1 Vera

Chapter 1

Gamlen Shadowsong tapped a long, obsidian-painted fingernail on the desk. His body arched over a book, staring intently at the pages in it, copying down the contents by hand in another book. He looked up at the clock hanging over the door to the room. Realizing what time it was he stretched and began to pack his things.

For weeks now he had had terrible nightmares, to the point where his roommates began to complain about him talking in his sleep. Sometimes, he'd wake up screaming in absolute terror. None of them would understand what he saw in his sleep, nor would he tell them. He was researching some of the symbols in his dreams, hoping to find a cause for all his night phantoms. Nothing after three months of searching and writing down all his nightmares, he was beginning to give up hope of ever finding the answer.

He got up from his chair and put on his coat, heading back to the bookshelves to return the book. After walking down the grand staircase exiting the library he looked to the sky, it was getting dark. Soon he would have to walk all the way to the shelter, about thirteen blocks away; otherwise he'd miss his chance for a shower and use of the TV. He slowly made his way back to his temporary home, recollecting the dreams of the past few nights to himself.

He was walking towards a hotel that seemed to sparkle of a new coat of paint; it even had the smell that was so common. This building felt old, and it seemed to whisper dark secrets between the walls. He stepped into a puddle as he began to cross the street, heading to the front door.

A sudden compulsion told him to look down into the water. As he stared deep into the reflective surface, he began to see his face distort and change in hue. Suddenly shot full of pain, he buckled over himself and screamed with all his might. Soon even his voice distorted into something unearthly, a cross between a lion's roar and a snake's hiss. Slowly his flesh began to change into what could only be scales of some sort of lizard, the hue changing to a shade of purple so dark that it almost looked black. His back felt a sensation that eventually led to pain so immense that it seemed like his muscles were ripping away from his skin. In a flash of blood and gore from his back burst forth a set of appendages that slowly began to form into what appeared to be wings.

He always woke up before he ever found out why he transformed into that monstrous beast or the significance of that hotel. Soon he came upon the door to the shelter; pressing the intercom button, he waited for an answer.

"Who is it?" the voice demanded.

"It's Gamlen Shadowsong, let me up." Gamlen elated.

Soon there was a buzz at the door, and he opened it walking up the stairs slowly with his backpack full of books. Gamlen enjoyed reading just about anything he could get his hands on so he always had books with him; his favorite was about monsters and magical beings. He thought he knew everything there was to know about Boggarts and Dragons. That was until the nightmares began, now he aimed to find out exactly what it was he was turning into in the dreams and what it represented in his real life.

As he stepped up onto the shelter's main floor he had a shudder up his spine, something was different up there. Choosing to ignore the feeling for now, he walked up to the desk and signed into his usual bed and walked to his locker to put his books away. He sighed to himself and sat down at the table in the makeshift kitchen, with a book on mythical beasts. Soon one of the women who lived at the shelter sat across from him and just stared intently at him.

"What do you want?" he didn't even look up at her as he continued to read. "I'm kind of busy right now."

"Care for a palm reading Gamlen?" the girl asked meekly.

One thing that always amused him was the amount of homeless youth that studied various arts of divination and magic. It was half the reason he was drawn to this particular city, the metaphysical culture here was rich and very deliberate. Often it seemed like every person he met had some sort of talent for the arcane arts. One day he realized why this was so, Portland itself sat on a nexus of ley lines converging together, and ley lines were the magical life force of the planet. This resulted in much more sensitive people to the planet's energy being born or eventually absorbing enough energy for them to become mystics or witches in their own right.

Turning more outward with his thoughts, he looked upon the soothsayer and just smiled.

"Sure, why not?" Gamlen placed his hand palm up in hers and waited for her to begin.

"You have a jaded past, between fear and immense amount of pain; it's a surprise that you are still partially sane." She began.

According to some, others not so much anymore. He thought to himself.

"You don't know your father, and that has left you conflicted. Both internally and outside your body." She elated to him.

Gamlen pulled his hand away from her and just stared into her ebony eyes, how could she know any of this? I usually can block most feelings out during readings. He was entirely confused with her ability to read him so well. Then he noticed something out of place; he had never seen her before. She was new to the streets or she was something else, it scared him and thrilled him equally. His whole body was tense for some reason that he could not understand. There was something different about the way she talked and the way she moved. Something primal, more bestial in nature stirred from within him. It set off tiny alarms in the back of his mind, alerting him to imminent danger.

"What are you?" he asked with caution.

Her ebony eyes set upon him and her face seemed to distort into monstrous proportions for a split second and then reverted to the beauty that had been nothing but glamour. She was a Bean – sidhe, a banshee in English, the Irish fey spirit that had a lust for the souls of lost travelers. He knew deep in his bones that she had come for him; why he might have known, but he hoped he was wrong. He stood up and walked away still watching her out of the corner of his eyes. As he walked out onto into the night on Portland's busy streets he walked across the parking lot and waited for her to come.

Soon he saw it, coming through the parking lot at amazing speed. It definitely wasn't anything human, which meant that it truly was a banshee. He braced himself thinking that it would attack him, but instead it stopped about a few feet away from him and just hovered there.

