A Dreamer's Tale

An insistent knocking on her door roused Elizabeth from a dream she was having. Not exactly pleasant or unpleasant, but real in a way beyond the most vivid of regular dreams. She'd been in her neighbor's house, ghosting around, invisible to Mr. Sampson or the rest of the occupants. When she walked through him, she felt a weird force pushing at her yet not really impeding her. The man swiveled around, saying, "What was that?" She knew he couldn't really see her, looking around aimlessly, but still panicked and snapped back to her body.

Blinking her eyes open, she found herself in a more familiar room - her room. A few clothes were strewn about here and there, but mostly it was tidy, save for her desk, which was just littered with papers.

"Ellieeeee," the voice of her little sister whined through the door. "C'mon, wake up! Mama said you were going to take me to the market today."

"Is that so, Maya? Alright, just give me a moment to get dressed, the older girl said, sliding out of bed. She looked at herself in the mirror, holding up her messy bob of brown hair before letting it down. It was too short to really be styled fancily, but that also helped it settle smoothly too. Grabbing her outfit and shucking her pajamas off, Elizabeth got dressed in a mid-toned blue tunic with short sleeves (showing off a bit of the definition in her arms from the work in her father's forge), a brown vest, long shorts, and a belt with a pack to hold a couple of tools and trinkets.

The door to her room burst open, her little sister running in. "You done yet?" She asked while tugging at Elizabeth's arm. "I don't know why you spend so much time looking at yourself in the mirror." A statement that always dumbfounded Elizabeth. Her little sister, in her opinion, looked so much better than her, having inherited the silky black hair and heart-shaped face from their mother. She was a bit young to worry about those things, though (the sundress she was wearing, while pretty, white with beige accents, was also starting to show the signs of dirt and wear from being her 'favorite' piece of clothing and Maya practically refusing to wear anything else since she got it for her 8th birthday).

"It's not so much time," Elizabeth argued. "Not many other people can afford to have a mirror of their own." It was just a straight, long board of polished metal, not anything like the local lord, Lord Tukesh, or his family could afford, but still a nice perk of having a blacksmith for a father. Overall, their family wasn't very rich, not enough to afford some of the apprenticeships Elizabeth hoped for, but well off compared to some of their neighbors.

Looking back at her little sister still tugging on her arm, Elizabeth smirked. "I didn't realize you were so eager to help out with chores for Mom."

Maya pouted. "You know what you promised me! Next time we went out, you were going to show me the special spot where you practiced." The older sister nodded, knowing what she had promised after much begging from her younger sibling. Honestly, she would rather not have Maya know anything about that, but given the situation where she realized her powers, Maya was already well aware.

Heading out from her room, they walked to the kitchen. "Ooh, is that pancakes I smell?" Elizabeth licked her lips in appreciation; no one else in town was as good at making pancakes as her mother. Most foods when it came down to it. She'd often thought that Shelia could have opened a restaurant or pub with how good she was at cooking if she wasn't busy helping Adam run the forge and sell his works.

"Yes, dears, I thought you might want to get some food in you before picking everything up. Just because you don't have school today doesn't mean you should miss out on breakfast." Shelia stood in the kitchen, flipping the food over the stove.

"Any chance we could get some banberry sauce with the pancakes as well? To help give us the energy to get all that stuff." Elizabeth's argument was met with a playful smack to the top of her head.

"What do you think it is, last month and your birthday again?" Her mother asked, and Elizabeth shook her head sheepishly. It had been a lovely treat for her 16th birthday, but she knew they couldn't afford fancy stuff like that every day.

After digging into breakfast, she got ready to leave with her sister, their mother adding just before they left, "Grab the axe and get us some firewood along with the rest of the list, ok."

Once they were out the door (Maya at least knowing better than to talk about such things in front of their mother) said, "Can we still go to your training place? I know we have more to do now, but-"

"It's fine. We can chop wood where we need to go anyways." She cheered, and we walked through the town. It was small-ish but had big roads cutting through it, probably from ages past when it was made. Despite the current 'prominence' as just the last town Capital-side of the scorching sands that marked off the Baltonian Desert, it had once been a large city, if the architecture of the remaining ruins and Lord's manor was anything to go off of.

In the 'marketplace' (really just a large town square centered around an ancient tree, where neighbors sold things to each other and the occasional caravan or trader would set up a stall), they split up the list, going around and getting the food and other supplies the Wry household would need for the week. While there, Elizabeth overheard something that made her stop in her tracks.

"So this morning, I thought I felt a ghost walk over my grave."

"What does that even mean, Keith?" A friend of Mr. Sampson asked, looking over some of the butcher's meat.

"Ehh, it's a saying. Look, it just felt weird."

"You sure you weren't dreaming?" She tuned out the rest of their conversation, having heard what was important to her- proof that she hadn't imagined that, even if she had been 'dreaming.'

Her powers had grown even that far, no longer just Fixing things... like her younger sister's chipped tooth, which, given how the girl just fell over, might be in need of Elizabeth's help again. The little girl got up quickly, widely beaming at her from across the square, the faint line on her front teeth where she Fixed them before not visible from that far away.

Truly lucid dreams, where she could travel and interact with the town, and then somehow willing the fire away... she'd heard the tales of Dream Warriors doing incredible things, but she didn't know if that was what she truly had. What if she was actually a Forest Witch or a Blade Demon? The whole town (and also the world) would ostracize her.

At least, that was the excuse she told herself. Her powers didn't feel very 'witchy' and Elizabeth rarely ever held any blades, let alone mystical ones. The truth, which she had only admitted to one other person, was that she wasn't sure if she wanted to join the holy order.

Speaking of that person... "Lindsey!" Elizabeth said, waving over her best friend. Lindsey was a lanky girl with dirty blonde hair, hanging down straight today, a sign that she wasn't needed in Adam's forge. "How are you doing?"

"Doing good. Enjoying the break we have till school tomorrow, she breathed in the open air exaggeratedly, getting a giggle from her friend.

"Shouldn't you be using this time to get your homework done instead?" Elizabeth waggled a finger at Lindsey.

"Ugh, don't remind me. We have to go there most of the week anyway, and then they have more chores to do outside of it? At least when I apprentice with your dad, he doesn't give me metal to forge outside of the smithy."

"Would you really have a problem with it if he did, though?" Elizabeth helped her family out in the blacksmith's forge too, but she wasn't as dedicated to it as Lindsey was, part of why she wanted to explore her options and find a different job. Lindsey had always liked the idea of forging, though, and they became friends back when she (and her parents) had first checked out the Wry family shop.

"Well, no, but that's cause the forge is cool. Books are dumb, all that endless reading. No offense."

"Just because I like to get my work done ahead of time isn't bad. In fact, I'll treat it as a compliment."

"Let's not get carried away now" Lindsey said, adopting a serious pose as she looked at Elizabeth. They held the glance for a second before breaking down giggling.

"Seriously though, I think it's cool that we get to have a school in a town this far away from anything. That wouldn't have been possible a couple decades ago before the queen took the throne." Queen Peregrine Hevlon had made it a personal program of hers to educate everyone, which meant setting up schools, even as far away from the capital as their town of Waken.

"Yeah, yeah. I guess it's not the worst thing ever. Ooh, watch out," the taller girl said, looking behind Elizabeth. Even without the warning, she could sense the noble boy, a chill running down her spine at his presence.

"Mrs. Wry, to what do we owe the honor?" The snobby boy behind her said. Elizabeth turned around to glare at Margrave Tukesh, only son and heir of the Tukesh line of nobility. He was dressed only slightly better than her for an average day in town with his tunic and pants, but the embroidered noble crest was clear on his puffed-out chest. His yellow hair was slicked back, and his blue eyes gazed down on her contemptuously.

"Nothing, I'm simply out getting some groceries." Elizabeth liked to consider her a fair judge of character and that she wouldn't hold it against the boy that his father had been levying some fairly harsh taxes against a lot of the goods her family made. Not unbearable ones, but they were onerous to say the least. The fact that Margrave kicked sand in her face once when they were six, and then again two years ago, plus the way he generally bullied others and acted better than everyone though? That did make her upset with him.

He tried to trip her up as she walked past but stepped too far, almost falling down. "Wha-!?" As he was catching himself and putting himself back up, Elizabeth walked around him in a large loop, wondering why his leg had looked so odd for a moment - out really far but also scrunched up slightly. The problem quickly disappeared, so she wondered if it was just a trick of the light.

She shook it from her mind, laughing at him with Lindsey for a moment before saying, "Great to see you, but I've gotta get these groceries back home." Her friend nodded and waved them goodbye before Elizabeth grabbed Maya and headed out from the marketplace to the western forest. In the center she'd found a nice smooth rock, with a fairly level top. Scrambling up a bit, she got to the top and situated herself cross-legged, getting ready to meditate.

"Whoa, so this is where you practice? Can I see what you're doing? Can you punch fire or conjure a hurricane? Oh, oh, teleport to the other side of the forest!" Maya exclaimed.

"Ugh, I can't do those things. Stop listening to all those tall tales. Dre- Not even Dream Warriors or Forrest Witches can do all that stuff." She thought at least. The stories attributed all sorts of abilities to them, from mind reading to seeing the future to both of them, such that they'd be impossible to trick or kill if they actually had all of them.

Blade Demons too, though they tended to have more 'killy' and 'aggressive' abilities. Forest Witches had some similarities to Dream Warriors from what Elizabeth could tell, but the tales told had very different slants to them. They were all about trickery - one had to watch out about drinking any potion given by an old crone in the woods, or trading their name away for a wish with them.

"Ooh, can you use your abilities to make the axe cut trees for you?"

"In the sense that I can tell you to get started on that, sure thing!" Elizabeth said, tossing the axe off to her little sister.

"Hey! I thought I was going to get to see you do something cool," she pouted.

"Well, toss me up some firewood and we'll see." Maya grumbled a bit but went off, chopping off a few twigs while Elizabeth focused her thoughts.

She grabbed the small pieces of wood that were thrown up to her. "Seriously? Fine, I should still be able to make this work."

"What are you gonna do?"

"I'm going to Fix it."

"What? You already did that trick; can't you do something else?"

I scoffed, "It wasn't a 'trick' when it saved your life!" There was silence in the clearing for a moment as we both remembered that day.

It was stormy out, rain falling heavily all over town. Elizabeth had lost sight of Maya in the forest as the younger girl went to splash in some puddles. Even over the booms of thunder, she somehow heard Maya calling out distantly, "Help!"

Running over shrubs and through bushes, Elizabeth ran as fast as she could towards the sound of her sister's voice. She came to the river's edge, the water churning up and flowing more rapidly than she had ever seen it before. Down the river there was a slight blob sticking up out of the water. At first it just seemed like a tall rock, but then odd movement and spluttering revealed Maya's form clinging on to it, desperately trying to avoid getting swept away.

Elizabeth ran down to where Maya was but couldn't reach her that far out. Fearing she'd get pulled away too, she grabbed a long branch from the ground and stuck it out over to Maya. "Grab hold! I'll pull you back," she cried out.

Just as her sister was slipping off of the rock, she grabbed on to the branch. Heaving, Elizabeth tried to pull her back, only to find the branch starting to splinter apart as she did so, not able to bear Maya's weight. 'No, no, no,' she thought, willing the branch to remain whole with all her might as she pulled, and then, something miraculous happened: It held. More than that, the damage started reversing, mending itself as she pulled Maya onto the ground. What had been hanging on by a thin piece of bark a few moments earlier was whole and well by the time Elizabeth rescued her sister.

The stick had been forgotten moments after rescuing Maya, but by the next day, when everyone was well and safe, the two reviewed what happened, and upon practicing, found she could Fix more than just inanimate objects, Elizabeth healing the cuts and scrapes Maya had gotten being battered around by the water before grabbing the rock.

She'd sworn Maya to secrecy after that, but that didn't stop the little girl from pestering her all the time. "Look, I'm trying something new anyways; I'm going to try to make the branches grow into more wood without whatever connected them the first time." Reconnecting things had become fairly easy, but trying to make something grow out of essentially nothing, the original damaged part still lying about in the forest? That was new, and to her mind, probably a lot safer than trying to practice with her fire control here.

Focusing, she tried to grow more wood, the rest of the tree from where these tiny branches came. The energy within her came forth as she placed her hands in front of the branches, the warm energy suddenly lurching from her. It was both a new and natural sensation.

When she opened her eyes, she saw she had made a good amount of wood from each, almost spreading out to make a full round of trunk on each of the five branches but felt incredibly drained, her body shaking, and suddenly the six-foot drop down from the rock she was meditating on felt like a lot.

"Whoa. Can't do that again." In retrospect, she realized that she probably shouldn't have tried to Fix all the branches equally when trying something new. The fatigue faded fairly quickly, though she knew not to push her powers more quickly. Still, even as she moved down and focused on chopping up the wood, she couldn't help but try flicking her fingers together and making a small flicker of fire leap off them.

"That's so cool!" Maya exclaimed, reminding Elizabeth of her sister's presence and causing the older girl to groan as Maya inundated Elizabeth with further requests for 'fire magic.'.

Taking the wood back home, they got settled in for the night, Adam coming home. He had brown hair too, though his was messy and curly with a long beard of the same quality. He was a burly man, to be expected from his forge work, and very kind. He always offered a struggling neighbor a good deal on a horseshoe or some axle that needed fixing, trusting that they'd all help each other out in the end (which is why his daughter thought it all the more shame that not everyone felt the same way - some neighbors were kind, but others could be plenty greedy).

Elizabeth read some books she'd borrowed from the school, having already done her homework, and was just looking to learn more about the world. Occasionally they even had tidbits on Dream Warriors sprinkled in the history books, but little about the specifics of what they could do.

These books didn't have much new information for Elizabeth - while the new educational system gave even people out in the countryside the basic studying material, they didn't have much access to more than that. She could only imagine how grand the libraries in the capital were like, how much one could learn there. Engalia was an incredible place with so much out there, and she liked to learn more about it. Yawning, she realized how dark it was getting and got ready for bed, so she'd wake nice and early for school in the morning.

It had been a good day overall, and yet, as she slept and reached out in her dreams, she couldn't help but feel a dark presence lurking about the town. She didn't venture too close to it, but it felt like an ominous sign for the future

The school was a set of small, semi-interconnected buildings. Altogether, the different classrooms and field space allotted for it made it the second largest property in the town, next to the manor Lord Tukesh owned (though still a fair bit smaller than his sprawling estate). Elizabeth got there early, taking her seat at the front as she usually did. The other students streamed in, making up most of the kids over 11 in the town, save Margrave, who had his own private tutors.

She had to assume those tutors were pretty good, given Margrave actually knew a fair bit (when he wasn't acting like a complete jerk). His knowledge outpaced the rest of the class, and only Elizabeth kept up, in no small part because of how much extra studying she did.

Lindsey took her usual seat directly behind Elizabeth, picking that spot to avoid getting called out by Ms. Wimblebee. Fredrick, a boy a few years older than her, stumbled in looking very haggard and sat beside her.

"Hey Fred, are you doing ok?" She asked.

"Oh, me? I'm like, totally fine. Just worried about graduation is all." He was looking exceptionally tired, a dangerous sign, and Elizabeth thought she felt the dark presence from her dreams in him, but shook it off. There were a couple of times she thought she had felt things while waking, but it was hardly that precise a sense.

Ms. Wimblebee entered and began the class, starting with some basic letters for the students still struggling and then moving on to more advanced topics, like mathematics and history for the better students.

"... and so much of the Last Age was lost as the final fires and fighting died down, but some buildings and ruins still remain, mostly fortresses, a testament to those blood-soaked times." Elizabeth wondered sometimes about how much of that was true. Even then, much of the knowledge of the architecture from all those centuries ago was gone, though what they had of the designs looked elegant. Besides the buildings, everyone said it was bad, though, so she knew it must be true and was very glad to live in these better times, past the Age of Swords and the civil wars that followed intermittently.

After class she went off to practice my powers a bit more, figuring out more about the fire she made. She could make it out of nothing, though it would quickly flicker out unless she put more energy and focus into it, able to direct it as she did so. That 'direction,' control over it, seemed to be what had allowed her to snuff out the flame when she needed to as well. She made sure to practice by the river whenever she did, just in case she needed another way to put it out.

The rest of the week went by similarly, going to school, practicing powers, and helping out at home or at the forge. Fredrick showed up less and less, worryingly, and by the end of the week, his girlfriend, Ivanka, was getting worried. "Has anyone seen him?" She asked by the end of the week, her eyes red with worry.

"No, I can check in on him after class," Elizabeth offered, starting to get worried. Of course, Maya dragged her away right after school, and then Lindsey had a cool piece of metalwork to show her... by the evening she hadn't checked in on him. Getting up and out that late would probably be vetoed by her parents, so she just checked in on him in her dreams, using her powers.

Traveling through the town in dreams was odd. It was like she could travel anywhere in an instant, unbound by distance, yet still feeling the spaces in between, somehow. She zoomed over to Fredrick's house, where she felt it. That bad feeling, that terrible energy she had felt pervading the town, it was centered there. It scared her, but she went closer to the house. As she did so, she saw lines, almost like tendrils, stretching out from within the house, reaching out to other houses and through them.

"What... is that?" Even as she questioned it out loud, she pieced it together. How vivid and 'real' it felt in the dream, how Fredrick had been acting the week before, so tired and drained... she entered his house (the door was locked, but that wasn't a barrier to her in the dream) and saw him in his room, thrashing about in his sleep, unable to wake.

That all appeared to be underlaid, over a seething mass of evil energy. Elizabeth couldn't call it 'dark'; it wasn't a true color (the same way it wasn't a shape or size yet felt like it was growing), but it was wrong. Deeply, terribly wrong. Elizabeth could sense the nexus spreading out over the town, and it was like putrid flesh without the smell.

"He's been infected by a Nightmare." As if drawn by her words, a tendril of thought, or whatever passed for it from the entity, reached out, extending from the Nightmare towards her. In desperation, Elizabeth pulled back, 'snapping back' instantly to her body and waking up in shock.

***

Warning the town turned up mixed results. They immediately responded, not even questioning how Elizabeth knew or forcing her to reveal her powers. In part that was because others were already infected/afflicted by it. Those closest to him (emotionally; Nightmares had some trouble with distances, but how they spread was well recorded to be primarily around feelings and positive emotional connections people had to each other) were feeling the effects already and well in reporting it.

"I can't believe how foolish he was!" Someone gathered in the town square said about Fredrick. Objectively, Elizabeth could agree with that. The most important thing with catching a Nightmare was reporting the symptoms before it became too bad. Now he was stuck, unable to awaken while the affliction got stronger. Subjectively, she could understand how deceptive and hard to pin down it was; even with her advantages, Elizabeth had missed its spread too.

They were called 'Nightmares' because they first had symptoms like the mundane dreams, simply a bad night's sleep. It was only as they persisted that the symptoms got worse. With one this bad, they'd need a Dream Warrior to come in to deal with it.

