Prompt #95: 

Draw or write about a talisman for your character. It can be something that is sentimental, magical, or in some way meaningful to your character. It's not required, but many adventurers who journey to these different worlds keep their Portal badges on their talisman as a way to showcase all of the places they've journeyed to.

 

 

 

 The sky shifts its colours, light blue hues to twilight purple pink.  And then, finally, to the deepest fog filled void, starless and empty.  The smog of our continued magical growth, blotting out any hope of seeing a night sky with anything more than the moons.  

 Glancing away from the window and back to the empty parchment in front of me, I let out a sigh.  Ink is beginning to pool on the off white surface.   I can’t focus today-

 

 A flash of bright light pierces the room, and before I can react, the loudest crashing noise accompanies it.  Shaking my head, I recenter myself.  What happened?  Did a spell go wrong outside or something?  Quickly placing my quill in the inkwell, I run over to the window.  Opening it, I lean against the wall, and peer out.  A jolt of fear seeps its way through my skin, my tail flicking nervously.

 Squinting, I can barely make out the silhouette of something, different, glinting against the darkness.  Whatever it is, is large.  Sitting near the middle of the garden.  A mass of twisted shapes where there were none yesterday.  

 

 Could Water be down there!?  I think Mum and Dad are out tonight, some work event.  But Water is home, I saw them a couple hours ago.  Maybe they caused this?  Are they okay?

 Attempting to ignore the phantom pains of anxiety, I force myself to call out.  “Is- does anyone need help?!”  As quiet stillness answers me, the faintest crackling of…  Breaking crystal?  Glass?  Can be heard.  The cold of the night air begins to dig its way in.  

 Closing the window, I grab my cape as I dash out of my room and down the stairs.  The world feels less, and less, real, as I make it to the back door.  My heart, pounds, from a mix of anxiety, adrenalin, and running.  I need to make sure no one's hurt.  Shaking, my hand hesitates, before finally turning the knob.  Breathe.

 

 Stepping out into the garden.  It's in ruins.  A large crater sits off center, crystal like glass jutting out at every angle.  The sand, once home to inlays of intricate designs, now a beautiful mess of shattered and molded glass.  The moonslight dancing off its sharp edges reminds me of looking down on the city lights from the mountain above.  Or, I suppose, of bubbles in a bath.

 “Water?”  The still air almost seems to consume my words.  Pulling my cape tighter around me, I push myself forward.  Making certain not to step on any of the small, sharp or shattered glass pieces scattered around.  I should have brought a light.

 “H-hello?”  My voice, quieter, than I had wished.  I should go back, but part of me continues on, forcing the rest to follow.

 Only now, as I get closer, do I notice the bits of floating crystalline glass, stuck, unmoving in the air.  It would be quite stunningly beautiful, if not for the feelings of impending doom.  Larger twisting spikes hide the center from sight.  Moving up to them, I gently slide my hand across their surface.  Smooth, like polished stone, then it shifts, fractured, rough, and uneven.  Semi see-through, and cold.

 Finding a good foot hold, I climb up, and gaze down into the crater.  Blinking, I rub my eyes.  A greatsword sits center stage, the glass seemingly having shot out from where it stands stuck in the ground.  

 

 Running on instinct, I land within the craters circle.  The dust of my shoes hitting the flour, sits, stationary, almost as if time had slowed.  The moonslight hits the sword, glinting off its sharp edges.  An hourglass sits where the pommel should, right above the grip.  Or below, depending on your perspective.  Odd.  The sand seems to be slowly dripping upward.  How?

 Before I think, I reach out, tapping against the hourglass.  Crap, why did I do that?!  The sand begins to fall the way it generally should.  The world almost shifts around me, like a weight has been lifted.  Then all the glass that had been floating crashes to the ground around me.  

 “Eep!”  I hear Water’s voice from outside the crater.

