Chapter Eight.

Sunny's performance was as impressive as it was difficult to watch. In no more than half an hour, he had been kicked, slapped, punched, and even spit on by a particularly feisty girl.

'Got to admire his commitment to being hated.'

After a slightly longer talk with Caster and his group of bootlickers, Sunless walked away to jeers and barely suppressed snickers.

'I was right. They really are a bunch of useless wretches.' Was Jack's conclusion. Sunny had just fooled the whole bunch by doing no more than saying the truth in an obnoxious way.

Now, they would never entertain the possibility of him having a powerful Aspect or even consider him a grave threat.

'These people are already dead. They just don't know it yet.' In his concept, people who took everything at face value were not long for this world.

Whatever they thought of him, Sunless had survived his First Nightmare with no training to speak of. That, in itself, was a great accomplishment. And that person, with no clear reason, approached them and said a couple of absurdities... And not one of them, save perhaps Caster, questioned his intent.

'Maybe I'm simply underestimating Sunny's performance.' Jack surmised. His wealth of experience made him an unfair critic of the cognitive capacity of teenagers.

Sunny soon left the crowd in the Hall and isolated himself in an empty corner. The same "Corpse Corner" he once met Cassie for the first time. From there, he adopted a contemplative expression, as he slowly analyzed his counterparts.

'He does play the part of a Shadow with mastery.' Jack pondered. 'No better time than now, I guess.'

"Let's go, Cassie." He said with a grin. "I think I just found our newest friend."

-x-

As the pair came near his corner, Sunny kept a vigilant eye their way, clearly uncomfortable with their approach.

"What do you want?" Were the charming words that greeted them, once in earshot.

Jack smiled with a shrug. "Hello, friend. You got here not one hour ago and you already got yourself quite the reputation! As an obnoxious, foul-mouthed pervert, no less. So I decided it would be interesting to hear your side of the story."

Sunny was not impressed. "So you think I'm some sort of animal on display for your morbid amusement? Fuck off."

Jack laughed out loud. "What I think I is that most of these Sleepers are complete fools. The bulk of them can't tell the blunt end of a knife from the pointy one and will probably die a horrible death sooner rather than later. So I figured, if they're saying someone is this nasty, they ought to be a remarkable person! Was I wrong?"

Sunny struggled with the answer, clearly trying to weasel his way out of a reply that would prolong the conversation, but the formulation of the question didn't leave him much choice.

"You weren't." He finally blurted out.

Jack grinned.

"That's what I thought. I am Jack and this is Cassie. How can we call you?"

Sunless sighed, coming to accept his fate of an unwilling friendship. "You can call me Sunny."

"Nice to make your acquaintance, Sunny," Cassie was, surprisingly enough, the first to answer his brief introduction.

Sunny nodded. After a long and uncomfortable moment, in which Sunny quietly stared at her, he hurriedly completed his nonverbal answer: "Me too! I mean, Likewise."

He facepalmed, now painfully aware of his faux pas.

Jack couldn't help a soft snort. "Ahem. As I was saying, I wouldn't trust most of the Sleepers here to tie my shoelaces, say nothing of deciding who I interact with. So, how about we talk a little?"

"...Sure," Sunny grunted. Although he was definitely unwilling to have such a conversation, he couldn't deny the pair made quite a good impression on him.

"First of all, there's something I'd like to ask you. Is it true your Nightmare Appraisal was "Glorious"?"

Sunny puffed his chest, once more falling into the role of an insecure and slightly insane Sleeper. "Uh… that's right! It was "glorious" for sure. And the Aspect I acquired was of the Divine rank."

Jack feigned amazement masterfully. "I can't believe it. What a coincidence! So was mine! Only my rank was slightly different. The Aspect I obtained was Unholy."

Sunny almost broke character at such a response.

"I-I see. Then we have more in common than I previously thought... I guess."