"Fear not, citizens, for I am here to save the day!" I turned around, looking for the voice in the crowd. There was no way, surely even he couldn't be- Margrave stepped forward, boldly presenting himself to the people. He was wearing even fancier clothes than he usually did, a gold cloak draped off his back to go with his blue doublet and pants, both trimmed in gold. If the topic was any less serious, Elizabeth was sure she'd be doubled over in laughter at him.

"I have recently discovered my Dream Warrior talents. While I'll soon be going off to train in their holy ways, I shall vanquish this beast before I go."

"Get lost, boy." Grumpy old man Gilbert grumbled at him. "This is serious; we don't have time for your antics." The rest of the town murmured their assent, not willing to do much more to the noble boy but generally turning away from him.

"But I really do have- argh, fine! Be that way; you'll all see soon enough." He stomped the ground and turned away, and Elizabeth saw a minor flash of fire out from beneath his feet.

Could he actually be-? Reaching out, she felt something from Margrave, though it was hard to say what it was. Did he have powers like her? If he did, she was pretty sure he was at least weaker than her, though, and that meant he'd be in danger trying to take that thing on. She wasn't sure how well even she could fight that thing.

Jogging over to him, she called out, "Wait!"

"What? You don't believe me either? I'll show you-"

Elizabeth held up her hands. "I do believe you."

"Really?" For a moment, he was caught off-guard in his confusion, looking like the young boy he was, not the arrogant noble face he usually put on. "Well, of course you do." Then, after a moment, he added, "Wait, why are you stopping me then?"

"It's too dangerous. Go to the Eastern temple and get actual Dream Warriors." Seeing his face darken in anger, she quickly added, "I understand you have powers, but you can't have been trained yet."

"What do you know?" Elizabeth opened her mouth to try to reveal her secret and convince him, but he just talked over her. "Nothing, that's what. I need to save them fast, or this will get worse. Now get out of my way." Glaring at him for a moment, Elizabeth eventually stepped to the side, not seeing another way to convince him.

Elizabeth went over to her 'training ground,' trying to think of an answer to the Nightmare problem. Fighting it head-on like Margrave seemed foolish, but she didn't want anyone to get hurt because she held back.

As she thought on the answer, she drifted off and found herself Dreaming again. The Nightmare didn't seem to reach out that far away to her, but she could still sense its presence. Everyone in town had their own presence, though she couldn't feel them from that far away. Off in the distance, though, she felt something, like a glimmer of light, a barely visible star in the night, calling from far away.

A Dream Warrior? Possibly. They weren't in the direction of the Eastern Temple, so it might have been a mistake, but Elizabeth felt something calling her to them. Racing across the land, she went towards that star, noticing how the landscape became uneven and blank as she left the forest. She could glide over everything rapidly, but as she went, it felt like she was being 'pulled' back to her body, getting harder and harder to travel away. She hadn't noticed that before, but she'd also never been as far away from home.

As she got closer, the presence got larger, burning brighter and stronger like a star itself, blinding as Elizabeth got closer. "WHO APPROACHES ME?" The presence boomed out, and she wasn't sure if it was trying to yell at her or just so strong that their voice came across that loud. Whatever the case, they perceived her mentally wincing and toned the volume down.

"Are you a dream warrior?" She gasped out, having difficulty just holding herself that far away from the town.

The voice, now light enough to reveal itself as somewhat feminine, responded. "Yes. Who- who are you?"

"I'm Elizabeth Wry, but that doesn't matter. My town is infected by a Nightmare; we need your help, please!"

"Where's your town?"

"It's by the Baltonian desert. I- ach, come quick!" With that, she couldn't take the pain anymore and was flung back to her body, waking up immediately. The dream must have taken her longer than she thought, as the sun was shining brightly through the forest canopy when she opened her eyes.

Feeling as tired as any use of her power had ever left her, she stumbled out of the forest and back home. Opening the door, she was greeted by two very worried parents.

"Where have you been?" Shelia cried out while hugging her as if to make sure Elizabeth was really there.

"Your mother and I were worried sick. With this nightmare business going on, we need to stick together and make sure we don't fall asleep before help arrives. Are you all right?" Adam asked, the bearded man looking down on his daughter with worry.

"Ye-" she tried to say before swaying slightly. "Just a bit tired- not 'tired' tired, just mentally bleh. Not sleepy."

"Ok, let us know immediately if you do feel that way or anything unusual." School was closed for the day while the rest of the town was panicking, and by the evening Elizabeth heard from Lindsey that a couple of guards at the castle were talking about how it seemed like Margrave had failed.

The Nightmare was getting worse; she could feel it like a shape at the edge of her vision, even while awake. Whatever Margrave tried seemed to backfire greatly, the Nightmare getting stronger from it. Worrying, Elizabeth left her home, heading out to the other forest, the one that led to the desert, hoping that she could get someone from there in time. Whoever she contacted in the dream must have been too far out to reach them in time.

By the time she reached the sandy edge of the desert, it was well into nighttime, which made it cool, but better than the scorching heat that would come with the day. With luck she might get close enough to the temple... to wave down the person in front of her.

She could hardly believe her luck when she saw him standing there, a tall, dark-skinned man with a weathered face, bald, and wearing black and red robes, a gnarled staff at his side. Suddenly, he was right in front of her. "What do you want?" He barked out, and Elizabeth fell back in surprise.

"Wait, are you a Dream Warrior?"

"Hmph, that much should be obvious. Yes, I'm a Dream Warrior, a Master of the Order. My name is Cain. Who are you? Not a witch, even those forest fools have better awareness and skills than you, yet there's still something..." He measured her, as if judging whether to offer her a hand up or to strike her down with his staff.

"Um, I'm Elizabeth Wry, sir," she said as she picked herself back up. My town desperately needs a Dream Warrior; we've been attacked by a Nightmare, and it's spreading fast. Fredrick didn't report the signs at first, and then Margrave said he'd fight it and-" Cain was on the move, motioning her to lead the way, which she scrambled to do and keep ahead of his long strides.

"Dammit. That was foolish. Margrave- that's the name of the young hopeful I was to pick up soon. I had other duties to attend to first, but this is an emergency. Why were you standing out here?"

"I was trying to reach the Eastern Temple to get help. I reached out to someone else, but I think they're way farther away and won't get here in time."

"It's lucky you found me at all. The Temple may be relatively close, but that's still a two-day march for a normal person. The desert would have eaten you up and spit you out if the bandits didn't catch you first. Wait." He swiveled around, looking off through the trees to some point on the horizon. I couldn't make out, but I felt the same pull on my own senses. "Someone's coming. I've only felt a force that great once before. Grandmaster Tenga," he let out as a reverent and disbelieving whisper.

He shook his head. "No, this isn't the same; he's motion and stillness all in one, beginning and end. Then this must be- oh no." His words were flat, like he knew what was coming and he raised his staff in front of him. The person crashed through the forest, not actually hitting any trees but knocking aside his staff like a twig in a hurricane. The blur rushed Cain and grabbed him in a vicious hold.

"Get off of me!" Or maybe just a friendly hug, Elizabeth reevaluated as they slowed down and she took in the action more clearly. Cain pushed at her to no avail, her arm wrapped around the back of his neck as if she was about to give him a noogie. The woman sighed and backed off and let him go, smiling brightly. It, and her presence, were like the sun, banishing the darkness, and Elizabeth knew this was the one she had called out to.

She must have sensed it too, stepping forward towards her and offering a hand. "An old friend and a new one, this is an auspicious day. I'm Dawn, a Dream Warrior." She wore similar black and red robes as Cain, but had a beige belt wrapped around them, and the fit was tighter. She was short, almost 9 inches shorter than Cain at a mere 5'3. She had wavy auburn hair, pale skin, and a light dusting of freckles on her cheeks. It was hard to place her age; she could be anywhere from 20 to 40, and it wouldn't have surprised Elizabeth.

Blinking, Elizabeth shook her hand. "Thank you for coming. I was worried you were too far away. I'm Elizabeth."

She waved it off. "Not a problem for one as strong as me. And hey, I get to see my old friend Cain too."

"Master Florian, I'd thank you for some level of decorum, please." Cain grumbled out as he straightened himself out, making a point to smooth out his robes. "Despite the fact that we trained together as Initiates you should set a good example and address me as Master Gargouth."

"You're too stiff and formal. Relax a little. As Tenga always said, 'You need to learn to take in the little moments in life.' Ease up." Master Gargouth scowled at her continued flippancy.

"He also speaks on duty and commitment. You waste your talents hiding behind the Grandmaster when you could be so much more."

"So much more? I'm already a master, and I achieved the rank far earlier than you did, bootlicking at Corrigan's feet. Congratulations on the achievement, by the way."

"Ugh. Well, we'll see who's laughing once I achieve Temple Master status."

"Is that a fact? I guess we'll see what happens then." Her stance hadn't changed at all, but Elizabeth could feel a sense of power radiating off from her in response to Cain's challenge, just leaving him to sigh defeatedly. Both in the sense that he was weaker than Dawn (which was true, though the man still felt leagues stronger than her or Margrave; Dawn was just on an entirely different level), but also in their weird banter/teasing/whatever.

To the young girl, It had seemed like an attempt to convince Dawn to do 'more' with that challenge, though she felt like she was missing a lot. The two of them clearly had a complicated history she wasn't privy to.

"Now, we've been treating our new friend quite rudely, ignoring her and all," Dawn clapped her hands, turning the conversation back to Elizabeth. "You had some people you needed us to help, right?"

"Uh, yeah, follow me." I led the Master Dream Warriors back into town to combat the Nightmare.

They went to Fredrick's house, where they found some town guards standing around it. They tried saying, "No one is to enter until Margrave is finished," but that didn't hold up too well to two actual Dream Warriors here to save the day.

Inside the house, Fredrick was lying asleep still, but he was still now, deathly so, while Margrave was twitching beside him, stuck in a trance. Even though she'd reached the epicenter, Elizabeth wasn't worried or distraught, Dawn's presence drowned out any sense of danger from the Nightmare.

"Dammit, a Nightmare gets far stronger if it can feast upon a Dream Walker. I'll need all my strength to purge it from him," Cain said, gripping his staff tightly.

"I guess I'll deal with the rest of this issue then," Dawn said lightly, still projecting that calm confidence.

"I- your assistance would be appreciated, thank you, Master Florian." To Elizabeth he explained, "Fighting a Nightmare of this level alone would take far more time, time where the people afflicted had greater chances of taking permanent or irreversible damage. Trying to go fast and solve the problem immediately can lead to situations like young Tukesh's here. We Dream Warriors are the greatest line of defense against Nightmares, but if one of us were to succumb while fighting them, then the Nightmare becomes far stronger."

"Does that mean any potential Dream Walkers could just make any Nightmare stronger!?" Elizabeth squeaked, fearing that her own presence was a threat to the town before he dispelled those doubts.

"Even a fledgling should be able to sense and avoid an oncoming Nightmare, even if they lack the Training like we have to fight it directly. This is a large part of what we dedicate our lives to," Cain reassured her. "This might be a tough case, but we can deal with it, together."

The two of them stood there, seeming to do nothing physically, but Elizabeth knew there powers were quite active. Finding a seat, she tried to copy them, entering a trance to get a better 'look' at what they were doing. It took a few minutes compared to them being able to do it near instantly and remain standing while they did so, but eventually she slipped into that state and could feel how they were fighting back against the Nightmare.

Master Gargouth was pushing back at the hold it had on Margrave, wrenching the thing free from his sleeping mind even as it tried to slip around and gain a hold on the young noble again and again. His grip was like iron, though, defending Margrave. As he was saved, the Nightmare shriveled, weakening immensely all over town.

It helped, but the young girl honestly didn't think it would have mattered in the end. Dawn was a wave of force, striking in from everywhere in the town and crashing into it. The Nightmare was no match for her force; even when it had extra strength it was siphoning from Margrave.

Calling it a struggle would have been an exaggeration. How they applied their powers seemed like rote extermination; efficient and methodical, leaving no chance for escape or mistakes. Even then it felt like Dawn was perhaps... holding back? Just a bit, as if she was giving Elizabeth a chance to witness it. Then she felt a sense of amusement come, possibly eminanting from the powerful Dream Warrior.

Had Dawn sensed what she was feeling and responded, or did she just imagine it? In any case, the Nightmare was over. With Margrave freed, it didn't have anywhere near the strength to resist Dawn and was crushed into nothingness in an instant. Elizabeth opened her eyes and looked at Margrave opening his eyes while Dawn and Cain smiled.

"What happened?" Margrave groggily asked.

"We've saved you from this monster and your own foolishness." Cain scowled down at the boy (which might just be his resting face), and upon seeing him, Margrave understood the situation and started to shake with fear and shame as he realized just how much trouble he was in/had been saved from.

"It's alright; they saved the day, and it'll all be better now. I'm sure they can teach you more about how to do it properly when you become a Dream Warrior," Elizabeth tried to encourage him, not even wanting to see Margrave look that upset.

Cain cast her an odd look. "Yes, you will learn much in the Order."

"Wait, I can still join the Dream Warriors? Even after that..." he trailed off and shivered as he remembered the Nightmare.

"Of course you'll need to pass initiation like every prospective Dream Warrior, but I believe both of you will do well and grow up to become fine members of our order."

"Um, me?" She said at the same time as he said, "Wait, her?!"

Dawn silenced them all simply by raising a hand. "This isn't good, this kid isn't waking up."

The other master shuffled over closer, the room feeling a bit cramped now that Margrave was up too. "Damn, it looks like it got to him too much. He's gone."

"Is he- dead?" Elizabeth asked.

He shook his head. "Not exactly, but his mind has been extinguished. If a Nightmare gets to someone for long enough, then even with all traces of it removed, the worst of those afflicted will never wake up, their minds shredded by the Nightmare. They die soon without assistance."

"Can nothing be done to wake him up? Like with Dream Walking or something?" Elizabeth hadn't been particularly close to Fred, but he was nice enough. She knew him, and it just seemed so unfair that he wasn't going to truly live through this just when she thought they were all saved.

He shook his head sadly. "Unfort-"

"I'll save him," Dawn said, having finished her own inspection of him, causing Cain to sputter.

"Dawn, be reasonable. No one has ever healed someone that far gone. Even the Grandmaster has failed in cases like this."

"Sometimes," she admitted. "He's also succeeded occasionally, if he's gotten to them early enough. I may not be the Grandmaster, but I've gotten plenty strong too." Dawn turned over to smile at Elizabeth. "Don't worry, everything's going to be ok."

Pulling out a wooden rod tucked into her belt, she focused on Fredrick, holding his head with one hand and pointing the rod at it with the other. Cain has turned away from her, muttering something about 'getting hopes up,' and Margrave was still taking in the fact that he's awake and well, while glancing sidelong at Elizabeth every so often, no longer sure what to make of her.

After a minute of deep concentration, she sees a brief flash of green from Dawn's rod, and then Fredrick opens his eyes and starts thrashing about. "Hold him steady; I need to focus, and this part is tricky." The three of them hold down the flailing boy, and after another minute, he settles, blinking a few times before opening his mouth.

"Where am I? What happened?"

"You're in your room, you were attacked by a Nightmare, but then-" Elizabeth was cut off by Cain's barely audible whisper of disbelief.

"You saved him. Incredible." The guards broke the moment, them and Margrave's father entering noisily downstairs.

"What is going on here?"

***

We all went to Lord Tukesh's manor, eagerly invited by Helven Tukesh when he realized who they were. It was a large building on the edge of town with a larger estate, gates, and walls blocking off entrance to the large road that could fit several carriages, in theory at least (not many visitors or need to actually close the place off from the outside, so the gate was usually left open). The manor had many spires and open bridgeways throughout the building; it was very fascinating to Elizabeth, though she was somewhat distracted by the current circumstances.

Lord Tukesh invited the Dream Masters in to breakfast while they discussed things, which seemed to include Elizabeth as Dawn ushered her in as well. The Lord raised an eyebrow but let it pass without comment.

"Well, I suppose we have your intervention to thank for dealing with the Nightmare problem. Thank you so much. I know my son tried his best to hold off the beast in your stead."

"It was... a valiant attempt," Master Gargouth said stiffly. "They will make fine Dream Warriors some day."

"They?" The Lord looked over at Elizabeth. "Surely you can't mean this peasant girl will also be-"

"Peasant or noble, talented Dream Walkers come from all sorts. The Grandmaster reminds us he was once but a humble man before he changed the world," Dawn interjected. "But enough of that; let's eat and be merry for the moment. The day is saved, after all."

The chefs brought them food. It was incredible, and yet Elizabeth felt it was not quite as well cooked as what her mother managed. The ingredients were of high quality and often exotic, with fruits that the rest of the town couldn't get this far east and well-spiced meats, but the cooking was only of average quality. Certainly not bad, but... it felt like the cooks were being too experimental and that the Lord cared more about showing off his wealth than enjoying the food.

After the meal, Margrave turned to Cain and asked, "I was hoping to join your Order someday; would you be willing to accept me?" He looked so hopeful and eager, made it seem like he might have a pleasant side to him... for he deigned to act less proud, mean, and arrogant around.

"I am a Master, but I will have to pass that request on to the Eastern Temple Master, Corrigan Creed, and then you will have to pass the Five Trials to become an Initiate, as any hopeful would. Still, if I may be so bold, I believe you will have no problems managing this. Your courage and talent will surely show you through, and I would be honored to sponsor and tutor you." The male master seemed to be sucking up to the older lord as much as praising his son, a fact Tukesh appreciated.

"Splendid. I'll have to make sure to leave a generous donation to the Eastern temple soon; you've done so much to help us."

Margrave seemed a bit more nervous. "Are those trials difficult?"

"Yes, but I believe you'll pass, with my guidance. When you are ready, you can leave soon to begin your training. The Eastern Temple isn't far from this town."

The boy finally turned to Elizabeth and said, "Is she coming too?" Dawn spoke up suddenly, changing the topic.

"This has been a delightful meal, but I find myself quite full. Do you mind if I take a stroll in the garden?" It wasn't really a question, however, as the woman was already getting up and beginning to leave.

Helven dismissively said, "Of course, Dream Warrior. Enjoy yourself on the grounds. Now, as you were saying, Master Gargouth..." So dismissive of Dawn, not even realizing the two were of the same rank. Was it just because she was a woman? The father might not have been able to sense her power, but even with her presence set to be less overwhelming, Elizabeth could feel the gulf of power between her and Cain, while Margrave could not (that, or he just followed his father's lead to an insane degree).

Putting down her cutlery, her meal mostly finished, Elizabeth said, "I think I'll join Master Florian in the gardens, it's a lovely day." Then she gave a slight curtsey and left, Lord Tukesh waving happily, as if that would conceal the smirk on his face as the 'peasant' left. It was all so dumb. His family was slightly above them because of a happenstance of birth, yet he felt the need to shove his superiority in everyone's face, although his distance from the Capital meant he couldn't have had that much real power or connections (not that it mattered much for a common girl like her; a minor lord's power was still pretty stifling over the whole town).

Wandering through the garden, she found Dawn, walking amid the rosebushes, her hand running through them, yet never seeming to be cut on them, or the sleeves of her robes catching on anything. "Wow."

