[Voyager]

The night was fairly peaceful, as it seemed that no indigenous lifeforms existed on this world. The sky was completely starless, as though this planet did not truly belong in this universe.

Without the light from the sun, stars or moon, the planet descended into a pitch black. The kind of black that is so dark it seems to stifle your other senses as well. To counteract this, I activated a [Danger Sense] technique while meditating to recover my concentration.

The day itself was about 22 hours and since the axis of the planet was not tilted, there were no seasons and the day and night were always of equal length. This uniformity along with the absence of all other planetoids in the system gave the impression of a piece of machinery, designed for a singular purpose with no redundant parts.

When the first ray of sunlight shone across the horizon like a beam, I slowly opened my eyes, leaving [Danger Sense] active while regaining my full consciousness. At my level of strength, leaving a technique such as this running in the background would have no adverse effect on my functioning.

Just as the sun had fully risen above the horizon, bringing light once again, I noticed the knight stirring in his place. He cracked open his eyes, and squinted at the brightness of the daylight. The eye visible was a shockingly vivid crimson, such that blood seemed pale by comparison. The colour almost seemed crystalline as it shimmer when the light reflected off it.

Many species among the places I had travelled had red eyes, of those that even had eyes, ranging from demonic monsters to the harmless sun-goats of Ytterial.

Of course, the likelihood of him being a goat in disguise was low.

As he got up, the scales in his armour moved around, glittering in the sunlight like what one would imagine starlight to look like. He placed a hand to his head and mumbled under his breath, "La'athmak? Erinto ekletorin satro'iko?"

Casting a silent [Universal Translation] spell, I spoke to him in a gentle voice, "Ẃ̶͈̃ḩ̶͗̎â̶͙̝t̴̳͂ ̸͔̘̊ǐ̶̡̤̑s̷̜̞̀͑ ̵̖̃ẙ̴͕̹͝ô̶͍ų̷̹͊͘r̷̺͉̓ ̴̥̝͆̀ṉ̴̉ā̵̭m̴̨͑̽e̴̢̫̿̄?"

Looking surprised that I could speak his tongue he grabbed me by the shoulder and replied to me in an agitated manner, "Tell me, where am I? Have I truly Awoken or is this just level in that godforsaken place?".

"S̴͉̾l̶̡̈́o̷̭̎w̵͈̿ ̴͛ͅd̷̻͘o̴̜͑ŵ̵͜n̶̛̗,̵̩̀ ̵̜̋I̴̩̚ ̸̦̄d̵̥͊o̴̬̿ṇ̸̚'̵̧́t̶̬̿ ̸̭̈́ḱ̸ͅn̴͚̾o̷͕͠w̸̫̐ ̵̱̊ẘ̸̱ḣ̶͚a̴̢̿t̸͓͑ ̴͔͛y̶͇͠ö̶̻́u̵̡͝ ̷̞͒ä̶͍́r̴̰͝ȇ̷͚ ̸̺̾ṫ̵̝ä̸̻́l̸͈͗k̸̼͘i̵̗͘n̷̺̂g̷̣͆ ̷͕̈́a̸̳̽b̵̘̎o̷̜̚ū̵̺t̶̖̑.̴̼̊ ̸̦͛T̴͔̋ẹ̶̈́l̴͙̿ḽ̷͗ ̸͕̓m̴̢͌ė̵͙ ̷̳̈́ẁ̶̮ḧ̵̢e̵̢̚ŕ̶̬ẽ̴̠ ̶̞̕ḑ̵̋î̷̘d̸̦͗ ̷̨̅y̷͇͂ö̵̜ù̸͔ ̸̪̔c̷̰̔o̴͉͠m̴̤̃e̸̞̽ ̷̼̾f̴͈͛r̶͙͑o̶̞͘m̷̱̑?̴̗̃ ", I responded.

Releasing me and taking a few breaths to calm himself, the knight spoke again slowly:

"Apologies for not introducing myself earlier, it appears I have been asleep a long time and I do not quite have all my sense back yet."

Bowing, he continued, "I am known as the Silver Knight, and if this is where I think it is, you should have absolutely no idea who I am".

He seemed a bit oddly excited about that fact, but overall I sensed a goodness in him. Obviously, getting to his level of power must have taken a toll on him and he must have some secrets hidden away, nevertheless, from my experience he seemed like the type to see if he could help before asking what he could gain.