"What do you want creature?" he demanded.

She didn't speak in the way that words came out of her mouth, but rather she spoke to his mind.

Things are getting out of hand in the cosmos; something is brewing, something big. The heavens are preparing for war against the Underworld's legions. How will humanity survive? Once they are gone I will just fade away, something that I cannot do just yet. Do you even know what you are? Do you even remember your father? Tell me half born do you dream of it, the end of your humanity?

He stared at the apparition in complete shock and terror. How could she know his dreams? He had never met this being before, but he needed answers, and soon. Bracing himself to run at first chance, he waited for her to finish. Somehow sensing what he intended she tilted her head to the side and stared at him.

Running is Useless.

Gamlen tensed up, so she could read his thoughts. Figures, He thought to himself. He began to wonder what would happen next, would he have to fight this ghost? He hoped not, for he had no clue how to destroy it. Sensing that he was afraid of a fight she dissipated with a last set of words to him.

Seek out Jormuundgand, the Midgard Serpent, at the ends of the earth for your answers.

Puzzled at this statement he walked back into the shelter and began to get ready to take a shower. Did he imagine it just now? Was he hallucinating? Or did all that really just happen? He finished his shower and got ready for bed. Grabbing the Book of Mystical Creatures from his locker, he sat down and began to read the entry on the great Midgard Serpent. As he began to read it made him feel uncomfortable, like there was a ring of familiarity to the beast. Somehow he knew more about it than that encyclopedia stated. How did he know this? Such knowledge felt dangerous to him, almost deadly. He put the book away and went to bed, laying there with the light off as the sounds of the city eventually coaxed him into a deep slumber.

The next morning Gamlen sat at the table again, recalling the events of the last night. Did it really happen? Or was I just dreaming? Lost in thought he did not see his best friend Charlie sit down at the table next to him. Sean? What is the matter? Charlie signed to him. Charlie was death and a chosen mute; something happened to him as a child that he eventually lost his hearing. Though he could read lips he couldn't do it very fast. Nothing really, Gamlen signed back slowly, still distracted with his thoughts. Just thinking I had a nightmare again.

Charlie nodded knowingly, Gamlen always told Charlie when he had a nightmare, and he was the only one who hadn't treated him badly after knowing about it. Was it the same one again? Or was it worse? Charlie gestured quickly. Charlie decided to grab a piece of paper and pen so they could write instead, coming back he wrote something down. Dragons again? Gamlen nodded and rubbed his eyes. He stared at Charlie for a second, Where is Jed? He gestured to him. Charlie wrote again, I think he left to meditate again; he said he'd meet us at Powell's; he had something he wanted to show us.

Charlie and he cleaned up their room area and packed their things for the day, Gamlen made sure to grab his pens and his grimoire. Though he knew his spells probably wouldn't work it comforted him to write down incantations and rituals he created in his thoughts. Finishing up, they walked out of the shelter and started the hour-long walk to the massive bookstore. Gamlen checked to makes sure he brought his wallet and money this time. Jed usually asked him to buy the things he wanted to show them, being as he was the only one with a somewhat stable income. Gamlen was a college student; he studied metaphysics at a local university. He really wanted to become an ordained pagan priest. But it was still years away and thousands of hours of training, just to be able to get into the priesthood. Gamlen wanted to create his own religion, something similar to Heathenism and Viking Shamanism. One of these days, he always told himself. Arriving at Powell's he walked with Charlie up to the usual room where Jed always met them, the coffee shop. Jed was already there reading from a stack of about five books, a huge leather bound book sitting in the middle of the table. Great there goes the last of my money, Gamlen thought to himself.

Jed looked up from his book and smiled, waving them towards him. Gamlen held up his hand telling him to hold up a moment, while he went to get his own set of books from the occult section. Pulling down a book on Necromancy, Invocation, Summoning, Creation, and Astral Projection he walked back to the coffee shop. Sitting down Charlie and Jed were already pouring over the pages in the leather bound tome. What is it about, Charlie? He wrote down on a piece of scratch paper in his book bag. Charlie looked up at him and signed excitedly, it seems to be about this made up world called Aramanthia, place where evolution took humanity down a different path and instead of technology, Sorcery reigns as the way people get by. It has tons of fantastic creatures, and people of many different races and ethnicities, all enjoying leisure and study because of magic. Charlie went back to read the book, his face glowing in excitement.

Jed moved the book closer so Gamlen could read from it also; in the first chapter it stated the history and creation of this world. Gamlen started to read slowly, trying to read all the information.