"It's quite beautiful, is it not?" Dawn asked, seeming to take her appreciation of the garden (which was beautiful and well kept). "I have so little free time; I like to take it where I can and enjoy the bounties of nature."

"Master Gargouth thought you were a slacker," Elizabeth blurted out before covering her mouth.

The Dream Warrior just laughed, her voice bright. "He would think that, wouldn't he?" She flicked her wrist, and a shrub shifted over to make an opening for them to walk through to a bench on the other side, uprooting itself to let them through, then shuffling back into place after they passed. Dawn concentrated, and the world around them seemed to turn in on itself, then turn black, leaving a sphere of darkness around them, with a bright beam of light above. At Elizabeth's questioning look, she said, "I like some privacy sometimes. I can use my powers to hear Cain over in the castle, and I'm sure he could do the same to me, so I thought I'd make this bubble. Please, feel free to speak your mind here."

"Wow," Elizabeth said, afraid to place her hands against the darkness but also tempted by curiosity. "I mean, you can do such incredible stuff, and you're stronger than him. I can feel it, so I don't get why he thinks you aren't doing enough."

"Cain has many opinions about how exactly one should work and aim for, but I never let myself see in such a limited way. I have a different perspective than him, but I work no less hard for what I want. I daresay I may even work harder than a man striving to be one of the next 4 Temple Masters." She didn't elaborate on what her dreams were, and Elizabeth didn't feel like pushing. Instead, she asked something else that had been weighing heavily on her mind.

"Do I have to be a Dream Warrior? Cain seemed to assume I will, and I have these powers, but-"

Dawn paused, not expecting that question. "No, we'd never force you to do something you didn't want to. Is there a particular reason you don't want to?" Sensing her hesitancy, she laughed and added, "Don't worry, I won't be offended." The question was quite reasonable, even if not coming from a Dream Warrior herself; they were revered as holy men and women, gifted heroes who saved and protected the world. Many times as a young child, Elizabeth had played at 'Dream Warriors and Monsters' with her friends.

"I- no, I can't really say so. There are things I might like to do, but those goals seem far off, not enough money or opportunities for them." Elizabeth's eyes drifted back to the manor, looking at where she knew Margrave and his father would still be eating, chatting it up with Cain.

"It does seem unfair, doesn't it? Right now, he's chatting it up with Margrave, giving the boy hints on how to pass the Trials, hoping to earn favor with the nobles and get more funding and connections and a powerful pupil to 'his' temple. That's part of why I want you to join me in Central. Any temple is a fine place to learn at, but I think you could do more with me there than just that." Elizabeth opened her mouth to respond, but Dawn continued. "Heh, it's funny. Margrave might feel the same way about me, but I feel that his attitude leaves much to be desired as well. His abilities will be... adequate for the order as it is, but I see more in you." Elizabeth looked up at her, surprised Dawn read her feelings so easily that she could answer her questions before the girl asked them.

"Haha, I'm just pretty good at reading people; I can't read your thoughts or anything, and yes, I do realize how ironic that sounds now that I've said it out loud."

Elizabeth indulged in a brief giggle too after she took everything Dawn said in. "So, why do you think I'm so special?"

Dawn looked down on her (given their respective heights, Elizabeth suspected some power was involved) and put a hand gently on her shoulder. "Well, just having these abilities shows you're special, and you in particular have a lot of potential. More than that, you showed a lot of what I'm interested in. You wanted to help everyone, so you reached out to me, not rushing in recklessly but still showing incredible drive to help save people. That's what I want to do."

After a long moment, Dawn started unfolding the surrounding space. "It's alright, we can go back to the others and-"

"I'll do it. I'll become a Dream Warrior." It was a big step, but seeing this disaster and how quickly the Dream Warriors saved them? It made Elizabeth realize she needed to do this, to help so many others. That was worth a lot more than some vague childish dreams of hers she couldn't even achieve. Plus, she was sure she'd have a lot of fun learning how to use her powers and other things from the Dream Warriors, especially from Dawn; she was incredible.

"That's a big decision. Are you sure about this? If you have other dreams, you could still pursue them. I may be rather carefree in many things, but I'll expect the best from you if you take this path." The folded and unfolded space blended, making the garden around them feel like a watercolor painting. A frozen moment in space.

"Yeah, this is where I need to go. It feels... right. There are many things I want, but more than anything, I want to help people. I hate seeing them hurt, and you saved everyone, even people others thought there was no way to help. I want to do that more than anything." Dawn smiled, and the world reverted to normal.

"Well then, we best get a move on," Dawn said with a large smile on her face. Then she started mumbling to herself. "Hmm, the next one would be two months from now, oh, but if we leave quickly, we can just squeeze in, and it fits in with my check-in there. Perfect."

"Uh, when is it that we'll be leaving here?" The Central Temple, from what Elizabeth could recall, was near the Capital, so very far away.

"A day from now."

"Only a day!? I- I don't have anything packed or-"

"Calm down, calm down. You won't need to bring a lot anyway, but... I think I can give you two days to settle anything here before we go."

"That won't be a final goodbye or anything, right? I'll still get to see my family some time after my training is done?"

She let out a short laugh that didn't contain much humor. "It's supposed to be, in theory. Dream Warriors are to commit themselves to the Order, so once someone is accepted into the Order and passes the Trials, they need to let go of their past life and focus on helping the people, but there are exceptions to this." The disapproval in her tone was palpable.

"Exceptions?"

Taking a deep breath in, she explained. "If an Initiate achieves the level of a full-fledged Adept, they are given an opportunity to take a sabbatical - actually this is forced on everyone. Time is given for them to take a break and reflect, though if they choose to just spend a day meditating quietly in their room, that's fine too. It's meant to give them time to relax, rest, and reflect on their additional duties and station in the Order. Adepts are the ones responsible for keeping the peace, gathering new Initiates and protecting people. Them reconnecting slightly with their old friends and families was expected, though it was meant to be brief periods of time to accept that they and those they knew had moved on in different paths in life, hold that love and compassion for them, but still move on as an Adept after a few weeks. Now they last months or years; many Dream Warriors have been found even trying to slip away from the Order and taking what they learned to build a new family or life for themselves."

Having to leave her family sounds terrible, but at the same time, Elizabeth can see why Dawn's disappointed in that behavior (she also notes that's another side to the Master Dream Warrior, having taken her at first to be far more easygoing about such stuff than Master Gargouth).

"I understand. Well... I guess I best get going then, to say goodbye to them if I'm going to be leaving so soon. And, thank you again for all of this," she said before hurrying off, rushing back home to break the news.

***

Her mom and dad are shocked at first and more than a bit upset at their daughter hiding this from them, but as that fades, they grow to accept it.

"I'm sorry that this is happening, and so quickly, but I'm proud of you. You're taking a tremendous step to help everyone in Engalia with this, and that's incredible. I want you to know that we'll always love you," Adam said.

Shelia nodded, hugging her daughter. "We know you'll do incredible there. Make sure to write often, ok?" Elizabeth agrees, wondering if that's 'holding on to her past life' too much, but justifies it as just being letters to her family, not planning on leaving the Order or anything.

Going all around town, she passes on the news of her leaving. Two people leaving to join the Order (news of Margrave going to the Eastern temple has already spread) is quite the shock to the townsfolk, though they're all very happy for her. One of her classmates, upon finding out that they'll be going to different temples, ribs her, "I knew you guys didn't like each other, but I didn't think you'd need half of Engalia in between you two."

"Heh. We just have different, uh, mentorships going on, she said, which was true, but she wasn't really sure what Margrave thought of her now that she had powers. Hopefully, by the next time they met, he'd have grown up a bit.

She spends the night over at Lindsey's place, just talking to her best friend. They're sad to see each other go, Lindsey trying to convince her to stay. "You never wanted to go or show off your powers before, why do you have to leave now?"

"You know why. The Nightmare, it could have hurt a lot of people, and I have the power to stop it. I can't squander that, not when they need me."

"But-"

"Look, I know you could convince me to stop, this is a big step for me too, but, I want to do it. I'm nervous and scared, but I think it's the right thing to do. Please don't change my mind."

"Ok, fine. I'm sure you'll do great things out there. Just... be careful. And don't worry, I'll make sure Maya and everyone are ok here, you just focus on saving the world with your incredible powers." It's bittersweet, but they spend the time reminiscing on the past, joking around, and just cherishing the time they have.

Maya had been elated about her big sister becoming a Dream Warrior until she got to the part about Elizabeth not coming back home for likely a long time. "Ellie, no! You can't just leave me, not- not-" much sobbing ensued, and while Elizabeth tried to comfort her, there wasn't much that could make the young girl happy.

The next day, they went out together. The sisters tried a bunch of different stuff, tasting a new dessert of 'iced cream' that a trader had brought into town (a bit expensive and cold, but quite tasty!) and playing any inane game Maya wanted to (for once with no asking her to demonstrate her powers). It cheered both of them up a bit, and in the evening there was a big sendoff party for her from all the townsfolk, something that really warmed Elizabeth's heart.

Shelia made some of her favorite foods (seared fish, fresh bread, and beans), and after dinner, Adam gave his daughter a gift: an incredibly well-made silver locket necklace with her name engraved on the front in looping letters. She knew her dad was a talented craftsman, but this was incredible, a masterpiece.

"This is... amazing. Thank you so much, Dad. I'll treasure it forever." They hugged tightly, and she thanked everyone else for coming there, promising to remember them forever.

The rest of the evening passed by quickly with great merriment as the town celebrated her departure. Night came faster than she expected, and even with the party carrying on well into it, eventually the townsfolk started trickling out until it was just her and her family left. They went back home, one last time, to rest up before her journey began.

In the early morning a voice reached out to her mind. 'It's time,' and she woke up immediately, knowing where to go. The others were still asleep, but that didn't stop her from softly saying "Goodbye" to them before heading off into the forest, to the rock where she trained. Dawn stood there, the hood of her robes pulled up as she waited for Elizabeth.

"Are you ready?"

She nodded, filled with determination. "Yes, let's do this." Dawn took her hand and led Elizabeth Wry out of the forest, on a path to her new life.

"How long do you think it will take us to get to the Central Temple?" Elizabeth had heard the Capital was many weeks away from home, yet Dawn had warned her not to take any rations. Were they going to be roughing it?

"Not too long. It's only 700 miles away, so about 4 hours if I push it."

"4 hours? Not like, 4... hundred?" Elizabeth wondered if she had misheard her.

"Ah, might not want to push it then. Alright, let's get started, and as we go, we can get started on your lessons." Space twisted around them, not forming a bubble this time, but more of a tunnel on the sides, stretching out across the horizon.

"Whoa. Can everyone do this? I've never done anything like it before." Fear gripped Elizabeth's heart as they started hurrying through the ever-shifting landscape. What if she only had some superficial abilities and wasn't really Dream Warrior material?

"Don't fret. Everyone has their own talents, but anyone with one power can use all the standard Dream Warrior powers, even if some aspects will take more work than others. Though that is a good segue into my first question for you: What are the powers all Dream Warriors can use?"

"Uhh..." That was a tough question. She had some idea of what most of them were mentioned as doing, but there were a lot of gray areas just relying on the stories, and historical books tended to skim over the details of what they could do in favor of their impact on the world. "Dream manipulation for one, that's pretty obvious. You know more than me; if it's a lesson, why are you asking me?"

"Your answers give me a good idea of what your starting place is so I know what to cover. They also give me some insight into you too. Like how that ability is usually called 'Dream Walking,' but your name for it would also be very fitting, though I don't think Tenga would agree with it much." At the look on her face, Dawn just waved a hand. "Don't worry about it or hold back; I want your thoughts here."

"Ah, well, healing things then."

"Things?"

"Things and people. Dream Warriors can heal them." She waited to see if Dawn had more commentary, but the woman just hummed for her to continue. "Alright, uh, Fire, we can make and control it. Then there's this," she gestured around to the tunnel they were walking through, which was a mistake as she got queasy instantly looking at the shifting landscapes blurred together by Dawn's ability. "Urk," she swallowed and stopped herself from heaving.

"Hmm, might be a bit much. Don't look out to the sides for now. We'll need to train you to deal with the visual effects of Folding - that's the name of our space-warping ability - later, but we have to move fast to make it to the Capital. Try looking up. The clouds will blur a bit as you walk, but it's a pretty clear day today."

"Got it. Wait, why are we going to the Gaea? I thought we were going to Central." Her vision dropped instinctively as she talked to Dawn before she remembered to keep on looking up.

"We're going to stop by there before going to Central tomorrow; I need to check in with someone. The mountain where the main temple is is very close to the capital. Good job knowing its name, by the way; most people have forgotten it has a name beyond 'the Capital.'"

"Ah, I read a lot, and the Capital donated much of the books and teaching materials for our school program, so I was curious about it. Umm, as for other abilities, I don't know. There are a lot of different things Dream Warriors are mentioned as doing, but it doesn't feel... right. I can't explain it well, but even though this Folding feels weird and all, I think I could do it some day, but the others, things like seeing the future or conjuring barriers out of thin air, don't. Are they just tall tales?"

"Not quite, but you're mostly right. You missed Force, the power to protect yourself from physical blows or add to your own. That one can be used by all Dream Warriors as well. Fire, Fix, Folding, Force, and Dream Walking are the five standard powers any Dream Warrior can bring to bear. However, there's also an Individual Ability that a Dream Walker may awaken in their lifetime, a source of greater versatility and basis for many, many outlandish stories you may have heard." She grinned a bit, obviously thinking of some of the sillier ones she had heard of.

"Ok. Can anyone develop more than one Individual Ability or...?"

"No, only one, though like 'regular' Dream Warrior powers, they can often be used in a number of surprisingly versatile ways. Don't worry too much about them. Despite some superstitions, many powerful Dream Warriors never unlock an Individual Ability; it doesn't mean they're better or worse off."

"Now, we've named off the five main abilities, but can you tell me what they do?"

"Isn't that pretty obvious from the names? Fire burns things, Fix fixes them, and so on."

"Ha! I know plenty of masters that would lecture your ears off for hours for that answer. That's right, though, in its most basic sense." Elizabeth blushed hard at her ignorance, on full display for her new mentor. "Us Dream Warriors are experts at using our powers, training daily. We can get far more nuanced and precise with each power, to the point where certain effects or results of our powers can look like other things to the untrained eye."

"Fire creates, directs, or snuffs out fire. That's it; any heat created or removed is from the fire controlled, not a separate part of our powers. Doesn't affect smoke either, so be careful if you ever find yourself in a burning building; you might suffocate even if you can diminish the flames."

"Force is projected from our bodies. It doesn't travel through the air by itself, though if there's a connector to something you're trying to move, like the ground, it is possible to move it by sending the force through there. This is often an ill-advised move, however, due to the next power."

"Folding, able to just make things come closer to you or keep them farther away. Folding is a very useful power, especially for travel like this, but remember that despite the space changed around an object or person, its properties are still the same. I could enlarge my fist to punch someone with a fist the size of their torso, but all I'd be doing would be diffusing my own force. Areas of folded space revert back to normal naturally over time, though another Dream Warrior can speed this up." Or counter it went unsaid, but it felt right to Elizabeth.

"Fix seems the most self-evident, but how far it can go and its reach to fixing even unliving things can give a lot of new options." Elizabeth spoke up at that.

"How far it can go? Does that mean it can bring people back from..."

Dawn shook her head. "Unfortunately not. Once someone is dead, they are well and truly dead; nothing can save them. Fix could be used to restore the body back to an undamaged state, but it won't work (though reversing wounds is a way for some to analyze how exactly a person has died)."

"Dream Walking is one I find named the least well, because of how it extends broadly to the subconscious mind, not just dreams. Influencing people, getting a feeling off of what they are truly like, and more. We can achieve all these remarkable things with a single Ability called 'dream walking.' Grandmaster Tenga, however, feels that's the most important aspect of it, historically important, and what we should focus on."

"Huh. I hadn't heard of any such history to it."

Dawn chuckled. "Before your time- before any of our times. I've heard from a couple of people that it was important back long ago, in the Age of Blades."

The walk continued for a long time, hours passing by as they zipped across the countryside. Elizabeth didn't learn much more, just trying to focus on not feeling sick (looking up helped, but sometimes clouds crossed their path, and even their fast relative movement was hard to handle) and continuing the quick pace that the Master Dream Warrior set. It was impossible for her to tell how much the compressed space was increasing their travel speed, but it seemed like a lot. Still, the distance they had to travel was far, and by the six-hour mark, Elizabeth was feeling tired.

"How much further do we have to go?"

"Still an hour or two, can't quite compress the trip as much as I'd like with you still getting your bearings, but you're doing a great job pushing through," the Master encouraged.

"Huff, yeah, actually. Why is that? It feels like I've got a lot more endurance now and ability to keep on going. Wait, could that be my Individual Ability?"

Dawn chuckled. "No, no, and IA would be far more noticeable than that. Hmm, I guess I didn't consider it a proper Ability, but it could be seen as such, though to most of us it's just a minor side benefit. Tell me, do you know where our powers come from?"

She struggled to think about and keep pace with Dawn. "I, guess it comes from us?"

"Not a bad guess, and pretty much correct. Our powers are fueled by Life Energy, a term coined by Grandmaster Tenga - along with the names of our powers, most creatures of the land, and many other things, as he is wont to do. People with the ability to become Dream Warriors have a large amount of Life Energy and use that for their powers, and it's theorized that we regenerate those stores of energy faster too, which is why many find that they have more endurance than the average person. Of course, the exact amount can be a difficult thing to measure, and part of the increase is just in the training we do, which naturally increases endurance. Still, a nice side benefit. Now come on, let's see if we can put that extra energy to good use!"

Elizabeth groaned as Dawn flashed her a smile and picked up the pace, the young girl gritting her teeth and trying to keep up.

***

She stumbled out of the folding tunnel to see it, suddenly in front of her eyes, Gaea, the Capital of Engalia. They're standing on a hill a slight ways away from the city, lush fields leading up to a great stone wall erected around the place. The city itself slopes upward too, showcasing another, smaller ring going up in the city, and then a final ring around the Royal Palace itself. It sticks out as a giant feature off from that distance, sticking up into the sky from the center of the city. Higher than that, however, is the mountain in the distance, backdropping the city a few miles away.

Large roads strike out from four gates leading out from the main wall, riders, caravans, and pedestrian travelers flowing in and out of the city, looking like ants from this far away. Many smaller roads branch off, especially from the Southern road, with many other paths leading into it or onto other roads visible from where they stand.

"Alright, you did good. Now we just need to do one last little shift, and we'll be in the city, okay?" Not giving the young woman a chance to actually say if she's ok or not, Dawn pulls her through a very long twisted path, but one that only takes a few steps for them, leaping over the first wall, landing on a dingy rooftop in the first district, then again, hopping over three more buildings and the next wall to end up in a deserted small side street in the second area easily.

Of course, that motion is just a bit too much for Elizabeth, and she has to swallow down some bile before she's overwhelmed by her vertigo and disorientation. "Ah, take a minute, rest up; it's all done now."

