Fellowship of the Dice

The man's spirit looks exhausted from the endeavor. Coming down from an intense emotional and spiritual experience, the man staggers and falls on you for support. You get your arm under his propping him up. "Thank you." He looks humbled, maybe a little sheepish at his reaction. Your simple and earnest response of empathy and service have clearly touched his heart.

You raise your free hand, trying to feel your way back to yourself. You calm your mind, finding the inner peace and discipline away from all outside conflict, and search for the Path. You find little to no direction, now that the Maelstrom is gone. Any landmarks, or patterns in the storm that might have led you back, have been obliterated. Your companion sees the stoic set of your face, and nods. "Let me try."

He raises his head and begins to sing. His voice is a beautiful tenor, and it soars through the endless expanse of the mind. He goes through the full lyrics from memory. As he gets to certain stanzas, you feel magic pulsing from him. "There's a message, In the wild, And I'm sending you, This signal tonight ..." His whole being lights up with blue light, a signal fire illuminating the whole area. "I ain't missing you, I keep lying to myself, And there's a storm that's raging, Through my frozen heart tonight, I ain't missing you at all ..." Another light in the far distance erupts in sympathetic resonance. He finishes the song, tears streaming down his face, raw emotion pouring out from him.

Jon begins to worry when he looks back and finds that he's lost his bearings. The landmarks he'd fixed on had faded into nothing, no doubt a result of his patient's change of demeanor. And without those landmarks, he would have a hard time finding his way back home again. But then the man begins his song. At first, Jon simply allows himself to get caught up in the tune. focusing in it to the exclusion of all else. Both tune and words had meaning. And they helped him find his center again.

Then, as he finds a moment of calm again, he looks off to the distance and sees the light gleaming, no doubt showing the path back to the mortal world.

"Come, he says, offering the man his hand. "Shall we return to our bodies that I can tend to the needs of yours?"

The man nods, taking his hand, allowing himself to be led. His eyes are red and puffy, tears still streaming down his face. "Thank you. Please, let's go home." They walk into the column, the energy enveloping them in Light.