Chapter 1
Lio's Nightmare
He woke with a start. He had seen it again, it always happened at the wane of the moon, when its protection was wavering like grass in the wind. Deciding he wasn't going to get back to sleep, he got up.
The dreams had started with his training, when a child opens his mind to what lies beyond his own brain. But since he "opened" his mind something had come in, something dangerous.
Most people with opened minds could sense one another, but he could sense more. He could fell the plants growing within the snow, the dogs in the litter, and the insects in the grass.
He also felt what lay nowhere yet everywhere. The monster that appeared when no moon shone and no sun dazzled. From what he'd sensed it was semi-humanoid, but it had taken many forms.
Forms made to fight, feed and scare all who slept soundly. It fed off death, fear and a person's dying breath before they fell into the abyss. Finally he decided to change and get ready for his training. His training was almost complete. But he wasn't yet ready to join the guard, as all men had to.
When he arrived at the training facility his master was already waiting for him.
"You're early."
"No rest reached my longing mind." It was a formal response but one necessary to keep his master happy.
"So the monster will return tonight?"
"Yes." He didn't ask how his master knew, his master always knew.
"You will protect your room?"
"Yes." He always did as he knew the power of the monster but his master always asked.
"Good, then we may begin our training, student Lio."
They opened their minds to the world, or worlds, beyond their own minds.
There were nine worlds in all but the normal person could only see seven. Lio was strong and could empty his mind of all the troubles of life, and he could see all nine worlds. The first few worlds were relatively near Lio's own but the further away, if you can say such a thing about something everywhere and nowhere, the odder it got. The creatures ranged from animals with faces upside-down to monsters with horns in the wrong places and swords and teeth big enough to cut through bone without stopping.
The monster wasn't from any of them, it was from a world that had been destroyed, yet it somehow stayed as far away as the length of a breath. This world had been so terrible that all the monsters were able to travel to other worlds. All other world creatures could travel from one world to another, but the tenth realm could stay in between them. Using their weapons and body parts that could kill, they used to terrorise the other worlds. Then the leader of the slayers destroyed this world at the cost of her life. It had to be a girl or woman as all men were in the guard. Even after that the monster remained.
That night no moon shone and no sun dazzled.
Lio used the bane of beast incense and the wards of bone, beech and birch. These were the only ways to keep away a monster from the fourth world or beyond. He kept his sword by the bed, just to be safe.
The sword was made by the mages of the Creator's Guild, who created the more powerful magical and enchanted objects. This one was a bane to the monsters from the more powerful realms but even if you cut one of those in half they might get back up, no matter how strong the sword.
He fell asleep, but as always it was a sleep with one eye open. He was watching for it.
He wasn't disappointed. When it arrived its glow of black fire pronounced its presence. It was like a shadow passed across the darkness a shadow that led to the abyss and nowhere else. He looked around not believing it was truly there.
He thought that he was having another nightmare and even as it lifted him from his bed and towards its abyss of a mouth he could not believe it was real.
By then however it was too late.