Enchark: Into a Nightmare

A dull and empty feeling enthralled Karlyle and his mind. He felt his senses slowly drift away, like a lone raft on a steady stream. The enveloping darkness, draining and filling, dragged Karlyle's consciousness into an alternate dimension.

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Efialtiskinesis, manipulation of nightmares.

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Specks of snow and black dust dropped onto Karlyle's open and frail palm. His skin tightly held onto his fingers, showcasing the space between each bone. Blue and thin veins spread out throughout his entire arm like roots - only if roots carried blood.

The strap of leather that dug into Karlyle's weak right shoulder was adjusted by his left arm, pulled closer to his blatantly visible collarbone. Even though it was the winter season, and the temperatures were surely low enough to freeze water, he still wore thin and revealing clothing. After all, it was all he and his family could afford to make.

Between making clothes and making food, they had no choice but to make food. Feeding three children and two adults in the season of winter wasn't easy, especially when insects and rodents got into their supplies. Anything that could be eaten by them was eaten, covered in dirt, or, at the very least, bitten into.

Karlyle made his way along the rocky path that his father dug out in the early morning before going to bed and placing Karlyle in charge of gathering food for today. The journey was long and tiring so it made sense to send the rested young adult rather than the sleep-deprived 52 year old.

It took an hour both ways at full speed but full speed wasn't achievable on the way back since one had to carry supplies; if you didn't take back supplies, then, according to Karlyle's father, you might as well not come back at all.

What he was sent to gather was fairly simple this time around: meat from the market, wool from the shepherd, wood from the stack they gathered in autumn, and coal from the local coal mine. One might ask, why not at least move the stack of wood closer to the house? The answer was that the family would often sell the wood to make some extra money, so in the end, it was easier to keep it closer to the main town.

"When is summer coming back?" Karlyle questioned the gentle snowflake in his hand as it finally melted away, it accompanied him for long enough. He shook the palm that held it to get rid of the droplet of water left behind.

The crunch of snow below his boots whispered through the forest, bringing some wild animals back on guard for a split second before returning to their minor feasts. Food was limited throughout the stripped forest but they still managed to find some things the humans would just discard.

"If one of those wolves tries to attack me again..."

Rays of sunlight shone onto the snow, glimmering and sparkling. Even if the sun seemed to be ablaze, its heat failed to reach the land. Warmth only came when Karlyle was under shelter with an ongoing fire and a thick blanket cuddling his body.

Remaining sanguine in the seasonal epoch of death was a tough challenge, but Karlyle managed, "Damn this journey takes forever, I can't wait to get home. If they get on my nerves I'll beat them with this food."

Referring to his siblings, his warning brought some joy to his heart. Even if they fought, Karlyle still cared for and loved his two younger siblings with his whole heart. At times, he even loved them more than their parents.

As the rocky path was reaching its end, Karlyle got closer to both the destination and origin of his journey. His family's home was a fair home. Made of wood and straw, and repaired with the use of wood and straw. This house was older than his entire living family combined, after all, it was only two generations.

Getting closer to his home, a place of safety and warmth, Karlyle couldn't wait to finally rest. Then, the unidentifiable black dust in the air began multiplying - increasing in number. Air around Karlyle thickened and darkened, causing him to cough.

"What is this?"

Karlyle brought his scarf up to his mouth and it eased his breath by a tiny bit. It didn't take long for him to realise what it in fact was. Finally reaching his home, a radiant image enveloped his sight. Its grand illumination spread out across the snow, bringing forth a mix of orange and red hues to set the entire area ablaze in the same colour as freshly molten gold.

"No."

It was ash and smoke.

The bonfire that took over and invaded his entire home, leaving nothing alone, screeched and sparked. Its influence and power spread to the nearby trees, setting them ablaze as well. Flames moved like a virus, branching out wherever they could and taking something with them - no matter if it was alive or not.

Dropping the bag which held onto his shoulder in its entirety, Karlyle ran over to the house trying to take control of the fire, forgetting the simplest part of kinetics: you can only control what you create.

"MOM!"

"DAD!"

"ASHER!"

"EMILIA!"

No response.

Karlyle continued to scream the names of his family members, begging all almighty powers to allow a response. But nothing came. The names he called out to no longer held a person behind them, only emptiness and death. Tears formed in his eyes at the thought of their demise, but it was too cold to let them flow down his face so he rubbed them away.

His pounding heart and quick breaths overwhelmed his senses and drowned out the fierce and ruthless cracking of fire around him. Starved and exhausted, Karlyle collapsed onto the floor, still awake. His vision spiralled and blurred, unable to focus on anything but the images of his siblings and parents burning in the fire or being mauled by hungry wildlife.

It was too cold to sweat, yet he still felt the beads forming on his body. Instead, his body shivered more and more until his skin suddenly felt normal and as if it was covered by one of his mother's woollen blankets.

As his consciousness was slipping away into the cold of winter, a light voice spoke directly into his ears. But Karlyle couldn't hear it or see its source until a tight sensation hugged him and eased his panic. He'd been on the floor long enough for the fire to spread out around him and if not for the snow he'd be burned alive as well.

The blurred covering that dropped over his vision cleared up to reveal a translucent Emilia staring down at Karlyle.

"Emilia?"

Karlyle's voice was weak and no louder than a whisper, but the ghost ahead still heard it and nodded in response. Her eyes were shallow, holding no senses or emotion. The lower half of her body was close to transparent. Only thin lines could be seen upon focus that Karlyle couldn't afford to have.

He managed to focus his exhausted sight onto Emilia's face, however, and it was hazy. Some details, such as the usual mole above her left eyebrow, were smudged. Her hair was unusually curly or frizzy, potentially even both. Karlyle disregard the inaccuracies in her manifestation, if he even noticed them in the first place... he didn't.

"You must surrender."

"Surrender?"

"Yes Karlyle, if you wish to see us one more time you have to surrender. Surrender yourself to the warmth of love and affection."

Her also almost transparent arm pointed to the flames that burned brightly. Their light deepened the outline of her hand, revealing the all too familiar hand that would often punch Karlyle's ribs.

"But I can't."

"You must, Karlyle."

Karlyle managed to get back up, holding himself with his arms on the way up and then with his legs to remain standing. There was still little energy in his body causing his movements to be slow. Each step took up a dozen seconds.

'Don't Lyle, spew your flames.'

Another voice, different from any he's heard before yet still recognised, spoke through his mind. Thinking it was Emilia, he turned around but saw her remaining frozen like a statue, giving him a confused look as to why he stopped. Karlyle turned his head back to the house and took another step forward.

'Don't.'

Another step.

'Stop.'

Again, only a few left until the fire took him back to his family.

'No more, Lyle. Turn around and attack.'

Unwilling to submit to the command of the strange voice, Karlyle took another step forward, and another, and another until he was standing only one foot away from the fire. Its heat melted away the cold around him and the snow that gathered on his lashes and eyebrows quickly turned into water.

Now, it was time for the final step and he could once again hug his siblings and parents.