Dreambreaker: Chapter 2

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"Dreambreaker: Chapter 1" 



When Kalar left the Library, the sunlight blinded him momentarily. What was the fastest way to get to the Tox'xun Ruins? The Akina Balaa were probably flying, which meant he could take a train, but that wouldn't give him must time to search for the journal. He had to gather his friends quickly. Within the next hour, they would be on the ground, searching for the ruins. Kalar pulled out his Wimcard and called Rynaugh.

         “Hey Rynaugh, are you up for a change of plans?”

         “Hey Kalar, whoa, what's wrong?” Rynaugh asked as he lifted up the face place of his armor. Concern was written in his creased eyebrows and frown.

         Kalar stopped to breathe. He suddenly realized the tension he was holding in his shoulders and his neck.  He tried to relax, but the thought of the Akina Balaa becoming even more powerful was terrifying. The tension snapped back.

         “Oh, well, you know how the Library was just attacked? The Akina Balaa, besides nearly destroying the place, stole something. Well, they stole a lot of things, I'm sure, but they got a piece of information that will make them even more powerful. We need to stop them.”

         Rynaugh looked terrified. “Uhh, most people who face the Akina Balaa end up getting killed if they're lucky. We'll need a little bit of help if we are going to fight them, don't you think?”

         “First of all, we're not going to fight them, we're just going to go to the Tox'xun Ruins, find a book they are looking for before they do, and run away before they even know we're there. It'll be easy.”

         Rynaugh burst out laughing. “Easy? Are you floating? First, you want to find the Tox'xun Ruins. Oh, sure, easy. Then you want to be in a dark, ruined building with Spirits know how many ways to get lost. A dark, ruined building with the Akina Balaa in it! The Akina Balaa! Nothing with the Akina Balaa is easy. You should know this. We'll never escape. They'll know the second we arrive. What, are you planning on getting Sakon to come with us? He could take care of them, if you could convince him to leave his island. Otherwise, we're out of luck. There is no way in Nikyry we'll escape unscathed.”

         Kalar heard Kamosa's voice coming from somewhere close to Rynaugh. Rynaugh looked off screen.

         “He wants to go to the Tox'xun Ruins to find a book that the Akina Balaa want...He hasn't told me if anyone else is going...Kalar, can Kamosa invite a few friends? She knows a Wind expert and a Gateway expert.”

         Kalar thought for a moment. Somewhere in the torrents of fear and helplessness that had started running through his head, he managed to find an island of calm. There, he carefully considered adding more people to this operation. While more people would decrease the speed of his operation, it would increase the protection. The Wind expert could cloak them in invisibility. Someone who could make Gateways would allow them to leave in a hurry. Kalar sighed.

         “I guess she can invite them. Tell them to come to the fountain park on Pleiku Street. Send them a singular use tracking signal for my Wimcard, I'm opening the beacon now.”

         Rynaugh nodded and hung up. Kalar tapped a few times on his Wimcard and waited for an answer.

         “Hello Kalar,” came a voice like two boulders rubbing together. “Are you well?”

         “I am well, thank you Shkerqi. Are you?” Kalar replied.

         “I am. What's going on? You seem troubled.” Shkerqi's emerald eyes searched Kalar's face.

         “I was wondering if you are free right now. Did you receive the report that the Library had been attacked?” Shkerqi nodded, and Kalar continued, “The Akina Balaa stole a piece of information that will lead them to a book probably stored somewhere in the Tox'xun ruins. If they get a hold of this book, they will become even more powerful. Millions of lives are at stake. Could you come with me to help find it before they do?”

         Shkerqi's face became more and more pinched with concern as Kalar explained. He took a deep breath and slowly replied, “Let me ask my wife.”

         The screen was suddenly a close up of the brown rough texture of Shkerqi's skin that undulated slowly as he moved. Kalar heard a low rumble as Shkerqi explained to his wife, Bodhi.

         The screen showed Shkerqi's face again. “Bodhi feels she must accompany us. She says she has looked into the future and wants to spare you the trouble of refusing because she knows you will allow her to come.”

         Kalar signed. His small group was growing rather quickly. Why not have everyone on the planet join him? Strength in numbers, right? “All right, but no one else. Meet me at the park on Pleiku Street. Wait, your wife foresaw me refusing, but I didn't. She should get herself checked.”

