NationStates Jolt Archive

The Multiverse that is NationStates is a world of imagination, a multitude of dimension thrown together in a fractal reality that is constantly changing and redefining itself. But there are worlds and whole universes that can even defy imagination. Some are close to the Multiverse others distant.

There are legends of some of these places, mentioned in religions and myths. One of these is the realm of the Wyrms, a dimension of magic, dreams, and mythical creatures. The origin of this legend is the ancient religion that was strongest in the Drakonian Imperium, although parallels have been drawn between it and the newly establish international power of the Resurgent Dream.

It is told that in the first ages of the world that the Dragons ruled it, much as humans do today. They had competition, of course, and that lead to an unimaginably horrible war. It was after words that the powers Dragon and their rivals decided that it would be best if they all passed away from this world, leaving it to Humans and other races. So it was that the Dragons transported themselves to a realm of dreams and magic, a dimension so suited to them that it might have even birthed the race.

The validity of this myth has been questioned by many, but in the Multiverse of NationStates myths can easily come alive in the many lands of Humans, Elves, Clangers, and the myriad other sentient races.

On an outlying world an artifact is found, something ancient, and something powerful, something that could open a realm of possibilities or bring doom to those who misused it. It could lead a few on a grand adventure of a realm untouched by future and modern technologies a realm of fantasy and adventure, and of great danger.

OOC: This thread is open to all, but it is however requested that you contact myself (Drakonian Imperium (http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/index.cgi/target=display_nation/nation=drakonian_imperium)/Wyrm's Realm (http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/index.cgi/target=display_nation/nation=wyrms_realm)), Khrrck (http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/index.cgi/target=display_nation/nation=khrrck), or The Fedral Union (http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/index.cgi/target=display_nation/nation=the_fedral_union) before joining, due to the difficulties in reaching this said Realm of Dragons. You can do this via telegrams (http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/index.cgi/target=display_nation/nation=wyrms_realm) or IRC (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=438421).

Mean while in orbit of that strange distant world, the USS Union rumbled over head, the dusty brown looking world was ominously looking down on the small eight hundred meter ship, The ship rumbled along its engines cutting to one forth power.


Its mission was to deliver supplies and new personnel to the out post below witch was conducting an archeological survey.



The old Load masters with his Grey hair and rough looking white face stood on the platform as the telporation device began to open up, he waved over crates of supplies and such over to the pad he stepped back and said in a loud raspy voice “all right people get this crap loaded up! You transporter chief get it beamed down ASAP!”


The Transporter chief nodded, and looked over to his glassy beeping console, he began typing buttons blipping noises enumerating as he typed.




A small hover bed full of smooth plastic like crates came in, the bed was rather long about 4 m, the craters were stacked high as the metallic bed floated on to the plat form, with in seconds a blue flash engulfed the large pile of Grey plastic like crates, seconds later the pile arrived down at the facility.

Several moments later as supplies were being beamed down to the large facility, A young boy named Xsaiver bastidas walked in he was a new transfer to the facility, recently he just got fresh out of the marine academy, he was some what build, tall five foot ten, skiny , had dark brown hair and brown eyes his skin was pale and white because of his lack of sun for so long. He walked in nodding to the load master “petty officer I’m ready to beam down now” the load master looked back at the young man and said “L.T just one morel and we’ll be ready for you. Several moments passed the last load of supplies was finally beamed down, X walked up in to the pad tapped a few buttons on the console near by, with in a few seconds like all the other objects he was beamed down in a massive burst of energy, he arrived a some what large under ground facility the walls were silver, and rough they had blue and green lines panted on them running horizontally, the floor was made of a matalic marble like substance and a concrete like plating in some areas it was a patch work from the early podded command centers to the permanent facility now built, he walked along his feet taping on the martial below he was in uniform, witch was a brown green dark green BDU mix, his black boots taped on the ground as he wandered towards the center of the facility, he came to a stop and went through a door witch opened automatically for him, he came to a laboratory , archeologist and scientist were running around every witch way tapping on there padds and consoles.


X walked in looking around at the wonders of the lab he came up to doctor Morgan letterman and said in a deep voice “ I’m looking for sector C barracks.

Morgan looked the man up and down” you must be Bastidas, hmm its nice to meet you your slated to be put in second of command of the military forces right?”

“Yeah how’d you know that” he replayed inquiring in the same deep voice

Morgan said with a laugh “well your name or position? Any way ill have some one escort you to sector C right away, there is an experiment going on right now of astounding prepositions”

X nodded pretending he knew what this guy was speaking about, then an aid came up “uhh Mr bastidas sir, Captain Carnegie wants to see you right away so ill take your bags ok ?”

X looked over “all right just come and get me when your done I don’t know my way around this place yet”


The young aid nodded, X began walking as he took the bags and handed them to another aid then followed X, leaving behind old Doctor Morgan, Grey hair Grey beard skinny build rather tall as well. It was to bad all this calm would not last..


X was lead through a cat walk watching operations of the fallacies some what, drones carrying goods things being assembled, armed troops with Fedral pulse rifles stood guard at some doors.


X looked at them as he passed by walking in to a control tower like area busy blipping screens and graphics filled the area as people rushed around with papers and other things in there hands working like normal. This was any thing but a normal day how ever.


“ahh! You must be First LT bastidas I am captain Carnegie” a middle aged man with black hair green eyes and brown skin said to X the mans dress uniform shined in the light his twin connected bars glimmering .
“It’s a pleasure to meet you sir “ x said holding out a hand the captain shook it, rather firmly and said “well LT I hope you enjoy it here and your spot as my number one your bags are waiting for you in sector C level 7 dormitories, before you go here are some reports and trinkets to get you up to date” the captain picked up a bag of reports papers and other things and handed to X who took it.


X walked out his boots taping on the metallic floor witch turned back to patch work he walked over to an elevator an aid helping to find his way as the elevator started, tests were being conducted on as mysterious cube like artifact that was found in on the planets surface was rough with pictograms of all sorts of creatures dragons elves all sorts, it had an odd energy reading, but the scientist though a certain renounce reading would allow them to unlock it.



As the finally test was being ran the cube began to glow brighter and brighter it went, mean while the elevator was on its way up just as the cube reached its peak, doctor Morgan ran near the cube and said to a coworker “ what’s going on? What’s happing to it, this is amazing!” the coworker responded “ I don’t know sir it just started glowing like this when we activated the resonance test.

Morgan thought for a second “amazing we may be unlocking its secrets keep going more!”

The machinery was now pushed to its limit pumping out as much power as it could, mean while the elevator suddenly stopped between floors, because of the power drain the lights flickered X looked around “what’s going on?”

The aid looked around “I don’t know sir!”


The cube reached its peak glowing white hot suddenly one of the sides opened up, a loud screeching noise was heard throughout the base, suddenly a massive bolt of energy shot out green and black electrical beams shot out every witch way, at the center of the beam a small portal was forming, but that was of little concern at the time, Morgan and every one fled the area trying to run all of a sudden a massive explosion occurred, a shock wave of green and black energy flew out of the center of the portal electrical beams engulfing people and scientist as they fled, there bodies became the beam and evaporated instantly, nothing was left the portal grew bigger and bigger the swarming of green and black and other colors filled it, as walls were torn apart by the explosion upper floors lost support and began to collapse as the shock wave dissertated people and objects and walls alike.


Mean while the massive rumbling and shock wave were rocking the elevator as the floor beneath it disappeared completely in a green black mass the car fell X and the aid were thrown on the floor and thrashed around the Aid was thrown out of the car just before it hit the ground, he was disintegrated in a electrical beam, X was more lucky or was he ,as the elevator disintegrated around him a freak electrical discharge from a light struck him the same instant as a beam form the cube, he felt like he was being compressed and all of a sudden disappeared in a flash of jumbled electrical light color’s of blue green black orange and others filled the area , for a time it was blackness he felt as if he was trapped but then .. he appeared … (your turn :P )

If one can imagine the most primordial and ancient forest; a place full of massive trees, so tall and so large that they plunge the entire place into twilight of shadows; a lonely place, silent of the sounds of normal forest life. No birds singing. No animals rummaging. Absolutely silent, except for the slight sound of a faraway wind pushing its way through the far off tops of those mighty trees. If one can begin to fathom such a place, one is only just beginning to understand where it was that Xsaiver Bastidas found himself.

It is doubt that this place was like anything this poor young man had ever experience. For there are few forests which come even close the ancient and primeval nature of this place. He might note the terrible silence of the place first, for that alone was undoubtedly like anything in his understanding. For a person used to modern and future life is used to constant and subtle sound. There is that low sound of industry, so often unnoticed but constantly there. The sound of things happening, cars moving, electronic processing, machinery working. None of that was present. It was simply silent.

And thus he was no doubt overwhelmed with a feeling of aloneness. He was here in place without another soul, another being for untold leagues. Alone, with no else, in the middle of a forest, with no other company than the wind. How could one be prepared for something like this?

Xsaiver looked around the dark, voided place wondering were he was he thought to him self “what did I get my self in to” he walked a few steps and saw a dead solider who had be telported just as he had.

He looked down and saw his somewhat charred body just motionless in the night.

X looked down hamming a bit he kneeled down, noticing that the dead solider had an M-13 Pulse rifle, and a few long slender pulse clips, X quickly picked them up shoving a few of the clips in to his uniform pockets he garbed the rifle and unslinged, picking it up in to his hands holding it.(it basically looks like an M-8).

He walked along slightly rustling through the area trying to find a way out he wandered for hours carrying a rifle in arms.


Basically this is his lay out:
Armament:
M-13 pulse rifle
Secondary:
Some photon grenades
A Resonance disrupter pistol
Combat knife
Armor:
Hazard suit
Equipment:
A few Med kits
Night vision
Field rations
4 spatial Charges

Chapter One
"Three Hundred And Fifty"

"Attempt number three hundred and forty-seven."

The lab notebook reads:
#347
Torsion X = 42%
Torsion Y = 21%
Torsion Z = 0%
Torsion Z-beta = 22-3i
Torsion Z-gamma = negative beta infinity
Power = 122 megathaums
Duration = 3 seconds

The hole buzzed and appeared exactly the same. The myriad dials, hooked to sensors in the hole's airtight chamber, didn't as much as jump.

Rixa sighed. "Another damn vacuum."

The lab notebook reads:
#348
Torsion X = 48%
Torsion Y = 21%
Torsion Z = 0%
Torsion Z-beta = 22-4i
Torsion Z-gamma = negative beta infinity
Power = 122 megathaums
Duration = 3 seconds[/i]

Another failure.

