Tales Long Forgotten: Of Sand & Sorrow [Story Arc]

[Goki]

To you, allow me to recount a tale.
Grant ear, that you may know and understand treasures of old.
Tales of venture and conflict,
Hope and tragedy.
For, every soul remains unaware without mirror for reflection.

Have you ever dreamed so tangibly, that upon awakening, reality remained difficult to distinguish? What if you could never awake? How then, would you discern reality from the dream?
Afore you it spreads, surrounds, and towers. Series of sandstone; structures massive, vast, endless. As far as thine eye can see—and beyond ever more. Wherefrom sand streams as waterfalls, to depths unseen: For, you stand amidst the very heavens.
A haze encompasses, as if replacing the clouds. Connected through bridges narrow and long, without balustrade for safety, neither entrance nor exit in sight—an endless labyrinth of old, full of infinite possibility.

. . . Do you stand before reality, or another dream?

***
​

The night had felt most normal; in fact, more normal than normal—for no milk had even been drunk before bed. There exist dreams most abstract; memories fleeing immediately upon the opening of eyes, as if fearing their secrets might become known to the waking world. Obscured figures and shapes of mixed colors, as if the third eye lacked spectacles. Then there exist dreams most lucid—vivid and tangible as the feeling of one’s feet against bedroom floor, and the aroma of the following morning’s breakfast in one’s nostrils, its crisp taste upon the tongue. Yet, there also exists something most between. Where one clearly stands within no familiar reality—yet experiences a world far too real to simply dismiss as otherwise. The label for this, Goki possessed nowhere within her vocabulary.

Mandarin red locks swayed gently in the celestial winds. The sight afore, indeed one to be beheld. Its divine nature may’ve made visitants genuinely consider whether they’d died in their sleep. Quite odd, given Goki presumed herself too young for such occurrence just yet. Perhaps this was why her guardians reminded to care for her health early on, “Before it’s too late”. Little would she had predicted how soon that “too late” could actually come. Unfortunate, given rather interesting brains had been encountered down below, but at least death hadn’t seemed all that boring if it started somewhere like here.
Though, without a kitchen in sight, Goki pondered whether death meant she’d never be able to eat or drink again. No restroom was seen to boot. But, then again, one required a restroom due to eating and drinking; so maybe the lack went hand and hand... Already, the first mystery of death seemed to be unraveling.
Still, despite its seeming endlessness, even for the Hybrid, such a place appeared as it might eventually grow wearisome... Would this be her home for eternity, or did afterlife consists of multiple destinations like field trips? Around the girl would pivot, absorbing surroundings most breathtaking, the air tasting brisk and pure in the altitude. The haze gave a feeling of perpetual dawn; illuminated, yet a sun unseen. Though Goki reckoned for the better—one not wanted to burn their retinas out, after all. Death was complicated, for the Hybrid received no manual nor instruction regarding what to do or where to go.
Unbefitting of its surroundings, a sudden rustle was perceived, prompting her head to quickly turn. Yet, when it had—the rustle’s source zipped right past, and she’d only caught but a glimpse.

Was that a . . .

“Guests—We have guests!” exclaimed its announcement, flying speedily across the bridge, disappearing behind a corner into the building across.

. . . The girl’s head tilted aside.

“Flying . . . book?”

 

[Ringo]

"Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in."​

"Another day closer to finding my parents..." yawned the boy as he marked today's calendar date red. Ringo, dressed in his jammies and ready to embrace the night's cradle, hopped into bed and tucked himself in. Before submitting to the impulse of slumber, he stared up at the ceiling as he normally did at this time. He momentarily lost himself within fantasy as the white wall hovering above his head transformed into a longed scene. He envisioned his mother, teary-eyed, lovingly reaching for him as she expressed gratitude for saving her. His father, who was typically rigid in approach, softened considerably as he held his arms wide open to his son. "Good job, Ringo," he spoke with pride. "You did great work, son. Mother and I are safe now. We are safe." Ringo's shining eyes watered as he wore a broken smile. It was soon after that he drifted into the realm of the subconscious. He unthinkingly expected time to accelerate and for tonight's rest to propel him to a new day as it usually did; however, the full moon beamed her heavenly light onto his face and led a pathway for Mr. Sandman to perform his workings. Entities hidden in invisible realms carried new, peculiar intentions for the boy as their magic transported him into a plane unseen.