         Shkerqi's eyes smiled at Kalar. “She lied.”

         Suppressing his irritation, he tapped his Wimcard. Remembering Sumili was probably meditating, he sent a message labeled “urgent” explaining the situation to him and canceling the plans for that evening. Kalar got a call from him two seconds later.

         “Kalar, I want to come with you.”

         “I thought you would be meditating right now.”

         “I was, but my mind wondered...right to my messages. I downloaded your message to my thought unit and played it there. I excused myself from the meditation hall and I'm on my way on foot toward the Tox'xun ruins now. I'll meet you here in a few moments. Oh, and I brought a friend. He'll be very useful.”

         An iridescent wave appeared in the air a short distance away from Kalar. It formed a loop and five beings stepped out.

         “OK, I have to go, I'll message you when we are close to the area of the ruins. We can meet up then. If you get there before us, stay out of sight and be safe,” Kalar said testily.

         The gateway disappeared and the group came toward Kalar. Kamosa made introductions.

         “Kalar, this is Ashtas and J'mokoh.” Ashtas' serpentine shape was clothed in a garment  embroidered with many spun rare metals. J'mokoh had antennae, hovered above the ground with thin, clear wings and wore in a green outfit and a white cloak. Kalar instantly recognized Ashtas.

         “Ashtas? The Metal Way teacher who wrote the book on advanced Metal forms? I never thought I would meet you face to face! Nice to meet you!” Kalar exclaimed.          

         “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kalar,” Ashtas said in a deep clear voice, chuckling slightly. “Always good to meet a fan, though I can't say I ever have. Well, since we are dealing with the Akina Balaa, I brought my most promising student, Unanda. Unanda, this is Kalar.”

         Kalar's underlying irritation threatened to become rage at the mention of another person until he looked at Unanda. She was beautiful. Her skin was burnished bronze, but it shown like gold. A simple dress of spun copper emphasized her smooth curves. Large, golden eyes met Kalar's with a level gaze.

         “Hello, Kalar,” she said in a low, smoky voice like sand sliding over brass. “Nice to meet you.”

         Kalar was speechless for a second before the world called him back; “Nice to meet you, Unanda.” He grinned at her, and she smiled a small smile back before emptying her face of emotion.

         “Yes, well, we are waiting for two more to join before we try to find the Tox'xun Ruins,” Kalar said, addressing what was very nearly a crowd. “Has anyone ever seen them?”

         “I have,” J'mokoh said, floating forward. “I know the area around the outside as well as many of the rooms of the interior. I know of only three areas that contain books, but I haven't explored that section entirely.”

         “Good, well then, we'll begin our search in those three areas.” At least these extra people are good for something, Kalar thought to himself. Kalar was a little impressed that one of them had been to the ruins and had actually seen the inside. “My friend Shkerqi will help us tunnel through any rock that might be in our way to get to blocked areas.”

         As if on cue, Shkerqi arrived with Bodhi and two more people. Kalar's eyes bugged, and he clenched his teeth in frustration. He had picked two friends we could trust for stealth and speed to make this a swift operation, but now he could have the Feather Festival parade following him for all the stealth they would have. Kalar sighed heavily and hoped Ashtas would be able to make all of them invisible.

         “Hello Shkerqi, Bodhi, other people I don't remember inviting,” Kalar said through clenched teeth.

         Bodhi smiled at Kalar and fluttered her petals innocently, “Shkerqi didn't want to be without Akyiko and Jhaqoh to help watch his back.”

         Kalar should have remembered. Shkerqi was with the thin, black, spindly Jhaqoh and the yellow and brown mottled Akyiko more often than he was without them. Kalar liked them well enough, but hadn't really gotten to know them as deeply as Shkerqi had. Somehow, Kalar felt relaxed now that they were there. He heaved a sigh of deep, heartfelt relief and turned to Bodhi, who he caught crafting a peace form in which she had entangled him. Suddenly comprehending his forced calm, he felt he should be angry, but instead felt understanding.

         “Thank you, Bodhi, but that isn't necessary.”

         Bodhi fluttered her petals, looked around nonchalantly, let the form disintegrate, and pretended as if she hadn't just coerced Kalar into calming down. As the threads of Ivory natura dissipated, Kalar felt a nub of anger return in his mind, but he pushed it away to continue his explanation.