#349
Torsion X = 48%
Torsion Y = 21%
Torsion Z = 0%
Torsion Z-beta = 22-5i
Torsion Z-gamma = negative beta infinity
Power = 122 megathaums
Duration = 3 seconds

The entire lab jolted in the millionths of a second needed for the lab's protective hexes to fully assert themselves.

Rixa heaved herself off the floor and looked at the gauges. They were currently registering several galactic masses of pure neutronium.

"From too little to too much. Perfect."

The hole chamber groaned ominously. Rixa hurriedly fished the lab notebook off the floor and looked for the next set of coordinates.

Ink had splattered across the page. Rixa made her best guess.

"Um, X is forty-two... Y is twenty-one... Z is zero and Z-alpha is twenty-two minus five i... What's Z-beta? Oh, shit."

Rixa squinted frantically at the horribly smudged symbols. The glass chamber began to crack behind her.

"Ahh... Negative, um, negative beta infinity."

And in what would either be the greatest mistake or greatest stroke of luck in Khrrck history, she mis-set the dial.

Chapter Two
"Negative Gamma Infinity"

The hole opened. Light poured through. Rixa stared at the sensors, dumbfounded.

"Atmosphere, breathable..."

She stabbed the MAINTAIN button immediately. Power began flowing, maintaining the hole locked at its current destination.

"Gravity, one... Temperature, perfect... Magic?"

The gauge was pegged.

*****

Several frantic phone calls were made. An investigation team was assembled. Rixa Bluescale, the discovering mage, was given a place; with her were Akram, Khrrck Special agent, and Romduran, head of Khrrck Special and dragon.

The sealed hole chamber was shattered with a hammer. The team crowded inside.
Rixa shouldered the unfamiliar weight of her equipment and looked up at Romduran.

"Ready?"
"Of course."

Akram stepped through, followed by Romduran. Rixa moved towards the hole, and then-

The light vanished. The hole shimmered, shook, and began sucking the air out of the room into the howling vacuum beyond. The lights went out.

Panic ensued.

*****

A few seconds, several tons of air, and six magical walls later, Rixa and half of Khrrck's top mages clustered around a dim globe of foxfire, trying to figure out what went wrong.

"It's quite simple, really," said the Archmage. "You know that our capacitors have never been emptied? Power's never been a problem for us. Until now. Turns out that keeping the hole stable while a mass is passing through it takes a lot more energy than we'd thought. After Romduran went through... well, to put it simply, my friends, our batteries went flat."

"How long until we can get them out?"

"Weeks. Perhaps a month. In a few days we should have enough power to send a few small supplies- assuming they're still at the same point and can pick them up." And assuming they aren't dead yet, he silently added.

There are times when vertigo is a very bad thing. This was one of those times. The natives of Khrrck found themselves perched atop a high peak of a tall jagged mountain. Laid out around, above, and below them was a truly impressive and amazing vista of dozens, possibly even hundreds, of sharp, jagged, and snow-covered peaks. There seemed to be all shapes and sizes, some reaching to surpass the sky, others sitting confidently below the new arrivals. The air was thin, indicating their altitude as being great. And looking down one could see why, the mountain broadened out a great distance before the eye, and spread out amongst it brethren. Snow and jagged rocks were visible all along it face. It was truly an impressive and phobia inspiring view.

One would have expected the sky above to clear (excepting of course a few mighty peaks), but it was not. Above (and it seemed just barely) darkened storm clouds sat ominously. Their very color seemed to blacken the sky, and even the few peaks that speared through them seemed to have done so timidly. For it seemed that at any moment those mighty thunderheads could unleash a torrent of lightning, thunder, and rain that would drive the most staunch creature to crouch in fear and scream in utter terror for its very life. Yet, for the moment they did unleash their fury and power on the peaks of the mountains, although it seemed that could change at any second. The very smell and feel of the air spoke of what was to come.

It is unlikely, but still possible that the natives of Khrrck could sense something more a being of a less magical nature. For there was an elusive dark and foreboding magical feel to those clouds. Something that was hard to grasp, yet still just barely there.

No doubt, due to the more innate elemental and magical depth of the nature of any Dragon-like being, they had felt more of their journey to this place than the more terrestrial Human, Xsaiver Bastidas had. They knew they were being transported, or as might be more truly reasoned, wretched through time and space away from the Multiverse and into another dimension. The sheer magical forces involved would have saturated a being able to sense, as if it was swirling chromatic colors, dominated the deepest emerald green imaginable. And then? There were simply deposited rather abruptly and violently onto the summit of some mighty mountain in such a place as they could not fathom.

Note: The United Nations reported today that Wyrm's Realm is 69,692nd in the world for Best Weather.

Mean while, X had just begun to search the surrounding country side, he made his way around the Forrest trying to a find A way out and B get some substance. His boots rustled and taped on the ground as dirt was slightly kicked up he breathed slowly and calmly looking around every so often, his riffle still in his hand.


As he made his way through some brush he found a piece of lab equipment it was charred and broken up and charred.

X walked up to the old machine and examined it was pretty much frayed, he signed and sat at the edge of it thinking of how to get out of the forest.

Akram, completely unprepared for a sloped surface, scrabbled and slid almost to the edge before he got a grip on the rock.

"Mrr... I hate heights," he groaned, trying not to look down off the edge. "I say we bug out and come back with something sensible... like a helicopter."

"Green."

Akram looked around at his comrade, momentarily distracted. "What?"

"Green... never mind. You OK?"

"Sort of... Weather's not particularly nice, though. I say we head back and get gear- and figure out where Rixa is to boot."

Akram began carefully edging back up the slope.

"Oh, shit."

Romduran blinked. "What?"

"The gate's not here."

<Cue fear and panic>

*****

Akram sighed. "Right... So we're stuck. For who knows how long."

"I can't say otherwise."

"So... What do we do first?"

Romduran craned his neck over the edge. Akram winced.

"Get down?"

"Yes. See any handholds?"

Romduran shook his head.

"I have a better idea."

"What?"

"I carry you."

"Please, no... Transport planes are scary enough as it is. Don't- Ack!"

Romduran, clutching Akram gently in his foreclaws, spread his wings and leaped from the edge.

There are some things to remember when traveling, and number one among them is: Don't Panic. It is quite likely that Xsaiver Bastidas considered this however as finding yourself stranded in the middle of an ominous primeval forest after your new posting is mysteriously destroyed can certainly encourage one to do just that, panic. But Xsaiver Bastidas, maintained what was unlikely to be mistaken for anything else, had armed himself with every weapon he could find and prepared himself to set out into what lay beyond in this unknown world.

Exploration in any and all directions proved pointless for it seemed this dark and mighty forest stretched on forever. And after an initial survey Mr. Bastidas might have given up in despair, if he were prone to such a thing. In any event, he likely stopped after a long while to figure out what else he could to find his way home.

It was impossible to tell time in the primeval forest for the massive mighty trees that made it up, were so large and so tall, and so full of massive interlocking plooms of branches and leaves that almost no light seeped through. He might have wandered for hours or even days, all alone the only thing left is a chronometer to tell for sure. And who would know if the journey to this place had not broken it, or that time even flowed normally in the Forest.

No one, for there was no one that Xsaiver could find. Nothing living, but the trees and what underbrush that could grow in the twilight the massive canopy shed. Neither did he any sound of anything or anyone. The silence was overbearing, light a thick dense fog that permeated everything stopped only occasionally by the sounds the lone human made, or the far-off wind in the high up branches.

Loneliness was permeable here and overpowering. One does not realize until one is so alone how social a creature they truly are. For even the most introverted person longs for some social contact. Without it, one begins to feel a terrible silence of expression.

It was no doubt in this state that the young man lost in a forest far from home found himself as the twilight darkened and he began to glimpse the first change in his environment he had since his arrival. How long would it stay that way? He couldn't know.

One can only imagine the feeling filling his mind as he realized it was becoming dark. Night was coming upon an already dark, silent, and lonely forest. What would it bring? Further nothingness? Unthinkable horrors? There was no way to tell.

And then as he watch the last of the light start to wane, it happened. Noise drifted violently to his ears of something rushing through the underbrush behind him, getting louder with each passing moment.

No doubt he spun, weapon ready, only to be nearly run off by a small wiry biped rushing along, paying almost no attention to where it was going. It was only the last second glance by the creature that prevented a collision. It stopped and quickly looked over the unlikely figure it had nearly run into.

Now that Xsaivor had a good look at the creature (even with the failing light) he could see that, while not the prettiest thing to look, it did not seem to pose a serious threat. It stood there reaching just past his waistline, looking at him with two beady black eyes. It was thin, surprisingly so, and clearly could be rather agile if it wanted to. There was no fur that Bastidas could on it, and its skin was thick and leather all a pale tanned brown color. It's face, if it had fur, would have looked very doglike, and indeed a long thin swishing tail might almost have appeared to belong to a dog, if it wasn't so long, and thin, and prehensile. The rest of its body bore a more reptilian look, the hands which clenched a large sac thrown over its back had long thin clawed fingers, and its feet were surprisingly similarly with a reptilian birdlike look and more sharp claws. On its wiry body it wore a marginal amount of leather clothing, which were a reddish brown color, also there were odd bids of dull metal added; a knee guard here, a shoulder pad there, even a chain necklace. It might even had appeared menacing, if it wasn't so small, wiry, and didn't look so surprised to see Xsaiver.

It did not however, take it long to recover. "Hello, there," a tinny quick voice said, as it picked up some small trinket it had dropped. "Didn't see you there. Lost? Must be." It shot out rapid fire, leaving almost no time for a reply. "Come with me. I'll lead you out." And with that it was off again, as fast as before rushing through the underbrush, not even looking back to see if the man was following it.

To be flying free is a pastime that every Dragon and near-Dragon enjoys immensely, except apparently for Akram, native of Khrrck. As he clung doubtlessly terrified to Romduran's fore claw, he likely could not imagine things getting worse. Alas, he was mistaken. For no sooner had Romduran taken to flight then there came an inhuman scream from the above. This was the type of scream that cut to the bone, something one might imagine a crocodile or other reptile would make, something akin to a predator striking at its prey, maybe something some prehistoric dinosaur would roar out, or maybe the scream of a Dragon.

Eyes darted to the clouds, going up to the search the dark thunderheads that flooded the sky. For a moment there was nothing, then it came bursting through the clouds, as if they were nothing, swooping down upon the natives of Khrrck.