Following her advice, the girl takes some deep breaths and gets her bearings. The street is quiet, and very well made, with smooth brick roads lining all around, stone houses in pristine condition, and some nice shrubs and small garden patches lying about. Looking further down one way, she sees a fountain spraying out water in an intersection of streets, and far past the other appears to be a guardhouse and gateway to the final wall.

In front of them stands a small inn sandwiched between two other houses, the sign reading 'Golden Carp Inn.'

"This will be our lodgings for the night, and where I need to meet my friend. C'mon." Leading her inside, Elizabeth saw a cozy lounge room. The innkeeper cheerily waving to them.

"Welcome! We have a few rooms still available. Or would you like something to eat?" Elizabeth's stomach growled at that thought, but Dawn spoke up first.

"If you could get some food ready now, that'd be great, we'll need it in a bit. For the moment, though, I'd like the keys to room two-oh-four, please." She pulled out a couple of gold coins and dropped them on the counter. "Thank you for your service."

"I- but that room's already taken-" then she looked down at the coins. "Ah, I see. Well then, enjoy your stay." She passed Dawn a set of keys, and the two of them stepped up the creaky steps to the room.

Dawn put her ear against it for a moment, then unlocked it and burst open the door to reveal two purple-cloaked figures standing inside. One was a woman with light blond ringlets of hair peeking out from under her hood that looked oddly familiar, the other a huge man, standing over seven feet tall, with short, clean-cut black hair and a fittingly massive sword and bow strapped to his back.

"Pera!" Dawn cried out, moving to hug the other woman. The man tensed, flinching his hand towards the hilt of his sword but stopping as she quickly glanced at him, settling for taking a step back but keeping a close eye on the Dream Warrior while the other inspected Elizabeth.

'Pera' accepted her hug after the moment of surprise ended. "Dawn, it's good to see you again," she said serenely. "I see you've brought along a guest." There was no shift in her tone, but the question was clear.

"This is Elizabeth Wry; she caught my attention recently and has decided to join me at the temple. I have no doubt she'll be a fine Dream Warrior and help all of Engalia some day." Huge praise that the young girl very much wasn't sure she could live up to. "Say hello to Peragrine, she's an old friend of mine," Dawn encouraged.

"Oh, hello, it's nice to meet a friend of Dawn's- uh, Master Florian's." She offered her hand to shake, which the woman took with a slight quirk of amusement to her lips, and Elizabeth realized why this woman looked familiar as she connected this woman to a portrait hung in her school. "You'r- you're Peragrine Helvon, the Queen!" She scrambled to curtsey properly before the ruler of Engalia. "Your majesty."

"No need to stand on ceremony. If Dawn brought you here, then I know we'll be good friends." She took off the hood of her robes, revealing more of her angelic face and piercing, sharp green eyes better. To Dawn she said, "I worried you might not make it. Have you had any troubles of late?

"Nothing to worry about. Nightmares vanquished and Engalia safeguarded. I have heard little from Whistal of late, so I should probably check in there at some point." Elizabeth's stomach decided to interrupt, growling. "Oh, we've been on the road all day. I'm just going to catch up with Pera here and talk about some work stuff. Why don't you go downstairs and get some food? In fact, why don't you take James with you? You can talk and get to know each other."

The large man grunted at that, seeming uncertain before the queen spoke up. "Go with her, I'll be fine here."

He nodded, "As you wish, your highness." Despite his tone being perfectly cordial and respectful, Elizabeth knew that he didn't agree with the order, but he followed it nonetheless. Elizabeth had a million questions swirling around, but those soon were replaced by the ravenous hunger and pot of soup the innkeeper placed in front of her.

The large man had relaxed a bit, but he still seemed rather tense, even as he ate his own bowl of soup methodically while still keeping an eye on the place. He was quiet too, not saying a word, which might have felt a little awkward but felt less so with how unbothered by the silence he was, like that was natural for him. Eventually, however (when Elizabeth was almost fully through her bowl), she broke that silence by asking him, "How do you know, uh, her? Or both of them, I guess."

She didn't think the innkeeper knew that that was the queen up in her cozy little inn. In fact, given that she muttered something about Elizabeth and James giving the 'lovebirds' space, the owner probably thought their relationship was entirely different than it actually was (at least Elizabeth thought that was the case, though she was starting to realize how little she knew of Dawn).

He spoke, his voice crisp and clear but low. "I've known... Pera since I was young. I've worked for her for some time. Dawn I met later. How about yourself? Few people get Dawn's attention like you have."

"Well, I managed to contact her when my town was being attacked by a Nightmare, asked her for help to deal with it, and she did so. She says I have a lot of potential, but I'm not sure."

"It can be tough to know if you're ready before you've been tested. I was worried too, once." As he said that, it felt... off to Elizabeth. She didn't know why; she'd only just met the guy, and while it was partially true, she thought he was the kind of person worried all the time but just good at hiding it, categorizing it as something else so he could deal with it. That wasn't a bad thing, though, and could give her some insight.

"How did you learn to deal with it?"

"I focused on what mattered. Who I knew I had to protect. The rest came easy. After all, I train a lot, so it should be like second nature, something I'm betting you'll find out soon."

"Right. Hey, has Dawn taken on any other students before?"

"Not that I know of, but she does her own thing plenty. Some people have caught her eye." 'But no one else she brought to meet the queen of Engalia,' went unsaid.

His eyes would consistently dart back up to the room the queen and Dawn were in as they finished eating. She gave him a questioning look, and he answered, "She is my charge, I have every right to be watchful."

For that to be true... he had to be a member of the royal guard, possibly even its captain. Which made perfect sense in retrospect, but somehow Elizabeth hadn't put the pieces together before that moment. "Fair enough, but she's with Dawn; no one's going to be able to hurt her there."

He nods slowly. "Yes, she is strong enough to stop anyone from hurting her." His eyes seemed to probe Elizabeth for a reaction, but she doesn't know what he's getting at or expecting from her. In the end he just waited until the innkeeper in the back and said, "If you ever need to talk to Peragrine in the future, find me, James McCliff, in the royal guard. I'll deliver any message that you need." She nodded dumbly, still kind of amazed that all this was happening to someone like her.

After the meal they waited a few minutes before Peragrine came down. She looked at Elizabeth and said, "It was lovely meeting you. I'm sorry, but I'll have to cut things short; I have much to do." James had already risen at her presence and had moved to the door, ready to open it for her. "I do hope I'll hear from you again sometime; I'd love to get to know you better."

"Uh, yes, of course your-"

"No, no, please, especially here, just call me Pera." There was a small, bittersweet twist to her lips as she said it, like a nickname with some history attached to it. Then her face was back to its regal, serene presence, and she left the inn.

While trying to take that all in, Elizabeth went up to the room and found Dawn, muttering to herself and thinking, before snapping her face up to Elizabeth. "Ah, Elizabeth, good. How was lunch?"

"It was fine. Are you ok?" She smiled as she talked to the younger girl, but Elizabeth thought there was something truly bothering Dawn. She'd felt things from people before, picked up on little facts that others missed. It could have just been her growing up and getting better at seeing things, but she felt there might be something more to it, something related to her abilities as a Dream Warrior. She tried to push out with her powers to feel for what Dawn was truly feeling.

Nothingness. Like a blank wall or empty ocean she was hitting, except... Dawn's grin froze for a split second and then widened ever so slightly. Like she recognized what Elizabeth was trying to do and blocking her.

"Nothing so terrible. Just something I suspected for some time, and now I know. It doesn't change anything, though." She exhaled softly. "How did you get along with James?"

"Uh, he was fine. Kinda intimidating, but he seemed like a good guy."

"Heh, yeah, he is. He looks tough, but he's a big softie when you really get to know him. I think you'll really lik- I think you could learn a lot from them." She spoke like her meeting the Queen and her royal guard was truly going to be a, if not common, but regular occurrence, and it was overwhelming to the young girl.

She snapped her fingers, snapping Elizabeth out of her thoughts. "Can you do me a favor?" The young girl nodded her head. "Don't tell anyone about Peragrine meeting me here. She likes to keep her privacy sometimes, and aside from Captain McCliff there, some of the guards can be overzealous in keeping her from harm."

"Of course, though... I've been meaning to ask, why did she come out here to meet you?" Master Florian was an incredible Dream Warrior, but to have an audience with the Queen herself, and like that was another thing.

Dawn scrunched up her face a bit. "Well, we're friends. I thought that much was apparent at least."

"But, aren't Dream Warriors supposed to let go of their previous attachments to the outside world? Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be questioning your orders," she added as she realized what she had said in her curiosity.

"Don't apologize; questioning the way of things is good. From the lowliest wretch to Grandmaster Tenga himself, everyone should be questioned. Wisdom is gained through learning, and learning can only be achieved when you begin to question."

Elizabeth gulped, taking that in. "Thank you, you've given me a lot to think about." It was a fairly basic fact, yet when put like that, it challenged some 'conventional' wisdom in a way that opened her eyes. Despite the robes, it was easy to forget sometimes that Dawn was a very experienced and knowledgeable monk at times. She also noticed that it was possibly the most serious thing she had ever heard the enigmatic Master say.

"As for your question, I met her first after becoming a Dream Warrior, so it's not an attachment from before. As for the outside world, a Dream Warrior is not supposed to let their attachments pull them away from their duties. Obviously we have to have some connection to the world at large, or else how could we help them? Personally, I think the Queen is a pretty good connection to feel how the world around us is doing."

She winked as she made her understated point. "Now, don't let me keep you too long. I still have some tasks to do around the city, and I probably shouldn't take you through any more Folding tunnels today. Go out there and explore a bit. We'll leave from here in the morning."

With that, Dawn passed her the keys to the room and went out, leaving Elizabeth all on her own. Getting up after a few minutes of just trying to deal with everything that had happened, she looked out off the balcony, taking in the sight of the city before her. It was vibrant, bright, noisy, and so, so big. The buildings, the structures, the number of people… it was almost unbelievable to her that there could be so many people in one spot. She was really here, in Gaea, the capital of Engalia. It all felt like, well, a dream. One before she had awakened her abilities and learned how to dream perfectly lucid.

As that thought sunk in, she let out a big "Woohoo!" At all of it and rushed out the door. She'd only have the day before going to the temple, so she wanted to make the most of the time she had and explore this great city.

She went out into the streets, just exploring around the city. The streets were so smooth and clean, the people dressed so fancily (to the point that Elizabeth felt she stuck out a bit, not dressed like most of the ladies there with their fancy tight dresses that buckled on a diagonal seam that ran up them), and so busy; it was all incredible.

Elizabeth had some money, a fair bit her parents had given her just in case, and while becoming a monk meant she wouldn't really need money, they didn't let her refuse it, so she thought she should buy them some souvenirs to send them, maybe some fancy calligraphy kits she saw in a store window...

Or maybe she could go and buy something cheaper. The price tags on some of this stuff, pretty much everything here, was insane! How could people make enough money to afford any of it? One dress in a shop display has a price listed as more than what her dad made in a couple of months.

Wandering around blindly lets her see all kinds of stuff, from street performers like jugglers, musicians, and dancers to historic statues of great war heroes and famous leaders to guards, one of whom she accidentally walked straight into.

"Oof," she said as she bumped into him.

"Watch where you're going," he angrily barked out. He was wearing a steel breastplate, greaves, a cuirass, and a helmet, with a sword strapped to his side. It was a little surprising to see someone so heavily armed, though he didn't appear to be wearing anything special compared to the other guards, like the ones beside him or around on the other side of the gateway. Still another change from the guards at home, who might have a short sword but usually just carried clubs and padded jackets.

She looked up and realized that she'd managed to wander over to the wall separating this section from the lower part. It was a huge thing, remarkably smooth beige stone, and almost a dozen meters thick. While being beautiful, it was also a symbol of the war and strife in the past. Built to resist sieges, too smooth to scale, tall as three men on this side (and sloped so probably more on the other), with a portcullis they can slam down. Though that mechanism didn't look well guarded and seemed to have some spots of rust, guards were closer to the large wooden doors if they'd need to close it, but they seem well set wide open and-

"Hey, did you hit your head or something?" The guard asked, irritation bleeding away to a bit of concern.

"Oh yes, I mean no, I didn't hit my head, just looking at the wall. This is incredible, and it's even just the middle wall."

"The... wall? It's just a wall, kid. Why are you interested in it?"

"Well, I think it was really well made."

"Uhuh" He said, looking like he didn't really believe that she hadn't hit her head, but also like he didn't care at this point. "You looking to go down?"

"Sure, that sounds good."

"Alright, we keep the gates open pretty late; just try to get back by midnight." She nodded and walked through the dark entranceway to the largest level of Gaea.

Down there was so. Many. People. All around, going this way and that, she had barely taken a dozen steps into the most populous district of the capital, and Elizabeth was already sure she'd seen more people there than were contained in her entire town.

The people were dressed down a bit more, so she felt a bit more at ease around that part of the city. They were also far busier, citizens going about their work or shopping quickly. It felt... lonely almost, how disconnected they could be from each other emotionally while so close physically. The streets were also a lot bumpier around there, made of cobblestone and rougher patterns, winding more often outside of straight geometric angles.

One nice thing about the place was how much cheaper the things in stores were; Elizabeth didn't have to go broke searching for a nice dress for Maya. The one she did find was a bit less fancy and not in the 'high-end style' the rich nobles above might wear, but she was sure her sister would love it (and the burgundy-red shade would be loved by her parents for being a lot easier to hide any dirt stains her sister got while wearing it).

Exploring around, she found tons of stuff. Too much she was tempted to buy, in the end just managing to settle on a gift each for her parents and Lindsey. Adam's tools had been getting worn down, and he mentioned it to his daughter once, so she found a stand selling some sturdy tongs he could use. She also ended up getting a fancy-looking but durable hammer to give to Lindsey for her blacksmith apprenticeship.

For her mom, an odd massage kit caught her eye, a box the storekeeper claimed had 'all the rejuvenative and energizing properties of a whole day at the hot springs.'. She worked a ton, keeping the house in order and helping out at the shop, so Elizabeth wanted to give her the chance to relax, and it seemed like a very new thing; she wouldn't have access to anything like it out there.

After grabbing all her purchases with the sun beginning to set, she walked around the city looking for a post office. Eventually an older teen, in blue suspenders and a plain white shirt, came up to her. "Hey, are you lost?" He was a bit taller than her, with blonde hair and a bit of scraggly facial hair.

"Yes, actually, I am. I was looking for the post office to send some gifts to my family."

"Aww, how sweet. Are you from outside the capital?" She nodded. "Yeah, this place can be pretty confusing; they tuck the post office here in such an out-of-the-way place. It's just behind that street; take two rights, and then past the alley, and it'll be on the left."

She ran the directions through her head, quickly memorizing them. "Ok, got it, thanks, uh, sorry, I never got your name."

"It's Jacob, and don't worry, helping out a nice girl like you is its own reward."

She followed his directions and found the route to be quite clear, far fewer people over that way compared to the major streets and marketplaces she explored before. The reason for the lack of people becomes apparent when halfway through the alleyway, two men step out from the end, blocking her path. It's getting kind of dark, but she can make out a club in one of their hands and could clearly hear them chuckling at her. Swiveling around, she saw Jacob (if that was even his real name), blocking the other end, now holding a knife and smirking at her.

His voice contains no traces of the care it had before as he taunts her. "Wow, never thought I'd run into a mark as gullible as you. Since you're obviously new to this, here's the deal, kid: you give us everything you got, and you get to leave with-" He was cut off by a crack sound, a whip flying from the side to hit his knife hand, causing him to drop it in pain.

Stepping up behind him is a man wearing a red vest and pants with gold trim and holding the whip in one hand, kicking 'Jacob' aside. He has short black hair and an angular chin with high cheekbones. His eyes were brown and they seem to sparkle with mischief and excitement, though they turn concerned when he glances at her.

"Hey now, don't you know that's no way to treat a lady?" He asked rhetorically, stepping forward and flipping the dropped knife up in the air and catching it with his free hand. The other thugs traded worried glances with each other, weighing out the situation before deciding to press on to Elizabeth and her mystery savior.

Jacob picked himself off the ground and pulled out another knife from his pocket. "Alright jackass, looks like you and the 'lady' get to pay the hard way," he sneered as he ran forward at the boy.

Elizabeth put her back to the whip-carrying boy instinctually and dropped her stuff as the two thugs charged at her. Holding her hands out, she called forth as much fire as she could. It was hardly a gout of flame, but it was far more than the few sparks and flickers she had controlled before. The stream of fire singes the unarmed one, but the club wielder raises his weapon as a shield, which works until it catches on fire, being made of wood. He comically shouts in shock and waves the club around wildly, nearly hitting his own ally.

Behind her, she heard sounds of the other fight, but she didn't dare turn around to watch. A clash of steel on steel, then a crunch of bone and cartilage and a taunt. "I didn't take you for the sharpest tool in the drawer, and now you look it too." Yeah, it seemed like the whip guy was doing fine.

The unarmed man ducked under his friend's wild swings to close the distance with Elizabeth, and she lashed out, striking at his face, trying to call on Force to hit him hard. The fact that it stunned him for a moment seemed to imply it did, but he recovered quickly, grabbing onto her. Behind him, the club guy threw his weapon on the ground, trying to stamp out the flame.

The man grabbing her saw Elizabeth raising her hands towards him again and pulled her hard, slamming her head into a wall. "Ahh!" She cried out, losing her concentration and with it, any chance to call upon her powers. He was yelling something at her, but she couldn't make it out, her head still spinning around and his noxious breath in her face.

He raised a hand to hit her, but before it could move forward, a whip wrapped around it, pulling the assailant off her. With a smooth motion he slices lightly into the man's other arm with the knife, causing it to drop limp as he pulls that guy past him, following it up by tossing said knife into the shoulder of the last guy, now re-armed with his club (and just as quickly disarmed as he dropped the raised weapon in pain as the knife sunk in).

While he dealt with the thug caught in his whip, Elizabeth managed to regain herself enough to throw herself at the club-less man. Her blows were wild and imprecise, and without Force behind them, they would probably be very weak. Honestly, they might still be weak even with that; she can't measure such things too well then. But it was enough to convince them that this fight is not worth his time.

He ran away, and Elizabeth saw that the other guy had been knocked out, his body dropping down beside Jacob's. "Hey, are you alright? That looks pretty bad." The boy (it's easier to tell that he's closer to her age than she thought before) asked, moving over to her.

Focusing, she started to Fix her wounds, feeling a bit of wetness on her head where it was slammed against the wall and a far smaller bit of pain in her hands from punching them. "It's fine, probably worse than it looks." He gently pushes her hair around, trying to get a better look at the wound, but she's already healed it.

"Guess it is, still you got to be careful; don't want some cutthroats breaking your pretty head." Despite herself, Elizabeth blushed a bit at how close he was, seeing how cute he was now that her head wasn't spinning anymore.

"Yeah. Thanks for saving me." It was a rude awakening to the fact that she had a lot to learn about how to fight. Without him, she might have been badly hurt or killed, even with her Dream Warrior abilities.

"I couldn't do anything while those scoundrels were trying to hurt you. I had a duty to help."