         “Shkerqi will help us tunnel into deeper chambers. Everyone keep your eyes open for a book, a journal, probably titled with Sixth Age characters, saying “Htu Sieknyq iw Rasbin A. Majlif.” Kalar  found the characters that Gylus had sent to his Wimcard and held it up for the multitudes to see. Zy'yrojt was a dead language, but most people knew a little bit for speaking to the Spirits. Fewer people knew the writing system of the last Age, perhaps only having seen it written on some of the ruins scattered throughout the land. Some stared at the words hard, tracing the characters with their minds, J'mokoh, Ashtas, and Bodhi seemed like they recognized the words. J'mokoh had said he was familiar with the Tox'xun ruins, despite being nearly inaccessible because of that cursed forest that got everyone lost. He was probably some sort of scholar, or at least had a lot of free time on his hands. Ashtas was an expert, which meant he definitely knew them. Experts could only be named as such if they had studied magical forms for over a century. Kalar knew it was common knowledge that experts studied books from the Sixth Age. Bodhi just knew things. She probably knew the location of the book at that very second.

         “Ashtas, what can you do about concealing us?” Kalar asked.

         “I can turn us all individually invisibility and inaudible, while also obscuring my own forms so even those are undetectable. Will that be safe enough?” Ashtas asked sincerely.

         “Maybe, maybe not,” Jhaqoh answered calmly. Kalar was shocked that someone would think that Ashtas' methods were not thorough enough. Jhaqoh continued, “Wind natura can't stop them from feeling our presence. I may not be able to stop them from feeling someone is in the room with them 100%, but I can do my best. Ashtas, if you show me how you obscure your forms, I can adapt it to Dark natura.”

         Ashtas thought for a moment. “It's a secret I took nearly half a century to discover, but these are dire circumstances. There are certain forms that ordinary people aren't allowed to learn, but I'm sure the rest of the Council will understand...”

         Jhaqoh nodded solemnly, “I won't use it again after this, and I'll try to promptly forget it.”

         Ashtas sighed, “No, maybe you should use it. Maybe some forms should be more common.”

         Ashtas made a form that made a miniature replica of Jhaqoh appear in midair. The shiny threads of natura were still visible if one knew where and how to look at the form. Slowly and deliberately,  Ashtas made a second form that was full of complex shapes and patterns. When it was finished, the miniature replica of Jhaqoh looked real, like it wasn't made of natura at all. This deception unnerved the onlookers, who gasped quietly at what they saw. Ashtas turned to Jhaqoh, with the invitation of kind teacher, waiting to help. Jhaqoh gathered Ashtas' shadow, made it stand up, and gave it depth so that it looked like a Ashtas-shaped hole in space. The shimmery lines of Dark natura that manipulated the shadow winked out abruptly, leaving just the shadow.

         “Spirits,” Ashtas breathed, and nodded approvingly. The shadow Ashtas' head  moved in unison. “You have quite a talent for new forms. You have a bright future if you want to become an expert.”

         Kalar's anxiety flared. “If you've know how to make the form now, do you think we should be going?” He turned to J'mokoh, who already had a gateway open to a morning in misty, green forest landscape. Kalar looked at J'mokoh in gratitude and stepped through.

         To say the Pajhuka Peninsula was mountainous would be an understatement. The vast expanse of mountain and rainforest was visited by outsiders for mainly two reasons: the extensive and relaxing Juykuh hot springs and  Pixohyhoin Temple carved from the summit of a tall mountain. The rest of the terrain was largely the domain of the Paisepal people, and only they knew its secrets. Of their many temples, only the Pixohyhoin was open to outsiders.

         The Tox'xun Ruins were largely a mystery even to the the Paisepal. People knew of their existence because Sixth Age literature referred to a building called Tox'xun and the accidental discovery of the remains by a lost visiting monk. Since her story about seeing the ruins, only a handful of people had seen the Ruins, and those accounts were only of the Ruins from afar. No accounts were on record of anyone being able to get close enough to go inside them. Kalar wondered how the Akina Balaa would find the Ruins. He wondered how Sumili and his friend knew where to find the Ruins.

         The forest was alive with the calls of all types of animals, insects, and even some plants. Flashes of color from wings or fur or scales winked through the dense canopy and understory. Flowers of all colors, shapes, and sizes decorated the forest and barraged the senses of the group with sweet, musky, and putrescent smells. When everyone had come through the Gateway, it winked out of existence. Looking around, Kalar realized there was a clearing on the other side of a thin wall of trees nearby. They could be very close to the Ruins indeed.

