Dream Sequence.

The tree seemed larger than Bones remembered it. It was taller, wider, and this time it was not alone. Last time Bones saw the tree it had stood alone in a wide, flat field that stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction. This time he was in a forest surrounded by similar trees, all with white, gnarled trunks and skeletal hands clawing at the flat, gray sky. He smiled a little and could only just stop himself form laughing.

?Looks like a bunch of ******* bones,? he said aloud.

?Not bones,? came another voice, deep, low, and calm. ?Ashes.?

Bones whirled around and looked upon a tall, dark man standing beneath the boughs of skeleton hands knotting together to form a dense canopy of gray and white. The trees had no leaves, but ruddy brown and red ones littered the forest floor, all dried up and crumbling under the slightest touch. He wore a white shirt and dark pants, his head was shaven and he had black eyes. Or at least, they looked black in the light of the gray, cloudy sky. The man approached Bones, stepping around him toward the tree that seemed the center of the world.

?Ashes of an age long past, memories of what was, and perhaps? a hint at what is to come, Bones.?

?Who are you??

?A friend.?

?That?s some cagey, mafia shit right there,? Bones said, squaring himself off toward the man. ?What?s your name??

?You may know me as Nehtu Anasire,? said the dark man as he turned to study Bones thoughtfully.

Bones thought he might be looking for a reaction, and so he did his best to keep his face expressionless.

?Doesn?t ring any bells.?

?Give it time.?