The Lost Crown

"You Will Be Its Guardian All Your Days"

Walliam fell asleep swiftly and had endless, strange dreams.  All were normal and forgotten, except the last.  

He found himself on the top of the city wall.  It was half light all around him and he knew he was in the hidden world.  He looked behind him and saw the Wilding Manor he had visited that day.  It was empty and strange, like all buildings in the hidden world.  He turned back and looked out over the wall at the mountainside.  It was barren and had an odd feel to it.

He turned and walked past the guard tower, down the wall, towards the harbor.  After he had walked a while he noticed that where there should be sea or harbor there was instead a strange turbulence rising up in the air.  It rose up from where there should be water and continued into the air, high above.  He could feel some kind of force emanating from the turbulence and he slowed his walk.  He went another few paces and came to another guard tower.  He looked and saw that there were more guard towers punctuating the wall as it ran out and disappeared in the strange, roiling phenomenon rising from what should be water.

He was near another guard tower and he looked at the strange wall of turbulence at the edge of the wall he stood on.  He looked further down the guard wall and saw the figure of a man, walking towards him.  He ducked into the doorway of the guard tower and looked out through the empty square that held a door in the physical world.  He heard footsteps approaching and he saw Swyvern walk past the door.

Walliam felt surprise and took a deep breath.  Had Swyvern seen him?  And what was he doing out here?  He waited a few more minutes and then stepped out of the guard tower and looked up at the walkway where he had been.  He saw no sign of the Magian.

He walked back up the walkway, still on top of the wall.  He felt the need to hurry and started walking faster.  In moments he was back to the guard tower by Wilding Manor.  He went down the steps and entered the grounds of the Manor.  There were only a few trees in the hidden world, and none of the bushes and flowers he had seen in the grounds around the big mansion in the physical world.  

He wondered if there were stairs on the side of the cliff that dropped away on the eastern side of the house, down to where the academy grounds were.  Everything around him lurched and he stood on a patio at the side of the manor.  He was at the edge of the cliff, and he saw a step just over the edge.  He moved forward and looked over.  Below was the Archon, and he saw a zig-zag of stairs cut into the cliff face.  He followed them with his eyes, down to the grounds of the academy.  

He started down the steps as fast as he could.  What was Swyvern doing on the wall?  He tripped and felt the air pull out of his lungs as he fell.  Terror gripped him as he dropped and he opened his mouth to yell.  He felt and heard the loud splash and water filled his mouth, choking off any sound.  He felt himself sink into water and he tried to spit the water out of his mouth as he flailed with his arms and legs.

His feet hit stone and he realized the water he had fallen into was not deep.  He was soaked and coughed water out as he stood up in the pond he found himself in.  Water ran off of his face and out of his hair.  He doubled over coughing and retching water for a few minutes.  Finally he stopped and panted as he gasped in air.  He wiped his eyes and looked around him.

He was sure he had fallen into the academy grounds, but there were no ponds there.  He looked up and saw the strange sky that he had seen before in the hidden world.  He saw brilliant stars in the heavens but they didn’t look real to him.  He was in a very small pond and all around him were strange trees and plants.  The pond was surrounded by rocks and he pulled himself out over them, feeling them scrape his hands as he struggled.

There was grass growing in a patch and he flopped onto that and lay on his back, shuddering.  What was going on?  The water in the pond churned and gurgled and he leaned on one elbow so he could look at the small pool of dark water.  Something white was rising in the center of the water.  As it broke the surface he saw it was a large lotus blossom.  The creamy petals began to open and he saw the blue glow in the center, buried under the petals.  As they opened he saw the blue glow stronger and he heard a woman’s voice.