         “J'mokoh, how close are we to the Tox'xun Ruins?” Kamosa asked before Kalar got a chance.

         “Very close,” Shkerqi answered instead of J'mokoh. J'mokoh nodded in affirmation.

         “Just right over there. I can feel very strange rock formations. They're not natural, but my natura will still work on them. I think,” he seemed puzzled by something.

         Kalar pulled out his Wimcard and called Sumili.

         “Hello,” Sumili said. “Fully repaired? Up to date?”

         “Yeah. When we meet up, there will be 12 of us instead of the three like I had originally planned... ” Kalar asked.

         “I'm sending my position to your Wimcard now,” Sumili replied.

         A small square popped up on Kalar's Wimcard, showing a white dot and a silver dot nearly on top of  each other.

         “How did you get here so fast?” Kalar asked incredulously.

         “Fuybek, that's my friend, pointed out to me that there are machines within the walls of Pixohyhoin Temple that are in communication with another building in the area. We pinpointed where the signal was coming from several days ago, and it wasn't until today that we got a chance to actually find the source.” Sumili seemed very proud of himself.

         Sumili burst from the underbrush behind Kalar. A shiny, white robot that hovered some distance above the ground with a blue circle on its chest and an oblong head emerged behind Sumili.

         “Kalar, this is Fuybek, a Psychic unit. Fuybek, this is Kalar,” Sumili said, gesturing back and forth.

         “A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Fuybek said levelly.

         “Unnh, likewise,” Kalar said, taking an uneasy step back. He did not like those of the Psychic Way. They're always invading my privacy, and I especially need privacy, he thought.

         Fuybek cut in, “You most certainly do. But to be fair, I'm diverting a large portion of my energy to downloading the thoughts of everyone here.”

         Suddenly everyone felt uncomfortable. Arms were scratched, eyes found new interest in the canopy or a nearby moss. Unanda coughed lightly. Akyiko took a few steps back. Everyone, except for Jhaqoh, who seemed that he couldn't care less about what the robot had said, and Bodhi, who coyly winked at the robot. Sumili burst out laughing.

         “Fuybek, you're hilarious! You'll have to watch out for him, he's a kidder,” Sumili composed himself and became very serious. “Shall we enter the ruins the Ruins? You have a Wind expert, are you planning invisibility and inaudibility?”

         Kalar took Sumili aside and explained in a low voice, “I do not like those of the Psychic Way. He needs to leave. As soon as possible. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but he needs to go. Tell him thank you for helping find the ruins, but I can't have him here.”

         Sumili looked at Kalar seriously, but his voice was compassionate, “I'm sorry you feel that way, but I want him here; he's my friend, and I promise he'll behave. It'll be fine; trust me. Besides, from the things he's told me, I'm sure he's heard much worse than your mind.” That was not the kind of assurance Kalar wanted to hear, but before he could insist, Sumili was leading him back to the group.

         “So have you made introductions? I'm Sumili...” Sumili started genially.

         Again, Fuybek cut in, “We didn't need to. That's Kamosa, the fairy with the pink hair, and Rynaugh, her husband, the knight in the copper armor. They have a young daughter who one of them loves more than the other, I would say. J'mokoh, the fairy with the white cloak and pale hair. Shkerqi, the lithoid with the spines on the crown of his head. Bodhi, the purple flower with the symbol on her forehead is his wife. Akyiko the yellow and burnt sienna arborioid, who is very close with Shkerqi and Jhaqoh. Very. Ashtas the gray serpent who is, surprisingly, incredibly important. Unanda, the brass ferroid who Kalar...” The sound from Fuybek's microspeaker cut off abruptly. Kalar sighed internally. Thank the Spirits the tiny mechanism was metal. Kamosa and Rynaugh looked at each other and had a conversation entirely in facial expressions, but in the end shrugged and held hands.

         Sumili was rolling on the ground with laughter. No one knew where to look. The awkwardness was palpable in everyone, except Bodhi, who smiled and pursed her lips at Fuybek.

         “Enchanté,” Fuybek said to everyone in general when Kalar had let the magic of his spell dissipate.

