Words to the Wise

Time had been trying to play its tricks on him from the moment he’d entered the territories, but he was still wise enough to recall his teachings. And thus while the cycles of darkness and the hints of dawn came and went with maddening randomness, he consciously chose not to worry as he silently sat with the creature.

A single attempt at conversation was all he wasted, but the strange animal’s trance was not to be broken. It was hard to tell if anything was happening at all, but keeping the faith seemed like a good bet. It was too dark to see far into the distance, yet the smell that travelled across the plains suggested something so foul he welcomed the time it took the creature to do its business.

Then without warning, it simply rose to its feet, opening a sparkling pair of eyes. And in a single instant it shed all its black feathers as that brightness faded.

“You may now proceed,” it said with a voice that sounded less hoarse and far deeper than the one he recalled. “The path will be clear. But make no mistake. If I see you again I am entitled to slay you. And I reckon I would.”

He rose to his feet as well, ready to strike with his bare hands if necessary, but the danger didn’t seem immediate.

“I am required to leave you with some advice, however.”

He looked at the creature apprehensively, asking, “How much good can the advice be of that which has intent to slay me?”

“That much is up to you.” The creature inspected its pale, naked flesh and shivered. “I will provide it regardless. Where you’re going next, appearance is everything. It’s important that you let your eyes deceive you. It’s the only way you stand a chance of passing through the right gate.”

The creature then looked around, seeking something it could not find. It went on, fixing its eyes upon him. “Most importantly, be wary of rising to the top. The real danger dwells in the attic.”

And with that, it started pecking at the sand, swiftly digging itself a hole.

“Where are you going?” he asked, hesitant to be left behind. “Where do I go next?”

The creature looked up from its pit. “Never mind where I’m going. These are not your lands, boy. Don’t ever think they will be.”

Deeper and deeper it dug until it had almost disappeared into the ground below, when it stuck its head out one last time, taking the boy in with its dull eyes. “You want to hear something strange? I was like you once. Very much like you.”

And then it disappeared, and the wind slowly summoned the sand to undo its digging. But as the boy watched the hole disappear from reality, he noticed something grander changing.

Light was coming to the sky, bringing colour into the territories, blending with the smells that had been licking his nostrils, illuminating the endless ocean of swamp that separated him from the gates on the horizon.