Jaws open wide, a roar still flowing from it razor sharp teeth, it was a sight to behold. On first glance, it was as much a Dragon as the Romduran, their sizes were comparable, they both had scales, and a great spread of leathery wings. But then the difference became apparent, for this was no dragon. The shape of the beast was much the same, as one would imagine a Dragon, except for one prime difference. It had no forelimbs, where its front legs would have been there was nothing. Also different was the tail that trailed behind it, it was long and prehensile ending in what appeared similar to the stinger of a scorpion. The rest of the beast had a feral look, almost looking more like a wild dinosaur then the cold calculating and dangerous look a dragon might have. This great brown-scaled beast was an unpredictable predator more wild than intelligent.

With a swish of its bat-like wings it adjusted its course to intercept Romduran and his compatriot. It was almost upon them before they even had a chance to react. Then in an earth-shattering roar it seemed to halt its attack.

But the roar had not come from this beast; instead it came again from the clouds above. And this was roar, while vaguely similar to the first was much more different. For the first seemed to the second, the meow of a cat compared to the roar of lion. Their attacking monster swooped away, flapping hard for the altitude that would take it back into the cloudbank. But alas it did not have time.

The maker of the second monster came blasting through the clouds in such a movement that left no doubt to its power. The clouds parted before it, and this time there was no doubt, this was a Dragon!

if the sea of glimmering, shining emerald scales were the first thing a observer noticed, the second was the shear size of the thing. It dwarfed the other monster, its great head alone being double the size of the other beast. Four clawed limbs, two great massive wings, and a long tail that swooshed behind it.

It swooped down upon the other monster before the beast had time to react, batting it aside and out of the air like it was nothing, leaving the falling creature with another paralyzing bone-shattering roar. The other creature struggled to recover as it fell, whether or not it impacted with the mountain the natives of Khrrck would not have noticed, for now their full attention was on the new arrival, the green dragon that fixed them with a curious stare. In one great flap it could be upon them.

There are some things to remember when traveling, and number one among them is: Don't Panic. It is quite likely that Xsaiver Bastidas considered this however as finding yourself stranded in the middle of an ominous primeval forest after your new posting is mysteriously destroyed can certainly encourage one to do just that, panic. But Xsaiver Bastidas, maintained what was unlikely to be mistaken for anything else, had armed himself with every weapon he could find and prepared himself to set out into what lay beyond in this unknown world.

Exploration in any and all directions proved pointless for it seemed this dark and mighty forest stretched on forever. And after an initial survey Mr. Bastidas might have given up in despair, if he were prone to such a thing. In any event, he likely stopped after a long while to figure out what else he could to find his way home.

It was impossible to tell time in the primeval forest for the massive mighty trees that made it up, were so large and so tall, and so full of massive interlocking plooms of branches and leaves that almost no light seeped through. He might have wandered for hours or even days, all alone the only thing left is a chronometer to tell for sure. And who would know if the journey to this place had not broken it, or that time even flowed normally in the Forest.

No one, for there was no one that Xsaiver could find. Nothing living, but the trees and what underbrush that could grow in the twilight the massive canopy shed. Neither did he any sound of anything or anyone. The silence was overbearing, light a thick dense fog that permeated everything stopped only occasionally by the sounds the lone human made, or the far-off wind in the high up branches.

Loneliness was permeable here and overpowering. One does not realize until one is so alone how social a creature they truly are. For even the most introverted person longs for some social contact. Without it, one begins to feel a terrible silence of expression.

It was no doubt in this state that the young man lost in a forest far from home found himself as the twilight darkened and he began to glimpse the first change in his environment he had since his arrival. How long would it stay that way? He couldn't know.

One can only imagine the feeling filling his mind as he realized it was becoming dark. Night was coming upon an already dark, silent, and lonely forest. What would it bring? Further nothingness? Unthinkable horrors? There was no way to tell.

And then as he watch the last of the light start to wane, it happened. Noise drifted violently to his ears of something rushing through the underbrush behind him, getting louder with each passing moment.

No doubt he spun, weapon ready, only to be nearly run off by a small wiry biped rushing along, paying almost no attention to where it was going. It was only the last second glance by the creature that prevented a collision. It stopped and quickly looked over the unlikely figure it had nearly run into.

Now that Xsaivor had a good look at the creature (even with the failing light) he could see that, while not the prettiest thing to look, it did not seem to pose a serious threat. It stood there reaching just past his waistline, looking at him with two beady black eyes. It was thin, surprisingly so, and clearly could be rather agile if it wanted to. There was no fur that Bastidas could on it, and its skin was thick and leather all a pale tanned brown color. It's face, if it had fur, would have looked very doglike, and indeed a long thin swishing tail might almost have appeared to belong to a dog, if it wasn't so long, and thin, and prehensile. The rest of its body bore a more reptilian look, the hands which clenched a large sac thrown over its back had long thin clawed fingers, and its feet were surprisingly similarly with a reptilian birdlike look and more sharp claws. On its wiry body it wore a marginal amount of leather clothing, which were a reddish brown color, also there were odd bids of dull metal added; a knee guard here, a shoulder pad there, even a chain necklace. It might even had appeared menacing, if it wasn't so small, wiry, and didn't look so surprised to see Xsaiver.

It did not however, take it long to recover. "Hello, there," a tinny quick voice said, as it picked up some small trinket it had dropped. "Didn't see you there. Lost? Must be." It shot out rapid fire, leaving almost no time for a reply. "Come with me. I'll lead you out." And with that it was off again, as fast as before rushing through the underbrush, not even looking back to see if the man was following it.




Xavier sighed a bit, he took a nigh vision mask and put it on his helmet , he was relived that he had found some thing … in this world some thing friendly, or was it a trap? He didn’t know , but he had nothing to lose, he picked up his feet and tired to fallow the being as fast as he could, marines didn’t run 4 miles for no reason… his feet slammed against the under brush his boots made crackling noises.


As he was running he had remembered a few things prior to this…


[Foggy flash back]
Xavier “hey Commander Charles sir...”
The commander looked over “yes L.T?”
Xavier responded as he went to attention “I have to personnel reports for you, their on your desk…” the commander nodded “thank you L.T, I want you to take a group of men and arrest L.T Cmdr mayweather “ Xavier raised an eyebrow “why sir….?” Commander “for treason L.T… he’s been sending information on our ships to enemy contacts, also selling it to the highest bidder, how this went undetected we don’t know but its time to stop, he’s in the middle of a transaction now, I want you to go in with some men and can his ass” Xavier nodded and pointed to three marines to come with him, he walked down the corridor to he L.T cmdrs quarters , Xavier said with a loud but deep voice “ L.T cmdr this is L.T Xavier bastidas, under the order of code #817 of the FDFCMJ, you are under arrest come out with your hands up….. the image skipped they got in to the room it was a dead body .. Xavier looked around almost nothing left nearly vaporized… he shook his head widely and snapped out of the flash back he continued to run panting his breath pushing out of his mouth in to a cloud like substance in the cold.

Out on the fringes of the Sol system, past all the planets, past anything that pretends to be a planet, is a vast emptiness between this galaxy and the next. Though numerous nations have bridged this gap, few bother to stop here, most just racing through the emptiness to reach whatever faraway planet they are looking for. Some few nations have built things here, space stations and such, but when you consider how much wide open space there is, a million nations working on a million space stations, sensor arrays, docks, and whatever else couldn't cover the whole area.

The GHS Farseeker, a Mason-class explorer ship, was far from the nearest hint of civilization, deep in the blackness, exploring. Glorious Humanity was new to the universe of space powers, and with little in the way of stellar charts and maps, was seeking knowledge of the universe around them. Explorers like the Farseeker ranged out into the void, examining, documenting, building their home nation's knowledge of the stars with every new discovery, new contact, and new anomaly they found. It was an anomaly that had brought them this far out into the emptiness, a strage, very small nebulous cloud that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere very close to the ship as it was leaving civilized space for another stab at the void. Needless to say, the ship had wandered over to examine it.

In his quarters on the ship, Captain Logan Collins was reviewing sensor data from the latest sweep of the cloud. According to his ship's sensors, the cloud wasn't there. There were no particles, no gas, no nothing. His sensors had locked onto a particle cloud yesterday, but now that his ship was here they seemed determined to deny the emerald-colored anomaly's existence, even though anyone with a pair of eyes could look out one of the ship's windows and see it now.

Collins sighed and ran a hand over his eyes. He hadn't slept at all the previous night, excited by the new, undocumented phenomenon. Now he was tired, and had been beating his head against the brick wall of nothing for about twelve hours straight. It certainly wasn't helping his confidence. At thirty-four, Collins was one of the first officially trained starship officers. Glorious Humanity's fleet was so new that the first generation of starship captains had been transfers from other branches of the military. Collins was one of the first graduates of the Space Exploration and Defense Fleet's officer school in Dulles, the first "real" starship captain who had never done anything else except work with spaceships. He was about six feet tall, with blue eyes and brown hair, medium build. His uniform was blue, a cross-fastened jacket with his name and rank, and trousers of the same color. Green stripes ran down his jacket sleeves and pants' legs, signifying his officer rank; standard enlisted did not have the stripes. Black boots finished the uniform.

As one of the first "real" starship people, Collins had taken his command confident that he could make bold discoveries, solve things that had confounded the transfer officers who had done other things before coming to the stars. He was certain he could do a lot more than people who were still stuck in the mindset of their previous service, whatever it was. And now he had a quandry to work with, and he was stuck. Sensors were working, they'd been run through system tests and a maitenance check. There was just nothing to see, apparantly.

There was a polite knock at the door of his quarters. "Enter!" he called.

The woman who entered was not a naval officer, in fact she wasn't naval personnel at all. Gloria Laning belonged to the Psi Corp, GH's special branch devoted to the untapped potential of the human mind. She was blonde, with a slight build, wearing the gray bodysuit that was her uniform. On her suit was a gold insignia of two people, one with hands touching their head, the other with arms outstretched. This signified her dual role. Each psionic in the Corp had a specialty, the two most common abilities being telepathy and telekinesis in varying grades. Most psionics could only do one or the other well, but she was one of the rare ones who had both, telekinesis and telepathy in about equal amounts. Her eyes, as usual, were behind a pair of dark sunglasses. It looked odd, having someone walking around the ship with sunglasses on, but she preferred it that way. Her eyes were unusual, and she didn't like people staring at them.

"You summoned me, Captain?" she inquired, standing at attention in front of the small desk Collins was sitting behind.

"Yes, please sit down," Collins told her, waving towards one of the chairs. he abruptly stopped the motion, realizing how foolish it was. Laning couldn't see his gesture. Nonetheless, she moved unerringly to a chair, without any fumbling or feeling around with her hands, and sat. Collins had summoned her because Laning was working with the ship's detachment of psionics who were doing their own kind of scans in the cloud. He wasn't sure exactly what they were, but since everything else was coming up blank, he'd told them to have a stab at it.

