A New Vessel

Endyr was dreaming. Or at least, she believed she was. After all, the world she woke up in was different from the one she just left. She was in a muted brown zone, one that neared black but wasn't quite there. Reality seemed to have been made from pencil sketches, shaded in with the brown colour roughly. She could see lines and scratches of darker or lighter shades interwoven haphazardly at points, and there was neither a ground nor a ceiling. It was...weird, to say the least. But the environment only held Endyr's attention for a brief moment, because she wasn't alone.

Further in the void ahead of her, a gigantic ziggurat stood. Comprised entirely of gold with dozens of towering monoliths attached at the sides, the overwhelming extravagance was dulled by the obvious weather marks and cracked walls. While it was undeniably an awestriking building, it had not been spared the encroachment of time and had dimmed in splendour. 

As Endyr observed the ziggurat with a wary eye, she witnessed it flickering in and out of existence at random intervals. For whatever reason, the building's presence in this place was fragile and seemed to be on the verge of flickering out completely. 

'I can't contact the System here, further implying this is just a dream. So should I abandon all cautiousness and just advance?'

After staring at it for an unknown amount of time, Endyr began to walk towards it. Her steps seemed be on air, since she felt no sensation of ground. After a while of walking, she realized that the ziggurat was no closer. The distance between them had not reduced in the slightest and this caused Endyr to frown. After scratching her head for a moment, she remembered that this was (likely) a dream, and dreams were moulded by the dreamer. Endyr focused her mind, mentally ordering the ziggurat to approach. 

After several seconds of concentration, the void around her rippled and the golden spires were suddenly in front of her. Nodding her head in satisfaction, Endyr stepped forward and approached by enormous golden doors that seemed to have been made for Giants or Dragons. It bore a strong resemblance to the door to Tamar's tomb, but quite a bit bigger and only possessing the Almighty's symbol. Aside from that, there was various Angels doing different tasks painted on the door. Singing, dancing, praying or crowding around the Almighty, they projected a serene and holy vibe even as the rest of the ziggurat had withered.

Endyr put both hands on the doors and heaved, with the two slabs of gold swinging upon with surprising ease. She had expected them to be as heavy as the tomb's doors had been, but she wasn't complaining. Stepping through the doors, Endyr stumbled as the ground lurched beneath her. In the blink of an eye, the entire room was thrown forward as the ziggurat shifted around her. The void collapsed around her, wrapping Endyr in its intangible embrace. Just as she began to struggle against it, Endyr was released from the void's grasp and found her footing. 

Before she could figure out what had just happened, Endyr was forced to squint as rays of golden sunlight shun into her face. After shaking of the disorientation, her eyes widened as she saw the scene in front of her. No longer was she in the void, and the ziggurat was absent too. Instead, Endyr stood on a mountain that formed a valley. Below her was a scrawling city that mimicked the ziggurat's majesticy. Larger than Sky Cross, the city seemed to have been moulded from gold and silver. It stretched as far into the distance as Endyr could see, and she could only imagine its population. A massive river, as wide as it was deep, ran through the valley and the city, with its water being a deep ochre. 

Yet the city could only enthral her for so long, as soon Endyr noticed a shadow covering her. She looked up, only for her mouth to turn agape as yet another wonder revealed itself. At the mountain peak a citadel stood. Endyr recognised it as the ziggurat she had seen earlier, but this seemed to be either an earlier version, or a more advanced one. It had easily twice the spires, with multiple courtyards and adjacent buildings attached. Its structure vaguely reminded her of the Academy's complex, both in design and layout. The complex pierced the clouds, and the glowing sun was positioned directly above it.

Endyr shifted her gaze between the city at the bottom of the valley and the citadel at the top, hesitant of which to visit first. If dream logic still applied, she could "teleport" to either of them in an instant. However, she was wary of others within this dream. Her previous bizarre dreams nearly killed her or were related to the Plane of Infinity, and she was worried what lay at the heart this time. As she stood there in uncertainty, the world made the choicer for her. The sound of beating winds gradually became clearer as a flying figure outlined itself on the horizon. In only two or three minutes, it came close enough for Endyr to recognise it: a white-scaled Dragon with pale gold irises and emerald sclera. 

