Daud rose from his slumber, not knowing where he was. His first instinct, knowing that he had likely slept for at least a full night, was to recite the sh'ma, which was to be recited upon waking and upon going to sleep. Somewhere in the second paragraph of the prayer, memorized from years of repetition, Daud began to feel like something was wrong. Not the scenery, that was clearly strange and new - requiring his investigation once his duties to God were finished. Something else, though, was amiss.
He grasped it fully as he did a quick bow at the customary time. His back didn't ache and his knees didn't shoot with pain. He didn't have that kink in his neck, and his hands weren't calloused as they had been the last time he had seen them...
The last time. He had been in his study weeping for his lost wife - the heartache hit him again at the memory, though he couldn't dwell on it. He had not remembered going to sleep after that. And he was not in his bed, or anywhere else he could place. Soon, he had finished his prayer and looked around. There was a wall of purple fire, odd but not impossible to make. Perhaps there were some Chinese around, they were good with the coloration of fire. The trees, though, were like none he could remember, neither in Europe, Africa, Arabia, nor Asia. Perhaps they were deep into Chinese lands, but then that crystal was very strange. Daud had seen crystal of such color, he was a merchant after all, perhaps it was amethyst. On the other hand, the fire seemed to radiate from it somehow.
Then it hit Daud, that he hadn't gone to sleep, or been abducted by Chinese. He had died that night in his study. It was the only explanation for his current circumstance. A wave of panic struck him as he dealt with his passing. Then another idea appeared in his mind: this was HaOlam HaBa, the world to come. Certainly the Messiah had come and now His people would live in peace. The Lion would lie down with the Lamb and everyone would live in everlasting peace.
Including Rachel. He had to find her. And his children and grandchildren, and even his great-grandchildren who he had only heard of in letter. And his parents and grandparents. Everyone was here, just waiting to be found! Daud literally jumped for joy upon this realization. True, the afterlife was likely very large, but he would have eternity to find them, and then another eternity to spend with them.
Jumping brought Daud's mind back to his body, contemplating the fact that he was healed of all of his ailments. He noticed, then, that his clothes were tighter than he remembered. His robes were loose on him, but he seemed to be renewed, fully strong and as muscular as he had ever been. He wasn't so much bursting out of the clothes, he'd never been that big, but he was certainly taller than his clothes, and he felt constricted. His rings, luckily, fit as well as ever, seeing as he always was writing, keeping up the muscles in his hands. He brought his hand up and kissed the unassuming golden ring, the ring he had given to his wife and had inscribed. He would find her.
The first step in finding Rachel would be to get out of this ring of flame. He could try to jump through, it didn't feel too hot, but he also didn't know how deep it went. The obvious choice, then, was to go to the crystal and see if he could cut the flame from whatever fueled it.
As he walked, he took off his shawl and draped it over his arm, it was much too warm for such a heavy thing. He noticed as he walked that there were two other men, dealing with the reality that they faced in their own ways. There was also a man napping against the crystal. Perhaps he would know something.
But how to call out to him? Daud knew Arabic and Latin, the two most common languages in the world, so that seemed to be the best way forward. "Salam Aleikum! Salve!" Daud called these, hoping the man would speak one of those, or perhaps one of the other two with them. on the other hand, if this was HaOlam HaBa, perhaps they were also Jews and would speak Hebrew, so he added, "Shalom Aleichem!"
[ooc]What exactly does the fire coming from the crystal look like? Is it arcing over us? Because we can both see the sun, and everyone else, so what exactly is the layout of the area?[/ooc]
Azore of Ath-Ron