"Found anything?" he asked her.

"Not much," she answered, sitting perfectly straight in the chair with her hands folded in her lap. "The telekinetics can find nothing to grab in the cloud, so I am afraid your hope of easily acquired samples is not going to happen." That had been one thing that had occurred to Collins, and he sighed when he heard it wasn't going to be possible. He guessed they'd have to send a collector drone out after all. "The telepaths have picked up some strange things though," Laning continued. "We're getting... images from the cloud. Almost like thoughts."

"Images?" Collins sat forward. "Such as?"

"Well, I myself received, just for a moment, a brief view of a vast forest," Laning said. "Another telepath reported a mountain range, others saw clouds. Many different images, though no words associated."

"Like communication?"

"Not really," she said. "More like thoughts just drifting. Kind of like what we see when we look at a drowsing mind. Images, random pictures that seem to not have much meaning. Like... dreams."

"I see," Collins replied. He was about to ask more, but a light on the small comlink on his desk abruptly started flashing. He pressed it. "Captain Collins here, go ahead."

"Captain, it's Engalls." Brian Engalls was the ship's number two, and he was commanding the ship while the Captain was going over data.

"What is it, Brian?"

"Take a look out your window, Captain. Sensors suddenly registered. A massive cloud of... something. But just look out your window at the show."

Collins got out and went to look out a window. "Good Lord..." he breathed.

The cloud was expanding rapidly, billowing out, tendrils of green reaching out in every direction. And in the center of the cloud a brighter green, so bright it was rapidly becoming pure white light, had appeared.

"Captain." It was Laning, standing just behind him. Her expression was slightly awed.

"What?"

"I... I see something, images in my mind." She paused and stood very still, going into the trance that the psionics went into when they were listening. After a few moments, she came out of it. "I'm getting bombarded with telepathic messages. Telepaths all over the ship are getting the images. We're all seeing it sir, and very clearly."

"Captain." It was Engalls on the comm again. "That cloud uh, looks like it's expanding towards us. Should we pull back?"

"Yes Two, do that," Collins acknowledged. "Take us back about-"

The next events happened so fast he could barely register them. The cloud, which had been lazily expanding, suddenly exploded outwards. The whole ship was bathed in emerald light, and the white spot at the center blazed like a star, so bright you could not look directly at it. In a split second the cloud was over the ship, and the ship was inside it. Everything was green, all other colors were washed out, and Collins thought he saw the cloud passing right in front of his face. It's in the ship. he thought, stunned.

"Captain!" Laning shouted. "More! I see-"

Then there was a flash of pure white, and just like that, it was over. The cloud was gone, completely. Everything was normal again, and when Collins looked out his window, he could not even see the green cloud.

The comm buzzed, Engalls again. In the background it sounded like chaos on the bridge. "Captain! Are you there? Did you see that?"

"I'm here, and of course I did," Collins said tersely. "Is everyone alright?"

"Almost," Engalls answered. "We're all shaken. Our communicator telepath on the bridge just collapsed. Fainted dead away, and we can't get him to wake up. We've called for medical, and you better get ahold of Laning and ask her for help."

"She's right here, I'll get her. Laning, come here and-" Collins stopped. He hadn't paid any attention to where Laning was, and now he looked around slowly.

"Laning?"

Gloria Laning had vanished.

**********************************************************

She saw it, saw the images so clearly, as if her eyes worked and she was gazing at the area they belonged to. Then a flash of pure white, and she was aware of floating, floating in a nothingness. She reached out with her mind, feeling for other minds near hers, feeling with her telekinesis for solid objects.

There was nothing around her. Nothing at all. Like she was floating in limbo. There was no sensations, no hot or cold, no feeling of air, though she had no trouble breathing. Then, just as wonderment began to turn into apprehension, the world came rushing back. Temperature, solid objects, and moving air came flying back to her senses, and then she landed on something hard. For a long moment she lay facedown on the ground... it was ground, she realized, something natural, not the spaceship's artificial flooring. Then slowly, she sat up and took stock of what she could feel around her. First with her hands, and then with her mind, using her telekinesis to push at the world around her, forming something similiar to an echolocation image in her mind.

What she "saw" amazed her...

It was night. Not just any night, a bright one, for light shown down from the skies illuminating the plain around Gloria Laning. The plain seemed to stretch on forever in the night light. Grasslands as far as the eye could see, in all directions, giving one the feeling of being dropped in the middle of nowhere, except that this was definitely somewhere. Where, however was impossible to tell.

Above her was a vast and beautiful night sky spread out in a vast panorama of stars. And there in the sky was the Moon, but this was no familiar moon for where the earthly moon was cratered and scarred this one was a great pearly white, entirely unblemished. It was the source of the bright night, for it was entirely full a glorious sphere placed in the sky. But that was not all that stood out in the beautiful sky, a lone bright emerald star slowly ascending to that marble globe. The rest of the night sky was like any other one might see on Earth, except this was clearly not Earth. For where the bright lights so favored by humans can dim the pin-pricks of light that are the stars, here the only light to dim them came from their own domain; and so they spread out, trillions upon trillions of stars in constellations and clouds, no pattern but the natural beauty of the heavens.

No doubt, Ms. Laning found herself admiring that sky. For there wasn't much else to admire in the empty plains, but long grass; vast stretches of long knee-high grass for untold leagues. A lonely place, but for the company of the stars.

A wind kicked up, moving slowly at first, but then picking up speed so that it rustled through the grasslands sounding like a storm gust through the leaves of trees. It came up loud and then died off quickly leaving in its place the soft sound of hooves.

Gloria Laning likely spun looking for what now made the sound. What she found might even have stunned the powerful space explorer. It was no alien that approached her, but a creature of myth. It looked much like a small horse or elk in body, except where there would have been the neck and head was the bare chest, arms, neck, and head of a man.

If Gloria reached out with her telepathic abilities she would find a mind not unlike a man, still however different, but similar to the minds she was used to. Even though she could read it, all she received initially would be the feelings of good will and welcome rolling off the creatures mind in waves. Everything else was alien and at least for the moment unintelligible.

"You have arrived!" The beast said, riding (or running, it was hard to say with such a creature) up to her and stopping. "I knew you would be coming, for it is rare for Ysirynia, the Emerald Dreamer, to be in the night sky with Selene."

It was like a fantasy come to life before a person's eyes. What clothing the creature had was a small amount of leather garments, but other than that he appeared to have nothing with him. His face was gentle, his skin fair, but darken by the tanning of a sun, and his hair was brown the same tone as the hair that coated his horse-like body. There was a quite a bit of stumble on his face, hinting at a beard, yet it was his eyes that drew a person in, twin green globes that showed ages. There was wisdom, understanding, and the knowledge of time in those eyes.

"Greetings." He inclined his head, planting a fist in an open palm. "I am honored to finally meet the Champion Sorceress Gloriana," he greeted further, after looking her over. "You are welcome to the hospitality of my people, until the time comes when you are needed."

Despite the difference in their strides the creature still proved difficult to follow. Dipping and diving, it dashed through the forest with the practiced confidence of a native. Even with the advantage of the Night Vision equipment the small creature proved illusive. Yet, still he was able to follow it barely as they quickly made their way through the mighty forest.

Time passed, and there seemed no end to this dark alien place where the young officer had found himself. He might have despaired, if it had been his way, except now there was hope. Hope, in a small strange creature, which was rather hard to follow as it raced ahead in the thick forest. Yet, even still this forest seemed endless. They traveled for hours (or more) and yet it was still there unchanging, ever dark, and ever full of these innumerable massive trees.

It then came as quite a surprise when Xsaiver realized it had indeed changed. Sometime in the last hour, of the long journey, the trees had begun to grow smaller and thinner. Now here and there shafts of light filtered down from the night sky. Ironically, brightening the forest floor. And slowly as they continued on the trees continued to slowly shrink in size and spread apart in their spacing in the forest. The pervasive canopy weakened, more gaps opening up in it's ceiling.

And suddenly they were out of it. So surprising was the change that Xsaivor was temporarily blinded by his Infrared Goggles and was forced to take them off. It took his eyes time to adjust to the change and was a moment before he realized they were in a clearing in the forest and not truly out of it yet. Indeed when they did, he found the area much brighter than he might had expected for it being night. And looking up he beheld the same night sky that Gloria Laning has seen on her arrival. There was the bright untarnished moon, and the great shining green star, and all the other spots of like in the sky, all the other stars.

As he looked around he found himself that in the center of the clearing was sheer face of a small bluff, and built into it was a small house. Or shack to be more honest, for it was not the prettiest of homes. Built from what seemed to be the materials at hand it was made out of logs, bark, and branches, with leaves and mud making up a short of cement-like binding agent. It was truly a sight one could only appreciate if one saw it.

The creature had made it way over a log blocking their path and to the house, where it was in the process of opening what passed as a door. It paused gesturing for the young man to follow, although he might have wondered how he would be able to follow this "whatever-it-was" through the doorway for it was built to the creature's size and not a human's. He might be able to crawl or squeeze through, however awkward that would be. Either way, he didn't have much choice for the creature ducked inside before he could reply or stop it.

When Laning opened her eyes, she was assaulted by color. Color everywhere, a dizzying array that she couldn't make heads or tails of. She looked up and saw the stars and the moon, she looked around her and saw waving grasses as far as the eye could see. Everywhere she looked, color, like the images in her mind. Then she heard the hoofbeats approaching, and saw the creature.

It was an impossibilty that presented itself to her, a melding of man and animal from out of a fairy tale. Like the children's books of fantastic lands she'd read with her hands when she was small. Her mind desperately fought through the swirl of colors, the overload of everything that was drowning her in a sea of things she had never seen before, trying to identify the being before her.

Half human, half horse, speaks, walks on hooves... centaur. A centaur.

The word for the creature came to her out of her childhood, before she'd come to realize that such things did not really exist... except they did, and here one was. Was this a dream? It had to be a dream. Seeing all this, and the creature.

It had to be a dream. The creature was speaking. It had greeted her, called her... Gloriana. Another impossibility. Even though it was wrong about her first name, it was close enough to be just an accident. A mishearing. But where had this centaur heard her name?

Still though, at that moment, she didn't even know what to make of it. She could see it. She could see it with her eyes. She could see the world around her. She could see.

Ten minutes earlier, Gloria Laning had been blind.

"I can see," she said slowly. "I see you." She held one of her hands in front of her face and studied it. "I see my hand. I see this area we are in." Slowly, she pushed herself to her feet. She felt dizzy. "How can I see?"

