Re: [Cygnus]
As you swallow the memory berry, you feel something in your stomach clench and your mind seems to fray at the edges for a split second as you experience the memory unfolding in your consciousness.
[[Memories of childhood always seem to be this way, the dull trails of things you never really cared for and brilliant flashes of perfect recollection of anything that caught your mad wonder. This one seemed as scattered as any you recall, your tiny hands gripping the soft pink fabric of your mother's robes as she wound through the crowded market.
Many accents, many languages, many colors... all of them blurred as your gaze drifted, always caught up to the great, sparkling spires of the city. Normally, memories like this would simply end with the distinct, too clear image of the great tower glittering in high noon, or your mother's comment of the heat and getting your robes readjusted...
But it blurs, jolts, you feel panic, terror as a hand drags you back. Your mother calls out in shock and outrage, pointing at something above you. And then goes silent quickly, face pale and accusing hand trembling.
"My lord..." She seems to be shaking. You don't understand. "There seems to be some mistake. My child bears no mark."
"Not with the magic, witch." You start to struggle, reaching out for your mother. She seems so far, and the arm around you tightens. It's a little hard to breathe. "Be happy you're not coming as well. The [King] suffers no traitors to a crown."
"Please! He's my only son! My only child!" She lunges towards you, and several people push her back. She screams, rage and fear distinct. There's a smell of ozone and lightning begins to crackle and you are pulled back, whoever is carrying you beginning to run.
Blurring roads, blurring people... Hiccuping between sobs, and staring up at the high tower in the sun. You have never seen it this close before.]]
As you return, the memory settles, interlaced with the rest of your recovered life, as if that was just another part of the world and people you left behind. It's hard to shake any of the conviction that it was real and it had happened to you, any more than you would a normal memory.