Dreamsphere- Prologue

Prologue1

2

How many days has it been, four? Talot wondered as he climbed the rocky steeps of the Rockros Mountains. It had been several days since he had gotten lost in the mountain range and his search had yet to yield any findings. The sky appeared as nothing more than a line of red clouds as he stared upward between two rock walls. The cloudy sky signaled impending rain. Talot quickened his pace; the metal tip of his cane clicked faster with each step.3

What am I even doing here? Everyone knows that all of the treasures here are gone, Talot thought scornfully. No treasure, just empty-pocketed treasure hunters like me. He felt hope drain from his body.4

The sandy walls narrowed as Talot furthered himself on the path. A dead end seemed imminent to the treasure hunter. Still, he continued onward.5

And what's worse, I knew there was nothing here before I even got to this continent. The Serps laughed at me when I told them my plan. Even the Relknosians had no problems letting me—a Vorrolan—through once they knew where I was going. They probably expected me to end up as just another skeleton among the stones. He shook his head.6

The sun finally set behind the mountain and the curving trail was once again filled with the autumn chill he so hated.7

Talot trekked onward, noting that the walls appeared to be decreasing in height. His fears of a dead end ran higher than ever before. He took himself over one more hill, around one more bend in the path, and all that fear was erased as he gazed upon the sight before him.8

A lake surrounded by green grass rested at the end of the trail. The walls surrounding it were like the walls of a crater. Talot questioned this, not recalling ever hearing of a volcano in the Rockros. But in his excitement, he abandoned the thought quickly.9

The discovery of this lake was, to Talot, astounding. However, something about this place seemed more odd than the crater walls. It was cold this high up in the mountains and this was late autumn. No grass should have been able to grow in this climate, especially not as bright a green as these blades were. Talot approached the lake.10

He felt the water with his hand, expecting to find it cool. Much to his surprise, it was comfortably warm. Talot was filled with joy, and he removed his leather shoes and stockings, placing his feet in the water. There he lay in comfort as the heat passed up through his body. He cared not what might live in the water; he cared only for his warmth now.11

He sat up to admire the lake, noting that it would probably be beautiful if the stars were not hidden by clouds. But, for tonight, the lake reflected nothing but the sliver of moon which peeked out from behind the clouds every so often.12

Then Talot noticed some lights beneath the surface of the water. A pulsing red light at the point of a triangle of lights, the other two being white. They flashed in unison appearing to Talot like a signal of sorts.13

Talot cursed his luck for not being able to see the source of the lights. Perhaps it was just some species of glowing fish, but Talot wanted to find out for sure.14

He decided it best to wait until morning, when the sun was out. He removed his feet from the water and put his shoes back on, aware that it would not be safe to sleep with his feet in a strange lake. He rested against a flat rock and began to pull out a thick blanket.15

He pulled his cane up near him and accidentally struck the rock behind him, producing a clanging sound.16

Talot jumped up immediately. Metal? he thought. He felt the rock he had been resting on only to find that it had a smooth, cold, metallic feel to it.17

He reached for his pack and fumblingly procured from it a small, makeshift shovel and began digging around the object, in hopes of finding its base.18

The part protruding upward from the surface of the ground was shaped like a three-sided pyramid. After digging for what felt like an hour, Talot discovered that it looked more like the top of a dragon's head. This almost made him stop out of fear that it might come to life and rip him to pieces, and then continue on to ravage the rest of the world.19

Dragons don't exist, Talot, he assured himself, They're only in old legends. Just myths, that's all they are. Damn my imagination for letting it get the best of me.20

He dug from the back of the head, just to be safe. At the base he found a small hatch large enough for one person to fit in comfortably.21

Talot grabbed the large handle and began to turn the wheel counterclockwise. After only a quarter turn, air hissed out from the hatch as it began to swing open on its own. Talot found himself looking down a ladder into a abyss. He picked up his cane from a pile of dirt and channeled magic into it. The small sapphire at the top of the cane lit blue. A simple solution as always.22

He directed the light toward the ladder, finding that he could only see about ten rungs. Not able to see the bottom, he figured he ought to explore it—especially since he needed shelter from the rain that was about to fall. He restored his blanket and shovel to the pack and quickly clambered inside the hatch.23

