Telka

She came to life all at once, beautiful and complete. Scales of groundstuff fell down from her body—she felt that it was called a body—and a little beam of knowing began to resonate somewhere inside of her. It stretched and warped and struggled to parse apart the stimuli she was receiving. Then, it woke fully and began to speak to her.

It was called The Reason and it was far from a sound. She had not yet adjusted to her ears and could not understand sound. It was not a picture, either; she could not bring it to the front of her mind or even attempt to understand it. The Reason simply was. It embodied her and everything she knew and everything she ever would know.

A word, "What?", was her first thought. Dirty and muddled, the question limped to The Reason’s side, crippled in comparison to its impossible clarity.

Obelisk, replied The Reason, its voice pure and simple. Her head filled with light and she saw in it an endless field of something, of Someone. She saw colors, so many colors, and felt the eternity beneath her talons.

"Talons?"

A picture appeared. A sturdy figure, but not without softness. Flowing and geometric and oh so familiar. Aha, it was her. She was the concept shaped like Obelisk, she was in the field of Someone. All of it was her, and she felt old, as old as the world itself

You are new.

Before her floated a vision that was not her own. The object inside of it gave off an air of fragility, much unlike her being. It was something round and protected. Something that drew out a sense of strength and made her want to move, to run. It was called 'Egg' and it felt like 'Future.'

"Am I part of that?" she questioned.

You are born of earth.

Earth, what a joyous thing! That was where she was, in earth. The feeling of the word made her safe and grounded. She had always been surrounded by it, the timeless and slow-moving presence. The earth had once been her. Something had changed, but what was it?

"Alive?"

Yes. Alive, now and forever.

She performed a motion that The Reason called 'blinking' and a million new pictures flooded in, drowning all of her own fledgeling thoughts. There came a dull throb as well, running interference around the misty corners of her mind.

The Reason resurfaced. It is Sound.

Sound was frightening and she wanted to turn it off. All at once, energy flashed through the darkness and the sound became muffled. Something had moved, and it had moved because of her! That wild energy left with her the impression of a vessel. Its corners and joints and miles of spiderweb veins were suddenly hers to control.

She opened herself up again, slowly, gingerly, and the world returned to focus. She now knew of eyes and ears and touch. There was one other sense too, a feeling that spoke of Others nearby and all around her. Focusing solely on it, she relaxed and began to reach.

There was a presence about the cave, something strong and familiar and utterly different from her dull sense of self. It was in the air around her and in the water beside her. It was seeping deep into the rocks, raging through every corner of her form.

Father, the bodiless sounds told her. Earthshaker, our Creator, ancient and powerful.

But it was not alone. Another presence seethed in the darkness, clawing at the rocks, injuring them. She could just barely pick up on it, but her body knew it well. The Reason bristled within her and her veins ran hot with some new emotion. Hatred? Fear?

ENEMY.

There was a purpose now and it was not her own. Destroy the ENEMY. Rip the shadowed Thing into shreds and scatter its blood like oil across a million little fissures in the great sightless earth.

There was a purpose now and it was not her own.

Her purpose scared her.

"No!"

And suddenly, her thoughts were sound, echoing around the earth where she had awakened. Voice! She hadn't known that she was capable of such a thing. Her chest heaved with excitement and dread; finally, the panic of her purpose began to ebb away.

Without warning, there came a new voice. It rushed toward her like rapids or a storm and sounded a reassuring response. "You're ok!" it chirped, breathy and full. "It's going to be ok. Breathe."

It was strange how all of those abstract sounds came together to form and carry meaning. The process itself was so interesting, so delighting. How could she ignore it? Feeling stabilized, she followed the instructions of the voice and waited for the colors in her mind to solidify into shapes and beings.

Before her stood another presence, although it was infinitesimally weaker than that of Earthshaker and the Thing below. The being was very colorful and had a voice that was much louder than hers. Its eyes were a brilliant teal, its coat a mottle of reds and blues. Protrusions rose from its head and its limbs. Were all of those talons?

“Who?”

Unseen scenes were once more about her. Ice and snow flickered in her eyes. Fur and jagged horns and old, old prisons. Gaolers, The Reason supplied, and then the new voice replaced it once more.

“My name is Sprite,” the dragon said. “I’m a—“

“—Gaoler,” the recently awakened Obelisk replied. “I know this. Somehow, I know….” Slowly, clumsily, she reached for her temples. Splitting pain dropped her to her knees, but the red dragon caught her a moment before she hit the ground. How peculiar! She had never been aware of her upright position.

“It’s alright,” Sprite soothed. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

“Thank you.” The phrase came to her in a flurry borrowed words, in a litany of supplanted memories.

Sprite made an expression that The Reason called ‘smile.’ It was warm and calm and happy. “So, who are you?” she inquired.

“Obelisk.”

“Well, do you have a name, Miss Obelisk?”

A name? This was important, this was powerful. The Reason and its strange artificial purpose would not have anything to do with the Name. Steeling herself, the Obelisk pushed aside her racing thoughts and dove deep into her soul, into the earth she once had been.

“Tel...ka....” she uttered.

What a relief it was, to be named. The phrase wrapped around her body and draped itself across her mind, becoming one with the fabric of her being. The process felt right and righteous. The hollow, becoming hallowed.

“Nice to meet you, Telka!” Sprite replied, blind to the moment’s significance. Her voice was singsong and joyous, her mood like a warm summer night. “Let me get you something to drink.”

Red fur melded with the crowd. Traces of her dispersed into a hundred curious glances, into a thousand perfect strangers. Sprite was gone among the sleeping statues and stunned Obelisks, slipping somewhere between the excitable adventurers and solemn stalactites.

That left Telka alone with her thoughts. She corralled the strange information and locked it away, making sure to isolate her purpose. That issue would have to wait. For now, she had no choice but to live as the tainted version of herself. Maybe it was the ordained version, the ideal version.

But she had named herself. She had changed. Perhaps this was only the beginning of her growth.

“I will be alright,” Telka whispered, and it was true.