[Dreams of the Deep] First Attempt

Ashe jerked upright suddenly. It had been the third night in a row since they had that dream. That same dream that had been plaguing them since they had started fishing at the starwell. Even when they closed their eyes they no longer saw darkness. They saw the murky depths of that abyssal pool. Every night since, they would drift off into a deep sleep. Much deeper than any sleep they had experienced before. And then they would be there. In the depths of the starwell. At least it felt like they were there. And the longer they were there, the faker the real world seemed to them. In the depths they were surrounded by an impenetrable darkness littered with specks of light. Were they lights? If so, why did it feel like they were watching them? In this dream they were able to move freely. Yet no matter how far they swam, the lights never moved. It was as if Ashe hadnt moved at all. In every direction Ashe could hear whispers. All sorts of foreign words that sounded so familiar yet so wrong. Ashe couldnt understand any of it. It was as if a creature was attempting to mimic speech but failed to understand that speech conveyed thoughts. As the whispers grew closer, the lights began closing in. They got closer and closer yet they never moved. And as they got closer Ashe felt more seen. It was as if they could see through them. Past their clothes, past their feathers and skin and organs. Past their very soul and into their being itself. Ashe felt exposed to these lights as if their own mind was no longer safe from their sight. And when it was too unbearable Ashe woke in a cold sweat. The part that truly terrified Ashe was that every night it felt as if the lights got closer. Who knows what would happen withing a week? Within a month? And yet every day without fail, Ashe went out to the starwell in hopes of fishing out some clue into the mystery of the depths.