Blackwater Islands magisterial

a breath; a sigh —

his head still swims — from enchantment or residual haze of the berries, keeping ingram in the purgatory of his new existence — and he tries to focus upon her.

to see her beyond first glimpse. to peer into her mis-matched eyes and see what he could never before see.

shadows and primordial darkness that he craves; gravitates to. yearns for. he still loves her but suddenly as he studies what is more in her, it is intensified. a ringing starts in his ears: not ringing, he realizes. screaming. of the souls that existed in the darkness of his void for ...well, exact times were hard to tell. his existence preceded time and would exist long after wolves ceased counting years.

so many names for her, whispers of spiders as their spin their webs and store in each silken strand a secret. her title, the listener is almost ironic to the vision that ingram creates. to give name to it her feels almost sacrosanct; none of her names should be uttered. but he recognizes her.

and still, he loves her.

i see you, replies the keeper; not necessarily seeking to reassure. still, i wish to be wed to you. to be your dreadhusband. a pause is given. as i have been in all lives previously. as he would be in the lives yet to come.