Realms [ON HOLD]

Chapter One: Arrival

     Fenn stood in a small clearing of a dense spruce forest, his eyes dancing around the trees, searching his mind, trying to figure out if he'd been there before. The trees were tall and sturdy, looking menacing in the deep moonlight. Just over the tops of the trees, he could make out the edge of a rocky cliff, jutting out over a prairie beyond the forest.

     No, he decided. He had not been here before; this was new. Fenn continued peering around, looking for signs of danger, just as he had been trained to do. He saw red, glowing orbs floating around the trunks and startled at the realization that they were eyes. Of what, he could not tell. A pair of glowing red pupils came a step closer, as if in silent challenge.

     Fenn's attention was pulled away from the peculiarly daunting eyes by a low hum. Hardly able to be heard, but most definitely there. The wind suddenly picked up, the uppermost branches of the trees swaying in the wind, smelling like the beginnings of a storm: damp and thick.

     The air had an electric feel to it; the hairs on Fenn's arms stood on end. Suddenly, a loud crack sounded through the clearing, and Fenn's vision blurred, looking like the static of a faulty television. Twice more, the air crackled and static churned in Fenn's head, until everything went dark.

     Not even a minute later, Fenn was in a dark, moist cave. Eyes were no longer watching him through the dim light, but the feeling stuck. He looked around, slowly getting up from the spot he didn't realize he'd fallen. He turned and saw a pool of water, and beyond an overhang that dropped farther than he wanted to know.

     Inching forward, he made his way along a clear path of crystals scattered along the darkened stone beneath his feet. Fenn continued forward, around a corner, and immediately stopped, astonished by the sight before him.

     There sat, in the middle of the room, an enormous violet crystal, easily double Fenn's height. Around it, candles were floating through the air, seemingly with no support. They gave the room an eerie glow. Strangely enough, despite its cold, shattering appearance, the room felt nothing less than welcoming. The air was warmer than just a step backward, like the cozy living room of Maeve's cottage, Fenn thought.

     He shuffled closer, right up to the base of the crystal, rooting itself deep into the ground. Just as he reached out his hand to touch it, a voice spoke, not out loud but in his head, echoing through the corners of his mind. It was a woman's voice, soft and elegant, but it was strong and hid a scrap of daring and fierce mischief, like a brave little girl trying something new for the first time. It sounded familiar.

     It said, "Child of the Lost Nature, go to your dead rival's castle. Bring nothing with you: no tools, no weapons, no armor. It is essential for your survival. Search the castle. Do not come back until you help them. Go." And with that, the low, almost silent hum started again, and Fenn's vision was filled with the fuzz of static. It flickered and twitched until everything went dark.

     Once again, Fenn was in the clearing, eyes staring him down intensely through the leaves. The humming did not stop like the last time he was transported; it kept getting slowly louder. In the span of a minute or so, the sound had become a low, consuming rumble. It overwhelmed all of Fenn's senses until he couldn't think straight. It got louder still. Just as he was reaching up to cover his ears, the static filled his vision again and he was left writhing in his bed.

     Fenn awoke, confused and disoriented, his ears ringing. He was laying on his bed, dark sheets kicked up into a lumpy mass at the end. To his left, Rei was still sleeping soundly in her bed next to the fireplace.

     "Just a dream... just a dream." Fenn whispered to himself. He looked up at the clock on the wall across from him. It was midnight. He jumped at the sharp sound of a spark cracking in the dying embers of the fireplace. Feeling silly and scolding himself for being so jumpy, Fenn gathered his blankets back over himself, turned over, and drifted back into a peaceful sleep.