Rest

Aldric had spent a long 6 days relaxing in the castle. He was silent and kept to himself. Enjoying the benefits of collective society, the amenities offered to him were well worth the soul shard he paid. 

The typical sleeper did not have the capabilities to hunt for a soul shard every week. Many factors caused this. 

Usually, sleepers who made it to the bright castle were summoned close to it by the nightmare spell. This meant that sleepers were lucky that they didn't have to fight for survival and could be found by the hunters. This also meant that they could not hope to saturate their core and build a strong foundation like he or Nephis' group did. 

This meant they had to either serve Gunlaug or cripple their only path to growth.

This led to Gunlaug having a monopoly on power.

That was if they had a combat-based aspect.

For many, they chose to submit to the bright castle's lord; Gunlaug. A ruthless and Darwinistic tyrant who ruled with an iron fist. 

There was no semblance of law or democracy. No delegation of authority. Pure totalitarianism.

The winner takes it all.

Gunlaug had a collective called the host. It was a system of branches that grouped those under his direct control.

Hunters and pathfinders who hunted awakened beasts in the city while traversing around fallen territories. Led by Gemma.

The castle guard. The group holds most of Gunlaug's men. They were enforcers inside the castle and guarded the outside as well. Led by the oldest sleeper; Tessai.

These were often those who had no direct purpose in the castle. The position was offered to those who would swear fealty to their lord.

The artisans were sleepers with utility-based aspects and their assistants. These were the people who maintained the amenities in the castle such as clothes, tools and equipment. Led by Kido.

The handmaidens; were a group of women who maintained the upkeep of the castle and served all the meals. They were also considered to be the women of Gunlaug, so they shared a sense of security. Led by the formidable Seishan, who trained her subordinates in the art of battle and defence.

There were a group of independents who did not directly serve Gunaluag and paid the tribute weekly. Some made a living with their talents, running a business or surviving by the skin of their teeth.

To Aldric, this was a sick representation of the primal nature of humanity. How they must have been when they were hunter-gatherers.

The strong rule.

The weak serve.

It reminded him of the book "Lord Of The Flies". 

A book detailing a group of stowaway young boys on a deserted island. Chaos and uncivil. It imagined what a group of modern-raised children would resort to in a vacuum without law and order. 

It was that and much worse. 

However, Aldric could recognise the usefulness of such a system. Anarchy would have benefitted no one and could even lead to their eradication. 

It was through this thought process that he concluded the worst aspect of the castle. 

It changed the goalpost. 

It was no longer about getting home. Not about finding a gateway or a citadel somewhere.

Aldric saw it in the close to 500 sleepers. The only thing on their mind was paying their tribute, their role or who they had to serve.

It was a terrible situation that caused them complacency.

Terrible. But not terrible enough to leave.

As busy as the castle was, it was surprisingly quiet for him. 

He was reminiscing on one memorable interaction he had.

Flashback

Aldric was walking through the empty hallways at the crack of dawn. The artificial sun brought rays of illuminating light through the long castle windows. 

His mind was thinking about his next moves. 

"STEP"

Looking forward, he saw a beautiful woman.

Wearing a regal azure robe, a young woman was walking through the hallways in measured steps. Her supple figure was adorned with an intricate silver necklace and 2 bracelets on her wrists. What caught his attention was her skin. Grey-like stormy clouds. 

'Probably as a result of the nightmare spell'

He recognised her after some observation. 

'Seishan, daughter of Song and the leader of the handmaidens.' 

It seemed that he was not the only one doing an observation.

'Strong trained figure. I don't recognise him from the Host. His aura.'

'It's cold and dark. Not the kind you feel after the warmth just left you but the cold in a place where only cold exists. The darkness in a place where only darkness exists.'

"Good morning"

The young woman spoke showing her perfectly white and straight teeth.

She had a look of interest. The corner of her lips was slightly raised.

"Good morning to you as well" 

The young man responded.

His black silk robes caught her attention. It looked fitting for a king with its regal design. She wondered where he brought it from.

" I don't believe we are acquainted."

She continued. Pushing the conversation past formalities.

"You are correct. My name is Aldric. And you are?"

He responded while giving her a look that mirrored her look of interest. 

Aldric was not shy to speak to the opposite gender at all. He was no casanova however he had none of the limiting beliefs that other teenage boys and young adults had surrounding communicating with women.

"My name is Seishan. I've been here for a very long time and I have not seen you before."

She responded.

"I arrived just 3 days ago. It's been enjoyable."

He responded amicably. Welcoming her interest.

"Well Aldric, I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay. Do let me know if I can help you with anything."

She said while staring deep into his eyes.

With that, she walked away.

Aldric knew that there was an underlying message somewhere there. 

Maybe she wanted to get to know a young and strong sleeper before he joined one of the factions.

Who knows.

Flashback end

Making his way to the hall for breakfast, it was Aldric's last day in the castle. He had an idea of his next step but needed something to happen first.

He completed a task yesterday. One of the major reasons he came to the castle.

Picking up a plate of bread and a bowl of meat stew, it was always a wonder to see the capabilities of humans outside the waking world.

"Put that back now ingrate."

A voice shouted from his left.

Fate seemed to be listening to him for once.

Aldric turned to see a castle guard in his early twenties. His face looked haggard and his movements were shifty.

Noticing that he was talking to him, Aldric spoke in an annoyed voice.

"No. Why should I?"

The response caught the man by surprise. As if he expected Aldric to take his aggression lying down.

"You cheeky bastard. Who are you to question me? I am Troy of the third division."

Wearing a castle guard uniform, his shoulder had a patch adorned with a yellow number three.

He wore it with pride.

Behind him were two other castle guards. Through their body language, he could tell that they didn't care for what was happening. Though they didn't care, they knew where their allegiance lay.

Aldric's expression changed from annoyed to sharp and piercing.

The corners of his lips raised.

"Never heard of you. Am I supposed to care?"

With a hint of superiority, he said in a cold voice. 

The small crowd that was eavesdropping at the exchange collectively went silent.

With bloodshot eyes and veins popping from his forehead, Troy reached for the sword on his waist and moved to attack the chatty ingrate where he stood.

Aldric summoned him [Cragborne Armour] and [Malice Of The Deep].

He took a step back to make some distance and buy some time for his memories to form.

Luckily the man kept speaking.

"We protect you. We feed you, We shelter you. And you can't even respect us. Respect me."

He spoke. Progressively getting louder with each word.

His eyes darting madly, he didn't notice his victim arm himself with a sword and armour.

"DIE!"

With a large overhead swing, Troy aimed to bisect the pissant into two. 

He knew that the lord would not care for his death. The teenager wore no clothes that spoke of his affiliation and no one came to stop him so he was just in his fury.

With a slight sidestep, Aldric dodged the wide telegraphed swipe. 

"THUD"

A sound was heard across the silent hall.

"AARRGHHHH"

**********

Thank you for reading once again.

Big number 24.

I appreciate all the new comments and engagements. Love all the gifs and memes attached. 

Also much love for the new reviews. Thank you Vanhick for the constructive and well-thought review. 

I will start to answer questions related to the story as well in the notes. Probably one per chapter so do throw some in.

To start it off, someone mentioned about him being noticed whilst using his memories during the first nightmare. I would imagine he would be discreet with the garms and basic weapons like the lizard's dagger. The only thing that would be hard to summon and dismiss would be the undying spark. 

Stay safe readers and take care.