In the time before the light the Midgard Serpent, Jormuundgand was there. He felt lonely in his darkness so he decided to create his progeny, the Dragons. Giving each a name and task they set about creating the world of Aramanthia. The eldest Bahamut created the earth itself, so that they had somewhere to walk when they tired of their divine duties. The land became Vera, the first continent. The next dragon was Aquanus, the blue. He created the oceans and rivers, so all things living could drink and bathe. He created the great Well of Wyrd, so that the dragons could maintain the knowledge of creation. Next was Bachinos, the forest. He created the plants and flowers; in him was the knowledge of foraging and farming. Then finally Humanus, the Life bringer. He created all the animals and creatures of the earth, including humans from which we are named. In the early days the dragons loved us, for we were their children, we learned much from them and they learned to love from us. But there was a fifth dragon, Tiamat, the destroyer. She unlike her brethren hated mankind, for they were evolved from apes, which made them inferior creatures to the scaled creatures. She sought a way to corrupt humanity enough to where the others would turn their backs on the world, allowing her to rule uncontested. It took the Midgard Serpent's intervention to end Tiamat's reign of terror on Vera. Sealing her deep in the earth's core she was sentenced to forever dream, now someone found a way to awaken her. Three heroes of various lineages will rise to stand against this new evil. What will you do?

Gamlen scoffed at the end of the first page, it was obviously a choose your own adventure book, similar to Dungeons and Dragons. He really did not like that sort of book and pushed it away from him. You have got to be kidding me. He signed to Charlie.

"Jed, this is a kid's book, I thought you found some book of arcane lore. Not a measly Adventure book." Gamlen got up and started to leave.

"Gamlen wait, can you buy this for me? You still owe me for bailing you out of trouble with the shelter." Jed reminded him of a time he was caught messing around with a girl.

"Come on Jed, I always buy you these books, they always just pile up in your locker, and you never read them again." Gamlen already knew he would end up buying the book for him and Charlie anyway. "Fine, hand me that book." He took it to the cashier at the counter and handed him the money needed to buy it and his own books. "Be happy Jed, I am getting tired of supporting your book habit and my own."

Gamlen dreamed of a land unlike any he had ever seen, it was beautiful and yet mysterious. He walked the streets of an unknown city and listened to the talk of the town, people all the while staring at him like he was something dangerous. What is wrong with this place? It feels so ancient and weird here, and I am having these weird sensations.

As he walked he heard murmurs of monster and dragon-blooded, he sought out the well in the town square and peered at his own face, covered in scales and a deep violet hue. Then he saw them, wings, he had wings. He stretched out his arms and the wings unfolded into a nine-foot wingspan that tensed with his own muscles. Realizing that he could control them he flapped them hard and he rose off the ground to almost a whole person over him, scared he stumbled in air and fell hard down to the ground. As he let out a sharp breathe of air, a dark vapor came out of his mouth and fell to the ground melting the grass in a fizzle. Acid, he just spit out acid onto the ground, he was in shock, and what was he? What is happening to him?

He started awake to find a shimmer of purple on his arm that faded away slowly, stunned he woke up Charlie franticly.

Did you see that? He signed hurriedly.

Charlie yawned, See what? I was asleep. He signed back slowly, then stopped mid yawn and stared at Gamlen's pillow. What happened there? He signed worried.

Gamlen turned to look at his pillow; half of it was melted into the plastic from of his mattress, like some acidic item fell onto it. He looked to Charlie scared stiff.

"I Think I was drooling in my sleep." He mouthed to Charlie slowly, Charlie trying hard to understand from lip reading. "What is going on?"

Jed at that moment stormed in with the book, "Check this out Gamlen." He handed the book to him and Charlie at a page with a photograph of the two heroes and the friend they would lose in an attempt to return home from Vera, the mythical land inside the book. It looked strangely like them, almost exactly like them in fact.

"This can't be real, they are us, I mean me and you, and the way it describes the lost friend it sounds a lot like you, Charlie." Gamlen looked over the pictures more and he stopped, did he just see the pages glimmer in vibrant colors? It must have been his imagination.

At that moment everything around them seemed to freeze, Gamlen stared out the window and gasped, the world just froze. Dropping the book it rippled in color again and all three friends blacked out.

Victoria sat quietly on her throne, she was extremely bored. Nothing in her realm satisfied her anymore; the undead around her were mindless and lacked the ability to even hold a conversation with her. She tired of ruling a country full of the undead and yearned for some sort of companionship, albeit just for a temporary time. She had to find a way to spread her rule to the living not just the undead, the best way she could think of was bloody conquest. The easiest and yet most unsettling choice so far, she really wanted to skip royal marriage because no one interested her. She was Alu, a spawn of a succubus and a human.

Her birth meant that most men distrusted her and even less could satisfy her fully, she grew bored with her own kind and left to seek out her own kingdom, though so far she could only rule over the dead, and undead. But soon she would be able to rule over all of Vera. She just needed an army.

Sitting there thinking to herself she felt a cold chill raise slowly up her spine, what just happened? She thought to herself. Did something just hit Vera? She slowly stood up and walked over to a great stone cauldron in the middle of her throne room, slowly chanting and adding ingredients to the water inside. The water began to bubble and steam, and soon a picture formed inside the reflection, the image of a man with dark hair and pale ivory skin, dressed in a deep crimson set of robes that denoted him as a mage. She stared in wonder at this new face and wondered truly who and what he was.

Seeking to find him, she set about gathering her most provocative clothing and a robe; she left her throne room and walked towards the stables. Fixing an image of his face in her mind she summoned a globe of light that radiated his image, she cracked the whip on her carriage and her driver began to drive her out of her castle's gates.