There was a knock in the door. A knock on the door in the middle of the night. Any other person would have been dead asleep at this hour. Not that it mattered. The man who answered the door, while not dead asleep, would certainly be dead, very soon.
The man who answered the door was tall and skinny, and had bleary eyes. This man was a scholar. He was studying Dimensional Sciences, and he wasn't half bad at it.
And he was going to die for that.
A figure dressed in flowing black robes stood at the door. He seemed to read from a large scroll in his hand, though it was hard to tell, as his face could not be seen due to the shadow of the hood. "Kevlin Torque, Scholar of Dimensional Sciences at the Academia?" asked the hooded figure. His voice was scratchy, as though something was wrong with his throat or voice box.
"Yes," said Kevlin, and as the word left his mouth, his head left his shoulders.
And he was dead before he hit the floor.
•~•
In the forests of the Betwixt, a horn sounded. And another. And another. A choir of war horns, celebrating the coming destruction of Earth.
Far away, not far from the portal connecting the Betwixt and Earth, was a hut. A hut that blended in very well with the surroundings. There were over a dozen protective spells on the hut. Whoever was in that hut was extremely safe. Stupendously safe.
But not safe enough. Not safe enough to save the inhabitant. The inhabitant in question was a Psychic with the ability to project his mind, his consciousness, out of his body, and send it to see things miles away. And he saw. Saw a sea of claw and teeth, of exposed bone and rotting flesh, of coarse hair and gleaming scales. A moving sea of Nightmares. Out of Nelheim they poured, thousands of them, snarling and biting and roaring. In the hut, his body jerked as his mind returned to his body. The Council needed to be warned about this development. He hurried to a gleaming red telephone. It had a direct line straight to the Council. He snatched it up.
"Yes?" asked a voice.
"There's an army of nightmares, heading towards the portal. Request immediate back up," said the watch man.
"I see," said the Council Member, sounding thoroughly unconcerned, "I understand. Is that so? I see. Of course. Good bye."
Everything that the Council Member was saying made no sense, as the watch man hadn't said anything else. All this was beginning to write a word in the watch man's head, and he didn't like what it said.
Treachery!
He opened his mouth to demand that he speak to another Council Member, but it turned out that it was quite difficult to say anything when a blade is stuck in one's throat.
Abyss pulled back his hood and spread his inky black wings as he walked away.
•~•
The Council Member put down the phone, chuckling.
"What was it?" hissed his colleague.
"Nothing," said the Council Member, "False alarm. Nothing is the matter. Nothing at all."