He looked at his surroundings: on one side was the ladder, which met with two walls. Opposite the ladder—in the opposite direction of the “dragon's” nose—was a corridor.24

Talot continued down this hallway, noting its clean white surface, and thought, The Queen of Vorro would be pleased with this if she could see it. I very well could become the wealthiest treasure hunter in history for this discovery!25

The now-happy man walked—almost skipped—down the hallway to see what surprises awaited him in this place. At the end of the hallway stood a door—with no handles. He pushed at the door, hoping desperately for it to open.26

Disappointed, Talot smacked his hand on the wall next to the door. He heard a click, followed by the sound of moving machinery. He removed his hand from the button—which he never saw—and backed up, watching the door part vertically in the middle and then slide to the sides.27

Eager to find out the contents of the dark room ahead of him, Talot made his way quickly into the chamber.28

The door closed quietly behind Talot, leaving him in darkness, save the light of his cane. The darkness didn't last long, however, as he was soon forced to shield his eyes from a blinding light as the room was illuminated in a bright flash.29

When his eyes had finally adjusted, Talot examined the room. Almost everything in this circular room was made of a bright and shiny metal. All along the wall were tables with a black chair at each one. Angular windows were at the far end of the room, though now all he could see through them was dirt.30

A man—in peculiar garments of vibrant, reflective fabrics—suddenly materialized before Talot.31

“Greetings,” he spoke. “Welcome to the homeship, Sighter.”32

“A—An apparition?” Talot's hat nearly fell off of his head.33

“I am no ghost, sir. I am merely a hologram, or 'picture of light.' What has brought you aboard this buried ship?”34

“I—I'm Talot, a treasure hunter.” Talot thought for a moment about what the man had just said, then added, “This is a ship?”35

“This is a homeship. And it is only one of many. This is a flying ship built to accommodate hundreds of passengers in a city-like environment. This is not the city you are in, however, but rather, it is the bridge, where the ship's actions and movements can be controlled.”36

“A flying ship?” I wonder how much it's worth.37

“Yes, built long ago. We built them to escape death back then and buried them when they were no longer needed.”38

“Death? What happened?” Talot was intrigued by the hologram's story so far—mostly because he figured this ship would be worth a large sum of money.39

“Long ago, back when the world of Seilice was filled with technology, a Black Mist rose up and began killing the inhabitants of our planet. Searching for a means to escape unscathed, we looked to the sky, and so we began building these homeships.40

“Knowing that we had no use for our weapons and our technologically advanced items of luxury, we sacrificed them to aid in the building of these ships.”41

“How long ago was that? I don't remember learning about any such disaster.”42

“Approximately two thousand years ago. It has probably been forgotten, like a story that becomes a myth and then dies into nothing.”43

“So, how did the Black Mist come about?”44

“We theorized that the reason for the appearance of the Black Mist was that the gods grew angry with us; our vanity, our knowledge, our teachings, and even our beliefs. So, when the Black Mist went away—a miracle left unexplained—we buried these ships knowing that the technology within them was probably what the gods did not want us to have. We gave up all of our advancements and started a new generation.”45

“Why didn't you keep the technology?”46

“We feared we would upset the gods further.”47

“So, I can't use this ship then?” Talot asked in disappointment.48

“You may not. I was programmed first to inform anyone who might come aboard this ship of the tragedies of long ago, and second to keep the ship here until the Black Mist returns.”49

Talot thought for a moment, trying to find a way to sway the hologram into allowing him to use the ship. He felt his empty pockets, knowing that if he couldn't take the ship, he couldn't fill them.50

Suddenly, Talot had a plan: “But the Black Mist has returned!” he lied. “It's already taken over Restra and it's spreading more and more everyday! You've got to help us!”51

The hologram seemed to let out a gasp. “Would you like me to access the ship's power supply?”52

Talot wasn't sure what he meant, but he guessed he meant making the ship fly, “If that means getting me out of these mountains, then let's go! Quickly, we've got to save the world from the Black Mist!”53

The hologram nodded and a surge of power could be heard running through the ship. Gears began moving, lights began flashing. Talot balanced himself with his cane as the ship began to rise; mud, water, and dirt falling off of its exterior.54