It was impossible, her eyes did not function. They never had. No surgery could repair them, because there was nothing to repair. Her eyes had never worked, she'd been blind from birth. Some sort of defect, doctors had told her when she was younger, something incurable. She'd learned to make due without sight. Her unusual abilities had helped enormously. She'd learned to use telekinesis to "feel" the world around her, touching it with her mind the same way other blind people felt with their hands. She'd become used to it, accepted it, and had never known any other way.

Thus, when she stood, the unfamiliar world threw her completely off. She stumbled, throwing her arms out for support as a wave of dizziness nearly knocked her off her feet. She staggered, regained her balance, and took in the world again. Then she looked at the centaur.

"How can I see?" she repeated her question. "What has happened to me?"

The creature, the Centaur reached out when she swayed to try and stop her from falling, smilingly knowingly as she regained her balance. "The prophecy has come true. 'And the blind sorceress shall come, in the Last Age, before the Great Time of Trouble, and she shall see, and become a Champion, a Hero unto the People of the Land,'" he quoted before replying fully. "You have been transported to our Realm, from your own. Brought here to help us in our Time of Trouble."

The Centaur watched her for a second before continuing. "But where are my manners," he cut in before she could reply, a smile again showing on his face as if a Centaur with Manners was a joke. "I am Calen, Stargazer, of family Ail'rys, and you shall be our guest until you are needed for your destiny. No doubt, you will want to meet the other person from your Realm." The Centaur gestured back in the direction he had just arrived from.

"My destiny?" Laning asked, fumbling with the idea. She was of several minds right now. One was her trained mind, trying to recall the first contact procedures. Glorious Humanity had long thought it likely that telepaths would make first contact with new races, since their minds were always reaching out and searching, so Laning had been trained in what to do if contact was made with an unfamiliar race. However, right alongside that another part of her mind was racing, trying to put together what had happened to bring her here. Yet another mind was still drinking in the wonder of sight, of one of her base senses that she had never had suddenly being given to her. Another was listening to what the centaur had said, trying to make heads or tails of prophecy and destiny. And lastly, one mind was simply trying to decide whether or not this was really a dream.

"Are you sure you are correct, Calen of Ail'rys?" Fortunately, it wasn't the first time she had met people who identified themselves that way, and she at least knew how to address them. She hoped. "I am Gloria Laning, a psionic of the Federation of Glorious Humanity. Though I doubt any of that means much to you, if we are truly in another universe besides my own. I possess no magic, only abilities that are natural for me. I know no incantations, and own no wands or staves."

She was familiar with the idea of magic, of course. The various elven nations all claimed to possess the ability to make a variety of effects happen through unusual, supernatural means which they called magic. She'd read reports of elven magic being practiced, and though she had never actually read of incantations or magic wands, she certainly could not do what the elves claimed to be capable of. If the centaur hoped for her to have gifts along those lines, he was going to be disappointed.

Then another thing Calen had said percolated through her thoughts to register. "Another from my Realm? There is another human here?" Had someone else from the Farseeker been pulled into this dimension, too? "What were they wearing? Have they told you their name or where they came from?"

"I am sure," Calen replied. "For I have read from the Stone where the Prophecy was first written, over 10,000 years ago." The Centaur smiled knowingly again. "The stars confirmed it, tonight you should come. And I knew it would be you, for I have known as long as you have live."

He watched her disbelief for a moment. "You do not believe this real, you think it a dream." He could see that he was right, even though he knew he was. "This is a dream! Yet, it is also real. You were brought here, Gloriana, to fulfill your destiny. You may not believe that you have magic, but you have the gift. All creatures possess magic of one form or another, even in your Realm. You may not think your abilities exceptional, yet they give you power over matter and the mind. That is magic."

He nodded; of course, she would want to find another of her kind. She needed something to hold onto, lest the dream should take her. "There is another. I can take you to him if you like?" The question was more rhetorical than anything he knew she wanted it. "After all, the Champions must meet." He half turned back the way he had come.

Romduran hovered, startled, before the other dragon. He-

flicker

-blurred for an instant, jerked like bad stop-motion animation, ivory scale briefly out of focus-

flicker

-and after a miniscule instant, snapped back to normality. Akram shuddered.

Romduran mustered his long-disused native language, and said in Old Dragon:

"We are lost travellers. What is this place? We apologize if we have intruded upon your territory."

Despite the difference in their strides the creature still proved difficult to follow. Dipping and diving, it dashed through the forest with the practiced confidence of a native. Even with the advantage of the Night Vision equipment the small creature proved illusive. Yet, still he was able to follow it barely as they quickly made their way through the mighty forest.

Time passed, and there seemed no end to this dark alien place where the young officer had found himself. He might have despaired, if it had been his way, except now there was hope. Hope, in a small strange creature, which was rather hard to follow as it raced ahead in the thick forest. Yet, even still this forest seemed endless. They traveled for hours (or more) and yet it was still there unchanging, ever dark, and ever full of these innumerable massive trees.

It then came as quite a surprise when Xsaiver realized it had indeed changed. Sometime in the last hour, of the long journey, the trees had begun to grow smaller and thinner. Now here and there shafts of light filtered down from the night sky. Ironically, brightening the forest floor. And slowly as they continued on the trees continued to slowly shrink in size and spread apart in their spacing in the forest. The pervasive canopy weakened, more gaps opening up in it's ceiling.

And suddenly they were out of it. So surprising was the change that Xsaivor was temporarily blinded by his Infrared Goggles and was forced to take them off. It took his eyes time to adjust to the change and was a moment before he realized they were in a clearing in the forest and not truly out of it yet. Indeed when they did, he found the area much brighter than he might had expected for it being night. And looking up he beheld the same night sky that Gloria Laning has seen on her arrival. There was the bright untarnished moon, and the great shining green star, and all the other spots of like in the sky, all the other stars.

As he looked around he found himself that in the center of the clearing was sheer face of a small bluff, and built into it was a small house. Or shack to be more honest, for it was not the prettiest of homes. Built from what seemed to be the materials at hand it was made out of logs, bark, and branches, with leaves and mud making up a short of cement-like binding agent. It was truly a sight one could only appreciate if one saw it.

The creature had made it way over a log blocking their path and to the house, where it was in the process of opening what passed as a door. It paused gesturing for the young man to follow, although he might have wondered how he would be able to follow this "whatever-it-was" through the doorway for it was built to the creature's size and not a human's. He might be able to crawl or squeeze through, however awkward that would be. Either way, he didn't have much choice for the creature ducked inside before he could reply or stop it.



Xsaiver had looked around, rubbing his eyes with his rough somewhat dirty hands, he was surprised by the hospitality of the creatures he met there, but was still a little suspicious, he sighed as he tried to crouch and fit through. his mind wandered on many things as he attempted to crawl in , his bulky gear falling from his body and on the ground he tried to compact it as much has possible and drag it with him his hair was some what messy dusts paling the black Rich color.

Xsavier Bastidas found himself in small hut with the largest collection of random items imaginable. Most of them were metal, and those that were not were trinkets of one kind or another, although there were various collected plants, roots, and herbs stashed about. There were also bottles containing mysterious liquids and substances, and at least one, which preserved what appeared to be a dead rabbit. There was a table, a small kitchen (which appeared arrayed for half a dozen crazy chemistry experiments), and a tiny sleeping nook.

The creature dashed around the hut snatching things and tucking them away in the sac it still held tightly. At first it did not seem to notice the young officer's entrance, then a finger stabbed in the direction of the table. "Help yourself to any food. What's mine is yours and all that--" Then it stopped to think. "--except only food, don't touch anything else." Then it was back at it searching and scrounging, the bag on its shoulder that had at first a vaguely square shape, now quickly growing bulges and bumps as new items were thrust inside.

Indeed, as Xsavier reexamined the table he found there was a bowl with what appeared to be yellow-greenish apples, or some fruit of a similar appearance. Whether they were the edible food the creature or promised or some poisonous herb was specified only by point from the creature, and there were several other items on the table, including a mirror, some scrap metal, and a collection of dead beetles.

The colossal Dragon blinked, appearing surprised by the uncharacteristic flicker of the dragon of Khrrck. It however did not hesitate and was practically upon them as its jaws opened. "I assure you," came the booming reply, in the same language that Romduran had used. "That if I meant you harm, you would know it!" If a Dragon could smile (and there are certain anatomical problems with such a terrifying facial maneuver) this one was.

The great Dragon took one pass by Romduran, admiring him and that which he clutched with him in his paw. This was a truly magnificent Dragon, easily twice the size of the native of Khrrck and resplendent in a coat of gleaming emerald scales, each seeming a gem of pure green. The Dragon was clearly in pristine physical condition as well. There seemed to be no strain at all to its fluid maneuvers and movements. Two mighty wing beats and the Dragon had come around and then alongside and slightly above Romduran, giving him a commanding view of the travelers and leaving Akram with the most annoying view, unable to see much of the newcomer at all.

Then the deep rolling voice replied again in the ancient language. "You have come into the Realm of the Dreamer, a world apart from your own. Your journey passed through my Wards, alerting me of your presence. For I Anandros, Grand Keeper of the Planes!" His voice rose with every word as he informed them of his status, until it boomed out for all to hear. Then it went quickly back to normal, or as normal as one would expect from such a great creature. "You will come with me. Your violation of this Realm is a symptom of a much greater problem. One, which must be brought to the attention of all its Guardians."

"Bit pompous, isn't he?" Akram muttered, half-understanding the conversation. "My Dragon is a bit rusty."

Romduran grinned. "I'm afraid I have no title as grand as yours. But, if I bore you ill will-"

flicker

"-you would know. Lead the way."

Romduran banked and followed the green dragon. His slim white form looked frail next to his companion, and he lacked a significant quantity of the grace the larger dragon mustered. But...

flicker

Xsavier Bastidas found himself in small hut with the largest collection of random items imaginable. Most of them were metal, and those that were not were trinkets of one kind or another, although there were various collected plants, roots, and herbs stashed about. There were also bottles containing mysterious liquids and substances, and at least one, which preserved what appeared to be a dead rabbit. There was a table, a small kitchen (which appeared arrayed for half a dozen crazy chemistry experiments), and a tiny sleeping nook.

The creature dashed around the hut snatching things and tucking them away in the sac it still held tightly. At first it did not seem to notice the young officer's entrance, then a finger stabbed in the direction of the table. "Help yourself to any food. What's mine is yours and all that--" Then it stopped to think. "--except only food, don't touch anything else." Then it was back at it searching and scrounging, the bag on its shoulder that had at first a vaguely square shape, now quickly growing bulges and bumps as new items were thrust inside.

Indeed, as Xsavier reexamined the table he found there was a bowl with what appeared to be yellow-greenish apples, or some fruit of a similar appearance. Whether they were the edible food the creature or promised or some poisonous herb was specified only by point from the creature, and there were several other items on the table, including a mirror, some scrap metal, and a collection of dead beetles.




