Dreamer's Throne

Thinking about it for a moment, Carraway nodded, his eyes sharp.

“An introduction, I can do. Though, you’ll have to manage the arrangements on your own. I typically don’t handle the negotiations, but I can at least set up a meeting as long as you can get into the swamp.”

“Perfect. If possible, schedule the meeting for some time next week.”

Nodding, Carraway thought for a moment and then spoke cautiously, watching Garrett carefully for his response.

“I take it that you have a path out of the city, is that right?”

It was a silly question, and both Carraway and Garrett knew it, but Garrett played along, curious about what was on the merchant’s mind.

“I can’t confirm anything, but I might. What is on your mind?”

Licking his lips, Carraway showed an uncharacteristic hesitation to speak, but Garrett just waited quietly, not giving him an out. Finally, Carraway coughed lightly.

“Ahem. There is a group in the city that wishes to get back to Port Reverie, on the other side of the swamp. They’re in a bit of a sticky situation, however, since they can’t afford to be found by the guards and the gates will be heavily watched once they open. They’re paying well, but so far, they don’t have any leads. Will your passage be able to accommodate a group of ten?”

Sharing a glance with Ryn, Garrett slowly nodded. The first group that came to mind was the Black Raven assassins that had participated in the killing of the royal family and were now hiding in the city. Ryn had spotted them looking around one of the markets, and Garrett knew that they operated in teams of five, so it made sense that they would be looking for a way out of the city. Additionally, Carraway had been one of the merchants who had smuggled them into the city in the first place, so it made sense that they would have talked to him about leaving.

“Potentially. We still have some work to do, but talk to me in a week or so.”

Looking relieved, Carraway nodded and said his goodbyes, leaving Ryn and Garrett alone in the office. Rubbing his forehead after the merchant had gone, Garrett found himself tired. While staying up all night in the dream wasn’t typically a big deal, he had used up a lot of his energy controlling Viper to fight and it was starting to weigh on him.

“Do you think that Carraway was talking about the Black Ravens?”

Ryn’s question shook Garrett out of his thoughts and he nodded.

“I do. They are the only group I can think of who would be asking Carraway to help them find a way out of the city. Have you managed to find out where they are staying?”

Looking troubled, Ryn shook her head.

“No. I haven’t. I’ve been trying to find them, but I haven’t spotted anyone since I first saw them. Besides, I’ve been too distracted with the thought of awakening.”

“Oh? Have you made up your mind?”

Curling her leg up under her, Ryn hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

“When I was, um, recruited into Black Raven, I went through their awakening program. It was awful. They thought that by bringing us close to death, they could cause us to awaken, so they did. Repeatedly. Half of us really died, a couple of people actually did awaken and were taken off to become assassins, and the rest of us were trained as thieves. That was a terrible time and I have no desire to repeat it, so if your method has to do with something like that, I’m not interested.”

“That makes sense,” Garrett replied, his expression serious. “But the method that I am considering, while not without danger, shouldn’t bring you close to death.”

“Does… does it have to do with my dreams?”

“Dreams, what dreams?”

Raising his eyebrows, Garrett pretended to have no idea what Ryn was talking about, but it was clear that she wasn’t buying it. Slowly, she opened her hand, holding it palm up in front of her and her eyes screwed shut as she concentrated with all her effort. Faintly at first, but with growing power, Adagio for Strings, a song that had never been heard in this world, and that Ryn had only ever heard in her dreams, began to fill the room. A ghostly box, its wooden sides carved with tiny five-petaled flowers, appeared above her palm like a hunk of mist, a rainbow petaled flower on its top slowly spinning as the music swelled and faded.

In shock, Garrett stared at the music box, unsure if his eyes were playing a trick on him. He had created this music box as a way to provide the young Ryn some comfort against the harsh voices of her past, and had never expected her to be able to bring it into the real world. But he could tell it was the same music box, and could even feel the faint connection he had with it as it drew on his power to manifest into the world. Thoughts exploded in his mind as he considered all of the different artifacts he was planning on creating for the dreamers at Dreamer’s Rest. If a mortal like Ryn could pull it into the real world, how much easier would it be for an awakened?

