Aggoraxia’s massive head rose out of the mire of the swamp behind her. Great scaly lids rolled back from bottomless black eyes as he focused on her.

“Child,” said the ancient, “come away from there. Those things are not for you.”

Zel spun and hissed at him, hair standing straight off her hackles. “What do you know of it, swamp beast?”

His eyes watched her, emotionless and vast. “That their world is not ours. Even for one as young as you.”

“I sometimes slip away, you know. Phasewalk into the between place, and travel amongst them unseen.” She turned away, looking at the flickering lights across the river. “They call it a city. Emmm-phes is its name.” Her voiced drifted off. “Look at how the lights dance…”

The great beast chortled, a sound like bubbling mud. “They are intoxicating. But beware those that live under them, kit, they are capable of terrible things. And their world will soon consume our own, I fear. Why not stay in ours while it lasts?”

With that, Aggoraxia silently melted back into the swamp.

Zel watched the lights for a while longer, then slipped down off her perch and back into her world.

Memphis Note
Ever wondered what sort of magic might have existed in the unseen spaces before we got to them? About how it might’ve felt, watching us slowly grind toward it?