Xavier walked over to the table he was tense not knowing what to expect his breathing became more shallow as he leaned down to pick up a fruit, his rough some what dirty hand touching the supple soft skin of the item, he picked it up with a slow motion moved it up to his face;he was still shaking and remembering the accident he could see death in his mind he quickly shook his head focusing on the Fruit, he finally put it up to his mouth his dirty lips barely touching its skin, it was so so tempting.... he thought to him self what the heck he has nothing to lose now, so with an instant motion of pure hunger to clamped down on the fruit, his teeth pricing its skin its juices and meat running in his mouth as he chewed and clamped again and again, he hadn't eaten for a while ... so it was good so very good to him .


A few moments passed he stooped focusing on the fruit and looked around the small hut with haste, his eyes focusing on objects walls and what ever else there was around him , he had no idea were this world was, but at least it wasn't out to kill him.


he sat down his feet up to his chest he looked at the objects on the table with interest he was careful not to offend his guest buy touching, but he looked and peered at the strange artifacts hoping he would recognize this weird metal . his breathing was back to normal his body was still shivering from the shock of the tellaporter, sweat dripped down his face, his breathing was slow and steady his hands Clinging to the ground...

A deep rolling sound, similar to a growl, came from within the great Dragon, Anandros. While it might have been determined to have a negative connotation to one unfamiliar with Dragons, it true nature was that of a chuckle. Apparently, the Dragon was not intimidated by his smaller companion.

The larger Dragon flew on ahead, leading the way through the mountains, as overhead the forgotten ceiling of thunderheads let loose the first peals of their wrath, heralding the forthcoming power of the storm held back by only a little time. The Grand Keeper pushed ahead with renewed speed, only slowing so that the smaller Dragon could keep up with him. A distance slowly grew between them as the larger Dragon pushed on with haste.

Maybe he feared the storm, but that did not seem to fit the mighty Dragon's actions and attitudes. No, it seemed more likely that some urgency that the storm kept reminding him of, pushed him onward. It would be difficult for Romduran to keep pace with this driven speed, but not impossible.

Even at the speed with which they traveled, the journey before them seemed to stretch on forever. The mountains passed on below (and around) them; peaks, snow, and occasional patches of green flowing on before their eyes as far as they could see, and onward as their flight pressed forward. It all was seemingly unending.

The sky was darkening toward night, when the wall of peaks formed before them. All disappearing into the storm bank, these were the largest series of mountains they had encountered yet, and the mighty Dragon flew straight for the center of them. The sharp eyes of a Dragon would make out a great styled stone archway carved out of the mountain face; it opened up into the darkness of the mountain's core. The Dragon altered its course for this very objective, slowly losing some altitude.

As they approached a second great long roar issued from the clouds, the thundering of the storm's fury issuing forth from the clouds, which had only grown all the more ominous as the light retreated from the world. Now they were rapidly becoming a black ceiling, and as here and there the sound of thunder grew flashes issued forth for the first time from the clouds. The lightning with which the thunder originated was beginning to show itself. It was hard to describe the sounds and flashes, which now began to assail the flyers. They were far and near, dull and loud, bright and distant. At times the lightning would, just above the Dragons, arch along the clouds in a spider’s web of electricity. The storm seemed to be full in its throws of power, yet still no rain fell down from it.

All in all it was rather disconcerting.

Romduran followed a few hundred feet behind the Keeper, showing no visible strain as he kept pace, and doing his best to ignore Akram, who was muttering about the indignity of it all.

He still flickered at irregular intervals. A keen observer would notice that he seemed to move slightly faster during the moments of uncertainty.

******

"Finally," muttered Akram as Romduran swooped down towards the archway in the mountainside.

"Don't get your hopes up," said Romduran, quietly. "Who knows what's on the other side?"

"As long as it's something I can stand on, I'll be happy."

"Champions? Plural? I'm afraid I still do not understand," Gloria told Celen. Truthfully, she was still having a little trouble balancing. She took one hesitant, step, staggered drunkenly, and tried another. This one was steadier. Then she closed her eyes and reached out with her mind the way she had done for her whole life. Instantly her body straightened and her steps became more confident as she stood beside the centaur.

"Regardless, friend Celen, please lead on. Perhaps our walk will allow me some practice with my new... condition."

As they started to walk, she found she couldn't keep her eyes shut. Even though it was much easier to move while relying on the system that she had used for years, now that she had sight her mind rebelled against the idea of not using it. Involuntarily, her eyes opened, and she staggered again. Then, eyes still open and looking forward, she took another step. And another, and another. She still swayed drunkenly, and nausea threatened to claim her as the unfamiliar sights continued to crush her, but now she could walk in a straight line without falling down.

Idly, she reached for one of the blades of grass. Her hand missed it, unable to coordinate with her eyes, and she automatically started to close her eyes, to return to the darkness that she was accustomed to. She fought the urge though, and kept looking at the blade of grass, trying to tell her hand to pick it based on the information from her eyes, instead of her telekinesis. It took three more tries before her hand finally closed around the waving grass blade, and she jerked it out of the ground, feeling like she'd accomplished something.

However small, it was a start.

Calen led the way across the plains. The plains seemed to stretch on for miles in all directions, vast fields of grass, sometime dipping and diving with the texture of low hills and valleys, but mostly leaving the flatlands even. The grass was long and deep running up to Gloria's knees. It was hard to tell it color in the moonlight but it seems to range from a yellowed-green to a dull yellow tan.

The night sky above continued to shine down upon them. The world was as silent as night, yet bright near toward day. It shed upon the travelers an eerie feel. The Centaur might say there was magic in the air, or the sky to be more appropriate, yet it seemed the entire world was full of magic at this moment, the magic of moonlight.

What had the Centaur called it? Selene. Gloria could look up now and see it shining brightly down upon them and the world. All the stars were still up there too, brightly shining dots of light. And the one glaring jade star throwing out rays of green light, brighter than all the others. If the moon caught one's sight first, it Ysirynia caught it only barely coming in second.

It was a long journey, they walked for hours. Before finally a glint on the horizon indicated their approaching their destination. Calen picked up speed a little. "There is my family. Ail'rys, it means Skywatchers in my language."

They walked on, and soon the camp formed out before them. It consisted mostly of primitive large tents. However here and there, there was a camp fire, and the entire camp seemed to be alive and celebrating. The revelry was surprising. Centaurs danced about, as only a Centaur can, around a bonfire as harps, lyres, and flutes played an ancient tune. It almost looked as if the flames were alive and themselves moving to the tune.

Indeed the fruit was edible, for Xavier could not detect the signs of poisoning, at least initially. Even when the creature finally turned from its rummaging through its possessions, it did not stop his eating with a warning. It was at least a delicious juicy fruit, tasting sweet and savory.

"You don't look so well," the creature shot out, having suddenly finished whatever it was it was doing. Two beady black eyes stared straight at Xavier concealing alien thoughts. It seemed to consider him for a moment. "Can't have you sick, long way to travel; little time. We must leave tonight."

And abruptly it was rummaging through the bottles, jugs, and vials, staring at bizarre liquids, rearranging experiments, and then following up by starting to mix two of the liquids. There was a puff of smoke that slowly rose to the ceiling. The creature smiled, apparently satisfied with whatever it had just created, and hopped over presenting the vial of liquid to Xavier. "Here drink this. Will strengthen you, keep you healthy, alert; only a low risk of tremors." The liquid inside was a very strange green that looked like the contents of a swamp, assuming most swamps glow eerily. There was still a fine mist rising from the vial.

The Archway grew before them, seeming to even dwarf the massive dragon that led the natives of Khrrck onward. As they neared they could see the stylized Dragon depicted on it. The mighty forms of two serpentine forms wrapped around the pillars their legs tightly gripping it, no wings apparent on them. Another more classic form launching itself outward forming the top of the arch, wings spread wide, claws reaching out, mouth wide in a roar. All their eyes glowed green, appearing to be massive radiant emeralds.

Other geometric designs were visible on the archway, as well as some form of writing that most mortals could not identify. It was Draconic, the ancient language of Dragons. Romduran would be able to make out little as they flew toward the archway, it still growing in size before Anandros and the Khrrck Dragon. Only that it spoke of the creation of the Dragons, and a self-imposed exile to a different plain of existence. There was one warning however that was clear to him, this was the Realm of Dragons and their Queen Ysirynia.

Finally, the archway started growing before them. Anandros slowed, dipping one last time so as to fly though the archway and into the corridor beyond. Following, Romduran would find himself in a similarly huge corridor seeming extending on forever. It was lined with pillars designed to appear as humanoid statues draped in flowing robes that covered them from head to toe, their faces hidden behind hoods, their arms covered in long sleeves, hands thrust into their opposing sleeve.

They flew on for a while the corridor stretching out before them, before finally light shown from the exit as it rapid grew before them. Then before they knew it they entered a massive circular chamber. A city could easily fit inside. Three statues like nothing they had seen yet dominated the chamber. They were statues of Dragons standing upright on their hind legs, wings folded about them, huge, easily a hundred times the size of Anandros. One lay directly ahead of them, identifiable as a female to Romduran's trained eye. Her head was bowed, eyes closed, yet through the stone there was an emerald glow emanating, there was something magic about her.

Arrayed in a circle, the other two were to the travelers left and right. The one on the left, seemed thinner, longer than the others. More serpentine, his head had a different shape, and there were long whiskers on his face. His eyes seemed a pair of radiant sapphires, holding the untold knowledge. The statue to the right was more bulky, appearing more powerful. His eyes also wide open he looked straight to the female with two violet orbs, seeming to himself hold immense power.

If one could tear ones eyes away from the statues, they would see the rest of chamber. There were mighty arches on all sides like the one they had just exited, corridors extending to unknown locations. The ceiling was a dome, a design of stars with swirling emerald clouds. In its center there was a circular opening revealing a ring of star-reaching mountains, and a glimpse of the storm clouds above.

Anandros circled to the center of room, the mighty statues rising around him. He settled to the floor and watched Romduran follow suit.

The Centaurs noticed the arrival of Calen and the Gloria and the music seemed to be wisped away on the wind. With the silence, more eyes turned to look at the new arrivals. Their cheer wavered toward awe and solemnity. As Calen stepped forward and down toward the camp, the keen ear might be able to make out a few whispered comments about "another Champion."

The camp itself was crude, a bonfire blazing at it center, it consisted of about a couple dozen tents of varying sizes. There were implements and racks for tanning, hunters, and gathering. The Centaur were dressed (those that actually were dressed) in leather and furs, a few had weapons such as bows or spears, even the rare sword. However, there were very few items of metal. Most were wood or leather. Theirs was a simple existence.

