The Dreaming Land

Chapter 31: The Power of a Dream

Orius awoke to find himself laying on a hard, rocky surface. Sitting up, he looked around, and quickly realized he wasn't in the dream world anymore. Instead, he found himself at what must have been Tephim's crater. The great white moon was hovering overhead, just a few miles above them. In the distance he could see the lip of the Dreaming Mountains. Somehow he'd reached the centre of the dreaming lands, and the white nothing that had swallowed it had vanished.

Around him, his friends were coming too as well. Each of them looked very confused, unsure of what they were doing there. Just a few moments ago they stepped into the dreaming land, and somehow they'd gotten here. Each of them noticed the gigantic moon above them, and marvelled at the sight. In his left hand, Orius still held the shard of Tephim, and remembered her request immediately.

"What the hell..." Misha said, "How did we get here?"

"That's very odd." Quintir said, looking around, "This must be because we had the shard."

"Actually I think it was because Tephim believes in us." Orius said.

"What makes you think that?" Imara asked, pulling herself to her feet.

"I spoke to her." Orius said.

"Her? You spoke to the moon?" Quintir jumped, "What happened?"

"Yes," Orius said, rubbing his forehead, "once we stepped into the dreaming land, I awoke in a world she created for me. I'll tell you about it later, but she told me to key to defeating Belial."

"You must tell me in detail later," Quintir gasped, "what is the key?"

"My dream." Orius said, "Tephim's power comes from dreams. If mine is strong enough, she can defeat Belial."

"I see." Quintir nodded.

"So," Imara sighed, "the dream is yours? I suppose I should have known."

"I'm sorry Imara." He said.

"It's okay." She smiled, "Tephim chose you for a reason, and I trust her."

"Uhm, guys?" Misha said, sounding worried, "What is that?"

Each of them looked to where she was pointing. Rising over the lip of the mountains was another moon, though this one was much further away, outside of the atmosphere. It was red and black, like dried blood. It was Belial. Around the moon was a ring of rocks, like a crown. Suddenly a few of the rocks jettisoned away from the ring, and entered the atmosphere, leaving a fiery trail behind them as they fell.

The meteors stuck relatively close by, exploding as they hit the planet's surface. Others traveled in wide arcs, flying further over the horizon than Orius could even imagine. One stuck the side of Tephim, sending a shockwave through the air. The explosion was nearly deafening, and rocked the ground like an earthquake. The dreaming moon did not budge or break, though.

"He's begun assaulting the planet already?" Quintir gasped.

"We have to act, now!" Imara shouted to Orius.

"Don't screw this up." Misha said, approaching him, "I don't mean to make you nervous, but seriously. Tephim chose you, so don't hesitate."

"She's right." Quintir said, looking to him.

"I think he knows that." Imara said softly, "Tephim chose him out of all of us, and I think I know why. He lead us all here. Sure, he couldn't have done it without us, but there wouldn't have been a journey without him. None of us would have ever met if he hadn't beat me to the shard and decided he wanted to see his dreams come true. None of us have a stronger desire to see their dreams realized than he does."