Dreams of Ilo

I said before that I had dreamed of the Grand Apwor Karijin. He's not the only one I dreamed of. In fact, I dream of my Iling characters every once in a while.

When sharing a room with the sister who does the drawings, I slept on the top bunk. One night, I sat up, feeling I had somewhere to go. I crept through the house and exited through the back door. I headed across the highway and into the forest behind my house. Once there, I found a worn road leading to the reservoir.

It was still dark, but no wolves, bears or drunks wandered around like they usually do. After a while, I smelled cooking smoke. Stepping through a stand of trees, I reached a cookout full of people. Zhin was kneeling over the fire and Vijeren was across from him. Sibare, Miranel, N'Nar, and Rilkin were talking to one another. Other people were there, too. Some were characters I knew and there were others I didn't, at least not yet. Their faces were blotted. They were having a grand time.

Zhin turned to me and held his arms out as Vijeren shouted my name. I ran to them and everybody hugged me. Zhin put me on his knee like I was a little girl. My characters told me how glad they were to see me, and asked if I had time to stay with them and eat.

I looked up at the sky and saw it turning gray. I wanted to stay so much, but I had to go home. My parents would wake up soon and be worried. So saying, I had to tell them I only came to visit, but maybe next time I would stay.

With one last hug, Zhin put me down and I walked back through the forest to my house. Nothing looked off like it does in dreams as I returned to my room. I climbed up on the bunk, lay down on my stomach and opened my eyes.

I sat up and looked around, feeling a little wistful. I didn't feel groggy the way a person does when they wake up. Sometimes on twitter, people ask, "What would your main character do if they saw you?" I don't have to wonder. I know. Maybe one day I'll go back to the reservoir and they'll take me home with them.

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Synopsis:

In a land of monsters and soulless creatures, there is a secluded compound terrorized by a fallen demon-killer, the Grand Apwor. He's claimed its youngest occupant Vijeren as his son. The Grand Apwor can’t be killed, he can’t be escaped, and his punishments are severe and horrific. Somehow, he knows where Vijeren is at all times.

When a law enforcer named Zhin appears like a living flame, a family war that's been sizzling for decades finally ignites. It drags Vijeren in, revealing secrets of a long-forgotten past and a family torn asunder in recesses of lost memories. Only Zhin knows how to kill the Grand Apwor, but the answer rests on the love between a father and son--something that Vijeren doesn’t have...