The Asterian Dream

XII: It Was Like Yesterday

Fasela awoke the next morning feeling quite relaxed. She got to her feet within the tub of water she had been sleeping in and stretched out, yawning as she did so. After hopping over the side of the tub, she grabbed a silken towel and wrapped it around her body. She then headed over to her large closet and stepped in. Inside were dozens upon dozens of outfits, ranging from formal dresses to rugged underlays for her armor. She stood and thought for quite a while and eventually took out a short dress which was a deep blue, the same shade as her skin.

An hour later, she was fully dressed. The servants who had helped her dress bowed as they exited the room. She politely waved to them and went over to her armor and weapon stands. Selecting two shortswords, she concealed them within the skirt of her dress and left her room.

When she walked out the door, a Morak was waiting for her. He was much shorter than her, and as she approached he ran up and hugged her torso tight.

"Tsu, you're finally back!" he said.

Fasela smiled and knelt down, hugging him back. "I'm glad to see you're doing well Melron." She then held him at arm's length and looked curious. "Aren't you supposed to be at Stalkin right now? That's a long journey from here."

Melron looked up at her sheepishly. "Well, I knew you'd be getting back soon, so I came here. Just got here last night."

Fasela shook her head. "That's a good few days journey. You shouldn't have gone on your own." She then sighed and hugged him again. "I am glad to see you though, so I can't be angry at you."

Melron smiled wide as Fasela stood up and began descending the stairs. He followed close beside her and began chattering the whole way down. "So what are you gonna do here?" he asked. "Had enough of the world down there? I know it's crazy. Why, just yesterday I heard a human talking about-".

He kept on rambling, Fasela trying to listen but having a hard time keeping up. Finally, they got to a large dining hall, where dishes laden with fine foods were set at every seat. As they sat down to eat, Melron's ramblings were interrupted by him shoveling as much fish down his throat as he could. Fasela silently thanked the heavens for making him quiet and ate some of her own food which was set in front of her.

The morning also found Conrad in a good state. Without the stress of the meeting with the archons before him, he had awoken early feeling quite refreshed. As the sun rose, he took it upon himself to explore the city a bit. Wandering throughout the streets, he eventually found himself at the edge of the city and looking over a massive expanse of water.

The ocean was a bright blue, and the rising sun slowly peaked over the horizon, the light dancing on the surface of the water. Sitting on the edge of one of the many boat docks, Conrad gazed out at the view for quite a long time, not thinking about anything except how thankful he was for how his life was turning out.

As he gazed out at the view, he began to feel strange, nostalgic almost. Confused, he turned around only to see something very strange. A figure was standing behind him. It looked exactly like him except it had none of his imperfections. It stood tall and strong, had the flesh of a living creature, and was dressed in a magnificent set of armor with a cape.

Conrad looked about and saw there was not a single other living thing around. The figure seemed to be waiting expectantly. Eventually, a young Dragonborn woman came running down the docks. She had scales of white and was dressed in a bright yellow and white dress.

The two met each other and hugged each other tightly. They embraced for several moments before pulling away slightly, still holding on to each other.

The Dragonborn put her arms around the figure's neck. "You had me so worried Ludex!" she said.