A Dreamer's Tale Chapter 10

Dream Walking classes quickly grew to be one of Elizabeth’s most enjoyable classes; the Adept teaching them gave them a lot of freedom to play around with their powers. Most of the others were behind her in terms of manipulation, only Mordrell keeping up (his range didn’t seem to be as broad as hers, but he had a lot of precision in his creations and how he could manipulate things), but it was fun enough to try her own ideas out. Usually they were even pretty fun, and rarely did Adept Pashun get mad (like the time she accidentally tried to wrest control of the Dreamscape from the Adept while trying to feel and grasp at its boundaries). 

She learned that most Dreamscapes were far smaller in ‘size,’ the idea of how much could be made and detailed within, as well as other interesting anecdotes, like the fact that most Sleepers actually couldn’t read messages in dreams for some reason, the words getting all blurry for them. The fact that the class didn’t last that long meant she never got too bored exploring around in there and then had the rest of the night to feel her way around the mountain. 

Elizabeth found out it was possible to enter others Dreamscapes uninvited in the most embarrassing way (and one that raised some other concerning questions) and how to better make out individual signals even amidst the ‘dreamfog’ (her terminology) that surrounded the mountain and the fainter signs of someone awake. She even thought she could feel the ‘thrum’ of Engalia as a whole, the continent's collective energies. 

*** 

Maneuvering through the tunnels was tough, tougher than even Elizabeth had thought at first. There were slight differences to be spotted amongst them, but it was so easy to get them mixed up. Getting mixed up also meant that in addition to being late to her classes, she’d be tired too. Each day brought her a step closer to understanding this place, she told herself. 

*** 

“Careful, hold the flame steady,” the Adept warned as Elizabeth held her hand very carefully (not that it mattered, but it seemed to help her focus a bit to hold it like that in a straight point) as she melted away a lock. The lock wasn’t connected to a door or anything, but it was a useful practice tool for how hot one had to get a flame going to melt through metal. 

Her Fire skills were improving steadily, leaving her at the top of even this slightly more advanced fire class, though she wasn’t sure how much she’d need them in day-to-day situations. Maybe if she needed to put out a large fire, she supposed (an exercise that proved surprisingly draining, at least as much so as creating fire was). 

The lock melted all the way through without too many excess flames; the instructor praised her and moved on to some other initiates, and Elizabeth slid up to Victor. “Hey, when focusing on the flames, try to ‘push them together,’ like, don’t worry about the amount, you just want denser-” 

“Did I ask for your pity?” He hissed out, his flames spluttering and collapsing. “You’re just like my sister.” Yup, a lot of resentment there, though she thought she could sense some care, deep down (her senses had been getting better for that as she practiced her Dream Walking). 

She frowned at him. “Hey, this isn’t ‘pity’ or any of that garbage; I’m just trying to help out a fellow Initiate.” 

“Oh yeah? Then why don’t you help out any of the rest of them?” He asked, jerking a thumb at some of the other students in the class. Their attempts tended to be stronger than Victor’s, but also less controlled; plenty to work on there too. 

“Well, I only have so much time on my hands." Elizabeth tried to argue.

“Ha! We’re just Initiates, how busy can you be?” She goggled at him. This was the easy stuff? She felt run off her feet every day- if it got worse as an Adept, she had no clue how she’d ever reach the level of Master. 

Shaking that clear for the moment, she continued. “This is also me paying you back for all the help you’ve given me in combat training.” Painful help, to be sure, but it had dramatically improved her skills. He at least had the decency to look slightly guilty at that.

“I mean- I’m probably going to be moving out of that class soon,” he mumbled. There was something else in his emotions at that statement, past the embarrassment. Pride. She thought there was no harm in stoking it for a bit. 

“Good job! That’s awesome to hear. I’m sure you’ll do great in the next class. I think you might have been held back a bit to help get the rest of us used to it.” Maybe that was too much, but he certainly didn’t seem to think so, the perpetually grumpy boy actually smiling a bit.

“You think? I’d thought I was good enough to move up to the next class for at least some time now, maybe...” 

“How many levels of combat classes are there before Adept?” 