         Sumili, still recovering, managed, “Nice to meet all of you.”

         Kalar was about to insist again that Fuybek leave when an explosion nearby sobered them all rapidly. They put their Wimcards together, and Kalar opened message box that he expanded to all of their cards. Then, without a word, Ashtas and Jhaqoh set about quickly weaving invisibility, inaudibility, and obscuring forms around everyone. Kalar quickly showed Sumili the title of the journal. Kalar made a sign on his Wimcard: DO NOT USE NATURA UNLESS NECESSARY. Kalar, being the last to be made invisible, inaudible, and obscured, saw nothing, felt nothing, heard nothing of the other members of the group. He thought they may have left without him until he got a message on his Wimcard, which he could read inside the forms: GO TO THE CLOSEST DOOR AND GO DOWN THE NEAREST STAIRCASE.

         The Tox'xun Ruins were breathtaking. The Tox'xun building used to be several stories tall, but something collapsed beneath the building, leaving only the exterior walls and the exterior spires surrounding a severely shortened building. The spires that used to be on the roof over the interior of the building leaned haphazardly or were felled entirely. The architecture of the exterior walls was thick with intricate details of knots, spirals, and three-dimensional weaves that made the arches and circular windows seem delicate and fragile. Vines had mostly claimed the structure, with a few huge, thick trees growing within the building, simultaneously holding the structure together and breaking it apart.

         Kalar found the doorway, entered, and saw the stairwell close by. He descended it, not even leaving footprints in the dirt. On the lower level, the door to exit the stairwell was blocked by the debris from the collapsed building. Kalar pulled out his Wimcard and messaged Shkerqi: MAKE A TUNNEL HERE. As soon as he had sent it, a hole opened in the debris. Kalar stopped to listen for the sound of voices. He wondered whether the Akina Balaa would bother with obscuring themselves. If they did, that would make this operation an order of magnitude more dangerous. They would have no warning of an attack.

         He entered the room beyond the tunnel. He had to crouch some, but the minimal light from sunlight filtering through cracks in the ceiling allowed him to see the walls. They were lined with stone bookcases, most of which were broken. The books that used to inhabit them were in piles on the floor. Kalar rushed over to a pile and began to look through them. The strange characters of the Sixth Age stared back at him, trying nonchalantly and futilely to tell him information. Fortunately, many of the covers had pictures. One had a picture of a dragon claw. Another, a picture of a mammal hand. Another a picture of a plant he had never seen. Another, a stylized picture of a Meqiyoha. He began to scan the spines frantically and toss them aside if the book wasn't what he needed. He had the impression the same was going on with the other piles in the room, but the obscuring spell kept him from observing the actions of his cohorts directly.

         Sweat poured down Kalar's face. His whole body shook in fear and dread and panic. What if they couldn't find it? What if the Akina Balaa found them? He saw a spark of natura out of the corner of his eye. He froze. A message came from his Wimcard:BODHI SAYS THE TITLE OF THE JOURNAL DOESN'T EXSIST ON THIS FLOOR. WE NEED TO GO TO A LOWER LEVER. Kalar relaxed some. It was just Bodhi disobeying his strict instructions. He sent a message to Shkerqi:FIND A WAY FOR US TO GET TO A LOWER LEVEL. After a few pounding heartbeats, a reply came:COME TO THE AREA NEAR THE TOPPLED STATUE. Kalar searched for the area, and finally found it after squeezing through a narrow opening. Despite his size, squeezing through such a narrow spot would be easy for Shkerqi; he could turn his body into a pool of liquid rock. He descended to the next level.

         This floor was similar to the previous floor, except the floor was more jagged, the bookcases more fragmented, and the books not contained in so neat of piles. He saw that familiar arrow of light and received a message a second later:NOT HERE. DOWN A FLOOR. Again, he asked Shkerqi to clear a hole. Again he descended to the next floor.

         This floor was in worse condition than the last. The floor no longer resembled such, and rocks and debris covered many of the books. The books in one large area were small and contained mostly illustrations. Kalar realized they were children's books. Even though the Sixth Age was considered the Age of Darkness, adults still cared for infants and children. Another message came; a repeat of what it had said before. Kalar sent a message to Shkerqi, who soon found a good place to make a tunnel to the next lowest floor. Kalar surmised that they must be on the ground floor because of the elaborate arch found on one end of the building. At least, he guessed it was an arch. All that remained were two stubby columns this the same detail as the arches outside. He descended into what he guess was the basement.