Its wingspan was roughly fifteen meters in diameter, and it glistened in the sunlight. As it drew nearer, Endyr made out a figure riding atop its back. It was a man with hair of flame encased in a black suit of armour, one Endyr recognised as the same suit the knight statues in the tomb wore. His face was cold and inhuman, like it was carved from stone rather than flesh and bone. As he flew over her, the man's eyes landed on Endyr, and they widened at the sight of her. Before she could do anything, the man summoned a flaming sword and leaped from his mount. She barely had time to register she was under attack before the man slashed downwards at her. She saw rather than felt the blade cleave through her before everything cut to black.

When Endyr came back to her senses, she was still on the mountain. The city lay below and the citadel above as the omnipresent gold light dyed the entire valley. She blinked multiple times as she regained her bearings, instinctively running her hands over her body is search for wounds. Finding herself unharmed, she instead grew alarmed when she realised her body had changed. She had shrunk down to Altair's size, and her hair didn't go beyond her nape. It had also changed to a strange black that glimmered, like it was speckled with starlight. 

Her skin had also undergone a metamorphous. It was grey-black reminiscent of stone, darker than Kulkiri's hair but not as black as her own. She still had ten fingers, but they ended in claws, and black scales covered her hands, neck and other joints. While she had no way of checking, she was willing to bet her eyes were also different now. 

Before she could explore more of her new body (which was genderless, she checked), Endyr heard the familiar flapping of wings draw closer. She looked over to see the Dragon flying over, its rider in the same position as before. And just like before, he noticed her. Having a vague inkling as to what was going on, Endyr raised a hand (or claw) in hesitant greeting. As she tried to speak, she realised she couldn't. She then realised she didn't even have a mouth: her face was completely smooth apart from her eyes. Seeing her, the man took the same action as last time and leaped off the Dragon, descending with a sword of magma in hand.

Endyr threw up her claws in a sign of surrender, causing the man to narrow his eyes. But he still didn't pause his strike, the flaming blade seeking to reap her life again. Endyr dodged backwards, tripping over herself in unfamiliarity. This was the worst bit about being thrust into a new Avatar: you needed some time to get used top it and adjust. Endyr flailed around, managing to avoid two more swipes of the man before he apparently got tired of her act and got serious.

Before she could even blink, the sword thrust its way into her skull, and everything went black. 

Endyr awoke to the golden sunlight for the third time in twenty minutes. This time, she ignored everything and only focused on her immediate surroundings. She was standing in a small clearing with trees around her, the mountain being covered in a rich green forest. Somewhere nearby, she could hear a stream bubbling and birds chirping. As the first echoes of the Dragon's approach became clearly, Endyr hurried into the forest to hide. After a few minutes, the man and his Dragon passed overhead. Endyr tucked behind the thickest tree she could find, trying to be as small and inconspicuous as possible. After waiting with baited breath but only hearing the Dragon getting further away, she stood up and made her way back to the clearing.

She saw the Dragon perch atop of the numerous spires, with its rider hopping off and vanishing somewhere in the complex. As she watched the man leave, he suddenly stopped and turned back, locking eyes with her. Endyr froze before turning to run, but she had only taken half a dozen steps when she heard the sound of tearing branches. She looked over her shoulder despite herself, only to witness a spear of white flame speeding towards her. By the time the sight registered in her brain, it was already too late.

Restart.

This time, Endyr stayed in the forest for a good five minutes before tentatively leaving her cover. The man was gone, and his Dragon had curled into itself. 'That man's senses are insane. He actually detected my stare from all the way up there. With that range, he must be a Sovereign at least. His sense was no weaker than Le'garde's. Just where the hell am I?!'

Since that man was inside the citadel, Endyr's only option was to head down to the city instead. She began to trudge her way down slowly, still unused to her new body. It was stronger than its child-like frame suggested, but its arms and legs were still stubby and awkward. She tripped over quite a few branches before getting the hand of things. At least her skin seemed pretty strong: she had not a single bruise or cut. 

After walking for fifteen minutes or so, Endyr finally came across the stream she had heard before. It was wider than most streams she had since in Orvonia, and was also ochre in colour. She stooped over the water to get a better look at her face, and froze at what she discovered. She had no mouth, nose or ears as she already knew, but what she did have was shocking.

Her sclera were a deep purple with three concentric gold circles inside it. At the centre of the golden rings, her iris was a white parietal. Endyr recognised these eyes, since she had seem them not too long ago. They were the same as the orb the Vampires had contained using the Crystal Mana.

Before she could further focus on the issue, she heard the snapping of branches coming from the bushes to her left. Someone was nearby.