He thought about that for a moment. “Technically, none of them are restricted by the rank of Dream Warrior, but in reality, few people mono-focus enough on fighting to go far ahead of their rank, many actually going down, in favor of focusing on trying to get their five abilities up to standard to make the next rank.” The scowl graced his face again as he thought about that.

“You’ve been working hard on that, haven’t you?” She asked gently. 

“Of course, I have; isn’t everyone? We don’t have money or much in the way of possessions, so rank is everything here.” 

“That seems like a depressing way to look at things. I just want to focus on helping everyone I can.” 

“That’s foolish.” 

“It’s optimistic,” she corrected. “But I would like to become a Master too, if nothing else, than as a sign of my progress and how much I can do. So for now, let’s help each other try to reach that goal, ok?” 

He was shocked for a moment, then blinked it away and scoffed. “I don’t think anyone else believes I’ll make Master.” There was a spark of hope, even outright in his voice, so she counted it as a victory.

“Alright, so here’s how you try to ‘focus the flames’...” 

*** 

Running up and down and all around, crisscrossing through the numerous and varied tunnels that made up the mountain, Elizabeth raced, hoping to make it on time. She had to!

Calling upon folding, she tried to increase her progress. Surely it couldn’t be so bad without the distracting outside scenery if she tried it in the tunnels, right?

She ended up late to class and having thrown up her lunch on the way there. Mount Dawnbreaker won again. 

*** 

In a (surprising) bout of free time she had, she collapsed down in a chair in the library. She didn’t get the chance to check it out often, but it was amazing. Almost as big as the dining hall and stacked to the brim with books, scrolls, and pamphlets. So much history and knowledge was collected there.

The library itself was an expanded tunnel, much like many places in the mountain, but the curved ‘rooftop’ was made to look a bit like arches one would see in a building. The shelves went up so high that they had a special ladder with wheels on the bottom to move around and reach up to the highest rows. The sheer number of books filled Elizabeth with a sense of wonder... one which was quickly worn out by the exhaustion she was feeling and the siren call of the very plush and comfy chair sorted around the library. 

After resting a moment, she looked around; she saw Mordrell reading again. In a quiet voice she said, “Heh, guess I should have expected to find you here again.” Dalila, sitting a few feet to the side, took note of them but otherwise remained focused on her own book, ‘A Practical Treatise on the Nature of the Queendom.’.

He startled at her presence, just a little, before nodding. “Yes, I enjoy reading quite a bit. I’m surprised I haven’t seen you here before.” 

“Just been too busy. So many classes, and then helping out around the mountain.” Her schedule did have her helping out the Sleepers quite a bit, but Elizabeth couldn’t say she minded it that much. While it was a lot of work, it was also humbling to see just how much they did to keep the mountain running every day. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to manage maintaining that pace every day, even with her powers. Also... she enjoyed the fact that she got the chance to talk with Ali every couple of days or so too.

They’d chatted a few more times, and he was really fun to be around. Fairly charming too, when he put in the effort, but most of the time he just helped her relax and feel normal, not standing on any ceremony. She did the same for him, and that plus her first impression of the young man made it hard to really see him as this ‘big important noble,’ despite the fact that he really was. He came around to the mountain as part of ‘learning the family business’ to get a proper sense for what the people working for him did, but a part of her hoped that he also came to the mountain to try and see her, even if she knew for multiple reasons that it was a foolish hope.

“That’s odd. I find our schedules to be fairly light. Only three classes a day, and then aiding the Sleepers every other day. I’ve even heard rumors that some of our group skips those chores.” 

“What?” Elizabeth said, shocked. 

“Uh, they argue that ‘it’ll be a couple years till we need to advance, and no one looks back that far at our behavior, so might as well cut loose a little.’” He hurriedly added, “I’m paraphrasing a bit there, and it’s not something I believe, of course. Just what I heard the others say.” 

“Oh, yeah. I mean, that’s bad, but I was more talking about the three classes thing. I’ve got six, some days with seven, not including our Dream Walking classes.” She’d noticed a couple of students not there with them in that class too, not thinking much of it, probably just rescheduled for them, but now she wondered otherwise.

“Seven classes!?” Dalila exclaimed, loudly slamming her book shut as she did so. A couple of Adepts and even one Master walking through the library turned to glare at her, and she blushed, embarrassed. In a far quieter tone, she added, “Sorry about that, just, seven classes every day? Most of those go on for two or so hours. That can’t be right.” 