         The basement was completely different from the rest of the building. The shelves were metal and other artifacts were found around with the books trapped beneath the rubble. As Kalar picked up a skull with three menacing horns protruding from it, an explosion sounded from above. The building shook threateningly, and chunks of rock and dust fell. The Akina Balaa had found the Tox'xun Ruins.

         Kalar froze. All the movement in the room froze. The subtle alert of a message on his Wimcard startled him: WHAT DO WE DO? Kalar tried to think. Another explosion sounded on one of the floors above. Kalar looked around the room for a good place to regroup. At one end of the room there looked like the remnants of Sixth Age formworks: broken glassware, black burn marks on the walls, a large Circle with writing and patterns carved into the floor.  Kalar sent out a message: FIND THE BOOK AND GET TO THE CIRCLE AT THE NORTH END OF THE ROOM. In the pitch black darkness, Kalar could tell there was a flurry of activity. Another crash, then he saw a silver arrow fly from nowhere to a pile of books at the far end of the room. No! Kalar thought to himself. But it was too late. A ball of blazing white fire melted a hole in the ceiling of the room. Pools of molten marble dripped to the floor and solidified. Kalar dove out of the way to avoid one. A tall figure in black armor and sharp claw-like gauntlets jumped through the hole. The reptilian shape of his helmet had two spikes on it, and two fiery eyes burned from it. Kalar knew immediately that that was Risden. Risden thought he was superior to everyone in the world and craved the power that was rightfully his. He would demolish any obstacle in his way without a second thought. Kalar forced his legs to move, and he ran toward the Circle. More of the Akina Balaa had jumped down the hole.

         A voice like the cracking of bones yelled, “They're there, near the Circle!” Yekju. Risden was a sweet angel of mercy compared to Yekju. Risden would just kill you. Yekju would play a game to see how long it could let daemons from Nikyry torture you before you died.

         The forms that were surrounding them to keep them hidden were suddenly gone. Kalar was shocked. He stared, wide-eyed, Yekju and Risden and the shadowy shapes of the other members of the Akina Balaa.

         “Kalar! What are you doing here!?” boomed Risden.

         Kalar frantically looked around and saw J'mokoh. “Get us out of here!” Kalar yelled. Even as Kalar was yelling, the air began to shimmer iridescently, and a loop appeared, widened, and engulfed them. Eight glowing slits appeared in the darkness, and razors of Dark natura sliced through the delicate Gateway form.

         The universe vibrated Kalar angrily, spinning him around, tearing at him, dissolving what it meant to feel and be aware. It flipped him inside out and stretched him out so he was everything and the universe was a dim-witted, hardly-alive parasite, oblivious to everything. Beings, spirits, entities danced around him, verbing in ways his language couldn't comprehend. And then, the Face. He saw  dark skin, an easy smile, compassionate eyes. The universe and every being attached all centered on this Face. Then Kalar snapped back to himself and was thrown to the ground.

         After the flashes of light had stopped swirling on the inside of his eyelids, Kalar felt the tender babyleaves beneath him face. He heard the sound of wind through tree leaves and the calls of animals and insects. Kalar slowly opened his eyes and assessed himself. His nose was bleeding and his head was throbbing. He struggled to stand. His head was still reeling from his experience. He vomited and tried to spit out the aftertaste. He looked around and surveyed the group. Kamosa was tending Rynaugh, she herself looked as bad as Kalar felt, but Rynaugh's body had shaken around inside his armor and had bruised every part of his body. His eyes were closed, but he was breathing. Shkerqi's giant, stone body was up, and he was limping about. Bodhi was sitting next to Akyiko, who was holding one of his arms gently with another. Bodhi had her eyes closed, and her petals were opening and closing slowly. She opened them, and Akyiko moved his hurt arm tentatively, opened and closed his claws, and smiled. Jhaqoh's black form was peering at Fuybek, whose chest was flashing blue rings of variable sizes at random intervals. Sumili had gotten as far as sitting up and then was perfectly still. Ashtas seemed fine. He dusted the dirt and plant matter off his clothes with Wind natura, and moved to talk to Unanda. J'mokoh was floating next to Unanda, who also seemed more dirty than injured. She had two slight dents in her forehead and her right shin. Kalar walked over to her.