"T̵̰̑h̷͇̽ë̷͚r̶̼̔ë̷̯ ̶̪͑ḯ̴̘s̵̛͓ ̶̮̄n̸̗̆ö̸̥́ ̵͉̾n̷̛̘e̴̗̎e̴̬͗d̸̩̂ ̶̣̓t̸̞͑ŏ̸͔ ̷̱̈́b̶̹͊o̶̫͠w̷̩͐,̸̜̋ ̶̖̍m̵͙̏y̷̧͒ ̴̲̇f̷̘̍r̶̠͗i̴̘̎e̷n̴̛̝d̴̦̒.̸̫̃ ̷̻̇W̵̫͝ĥ̵͇y̴͖̐ ̶̢͂d̶̼̋o̴̰͒ṉ̷̃'̴̫͝t̷̥̏ ̷̪͋y̷̬̏o̸̳͒u̴̫͒ ̵̘͐t̴̤͐e̶̝̐l̴̖̃ļ̶͆ ̷̮͆m̸̰̂ȇ̸͍ ̸͔̔h̴̜̒o̸͚̾w̸̧̓ ̷̗̾y̵̬͊o̵͓̎ǘ̴̲ ̷̞͆g̷̰̿ọ̴̽ẗ̸̯ ̴̼͐h̸̳͑ě̴͇r̶̛̪ë̷̬́ ̸̳̅a̵̗͋ṅ̷̹d̷̥̄ ̸̤̾w̷̝͊h̵̫͐ȁ̶̗ț̶̂ ̸̞̓y̴̙̑o̷͉͛ǘ̵̬ ̴̼̐k̸͍̏n̸̘͆ȯ̸̺w̸͔̔ ̷̥̕a̸͎͊b̷͈͒ǒ̴̧u̵̢̎ţ̵͗ ̸̦̚ť̵͙ḧ̵͎́i̵̮͊s̷̻͑ ̸͖̀p̴͈̚l̸̒ͅa̴̝̽n̵̰͠ë̸͖́ṭ̷̂?̴̛̗ ", I answered with an amused smile on my face.

"Well, I had reached what I thought was the summit in the Dream Palace I am from, considering I could not find a Guardian anywhere. Realising this, I prepared to see what existed on the outside, and perhaps even getting a glimpse of the One Behind the Curtain.

"Just as I broke through the top, I sensed an immense gaze fall upon me and reflexively froze my self in a cryogenic state in order to minimise the damage I sustained. Next thing I knew, I woke up here on this desert next to you.", he spoke slowly, as though recalling this information took a lot of effort.

Realising that he had just woken up from what seemed like an intense battle, I refrained from asking him any more of the questions bubbling up inside of me, and kept them for later.

"Y̶͖̏ọ̵̈́ụ̴̏ ̸͈̒ś̴̟h̸͓́o̷̞̓u̸̘̔l̷̰̒d̴̞̋ ̷͓́g̵͎͌e̶͚͗t̶͉͒ ̵̮̓s̷̩̓o̸̯͌m̴̟͐e̶̙̊ ̶͉͊r̷̖̂e̷̥̾s̴̠͠t̵̹̚.̵̨̍ ̷͆ͅW̵̩̓ę̵̕ ̸̨͒c̶̳̎ã̸̰n̴̘̍ ̵̩̔t̷̙̿a̴̳̒l̴̦͝k̴̖̀ ̵͂ͅm̴̹͂o̶̹͌ṙ̷͜ë̵̥́ ̴̞̚w̸̛̗h̶͔̊e̴̮͌n̶̛̘ ̸̼͐y̷̙̕ô̴̢u̴̺͑ ̸̦͐a̷r̵͖͊ē̴̟ ̶̰͑f̴͕̊u̵̟̕l̵̼̚ļ̵͛y̷͓̚ ̴̻͂r̴̪͆e̴͍̓c̴̦͒ŏ̴̡v̴̛̞e̶͇̕r̸̫͌é̸̯d̶̦̄ ", I said to him.

He nodded in reply, and sat down in a lotus position and closed his eyes, seemingly asleep, and began the process of completely thawing his frozen energy.

I, too, sat down and got out from my pocket the leather book and quill. Undoing the clasp almost unconsciously like I had done a million times before, I opened the book to the next blank space. I picked up my quill and, for the first time in a long time, I recorded something new in those yellow pages.

******

[Starwatcher]

Location: #P786D7G3S1

On the inky, black canvas of the night sky, stars glittered displaying the beauty of the galaxy. The sky was cloudless and a full moon was clearly visible, its pockmarked surface having a sense of familiarity and distance.

The night was cold and the ground was almost completely frozen, the grass like steel blades. Despite this, a woman with a hunched back walked slowly towards a wooden hut on the top of a small incline.

She was wearing a black shawl over herself, covering her features, allowing no glimpse at her identity. However, her shuffling gait and laborious steps gave her age away. In her left hand she held a wooden cane, completely smooth, with luxurious wood grain patterns covering its surface. There seemed to be some words carved along its side, yet time had all but worn them away.

Under her left arm, she held a wooden basket with what looked like fish inside, partially covered by a piece of cloth. Despite this apparently appetizing meal for the predators of the night, not a single creature could be spotted within a mile of that hut, as though their animal instincts felt a primal sense of terror and foreboding from that place.

It took some time for her to get to the entrance to that hut. There was no door, simply a worn-looking curtain, which had been bleached of all colour by its age. The hut itself was round, with a thatched roof. There was a hole in the roof where smoke could be seen billowing out. Instead of windows, squares of wood had been cut out of the sides of the hut, and covered with a similar looking cloth.

