A Dream's Demise

Darkness.

Suffocating darkness surrounds me.
But the rush of wind keeps panic from swallowing me. Well, almost. The wind rushes past me, like a much-too-quick ascent in an airship—which is almost never good.
And much like being on an airship, my feet are firmly planted. On what, I'm not sure. There's only a black void beneath my booted feet. I keep my panic down as the fight comes into focus. Five ashen-skinned figures with deformed spines have my companions engaged in battle. Their long and gangly forms are a subtle silhouette against the curtain of blackness surrounding us. Wander jumps out of the way of several arms swinging at her—all from the same figure. As I examine the other faint figures, they each have somewhere between four and eight arms. Are these the same type of creatures from the ship? Close enough. I leap forward.
Darkness swirls with my lunge as I gather power. I come to a sharp halt, slicing the air horizontally with both sabers and releasing the power. "Tordenbølge!" I shout, and a wave of thunderous energy erupts from my swords, slamming into the three foes mere steps away from me. Buffeted by my blow, two of them tumble through the curtain of black ringing us. It's hard to tell if they fall below this dark arena or just dissolve into the shadows.
The third creature steadies itself and locks its gaze on me. Not good. I pull my sabers back in front of me, feet turning to brace myself. Too slow. Or, too many arms to block. It leaps, arms reaching to me, skin wavering slightly like there's water rippling just beneath the surface. Long nails rake down my arm. Pain pierces my mind. I wince and grunt, just managing to push back from its grasp. My head still pounding with pain, I circle the monster, and catch Darmo in my view.
Darmo's attention is locked on Shen Po and Mordax—who are both tearing through the shadow creatures blocking them from tearing apart Darmo. He reaches into the veil of darkness and pulls two more of these creatures in. I angle myself and draw in power, aiming for Darmo and his cocky smile. "Tordenbølge!" I cut the air in front of me with my saber, releasing the thunderous energy from the tip at Darmo. The wave of energy slams into the creature that attacked me, pushing it back to the edge. It catches the other two Darmo just pulled in, one teetering and the other forced back into the darkness. My spell whips and tears at Darmo's robes and skin, but he doesn't budge in the slightest. He tilts his head toward me and smirks.
Burning sands. If that did nothing, then what would? I slide into a defensive stance while I take in the rest of the fight. My eyes are drawn above me, to the Dreamkeeper—but he doesn't look right. He swoops down on Luban, who deftly steps to the side and cuts into the Dreamkeeper with his blade. It's the colors; his colors are off. The Dreamkeeper twists in flight with a quick flap of red wings tipped with white. There's no wound along his ebony scales.
Luban throws his short sword to the side and pulls out his dagger. I bat away the clawing arms of another creature, stepping back. The sudden rush of wind at my back almost pulls me down. Panic jolts down from my head to toes. Luban strikes as the Dreamkeeper swoops in again, dagger slicing into—
Darmo's screams rip the air.
My eyes snap back to him. His torso is torn in a long slice. But there's no one close to him. I spare a quick glance at the Dreamkeeper. There doesn't seem to be a wound on his writhing form. Darmo collapses to his knees, screaming. No smile plays on his face.
But the creatures don't seem to care as Darmo falls lifeless. I parry a swipe aimed at my face, and with my right hand, whip my saber upward. The creature withers to shadow. I step forward, spinning on my toes to cut deep into another. I spin through it as it dissipates into nothing.
The ground rumbles. My heart picks up its pace. My eyes dart from the solidified darkness at my feet to everyone else. Uncertain and frightened eyes meet mine.
The shadowy ground explodes.
I cry out.











But I don't fall. My feet dangle, wavering slightly with the fierce wind rushing past me. I look to everyone else. Can they hear how hard my heart is beating? I could choke on its strong presence in my throat. While no one is screaming in terror, no one looks particularly calm either. Especially—as I notice—since the Dreamkeeper is snarling at us.
He snaps at Luban, who glides out of the reach of the Dreamkeeper's maw. How is he doing that? I try moving my feet like I would walk. Nothing.
Snap! The Dreamkeeper's teeth grab air, but Luban can't keep it up forever.
Come on, he needs help. I try throwing myself forward. Ha! There! There's some movement. My triumphant smile withers as I realize I barely moved at all. Mordax and Wander seem to have it figured out, though, as they try to keep the Dreamkeeper at bay. But much like Luban's previous attacks, nothing seems to happen.
Just move already! I think furiously, throwing my head back in frustration.
And notice a large sphere of fire above, rapidly approaching.
My eyes widen. I look to the others. They seem to have also noticed as fearful eyes meet mine.
I feel someone touch my left hand. Who—oh, Mildred. Why would she grab my hand? Then my other hand is touched. I quickly sheath my sword and entwine my grasp with Wander's.
Now what?
Death. You failed.
The ball of light engulfs the Dreamkeeper.
Miserably. As you always have.
I close my eyes and swallow tears.
You're broken. Worthless.
Mildred's grasp tightens. Then Wander's. I squeeze back. Not here. Not now. Please.
The wind stops. Wander's grip drops. I open my eyes to the light of day inside a small crater.
And on the ground to my right is Wander, still and unmoving.
"Wander?" My voice cracks, barely audible. Mildred releases my hand with a gasp and rushes to Wander's side.
"No!" Shen Po yells. "What happened? Mordax!" I look to Shen Po cradling Mordax in his arms. "What happened?" Shen Po demands. But no one has an answer.
I stumble up out of the crater as Shen Po starts barking directions. East. We need to go east. Shen Po is saying that, isn't he? I can't spot the wagon on the horizon.
Wander and Mordax may not be the only ones lost to Darmo's insanity.