Chapter 40

A/N: I've missed a day or two of chapters as I was busy taking care of my health, listening to beautiful music, and top-tier procrastination. My apologies.

The rocky chamber was small, and the fire's smoke was more than stuffy in its confines. Breathing was a hassle, but as Sleepers, it was manageable. Flynn had completely saturated his core, while Jeanne had absorbed enough shards to be a tenth of the way.

The ceiling shook, and a bit of sand fell as Dane sighed. "Had enough?" he asked. They nodded, smiling with each bite of their 'barbecue.' Feeling the need to celebrate Flynn saturating his core and surviving the Desert for a full day, they cooked up a good cut of meat.

Dane took a bite as he wondered about the clan and his cousins. How was Uncle Lancel getting along with Nova and Nolan? How were they, even, he thought. Where did Nova end up on the winter solstice, and how was Nolan's training going?

He didn't know them well, but he wished them the best. Dane knew his chances of getting out of this hell were incredibly low. It could be a few years before he could find a way back home…or not. The Gray Gust was now in the hands of those two, and he hoped they could live up to the responsibilities that would inevitably fall to them in his absence.

More than that, he hoped they could soothe Lancel's pain. The man had lost everything from his parents and siblings to Eliana, and he would lose Dane as well. The world had not been kind to him, so he could only hope that building a relationship with these 'wards' would.

Usually, wards were just that, wards. Most Legacies only took them for political reasons, and they were never 'family.' It was different with his family. His father, Lord Ean, had been his grandfather's ward.

The Gray Gust had always prided itself on being better than the other clans. Not in the sense that they were somehow naturally superior. No, they simply liked that they weren't insufferably condescending and entitled.

"What are you thinking about?" Jeanne asked.

Ah, he had spaced out. "Family," he said.

"Family, huh," she smiled sweetly, "I miss mine already. It hasn't even been a day."

Flynn held his fork over the fire, grinning widely. "Me too. I hope the old man's doing fine without me."

***

The following morning, they unanimously decided they were too tired to leave the ruin and stayed there. Dane did not get much sleep with all the smoke there and had coughed all night long. Now, in the day, he planned on making up for it.

Out of the sun and within the sweet, blessed shade, he dismissed his plate and wore only one gambeson and leggings. He could sleep almost comfortably when using the Dead Medallion. Letting his soul heal without the threat of danger was nectar.

The other two were more energetic and were cooking using the hot sand. Dane was still not able to wrap his mind around that. Flynn had closely observed him when he made the meat and noodle soup. Now, Jeanne was teaching him how to prepare her specialty sandwiches.

It was good. Light on the stomach but still flavorful, that could sum up most Southern Quadrant food, which was why he had always preferred it to the Northern Quadrant's cuisine. Eliana would always give him shit for that…well, siblings that disagreed on anything always gave each other shit.

As he reminisced about meaningless things, he fell into the embrace of sleep. He dreamed the same Nightmare he had dreamed in the Academy. When he woke up sweating, he was only grateful for not screaming again. He didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of Flynn and Jeanne.

Adjusting himself inside the sleeping bag, Dane dove into his Soul Sea. A pleasant chill greeted him, emanating from the Phantom Core that floated high above.

He peered into it, and he could see the phantoms hiding within. They were the Nightmare Creatures he slew yesterday and the ones from his First Nightmare. He wondered what they were…and what his Aspect made him.

Souls, or more accurately, ghosts. That's the conclusion he had come to. While the runes the Spell used for the word 'Phantom' had many meanings, it was easy to pinpoint it.

He could have been wrong, he knew, as there were other meanings and possibilities, but he couldn't help but gravitate to these features of the word. Dane wondered what secrets this mysterious Aspect hid.