The Book of Warlock

The Book of Warlock 20. At the edge of oblivion.

A gate flashed open in the strange blank area outside of space and time known as the astral plane, and the starry cat's ears pricked up, alert. A dragon was passing through, carrying a big, glowing stick of sorts. Just as suddenly as it appeared, it vanished again through another gate leading to another mortal realm. The cat flicked his tail. Nobody ever stayed in this curious place nestled between the collected realities, the Nightmare beast that had healed up his wounds here had been the first visitor for a long while. The astral plane was merely an interdimensional doorway.

Magical creatures such as that noble Nightmare, and himself, were rare, and highly sought after by collectors, especially dragons. He wondered if the dragon had come from the same gate that the Nightmare had used. Eternity in this world of gateways was incredibly dull, and some company would be rather nice. He stretched his long, lithe body, the tiny pinpoints of light within his pelt shimmering. He yawned widely, and proceeded to wash a paw for something to do while he waited to see if the dragon was coming back again. Waiting was easy when there was no such thing as time. Mortal realms were very different, on those the cat could feel scary things such as hunger and tiredness, but also enjoy pleasures such as eating and sleeping. Cats were good at sleeping. It hit different on the living worlds. Here there was only peaceful boredom.

He'd been left stranded here at some point in his adventures. Travelling by gate was risky, having to be in the right place at the right time for the brief moment that the connection was made. As he wasn't able to create his own gate, he had no choice but to follow a different creature if he wished to visit another reality. He'd been too slow to follow the Nightmare when he'd galloped off. Moving quickly was going to be key to his success. Chasing those flashes of light required incredible swiftness and accuracy, so he made a deliberate effort not to get distracted by scratching himself too much or napping. His glowing amber eyes were kept focussed on the bleak nothingness surrounding him.

Without time, it is useless to estimate for how long the cat kept alert for, but it paid off when the white light flashed, and the dragon appeared once again. In a moment the cat was at its side, meowing loudly, ready to bound through following the scaly creature wherever it was going.

The dragon did not look well. It slumped, with tight faded scales pulled over a shrunken frame, its curious clothing hanging about it baggily, its tail limp and its hands shaking as it struggled futilely to open the next gate.

The cat miaowed again, louder this time, and wound himself between the dragon's slim legs, rubbing his black whiskery chin as he weaved and purred.

"Well... h-hello friend ..." the dragon gasped, "would... would you be so kind...?"

The cat sat on his thick haunches and tilted his head, tail flicking with curiosity.

The dragon reached out knobbly talons to pet him and as the scaled hand met starry fur he felt a pull of magical energy. His mystical pelt shimmered and shone as a crackle and spark leapt between them.

"Thank you so much."

Blindingly bright at this close proximity, a gate blazed into existence and the dragon nodded to it, looking healthier from draining some of the cat's essence. "Would you like to come with me?"

The cat miaowed loudly.

"I should warn you this universe is collapsing."

Another loud miaow.

"Fair enough."

Luci brushed Anar's cropped hair back with her fingertips, and straightened out his cloak, tidying him up for his Royal audience with the goblin King and Queen. "I've explained the whole thing about the Sceptre as best I can, I've told them you can fix the citadel up, and they're only a bit cross. I haven't broached the whole death of the universe thing..."