Morgan groaned and sat up. He didn’t know why he was groaning - his body felt perfectly fine, and he could see that he was uninjured and his clothes undamaged. “Is this real? Did I get teleported here, or are we talking in my head or something?”

“Hmm, are we in your head or mine? What an interesting question.” The Azure Paladin replied, moving to stand closer to Morgan. “On your feet, novice, stand at attention when Gareth Tohlemay, Defender of the Blue Deep, addresses you!” Morgan scrambled to his feet and stood straight-backed before the silvery figure. He could hear a hint of amusement in the paladin’s voice, but he still wanted to show respect to the knight. Once again, he found himself impressed by the Azure Paladin’s appearance. He stood straight as a birch tree, easily seven feet tall, encased in shining, silvery armor that was ornate yet very functional. Most impressive were the enormous, iridescent wings that stood out from the paladin’s back.

“Yes, sir,” Morgan replied, finding himself reverting to his basic training days.

“Very good, very good. Now give me a report; how have you done with my first gift?”

“The Azure Burst? I’ve used it in several combat situations, and it has saved my hide more than once.”

“Mmhm, excellent. Yes, we wouldn’t be talking together now if you hadn’t vanquished some foes. I sense something else about you. You’ve taken up the sword?”

“Yes, I wanted to make sure I was walking my own path and not one the System had steered me toward. I chose the sword because of a fondness I’ve had for heroic sword users in the literature that I’ve read.”

“Good, good. Free thought is essential. Never be a puppet. Even to me and my legacy - I am here to guide and teach you, not to control you.”

“I learned part of an ancient sword style - The Fighting Crane. Have you heard of it? From what I understand, much of it was lost.”

“It sounds familiar, but I can’t be sure. I may be able to give you a lead, though: not terribly far from my resting place, through the forest to the west, and up in the Orangerock Hills, a master swordsman once dwelled. He built a keep there, where he taught his disciples. If the keep still stands and his order still exists, you will find the knowledge of many sword styles and forms.”

“Thank you, sir.” Morgan knew the odds of the swordmaster still being there were slim to none - it seemed that a very long time had passed since the Azure Paladin had lived. Morgan didn’t even know if he was native to this world or if his presence here resulted from the System combining worlds. He decided to stop guessing about it and just ask his teacher, “Sir, you mentioned an Azure Empire the last time we met, and it seems like a long time has passed since you lived. I was under the impression that the System and Energy have only been in this world for a couple of hundred years. Are you from this world?”

“Hah. Yes, I am from this world, and no, the System did not bring Energy. True, the Energy is much richer now than in my day, but some masters, like myself, learned ways to gather it and use it. When the System came, I was dimly aware of what it did. With the flood of Energy entering our part of the universe, the System rode the tide. It pushed other worlds together with ours - a feat I cannot comprehend. Now I feel the Energy around me, richer by a million-fold than when I was alive. You should have an easy time finding the power to use my legacy’s abilities.”

“I was wondering….” Morgan started, but the paladin held up a hand.

“I’m sorry, Morgan, our time grows short. I want to impart another lesson upon you while there is still time.” Morgan nodded, and Gareth Tohlemay, the Azure Paladin, placed his hands on Morgan’s shoulders. Gareth’s eyes, set deeply under a shadowy brow, stared down into Morgan’s and began to flare with a blue light. Morgan stared into his eyes, and he felt something kindle deep in his eye sockets. At first, it was a warm, tingling sensation, but then his vision flared blue, and the warm tingling escalated to searing pain. Morgan opened his mouth to scream, but just as he inhaled, the pain subsided, and his vision returned.

***Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Azure Sight - Basic.***

***Azure Sight: A paladin’s foes cannot hide in shadows or deception. This skill will enable you to pierce even the darkest gloom and see through minor illusions. As your mastery of this skill advances, you will learn to see the truth of beings and items around you. Energy Cost: 50 per minute while active.***

Morgan began to thank the paladin, but his vision turned dark, and he felt a sinking sensation like he was falling from a great height. After a while, the falling feeling went away, and he just floated in darkness. As he began to wonder what was going on, he slipped into one dream after another. He dreamt about being back in his first childhood home. His sister read a Winnie the Pooh book to him as they lay snuggled on a long couch.

Then Morgan dreamt about eating in the mess hall during his first tour with the Huron militia. He was in basic, or at least the militia’s version of basic, but it was strange because Issa was there with him. They were laughing about the quality of the oatmeal. In the dream, Morgan looked around and saw some of his old buddies, but then his eyes fell on Mark Tennet, and he remembered seeing Mark take a sniper round in the forehead while they were clearing a shopping plaza near Old Detroit. That caused him to wake, his heart racing and breathing heavily. “Shh, you’re okay.” Issa’s voice said softly from beside him.

“Ugh,” Morgan grunted, trying to sit up. He was under a blanket and lying on a soft bed. The room was nearly dark, but he could make out a high ceiling, posts at the foot of the bed, some kind of dark armoire-shaped shadow against the wall, and an arched window with open shutters revealing a night sky filled with stars. “Where am I?”

“You’re in one of the bedrooms in your tower.” Issa’s voice was sleepy sounding. He heard a rustle in the sheets and felt her warm hand slide onto his bare chest. Morgan sighed and let himself sink back down into the warm, soft embrace of the bed and closed his eyes. This time he slept very deeply, and if he dreamt, he didn’t remember it.