“No, that’s about my usual day.” Elizabeth went on to explain her schedule, and her friends gaped at the workload she had.

“Why did you ask to take so many extra classes? We are, theoretically, allowed to take up more classes than are assigned to us if we ask a Master for permission or the Adept who’s teaching the class, but I don’t know why (or how even) you’d stuff your schedule that full.”

“But I didn’t-” she hadn’t asked for it, but hadn’t Dawn said something about a lack of time and her getting strong fast? Dawn, or rather, Master Florian, could have arranged it easily. Elizabeth wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Happy that Dawn thought she could manage so much, or upset that the Master felt the need to push her so hard? She decided to decide on that the next time she saw the woman. 

*** 

Initiate Guiltjoy remained a nuisance in Force class, but after getting some tips from Dalila, Elizabeth was able to get around them (or at least push through and do well enough that it didn’t matter, her skill at Force growing to at least passable). For the most part, though, he didn’t even do much, just hanging out with his own friends, only occasionally making the half-hearted attempt to mess with her. 

She let it go until one day she overheard (via a bit of Folding practice- it wasn’t as disconcerting when she didn’t have to look directly at what she was Folding) a very interesting fact from Fergus. “...So I heard that he made it through the Five Trials. My little cousin Margrave is apparently going to be a rising star in the Eastern Temple.” 

“Like a certain rising star here?” A friend of his asked him. Elizabeth didn’t know who she was, but she always had her nose raised up at other Initiates, as if she smelled something bad from the others that weren’t part of the little clique Fergus Guiltjoy had going on. 

“Ugh, don’t remind me. He asked for my help in removing her from the Trials but it failed. The Tukesh family isn’t that much more important than us Guiltjoys, but it’d be nice to keep up a good connection with a Dream Warrior like him. Personally and generally to ensure the order is close on hand if my family needs it.” 

“Well, you’re still messing with her a bit, right? We can step it up a tad. Me and the others can chip in there too. It’s not like it matters too much; she hasn’t made many friends here.” The girl tried to encourage her friend (and Elizabeth could feel that she wanted to be more than just friends with him), which would have almost been sweet had the subject matter not been about offering to bully her. 

“It doesn’t matter though. Connections are key, and word is she’s got Master Florian in her corner.” 

“Oh shit.” 

“Yeah, no kidding. Must be why she’s gotten good so fast. Ugh, we gotta find a way to get rid of her, before she blows past all of us. I think I might have an idea- Wait, what’s that?” Elizabeth ended the Folding quickly and then zipped down the tunnels to prevent them from learning that she had been spying on them. 

A part of her wanted to give Fergus a piece of her mind, but she also wanted to keep that knowledge secret so that she could be ready for whatever surprises the jerk tried to pull on her. Whatever the noble boy was doing, she’d keep an eye on him

*** 

“So... not that I don’t want to study this exactly, but why are we going over the finer points of the 3rd Great Civil War of Engalia?” Elizabeth asked Dawn. 

The two of them were seated in Dawn’s personal chambers, a room far more extravagant and well-furnished than her own room. Also a lot less used, if the bits of dust she saw on some of the furniture and cabinets were any indication.

It was hardly decadent or anything, just a very noticeable couple of steps up from what the Initiates had. Elizabeth appreciated the comfy seating. There were supposedly ‘on hand’ Sleepers for a Master to help them out, but Dawn had apparently sent hers away a long time ago - she was there too little for them to be of help to anyone. 

“Read this when you get the chance,” the older woman said, passing her a weathered old book titled plainly ‘The Foundation of Our Nation.’. “I understand how busy you are, but I think this will be an enlightening read.” 

“Ok. Should I hand it in at the Library after I’m done?” 

“That might raise a few awkward questions, given it’s from the forbidden section.” 

“Forbidden section? I didn’t know the library had anything like that.” 

“The regular one doesn’t; the higher-level one for Adepts does. It’s quite a bit smaller, though, mostly scrolls on advanced applications of techniques and the like. And also the forbidden section for heretical works.” Elizabeth eyed the old book Dawn had handed her warily, as if it might come alive and bite her at any moment. 