Just as Jack was getting ready to bother Sunny some more, a tall man in a dark blue uniform appeared on stage. Not only was he tall, he was actually almost a giant. With his hairy arms, he looked like the fruit of the profane love between a man and a Wookiee.

'Yikes. Bad thoughts.'

The giant man had wide shoulders, an athletic build, and a brown beard that went all the way to his chest. His eyes were calm and serious. After reaching the center of the stage, he gave the Sleepers a long look.

'Probably trying to unnerve them. A standard strategy when initiating a military training camp.'

After a few moments, he said in a deep, reverberating voice:

"I am Awakened Rock. Sleepers, welcome to the Academy."

With those few words, he had the attention of every single Sleeper in the Hall.

"In less than a month, you will be summoned to the Dream Realm. Some of you might think that you are well prepared. You're wrong. The Spell is merciless and cunning. I've seen countless Sleepers like you lose their lives. I've also seen experienced Masters lose theirs. Even Saints are not assured to survive."

'This guy should become a motivational speaker,' Jack thought sarcastically.

"In the following four weeks, we will do everything in our power to increase your chances of survival. You will receive training from the best instructors in the world. However, don't be misled by their fame: in the end, whether you return from the Dream Realm alive depends only on one person: you. The responsibility to survive is yours, and yours alone."

The fear was palpable in the room. Every Sleeper not of a Legacy Clan was only now being confronted with the harsh reality: Most of them would die.

Some would die moments after getting to the Dream Realm, some would take weeks. But only the fortunate few would survive. The strongest, the most prepared, and perhaps most importantly: The luckiest.

There were plenty of zones in the Dream Realm that were unexplored and as such, terrible places for Sleepers - The Forgotten Shore was one such region. Entering the Dream Realm through any of them was a death sentence.

To say being a Sleeper was a daunting situation would be a terrible understatement.

"You are not children anymore. It's a shame because you ought to be. But the Spell has decided otherwise. You have been to the First Nightmare, so you already know what it's like. Your parents, your teachers, and your friends can't help you anymore..."

'Good thing I'm an orphan, then.' Jack could help make "the dead parents" joke - even though, sadly, only he and his Flaw could hear it.

Although he felt it was a bit on the nose, the instructor's purpose was clear to Jack: he had to make young Sleepers afraid because fear was the only thing that would keep them alive.

Soon, the Wookiee Awakened went on to give them an abridged version of the differences between Nightmares and the Dream Realm. Although it was all old news for the Legacies and people from wealthy families, for most Sleepers it was all valuable information - which Jack promptly droned out.

'There's no way he doesn't have a hair-related Aspect.' Was the type of deep reflection going through his mind during the speech.

"...When the solstice comes, you will be drawn into the Dream Realm. The exact location of where you will appear can't be predicted in advance, but there is a high chance that many of you will find yourselves in close proximity to each other. Band together and proceed to the nearest human Citadel. Each Citadel is built around a Gateway. Once you reach it, you will be able to return."

Gateways were special portals that served as exit points from the Dream Realm. They were the final objective of Sleepers. Once they reached such a portal, they would be able to escape back to reality and become Awakened, with all the benefits that brings. The only problem was...

"There won't always be a Citadel in your region. If that is the case, you must search for an unclaimed Gateway. It will usually be inside or near the most prominent landmark of the region. Work together to defeat its guardians and come back alive."

'...Easier said than done.'

Rock gave them a heavy look.

"That is all for today. Next, follow the instructions sent to your communicators to find your assigned dormitory. Once settled, you may proceed to the cafeteria for some late supper. There will be a round of interviews after that, to prepare your suggested curriculums. Get a good night's rest. Your training starts tomorrow."

With that, he gave them a short nod and left.

Sunny sighed, apparently deep in thought.

Jack didn't care too much for it. "Can you believe that guy? He must love his own voice, huh?" He said with a slight slap on Sunny's back and a chuckle.

Jack was itching for a good chitchat with his newest buddy. Sunny's incredulous face was just the icing on the cake.