There in an inner room
I sat before it
A hooded figure of bone
Fully animate and articulate
Smoke filled the room
Ushering in a more vivid scene
A table with incense
Sat between me
And the creature across
Though possessing speech
It spoke naught to me
Save for vauge whispers
In the far back of my mind
I noticed now too
That candles sat on the table
Gently illuminating
Features of the being
Who sat opposite me
His skull was cracked
In more than a few places
And the pits of his eyes
Seemed ever so strange
Expressive almost
Of a feeling I cannot convey
In the full candlelight
The figure took a sip
From a gold-rimmed cup
Full of a light purple liquid
It poured through is jaw
As I expected
But as it flowed down his robe
The room shifted again
In the expanding smoke
Of fragrant incense
The room was pitch black
If indeed a room it still was
I sat there for hours
Contemplating the darkness
Or maybe just minutes
I could scarcely say
After that time
A new light flickered
In the near distance
Down a deepening corridor
It was just bright enough
To illuminate the being
Who had sat before me
It looked to me
Smiling somehow
Nigh imperceptibly
Then motioned me to follow
Into the warm dull light