Beyond the Roselands

Chapter 10

   Damond stretched a hand forward and the scenery changed. We were in a calm forest of tall oak trees and rose bushes. Around us, people were laughing and talking together in a campsite, but took no notice of us sitting on the ground. "Hundreds of years ago, the Roselands was completely normal. It was an ordinary forest. No one lived there, but it was a highway for gypsies and other nomads. Then the Faerys launched an attack."

   Suddenly in the distance, a large explosion was heard and a black wave was heading for our direction. People began screaming and running, but the wave was upon them before they could get away. I gaped in horror as everyone around us began screaming louder than before. They fell to the ground and writhed in pain and agony. Some people automatically died, but others began to get up and move.

   Animals were charging throughout the forest in similar fashions. A deer and a man collided and they both began to morph into one another. Before my very eyes, a Seerdeer was created. I looked around and whenever a human would touch an animal, they would become one. A hawk plummeted from the sky and a man tripped and fell on it. He screamed and grabbed his head and humongous wings erupted from his back. There was the first Zytrey.

   Whatever animals weren't accidentally touched by humans were suddenly attracted to the humans like two magnets, forcefully making mixtures. Other people also took on different forms, but not with animals. Some simply began morphing into different shapes. Some humans became shorter. Some taller. Some humans lost their human qualities all together and became like ghosts or apparitions.

   Then, in the midst of everything, four people standing near each other began gasping for air and screaming in complete agony. They began changing colors and their skin began to get scaly. Horns sprouted from their heads, much to their agonizing discomfort, and tails sprouted from their lower backs. The scales got sharper and the color got more vibrant. One of the males screamed at he sky and flames shot from his mouth. The two males grew to nearly eight feet tall and the two females grew to about six feet. Simultaneously, bat like wings jutted from their shoulders and spread wide, knocking over other creatures. Dragos were created. Two males and two females.

   Other things than people were being affected. All the trees began to darken in color and the leaves fell to the earth. The screaming eventually died off as the new Roseland creatures got their bearings. Creatures of the same species joined together to have a sense of familiarity. The one Zytrey, not seeing anyone like him, stumbled away in fear and panic.

   Damond saw my curiosity and we changed scenes. We were up in a tree now. The lone Zytrey male had obviously flown upwards into the tree, but he had to hop from limb to limb. His wings hadn't grown like mine. Mine had been generated from where they'd always belonged. No pain involved. His had become morphed with his body which wasn't supposed to have them. He was constantly grasping his shoulders and doubling over in pain. His back was bruised from top to bottom and his wings looked limp and useless.

   Then a small voice called out from a nearby tree. We all glanced over and a female Zytrey was calling to him from where she was perched. Because of her newly sprouted wings, she wore no shirt and had to cover herself with her arms and the remaining cloth. Zytreys now had found ways of making shirts for females to protect their modesty. She was in the same state of pain as him, but when they saw each other they looked relieved to find someone else like them.

   "Zytreys were rare, but they had enough people of opposite sex to be able to breed and make more of themselves. Thought you'd like to know how your people were made. Now back to the Faery action."

   We transported again and we were near where I believed the center of the Roselands was. The seven Faerys, including Avery stood there. "Those are the Universal Seven. They lead all Faerys and enforce all Faery related rules. If you go against them, your  better off dead. Unless you're a Faery like myself. Hybrid or not. Anyways, they wanted black magic to coat the world and then they could rule it with an iron fist. So they decided this place was the best place to set up shop. They were wrong. While they were discussing ways of spreading the magic, a Focks, a Beerth, and a Zytrey happened to be watching. They went around the woods and spread the word, raising an army."

   The scene change  once again to an army of Roseland creatures. Zytreys and the few Dragos existing at that time flew through the air, accompanied by other winged creatures such as Peekeits. "The Roseland creatures stormed the Faerys in the center of the Roselands and managed to defeat them by sheer numbers. When the Faerys retreated into their dimension, nothing was left except for a small red rose with a black stem and leaves. The exact opposite of the one you happened to be holding."

   Before I could ask him how he knew what i was holding, he transported us to the world he called the dream realm. "This is only a figment of your imagination. This isn't the real Faery realm you've been told about. It's only what your thoughts have come up with for you. I have a special ability where I can visit people's dream worlds. Everyone's world changes, but it's always located in the same place in the universal mindscape."

    "Universal mindscape?"

   "Okay. Let me tell it to you like this."