a/n: This chapter was originally titled 'The Crystal Grotto' but it's been split in half.

"So should I finish the introduction, or are you going to magic the names out of everyone else?"

Deepest Night. Chapter 9.
The Sleeper Awakens

Listening to Flay laugh, Gregor's hands clenched into furious fists. In the short time he had spent with the rat, he knew her to be cold, rebellious, and devoid of compassion or pity. Despite this he would never have thought that she would laugh at a time like this. Gregor couldn't help but think about the creature lying before him. What was the sleeper's name? Did he have any friends? Was there a family that might be awake long into the night waiting for him to come home?

To his shock, no one else seemed to share his outrage. Shadowshiv began chuckling softly, but that was to be expected. He had never trusted her, no matter what she said about changing. Ripred looked amused, and rolled his eyes when Gregor looked at him. Of course, Ripred had never shown remorse at the death of anything, big or small. And so Gregor turned to Luxa, the one person he knew he could count on to feel as he did. Luxa was gazing at the sleeper, fingers pressed to her lips as she tried to hold back a smile. Gregor scowled, and his lips parted over his teeth in an expression not unlike a snarling gnawer.

Just as he was about to go off on them, Ripred walked over to the dead sleeper. The grey rat knelt and began speaking to the corpse. Gregor's brow furrowed in confusion as he listened to what Ripred was saying.

"The danger is over, my friend," Ripred informed the sleeper, "So why don't you wake up before my friend has a stroke?"

The sleeper's eyelids fluttered momentarily, and then opened. With a slight grunt of exertion, the sleeper rolled over onto it's feet and stood up. His tail, long and covered with very short, sparse fur, curled and lengthened as he tried to get the blood running within it again. The sleeper stretched, and let out an enormous yawn that exhibited his teeth perfectly. Unlike the gnawers, who had long top and bottom fangs in the front of their mouth, and smaller teeth running along the rest, the sleeper's teeth were very much like a wolf's, with long protruding canines.

Flay was laughing even harder at the shocked expression on Gregor's face, and Luxa let out a small cough that sounded suspiciously like she was hiding a laugh. Ripred walked back toward the group, and murmured out of the side of his mouth, "Before you ask. No, he wasn't really dead."

"I figured that out," Gregor retorted angrily.

"I have been waiting for you."

Everyone turned toward the source of the voice; it was the sleeper, staring at them with a look of recognition on its face. His voice was quiet, but low and carried well; there was a vaguely distant quality to it that seemed familiar to Gregor.

"Hello to you too," Ripred replied, and then adopted a slightly formal tone, "I'm Ripred, the representative of the gnawers. This is my bond--"

As Ripred gestured toward Luxa, the sleeper's wide blue eyes latched onto her. "Queen Luxa of Regalia, it is an honor and a pleasure to welcome you to the lands of the sleepers. And greetings to you as well, Gregor the Overlander, Warrior of Grey."

Gregor's eyebrows literally shot up, shocked with how knowledgeable the sleeper was about them. Ripred had said the sleepers were disconnected from the outside world, but this one seemed to know pretty much everything about them. Of course, that might have been an error on the rat's part. Both Luxa and Gregor turned to Ripred for an explanation, but he merely scowled and said, "So should I finish the introduction, or are you going to magic the names out of everyone else?" The formal tone he had used previously was gone, replaced by his normal cynicism.

The sleeper smiled a little bit, seemingly unfazed by both the amazement of the group, and Ripred's sarcastic tone. "Oh, no, please continue," he urged the gnawer, then looked around curiously, "But where is the Bane?"

Everyone automatically turned to Flay, who had sobered up throughout the conversation. She scowled and muttered something about being singled out. "She isn't the Bane," Shadowshiv said finally, "but she's the closest thing you'll find."

"Oh dear," the sleeper slumped slightly; "I seem to have made an error..."Confusion was evident on everyone's face. What was the sleeper talking about? Luxa, ever the diplomat stepped in hurriedly,

"Please, good sleeper, tell us what wounded you so."

The sleeper gave her a grateful look, and sat back on his haunches. "My name is Trinelaech."

"Try saying that three times fast," Erin muttered to Flay.

She laughed and added, "Or once." They both giggled quietly until Howard hushed them.

"I was taken by surprise," said the sleeper, "and I believe they were surprised as well. I was attacked by a group of darters. There were three of them, and it was at a stalemate for a time. I am afraid, however, that fighting is not something that I am used to, and I lost ground. I had numerous wounds by that time, and thus when I feigned death, they were convinced that I had been slain."

"When was this?" Howard asked, the doctor in him was already assessing the damage the sleeper had taken.