“I... didn’t realize there was much that could be heretical about the Dream Warrior tenets.” They were pretty basic instructions after all: to support life, fight Nightmares and other plagues of the land, and help keep order.

Dawn smiled, but it felt grim. “It does seem pretty easy to follow, doesn’t it? Yet despite that, there are still such texts that are deemed to have ‘turned against the proper way’, which are stored here.” 

“Why do they store them here instead of, I dunno, burning them?” 

“There were some book burnings in the past that Tenga has gotten uneasy about in his later years. As such, he now feels that such a drastic final step shouldn’t be taken for any knowledge, no matter how dangerous, though still keeping it away from public consumption. Anyways, since that book is from there, you should probably just hand it back to me. I can’t meet you again this week, but the week after?” Dawn offered. Elizabeth eagerly nodded; this topic may not be quite as interesting as some of the other ones, but she trusted in the importance of figuring out the economic theories driving the forces of war towards her overall education. 

She was really glad to have Dawn around in general. A lot of ‘sponsors’ did little for the Dream Warriors once they passed the Five Trials, and Dawn was an incredible woman, so even if they could only meet every second week or so, that was still good. She also gave tons of fine-tuned pointers for Elizabeth, so she felt a ton of improvement in her Abilities. Her Folding had gotten to the point that she could use it for short jaunts through the mountain without getting disoriented! 

What exactly Dawn did all the time was still a bit of a mystery to Elizabeth. Some of it was missions, sure; the Dream Warriors were often needed, and the level of aid a Master could bring was far more than any Adept could match, so they’d be in high demand. Yet still, Elizabeth could see gaps in the Master Dream Warriors time, where she was out and about, and might even be using some missions as a smokescreen. Why? The young girl couldn’t say, but she didn’t want to push Dawn either.

When asked why the insane class schedule, Dawn had said, “To make sure you’re prepared in time.” That “You’re like a precious flower, and I’d like the time to bring you to bloom properly, but the season is fast fading, and so I must simply nurture you the best I can while accelerating your progress to give you one last chance at the sun’s rays.” She spoke kind of weird and metaphor-y like that, but Elizabeth got the basic gist of it that she needed to be an Adept first, so she worked tirelessly to achieve that goal fast (and some small part of her also wanted to use it to see her parents, Maya, and Lindsey again, already feeling a bit homesick despite the letters she sent). Soon enough, she’d reach that level, and she could work alongside Dawn. 

*** 

Elizabeth sped along the hallways, finally finding herself getting the hang of Folding enough to use it without getting sick. She wasn’t as proficient in it as she was with the other Abilities though, slower to make faster pathways and the like than she could to heal or set things aflame. It also didn’t make finding her way around the mountain any easier, even if she could move a bit quicker. The tunnels were still confounding to her, which is how she found herself running smack into Adept Terra. 

“Oh, sorry Adept, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” 

“Please, we’re friends; call me Terra.” She hadn’t been so sure of that, not really knowing the guy, but she didn’t feel like contradicting the Adept either. “I see you’ve been playing around with Folding. Don’t worry, I remember plenty of times when I did the same when I was young.” She did raise an eyebrow at that; Terra was only in his mid-twenties after all. 

“Ha, I guess I’m just feeling older the more I prepare for my test of Mastery. And stiff from all my extra duties. Really hope it comes soon.” He seemed slightly nervous about that. Was everyone rushing to improve that much? Well, not everyone; several monks were practically lackadaisical in their improvement approaches, but he and Dawn apparently went to the other extreme. 

“I get that,” Elizabeth commiserated. “I’m feeling beat from all the classes I’m taking, but Dawn really thinks I could be an Adept soon.” 

“She’s pushing you to that so quickly?” Adept Terra surprised her by taking a good, appraising look at her before nodding his head. “I can get that; I’m feeling a lot of power off of you, way more refined too. At least from what I recall back when I showed you around the place.” 

She tried feeling him back the same way, and while she got a sense of a good deal of power (close to what Cain had), she felt a blank, empty plane when feeling for his emotions. Obviously that wasn’t true, but he must have known some trick to concealing what he felt from other Dream Warriors. 

