A shimmering butterfly drifted on the calm evening breeze, soaring with a silent flutter over the window ledge and down towards the sleeping form of Batari. Landing lightly with a slight flick of its wings, the insect swiftly disappeared into the sleeping angel's dreamscape.
The warm morning sun peered through the open window, waking the occupant within. She yawned, stretched, and shifted towards wakefulness with a rustle of leathery wings. Another day. Same old routine. After sitting up and clearing her eyes of sleep, she stood and headed downstairs to make some breakfast and wake the others.
The sun was starting to climb into the sky as the villagers below toiled in the fields. Several farms made up the 'village', each consisting of a humble home, a barn or two, and vast tracts of land for growing crops of all varieties. A family of angels worked in one of the valleys where several rice paddies were dug out. The light glimmered off the surface of the flooded fields and the angels moved leisurely about their business.
Overhanging the rice paddies, a demon family had set up their farm on the hillside. However, the area seemed fairly rocky with little even ground to be had. Two individuals paused in their work clearing rocks and raking the soil to glance down into the valley below. One grimaced, looking back to Batari.
"Hmmph. Look at them down there, just strolling around pleasantly while their crops take care of themselves. Figures those uppity angels would take all the best farm lands and leave us to figure out how to grow anything among the rocks on the side of a hill!"
Batari paused in raking, staring at the ground with a weary expression. "Won't matter when all the fields are ablaze..."
"You don't think the war front is gonna' come anywhere near here do you? They're not worried about little peons like us. They've got big cities to focus on."
"I dunno, I guess. Just a bad feeling in the air, ya know?"
They resumed working in relative silence as the sun climbed higher in the sky. It beat down from directly overhead, warming the land below. A bit too warm for those working hard. One could hope for a bit of shade...and like that, the area grew darker as if clouds had passed by overhead.
There weren't any clouds in the sky.
The idle chatter in the fields seemed to falter and cease; suddenly, screaming in the distance. Only those in the furthest fields could hear words among the screams. Run! Hide! It's too late! The area darkened, though the sky remained obscured, as if the very light were being sucked away.
At the edge of the village boundary, a pitch-black hole seemed to open in the air itself. Everything in the immediate surroundings seemed drawn towards it. Farming tools tumbled over the ground into the void, plants were ripped from the ground to their roots, flying through the air to vanish in the hole. The piercing scream of an angel caught in the vortex tore through the air before being cut short as they disappeared into the darkness.
Several more such 'holes' opened all through the village, pulling every plant, building, and Pae'il into the void...
...she awoke in a strange place. Her surroundings were familiar...yet everything was torn asunder, destroyed. She looked above and saw...a foreign sky, unlike that of her home. What...was this place? Was she dead? She hurt too much to be dead.
Being dead didn't hurt this much, right?
Where...where were they?
===================
The warm morning sun peered through the open window, waking the occupant within. She yawned, stretched, and shifted towards wakefulness with a rustle of leathery wings. Another day. Same old routine. After sitting up and clearing her eyes of sleep, she stood and headed downstairs to make some breakfast and wake the others.
---
The sun was starting to climb into the sky as the villagers below toiled in the fields. Several farms made up the 'village', each consisting of a humble home, a barn or two, and vast tracts of land for growing crops of all varieties. A family of angels worked in one of the valleys where several rice paddies were dug out. The light glimmered off the surface of the flooded fields and the angels moved leisurely about their business.
Overhanging the rice paddies, a demon family had set up their farm on the hillside. However, the area seemed fairly rocky with little even ground to be had. Two individuals paused in their work clearing rocks and raking the soil to glance down into the valley below. One grimaced, looking back to Batari.
"Hmmph. Look at them down there, just strolling around pleasantly while their crops take care of themselves. Figures those uppity angels would take all the best farm lands and leave us to figure out how to grow anything among the rocks on the side of a hill!"
Batari paused in raking, staring at the ground with a weary expression. "Won't matter when all the fields are ablaze..."
"You don't think the war front is gonna' come anywhere near here do you? They're not worried about little peons like us. They've got big cities to focus on."
"I dunno, I guess. Just a bad feeling in the air, ya know?"
They resumed working in relative silence as the sun climbed higher in the sky. It beat down from directly overhead, warming the land below. A bit too warm for those working hard. One could hope for a bit of shade...and like that, the area grew darker as if clouds had passed by overhead.
There weren't any clouds in the sky.
The idle chatter in the fields seemed to falter and cease; suddenly, screaming in the distance. Only those in the furthest fields could hear words among the screams. Run! Hide! It's too late! The area darkened, though the sky remained obscured, as if the very light were being sucked away.
At the edge of the village boundary, a pitch-black hole seemed to open in the air itself. Everything in the immediate surroundings seemed drawn towards it. Farming tools tumbled over the ground into the void, plants were ripped from the ground to their roots, flying through the air to vanish in the hole. The piercing scream of an angel caught in the vortex tore through the air before being cut short as they disappeared into the darkness.
Several more such 'holes' opened all through the village, pulling every plant, building, and Pae'il into the void...
---
...she awoke in a strange place. Her surroundings were familiar...yet everything was torn asunder, destroyed. She looked above and saw...a foreign sky, unlike that of her home. What...was this place? Was she dead? She hurt too much to be dead.
Being dead didn't hurt this much, right?
Where...where were they?
========================
What happens next?
It is up to you to finish Batari's dream sequence!
You have until -- November 23, 2018 --to complete the task in order to move on to the next step.
What happens next?
It is up to you to finish Batari's dream sequence!
You have until -- November 23, 2018 --to complete the task in order to move on to the next step.
Strawberri Stardust