"Six and a half hours, give or take a couple minutes," the sleeper said. Gregor's mouth dropped open, six hours? He had stayed still like that for six hours! The sleeper began talking quietly, almost to himself, "I do not know why the darters have left their lands. This is very far from the Dry Lands where they live. Perhaps something is agitating them to move."

"Yes, actually, there is," Ripred told him, "war has come to you."

"Surely not!" The sleeper exclaimed, distress quickly spreading across his long pointed face.

"Hang on, you said it took days to reach the Grotto," Erin said accusingly to Ripred.

"It does, actually," Ripred replied, and turned to the sleeper, "would you mind telling us what you are doing so far from home, Trinelaech? And a nickname would be great."

"A...nick name?" The sleeper looked confused.

Ripred heaved a sigh and explained slowly, "Your name is very difficult for them to pronounce. Is there a short form of it that we could use?"

"I see," the sleeper said, informal speech seemed to confuse him, "You may call me Trin, if that is your wish. As to your question, I have been here for fifteen years."

A flood of shocked expressions greeted that statement. That was before most of them were born.

"Many years ago, I saw something in a dream. A vision, if you will. I saw a great danger looming over my homeland. Troubled by this, I left the Grotto, to look out for this coming dark. Four years ago, I had another vision, this time it was a group of people at this very spot. I saw the Queen, the Warrior, the Peacemaker, and a few others. In my vision, however, you were also accompanied by the Bane, a large male. Many of those whom I see today were not in the vision."

Trin pointed at Shadowshiv, Nike, Erin and Spica. "There was also a large black bat." Gregor scowled slightly at the reminder of Ares's absence. There was still a stab of grief and guilt whenever his bond's name was mentioned.

"I am quite certain that I was given this vision for a reason, and I can only assume it has to do with the war you mentioned. I would be honored to lead you to the court of King Nysamar," Trin intoned formally.

Ripred spoke up, "Thank you, for your kind offer. We will accept it--"

"Ripred..." growled Luxa angrily, reminding him that she would not take the backseat while he made all the decisions.

Her bond turned and glared at her, "If you would allow me to finish, I was going to say that we will accept the offer, if the queen has no objection. So do you?"

Luxa shook her head silently. "Good. Now then Trin, why don't you take us some place we can set up camp?"

"Of course, I know the perfect place. Kindly follow me." The sleeper smiled pleasantly, and gestured to the east toward a large jutting stone.

"Just let me have a quick word with my companions, and we will be right with you," Ripred continued in a polite tone that he was obviously uncomfortable using. Trin took the hint, and walked a few paces off so that eh was out of hearing distance.

Luxa scowled at him, "Well, what is it that is so urgent?"

Ripred ignored her and turned to the others, "What do you think of our new friend?"

Gregor thought his name was impossible to pronounce, but he knew if he said anything Ripred would mock him. "He's a bit...off, isn't he?" Erin commented.

"He said that he had visions," Nike said, "is he a seer, perhaps?"

"The sleeper claims to be a poor fighter, however, his teeth and claws are rather intimidating," Howard observed.

"What did he mean by 'feign death?'" Gregor asked finally.

Ripred sighed and cast a glance backward at Trin, "He is an excellent representative of his species. Sleepers are ethereal, disconnected, and downright odd. The visions he was talking about? That's fairly common too. Most of the time they come in the form of dreams, although a few swear they have visions at will, picking up names, memories, or even thoughts. Personally I think they're full of shit, but for once it isn't my opinion that matters. Most sleepers haven't exercised their martial abilities for half a generation, although I have known some sleepers to be fearsome opponents. Feign death is the term they use for the state we saw him in. Still, with almost no heartbeat, dead to any enemy. Does that answer everything?"

"Almost," said Flay, "do they all have impossible names?"

"Some more than others, but for all intents and purposes, yes." Ripred replied with a smirk, "Now, I think we have left our host waiting long enough. A final word of caution: although they seem distant and oblivious, they can be shrewd at times. Be careful."

"Finished?" Trin asked politely, when he got an affirmative he smiled, "Excellent. Come, come, and let us get you to sleep. Very soon you shall be before King Nysamar."

Ripred: You cheated the poor people.
Aria: How?
Ripred: There was more of me in the next chapter!
Flay: Egotist
Gregor: I'm still confused...
Shadowshiv: You always are. Hush.
Gregor: Well I know I don't like you!
Aria: Who does? Other than Lulu of course.
Luxa: Quiet yourselves. There was no point to this anyway.
Trin: Except to say that Callisto edited this chapter.