Chapter 8 Lake of the sun

The trek across the mountains took the better part of a moon cycle, the dissonance in the rhythm of life growing stronger with each passing day. As I finally began my descent on the northern side of the range, I was met with a sight that seemed alien to my senses. Spread out before me, where my instincts told me there should have been arid land or perhaps a river, lay a vast expanse of water, its edges fading into the horizon as though I stood on the brink of a strange, terrestrial ocean.

I blinked, squinting at the shimmering blue surface beneath the sun. This was Africa, I thought, albeit a version of it that seemed to have leaped out of the pages of some prehistoric tale. The existence of such a lake here, in the heart of a continent I had always associated with expansive savannahs, deserts, and dense rainforests, confounded me.

I began the long descent to the lakeshore, my heart pulsing in tune with the dissonance that had led me here. My pace was unhurried yet constant, my senses alert to the change in flora and fauna as I left the mountain highlands behind. The journey to the lakeshore took another week, every day filled with the scent of fresh water mingling with the earthy aroma of the grasslands.

In the days that followed had traversed an otherworldly landscape brimming with an astonishing array of life, my senses feasting on sights and sounds that were both confounding and mesmerizing.

Crossing the grasslands and nearing the lake, I was surrounded by a cacophony of life that put any African savannah I knew to shame. Elephants roamed in herds that stretched as far as the eye could see, their tusks gleaming in the sun, their trumpets echoing across the plains. Towering giraffes munched on the verdant crowns of tall acacia trees, their long necks swaying gracefully against the backdrop of the azure sky.

Yet, even these familiar sights paled in comparison to the living remnants of an age I had believed was lost in the annals of time. There were creatures that seemed to have stepped right out of the pages of a paleontological text, their existence both astounding and terrifying. Among these were monstrous herbivores, their bodies dwarfing even the largest elephants. I watched in awe as one of them, a behemoth that looked eerily similar to a brachiosaurus, lumbered across the plains, its long neck reaching up to graze the tops of trees.

I observed from a safe distance, these giants of the past living peacefully among the animals I recognized. I saw sabre-toothed cats stealthily stalking herds of antelopes, their taut muscles rippling under their dappled coats. I watched as mammoths, majestic and shaggy, navigated their way through dense vegetation, their curved tusks parting the foliage with ease.

Every new day of my journey brought with it a fresh sense of wonder, a new spectacle that left me spellbound. But alongside the awe was a gnawing sense of uncertainty, the harmonic rhythm that had been my guiding force since my awakening, waning as the dissonance grew stronger.

And then, on that fateful day, as the sun bled out into the horizon, and the world took on hues of crimson and gold, the dissonance reached its crescendo. A deep rumble shattered the tranquillity, and as I looked up, I was faced with the monstrous flying vehicle, an alien apparition in the twilight sky. My breath hitched in my throat, my pulse throbbed in my veins as I took in the sight of this new mystery that this world had thrown in my path.

The sensation of wrongness, the dissonance I'd been tracking, reached its crescendo as I neared the lake. The setting sun turned the world to hues of crimson and gold, casting long shadows that danced on the rippling waters. Then it happened.

A deep rumble broke the tranquillity, an alien sound that echoed across the vast plain. I looked towards the source of the sound, towards the setting sun. What I saw then left me frozen in place, my heart pounding against my ribs.

A gigantic flying vehicle, unlike anything I'd ever seen, moved across the lake from the direction of the setting sun. It was monstrous, like a beast from another world, disturbing the otherwise serene canvas of the twilight sky. As it cruised along the horizon, I could do nothing but stare, a strange mix of fear and fascination coursing through me. This was it, the source of the dissonance. And as I watched the strange spectacle unfold before me, I couldn't help but wonder what new challenge this world had thrown in my path.