“I don’t know if I am cursed,” Ryn said, her voice barely a whisper, “or blessed, but this… thing has been present with me ever since I met you. Every time I see it, it reminds me of you. Of the crimson mask that Viper wears. Of the mask my instructor wears. And the flowers that the masks bear.”

Unsure what to say, Garrett could only stare at Ryn as the music faded and she opened her eyes. They were filled with a strange serenity, a calmness that hinted at explosive action and intensity covered by a thin film of peace that could be shattered at any moment.

“Is… is that a mysterious artifact?” Garrett asked, causing Ryn’s calm look to ripple before returning to a peaceful state.

“Yes. It was given to me in a dream, by someone affiliated with you. Or at least, affiliated with Viper.”

“And what does it do?” Garrett asked, leaning forward, curious.

While he had created the music box, it was clear to him that it had begun to change once Ryn started carrying it around. Now, it not only carried a connection to him, but that connection was mirrored to her. Had he not granted it the energy it needed, it would have absorbed her life force in order to power itself, stealing from her even as she sought to bring it into the world. The difficulty was that he didn’t understand what it was that the box could do, apart from play the song he had created it with.

Once again, the ripple appeared in Ryn’s eyes and the music swelled in a crescendo, causing the latent energy in her body to explode, causing her surge forward, without even appearing to move. The chair she had been sitting on went flying across the room from the counterforce and she appeared on the desk, her breath coming in great gasps as she slumped down. Seeing that she was about to slide head first down to the ground, Garrett grabbed her collar, pulling her toward him as her body fell from the top of the desk, causing papers to scatter across the ground.

“Ugh, sorry,” she mumbled, her face crumpled in pain and exhaustion. “Oof, that hurts. But did you see that?”

Crawling up, she swayed in place, grabbing onto the side of the desk for support. It was clear that using the ability had completely drained her, putting immense strain on her body. Once he was sure that she wasn’t going to fall down again, Garrett frowned.

“What did you just do?”

“When I listen to that song, it gives me… it gives me energy. A lot of it. And I can use it to move quickly. But it is really hard to control.”

“I can see that. How can you use it if you’re not awakened?”

“Right? That’s what I don’t know. I figured I might be partially awakened or something,” Ryn said, a lopsided grin returning to her face.

“Curious. Well, while this was not the method that I had in mind, it seems like it might be a good supplemental thing for you. No, I had a different idea in mind. Though, it also has to do with your dreams.”

Pointing her finger at his face, Ryn laughed triumphantly.

“Aha! I knew it! You do have something to do with them. I knew that you did.”

“First, pick up the papers you knocked over and I’ll tell you,” Garrett said, pointing at the papers that were spread all over the floor.

After they had been gathered back up, Garrett quickly re-sorted them and then put them away in their proper piles while Ryn fidgeted on her chair. When he was done, he looked across the desk at her and cupped his chin in his left hand.

“You have seen that dreams have an influence on reality, both through the mysterious artifact that you possess, and through the effect of studying how to read and write. But the reason that this is the case is because you carry the blessed mark of our family.”

“The flower?” Ryn asked, pointing to her silver pin.

“Yes, though really, the representation of the flower in the dream world. It is what allows you to awaken to that world when you fall asleep in this world. Like you, I walk in the dream world, and I have a suspicion that the flower could be used to awaken. In fact, your mysterious artifact might make it even easier for you.”

Sitting up straight, Ryn’s expression grew serious, a rare enough occurrence that Garrett knew he was on the right track. Considering his words carefully, he spoke softly, as if afraid someone else would overhear.

