Niu—the village's sole child—slumbered, her frame curled tightly atop the mat of dry fibers. One arm remained tucked beneath her head, while the other rested near her visage, as if fearful, even in repose, that something might touch her unawares.
The hut was hushed, stifling with the night's warm heat and the aroma of damp timber, braided straw, and food set aside for the following day. Outside, the human settlement rested beneath a sky lacking a visible moon, concealed by thin clouds that rendered the darkness denser than usual.
Yet Niu's rest was not tranquil. She descended through profound strata, dragging her spirit into a landscape that recalled no known place. Initially, merely shadows existed. Subsequently, an open area materialized amid a void of wind.
The ground consisted of earth, stone, water, and cinders simultaneously, as though the elements had gathered there before determining which one ought to remain. Niu attempted to shift her feet, but discovered she stood suspended by an unseen force, devoid of her body's customary weight.
Agony was absent; cold was absent, and yet a feeling of unease persisted. Someone watched her.
Then he manifested—a monkey floating serenely. His fur shimmered with silver tones, nearly luminous beneath a radiance originating from no sun. His coat possessed the quality of a clear night, of polished metal that did not yet exist, of mist caressed by moonlight. But his eyes disturbed her most: twin motionless flames, alive without consuming themselves, possessing a serenity that was distinctly non-human.
Around him, the elements orbited; earth ascended in miniature eddies, elevating grains and fragments as though they were mere dust. Water formed suspended circles in the air, fracturing into droplets that returned to themselves. Fire circled in slow sparks, scorching neither the ground nor the firmament. The air—the atmosphere—became visible in an impossible fashion, resembling transparent ribbons that refracted light and traversed the other three in a continuous, nearly musical motion.
Niu desired to speak, yet her voice failed to emerge. The primate tilted his cranium, as if listening to something she could not perceive.
A low noise permeated the expanse, akin to the rustling of distant leaves or the breathing of some beast. Then the elements withdrew from him, as if he were orbiting an absence, and the animal took a stride into the nothingness.
He did not touch the floor. He hovered.
Niu felt her chest constrict.
That being inspired fear and reverence in equal measure. This was not the menace of an assault. It was worse: the sensation that he belonged to a cosmic order that the newly-arrived humanity had never encountered.
The primate drew closer until reaching a distance that felt overly intimate for a reverie. His fiery eyes remained fixed upon her, and upon opening his mouth, no word escaped. Merely a puff. A light breath at first, nearly an invisible gesture. Subsequently, this exhale expanded. It transformed into wind.
The atmosphere surged toward Niu. She attempted to retreat, yet nowhere existed to flee.
The clearing spun slightly; the elements surrounding the monkey accelerated their circuit; earth struck the floor in tiny mud droplets; water arose and splashed into the void; fire crackled silently. Niu felt the invisible current reach her visage. It was in that moment the landscape appeared to incline entirely upon her.
The monkey, the elements, the emptiness, and the ground began to shove her backward, and the sole certainty remaining in her mind was the strange conviction that this was no mere fantasy. The gale decided violently to rush toward her. And Niu screamed. A wail that tore through the vision and the world, with a powerful gust escaping from her throat.
In reaction, the entire hut shuddered, beginning to collapse. The wooden walls gave way with a dry snap, the fiber lashings ruptured, and the roof partially caved in upon the brief, sudden force of a squall born from nothingness—or rather, born from Niu. Dry leaves rose in a whirlwind, the side partitions swung open, and the thatched covering plummeted atop Niu.
She lifted her arms instinctively, coughing, terrified, not yet understanding how her own cry had uprooted the dwelling from its place.
Outside, the settlement awakened in disarray. Several humans exited neighboring huts, already shouting one another's names. Infants wailed. The night, which until then had guarded its stillness, was rent by a succession of confused noises, as if a single dread had multiplied throughout the village.
Niu breathed with difficulty amidst the light debris of her home, feeling dust rise through her nostrils and shattered wood press against her limbs. For an instant, she remained motionless, just lying there with eyes wide, attempting to gather the fragments of what she had just witnessed. Silver fur. Fiery eyes. Earth, water, fire, and air circling about him.
Outside, someone approached running.
—Niu! — the masculine voice called out, firm and alarmed. —Niu, are you alive?
She recognized the cadence even before beholding the face. Heridor.
The Matriarch's friend appeared amidst the dust and fallen straw, pushing aside the ruins of the doorway with his healthy arm—since the other had been mauled by the crocodile. He was tall, with broad shoulders and an expression mixing shock and irritation, like one wrenched from slumber to face an incomprehensible catastrophe. Upon spotting her seated among the rubble, he first released a short sigh, then crouched.
— What occurred, Niu?
Niu blinked, still stunned.
— I... I do not know. I saw an animal with moon-fur in my dream, the elements flew around him.
Heridor leaned closer, observing the broken structure around her.
— The whole cabin fell down.
— I heard my own cry — she remarked, with a raspy voice. — I felt the wind react.
He hesitated. For a brief second, he desired to laugh nervously, yet refrained. Instead, he extended his hand to assist her in rising. Niu accepted the gesture, bracing herself against him with effort. Upon standing, she realized she was trembling.
— Are you injured?
— No... — Niu replied, still lost. — Just... terrified!
He made a motion to speak, yet her expression stopped him. Niu gazed at the empty space ahead, as if she still beheld the silver monkey standing there. The memory was too vivid to be mere imagination.