Episode 6: Dreamland

16th of Matrinalis

Xana slammed her fists angrily on the table. "How do these children keep evading me?" She shouted, clearly frustrated at her recent failure. Dhaune tried to comfort the Matron, but clearly she was too frustrated to fall to such false comforts. "How are they so strong? They survived the burning of Capital Lyoko, and the attack of Narza. What power protects them?"

Dhaune smiled. "Perhaps the magic of friendship is protecting them and giving them strength?" She offered, offering a shawl to Xana.

Xana stopped pacing, thought for a moment, and then looked at the slave. "Dhaune, do you have any idea how incredibly stupid you just sounded?" She asked, not really angry but honestly curious. Xana had been slumbering for a century, and depended on Dhaune to explain things to her. But some things were timeless.

Dhaune half-laughed, "I suppose you're right, Matron Mother," Dhaune watched as Xana paced about the room.

"Sinae was the leader of the attack, and the little one with the glass in front of his eyes did me a favor in eliminating her. The last thing I need is a female claiming my title." Xana mused, and she turned to face her right-hand slave. "Where are they headed now?"

Dhaune looked at the war map. The teenage Heroes were marked with a red pin, whereas the drow armies were marked in blue. "Our scouts last saw them on the path up the Baramunz Highlands. I cannot believe that they are but a day's journey to Koranth."

Xana remembered Koranth. "Didn't the armies destroy that village in the first few attacks of the Surface War?" She asked.

Dhaune nodded. "The Veil is still thin there. Spirits often cross over from the Beyond and the village is often ransacked by them. Perhaps you should summon some there?" She suggested.

Xana walked over to the map and summoned her magic. "I can do you one better," She said, smiling as she walked away. "I will hunt them down to the deepest, darkest ring of Bellanaris to see them dead!"

17th of Matrinalis

Laura and Aelita were both visibly concerned as they continued their path up the mountains. To a lesser extent Yumi could also feel the air shiver, as if it feared something the teenagers could not see. In a rare moment of agreement, Aelita looked to Laura and asked, "You sense it, too? This is Setheneran," She shivered, and it wasn't because of the climate.

Laura nodded. "If that means we're walking right into a hotbed of demon activity, then I wholeheartedly agree." She said.

Odd looked at them skeptically. "Gods strike me down. If the two of you are in agreement, then truly this is the end of the world."

Jeremie looked to them skeptically as well. "I have to agree with Odd. I doubt we're truly going to come across any demons. They're just stories; a way for magistrates and magicians to justify caution." He said logically.

Aelita shook her head. "No, you're wrong, lethallin," She explained, "Spirits are every bit as real as you and I are. They call to us in our dreams, especially to magicians. That is how magicians learn blood magic, and how they raise corpses." She shivered again, and drew her dagger. It was of fine make—the edge of the blade was made of pure ebony, with swirls and designs carved into it, while the actual blade was mithril and very sharp. She studied it in her hands, rubbing the carved fox on the walnut handle.

Ulrich seemed particularly interested in the idea of facing demons. "You mean that we're walking closer to a land of dreams?" He asked excitedly.

Jeremie looked at him in exasperation. "You sound just like my father," He complained.

Aelita smiled. "In a sense, the Beyond, as shemlen call it, does reflect our dreams, as that is where our unconscious goes in our sleep. Spirits shape the world there, and they copy what they see in our dreams. Stories of how the Beyond came to be differ, however."

That was true enough. The humans claimed that the god Morpheus created the Beyond, and worked with his father Somnus to bring man there when he slept. Then, most of the gods created spirits or demons resembling themselves and gave them power to shape the Beyond. The elves, on the other hand, claimed that before the Mother and the Father had their disagreement, they created both the physical world and the Beyond, which entombed multiple rings, and these rings home to the spirits of the dead. When the two split apart, the Creation Father tried to reconcile the two by showing the Destruction Mother all of the good and the bad things about their relationship, resulting in the middle section of the Beyond, which was home to demons. Dwarves and some humans simply considered it a physical representation of the mortal mind.

All theories butted heads, and caused conflict across the land. Though all theories urged caution when dealing with both kinds of spirits, the approaches to them were entirely different. That was why elves were so much easier to lure to blood magic—even though it was looked on as, if not black certainly grey magic—the spirits came from the Creator, and were not entirely evil, whereas humans believed all blood magic to be evil and the result of witches or malevolent gods.

William stretched his arms over his head. "Still, if Her Majesty requests extra precautions to be taken, I think it would be best were we to listen."

Soon, on the horizon, the quaint village of Koranth came into view. But as they drew closer, the non-magicians grew sleepy, and Laura and Aelita were desperately fighting their artificial exhaustion. "Resist! You must resist, or else they have us where they want us!" Laura warned, but soon, they had all fallen asleep, even the magicians. The dreams that would follow were watched by a woman with an evil laugh.