The room was bright when Morgan woke for the second time, daylight streaming in through the large, arched window. He could see now that he was in a big, four-post bed under a thick, white down comforter. His head rested on a similarly soft pillow. He looked around and saw that the room matched the rest of the fifth floor in construction - hardwood floors, wooden wainscotting, and plaster walls and ceiling. A dark mahogany-looking armoire sat on the wall at the foot of the bed, and a narrow, arched doorway led into what looked like a private bathroom; Morgan could see the lower half of a large porcelain tub from his vantage.

Movement and a soft sigh beside him brought his attention to his more immediate surroundings, and he realized Issa’s curly, golden hair was splayed out on the pillow next to his. That’s when he realized he was naked. “Hey,” he said, pushing gently at Issa’s shoulder. She sighed again and rose up on one elbow, her hair falling away from her face. “Did you take advantage of me?”

“Of course!” She grinned and leaned forward, kissing him.

“That’s not fair! I didn’t even get to enjoy it!”

“Oh yes, you did! You just don’t remember!” She laughed softly, resting her head on his chest. As she snuggled closer to him, Morgan realized she was naked also.

“Hey, I was just joking before, but now I’m not! What happened?”

“Nothing yet, silly. You were unconscious. You had some horrible wounds from that gem snake’s venom. I saw your empty tincture bottle, though, and I could see the acid had stopped eating your flesh, and the tincture plus the Energy from the snake were slowly restoring you. I pulled you in here, pulled off your ruined clothes and armor, and have been snuggling you ever since.”

“Alright, thanks, but, um, you’re kinda killing me here, you know, pressing your naked body against me.”

“Well, do something about it, then!” Issa slid a leg over him, straddling him, and that was all the permission Morgan needed.

It was a couple of hours later when he finally found the will to extract himself from the bed and Issa’s embrace. He sat up and looked around the room. “How is there a window here? I didn’t see windows at this level on the tower.”

“Mmm, I don’t know. I think it’s the glass. It looks clear from here, but it just looks like the tower wall on the outside. Maybe.” Her reply was sleepy sounding, and Morgan wondered how much rest she’d actually gotten while he lay unconscious. She’d played it off, but maybe she’d been more worried than she let on.

“Hey, you can get some sleep if you’re still tired. I’m gonna try out this bathtub. By the way, I’m glad it all worked out.”

“All what worked out?” she asked, opening her eyes and looking at him.

“You know. Our parts - they were compatible.” He laughed, and she threw a pillow at him.

“You’re lucky they were because I was worried about your strange species!” She growled and rolled over, turning her back to him.

Morgan found his pitted helmet and breastplate and the remains of his shirt piled in a heap in the bathroom. His vambraces were also scarred but seemed functional, though the self-repair had clearly met its match. The only armor pieces that were unscathed were his greaves. He sighed, putting his greaves into his ring and the remains of his other gear into his pouch, then he examined the tub. It had a tap, and warm water flowed out when he turned it on. “Hell yes. Thank you, Vormendion.”

An hour later, Morgan quietly left the bedroom and returned to the scene of his battle. He was surveying the horrible mess of blood, bits of flesh, a stinking corpse, and spatters of acid when a tinkling sound heralded Tiladia’s arrival. “Morgan, I’m glad you were victorious, and I’m glad you suffered no lasting harm from the gem snake’s venom.”

“Thanks, Tiladia. Yeah, I thought I was going to have a relatively easy victory, and then it sprayed me. I’m glad I had a strong healing elixir.” Morgan pulled his sword and spear from the snake’s corpse, wiping them on a scrap of his ruined shirt, and then he stowed them in his ring. He looked at the corpse of the enormous serpent - it was about a foot in diameter at its widest point and at least thirty feet long from nose to tail. “What’s the deal with these gems, Tiladia? Should I try to salvage them?”

“Yes, Morgan. That serpent was ancient; they only grow a gem every few years, and I count at least three hundred gems. They’re treasured by Artificers, as they are excellent for storing and conducting Energy.”

“Huh, well, thanks again, Vormendion!” Morgan spent the next two hours slicing the gems out of the snake’s corpse and stowing them in his ring. In all, he came away with 327 of the precious stones. Then he spent another hour cleaning up the mess. He dropped the corpse and scraps of flesh and his ruined gear down a shaft that Tiladia said led to the incinerator. When he was finished mopping up the mess, Morgan asked Tiladia about the damage to the wood from the snake’s venom.

“The tower will slowly repair itself. It might take months, though. Only the dueling hall has enchantments to repair itself quickly.” Tiladia flashed and tinkled as she spun around the landing, surveying the damage.

“Alright. Well, Issa is still asleep, I think, so please let her know I’m heading out to the colony to see what’s new and check into getting some new armor.”

“I will do so. Also, Morgan, you should know that I put your odds against the sixth guardian at roughly fifty percent.”

“Heh, okay, thanks.” Morgan hurried down the steps, stopping by the atrium to check in on Ykleedra. The Yovashi girl seemed to be in good spirits, having made a little den for herself among the denser foliage in the atrium’s grove. She’d been eating fruit from some of the trees, and Morgan gave her some of the better-preserved meats he had in his ring. Promising to check in on her later with fresher meat, he walked down the stairs and out into the afternoon sun.