1 Chapter one: A Strange Dream

The window of a high rise apartment sits slightly ajar as the warm summer air flows into the hot apartment of one Selena Mist. Selena is a relatively moderate looking person with a rather plain visage. She has curly black hair that she keeps cut just above her shoulders, green eyes that look toward the ceiling in a scowl, and modest curves. The only real stand out feature of her looks is her rather aquiline nose that came to a sharp point.

Selena has a pale skin tone that has a farmer tan from her work uniform at the grocery store. People would describe her as someone who has no exceedingly useful talents save for her sharp wit and curiosity. She often finds herself musing on her own suffering and what has gotten her stuck in this mundane wage slave life.

'Damn, when will I finally be able to afford a place with air conditioning in this god forsaken city?' Selena thinks to herself 'I moved out to Washington DC in the hopes of making a difference, but I have so far been too occupied focusing on making a living. I bounced from one job to the next always chasing higher pay but it just never seems enough.

Regardless lets just rest and enjoy sleeping in. I don't have to work tomorrow so I can savor the sweet succor of my bed. '

She takes her sleeping medication and relaxes in to the bed basking in the air of a cheap fan I her cheap apartment, slowly forcing herself to drift off into the deep sea of sleep in search of the respite of dreams. That respite, however, never came.

Unbeknownst to Selena after falling unconscious something in her nightstand began to glow, it rattled around causing quite the stir. However, by this point Selena was out cold, as if by ether and not by trazodone.

The rattling grew louder and the light seemed to burst for the night stand drawer at the seems. Some invisible force seems to upshot the drawer till the light managed to reach Selena's sleeping body. It enveloped her and wrapped around as if search for a new home. The light eventually condensed into a plain iron ring with a small res rock on her right pointer finger.

Selena did not receive the rest she was expecting. She seemed to snap into consciousness, however she was not in her room, in fact she couldn't figure out where she was. Disorientated she looked around, she seemed to be on a dock, but there was no sea, she seemed to be in a city but there were no cars. Gaining her bearings slightly more as she shakes of her grogginess she took in the sights.

All around there were amazing sights. The people around her seemed to be bustling and chatting without paying her any mind. However there weren't just "people" it felt like she had been launched into some renaissance fair where everyone had a bloated costume budget. People in fancy robes and tall people with markings, tusks, and horns walked the streets. Looking away from the people the next thing she noticed was the architecture. The buildings were, for lack of a better phrase, on some bullshit. They seemed created as if to defy the laws of physics by spitting in their face, with unsupported structures, impossible overhangs, and even floating rooms. She was obviously not in the US anymore.

Her mind pondered taking in the sights till she remembers something she had seen earlier in her groggy state and turned away from the eye catching city to the docs. The was in fact no ocean at these docs, but instead there was a long drop. She dashed to the guard rail and looked over. Immediately shocked she saw that she was miles off the ground, and not just she, this entire bustling city seemed to be flying through the air.

It was at this point in which Selena gained complete clarity. 'I'm in a dream!' She remembers going off to bed so the thought of this being a dream seemed to track. In appreciation of this beautiful world her subconscious has crafted for her she decided to look around. Everywhere she went she saw beautiful and interesting sights. People yelling and haggling for weird glowing trinkets, an old man puffing on a pipe while petting small cat with wings, and a performer who seems to be putting on a show of what can only be described as magic.

She looks at the performer's show with more interest, small dancing lights are craft fully placed in the air to draw a member of the audience. Sparks of arcane influence seem to dance on the performer's fingertips as he crafts a moving character to please his crowd. She seems to realize that this dream she has found herself in has brought her to a realm of magic! She finally gets the gumption up to talk to someone and finds a nice young child playing with a small robot toy while his mother shops for fruits at a nearby vendor.

"Hey kid, are you having fun there?" She asks

The young excited toddler replies "YES! Mummy bought me this wonderful new golem to help me learn magic! She said someday if I study real hard I may even be able to Beas strong as Karsus!"

"Who's Karsus?"

"How do you not know Karsus!? He's so cool! He's the reason this city is floating! And mummy tells me he's the youngest Arch mage in all of Netheril."

"Silly me! How could I forget?" Selena says embarrassed "I need to go on my way I have some errands of my own to run!"

Selena darts away and around the corner. "This dream is incredibly realistic" she says as she relaxes in a nearby alley. Suddenly a voice sounds from behind her and a young woman with purple skin face tattoos and large horns calls out to her.

"What dream do you think you're having cutie? If you want I can make it come true for just 50 gold coins?"

Selena blushes and stammers "Ah s-s-sorry I was just talking to myself. A-a-also I don't need those kinds of services sorry."

"It's fine hunny I was teasing ya. Though you do look kinda lost, and have a rather strange sense of style"

Selena looks down at her loose fitting tank top and yoga pants "Yes I guess I may stand out a bit…"

"Since you're obviously new to the enclave do you have any questions on where to find things? I may look young but I know these streets like any of the veteran mages"

Lighting up at the opportunity to satisfy her curiosity her mind ran through on what she should ask "D-do you know anywhere I could learn magic? Even just a spell?"

The horned woman looked confused and then reached into her bag "I've got an enchanted book right here for the spell dancing lights, but that is something even a toddler should have learn by now. One of my clients gave this to me because he 'forgot his wallet', last time I don't take pay up front. Do you want it?"

"Yes! I uh mean yes please! Though I don't have any money to pay you back with… and also how would I use this?"

"Huh you're one of the old fashioned types that never used enchanted books? Well all you gotta do is place your hand on the front, then say the name of the spell and boom you know a spell. As for payment…" The horned woman quickly rushes forward and steals a quick kiss from Selena "that'll be enough for now darling. Come find me if you ever wanna have a good time. OH! Name's Lyria, see you around"

The horned woman darts off leaving Selena stunned holding a magic book in one hand and touching her lips with the other. After recovering from her stupor, she looked down at the gift she received from the prostitute. She tentatively put her hand over the crest on the cover and quickly said the word "dancing lights"

All of a sudden the world seemed to converge on her as if finally recognizing her intrusion and small threads seemed to light up the world as if some ever present ball of yarn existed intangibly in the atmosphere.

Unknown to Selena, this was not a dream, and those threads weren't just visual effects. That was the atmosphere of magic, also known as the weave, recognizing her existence and flooding her in a way to best accommodate her disruption of the weave. The intense feeling caused Selena to faint as the weave set out to incorporate her very soul with it. And with that Selena finally fell to sleep.

Selena woke up in her shitty apartment sweating, and not just from the summer heat, she felt sore, as if her entire body had been put through the ringer. She thinks back to her incredibly vivid dream. She blushes remember her kiss from lyria and thinks back to the spell she got. As if to play around she jokingly put out her right hand and chants "Dancing lights"

Slack jawed, she stared at her palmas arcane sparks fly out of her finger tips and form the except same brilliant lights she had seen her performer using in her dream. Though she couldn't say it was a dream anymore, she had just casted magic. She rushed to look out the window and saw normal folks walking the streets and cars honking. She was back home. She focused once more on the lights in her palm, this time noticing something else. A plain iron ring with a small red rock adorning it. She touched the ring as this was definitely not on her last night. She felt something from it, the same feeling she felt after learning the spell, just less intense. This was a magic item. She then turned her attention to the rock, finally running her finger over it only to reel back as the sharp edge of the stone cut her finger smearing blood over the already bloodied rock.