"A duty? Funny, I didn't realize that was the new guard's uniform, she said, pointing to his fancy clothes.

"Ah, no. I just meant, everyone has a duty to help out someone else when they see them in trouble, don't you agree?"

"Yeah, actually." That was a large part of the reason as to why she'd decided to become a Dream Warrior. "I should be heading off there; look somewhere else for a post office," she said, picking up her stuff.

"Miss...?"

"Wry. Elizabeth Wry."

"Please, let me accompany you to it. I actually know where it is, and I'd hate to hear if you got hurt; this part of the city can be kinda rough."

"Alright, if you give me your name too."

"My apologies, I'm Du- you know what? You can just call me Ali." He does an overly theatrical deep bow towards her.

"It would be a pleasure, Ali." He flashed her a bright smile, his teeth literally sparkling, and took her arm, guiding her back down the winding streets to the more populated sections. Closer to him, she could feel that he had a lithe build but some definite muscles hidden under his clothes, and she blushed again at the thought.

They pass by some guards, and Ali took a moment to tell them about Jacob and his friend in the alleyway and what they tried. As they walked, he pointed out some of the buildings and his favorite places around the city. "Lovely bakery, run by the sweetest couple." "Oh, that's a pet store. Honestly surprised they stay here, even plenty of the nobles will come down from the middle and upper rings to see if they can get prized guard dogs from them." "A knickknack store, run by an old coot." Despite his words, she can feel affection behind them. "He'd always try to chase me out whenever I tried to use that place as a hiding spot. Oh hey, he actually sells Tindertwig there; do you need to get any more?" At her questioning look, he added, "I saw you make a bit of flame before; that was Tindertwig, right?"

Tindertwig was a very expensive material, something that looked like ordinary wood but could be struck to make fire instantly, and in the fray he must have thought she had used some of that and sleight of hand rather than leaping to the conclusion that she was a Dream Warrior (in training).

"Ah yes. I mean, no, I don't need any more; I should be fine." She was surprised he thought her rich enough to just throw that stuff around and buy more easily, but if he didn't believe she was a Dream Warrior, she wouldn't correct him.

"I've never seen Tindertwig used like that in a fight before, or to make quite that much fire. I'll have to remember that."

"I'm just full of tricks like that." She smiled for a moment before remembering how the rest of the fight went. "Didn't do me as much good as your whip, though."

"Yeah, Father thought it was pointless at first, but eventually I convinced him to buy one for my birthday and trained myself to use it. Looks like I showed him." His brash confidence quickly faded, and he coughed to the side. "Not that I'd ever say that to his face or anything."

"Tough to talk to your dad?"

"He's... strict. He wants the best for me and all, but he just doesn't really get me."

"I'm lucky; my parents have always been really understanding." As they talked, she saw the post office signs in bright colors. "How did I not see this before?"

"All the post offices are a few blocks away from the main shopping areas for any ring. This one was closest, but there's also one by the main gates too; that's the easiest one to find."

It was shocking that there are so many post offices in one city, though she supposes it makes sense given the size. Inside, she asked to have the stuff shipped to Waken.

"Wow, that's quite a ways away. We don't even- This is quite the trip you're on. Did you move here recently, or is this just a vacation?"

"Just passing through, a friend thought we should stop by the Capital on our way."

"A good choice. It's funny; I don't hear of many people 'stopping by' here, despite it being the major central nexus for trade, travel, and everything, really."

As they leave the post office, Elizabeth said, "You certainly know a lot about this place for some whip-wielding daredevil."

He pulled a hand over his mouth in mock shock. "Daredevil! Why I never-" He snorted and broke out into laughter. "Haha, can't keep a straight face for that. I guess I do get into my fair share of scraps like the one back there, but that doesn't mean I can't learn a lot too. I actually find it to be the best way to learn, from the people and their experiences."

"Huh, I'd never thought of it like that." Perhaps sending her out into the city was also part of Dawn's method of trying to educate her. Before she could ponder that more, though, Ali suddenly stiffened and shifted around her.

"This has been a lovely evening, and I thank you for your company, but I must bid you adieu."

"Wait-"

"The night is young, more damsels to save; I really have to go, goodbye!" He ran off, pulling out his whip as he moved, flicking it up to a flagpole sticking out of a building as a makeshift grappling hook to swing away.

She was befuddled by that whole display until a middle-aged, slightly out of shape,, and lightly armored man ran forward to her. "Did you see him? Where did he go?"

Despite the short sword sheathed at his side, Elizabeth didn't sense any malice or hostility, more just a faint hint of exasperation. She decided to help him out. "He ran down that alleyway."

"Argh, little brat. I don't get paid enough for this," he complained before starting to take off after him. Elizabeth followed him, easily keeping pace, despite his better form due to not being tired or weighed down.

"So who are you, and why are you chasing after Ali?" She asked.

He huffed at her question (or possibly the running in general). "I'm Gerord. My job is to look after this kid and make sure he doesn't run off on these escapades."

"..." Elizabeth lets the silence speak for her.

"I know he escaped! That's why he's such a blasted pain in my arse. But if he loses his head, his father will have mine." He took a moment to look her over. "And what were you doing with him? The one and only good thing with his escapades was I could tell Duke Bellsworth that he wasn't chasing after girls."

"I- I wasn't. He didn't- we weren't doing anything like-" she tried stammering out, flustered by the comment. Before she can defend herself, however, Gerord locked on to Ali, the boy's path having inadvertently crossed with the false route Elizabeth had sent Gerord down.

"Ah, there he is! Stop right there, you little brat!"

He was down on the other end of the street, and they faintly heard, "Eat my dust, ya geezer." That set off the older man, and he ran after Ali, trying to catch him. Elizabeth considered following, but a cart cut her off in between them, and she felt things were well enough in hand there, Ali able to handle himself and Gerord unlikely to kill him.

That mini chase also helped her realize how hungry she was from the hours of shopping and the fight before too. Looking around, she found a small building with the signage 'Doon's Den of Delicious Delights.'. It had some actually great smells coming from it too, so she figured it was a good choice and walked towards it.

The building is wooden (many buildings on this ring are of a far lesser construction than the ones above), and despite the size, the layout is good. Inside there are many tables and chairs and some stools by the bar to sit at, as well as old tapestries hanging off the walls. Despite their age, the tapestries have obviously been treated with care and display many artful patterns on them. They range from old crests to scenes of great battles to even a family tree. She got the feeling they told a story all together, though she didn't have enough knowledge to know what of.

In front of her, a boy sauntered about the busy but not packed restaurant, only to get yelled at from a man in the back. "Miro! Hurry up; there's more orders to fill. And get the new customer a seat!" He groaned but approached Elizabeth.

He had dark brown hair and bags under his eyes. "Welcome. Please, take a seat." The tables are a bit big for just her, so she sits by the bar, the cushions on the stools surprisingly plush. "Alright, here's your menu." He passed the carved-in board to her before moving on to the next customer.

"That boy, no respect for what we do," the chef said, stepping out from the back. He was an older, slightly portly man, and though he shook his head in disappointment, Elizabeth could make out smile lines on his face. That smile came back quickly as he moved around the kitchen and diner, enjoying his work and making some mouthwatering smelling meals.

Licking her lips, she asked for a grilled ganderfish and a bean paste bun, which she'd never heard of before but sounded interesting. Miro took her order and said, "So, I think that's time for my shift. I guess I can stick around a bit if you need the hands," he added a bit guiltily, but the chef waved him off.

"Go, go. I have things handled here." Miro beamed and moved faster than she thought possible, racing out the door.

"Is he always like that?" She asked the chef, before realizing that might have been a bit rude.

"It's fine. He's a gifted lad, but eager in other subjects, I'm afraid. He's apprenticed to my sister-in-law as well, and doing both this and that eats up a lot of his time, while his focus seems to go mostly for that work. A shame; appreciating a good dish is important too."

"Enough of that though, how are you, young miss?" When she pointed at herself, he smoothly flipped over the fish he was grilling with a spatula and then used it to point at her head. She thought she had fully healed it, and when she reached up to feel it, she realized that she did, but she neglected to do anything about the blood that got in her hair.

"Yeah, I, uh, bonked my head into a wall." Mostly true, she reasoned, though despite his body language not changing or him turning around to face her, she got the feeling he didn't believe her. "Anyways, what's it like running a restaurant, mister?"

"Please, call me Avaskar, all my friends do. If you really must stand on formalities, call me Mr. Doon," he said as he handed her the food.

"Thanks, Avaskar. Oh wow, this looks delicious." She dug in, and the food was delicious. Incredible, making every other food seem terrible in comparison. "Hwo dyou get sho'good?" She asked with her mouth full.

"Ha ha. Practice. Been that way for most skills in my life, just a lot of practice. Loving what you do helps, and I find cooking to be quite fun and peaceful. What about you, young miss? Do you love what you do?"

She slowed down, remembering to breathe as she tried to come up with an answer. "That... is a tough question." After a few more bitefuls, she said, "I don't know. Haven't really started yet, so I can't tell whether or not I'll like it. But it's necessary, so I'm going to do my best."

"I know it can seem like everything when you're young, but you have plenty of time to make your own choices." His words seemed reasonable. Was she rushing into this? Yeah. Did she have any clue what it would be like to be a Dream Warrior? No. Was she going to miss her family and her old life? A ton.

Sensing her hesitation, he continued "I know this restaurant might not seem like much, but it's a good life, and Miro's a good kid, but I could always use another hand to cover the busy times. What do you think?" She had always liked cooking. Next to architecture, it had been one of her favorite things to do, making meals with her mom.

But something still rang out in her head: the sight of Dawn saving Fredrick, performing a miracle, and saving everyone. That was something Elizabeth wanted too. Not anyone being in danger, but just being able to save them, should anything bad happen. She wasn't sure she could live with herself if she saw someone hurting and knew she could have helped them but didn't.

"I may not be sure of it, but it's definitely my choice. And I may not be certain of the future, but I'm ready for whatever comes my way. Still, if I'm ever by the Capital again, I'll be sure to stop by here; your food is delicious."

A flicker of... something passed by his face, but then it was gone, and he was all smiles again. "That's a good outlook to have. Now if you'll excuse me," and Avaskar went back to deal with the other customers and the food while Elizabeth finished her meal. He lent her a wet towel as well to help clean herself up a bit before leaving, which helped when she reached the gate back to the middle ring.

"Are you some kind of ruffian? Looking to prey on innocent nobles here?" One of the guards asked, eyeing her up and down.

"What? No!"

"Then why are you coming up here so late, hmm?"

"Because I have a room for the night, and I'm done exploring town and just want to sleep," she complained. The guard looked at her for almost a minute before letting her in.

"Fine, but just so you know, we'll be keeping an eye on you."

She nodded and walked through, imagining how much worse that would have gone with blood in her hair. Walking through the middle area, she saw how much brighter it was in the night, with many torches lit all throughout the streets.

Inside her room, she met up with Dawn, the Dream Master sitting out on the balcony, tapping her fingers on the ledge. "Hey Dawn, I had a crazy day today. It was... a lot. Scary, in some ways, but really good too. I got to meet a lot of nice people and dealt with the bad ones."

"Mhmm." The Master Dream Warrior hadn't turned around, so Elizabeth crossed the room and went out on the balcony with her.

"What's up? Did your stuff not go well?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to burden you with my troubles. No, they went fine. A few minor issues, but nothing unexpected or things I can't deal with, just... thinking about what I put together before."

"Can I help?"

"It's not your problem... though perhaps you could; you are insightful. What's more important, feelings or duty? Should they mix? Can feelings changing over time affect your duty?"

"Huh, kinda the second time I've been asked that question today."

"Oh?"

"Well, Avaskar, I mean, Mr. Doon didn't quite mean it like that, I don't think, but it basically boiled down to the same problem."

"Ah. Having second thoughts about becoming a Dream Warrior?"

"No, I mean, I did, but my mind hasn't changed." Elizabeth felt a sensation of averted danger, like a blade passing by her neck, but nothing happened; no one was around them. "Wha-?"

"Ah, Mr. Doon. Does that guy still run a little food place down in the Lowest Ring?"

"Yeah, do you know him?"

"Yup. He's a Forest Witch, one of their leaders, I believe."

"What."

"Yeah, the stereotype of them all living in the forest is just that. They get some special herbs from the forest of Wendesh to help 'unlock their minds,' and in a way, it can boost their ability to utilize Life Energy, but it's generally just a crutch and one that's not as good as a mind cleared by meditation or other methods."

"Wait, what? Forest Witches use the same energy as we do? And there's one of them right in the city? We need to alert someone!"

Dawn smirked a bit. "Who do you think you'd be alerting? I already know; I keep tabs on them - though I should have warned you about that, sorry; I was a bit distracted."

"Don't Dream Warriors stop them?"

"We do, but they don't tend to be nearly as bloodthirsty or directly violent as some, like the Blade Bonded. Trying to fight Avaskar would just cause trouble in the city, and then we'd lose a source of intel on what they're getting up to, if they're trying to start any rebellions."

"Oh. I- I guess you've got it handled then." Elizabeth tried to take all that in for a moment, how the sweet restaurant owner could actually be a Forest Witch (was Miro an apprentice in that too? He could be). "Do Blade Bonded use Life Energy as well?"

"No, they feed off of death. The more they kill, the stronger the cursed blades they wield get. But I'm realizing I asked you the wrong question. Of course I'm going to stick to my goals; nothing was ever going to change that, no matter what I felt. No, what I wanted to know was, if everything you thought a relationship was founded on actually made the other person hate you, would your feelings still be worth anything? If, say, Lindsey actually hated you, would it matter that you had felt you were friends?"

"What? I'm sorry, this is all a lot to take in."

Dawn grimaced. "My bad, I've dumped a lot on you when you should be getting ready to sleep for another big day when we reach Central. Don't worry about it; I know there's a lot going on, but you can trust this Master to handle it. I'll let you know more when you're ready."

"I... thank you. Sorry if I'm not adapting quick enough-" she waved the girl off.

"Nonsense. It's my fault for pushing things so fast. Not that I have a choice; time has always been my enemy, but..." The last part was muttered, and it trailed off before she put a big smile on her face. "You'll learn tons and grow even more, so just enjoy this time while it lasts. If there's any lesson you should take from today, it's that."

They gaze out over the city, letting the different lights and noises wash over them. It had been quite an exciting night. Maybe that was the point? To enjoy the moment but not get stuck in it or something? It was hard to fully understand all of Dawn's teachings at times.

"Alright, better head to bed; we've got an early day tomorrow." She agreed, heading back inside and crashing on her luxurious bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

As Dawn promised, she woke Elizabeth up early to head out. Luckily the travel through Folding was brief this time, taking them out of the city but just to a dirt road path leading to the mountain.

"Are we not going to use folding for the next part?" She asked, hopeful and relieved.

"Nah, it's only a mile to the base of Mount Dawnbreaker; might as well not leave you too sick or anything. Besides, you can take in the sights while we walk and mentally prepare yourself for it."

"It's called 'Dawnbreaker'?"

"Yeah, for how the sun will break over it and light up the land again." It was fairly dark out still behind the mountain, leaving Elizabeth to wonder how early it actually was. She'd thought it was still basically nighttime, but this close to the enormous mountain darkening their path, she figured it might be later than she thought.

Despite the time, the bit of light peeking around the sides of the mountain didn't lend itself to a particularly great 'view' to take in, and even if it did, it just seemed like a barren path with withered trees lining the path, planted every couple of meters to their sides. Mount Dawnbreaker was huge even from that distance, so it helped emphasize the enormity of the role she was taking, if nothing else, Elizabeth mused.

"Now, you won't be going to the mountain right away. I'll be dropping you off in the village at the base." Dawn pointed out some barely visible huts and small buildings, plus a larger blocky one in the center. "You'll spend the day there, then be taking the Five Trials tomorrow."

"That soon?" She didn't feel ready.

"Yup. I'm sure you'll do the best you can, and that should be enough to make it." Elizabeth couldn't think of anything to say to that, so they finished the walk in silence, reaching the village base as the sun just started to peak over the top of the mountain.

There was a monk standing guard at the open gates to the village, wearing a dark blue robe with green trim and carrying a slender staff in one hand, the other covered in a bulky metal gauntlet. He had mid-length brown hair and an eager smile on his face as he recognized who was approaching.

"Master Florian, it's good to see you again. And who might this be?"

"Adept Terrance, this is Elizabeth Wry, a young girl with much potential. Please direct her to the waiting area with the others for the trials tomorrow."

"You're entering her in tomorrow's trials? Why not just wait a few-" At her raised eyebrow, he stopped questioning the more experienced monk and bowed his head. "As you say, Master. Come on," he waved Elizabeth forward, but she turned to look at Dawn.

"Sorry, but I think we need to part here. The life of a master is a full one, and I have much to do. Still, I'll be able to instruct you more once you are initiated into the temple. Until then," and with that, she moved. A single step was like a bounding leap, taking her straight up to one of the entrances on the gargantuan mountain itself.

"Quite something, isn't she? Though I guess you must be too, to grab her attention like that?"

"She is, and I... hope to be, Adept Terrance."

"Ah, no need for that; you can just call me Terra, by the way. Adept Terra, if any Masters are about. Gotta look proper for my upcoming test. Sometimes I think they care more about appearances than how much we Adepts actually follow the guidelines of being a good Dream Warrior. Well, most of them."

He directed her into the village, where she saw several people milling about through daily chores, gathering water from a well, and carrying bundles of clothes. Terra called one of them over. "Could you cover guarding the gate for a minute? I need to guide this hopeful to the Waiting Room."

"Thanks, Sleeper."

The man he called over bows respectfully. "It is my honor, enlightened one."

"Sleeper? Hopeful?" Elizabeth asked.

"Right, you wouldn't be aware of the lingo. Sleeper is what we call these people living here, the ones who didn't have the potential to become a Dream Warrior but still wish to help our cause out. They live down at the base of the mountain and support us up in the Temple." He pointed up at the mountain, at the largest opening.

Looking now in the light, she could see a number of caves and openings dotting the mountainside. There were a number of them, the large one a little up from the center, which Elizabeth made out the winding path leading up from the base of the mountain to it. From there it branched off to five fairly sizeable ones all around in a pentagon shape, pathways probably leading to them too. The others were far smaller and more scattered, some she likely couldn't even make out from the black stone of the mountain. One she doesn't see but suspects exists is a large hole cut out in the top, given how the peak looks like a rim.

"It should be a Dream Warrior on guard of the gates, not a Sleeper, but I figure it'll be best to leave someone there at least, not that there should be any problems. Who would attack Central?" True, it would be ridiculous for anyone to try and hurt the Dream Warriors. Not once in even the worst of the civil wars that happened centuries ago did anyone dare attack the main temples.

He continued. "A Hopeful, i.e., you, is someone with the potential to become a Dream Warrior but hasn't passed the Five Trials yet, so you're 'hopeful' you'll pass, haha. It must be a pretty sure thing in your case, though, if Master Florian brought you in."

"Is it rare for her to do that?"