There was a slight breeze, and the cloth billowed in seemingly random patterns. Approaching the curtain, the old woman used the hand with the cane to sweep it aside while walking in. The inside of the hut was bare, yet it had a homely feel, like a warm hearth of a cold winters day.

The smoke was coming from a small fire set in the middle of the hut. An indistinct piece of meat hung from the ceiling above the fire, seemingly being smoked for preservation. There were warm looking rugs on the floor that looked suspiciously like large animals, while the only furniture as a three-legged stool and a small table.

The old woman set down the basket on the table and sat down on the stool, with a satisfied groan. "I'm too old for this sort of work", she grumbled under her breath at no-one in particular. Just as she was about get the fish out from the basket, she froze.

With almost inhuman agility, she jumped from the stool and stood, immobile, staring fiercely at the fire. Judging by the intensity of her gaze, one would almost think the fire had killed her parents.

It burned a slow orange, with embers floating upwards with the breeze to disappear into the ether. However, one ember in that flame froze for split second, as if held in place by an invisible power, before continuing on its path.

The woman tracked this ember with her gaze as it floated up out of the chimney and towards the expansiveness of the dark, starry night.

Sitting down with a sigh, she muttered, "I really am getting too old for this.

"Looks like the changes it foresaw are coming sooner than we expected".

Staring off into middle distance, her eyes misted over and she continued, "I wonder whether the secrets of this place will finally be uncovered."

Uncovering the fish with wrinkled, yet experienced, hands, the old woman continued her monotonous tasks without much difference.

However, if one were to look carefully, one would see a steely gleam returning to her eyes...

******

[Voyager]

Soon, quiet once again befell that planet as the knight went into a recuperative trance. The only sound was the rhythmic scratching of my quill against the time-worn pages. It had been so long since I had truly written anything knew, yet the actions came as naturally to me as breathing. It felt like that was where I truly belonged, where my calling lay.

However, about halfway through the night, I was interrupted from my writing by a warning from my [Danger Sense]. Many versions of this technique had been developed across many worlds, and I had taken the best from each one to forge this technique. It was so potent, it was almost precognition. Consequently, I took this warning to heart and leapt to my feet instantly.

Glancing down, I saw that the knight was still not fully recovered and would not be of much use if a fight came around. Leaving him be, I looked in the direction I sensed the danger coming from.

My gaze pierced the veil of the night, and I could see several winged creatures that looked like wyverns flying towards us. They were going almost as fast as my top speed when flying and I calculated that they would arrive at our position in less than 15 seconds.

Placing my book and quill inside my cloak, I drew up the hood so that it covered the top of my face in darkness. As the creatures drew closer, I made out their features more clearly. Their body was covered in black scales that blended almost perfectly with the night. Their body was slender, with a long tail that ended in a deadly looking spike. Their wings seemed almost silky with their movements, as though the leading edge sliced through the air like a knife through butter. They had four limbs tucked away underneath their body, each tipped with three razor sharp claws.

Their most distinct feature, however, was a crest that swept backwards on the tops of their heads. The crest itself was not unusual, however, I seemed to be able to make out some inscriptions on them that appeared to suck in what little light there was.

Analysing their features, I concluded that they looked like nothing I had ever seen before. They appeared to have the body of a wyvern, but their crest with the symbols on it seemed reminiscent of Runics, who channelled their power through runes carved on their bodies.

Waiting until the last minute, when they were a few seconds away, I floated several metres above ground and activated an [Absolute Nullification Field] around both my body and that of the resting Knight. Simultaneously, three beasts divebombed me from different angles, the one from the front seemed to be their leader and co-ordinated their attack with a shrill cry.

The one to the left reached me first and I felt the wind as they brushed past my ears. The second one came from the right and just before it reached me, it opened its mouth and a it released a piercing scream.

Unexpectedly for the beast, this sonic attack was completely negated by my [Absolute Nullification Field] and before it could react, I grabbed its wing as it flew past me.

Feeling the rough texture of the scales on my hand, contrary to my expectation of a smooth surface, I tightened my grip. Using the momentum of the flying beast, I gripped its slender neck with my other hand, and ripped its wing off its body.

Blue blood spattered through the air and gushed from the stump left from the creature as mournful cries filled the air. It crashed to the ground helplessly, twitching and spasming as it slowly bled out.

***********************

Experiment failed. Capsule unable to contain energy levels. Collapse into a black hole contained to a minimum. Energy input needs adjusting 2x10⁻⁸⁹²⁷ J. Capsule needs higher anti-matter to matter ratio to withstand nuclear collapse.

-Log #2453

This is believed to reference the experiments by the Trell on harnessing the energy from shards of a dream. It is not known whether they succeeded or not as their race completely disappeared around 350 000 years ago and very little experimental data remains.

- From On the Origin of the Dream

by Scholar Khan, Archive file #P2D9******