garrattj

Five-Minute fiction - 23:33-23:38

Dasin felt the energy course around him as the portal tore its way through the Aether that connected the two planes. He pushed on, propelling himself forward with just the power of his mind. Behind him he could hear, feel, sense, imagine all the monstrosities that snapped at his heels. Thick tendrils, long twisted, mutated limbs pulled at his cloak, his robes, his flesh, and his mind.

Beyond the portal the soft green grass of a plain stretched out to the horizon. He could hear the soft rustle of the grass, and feel the soft caress of the wind on his face. But still the horrors came on, closing in, hounding him.

And as suddenly as they had appeared, they were gone. He crashed into the grass of the plain, the damp earth, soft, and cushioning. He rolled onto his back and gasped for breath. Though he could navigate the Aether, the space between worlds, he knew to breathe there was to die, to allow the sickness in. But here the air was sweet. It tasted faintly of salt, and he could hear the distant crash of waves breaking on an unseen shore.

Halt! a voice cried and Dasin scrambled to his feet to see a dozen riders