Calen greeted the Centaurs speaking briefly in a language Gloria could not understand. It sounded exotic, unlike any she was would understand. Then he led the way to a large tent, as the music and festivities resumed behind them. He opened the tent flap to reveal....

There on a mat on the ground lay the dozing form of a human male. He stirred looking up at Calen and Gloria as they entered. He had a rugged look about him. He was Caucasian, and had a deep tan. He had brown long hair and a few days of stubble on his face. He wore a beat up leather jacket, his left arm out of the sleeve and wrapped in a sling as if broken. There were a few cuts and bruises visible on his face and arms, and a bandage wrapped around his forehead stained slightly reddish brown, his bangs hung over it. A blanket was thrown over him, and he had his good right arm wrapped around behind his head to serve as a cushion. Removing it he used it to prop himself up.

"Well," he commented, wryly, his voice belaying a slight Drakonian accent. "Guess I am not the only human stuck in this weird dream after all. Names Alec Flauus, Professor of Antiquities at the Imperial University. And if I am not mistaken, your Glorious Human."

"We found him when we stopped here to make camp," Calen explained, chivalrously allowing Gloria to enter the tent first. Centaurs usually have little use for tents, except for shielding from the elements and often as a place to sleep. "He was unconscious and injured. We bandaged his wounds, as we have no true healer.

"'And you shall find him. The other Champion, beaten and injured, fallen from grace.'" The Centaur smiled knowingly. "'And the Champions shall meet.'"

"He's been spouting that stuff ever since I woke up here," Alec added, helpfully. "Still cannot seem to figure it out."

His attention fell more fully on Gloria, his brown eyes examining her as if trying to quantify something odd. Finally, with almost a shrug he spoke. "So are you the latest addition to my concussion-induced delusion?"

Akram gazed, wide-eyed, as Romduran glided into the tunnel. It was not normally in his nature to be amazed - a lifetime of service to Khrrck Special and the Mages' Guild had exposed him to hundreds of things across the spectrum of possibility, from strange to beautiful to downright lethal. But this... this entire world was beyond anything he'd seen before.

Still, that didn't keep him from being glad when they finally reached solid ground. He shifted as Romduran made an awkward, two-legged landing, and sighed in relief as he reached the floor. It didn't keep him from being wary, either. Despite all that this strange dragon seemed to be peaceful, he looked around carefully, checking to see if they were alone.

******

Romduran kept his expression carefully neutral

flicker

throughout the journey. Only the more rapid flickering gave away his nervous (or perhaps excited) state. His movements were interspersed with brief moments where he seemed to speed up, to take two beats in the space of one, to

flicker

blur in a way that somehow implied that a rule was being broken. One of the important ones, like gravity or special relativity. He viewed the statues along the path with a sort of impassive curiousity - the presence of the human form implied that there were humans in this world, or at least humanoids. The female dragon seemed to hold his eye for a moment longer than the other two - perhaps a moment of recognition, or rather half-recognition, as if she reminded Romduran of someone he knew.

After he landed, he spoke.

"So. We're here. May we now learn who these Guardians you speak of are, and hear of the problem that you mentioned earlier?"

Indeed the fruit was edible, for Xavier could not detect the signs of poisoning, at least initially. Even when the creature finally turned from its rummaging through its possessions, it did not stop his eating with a warning. It was at least a delicious juicy fruit, tasting sweet and savory.

"You don't look so well," the creature shot out, having suddenly finished whatever it was it was doing. Two beady black eyes stared straight at Xavier concealing alien thoughts. It seemed to consider him for a moment. "Can't have you sick, long way to travel; little time. We must leave tonight."

And abruptly it was rummaging through the bottles, jugs, and vials, staring at bizarre liquids, rearranging experiments, and then following up by starting to mix two of the liquids. There was a puff of smoke that slowly rose to the ceiling. The creature smiled, apparently satisfied with whatever it had just created, and hopped over presenting the vial of liquid to Xavier. "Here drink this. Will strengthen you, keep you healthy, alert; only a low risk of tremors." The liquid inside was a very strange green that looked like the contents of a swamp, assuming most swamps glow eerily. There was still a fine mist rising from the vial.





Xavier looked at the vial and raised an eyebrow, so far things seemed ok but it was still strange to him and confusing, he was surprised that the being even talked to him how would such a thing know his language?

He shook the thought out of his mind and took the vial, but hesitantly, his leathered hand grasping it from the being, he looked up and the being and stared at it curiously as he grabbed the vial from it, he asked in a rather cautious tone what he meant… saying “Were am I? and what do you mean? how do you know english?”

his voice was slow and clam but rather curious about the whole affair, his hand lifted the vial towards his mouth waiting for a response and his supple but dry lips touched the opening, the liquid began to drip in to his mouth as he lifted his head up to drink it, it dribbled in to him as he swallowed, he didn’t know what it was but beyond all his military training he trusted it…

He waited for a reply taking the now empty vial from his mouth as he finished with it and attempting to hand it back to the creature, indeed it did help him feel better his body began to relax, he felt some what of a new man, how he didn’t know it would take him a week of rest to feel the way he did a few moments after he drank the liquid… he still patiently waited for the reply his eyes focusing and panning around him as he waited for a response.

Gloria looked at Alec as he introduced himself. "And you're Drakonian, unless I miss my guess completely," she said when he was done. She moved over to sit next to him. "Psionic Gloria Laning, Glorious Humanity Psi Corp, currently assigned to the starship GHS Farseeker." She smiled faintly. "Though that seems like so much gibberish on this world."

She looked over at Calen for a moment, then nodded agreement with Alec. "I've made no sense of it either. He insists on calling me Gloriana." She shrugged. "It seems they expect us to do something. What, I have no idea." The designation "Champion" was a bit disconcerting though. In the traditional use of the word, a champion was a great warrior who fought on the behalf of an army or a culture. Gloria didn't like the idea that that might be what was expected of her and this battered man. Glorious Humanity's exploration protocol was very clear on that aspect of contact: Glorious Humans did not aid or assist any local conflicts, save in self defense or with direct authorization from higher up.

The chances of being suddenly contacted by superiors seemed beyond remote, but Gloria had the uneasy feeling that she would be forced to fight in self defence before too long. Whatever the Centaurs expected her to champion them against would probably not be open to negotiation. At least not at first.

Gloria flexed her telekinesis, making one corner of Alec's blanket briefly lift. Her innate abilities responded easily and automatically, and she didn't feel any weaker. She could most certainly handle a lone opponent in a duel or something similiar. Perhaps if she mentally restrained whomever she was supposed to fight, this could be ended bloodlessly.

Snapping out of her own reverie, she refocused on Alec. "I would guess you arrived here close to the same way I did, but it looks like your trip was a little rougher." She reached out to touch the bandage over his forehead, then looked at Celen.

"Before we do any more talking, these bandages need to be changed. Might there be more somewhere around the camp? And some water for washing the wounds." She was desperately recalling her basic medical now, pulling first aid and combat lifesaver classes back up from the depths of her mind. Not to mention mentally kicking herself for not starting the conversation with that. Alec's relaxed mood had put her at ease, she had assumed his injuries were not as severe as they looked. But now, looking closely, she wasn't so sure about that.

"Yours no more than mine," Alec commented on their officious titles in a primitive world. Where at first his mood had seemed confused and unsure to Gloria's attuned senses, Professor Alec Flauus now was happy to find another being such as himself. There was however, a moment of concern or something quick at her mention of being a Psionic. His face took on a more serious look, although Gloria could feel his mood as still being light and happy, almost playful. "Psychic, huh? I had heard Glorious Humanity had some of those. Uppity lot as I recall." Yet, he could not keep his face straight for long; a smirk appeared further indicating his joshing.

He glanced over to Calen, his mind running over the information, analytically trying to form conclusions. "Gloriana is Ancient Drakonian (or Latin), equivalent to the modern: Gloria." His mind kept racing, inadvertently reminding him of his wound. "Well, whatever we are supposed to do. I think it will have to wait till these heal." He lifted his arm indicating his wounds.

"We were at a dig near Mount Maelst," Alec explained, his mood suddenly a bit serious as he thought back to what had happened. "Under the mountain, in fact. All I remember is that the whole place shook. Then the walls and ceiling were falling. The floor did not even seem to be solid." He sighed almost unnoticably, his thoughts falling to his colleagues--hoping they were alright, wondering if they were here too. "Must have been a cave in."

It was likely that Gloria would know the important landmark of Mount Maelst. It is the largest mountain on the small continent of Nusquam Esse, which Glorious Humanity and the Drakonian Imperium share. Bordering the Dragon's Fall crater, the mighty mountain is located in central Drakonia, not far from the major populated areas of the country. It is said to have been the cradle of ancient civilization on the continent. The first recorded ruins are from a civilization predating the two millennia old Imperium by thousands of years.

Unconsciously, Alec shied away from Gloria's touch. His mind battling body to counter the reaction, as a shadow of memory pasted before it. Gloria might catch a glimpse of a field hospital, of Alec looking up to a cute young army nurse. The nurse slightly smiling. The scene seeming to change; concern coming over the nurses face as she looked outside. A strange and violent sound. A flash of something, dark and blurred--

Alec suppressed the memory, his mind returning forcefully to the present. No shadow had crossed his face; it seemed as jovial as it had before. Yet still, he was unsettled.

"Prophecies are never as clear as we would like them," Calen commented his emotions and mind still so similar and yet alien to Gloria. "They are hints at the future, guides and warnings meant to prepare, only clear after the event they describe are past."

He was looking down at both of the humans. "Your role in the events to come will be important to my people and all the good peoples of this realm. My people believe in prophecies, in the signs of the heavens, but there are few among us who are warriors, and the other peoples of this world, even her Guardians do not believe as we do."

Calen nodded. "There is a stream at the far edge of our camp. The water is fresh and clean. I will get for you fresh bandages." The Centaur stepped out of the tent.

The liquid seemed to slide like goo into Xavior's mouth, thick glowing green goo with a thin sheet of smoke, or steam, or something rising off of it. It did not seem the most appealing thing to imbibe. That is, until you tasted it. It was overpoweringly sweet, tasting fruity, and invigorating. And it was not long before Xavior would start feeling more alert, awake, energetic, and perhaps even hyper; like he had taken a dozen cups of coffee, fortunately without the diuretic effects of said consumption.

"Where are you? You’re in my home," the creature piped back helpfully. "It is not safe here. We must leave, tonight." It stared at Xavior with its two beady eyes, seeming to settle for a moment. "I am not unfamiliar with your kind--not that there are any around here--and being a bit of a magician, I learned your language."