Ulrich woke up in Koranth, but he felt wrong. He looked down at his hands, which felt smaller than they had been. Looking up at Yumi and the others, their bodies seemed strangely distorted, and he felt as if he were looking at them through a curved lens. Standing, he could see Yumi seemed paler, and Odd had grown fur on his face and arms, looking wild. "Where are we?" He asked, looking around. The world looked like it was covered in pale yellow mist.

"This is the first ring of the Beyond," Aelita said, standing. "If I had to guess, someone knew we would pass by here, and set up a trap for us. I feel a spirit of sloth lurking in the shadows. Perhaps if we destroyed it, it would break the spell."

Laura snapped her head to look at the elf. "How are you able to sense demons? I can feel where the Veil is thin, but demons as a whole are largely lost to me." She asked with suspicion obvious in her voice.

Aelita crinkled her nose. "It is a skill passed onto me by my hahren, honed by the People over centuries." She explained defensively, but Laura did not seem convinced. "Spirits have a different energy than the souls and the whole of Bellanaris," Aelita tried to help her understand.

"And yet I notice how you do not use the word demon." Laura accused.

Aelita raised her shoulders in offense. "What are you insinuating? It is a religious difference between that of the People and of the shemlen! We don't consider spirits and demons different!" It was Odd that separated the two magician girls, but this argument would mark the first of many that would follow.

Yumi looked into the village. There seemed to be many people trapped there, shivering in fear. "Who are those people? Are they spirits?"

William spoke up. "My mother was a magician, and though I never believed her, she said that the spirits of people can be trapped unwillingly in the Beyond. If it happened to us, I don't think it is impossible for the villagers to be trapped too."

"In any case, if there really is a demon watching us, our first mission is to kill it," Jeremie explained, "Once we've done that, we should be able to free ourselves and the villagers. If not, then there may be something we can do in the physical world."

Odd sighed. "Great. Because my dreams weren't weird enough already, now we're stuck in the world of dreams." Ulrich questioned him about his animalistic appearance, but Odd didn't respond.

Walking in the Beyond felt bizarre, like trying to tread butter, and yet they never grew tired. It felt like it took an hour to cross into the actual village. Most people were afraid, but none had actual faces. There were black scribbles where their faces should have been, and Ulrich seemed disturbed to be near them. He walked in the center of the group, his hand twitching near the hilt of his blade. "Do you suppose he is one of the Blind?" Aelita wondered aloud, considering the possibility.

"It is possible. If so, we should find this demon of yours and get out of here before the Beyond further twists his mind." Laura said. Aelita was about to protest to the Fair calling the sloth spirit hers, but she was interrupted.

"Who are the Blind?" Odd asked as he tried to comfort his lifelong friend.

"The Blind are people who are preternaturally cut off from the Beyond. They cannot dream and if exposed to the Beyond too long, can go crazy. We should look faster." Aelita said, trying to comfort Ulrich.

As they walked further, an elf with a very ghostly appearance glided up to them. "By the Creator, you are a fellow wilder! Truly, this is a blessed day!" The ghost said, his voice echoed.

Odd pushed Aelita forward. "I think he's talking to you," He said.

Aelita walked closer to him. "Andaran atish'an, lethallin. Are you trapped here as well?" She asked, pretending that his face was not obscured.

"Am I? I do not recall. We have been here for so long." The elf shook his head. "Tell me, da'len, how have you come here?" He asked.

"We seem to have been trapped here by a spirit of sloth. I imagine all of you are trapped here, too." Aelita explained.

The elf thought. "A spirit of sloth? Yes, I remember a spirit, but it is gone now. It no longer binds us. Perhaps if you banish this spirit, we will be freed, too." He didn't allow her the chance to reply, walking off into the distance.

Yumi shook her head as well. "Some help that was," She muttered. She looked to Aelita. "I hope you have a better plan."

She looked around the village. "Spirits such as sloth like to feel important, especially more important than other spirits. The sloth spirit we're looking for is probably in a large, important building." She theorized.

The teenagers thought for a while. "I'll bet this village has a town hall." Odd offered. "If I were a demon, I'd overthrow the mayor. Or, we could go to the village temple. I'm sure that we can find desecrated shrines to the gods or something."

"That's a great idea, Odd!" William complimented.

Odd didn't seem surprised. "I have them all the time. I don't understand why people are always so surprised." He said in annoyance.

They decided to search the temple first, because it was closer and Laura advised that it was unwise to split up in the Beyond. They found more anxious, faceless people, but no demons. "Quickly, before Ulrich runs out of time," Yumi said as she and Odd tried their best to drag their old friend along to the next largest building.

"Before we run out of time," William muttered, following the others.