"Oh yeah, she hasn't brought anyone here before, too busy with her own work for the Grandmaster, being Tenga's personal protege and all. What kind of stuff has she been teaching you?" The question was too casual for the intense gleam in his eyes.

"The basics of Dream Warriors, our powers and stuff like that. Some other comments to really get me thinking in new ways sometimes."

"Huh, I'd have thought she'd give you a bit more than that if she's throwing you straight into the trials. She must have confidence you'll pass, though," he quickly added. As they walked, he pointed out some of the supply places and other sites as they got closer to the big, blocky building where the other Hopefuls were. She saw a few Dream Warriors in different colored robes helping out the Sleepers, most blue like Terra's, but some beige-brown in color.

"I'm actually kinda glad for the excuse to head out for a bit," Terra admitted. "Guarding the gate can be a really boring duty."

"Why'd you do it then?"

"Master Poro asked for me to cover it - probably clears someone else off the schedule for prepping the Trials now that I think about it - and I don't want to get on his bad side before my test."

"Are you taking the Trials too? But I thought-"

"No, no, not that test. The Trials are just for those wanting to become Initiates. There are more individualized tests for Dream Warriors trying to become Adepts or Masters. I'm getting close, but my test won't likely be for another few months at least." He seemed surprisingly young to become a Master. Some years older than Elizabeth, but probably not more than ten years.

At the big doors to the 'Waiting Room' (the name of the entire building with many rooms itself), Terra said, "Here's your destination. Enjoy it for today, then you'll be off to the mountain. And be sure to put in a good word for me with Dawn, would ya?" He didn't wait for a reply before heading off back to the gate.

Taking a deep breath, the young girl pushed open the double doors, stepping inside. It's a very clean, bland building, mostly off-white colors. She found signs for 'admissions' fairly easily and walked down a hallway to the office, where a man in grey robes sat behind a small desk.

"Hello? I'm Elizabeth Wry. I-"

"Ah yes, the latecomer. I've heard about you, since for some reason you'll be taking the trials with our current batch. Well, make yourself at home, for however long it lasts, I suppose." The man's dismissive tone grated on her, but she didn't say anything. "You can drop your things off at the sleeping quarter in the northwest wing; the cafeteria is down the hallway, though we've finished serving breakfast; the library..." He rattled off some quick directions, then shooed her out of the office.

After putting her bag away (putting on the locket her father gave her, since she didn't think there were any rules against it), Elizabeth went to try and meet some of the other Hopefuls. Her first destination was the courtyard, in the center of the building, but with a roof carved out above so it was open to the air. It was easily the biggest 'room' in the building, and she found several other kids waiting there.

All of the hopefuls appeared to be around her age, give a year or two. Three of them seemed to be exercising in the center, running around, stretching. Some others were talking or just lounging around. A pair of girls near the door called out to her.

"Hey, who are you?" A girl about the same height said. She had short brown hair and wore a baggy shirt and pants with some smudges of dirt on them, likely hand-me-downs.

"She's probably just one of the next batch of Hopefuls, going to take their trials after us," the shorter girl beside her said in a clear and precise voice that nonetheless sounded somewhat cold. She was wearing a pristine gown of black with white lace.

"Uh, actually I'm going on the trials with you guys too," she said, trying not to let any of the nervousness she was feeling show on her face. "I'm Elizabeth Wry, by the way. Who are you?"

"Cool, I'm Juliet Rocksteader," the other girl said, offering a hand to shake. "Are you feeling ready for it? I'm still agonizing over all the stuff they tried to teach us over the past two months here."

"Dalila Turry," the shorter girl curtly introduced herself. "I had thought it odd for you to come so late, as the rules state that as soon as a Hopeful reaches here, they must take the next trials as soon as they can. Juliet is right; it may be difficult for you to pass without the tutelage we received." Yet she thought that Elizabeth would be in the next batch anyways? That's... odd.

"If you have any advice, I'm all ears. Master Florian has her belief in me, but I'm sure you've learned a lot here too."

Dalila perks up in recognition of the name. "Master Florain scouted you? You must be quite special then; she's said to be the second greatest Dream Warrior in the world." Elizabeth could believe it. Everyone knew of the legendary Grandmaster, but after him, the raw strength Dawn had demonstrated was undeniable. Dalila continued, "I'm not sure we could have much to offer you that a Master wouldn't know better—only Adepts were brought in to teach the rest of us; we'll only learn from Masters if we become Initiates, and only occasionally, I hear."

Juliet scoffed. "Pshaw. 'If'? No, it'll be when we become initiates." She had a cocky grin on her face that Elizabeth thought was both a bit foolish, and she wished she could emulate.

They talked for a bit, mostly about what the two girls had been taught here, then Elizabeth's (far more sparse) experiences. "...So the old man went on and on about how 'centering oneself is the true path to mastery' as if he was ever going to reach that rank himself."

Dalila had her own thoughts on their teacher. "Adept Quelth may never make it as a Master, but he does have a lot of experience, which is something we can use too. He and the other adepts guided us in meditation and learning to pull out our inner powers."

"I'm pretty good at using Fix, Fire, and Dream Walking, but I'm not sure about the others," Elizabeth admitted.

"They said we didn't need to be able to draw upon all of the five powers, so you should be fine."

Juliet boasted "Not a problem for me though; I've already got a handle on all five, though I can't match Dalila's level of Force."

Elizabeth noted that it was interesting that powers weren't needed, but it seemed to imply that they're helpful in some way. After that the topic meandered a bit; she excused herself, heading over to the center where some of the other kids were working out.

A boy in loose grey clothes that couldn't quite hide how fit he was and a mop of dirty blonde hair was running a small circle that had been set up there and waved to Elizabeth as she approached. "Howdy! Are you looking to join us?"

"Umm, sure." Some of the others were doing sit-ups or push-ups or running like the boy, and there was a rope for climbing dangling down from the ceiling. She tried out the rope first, managing to get up to a good height before her arms shook a bit, and she fell down to the ground with a heavy thud.

The boy from before ran over. "Whoa, are you alright?" She'd landed on her feet and bent at the knees a bit to absorb the shock.

"Yeah, it didn't hurt as much as I thought, actually." Had she used Force to absorb the fall a bit? In any case, she ran some energy through to 'Fix' her body so that no damage was really done.

"Ok, that's good. I was worried for a moment; I suck at using Fix."

"Don't you suck at all the five forms?" A dark-haired, tall boy doing sit-ups asked, pausing to look over at them. Elizabeth spotted something odd, a large round shield by his side, colored white and gold with five rounded crystals sticking out from the center.

"Ugh, you don't have to announce it or anything," the blonde boy groused awkwardly.

Elizabeth got up and asked him, "Is that why you're working out so hard here?"

"Well, sorta. I don't find sitting down to meditate works so well, but I can clear my mind a bit and feel the liver energy within when I'm in motion, doing something." The shield kid got up, picking up his shield and putting it on his back as a stocky girl in a purple dress walked up to them too.

"That being said, having a good physical base will help with being a Dream Warrior just in general, and since Derrick's having difficulties with some things - like remembering it's called life energy - he's practicing in others."

"That shows good dedication at least," Elizabeth offered, and Derrick beamed at her.

"I like you. We're just about finished here anyways; want to come with us and get some lunch?" Elizabeth's stomach grumbled out an answer for her, and she blushed.

The cafeteria was much like the rest of the Waiting Room; bland, but not bad. Same for the food, which was some bread and vegetables. It's pretty noisy as all the other Hopefuls were eating at the same time, but Derrick got a table saved for them. She properly introduced herself, and the others did the same for her. The boy with the shield was Quentin March, and the girl was Tenga Loerun.

"Tenga? As in..." Elizabeth trailed off, pointing up at the mountain, and the other girl groaned.

"Yes. My parents decided to name me after him even though I'm a girl. It shouldn't be too bad, though. A lot of people are named after him, what with the Grandmaster setting up the Order and all, so it's not that rare a name even here."

"How did you get that shield, Quentin? I've never seen anything like it." He blushed and seemed a bit nervous, but Derrick patted him on the back.

"Hey, nothing to be embarrassed about, that shield's probably gonna make you a shoe-in to pass the Trials. No one else here has unlocked their Individual Ability after all." Whoa. Dawn had said unlocking such a thing would be noticeable, but Elizabeth didn't realize how much.

"It's not that big a deal," he tried saying, though a small grin was tugging at his lips from his friend's encouragement.

"C'mon, tell Liz the story of how you got it; it's awesome."

"Just Ellie or Elizabeth, please. I am kinda curious, though."

"Well... my town's a fairly safe place usually, but I took a different route going home from foraging one night and ran into a half dozen thugs. There weren't any guards around for some reason, so they tried to attack me. I thought my life was over, but then I reached and out of nowhere pulled out this shield." He tapped the large metal disc on his back. "It protected me somehow, even when I knew a couple of times their blades and clubs got past it. Honestly, I was so scared I can barely remember it all; it was a blur, but by the end of it, I beat up some of them, the others ran, and the story spread around town. Then an Adept came by and took me here."

After lunch, Elizabeth decided to check out the library and see what books were in there. The 'library' was small, to say the least. It was really just a lounge room with a couple of bookshelves on the sides, though the books do look interesting. Not all of them are books either; some were loose parchment and others scrolls. She grabbed one of the scrolls and went to sit down on one of the chairs before realizing at the last moment that it was occupied.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there, she said to the small, mousey boy sitting in it.

"It's fine; I get that a lot. Are those the Archidean scrolls you're looking at?"

"I guess? I just picked something at random; I'm not really sure how much studying I can get done before tomorrow, but I figured I should at least try to get some."

"It's an interesting text; it gave me some good ideas on Folding" he said softly, still respecting the rules of the library even with his interest piqued.

She pulled up a different chair nearby and began reading. The text was pretty flowery and archaic, but it did have some good insights into Folding, and how to use it best one had to focus their own perceptive skills to properly grasp the connections between spaces. It was apparently as vital as actually using the ability itself since once the space was compressed or expanded, anyone could traverse and use it just as well as the Dream Warrior themselves if they knew what to look for. The more suspicious parts of Elizabeth wondered if that was why Folding seemed to be the least accurately described ability used by Dream Warriors in the tale, often misrepresented in the tales as super speed or flat-out teleportation.

Before she's even realized it, it's dark outside, the sun setting off in the distance. She feels like there's still so much she could learn, but also that this must be a mere pittance compared to what they have in the mountain. All she can do now is have faith in her abilities and what she's learned thus far. That, and get a good night's sleep so she can be well rested.

The sleeping quarters are a bit cramped. There's a mix of beds and hammocks there, and since Elizabeth came in near the end, she got one of the hammocks crammed to the back. All told, there were about sixty kids in there, a few of them giving her odd looks, but otherwise everyone was busy with their own routines.

Settling in, the candles got snuffed out, and Elizabeth went to sleep. Whatever she was expecting, though, it wasn't the myriad swirling presences around her. The dream space feels thick in a way it never has before, just from the force of so many people attuned to that power around. Reaching out, she could also feel shades flickering about during the night. Is it people just trying to be unobtrusive or actively hiding their presence? She can't tell.

As the night drifted on, she felt something else. At first glance it seems like a weighted blanket, but then, as she tried to move past it, it became more constraining, trying to keep her from something, something she knows to be important, if she could just... just... WAKE UP!

Gasping, she opens her eyes, and she awakes to see the boy from the library hovering over her with a worried, then turning to relieved, expression on his face. He and all the other Hopefuls are dressed, most turning to look at her with bleary eyes, but one boy, a beige-robed Initiate with slicked black hair, was gazing at her in shock before sneering and turning away.

"Well, sleeping beauty woke up; how lovely. You and Mordrell there can hurry up and try to catch us before we make it to the temple entrance. If you're late, you automatically fail the Trials. Everyone else, follow me." The others all quickly follow after the rude boy, though Derrick stopped by them for a moment.

"Sorry about that. We wanted to help you wake up, but Fergus Guiltjoy there said we weren't allowed to for some reason. Mordrell was going to try to help you anyway, but then you woke up! Are you always such a heavy sleeper?" Before she could answer, he realized the others were almost all out the door. "Shoot! Better go join up with the others, get dressed, and catch up soon," he said before running after the others.

As she got changed quickly, Elizabeth noted she couldn't find her locket, which she thought she had put in her bag before she went to bed. Not wanting to waste any more time looking for it, she finished getting dressed and ran out the door with Mordrell, trying to catch up to the others.

It took a while for them to catch up, Initiate Guiltjoy obviously pushing the others at a quick pace, but the trail up was quite long, giving them time to catch up. When they do meet up, Elizabeth doesn't need her abilities to sense that the Initiate is upset with the fact they made it... but she can tell that despite his glare, he doesn't seem to care too deeply. He doesn't like her, though, and she still doesn't know why.

After joining them, huffing and puffing, she takes a moment to ask Mordrell, "Hey, did that initiate mess with my stuff or take anything?"

His brow furrows. "No, he kept his distance and told us to do the same too. Why?"

"Ah, it's nothing; I must have just forgotten where I put it. No one else took their bags, so I'm sure we can get our stuff after the Trials."

The hike up the mountain is tough, the black rocky path difficult to discern in the darkness, the sun barely risen and not nearly over the mountain yet. Many a Hopeful stumbled and fell rising up the path, including Elizabeth herself at one point. The fall scraped up her elbows a bit, which stung, but wasn't enough to prompt her to try using Fix. Wasting life energy before the Five Trials even began felt foolish.

There was a close call here and there, but no one fell off the steep path or collapsed, and after an hour of walking, they made it to the large central opening. Two monks, Adept level disciples waited there, the hopefuls taking a moment to catch their breath on the outcropping before going further.

After a minute, Initiate Guiltjoy (who looked a bit winded himself) took them forward to the opening. As they got closer, they could see that the 'opening' was actually closed; a large set of doors, made of the same rocks as the mountain, was shut in front of them. The two adepts were both bald and looked almost identical; it was only when they spoke that Elizabeth realized they were a guy and a girl.

"Welcome, Hopefuls. You've shown potential to come this far," the man said.

"But you'll need more than that to pass these Trials and become a true Dream Warrior. Prove that you are a cut above the rest, that you can grow to be some of the most powerful men and women on the planet by besting these trials before you with your conviction and strength," the woman continued.

"Initiate, you have done your duty taking them here; please return to your studies," the man said, and Fergus took a look back at Elizabeth before shrugging and walking up and away on a path to another entrance on their left.

"These sacred trials are not a task to be taken lightly. If you take them and fail, you can never attempt to be a Dream Warrior again." There were gulps of nervousness, something Elizabeth was feeling as well, but she did her best not to show it.

"The two of us, along with some of the other Dream Warriors, will be evaluating your performance. We will decide if you pass your trials or not. That being said, there is a preliminary trial anyone can take that, if they pass, can immediately pass them on all the trials." He had everyone's full attention with that. Stepping aside, they pointed at the doors.

"We will be opening these in a few minutes to lead you to your trials, but if any of you can open these doors without our assistance, you can pass immediately. Failing this test or not taking it doesn't affect the Trials. It's not expected you will pass it; only one person in the history of the Order ever has." From the way their eyes darted to her for a moment, Elizabeth thought she had a pretty good idea who that person was.

The doors are huge, 30 feet tall and each 20 feet wide, made of (probably thick) black stone. Moving such a massive object would be incredibly difficult, though perhaps with Force...

Derrick is the first up, practically throwing himself at the doors with an eager rush, to no avail. He seemed like the physically strongest member of the class, and neither door budged an inch. A couple others try, including Dalila, but even with a minor shockwave created from her hands, the doors don't move. A few stones were chipped off, but nothing to suggest serious damage.

After they gave up, the Adepts stepped forward, one hand on each door, not providing any pressure but twitching slightly, and three seconds later, in complete harmony, the doors flew open with a 'BANG,' revealing the dark tunnel within.

"Follow us," they call out as they lead the way, the kids mostly falling into two lines behind them. As they marched forward, one of them would conjure a ball of fire in their hands every couple of seconds or so and toss it out to where they knew a torch to be, illuminating the dark passage. As she crossed the threshold, though, her mind was more on the door puzzle than on pyrotechnics.

... Nothing they did was enough. What's the trick? Or is it that as Adepts they really were that much stronger than even the most gifted Hopeful?

Looking back at it, she noticed that was merely the lesson they wanted to teach. There were tiny, almost imperceptible grooves in the ground, several of them spaced out along the entrance line, with other grooves that didn't quite match them sweeping out. At the ends where the doors now rested open, she spotted spikes sticking down from the door into the groves. A test that would stop any Hopeful

Almost any. Elizabeth beat herself up over it for a moment, how she could have guaranteed a pass by taking it before reminding herself she really couldn't. The answer may have been easy, but only after she was on the other side and able to see it. Even then, it would take fairly precise Folding on something you couldn't see to work the gate open - if Elizabeth had foreknowledge and was as good at Folding as she was at Fixing, she might have stood a chance.

The tunnel winded and dropped down a bit before narrowing and reaching another set of doors, these ones far smaller and made of wood. The Adepts opened them easily to reveal a square-ish room carved out from the tunnel with three doors at the other end and many chairs waiting around. Another Adept with greying hair stood within, greeting them.

"Welcome, young Hopefuls," he began warmly. "My name is Adept Richardson. Welcome to the first Trial. Now, this trial needs to be taken individually, so we'll have you wait here while we're processing your fellows. It's a long journey, so please, take this chance to relax while you can. Soon enough, we will be judging you."

Elizabeth gulped, moved to sit down in one of the chairs, and, as if sensing fear, he turned to her and said, "Mrs. Wry? Let's have you go first." It was time to begin the Five Trials and see if she was worthy of being a Dream Warrior.

Elizabeth walked up to the Adept as she was called. "Elizabeth Wry?" She nodded. "Perfect. You'll be taking the door on the left. Head down the hallway and then take the… hmm... the third door, yes. Take the third door on the left; your trial will begin in there." Why the hesitation? Was he unsure of which way to send her? But he felt perfectly sure.

She didn't have the time to question him on that as others were being called up, so she left and went through the door as directed. The hallways here were already lit with torches, thankfully, so it was fairly easy to navigate them.

She passed by the doors until coming to the third one, all of them undecorated and bland, making her wonder if she really came to the right place. Knocking, she waited for an answer, but no one said anything. She opened the door to find out if anyone was in there, and while the door opened, no one was inside.

Instead, there are a bunch of half-made projects and blueprints on a table, one of them a wooden puzzle labeled 'Puzzle for first Trial.'. Her eyes widened at the sight, and then she heard her name called by the woman who had led them there. "Mrs. Wry?" Exiting the room, she sees the woman walking up to her.

"There you are. Adept Richardson gave you the wrong directions; it's at the end of the hallway." She didn't seem to know or be worried about what Elizabeth knows, and she really wants to pass, but passing like that...

"Well? What are you waiting for? Hurry up and go, she said.

The words spill out of her mouth. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to, but the directions the Adept gave me were wrong, so I went to that room, and I saw the answers for the First Trial! Please don't fail me for that."

"Hopeful Wry..." she says solemnly before breaking out into a grin. "You pass the first Trial."

"What."