         “Unanda, are you all right?” Kalar asked. He looked into her large, golden eyes.

         “I'm a little shaken, but not injured. You're bleeding,” she said with concern, examining Kalar's head and face. “J'mokoh, could you heal him?”

         “I'm fine, really,” Kalar began to say as J'mokoh probed him with Plant natura. Kalar could feel his skin growing, his whole body was invigorated with sunlight and air. Refocillated, he was suddenly very thirsty. “Thank you,” Kalar said to J'mokoh. Kalar dug a root into the soil for a quick drink.

         “J'mokoh says that we are not actually very far from the Tox'xun Ruins. He need to leave as soon as we can. They could find us easily.” Unanda said to Kalar.

         Kalar surveyed the group again. Fuybek and Sumili were up and talking together. Bodhi and Kamosa were helping Rynaugh to his feet. Jhaqoh was speaking with Akyiko and Shkerqi. Ashtas was looking at Kalar, waiting.

         “Listen, everyone. We are not safe here. Please come over here, and J'mokoh will make a Gateway to...” Kalar trailed off. Meqiyoha was his first choice, but that might be predictable.

         “What about the Meredithia? We know for sure they can't get us there,” Kamosa volunteered.

         “But what are we going to do about the Akina Balaa? They had the book for sure now!” Rynaugh added.

         “I don't think...” A horrible noise that shook the fabric of Kalar's existence cut him off. Several black pits opened in the ground around them, and a thick black substance had begun oozing from the tears in reality.

         “J'mokoh, the Gateway, now!” Kalar commanded. The Gateway opened beyond the pits, and everyone began running toward it, carefully avoiding the black ooze. Claws and hooks of every kind reached out of the ooze and tried to grab them as they ran past. One stabbed the foot of Shkerqi and another caught Unanda's ankle, pulling her partially into the ooze. Shkerqi yelled for help, his leg paralyzed. Bodhi screamed in shock and ran to Shkerqi, forming a giant ax of Ivory natura. She swung it at the claw that held Shkerqi and severed it. Shkerqi picked up Bodhi and ran limping to the Gateway. Kalar grabbed Unanda's arms while Ashtas wrapped himself under Unanda's armpits. Together they pulled hard, but it felt like Unanda was stuck in stone.  Ashtas made a Wind form that solidified the air around Unanda's body. He began to pull her with the form, but the ooze cut through the natura, throwing Ashtas back and slamming him into the ground. Unanda slipped from Kalar's hands. She screamed before the ooze swallowed her up. Kalar stared in horror at where her face had been. Everyone else had made it to the Gateway, and now only J'mokoh, Kalar, and Ashtas remained.

         “I have to go after her,” Kalar said staring at the black ooze, to no one in particular. In his blind and frantic fear and shock, madness in the shape of an idea grew in his mind. J'mokoh shook his head. “Please, J'mokoh, you can help me! Make a Gateway!” Kalar grabbed his cloak and shook him. J'mokoh closed the Gateway.

         “I'll be back in one second,” J'mokoh said holding his breath. He opened a new Gateway to a bright and shining place and was gone. The ooze continued to creep toward Kalar. It noises like the gnashing of teeth, of snapped joints, of daemonic spells. It laughed at his pain.

         “Give me back Unanda!” Kalar screamed at the ooze. Kalar held the talisman in his pocket and drew in an enormous amount of Metal natura. He forced it into the ooze, drilling into it, searching for the hint of metal, for the hint of Unanda. The daemons in the ooze screamed when they touched the Metal form, but the power of Auni-Xykr quickly destroyed it. The jolt of Kalar's form being broken launched him backward.

         Ashtas helped him up. He said nothing. They were both powerless to get her back, and they knew it.

         J'mokoh appeared again, but this time he was glowing and a woman who could only be described as luminescent accompanied him. She formed a sphere of Consciousness natura around herself and J'mokoh and beckoned to Kalar.

         “Come, we haven't much time, but I'm afraid I can only take one of you.”

         Kalar looked at Ashtas, “You should go, you're her teacher.”

         “I have a feeling it should be you. Go, there isn't time.”

         Kalar entered the sphere and immediately felt contentment and awareness. Then they plunged into the depths of Nikyry.



"Dreambreaker: Chapter 3"