The mist around their feet grew thicker and darker as they approached. "We must be getting closer. Do you feel the malevolence in the air?" Jeremie asked.

Laura laughed in spite of herself. "It isn't air, Jeremie. We're in the Beyond." He looked at her, and she smiled smugly. "Still, I think Odd's first instinct may have been correct. What do you think, knife-ear?" She turned to Aelita with her insult, clearly trying to annoy her.

"I think that you can take your prissy ass, Miss Thing, and—" Aelita began, but was urged to stop by Yumi and William. She flipped her hair out of her face. "I think that the spirit is nearby, yes." She murmured angrily.

Odd opened the door to the building in front of them. It was completely empty inside, except for several faceless corpses. When Yumi entered, she jumped when one of them moved slightly. These bodies were not corpses, but simply had no energy. She hoped that they were still alive. The others entered, and from the opening in the ceiling came a large oval-shaped demon with four legs, and it landed on the fountain. It made an angry noise, but didn't charge the teenagers. "Is that the demon we're looking for?" Odd asked.

Aelita nodded. "Yes, that is a spirit of sloth. Think active thoughts, like running and jumping and such," She advised.

Sloth demons did not get their name by being lazy. No demon got their name by exhibiting a trait. They got their names by feeding on one. Unlike most demons that nurtured and fed on a trait already existing, sloth demons found energetic mortals and fed on their life force. They did this by giving off a sleepy aura. Thinking active thoughts was supposed to combat the drowsiness.

This demon did not try to speak to the Heroes, but instead made a sound that was louder and angrier. Its center glowed with the same symbol the constructs that had attacked Capital Lyoko and Narza had possessed. Jeremie pointed to it. "That demon was summoned here by Xana! No wonder it took aim at us!" He declared.

The warriors, excluding Ulrich, who could barely stand, and Aelita, who was trying to keep him awake, prepared to fight. Odd readied his bow and jumped up onto a high bookshelf. Yumi readied her fans, pacing around the open room, acting as defense. William and Jeremie drew their swords, and Jeremie prepared to block attack with his shield. Laura grabbed her wand, and while she wanted to prepare her fire spells, she knew her training as a priest would be more helpful.

Yumi was the first to strike, throwing one of her Tessen fans at the demon, crippling one of the legs. It stumbled, but it started to glide towards Yumi. Odd fired his readied arrow, pinning it to the back wall. It struggled, putting out a black aura to weaken their defenses. Jeremie nodded at William, who nodded back. He charged for the demon, and Laura cast a spell on him, increasing his strength to combat the work of the demon. William banished the demon, and the world around them grew hazy.

The elf-spirit approached Aelita, who smiled as Ulrich's eyes stopped twitching. She looked up at the spirit. "Will you find me, da'len?" The spirit asked. "We have been here for too long. I will not make it. Will you sing for me?"

Aelita agreed as the Beyond faded.

The teenagers awoke on the outskirts of town, exactly where they'd lost consciousness. The Veil was still weak, but it was stronger, and the sense of foreboding was gone. The village was in ruins, as if it had been burned. It felt too familiar to walk through the bones of a dead village, and Aelita looked around for an elven corpse. She found it inside of a bookstore, behind the counter. "Here you are. I promised you I'd sing, didn't I?" She said.

The singing of the elven eulogy was as important to the wilder elves as the funeral processions of the humans were to them. Aelita had been trained briefly in funeral rights, and knew the song she was to sing. She sat on her knees, and she held a hand over the corpse with her eyes closed.

"Hahren na melana salin

Emma ir abelas

Souver'inan isala hamin

Vhenan him dor'felas

In uthenera na revas.

Vir sulahn'nehn

Vir dirthera

Vir samahl la numin

Vir lath sa'vunin."

Aelita opened her eyes, and she looked sadly at her companions. Later that night she would explain the meaning of the lyrics, but now was not the time.

If Xana had been angry before, she was infuriated now. She threw a book across the room, yelling at the top of her lungs. "If I cannot outmaneuver them, perhaps I should try taking them down from the inside…" Xana mused, trying to redirect her rage. The necklace she wore had gone from teal blue to red, and it burned her like hot ash.

Dhaune offered her a plate of lizard eggs to calm her down. "Are you going to stalk them in their dreams, Matron Mother?" She asked.

Xana thought. "Perhaps I will, though that will require more effort than I'd like to put into seven children." She said. She looked at Dhaune with more interest than she'd ever shown the slave, and while Dhaune adored the Matron, her look made her very nervous. "On the other hand, Dhaune… you look about their age."

A/N: Sorry for the late update. Seeing as how this story takes its language from the Dragon Age universe, the song Aelita sings is from the same universe. The song is called 'Leliana's Song' or 'In Uthenera'. I have tried putting the link here with all my tricks, but I think it'll be easier if you just, you know, look it up on your own.