it holds them Through eternity's breadth Before there was any death There was knowledge |
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( Count from 08/09/2003 ) |