Putting that tidbit of knowledge to the side for the moment, she inquired, “Why do you want to be a Master so quickly? Aside from Dawn, I don’t know of anyone that’s very young as a Master.” Pretty much everyone at the head table was over 50 years old.

“It’s just a ‘dream’ of mine, I suppose.” He chuckled at the joke, and the void concealing his emotions densified, or deepened, something like that. “I have a lot of talent, I know, and I want to show it to the world. It’ll really help me feel like I’ve achieved something, ya know?” She nodded her head, able to understand up to a point. “Still though, that gap I’ve got to clear, it’s a wide one. I’ve been training as hard as I can, but the Masters still don’t seem to think I’m ready, that I’ve improved enough.” 

“Have you tried training with your friends? I’ve found a lot of help in collaborating with some of the other initiates.” Only the ones in her entry group, though, mostly. The others for their part (save Victor, after a lot of reaching out) didn’t seem too inclined to work with her. Or basically anyone else. It was something she’d noticed of late, that the Initiates formed their own little cliques and then seemed unwilling to try and work with others. 

His emotions were still concealed via his own Dream Walking, but that didn’t stop Elizabeth’s eyes from noticing Terra’s smile quickly turn brittle. “Ah, well, you know how it is; us Adepts are crazy busy. The other few I know are probably working on their own ability refinement.” He deflected the conversation topic quickly. “Besides, the nature of this place gets to people. Too much ‘competition’ to the goal of Adept or Master, or to curry favor with those above.” 

“Why is that? Aren’t we an Order? Bound together to fight the forces of evil and keep peace throughout the land and all that?” 

He opened his mouth to speak, then paused, scratching the back of his head. “You know, I don’t know. Dream Warriors tend to work well enough on the missions where we need to be together, but that’s about it. I guess because everyone wants the power and prestige that comes with being a higher rank? That and the ability to boss around anyone beneath you.” 

“You can tell anyone of a lower rank than you what to do? I haven’t seen that.” If it was true, it was quite the worrying fact as well. She wondered if Terra was messing with her since she hadn’t seen any signs of that, even with some people that she knew didn’t like her. 

He chuckled at that. “Well, of course you haven’t; you’ve got Dawn looking out for you! If anyone tried to mess with you, she could put a stop to it flat.” Which would explain why she hadn’t seen anything there. “Heck, even another Master would think twice about it, since if they caused a problem, she could challenge them to a duel.” 

“A duel!?” 

“Sorry about that; that probably sounds a bit more dramatic than it is. None of the duels in the Order are to the death or anything like the historic duels in the kingdom, especially with our ability to heal others. A fatality would have to be a tragic accident or something that would get an Adept kicked out disgracefully. But yeah, if someone has a problem with someone else or what they’re doing and doesn’t have the authority (or backing from other people with the authority) to make them stop, then they can challenge the other to a duel.” 

That was a lot to take in. “I hadn’t noticed that. Too busy studying and training under the schedule Dawn gave me.” She explained her average day to him. 

“A duel is still a fairly rare occurrence. And whoa, that sounds like a lot; Dawn must really think you’ll be able to get to Adept fast. I was almost a record holder for how quickly I became an Adept, and that’s only because I unlocked World Shaker 3 years into my training,” he said, holding up the strange gauntlet he always wore. “I’m surprised you have the time to talk with me like this.” Her eyes widened as she realized that she did not, in fact, have the time to be doing that and remembered where she was trying to run off to.

“Argh, I totally forgot about my advanced Folding class. I just moved up to it- still don’t feel I’m nearly fast or widespread in my Folding enough to be there, but they said since I mastered the basics...” 

“Don’t sweat it; I can help show you around. You kinda ended waaaay off course; this is near the top of the temple. Actually wondered if you were looking for Grandmaster Tenga, being up this far.” 

“Is this where he usually is? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before.” A new group of initiates had even come in, and Tenga again hadn’t been there for the grand feast, the speech handled by Master Poro again.

