Memories again

Dorian fell into the bleakness of the immortal eyes. Images of centuries past floated by, stinging his mind like metaphysical daggers. He saw the forming of the world, the great flood, the sea of fire, the first man and woman, the birth of the stars, the death of all first life, and the rebirth of the great Phoenix.

He shut his eyes as the wild torrents of history were too much to bear. When he opened them again, he saw black, watery sludge he quickly realized was mud; he was lying in a pool of mud, and over him was a drizzle of light rain.

He raised his head and looked around the dark; it all felt so real, the rain and forest around him. He could feel everything, and he soon began to forget where he came from.

He saw a shining spot of yellow through the black trees; it flickered, and he knew it was fire; he slowly got on his feet. He had no clothes on except for his fur pants. He took his first step, then the second; he had to brace himself as he almost slipped.

The ground felt so wet and slimy, the mud looked like black goo and unlike anything he'd ever felt. He clunked at the tree now and then to stop himself from slipping.

He made it further, closer to the light, he could see it came from a cave in the distance, he couldn't tell why he wanted to go there, he didn't know what to expect but like a moth drawn to flame, it was the only thing that made sense in this unfamiliar darkness.

He struggled his way up a small muddy hill; he felt his right foot dig into The mud, up to his heel; when he tried pulling it out, his other leg slipped, and he had to grab the leaves of an overhead branch.

He felt those leaves between his fingers and soon grabbed onto the branch itself. It was small and moist, and he felt he'd slip from it, too.

The branch was too flexible to pull him out of the mud. Instead, he used it to pull himself closer to the tree and the branch, but the closer he got, the more the branch bent. His foot was fully buried in the mud, and even with a tree so close to him, it was difficult to move closer to it with that much mud dragging him down.

He pulled against the branch and it snapped in two. By this time, he had shifted his body mass towards the tree; it was easy for him to lunge for it even with his leg still in the mud.

He managed to make contact with the tree at the last moment; his grip wasn't firm, but to him, it seemed enough. He nestled his fingers between the roughs of the tree's bark and they secured his grip.

He felt the moistness of the tree under his palms and knew he had little time before his grip slipped off; he put all his strength into it and pulled himself, but it felt like hands were gripping his leg and that they were pulling him downwards.

The rain seemed to get a bit heavier the more he pulled, and the trees got wetter; he felt he had not moved an inch since he'd been pulling.

What this, he said to himself, what this place, what's all of this? He looked around and saw the bright cave; it wasn't far now; it seemed so in reach.

"Hey!," he screamed. "Can anyone hear me"

The rain instantly becomes heavier

Hey! Can anyone hear me?

A storm ensued but he didn't care he screamed his lunged out

"Is anyone there!"

A flash of lightning cut through the dark sky and struck the tree he was holding onto and it caught fire, he felt a slight chill run through his whole body and he looked up, it was like a torch had been lit on him, the fire burned fiercely, despite the storm that seemed to do it no harm.

Soon burnt branches began to fall to the ground, he knew he could hold on and longer. So odd, he thought. Why does the rain seem like fuel for it? It's only getting brighter. I've got to get myself out here.

He braced himself for one last go; if it didn't, he let himself fall backward down the hill. At least that way, he'd be out of the reach of the odd fire.

He tensed his muscles, and as he did, the immortal came back to mind; what happened to that eye, I wondered? I'd gotten so close to it, how did I end up here? Where's everyone else? What who's everyone else? I can't remember who it was. Why am I here?

The fire flickered heavily overhead, and a large bench fell off the tree and landed a few feet from him, drawing him away from his thoughts. Dorian pulled himself towards the tree the best he could; he felt the bark of the tree creak; the water was making it increasingly soft and easy to break off.

Dorian cleverly twisted his leg as he pulled himself out of the mud. Trying to stir the mud around his leg, it had already swallowed him up to his femur. His movement made the mud a little looser for a while, just a little while, but it was an advantage he could capture with luck and timing.

Dorian pulled and felt his ankle prop backward straightening his legs and decreasing his resistance against the mud. The tree was burning overhead, he could feel his scalp getting warmer and warmer, so he picked up the pace.

One of the large branches had burnt severely; it broke off and fell towards Dorian. A few other branches wedged it, but it seemed they wouldn't hold it for much longer.

Dorian slipped out of the mud but not in time, as the flaming branch fell towards him. It lands and sends flaming splinters flying everywhere. Dorian felt a burning pain in his back as the branch landed. He clunked to the tree brightly as the sparks flew across the woods.