A/N: I OWN NOTHING OF DREAMFALL/DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR STAR WARS REBELS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS!
Chapter 8: A City in the Clouds
Ezra was using his Force-jump and climbing skills and climb to the peak of the Border Mountains. He reached the final ledge and pulled himself up. Crow was sitting on his head.
The black bird stated, "Man, that was a steep climb. I'm actually surprised you made it this far. To be honest, I was expecting you to lose foothold and tumble to your death, or for a rockslide, or for one of the ghastly flying things to attack us. I'm really glad I have wings. It's a long way down. If you slip and fall-"
"Thanks, Crow," Ezra interrupted. "That's good enough."
"Happy to help. That's what I'm here for," he responded. "This is comfortable. This is nice! Great views from up here."
"Think you'll be able to get off my head soon?" Ezra asked as he began walk along a path in between the stone. "It's getting itchy."
"You want me off your head? I thought you specifically told me to stay put after that incident with the stone-cat," Crow replied. "But, okay, then."
Ezra turned a corner only to look in awe as he saw a whole city on the stone. The houses were either carved into the stone or made of pods that rested against the stone. A giant, stone face sat in the air between two stones, kept up by rods. Crow got off Ezra head and also seemed interested.
"Wow! A whole city up in the clouds," Ezra admired.
"Wasn't that what you were looking for?" Crow responded.
"I know, but it's just amazing to see it for myself," Ezra replied.
"You humans are weird," Crow commented.
"Yeah, I guess we are," Ezra agreed and kept walking along the wooden bridges. He came up on a pod and called through a closed door, "Anyone in there?" He knocked on the door only to get no answer in return. He continued to walk forward when he noticed what seemed to be an Oular sitting on a ledge. It looked at him and Ezra paused in his tracks for a moment. 'He might be nervous. Considering how he seems to feel with me around already,' he thought. Ezra began to approach but slowly and cautiously, trying not to frighten the skittish creature. It watched him nervously but curiously as he approached. Ezra soon got close enough and kneeled to the Oular's eye level without frightening the creature in front of him. Ezra slowly greeted, "Hey. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Ezra, a friend. You're Oular?" It made a clicking sound. "Oular. Oular?" Ezra sounded out. "Am I saying that correctly?" It answered with another clicking noise. The noise was obviously its choice of language. 'These are the times where I wish I had Sabine as an interpretor. Not that she would have known the Oular's language in the first place,' Ezra thought. He decided to try something else, "You have an impressive village. It's really cool." Another clicking sound. "It's great. Thanks." It clicked again. "I'm looking for Abnaxus. Do you know someone called Abnaxus?" It clicked. "Abnaxus walks around with a stick. He leans on it. Like this." He held his hand out and tried to pretend he was holding it. The Oular gave acknowledgement, showing that the Oular knew who was he talking about. "You know him! Where's Abnaxus?" It stood up with Ezra following and pointed to a ledge with a orange colored leaved tree and other vegetation on it. "Up there? That's… high. I'm not sure if I can get all the way-" The Oular hurried away. "Hey! Wait!" But it was too late and it was gone.
Ezra walked to Crow and told the bird, "Well, we made it. This is the Purple Mountains. And the Oular. So…"
"Yeah, what now?" Crow responded.
"Just explore and find a way to get to Abnaxus and Lux, I guess," Ezra answered.
"Sounds like a well thought-out plan," Crow mocked.
"Be quiet," Ezra retorted. He hurried over to the makeshift ladder that was closest to the ledge that he needed to get to and seemed to be the way. However, the Oular suddenly appeared again. "Hey, how do I-?" He was cut off as the Oular picked him up and began to carry him up the ladder. They soon stopped on the ledge and the Oular set Ezra down. "Thanks…" The creature then left and Ezra turned to see a familiar Venar standing, staring at the distance.
Ezra walked to him and Abnaxus turned to him saying, "Dreamer," he coughed before continuing, "you did come."
"You didn't make it easy. Why not tell me where to go and what to do?" Ezra responded.
"Touching you through dreams will be like a blind man searching for a red pebble in a wild river," Abnaxus replied. "And if finding you is difficult, to talk even more so. Only fragments of words will survive the journey across. Some things will also not be known to me and could not be spoken. We do not know where Lux's heart was. You will need to find it on your own. Only a Dreamer could take this and bring-" He began to have a coughing fit.
"Are you sick or something?" Ezra asked noticing how bad Abnaxus sounded.
"I was fading. I will have stayed behind too long, after my people leave one realm for another. This time is poison. It diminishes me," Abnaxus explained. "My loop ends soon. Too late for Abnaxus to journey onwards, but not too late for Lux. Not too late for the Dream. I will have stayed behind for Lux. For you to have found your way to Lux. Compared to this momentous thing, my life is of little significance."
"Couldn't you have reached someone else and have them return the soul-stone?" Ezra asked.
"Only a Dreamer can face the Sisters. Only a Dream will make them listen. Only a Dreamer was able to retrieve Lux's heart," Abnaxus explained.
"The soul-stone…" Ezra realized.
"Only two could touch it. There is no other Dreamer now. Only Ezra, only Lux," Abnaxus responded.
"Why not send an actual message instead of visions?" Ezra asked.
"You were worlds away. Any message would be broken, unreliable," Abnaxus explained. "The Oular will help me dream. The Oular was needed to find you in those dreams."
"Crow?" Ezra questioned. "How was he able to find me?"
"The bird bridges worlds and souls," Abnaxus explained. "The bird has a bond with the Dragon of Spring. The bird was connected to the Dreamer and to the Bloodless King. At the end of its life, the bird will be bonds to the Girl Who Walked Across Worlds."
"That's not a real answer, you know?" Ezra responded.
"The bird is magic," Abnaxus replied.
"Which bird? I wasn't listening. There's a magic bird? Where?" Crow chimed in.
"You were a curious thing, feathered one. So little and yet so great. So full of magic," Abnaxus told Crow.
"Pfft, right, sure. I mean- Really? Magic?" the bird responded.
"Oh, yes. You would see this," Abnaxus replied.
"What's the Dragon of Spring?" Ezra asked returning the Venar's attention to him.
"The new thing that comes to pass when the old things die. The soul of she who saved the Balance, reborn," Abnaxus explained.
"She who saved-" Ezra repeated but Crow finished for him with his realization.
"April? Are you talking about April Ryan?" the black, talking bird asked.
"What do you mean by reborn?" Ezra asked.
"April isn't dead?" Crow continued.
"She will be dead. She was reborn. There are two now, entwined but apart," Abnaxus replied. "The Dragon of Spring. The Girl Who Walked Between Worlds. Mortal and immortal, Human and Kin. They are legend."
"So, there are one but two? There are two Aprils now, but she's still dead? I don't get it," Ezra responded.
"Neither would I. I will only know the words, not their meaning," Abnaxus replied. "This is the way of my sight. I will see, but never all of it. Scattered words from a book with many, many pages."
"That's helpful," Crow commented sarcastically.
"Where is Lux?" Ezra asked.
"Follow me, Dreamer," Abnaxus replied and guided Ezra and Crow into a temple.