"You passed. By confessing, you've shown your honesty and commitment to our ways. That alone may not be enough to be a true Dream Warrior, but it's enough to set the foundation, which is what this first trial tests for. Now c'mon, let's go together, and I can tell Adept Pargreth that you've passed."

They walked down to the end of the hallway, and when she entered the room, there was a heavyset adept sitting at a table with a wooden puzzle like the one she had seen blueprints of, as well as an hourglass. "Welcome to the-" she began before catching sight of the other Adept. "I take it she passed then?"

"With flying colors. Master Florian must have taught her well." But... she didn't teach her that. Did she? No, even with the most cryptic lines, Elizabeth really didn't see how Dawn could have taught her that.

"Well, you can go on to the next trial past me then. Or, you can in a few minutes. They didn't expect anyone to pass this fast, so we'll need to wait a few minutes." The other adept excused herself to go guide the others while Elizabeth waited with Pargreth for the next Trial to be ready.

She didn't talk a lot, practically seemed to be nodding off, so Elizabeth used the time to study the puzzle laid out before her on the table. She didn't need to solve it, but it was still interesting. A little tricky, but not too hard to solve, and with the help from the blueprint she accidentally saw... she would have failed. Viewing the puzzle calmly, it was obvious that this puzzle ever so slightly differed from the one in the blueprint, and if she tried to move the pieces in it like the instructions showed, it would actually break off part of the puzzle when she applied force on it, making it unsolvable.

It was a trap to see if the Hopeful would use the knowledge they shouldn't have gained to try and cheat! The whole thing was a setup. Of course, even if they did, if they kept a cool enough head, a hopeful might see the trap coming and avoid it, or possibly just 'Fix' it after the fact and keep on solving the puzzle (though Elizabeth wasn't sure if that was allowed or not).

A sort of psychic 'dinging' went off very gently in the back of Elizabeth's mind, and the Adept snapped her eyes open, mysteriously saying, "Your next trial awaits." It might have been a bit more effective if she hadn't had an air of pride at having to be half asleep to receive a message Elizabeth heard loud and clear while awake.

She didn't comment on it, though, and simply moved to the door. Before she could leave, Adept Pargreth said, "Wait. I won't be going with you, but I will give you the test details. You simply need to cross to the door on the other end of the next room within a minute of entering that room. Also, I'll need to take your shoes for this trial." Odd, but she didn't see a reason or way to resist, so she slipped off her footwear and handed them to the Adept.

That done, she turned and stepped through the door, immediately awash with a wave of heat. The floor past a few square feet of tile she was standing on was covered in burning coals, save for thin ridges on the edges by the walls. It extended at least 40 feet out to where there was a similar platform at the other end, the exit door waiting there. In the middle of the room was a wooden podium, flames already licking away at it.

Before she had the time to take anything more, the door behind Elizabeth was slammed shut, obviously indicating the test had begun. Only a minute to cross... it seemed like a test to see if one would prioritize speed over safety, running across the hot coals or taking the side edge. Even without running, it didn't seem too hard to rush on the side and make it to the end in a minute- she paused. A flash of light from the podium caught her eye, and she saw her locket, the one she thought she had 'misplaced' earlier, dangling off the edge of it.

Her thoughts came to a grinding halt as she realized how insidious the test was. There was no way someone could reach the center while keeping their feet on the edge. But if she burnt her feet grabbing at her locket, could she possibly make it to the end in time?

Desperation broke free from her thoughts, and she knew she couldn't wait and debate any longer, or she'd lose everything. Jumping to the edge, she immediately side-shuffled as fast as she could till getting to the midway point, where the podium sat.

As quickly as she could, she ran out to it, not willing to lose the locket her father had so lovingly crafted for her. The coals seared her feet, an incredible pain coursing through her. It would be worse than most Hopefuls had felt; even for her, it was as bad as it had ever gotten in her father's forge when she had made mistakes, but that bit of experience was enough to help push her through and run through the flaming coals and yank off her necklace.

With time running short, Elizabeth didn't bother to try and get back to the ledge, instead just running across the rest of the coals and leaping to the other end, throwing the door open and flinging herself into the next room.

It was a decently large room, about as large and blocky as the one where all the kids were waiting to take the first trial. No chairs this time, just open space, some racks with weights hanging from them, and a stern older man in Adept's robes glaring down at her. "Hmph. I see you've put yourself through unnecessary pain."

"But- I passed, right?" There was no way a full minute had passed, had there? She wondered.

"Yes, though your injuries may cause you complications in the later trials. You're the first one to make it here, so we'll be waiting on your fellows to arrive before we begin the Third Trial."

He didn't seem too happy with her, though it was hard to tell behind his bushy beard. Elizabeth sat down and started focusing on Fixing her feet. No amount of energy would help her if she couldn't walk any more, and she hoped to gain any stamina needed by the time the trial began.

Over the next twenty minutes, more Hopefuls streamed in till there were at least 18 of them all told, though only a couple seemed as badly burned as she had been when she entered, though none of them tried Fixing their wounds. Or at least, none healed them fast enough to be noticeable, whereas hers were almost completely gone, the soles of her feet barely tinged pink by the time the Adept called them all to attention.

"Line up!" He called out and scrambled to do so (then reorganized themselves to be lined up horizontally in front of him instead of vertically), Elizabeth's feet only stung slightly by the time she got in line. "I am Adept Wengar, and this will be a test of your endurance." Pulling large, heavy disks off from the racks, he placed them in front of each person.

As he did that Elizabeth asked "Are we the only ones who made it or are there separate tests?" Less than a third of the people who had entered the mountain were in the room for this Trial, leaving her wondering if the other trials had really eliminated so many other people or if the groups were split up. She recognized Derrick and Tenga, but no one else in the group. Unfortunately, Wengar didn't seem as appreciative of her questions as Dawn had been, and he ignored her.

"When I tell you to, you will begin holding them, one in each arm, and you will continue holding them until I tell you to stop." He demonstrated by easily hefting two of them up in the air, his arms not even straining. "Understand?"

Everyone nodded or said yes. "Good, let's begin!" Then they all scrambled down to grab and lift up the heavy weights. They weren't impossible to carry, but definitely quite heavy, and Elizabeth was beginning to feel the strain pretty soon into it. She was strong enough, though, and determined to see this trial through, so she kept on holding them up.

Eventually, an Initiate burst through the end door and said, "I'm sorry, Adept Wengar, but the others need your help for a quick judgment on one of the Hopefuls."

"Fine. For the rest of you, keep on holding on to those while I'm out; I'll be back in a minute," he barked out before heading off with the Initiate. After a few seconds of their departure, an unfamiliar, shorter Hopeful let his weights fall down to the ground with a heavy 'thud.'.

Everyone looked at him in shock, and he sneered, "What? He's not here; I'm just gonna take a break for a bit, then pick them up before he gets back; it's fine. Means I'll be one of the ones who actually gets to pass this thing."

Many of the others were looking very tired and starting to be swayed by his words before Elizabeth spoke up. "This doesn't seem right. I had the opportunity to cheat on the first trial, but when I told the truth, that was the right answer and the thing that let me pass. I don't think we should try to cheat here." There was also the fact that the Adepts might be watching the group anyways, sneakily with their powers.

Derrick chimes in as well, one of the few people who isn't looking tired. "Yeah, I had the same thing happen to me too. I was so worried about passing I almost used it, but then I remembered Quelth's teachings to us and how we had to be honest." The others nod along, having experienced similar things.

"Let's keep on doing our best, everyone. Even if they wouldn't know (and I actually doubt they wouldn't), I want to pass the right way." The group seemed emboldened and pushed on, though the Hopeful that dropped his weights didn't pick them up. Interestingly, he also felt surprised and pleased, from what Elizabeth could feel off him.

"You're correct about that." Adept Wengar's voice boomed out from the doorway as he returned. "You did good not to drop them like that chump." At his return, others were smiling and beginning to relax and moving to drop the weights down, but Elizabeth realized it wasn't over.

"Wait! He hasn't said for us to put them down yet!" Those who were putting them down scramble to keep a grip, some managing better than others, but all of them stopping before they would hit the ground.

"Surprising, I wouldn't expect you to be the one to follow orders. Good that one of you does at least." He said, looking Elizabeth dead in the eyes. No one moved to drop them this time, waiting for him to finally say it, but he didn't. All of the Hopefuls strained to hold on as time passed, sweat dripping off their frames. The one who failed, lounging on the ground, took that as an opportunity to grouse, however.

"Can't you see it's pointless? He's just going to wait until a couple more of you fail; the third Trial is always the one to cull the most Hopefuls." Doubt begins to creep into their eyes again, but Elizabeth has caught on to his word choice.

"How would you- ha, ha?" Elizabeth gasped for air as she struggled to hold the weights up. "Know anything about that? Haa, people can only take the Trials once, isn't that right, Initiate?" The others feel shocked but don't show it, too focused on keeping up their grips. "Whatever tricks you're trying to play on us, we aren't falling for them!" She declares, and Wengar is shocked, then... he claps his hands together.

"Well done. I think this charade can't go any further, Initiate Deng." Then to the group of Hopefuls he announced, "You may now drop the weights!" A cacophony of crashes erupts as the tired Hopefuls all drop the disks at once. Even Derrick drops his and takes the moment to stretch his arms out.

"We did it, guys, we passed the third trial!" He screamed elatedly, met by some more muted and tired 'hoorays' by the others.

"I said you were done with the carrying portion of the trial, not that you had passed yet," Adept Wengar declared, much to everyone's horror. Then, a twinkle passed by his eyes, and he followed up with, "You have now passed the third trial." There was much groaning, from equal parts the joke and their tiredness.

"You lot can move on to the next Trial. Beyond me is a room with some refreshments, but you'll only have ten minutes to rest before being called up for the next Trial." It sounded like that one would be a group trial too. "And good luck, young Hopefuls. May you shine as brightly in your following Trials as you did here." Wow, it was actually kind of nice to hear that encouragement, Elizabeth reflected.

He began cleaning up the place, picking up whole stacks of the weights to carry them over; the youngish-looking man revealed to be an Initiate helping him out, but also stopped by to ask Elizabeth a question. "How did you see through me?"

"Some of it was how you spoke and acted, like you weren't a part of 'us.'. The other was just... what I felt off of you."

He shook his head. "Wow, I didn't expect anyone would have a Dream Sense that developed without even our ro- any training we've gone through."

The Adept cut in. "I had mixed feelings too after seeing the results of the Second Trial, but given how well she stood and spoke up here, I think she might do well. It's obvious that Master Florian has taught her well." Just like that any joy she was feeling at his praise is cut off. Him talking to the Initiate and not her wasn't great, but part of Elizabeth was also growing a bit upset that everyone seemed to attribute her successes to Dawn all the time. The best of them simply praised Dawn for 'picking talent,' but few people actually seemed to think she was great on her own.

Striving to push that out of her mind, she left the room and joined the others. The next room was pretty similar to the one they had just been in but filled with tables, benches, and some snacks. After getting many cups of delicious, refreshing water, Elizabeth started in on some of the bland but nutritious food they had.

Taking a look around, she saw the others in high spirits from their win in the trial, a few even coming up to thank her for her advice. It was then she spotted Dalila hanging out by herself on the outskirts. She hadn't noticed the girl at first with her very plain pants and shirt rather than the fancy noble dress (also, the pain and Trial distracted Elizabeth a fair bit).

She goes up to the other girl and sits down beside her. "Hey."

Dalila seems a bit wary at first, before relaxing. "Hello, Elizabeth. Good job on the trial."

"Ah, stop. I just did what anyone else would have done." The other girl shook her head.

"But none of us did." There was silence for a bit as they both ate, but eventually Dalila asked her, "What made you decide to become a Dream Warrior?"

"Well, that hasn't been decided yet. But uh, why do I want to be a Dream Warrior? Well, it's to help people. I saw a lot of people get hurt by a Nightmare in my hometown before Dawn saved them; that's when I knew I had to use my powers to help people out too. What about you?"

"I see. I... felt much the same, I suppose. That because I had these abilities, it was my duty to use them. My family wanted me to continue being a noble. As the only heir of my parents, I'd- I' will have to give such claims up when I become a Dream Warrior. I found much of the noble culture to be distasteful, but some aspects of it, I worry I clung on to a bit as I still wore their fancy garments for the months leading up to this Trial. I can't afford such hesitation now; I must be fully set on the path ahead, with no room for doubts."

Elizabeth nodded. "I'm sure you'll do great. Don't beat yourself up too much for having doubts; I had my fair share- still do sometimes. The important thing is to keep on moving ahead."

"Indeed," and she gave a small but genuine smile at that.

There wasn't much time for more talking, their break soon ending as the man who guided them through the first door called them to follow him.

Down deeper into the mountain they went and Elizabeth wondered at the size of it all, for so much to seemingly be dedicated just for the Five Trials, how much else was there for the rest of Dream Warrior activities? She also noted that the Adept leading them was lighting fewer torches as they went down the winding paths.

Some of the slopes were steep enough down that it would have been difficult to go up them, but everyone managed to make it down without falling or stumbling into each other too much, and then they found themselves in a slightly broader hallway. There's an opening in the front and two sets of steps leading down on either side, as well as paths sticking out directly at the far ends of each side. The only feature of note was a lever nearby the opening.

They stepped to the opening and saw a large, cavernous, open space below them. Only the bright light coming from a circular platform in the center made it possible for Elizabeth to dimly make out the other end of the chamber before them. All along the ground were odd grooves cutting across it. The most disturbing part was the sounds, though, some growling and hissing animal noises down below, though the lack of light made it harder to see it as anything other than a few shifting shadows.

Three more Adepts came out from the left and right side passages as the bald monk began explaining. "It looks like everyone is here, so let us begin. You will be taken to one of four entrances (including this one) around the testing area. From there, each of you will be set down on one of these stairs and have to make it to the center within twenty minutes. If you do, you pass; if you don't, you fail." While she was sure it wasn't going to be as easy as he made it out to be, this one didn't feel like a 'trick' test like the others did. Just a race to the end.

"Since all of you passed the last Trial, we'll be sending you down the stairs in groups of two, though you don't have to stick together once you enter." The other Adepts led most of the group off to go around the large area, leaving Elizabeth on the right side to go down those stairs with Dalila. It took a while for the others to get in place, but it also went faster than Elizabeth would have thought it would take them to go all the way around (before she remembered that Folding was a power they could use), and some brief flares lit up from other openings, and the Adept that led them returned with a flare of his own.

"Everyone is ready then, let's begin," and he pulled the lever, causing a massive rumble to fill the air as large walls started rising up into place, locking into place and forming a vast labyrinth in the once empty space. He told them, "Go down the stairs; the Trial begins soon," and the four hopefuls on that side scrambled into place, an iron gate barring their path at the bottom.

"4, 3, 2, 1... begin!" The gate lifted up, and they were off! Elizabeth and Dalila raced down between the imposing onyx walls on either side until coming to a fork in the road.

"Which way do you want to go? I'll go down the other," Dalila offered, and Elizabeth debated it before coming up with a third choice.

"Why don't we just go together? Safety in numbers and all that."

"But the Adept said-"

"He said we don't have to stick together, not that we couldn't." The noble girl thought it over for a moment before nodding.

"Alright, let's go down the left path." They turned that way, and it was quite dark, something Elizabeth answered by conjuring a ball of fire above her hand and holding it up.

"That's impressive," the other girl began.

"Thank you!"

"Also, incredibly wasteful," and Elizabeth's grin dropped. "It'll take a lot of energy to hold that up all the way through this maze." She used the light to locate a torch hanging off one of the walls and yanked it off with a loud crack, then alighted it from the fire Elizabeth made. "There, that should help us."

"Good idea, let's go!" The two trek down the labyrinth at a good pace since they're able to see everything, but there are still a couple of dead ends they run into and backtracking needed. Neither of them got a good look at the place in the brief time after the Adept pulled the lever, so they got a little lost. Nothing bad enough to get turned around, and after some time, a sound gets closer. Of course, it's a sound of rattling chains and clacking hooves on the stone floor.

"Should we go back? Try to find a different route?" Elizabeth asked.

The white-haired girl shook her head. "No. There may be another route forward, but if there's an obstacle in our path, it probably means we're going the right way. 'The Dream Warrior must be prepared to face adversity head on,'" she quoted.

They pressed on, but after another minute, the noise stopped. Was it just nearby another wall they passed? No, there are no intersections that would keep the noise up like that and then let it drop, which meant-

Danger!

Elizabeth threw herself to the side as she crossed another corner, barely escaping snapping teeth from a creature lunging at her.

The torch fell from her hands in the process but didn't go out, revealing the beast, about three feet tall and four long (not including its wiry tail). It was a red, scaly, slathering creature, snapping at Elizabeth from both sets of its jaws as it strained against the metal collar chaining it to the top of the wall to get at her, but was just out of reach. Snarling, it raised two of its four hooved legs to trample her. Elizabeth quickly pulled her own back, shuffling herself into the corner.

Dalila rushed to her side, smacking the creature with her hand, yelling out in shock and panic. The blow is a clumsy slap, but with Force behind it, it smacks the creature's head back a bit, giving Elizabeth the space she needed to get up.

"What is that thing?"

"It's a Crotar! I can't believe they sent something that dangerous to test us." Her composure and surety from before has fallen, and Elizabeth recognized that beneath that cool, stoic exterior she projected, Dalila was a teenage girl, just as scared as her. "They have venom in their teeth that can kill a man slowly over the course of a few days."

... Maybe she has a good reason to be afraid. Nonetheless, they had to press on, and the Crotar was starting to close in on them again. There was no way around it without backtracking a lot. She looked down at the torch and saw the creature hesitate a bit as it approached it. Was it afraid of fire? One way to find out.

Making another burst of fire, she sent it flying at the creature, singeing it and sending it hissing back. It didn't seem overly hurt by the burst, but it was scared. Keeping up a stream of flame, she advanced slowly, cutting off and forcing the Crotar to one side as they nervously passed. She thought it would try to jump them at one point, but she glared at it, turned up the heat, and it thought better of that plan. They made it across the pathway, racing away as soon as they were out of its reach.

"We did it! That was crazy! And dangerous! And a little exhilarating!" Dalila exclaims, looking a bit shocked and ruffled by the whole ordeal, but also overjoyed at being alive. "It's a good thing it was so hesitant towards fire, or we might have been in serious trouble there."

"Haha, yeah, but it worked, right? Plus, we had your Force and my Fire and could have Fixed any damages it caused."

"No, Crotar venom is actually incredibly resistant to Fix; only the strongest of Dream Warriors can undo its effects."

"What!? They keep something like that here? And you let me go through with that plan?" She said, grabbing and shaking the smaller girl as she realized the danger she just put them in.

"Ahh, you- moved too fast!" Dalila managed to get out. A quick glare from her reminded Elizabeth that she probably shouldn't treat her (partner? Friend?) that way and put her down.

"Whoops, sorry about that."

"Well, it's understandable; I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed too. Still, we're on the clock, so we better hurry."