 “Water!-”  As I begin to turn, I feel an impact. Shock blinds me for a moment.  As I find myself again, I see the crater, as if I’m flying above it.  Oh gods I’m flying above it!  Instinctively I hold tighter to the sword.  The sword?  Why do I have the sword?!  Is it doing this somehow!?

 “AAAAAAAAAAAA- WOA- HELP!! WATER!- OH-”  My hair whips around in the cold night air, as I’m flung this way and that. 

 “HOW?!”  Their voice in a panic, matching my own.

 “I DON'T KNOW!-  WHoaAAAAAAAA!”  I shut my eyes tight, willing the world to go away.  My head won’t stop spinning, I don't know how much more of this I can take.

 

 Okay, breathe, you can figure this out.  The freezing air fills my lungs.  I havent hit the ground yet, so either I'm very lucky or there’s a reason.  This is some kind of odd magic, and it reacted to me originally, so maybe it will again.  Also, it really could have killed me by now if it wanted to.

 I try to calm my heart, ultimately failing.  Okay, think as hard as you can about floating still, almost, like, the, uh, the glass from before!

 

 The movement stops, and my eyes slowly blink open.  For some bloody reason the thought of the glass falling finds its way to the front of my mind.  

 “AHH!-”  The ground should have hit hard and fast.  But instead I hover just above the sand.  My head spins, the piercing ringing slowly fading.

 

 “Glass! Glass, are you okay?”  I can just about make out a blurry vision of Water beginning to run up.

 Shaking my head, my shoes graze the ground.  “Owwww…”  Trying to keep my balance, I continue to lean on the sword.

 “Wh-what hap- are you okay?! What happened?”  Out of breath, Water frimley grabs hold of my arm, almost like they’re afraid I'll go flying again.  Were they running?

 The shock slowly fades.  My eyes stinging, they begin to blur with water.  ”I-I don’t know, I just found this, this sword and bam, I was in the air!?”  Why?  Why did it react to me?  Why- what is its purpose?-

 

 Water hugs me tight.  Warmth.  I feel grounded for once, like I’m really here.  I’m glad they weren't in trouble.  My eyes clear a bit, and focus on the background, past Waters shoulder.

 We’re pretty far from home?  In my panic I hadn't noticed, but now I can see we’re near the park me and Water would go to when we were younger.   “Maybe it, wanted to show me something?-”  

 The sword shifts and my eyes widen.  I’m yanked upward again.  Water somehow keeps hold of me, as we shoot through the night air.  I try to focus on floating still, but fear of dropping Water eats away at my thoughts.  It feels like I could lose grip of the sword at any moment.  The world speeds past, I can barely hold my eyes open.  Houses and buildings, rolling desert sands, thin twisting trees.  High above them all.

 

 We come to a sudden stop over an oasis.  Doing the thing you should never do, I glance down.  The pool that sits in the middle, looks, wrong.  Bars of greyscale intermingle where water should be.  It’s so bizarre.  Changing to a deep void not unlike the smog filled night sky, it then blinks to a sunny, flower coated meadow.  It blinks again, a city street.  And again, a jungle with dark stones that float against a purple sky.  Again, and again.  Quickly shifting from one place to another.

 

 I feel Water’s grip begin to loosen and my heart drops.  “Glass-”  Their voice barely a whisper.  I put all my effort into holding onto the sword and Water.  No.  I can’t let them fall.

 Fly, fly away from here.  Go.  Sword, go!  Bring us away!  Back home… please…

 

 The air speeds around us again.  Forcing my eyes open, we’re not going back, we’re falling!  No!  Water’s slips out of my arms just before we hit the pool.  No!  No nono no no-  

 

 Splashing into the unknown, I can’t stop moving, rushing past world after world.  Nothing makes sense.  

 

 Finally, I crash.  Ragdolling across the ground, pain ripping into me as I bounce.  The world spins, I can’t breathe.  Breathe.  

 Wind hitting cold sweat pulls me back.  Ringing fills my mind as I sit up.  The sword stands, blade stuck in the dirt.  Looking around my eyes widen.

 

Where am I?