The moment quickly past, as suddenly the creature was dowsing the candles that lit the hut, drenching it in darkness. "We must go now," it said urgently dashing out the door without waiting for Xavior.

"We are the Guardians, Dragons." The emerald Dragon regarded Romduran for a moment. "We keep the barriers of the Realm, for this is our Realm." The Dragon shifted his gaze to the ceiling for a moment looking at the storm above, and then returned it to Romduran, addressing the other dragon. "Those barriers have been broken. You saw the storm. It is but one symptom of a massive breach into this world.

The Keeper of the Plains shifted, seeming ready to leave. "I must inform the others, and you will need to be questioned as to your involvement."

The Dragons stood in the center of a great circle in the chamber. It was lower than the rest of the room. With tiered concentric circles acting as massive steps (as high as three feet and deep as ten) leading up to the outer edge, where the great arches represented the entrances and exits from the chamber. The statues themselves were set on massive pedestals as tall as Romduran and rising among the steps. The Keeper now started to turn from toward one of the arches behind him, and before the natives of Khrrck.

"Breach? Did he say breach?" Akram suddenly looked nervous. A few stray flickers of red-white magic corsucated across his scales, then vanished.

"Yes. What of it?" Romduran replied, watching the Keeper as he moved away.

"The last time I ran into a dimensional breach I was fucking buried in demons. I would rather not have that happen to me again."

"I doubt that sort of thing happens twice."

"Everything happens more than once. Since I joined Special we've had to deal with three zombie infestations, two mad scientists, eleven revolutions and who knows how many vampires. I swear, they breed like rabbits."

"What, the dimensional breaches?"

"No, the vampires. You stake one and two more pop up behind it. It's like they come off some kind of assembly line somewhere or something."

"Mhrmm," replied Romduran, not really paying attention. "Well, I haven't seen any vampires here."

"Nah. All we have to worry about is whether the roof falls on us. Oh, and how many demons we'll have to deal with. Solo. With no gear. Shkak, we'll probably die here."

"Don't be so negative. It'll work out. It always does."

Gloria's eyes narrowed at his comment about psionics. One didn't have to be a telepath to know that Alec had just said something very dangerous. "Oh?" she asked levelly. "It is 'uppity' behavior to demand the right to be treated as a human being, is it?" The attempt at humor on the part of the scholar had backfired badly.

She let it go after that. There was little point in tearing into him too badly. They were the only humans here, after all, she didn't want to alienate herself completely from the only other one in this world who looked like her. They might need to stick together later. The images that flashed from his mind to hers also made her a little curious, but not enough that she was going to ask.

"So, you discovered an artifact in the mountain?" she asked. "Interesting. I was pulled here through some kind of space anomaly. My ship was attempting to study it, when suddenly it flared and engulfed us. I have no idea of the fate of the Farseeker. I hope they were alright." That didn't sit too well, the idea of the ship and its crew vanishing into a black hole somwhere, and leaving her the sole survivor, trapped in this strange dream realm. Then again... "On the other hand, maybe more of them are here," she said, the thought buoying her spirits.

There was a long pause as she considered that. "At any rate, you are quite right, there is little for us to do until you are fit to move. We can hardly conduct a search on foot in your current condition." Actually, she did have another way to search the surrounding area, but Alec's comments about psionics made her a little uncomfortable with falling back on her abilities at that moment. She knew it was irrational, and it was hardly the first time someone had put her down for being what she was, but it stung all the same. More importantly, she had no idea of the capabilities of the centaurs, or how they would react to her mind wandering around the area. So she let it go for now.

Alec Flauus saw that hey had made a mistake with his attempt at humor and checked himself. "Not at all," he replied to her counterattack. "It is both natural and appropriate." His faced remained impassive, but beyond he was trying to reign in his thoughts and opinions. Yet, his opinions would no doubt seep through to Gloria. His feelings were mixed about the Psionic Revolt in Glorious Humanity. Something Gloria had probably encountered before.

The scholarly part of him quickly took control, reigning in his ignorant thoughts. He did not have all the facts and thus could make no proper conclusions. His comment, his joke, was not meant to even raise the issue. He signed inwardly as he decided to move on, best to let such things go. He agreed with Gloria on that, even if he did not know it.

"Oh, we discovered a great number of artifacts," Alec informed. "But it was the tunnel system under the ancient temple that was the most interesting. The temple was built alongside the mountain. It’s a massive structure, or it was thousands of years ago. Under it we found a network of tunnels leading under the mountain itself. They could have been vast. We had only just begun our first survey when the cave in happened."

His mind told the story as much as his world. Drifting to images of the ancient ruins of a vast city, it outline built into the mountain forming a huge circle on it side. The city had clearly been impressive, the vague outline of the excavated building proving that. They have once been layered into the mountain in a clearly planned design. A great walkway ran straight up the center of the city, and consequently up the side of the mountain, to the remains of the temple complex.

The most preserved part of the city, its remains vaguely resembled a Mesopotamian Ziggurat. It was huge just like one. And it old, the dating was in controversy, but it appeared to possible by as old as tens of thousands of years. The city had however been continues settled till a far later period, more likely five to seven thousand years past.

The tunnel network that stretch below the temple was extensive to say the least. Alec had been conducting his first survey for over a week at the time of the cave and he still only consider that the beginning of the first survey.

They had found a great number of ancient items during their digs in the city and even a few in the tunnels. But Alec still viewed it all as mundane and unimportant toward his current fate. He could not think of anything that would have some relevance or that might have played a part in his arrival. They were all ancient artifacts and nothing more to him; important, but only in an archaeological sense.

He pushed aside the thought of others have been transported to the world. They would have us or us them, he assumed.

"Oh," he contradicted, pushing himself fully upright and starting to rise. "I am not that bad. Just a few bruises--" Pain announced itself from around his body. "Ow--and scrapes; nothing overly debilitating," he assured as he rose gingerly, cautiously ignoring protesting muscles and body parts.

Forcefully and carefully, he stepped forward. "Now, how's about we go find that stream the horseman talked about and clean these wounds." Despite everything, Alec felt a bit awkward about a cooperative cleaning of his wounds. He could after all do it perfectly well himself, a self-sufficient and very male thought presented itself. Nevertheless, he found his awkwardness’ and whole situation amusing, and a smile could not help but creep onto his face. "And maybe while we are at it," he added. "We can figure out what all is going on here."

The Minotaur camp was not large, and it was not hard to find the stream Calen had mentioned. The camp was surprisingly open, in fact. Excepting the occasional Centaur or animal skin, the dwellings were mostly with out walls, guarding only with treated leather roofs against heavenly threats like rain. There were a few more closed tents, like the one Alec had been resting inside. But overall, they were open with only a roof to guard against the elements. Centaurs like the open area; it was part of their connection to the natural world and they would not have themselves so easily cut off from that world by such trivial things as walls.

The stream lay tucked away in a dip in the terrain just next to and slightly below the camp. It provided some privacy as one had to descent down a smooth pebbly bank to get to the cool clear water. The plain extended around them, the water seeming to carve itself a slight ditch to convey itself across them.

The two humans would suddenly realize that the plain did not extend on forever beyond the stream. Up above the far bank and a ways off were the dark shapes of mountains. They were some distance away and hard to make out in the night like, but it was clear that they were there.

It is quite possible that the realization that they were not in the middle of an endless plain was a shocking one. Perhaps they had just assumed that it could stretch forever in this world and now faced with the fallacy of that unconscious thought. It quite probably caught them off guard and gawking at the far off shapes. Or it might have passed noticed, but unimportantly as another detail about there surroundings.

This was not so much of a dream as they might have at first thought.

The Dragon paused for a moment on the giant steps, as if to listen to what the two adventurers were saying. Then it muttered some words in what sounded like Draconic, promptly vanished, leaving them to wonder if he had been there all along or if what they were seeing was all part of a delusion. The world around them seemed real enough. Not that that was much comfort; reality can be easily faked, by technology, the mind, or even magic.

The native of Khrrck would have quite a long time to ponder there new situation and its reality. Time stretched onward and it seemed like hours since the Guardian had vanished. Then quite suddenly a voice sounded from behind and above them, "We are ready. Please, come with me."

They would turn to find Anandros, standing at the top of the stair one of the great archways directly behind him. He turned and led them through the archway and down another long tunnel lined with pillars. Fortunately, for Akram he walked on all fours and this time did not take wing.

The three walked for a long time before the massive hallway opened up onto an even larger colonnade. Columns stretched forth in neat lines before and alongside them, covered in esoteric designs occasionally featuring the rare animal, both mythic and natural. Light filtered in from their side high up along the walls, its source cleverly hidden from view. Their passage along the colonnade was much short than down the hallway and soon before them loomed a pair of great arched doors. They parted unnervingly quietly for Anandros, leading the party into the next room.

It was circular like the atrium they had left, but slightly smaller. Raised around them as they entered were four Dragons, two on either side of them as they entered, all quite similar to Anandros in both color and form. Romduran and Akram might be able to note that three of the assembled Dragons were female however by their more slender forms. One of their number seemed older than the rest.

Anandros advanced forward, bringing them into the center of the room the other Dragons around them, sitting on a raised ledge. They seemed very much like judges passing judgment.

Light filtered down from shafts in the domes ceiling, its far off source obscure again by the craftsmanship. Magical emerald torches also hung along the walls alighting murals of Dragons, playing, flying, fighting, mating, and all the aspects of their lives in color detail. With Dragons of Red, Blue, Green, and myriad of colors represented.

Anandros walked forward, stepping onto the ledge and turning to face them with the grace of form possessed by Dragons. "This is the Council of the High Keepers of the Realm," he addressed the natives of Khrrck. "We would like to question you regarding your arrival into the lands that we watch over, so that we might gain a better understand of the fracturing of the barriers around this world. Would you be so kind, as to relate to us the circumstances of your departure from your own world and your entry into ours?"

"What?"

"They want to know how we got here. I know a little, but you graduated from the Guild..."

"Damnit, I don't know that. Return's years past my time."

Romduran frowned. "OK. I'll make do, then."

******

Romduran pondered for a moment.

"I'm afraid I can't describe the process in detail to you, as I was not personally involved in its invention. From what I recall, it involved deliberately placing magical stress on the fabric of our world to create a hole. Depending on the shape of the hole, it would connect to a specific universe. Or something of the sort. If we could re-establish communication with my home world, I could get a specific description for you."

[OOC: 'fraid this post is a little dull. I have the most amazing head cold right now, if it's any excuse.]
[Edit: This is Khrrck. Damn puppets...]