Dreams about the Great Tree

14.03.2023

Mayane woke up suddenly, in the middle of the night. She raised her head and listened intently into the darkness. It seemed the echo of the voice she heard in her dream was still here. "You will never get what you want".

But whose voice was it?... It seemed both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Mayane felt uneasy. This dream seemed important, but she could not recall what exactly it was about.

On a nearby mat, Yarune tossed and turned. Mayane’s sister also had a dream, and judging by her grimaces, she had a nightmare too.

Mayane once again tried to concentrate and remember anything. The only fragment that popped up in her memory was a huge, dark wall of water that surged onto the shore. She had never seen such waves. Where would they come from?

The feeling of imminent disaster did not allow Mayane to fall asleep until dawn, which, to her relief, came soon. Stepping out of the yurt, she looked around. The village woke up, other heidruns also got up, peering into the morning sky, waiting when the Star of Fortune, or other signs that promised luck or failure, will appear. But the skies were silent this time.

Mayane knew that her people worshiped Good Luck. They also believed that Luck will turn its gaze to those it fell in love with. And the best way to make Luck fall in love with you is to live as if there were no tomorrow at all. Therefore, the heidruns tried to live in the moment and not think about the distant future, because luck can turn away in any moment. No one knows what awaits them tomorrow.

However, now it was not enough for her - she couldn’t get this dream out of her mind. She knew that other races believed in predictions, visions of the future, which could be interpreted properly and therefore something could be done in advance.

Of course, why should you think about the future when you live in a green valley, warmed by the flames of Muspel, without any troubles and worries? Even the Urun raids, sudden and brutal, seemed inevitable, like a natural disaster. But outside of the valley, cold winds were blowing, and the ability to know the future was much more important there.

“Iriko!”, Mayane thought. The old sage could help. He saw farther than most heidruns, descended from Ilko himself. The Ilko, who once responded to the call of other people and led his tribe into a war that granted long centuries of peace to them all.

She found him exactly where she expected. The old heidrun was standing at the edge of the valley, peering intently into the distance.

“I had a dream,” Mayane said softly. “Something happened in the world.”

"A lot of things happen in the world, child,"" Iriko remarked without turning around. He certainly expected this conversation.

“But can these visions be true? And what awaits us?”

“Our friends believe so. Once, Seyda predicted the coming of the great Nothing. But there was also a part of her prophecy that remained uninterpreted.”

“But our Fate is evil! Сenturies have passed The almighty Darkness Will cover world with black.

I see it like it’s real: The Great Tree is fading An ancient foe is woken Now all dead are restless!

The deadly cold will come As the countless rivals Those whose fur is white I see them through the time."

— Mayane quoted from memory. She, of course, remembered these verses. Everyone on this island knew them. - "Have these times really come?"

"You can see it yourself, child," Iriko said, pointing up. Mayane raised her head. There, above the horizon, covering the skies, rose the Great Tree, whose crown emitted shining Threads, covering all visible space, stretching far in all directions.

And with tears in her eyes, she saw something else. A wilted leaf circling and falling toward her.