He watched as the hologram disappeared and a female hologram took its place. “Would you like to set a destination?”55

“Yes: Vorro.”56

57

Two Years Later58

Vorro59

60

“Uncle Tario, tell me again how Sighter came here, please,” a four-year-old boy requested the man whose knee he sat on.61

“Well, Hunter, a treasure hunter named Talot—now Sir Talot—found it in a mountain range on the eastern edge of Relknos.” He spoke in the tone one might normally use to tell children's stories.62

“That's a country in Tobros, right?”63

“Very good, Hunter! Well, he was searching for treasure when all of a sudden he stumbled upon a lake—”64

Tario's older nephew suddenly burst in through the front door. “Uncle Tario! Come outside; we've got to get to Sighter, now!”65

“Does this mean that the Black Mist—?”66

“Yes. It's going to consume all of Vorro in less than an hour. The lookouts sighted it spreading from Ecuitoria city to the south.”67

“Ecuitoria! So the 'Twin-Lake City' is gone?”68

Kurt nodded to his uncle dismally. Ecuitoria was his birthplace.69

“Where are Mommy and Daddy?” Hunter asked with innocence only a child could produce in his eyes.70

Kurt turned to Hunter, his younger brother. Trying his best to hold back the tears in his eyes, he said, “We're not going to be seeing Mommy and Daddy anymore.”71

“What do you mean, Kurt?”72

“Our home is gone, Hunty; Mom and Dad are... dead.”73

The young orphan began to bawl, burying his face into his uncle's jacket.74

“So sad; to have to see such a young child lose his family in only a matter of seconds,” Tario said. He stared at the bushy blonde hair of his youngest nephew, wishing he could do something to cheer the child up.75

Kurt came to his senses and shouted, “We've got to run!”76

“Right! Save only what's valuable!”77

“Bring only your lives!”78

“What about my books?”79

“Leave them!” Kurt instructed his addle-minded uncle in the militaristic tone he always used when he was obligated to take charge.80

Hunter hopped down from his uncle's lap and ran over to the bookshelf. He picked up the photo album his older brother had put together and, after looking at the picture of his mother and father on the front, clutched it to his chest and looked up at Kurt with teary eyes.81

The muscles in Kurt's face loosened. He knelt down to his brother and set a hand on top of his small head. He smiled and tousled Hunter's hair.82

Kurt picked up his little brother and nodded at his uncle. This was his only remaining family.83

84

The Vorrolans crowded together in the wide park area inside of Sighter. With the absence of the Ecuitorians, it was not as crowded as it had been in the past during the evacuation drills. It added a feeling of emptiness to the ship.85

The citizens of Vorro were all instructed to wait until everyone was on board before being assigned to their residential blocks. A cubic hologram hung above the fountain in the center of the park displaying the current condition of Vorro. Long streams of Black Mist reached out across the city like thin, spidery fingers. It moved slowly, as if it knew it needed to make no sound to strike fear into the hearts of its victims. The darkness slowly made its way to the castle, and approached the docked homeship.86

The engine roared as it swiftly rose into the sky. The families of Vorro fearfully watched the hologram; some mothers covered their children's eyes and others sang happy children's songs to their young ones. When the weight of the picture above the fountain had finally hit them, no one moved nor made a sound.87

Vorro was black.88

Elisa, Queen of Vorro, spoke with a soldier, “Where is my knight?”89

“Sir Talot is dead, Your Highness.” The soldier's face was hard, yet his eyes were grieving.90

“What? Caught in the Black Mist? He was right behind me as we ran—you were there!”91

“My apologies, Your Majesty. I did what I could. When we were almost to the Homeship's ramp, Sir Talot turned around and darted back towards the castle. I tried to stop him, to bring him back here and save his life. He kept saying 'it's all my fault.' I warned him that it was a shameful act for a knight to break his loyalty to the queen, but he just told me to save myself, and then he brandished a sword to my neck.” The soldier gulped, a look of pain spreading across his face. “I'm... sorry. I considered him a friend.”92

Queen Elisa seemed about to weep when suddenly she drew in a deep breath and spoke, “He may be gone, but his discovery of this ship has saved our lives. We owe much to him indeed.”93

94

Fifteen years later...95

our story begins.96