Flowing through waves of ambiguity, I finally settled into a primitive society, lonely on a lonely desert planet. In the far distance there was a tower that stretched higher than the eye could see. Its color was black, the purest black there could be, and there was no reflection of the sun on its surface. The people in this village both feared and worshipped this tower - a god-fearing people, and on this god-forsaken planet they had nowhere else to turn.

The lands were dry, and food was sparce. These people were gaunt. Likewise, they offered sacrifices to this tower to stay in the favor of the god of the tower. Each year one person from the village was selected and taken across the long wooden bridge that led to the mouth of the tower. These sacrifices were obviously never heard from again.

I lived among these people for a while, and eventually came to befriend and love a young woman there. Then one night, she disappeared - the annual sacrifice to the tower had come. When I came to I was fighting the village, hating them for what they'd done. They fought me half-heartedly - they were all upset about it. In a rage, I left the village, the only place I knew, and set out for the tower, aiming to save my friend and make a stand against the manipulative god who lived in that tower who dared toy with these peoples lives.

I made it to the long wooden plank bridge and hesitated at first. The bridge was old, and who knew what kept it aloft. Carefully I started stepping across, holding onto the thick ropes for support.

As I neared (the bridge stretched for miles), a booming voice called out. Where the voice came from I didn't know - it was like the tower itself were speaking. Its voice echoed all around: "Look ahead, young warrior: To the left of the entrance is the fang of god." I looked ahead - at the mouth of the tower, an enormous rust-colored fang shot out from the ground and dwarfed me: "Come no closer. You'll destroy the lives of those people. Come no closer..."

_____


I suppose it doesn't help that I'm reading His Dark Materials, and playing Star Ocean 3. It was the most vivid dream I've had in recent memory. I woke up dizzy and confused, and didn't know where I was. The voice booming had the most effect on me, because it felt like it was enveloping my entire body and making me quiver. Ever since, I've wondered where the fabric of reality ends and fantasy begins.