"Right." Going through the labyrinth more, they encountered a few more obstacles. It was darker without the dropped torch, and there didn't seem to be any more on those walls. There weren't any more animals, but a pit trap nearly caught them, Elizabeth having to throw herself to the ledge to avoid falling while Dalila jumped forward a bit more gracefully, then pulled Elizabeth up.

But as they descend further into darkness, a light appears too, a faint whitish-blue glow from further through the tunnels. "That must be the platform!" Elizabeth said before racing forward. The goal was in sight, so she didn't bother trying to conserve more energy and just made a floating sphere of fire to further illuminate the passage so they wouldn't run into any last-minute traps.

After jumping over a tripwire, they turned another corner and made it to the center. The platform seemed to be radiating the light just from itself, no other source needed. There were a few symbols in an alphabet Elizabeth couldn't read scribbled on the sides of it. Three other entrances led into the center from other parts of the labyrinth, but no one was coming forth at the moment.

They hesitated a second, then stepped onto the platform, and it made a 'click' sound before starting to descend slowly into the ground. They stumbled around a moment but decided to stay on, figuring that it was part of the Trial and they shouldn't try to get off. Once they had gone down eight feet, a covering slid over above them, leaving them just with the dim light of the strange platform itself.

The last Trial had been draining, from power use and running around, but Elizabeth still felt she had a bit of stamina left. She could only hope it would be enough for the final Trial. Dalila seemed pretty puffed from the last bit of running they had done too.

At fifteen feet down, the platform stopped, an opening revealed as they descended for a small, very old, and far more natural and unpolished tunnel. They went down to a wooden door and a hooded Adept standing in front of it.

"Congratulations, young hopefuls. You have passed the fourth Trial. The final trial is taking place past me, in the room beyond. While you might have worked together for the past trial, the final one must be taken alone. I'll let you know when the room is clear for one of you to proceed, while the other waits," he intoned.

Elizabeth turned to Dalila. "Do you have a preference?"

"I guess I'll go first then. I don't think it makes much of a difference if we don't know what lies beyond."

They didn't have much more to say after that, just waiting in silence and catching their breath until a minute or two passed, and the Adept called out, "Who will be going first?"

Dalila stepped forward and went into the room, which was too dark for Elizabeth to peek in and see what was coming.

"Good luck!" Elizabeth called out before the door closed. Then, the sounds of running came by as Tenga rushed down the tunnel to them.

"Did I make it?"

"You did," the Adept said, glancing at the hourglass standing beside him as he did so. There was less than a fifth of the sand at the top of it now, draining down.

"Good job!" Elizabeth gave the other girl a high five. "Dalila passed too, but I don't know who else has made it down yet." They looked towards the Adept at the doorway, but he didn't give them any information. "We have to go through the next Trial one at a time. I'm not sure what goes on there."

"And Mrs. Tuly's trial has just finished; you may proceed, Mrs. Wry."

No clue on if she had passed or not, not that it would make a difference. "Ok, let's do this." Stepping forward, she went through the door into a dark room. Within she couldn't make out any doors, though she heard some people breathing and robes shuffling behind an elevated barrier, looking down on her. One of them began speaking as she entered the center of the room.

"Elizabeth Wry, in this fifth and final trial to become a Dream Warrior, you... PASS!"

What.

What?

WHAT!?

Flickers of flame leapt forward and ignited some torches, illuminating the room. There were three Adepts there, Wengar and the woman from the beginning and Terra, as well as the door she came in and another one to leave from. Terra was the one to address her shock. "Whaaaat?" He said in an exaggerated voice, chuckling a bit. "Ah, don't look so surprised; you did good, of course you passed."

"Terra? I mean, Adept Terra, what's going on? Aren't I supposed to have a Trial here? One final test? I didn't realize you'd even be here."

"Well, one of the other testers got a bit too deep in his cu-" It was a quick motion, but there was a small 'thud' as the woman beside him cut him off by elbowing him in the side. He smoothly changed his words, not dropping his smile. "An Adept was unfortunately out of commission for examining you hopefuls, so I volunteered to take his place."

"Ahem." Wengar cleared his throat. "As to your questions, young Initiate, this Trial does not test your skills; it tests your compassion, something you've already demonstrated quite clearly throughout the other Trials." She understood, theoretically, but it felt so... anticlimactic. There was hardly a point arguing against it, though.

"We'd usually interrogate you a bit, ask you some questions to see if you had the right stuff, but you already had everything you needed. Just consider this us saving everyone a bit of time." She bowed to Terra, then the other two Adepts, and walked out, still unable to believe it somewhat. She had passed the Five Trials; she was a Dram Warrior.

Walking out the other side, she saw many of her fellow Hopefu- fellow Initiates now, gathered in a long, empty room. Only about a third of the group that had started the Trials had passed. At the end of the room were a set of very fancy engraved stone doors. Derrick was the first to run over and greet her, the boy giving her a bear hug. "You made it! Good job, I had a good feeling about you, even if you came in way late."

"Of course she did; she was picked out by Master Florian herself." Dalila said, walking forward to greet Elizabeth as well, and the girl frowned internally at the comparison, but tried not to show it, knowing that she meant well (though that had been one of the reasons why she hadn't told Derrick and his friends about that, wanting them to just view her on her own merits).

"Oh, cool. Hey, do you know if Tenga and Quentin made it too?" The energetic boy asked. "I didn't see them in the maze, so..."

"Tenga was right behind me after Dalila went through the fifth Trial. Didn't see Quentin, though. Not sure how long it will take for her to finish that Trial" or what would happen if she failed it. They didn't have to find out, though, as a minute later she burst out of the door, cheering.

"I did it! I can't believe it, I did it, I'm gonna actually be like... him, my namesake." She was just as amazed and overjoyed as everyone else, happily talking as they waited for more people to arrive. In the end it took more than even the 20 minutes they had had to clear the maze, but Elizabeth guessed that was just due to the bottleneck created by the Fifth Trial, as the others must have finished the Labyrinth close to the end. Over twenty people had gathered there (including Mordred, already there, and Juliet and Quentin, the shield-wielding boy arriving last) by the time the far end doors, which had been barred shut, opened.

It opened to reveal a black-robed Master Dream Warrior, beckoning them through. He was an aged man, in his sixties or so, his gray hair beginning to recede, but he led them quite spryly. Following, they entered into a ridiculously large chamber. It was wide and bumpy, the earth feeling far softer on her feet than the cool stone of everywhere else had been. Taking it in, she could tell that the chamber was circular, possibly even a perfect circle, though hers (and everyone else's) attention was sucked in by the plant growing in the center.

'Plant' may not have done the tree justice. She didn't know how far down within the mountain they were, but it was thousands of feet at least; the tree extended up, possibly to the very peak of Mount Dawnbreaker itself. There were knots and carvings here and there running up the bark, any cut looking very deliberate. A few streams of light trickled in from the vast verdant canopy at the top, the leaves far sparser on the lower branches, which ranged from tiny twig-sized to as large as the trunks on most normal trees. There were hundreds of holes and tunnel openings from elsewhere in the mountain poking out to this tree, some of the thicker branches coming out close to the exit and looking like they might be used as bridges. The lower branches from the top showed more variance in color of the leaves, from green to bronze, all sharp and angular, like a rippling sea of fangs in the gentle breeze that drifted down. The mythic tree was of an entirely unique type, or at least one Elizabeth had never heard of before.

They all walked in, in a bit of a daze, to the base of the tree, the Master standing above them on where a root protruded out from the ground. "Well done, young Dream Warriors. Today, you stand before the Tree of Life and take the first and greatest step in your new lives. This will not be an easy path at times; much is demanded of us Dream Warriors: to keep the peace, to protect the innocents, to guide the masses." He let the words sink in for a moment.

"You've hoped for this greatness long and hard, and now through your struggles, you begin to make this dream a reality. The Five Trials, as designed by our great Grandmaster Tenga when he founded the Order, have tested the skills necessary to be a Dream Warrior, coinciding with the Five Abilities we have been gifted with." His eyes locked onto each of them slowly in turn as he talked.

"The Decisive Puzzle tested how well you could see what lay underneath the surface and the ability to put pieces of a larger picture together, something vital for interpreting the dreams experienced through Dream Walking."

"The Carpet of Coals showed how dangerous passions can be, even to ourselves when held too close, and yet are something we need to survive. The same basis as our Fire. By keeping a distance and remaining unburnt, you showed the prudence needed to control our most dangerous ability."

"The Weight of Duty tested your ability to follow the orders of your superiors at the temple while pushing your determination to its limits. Force needs a steadfast mind to push against the pressures of the world, and your will shone through."

"The Mysterious Maze can only be unraveled by keen eyes to see the patterns and pathways made. This is requisite in using the complex art of Folding, and for perceiving problems as they arise. If you cannot see the trouble lurking in the Queendom, throughout all of Engalia, then how can you solve it? Your passage proves you have the capability to find, and thus resolve, these issues for the Order."

"Finally, Caring for the Garden. A metaphor to represent how you care for and look after your fellows and the world. This compassion is needed to tend to and spread the seeds of our ideals to all of Engalia, and for your ability to Fix. Healing first comes from compassion; one cannot Fix without that true desire."

At the smiles on all of their faces, the Master smiled too. "Now, these steps are only the first, as I said; there will be many more you need to take, but for today, rejoice in your victory. On the grounds of your efforts today, I, Master Poro, induct you into our Order and pronounce you Dream Warriors!" They cheered at his words, shouting and crying tears of jubilation, barely noticing the Adepts who had tested them coming up with beige robes folded in their hands.

They called the Initiates forth and gave them their robes, then directed them through a tunnel leading out to their rooms. As they left, Master Poro said, "Make sure to get dressed quickly, then come down to the Dining Hall. We'll be holding a feast in celebration of your achievement." That got some more cheers as they raced ahead (though never managing to outpace the Adepts leading them and get lost in the winding tunnels, likely due to Folding), eager for the celebration and food.

The pathways were confusing, going up and down and sliding their way through the mountain's many paths. They intersected seemingly at random, and there was little by way of signage. The walls shifted color slightly as they went up and down in terms of elevation, going from a near magenta shade to blue, then brown, then black. The Adepts led them unerringly to a far larger tunnel with many doors lining the walls. Wengar said, "You'll be staying here, in the fourth Initiate quarters, for the time being. Pick out any room each of you wants from the right side- my right, he added as one Dream Warrior took two steps in the wrong direction. "After you're done getting dressed, I'll lead you all to the Dining hall."

Elizabeth picked a middle room at random and opened it to find a small, oval-ish room. There was a bed, a chest, a meditation mat near the center of the room, and that was about it, save for the window somehow sticking out of it. Had the tunnels taken them that close to the surface of the mountain? No, it didn't seem like that. She opened the window and felt the breeze blowing through and realized that, despite being done very smoothly, it wasn't a giant opening, probably more like a pin-sized hole through to the surface of the mountain, Folded to give a view and feel of a window, looking out at the crimson sun setting in the sky.

A voice called out for everyone, and Elizabeth quickly hurried to get dressed and join the others. She tried to keep track of the path they took over to the dining hall, but she only remembered about half of the twists and turns to reach there.

The doors to the dining hall were tall, though not nearly as great as those of the main mountain entrance, only about 12 feet high. They opened to reveal the large chamber that made up the dining hall, several long wooden tables and benches placed in lines inside it, one slightly fancier one at the end of the room.

It was easily the largest room they had been in within the place, save for the one with the great tree, if it could be called a 'room,' and about the same size as all of their resting quarters section as well. Sleepers walked about this way and that setting up platters as Dream Warriors of all levels, which had been sitting down, rose up to greet them.

Master Poro and a couple dozen other Masters stood at the far end table, the only table to have the black and red-robed monks. Master Poro stood up from the center- no, not quite the center. There was an empty seat to his right that would have been the center that conspicuously no one sat in. It wasn't a different seat than anyone else's, but Elizabeth knew that it must be Grandmaster Tenga's spot. He wasn't the only one missing, though. It stung to realize that Dawn wasn't there.

"We welcome our newest Initiates to the Order. Congratulations again! Now, please, join us and enjoy this wonderful feast in our honor and the honor of all Dream Warriors taking their first steps in our Order." There was an empty table for them to sit down in and then a toast to them, after which much cheering and feasting on the vast amount of delicious food placed before them.

It had been a long day, and she was tired, which was why Elizabeth's cheers were more muted, at least, that's what she had told herself. It was getting harder for her to ignore the fact that there were other things digging at her mind, which left her feeling less than satisfied (not the least of which was a particular empty seat at the Master's table up top). None of her peers noticed amidst the other noise, though, as she made half-hearted attempts to keep up.

She consoled herself with how delicious the food was at least, and plentiful. They really had set up a feast for them.

Many Adept and older Initiates would walk by and congratulate them, pat them on the back as they passed, and the like. Most of the Initiates were caught up in conversation after the meal, mostly speculation about what everything was going to be like now that they were here. Elizabeth took the moment to leave, though that caught Derrick's attention.

"Oh, where are you going, Elizabeth? You've been kinda quiet." So he did pick up on it; he might be better at it than he thought in that case or was just naturally observant. She still did her best to brush it off, though, not feeling comfortable enough to share her real feelings.

"Just tired is all. Figured I should get a good night's rest for whatever training we have tomorrow."

Dalila nodded at that. "Very prudent. We haven't been told yet what our classes will be like or when, so it's best to get a good night's sleep to be ready for them whenever." She got up as well, keen to follow Elizabeth's example and what she saw as a drive to learn more.

Did the other girl think of her as a rival of sorts? A friend with like-minded ideals? It was hard to tell; Dalila was a bit more reserved than the others. They didn't talk on the walk back to the resting quarters, just saying 'Goodnight' to each other before entering their rooms. Thinking on it, she wasn't really close to anyone there when all the other Initiates seemed to know each other so well. Hopefully it was something she could fix in future days when she actually got the chance to learn alongside them a bit - Someone was in her room!

She swiveled about to face the figure on her bed and then paused as she realized who it was.

"Don't stop on my account," Dawn said, stretching her legs out a bit as she sat there. "Looked like you had a lot on your mind."

"Dawn!" Happiness, then confusion, filled her mind. Why was Dawn here and not down there for the feast? She asked as much. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking to talk to you, of course. I... could say I've been busy since yesterday morning, and I have, but I bet you're wondering why I left you here without even checking in, right?"

Elizabeth slowly nodded. "Among other things."

"I wanted to see what you thought of this place. Your thoughts, unfiltered from any input of my own. Admittedly, I'd like to have given you more time, but that's something we all lack." The next part, "All of us, save one," was murmured, barely hearable.

Elizabeth frowned. "Just about this place? You dumped me in here, and I barely had any time! I was so worried about if I'd make it or not, knowing so much less than them." She paced back and forth as she talked.

"But you did make it. Here you are, a Dream Warrior," she pointed out. "What does that tell you?"

"Well, either that you really did manage to teach me everything that was needed to pass, or..." Dawn's emotional state didn't seem to change (to Elizabeth's mental sense), but there was a gleam in her eyes that implied she was on the right track. "Or that the lessons here weren't really needed to pass it. I mean, they did help; some people mentioned that, but it was less like the actual lessons needed, more like vague comments. I suppose it could be that I already had all the traits needed to be a Dream Warrior too." Dawn chuckled at that.

"Looks like someone's getting too big for her robes to think that much of herself." Elizabeth blushed, but after laughing, Dawn nodded. "Hey, it is a theory; I suppose it could be true."

"But it isn't. I know that much," Elizabeth responded, pulling the locket out of her pocket. "There were tests I failed. Or should have failed at least, by the merits in which a Dream Warrior is judged. I definitely passed some too, but it doesn't feel quite right."

"Oh? Why not? It could be that they just took a generalized assessment of you and decided that even with some factors that didn't work or weren't perfect, you still had enough potential and aligned values to become a Dream Warrior."

Elizabeth looked at the Dream Warrior exasperated. "Why are you taking this point of view? I already know you aren't happy with the testing system, so why defend it?"

"I could just be upset with the people who give the answers ahead of time, not the Trials themselves."

"But that's part of the system of how they run the Trials!" She was only realizing that as she said it, but it was true, with how the Adepts teaching the Hopefuls dropped hints just right to get them on the right path. Very subtly, but...

"Enough that they can let pass everyone they want, while making them feel virtuous." Elizabeth turned her head to stare suspiciously at the woman who said she couldn't read minds but seemed to be proving the opposite. Shuffling to the side, Dawn patted the bed, and Elizabeth sat down beside her.

"They certainly didn't seem to be praising my skills, though, just commenting on how well you must have taught me even though we... barely... why are you just nodding your head and grinning!?" Elizabeth demanded. The small smile that had appeared on Dawn's face was wiped away instantly.

"I thought it was a bit ironic that despite my best efforts, you still faced all the problems I did. Rest assured, I do care, and I didn't want that to happen to you." She paused for a moment, thinking before posing her own question. "You know who my teacher was, correct?"

"Yeah, Grandmaster… Tenga." Elizabeth stopped cold as she realized for the first time what that really meant. Everyone may have praised Dawn's skills, but they practically worshipped Tenga. He was 700 years old and had brought the world out of the dark times before he arrived and founded the very order. Being compared to someone like that… "I'm sorry, Dawn, I hadn't considered how it would be for you. You must think my complaints are childish."

She shook her head. "No more so than my own complaints, which I still have to this day, so who's the real child?" Dawn gave the young girl a goofy grin before getting more serious. "I didn't want to overshadow you, for my presence to be seen as a smothering oak tree hanging over you constantly, which is part of why I left you on your own. So you could prove yourself and wouldn't have to be compared to me. I'm sorry it didn't work."

After a pause, Dawn spoke again. "You're right. I do have problems with how things are run here, how those with potential are pushed through just because they can be strong. None of them are strong in the real way. That's why I gave you such little foreknowledge of the test; I wanted to be sure - as sure as I could be - that you passing was because you were truly capable of being a Dream Warrior. The defenses I gave were just me paraphrasing others who have defended a system long in need of an overhaul, and that's what I want to do with your help. Fix the Order." Elizabeth couldn't help but let out a gasp at that. The idea of her managing to help with something like that was huge.

"But that's in the future; for now, just focus on learning what you can. The time will pass quicker than you think, and with any luck, you'll be able to reach your full potential before I need your help."

"Do you really think I can?"

"Absolutely. Remember, the surety of your strength wasn't just for my sake. You passed the trials on your own and did splendidly. You'll be as strong as I am someday. Now, I'll get out of your room and let you get some rest; you don't need an old woman jabbering at you all night."

Elizabeth let out a small giggle. "You're not old. Wait, are you?" It was still hard to get a read on her age, and Dawn gave her a mock shocked look.

"You shouldn't ask a lady her age." Dawn got up and turned away, beginning to walk out. "Anyways, I just wanted to say that and... I'm proud of you. You did good today."

Elizabeth beamed at the praise, then collapsed into her bed. While being tired was the excuse she used for the others, it was also true. Mentally, emotionally, and physically, it had been a tiring day. There were somehow even more unknown things lying in her way, but she felt relieved too just from meeting with Dawn. She drifted off to sleep, finding something incredible in her dreams...