From her vantage point, she can see a timeless world unfolding its secrets. Endless hues of color wrestle for attention as she gazes over the terrain spreading out from the mountain spire. Her perch in this panoply of life. With little more than a thought, delicate sprouts shoot from cracks in the sandy rock beneath her, quickly gaining girth. Weaving together to form a soft seat, cushioned in phosphorescent moss. With a smile of satisfaction on tight lips and a twinkle in her ageless, turquoise eyes, she gathers her flowing robes about her misty form and settles into the comfortable chair to enjoy the view.

One sun rises while another sets. A strip of stars divide the competing horizon lines. Spawning deciduous trees fluctuate color, grappling with seasons speeding forward like time-lapse photography. Mystical melodies of metaphysical intuition, harmonizing with the erosion of riverbeds and the crystallizing weather patterns which change with whims of her mood.

Here – for the time being – she is in control. The scenery, her creation.

Here – for the time being – she is in control. The scenery, her creation. But through the cracks of her conscious mind she feels the intruders. She attempts to sense their intent. The marrow of her bones chilled by their cold-blooded expansion. She is lost in pursuit, so focused on pinpointing their location she doesn’t notice she is no longer alone.

“You are wasting your time Lyiana, they will have all of this sooner or later. We can’t hold them off forever.”

No one should be able to sneak up on her here, something is wrong. She is losing control. A semi-transparent woman stands just behind her, completely identical in appearance. The same long, golden-red hair and determined jaw. The same air of authority. The new arrival continues her words of discouragement.

“We don’t stand a chance and you know it. It will be easier if you just let them come.”

Her response comes in the form of a menacing growl, “I’ll never just give up. I will fight them to my last breath. This place is sacred, it must be defended.”

“You heard what happened to the others. They are all powerless now, chained to the bland world these intruders are constructing. Our energy is being drained to fuel their pursuit of pleasure. If you give up now, they will at least allow you a place of prestige in their new kingdom”

She raises her voice, outrage apparent, “I do not believe their false promises. I gave you my answer, now be gone! Haunt me with these foolish propositions no longer!”

Before the words have left her throat, she realizes she is alone once more. Abandoned by the ghostly semblance of her shadow-self. A shiver passes down her spine – she senses the intruders are somehow behind these latest attempts to fragment her will. She will not submit to their strategy of divide and conquer. I must regain my composure.

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