“The flower grows using the energy that the dream contains, but what if, instead of simply existing alongside the flower, you took its energy? I think that it would be possible for you to absorb the energy that the flower is gathering, using it to awaken your soul spark. But it would require working together. I can guide you in it if you wish.”

Biting her lip, Ryn hesitated, clearly torn about something. After a moment of consideration, she asked Garrett a question.

“Would that harm the flower? I… I don’t want to harm the flower.”

“So long as you don’t harm the root, I think it's fine,” Garrett replied. “The flower’s energy is stored in its petals, and its life is stored in its root. In fact, I think that you will find that the flower will be quite willing to help you. But it won’t be easy to do. We’ll probably have to try a lot of things to figure out how to get it to work. And you’ll need to figure out what sort of soul spark you want to have.”

This time, Ryn’s silence stretched for a full two minutes. It was evident that her previous experience had scarred her badly, but she was also attracted to the idea of awakening. This world was brutal for those without power, and though her position seemed stable right now, there was no substitute for personal power. Finally, after taking a deep breath, she exhaled loudly, as if she was expelling all her doubts and worry with the stale air in her lungs.

“Fine. I’ll do it.”

“Good,” Garrett said, smiling. “Spend the rest of the day thinking about what it is that you might like your soul spark to be, and we will begin tonight.”

“Wait, we?”

“Yes. I’ll see you in your dream,” Garrett’s smile deepened. “But prepare yourself. It's going to be hard work.”

“Nothing to be afraid of in hard work,” Ryn said, clapping her hands together in excitement. “But how do I figure out what I want my soul spark to be?”

“Think about what you want to achieve with your awakening. Focus on a symbol that can represent it, and I’ll teach you how to begin the process tonight.”

Garrett had been debating on this move for a long time, and had finally decided that the advantage was worth the potential risks. The main concern was that Ryn was not under his control in the way that the other members of the gang had been. Her dream seed had started off differently and it had just grown naturally, turning into a three bloom flower by absorbing the ambient energy of the dream. Though the flower had a natural bewitchment effect, it only extended as far as making her accept the flower itself, rather than tying her to Garrett and the main root of the flower planted in the Dreamer’s Inn.

He had considered encouraging her to awaken through the dream, without indicating that he was connected to it, but he also knew that she was smart enough to figure out what was going on, an assumption that had been proven correct. Closing his eyes, Garrett sat in the silence of the office, mentally reviewing the gang’s strength. At the top of the pile, there was Viper, his guardian. Close to the shaper level and absolutely loyal, to the point that he could act almost as a secondary body for Garrett, he was Garrett’s strongest asset. Under him were the two red masked awakened, Pax, and the new young man named Vale.

Both were strong and the number of blooms they carried ensured their loyalty, making it so that Garrett didn’t need to be worried about being betrayed. Next came Obe and the other awakened that had just been recruited to the gang. They carried four blooms apiece, and Garrett had accelerated the growth of all of them, which granted an increased sense of loyalty, ensuring that they wouldn’t simply abandon the Family at the first sign of danger. Finally, there were the four awakened dreamers, who were in a similar situation to Ryn. They carried blooms, but only so that Garrett could keep track of them and communicate with them, rather than controlling them directly, or even by suggestion.

He wasn’t sure if he was doing the right thing by allowing people around him to retain their own sense of self, but he had his own qualms about the flowers that he grew. As convenient as they were, he occasionally wondered if he was really the one in charge. His birth in this world had been accompanied by the merger of two souls, and it was hard to tell if acquiring the Dream Seed ability had changed him further. He was just thinking about what to do if he lost control of the dream flowers when he felt Obe running toward the office at full speed. Frowning, Garrett put away his depressing thoughts and scanned for danger, immediately finding an area where there were a lot of worried people gathered. The door slammed open and Obe stepped into the office, breathing heavily.

“Boss, we have a problem!” breathing heavily, Obe took a moment to catch his breath before continuing. “It looks like a rogue mysterious artifact has started killing people nearby.”