A Dream and After Effects.

A young man found himself floating in a sea of magic. Everywhere he looked was bright. He could smell the colors around him, feel the vibrancy of the happy sounds, and even touch that thread of life connecting everything together! He began to swim through this sea of magic, turning here and there to find familiar faces watching him.

All of his friends, both from this world and his last, were here with him. They laughed and danced together, happily singing a blend of all the songs he knew, then spontaneously began cheering for him. A slightly older version of Ian laughed and danced with them, happily making up words to a song all his own as he responded to their cries.

"Ian!" they called, voices filled with joy and longing. "Hero! Savior!" The hands of thousands propped him up, helping him to prepare for something in the immediate future. His father, not James but his original father, stood before him. "Beware, my son. Death has caught our scent and is coming for us all."

There, now, came a discordant note. Slowly the sounds began to change. A living darkness formed at the edge of his sight, quickly approaching the young man and his allies. Everywhere the darkness touched, the magic died and the living were corrupted. Everything seemed lost and hopeless.

Then, for a small time, standing between himself and the darkness, the defiant figure of the Princess stood. She was being backed up by shadowy figures he'd never met before. At first they seemed to be fighting! Magic shot forth, swordsmen rushed ahead, archers fired volley after volley and yet, all too briefly, they were overwhelmed.

One by one the Princess and her allies fell to the Dark. This entity was like a living thing, rushing past the doomed Lunarian Kingdom and charging at our hero! In horror, the young man watched as everything around him was swallowed in darkness.

He felt the air sucked from his lungs, his life force draining away as his very soul was being taken. Pain, fear, the agony of needing to breath in a world with no air! As the last of the magic began to leave him, the older Ian watched his people begin visiting evil and horror on all around them. Then they, too, turned on him. Unable to do anything, he felt the pain of being eaten alive.

He screamed!

Sitting on his bed, the boy was completely drenched in sweat, not to mention disoriented. He was being shaken firmly by one set of hands and his cheek hurt like he'd been hit. He didn't recognize anyone or anything just then, the fragments of the dream still holding him, even now!

Once, as a child, he'd been caught in a snowstorm. It had been a horrible time for him and he was lucky to have survived, yet not even in that terrible time had he felt as completely chilled as he did at this point of time.

Desperately he tried to get away from the people 'holding him down', telling them to get away from him. There was so much fear and pain in his voice that, for just a moment, the touching stopped.

It was redoubled shortly after, though this time it was comforting. "Shh," he heard a lovely, warm voice assure him, "It's all going to be okay now. We won't let anything bad happen. Everything is alright."

Breathing heavily, Ian reached out and pulled the owner of that voice to him, hugging her tightly and crying like some lost, lonely, frightened little child. That particular woman, Michelle, was so taken by surprise that she didn't think to resist until it was too late.

By the time her mind caught up, she was cradling the boy in her arms, rocking him gently back and forth. She made soothing noises in his ear, glancing up at Ellea, looking concerned.

"Perhaps we'll take breakfast in room, this morning," the half-elf said thoughtfully, "I'll let a servant know to bring it."

The young master wasn't responding, but that was fine. Poking her head out, the blonde flagged down a servant and sent out the order. It was going to be a long morning...

The all too young boy was still shaking when breakfast was delivered for the three, though he was slowly coming back to his senses. The girls had gotten to talking and even discussing the finer points of his sleep schedule before he reluctantly let the guardswoman go and finally managed to begin to get his act together.

Pale as could be, the youth shakily began to eat breakfast, though it was rather obvious he didn't have much of an appetite. It was all too evident that he was playing with his food more than eating it, despite having shown an interest in new foods for quite some time.

In the end, he sat back, closing his eyes for a brief moment before remembering his... nightmare? Dream? Prophecy? Magic was a thing in this world, was he actually here for some reason? It still felt like some game to him, though.

Our hero hugged himself tightly, taking a long, deep breath. He held that breath for a full minute before, finally, releasing it and standing to his feet. With purpose, he approached his bed, pulling out the journal and both books.

While he was at it, he removed the revolver and something that might serve as a holster, set aside from his closet, as well as his belt and a pouch to store the pre-loaded parts he'd be using eventually.

"So," Michelle said, not unkindly, "Perhaps you should call off this match. It's obviously bothering you."

"You are mistaken," the boy replied quietly, shaking his head. "This little bet isn't a problem. What I lose in accuracy I can easily make up for in speed. Is there anyone suited to magic I might speak to?"

"In Maris?" Michelle asked, surprised. "No. Don't you remember? You had to go to Lunaria to learn magic."

"Lunaria, you say... Interesting. Convenient, too. Alright, so it's a bit early, but why don't we head over to the archery range and impress the guard? Ah! Michelle, send for an artisan. We're going to need someone along."

Ellea waited quietly while the pair talked, unusual for her. She was obviously worried about something but... Well, it seemed she wasn't willing to talk about it just yet. Had he noticed it? He seemed distracted...

Regardless of her thoughts and actions, the boy was now changing in front of her. How shameless! She was blushing, yet she didn't once look away. She simply waited for him to finish, having gotten dressed before he woke up.

Michi returned as he was tucking his black and gold revolver into it's holster, checking over his weapons as well. He did not wear armor, which she felt was nice... He smelled like a rusty ironworks when he did, not something his partner would ever approve of.

It was the guardswoman who commented, surprising both of them.

"Ah... did I miss something? H-hey... I was only gone a moment, s-surely she hasn't corrupted you already?"

"Corrupted? What are you saying?"

"Relax," Ian said wearily, "No matter how much I want her to do so, Eleara hasn't so much as touched me inappropriately since the day we met."

"Oh? You want me to?" she asked, coyly.

"None of that, elf!" the guardswoman shot back.

"What is it with you, anyway? Can't you just be happy for us? I've dedicated my life to him, how much more do you want from me?"

"Happy, with an elf who will no doubt use him up and toss him aside when he gets old? I know how your kind operates!"

"You are wrong about me," she replied with no hesitation, "Though it'll be fine. We'll just wait until you are too old to stop us, maybe we'll play around on your grave so you can feel like you joined in..."

"You think you can kill me? Just try it, freak!"

"Oh, we can just outlive you."

"Ladies! Please. Now is not the time for this. So, shall we go? Let's not keep our audience waiting."

The three looked at each other, silent for a moment. Michi was the first to nod, followed by a reluctant Ellea. Ian's smile was like the sun coming up for the first time in weeks, dispelling the gloom surrounding the elf's heart. Unconsciously, her hand sought his, though she hesitated right at the end.

He didn't, however, grasping her hand and pulling her tightly against him, right there in front of their guard. He hugged her tightly, if briefly, reassuring himself as much as her. She heard a whisper from him, so gentle and soft that she wouldn't have heard it were she not an elf.

"Oh my Ellea... You really do know how to cheer me up."

What was that about? The look of surprise on her face as he pulled away from their far too brief contact was genuine.

"Very good," he said at last, holding her hand and leading the way. "Let's go impress the locals."