His being ascended into a twinkling, celestial blanket as his core was touched with utmost peace. Ringo wandered in his dreamworld with a youthful curiosity; he was daring, yet naive. 'What's this? Where am I? Does it matter?' His soul traversed up and around the dark sea of stars as he felt a tugging to explore more. Although he lucidly suspected that this reality was of his own doing, the intensity that sprang from his awoken senses planted seeds of doubt. Not only could he see, but he also could hear the rushing of flaming comets as it burst passed him. The galaxy's aroma smelt like a faint, burning lavender, but there was more to it that he did not yet have the words for. He could even taste the wonder around him; oddly enough, his palate was touched by a sage honeycomb. If this was a dream, it was the most vivid he's experienced thus far.

"A portal?"

A swirl of radiance appeared before him. Its waves of light were colored and each strand were visible. Clearly, this was a pathway to a territory uncharted. A new question stood: should he travel through this mysterious, luminescent gateway? "I have to," his subconscious confirmed for reasons even unbeknownst to himself. And so he did. As he swam to the heaven's doorway, he was forcefully pulled into its current. The lights around him intensified as hues flashed chaotically around him. He felt torn, disassembled, and reformed each millisecond. The sensation he felt wasn't painful, but it was somewhat uncomfortable. Even within the mayhem, Ringo was awestruck by his lightspeed travel. He perceived each passing second like days, but each minute was like a second. It wasn't long until he egressed from the brilliant current and was spat out onto a sandy, stone bridge. 'Oof'

Ringo shook his head and stood as he attempted to recover his senses. Where was he now? His round, yellow eyes widened as he surveyed what he could only describe as ancient and wondrous architecture. These monuments were aged, but it was clear that time was conquered here. The air was dense, so much so that all that the boy could audibly discern was his own heavy breathing. Was this a side effect of high altitude? Nonetheless, he was overwhelmed with the urge to keep moving forward. As he did, he noticed a familiar flash of red and gold not too far ahead from him. Beside her was a floating, talking book that soon dashed into the building's entrance.

What in the world...

Moving closer to the crimson figure, her person was unmistakable. "Goki???" questioned Ringo in a tone that belonged to himself. The Mugen boy sounded the same, but he was completely unaware of his new avatar. It was in that moment, too, that he wondered how Goki grew so tall?

Ringo's current form
​

 

[Goki]

The universe was ripe with mystery... Or, rather—had mysteries comprised the universe? The amount left unexplained; in itself a wonder. And the measure of those explanations proving inattainable; one even greater.
A realm, appearing neither dream nor reality. Books with capabilities of flight and speech. And, furthermore . . .

"Goki???"

Following a headturn, golden irises regarded the addressal’s direction—yet initially spotted no source. That was, until eventual drift downwards. Whereupon, brows arched in surprise most unexpected.
For a time, they’d linger - studying this new creature anear. Orbs of which, interestingly enough, gleamed hues not much dissimilar from her own; yet, as a whole, proved far from alike. Lacking pupils, like two polished stones perfectly fitted into an oval donning antennae.
The Hybrid would crouch, better matching its height, afore a finger stretched to poke its ‘forehead’ . . . What a peculiar thing.

“Goki’s seen a Fingerhead Man,” returned the greeting. “But an Egg and Yolk Head is new for her. “She also thinks you sound very familiar, but doesn’t remember seeing you before.” Overtly, features would close in. Distance separated by mere inches - if that - seeking more thorough examination: peering, turning, craning, peeking around and behind.

“Hm, hm . . . did you forget to take care of your health and die too?” Following, nostrils would proceed to deeply inhale the creature’s scent . . .

Confused . . . Lost. . . Yet, seeking—no, rather, yearning for something. Exactly what, however, the Hybrid hadn’t known.

 

[Shingetsu Sora]

This place was a maze of archaic looking structures. Not quite sure exactly where he was, Sora did the thing that seemed to serve him best these days, he explored. While his mom and dad normally thought of him as one to always hit the books for extra credit, what would have probably scared them the most about him was the fact that he was constantly exploring the ins and outs of the village and beyond. Sunagakure was a far more interesting place than just the bare desert and if he was going to become the sort of grounded shinobi that his parents wanted him to be then he had to do his due diligence to learn more about his surroundings.

Or at least that was what Sora told himself. There was still the fact that he was very much lost. As he continued to stare up at the structures that rose high into the sky, he noticed that while they seemed old, that they also seemed well preserved. It seemed to him that somebody actually called the place home or at least cared enough to keep it from falling into too much disrepair. No, it wasn't that things seemed spotless but there was a certain, practicableness to things. The buildings should have been more worn down from the sand but they weren't. Try as he might, Sora couldn't shake the feeling that he was very much meant to gloss over the place instead of wanting to find out more. Almost as if this was a façade meant to test him.

OOC: Exploring things a bit before joining the group.