“He flits about a lot; I’ve even heard him joke once about ‘being a free spirit.’ Well, half-joking anyways, there have been times he’s left the Temple even with people watching the door, and no one’s seen a thing, leaving or coming back. He’s around sometimes, though you might have missed those dinners, helping prepare them so much. I think he’s just busy helping out the rest of Engalia often, or preoccupied in his own meditations. It’s amazing how little he rests. Despite setting up the Dream Warrior order 700 years ago, creating the temples, being the Temple Master of Central (even if a lot of that work is offloaded to Master Poro), and stabilizing the queendom all throughout its reign, he’s supposedly never taken a break, always off making sure Engalia is safe, and I can believe it. I wonder if when I become Master I’ll be enlightened enough to gain a bit of insight into everything he does.” 

“Huh. I noticed Dawn’s pretty busy too most times, striving to help protect the land. I guess that’s why she doesn’t fill in as the ‘Temple Master.’. She still makes time to see me and help teach me a few things, though, which is really incredible too.” The more she learned, the more Elizabeth was even more awed at times by what they could do, or the interest they had taken in her, even with her getting stronger and stronger with her abilities day by day.

He looked thoughtful for a moment as they walked down the tunnels, then smiled. “That’s really good. I didn’t know too much about Dawn before, but she sounds like a great Dream Warrior- moreso than what I’d already heard anyways. I should talk to her sometime; she might have some pointers for me for my test. You were right about reaching out to others.” 

“That’s a good idea, though I find her to be very twisty and complicated in her teaching approach. She’s very casual about most interactions but likes to make people see underneath things and come to their own conclusions about the lessons, not one to directly point it out to them.” 

“Good to know,” he nodded thoughtfully, taking that in. 

“Do you have any plans after becoming a Master Dream Warrior? Like Temple Master or anything? You’ll have a lot more time ahead of you once you do, even if you’re not Tenga,” she dug lightly at Terra. He was friendly enough, but there were definitely secrets to him, or it felt like it at least. 

“Honestly, I haven’t thought that much ahead. Master is a pretty big goal by itself, and Temple Master, while nice, is very constraining. Also, not truly an option here, unless... I really am Tenga Hashreem!” He held an overly dramatic, silly pose for a moment before breaking down into laughter with her. 

Once they had composed themselves, he continued. “No, no, I don’t think I’d want to do anything like that. The other issue is that it doesn’t even involve skill, just tons of bootlicking to whoever’s currently in charge because they get to choose their successor, and everyone else at Master rank is either doing their own thing or aiming for that spot.” 

“Skill really doesn’t matter?” 

“Well, it matters. I doubt anyone without an Individual Ability could make it in the running. Ok, someone as crazy strong as Dawn could, but she’s the exception. Most everyone else would need one- heck, a lot of Temple Masters are famed for their Individual Abilities. But after that level of skill, which many of the people who were strong enough to become Master are strong enough to reach, it’s more about which one is best liked by the current Temple head than who’s the strongest.” 

After a slight pause to let her take that in, Terra’s eyes lit up like he remembered something (or like a good cover for trying to deflect attention away from anything that could pry further into his own desires). “I’m just rambling on and on when I’m supposed to be helping guide you through the temple. I really am becoming an old man. One step closer to mastery, he joked before saying. “And speaking of that, do you see that torch over there?” He asked, pointing at the torch on the wall. 

She nodded, “Yeah?” 

“It’s got three pronged points on the handle; from that you can tell that this tunnel is one of the ‘express’ passageways, with fewer intersections than some of the others, as well as tending to curve downward around the Great Tree. Now, this next section is...” 

*** 

“Hey, Elizabeth!” Derrick called over to her from the field they were at. He, (Initiate) Tenga, and Quentin were all hanging about, playing some very odd game of catch with a ball they had found. 

“Hey guys, what’s up?” Elizabeth said, adjusting a load of laundry she’d been carrying. 

“We were just playing a game of Dunkball. Want to join us?” 

She shook her head. “I don’t think I have the time, sorry. I’ve got some chores I’m slotted to do.” 

Quentin looked surprised. “Again? We see you helping out all the time; hasn’t your schedule slowed down? We’ve only got to help out once a week now.” 

“Yeah, but I’m happy to help. The Sleepers do tons for us so we can train and get strong to fight things like Nightmares, so I like to feel that I can pull my own weight too, at least a little bit.”

“They do help us a lot, don’t they?” Derrick asked rhetorically, looking at the Sleepers bustling about. “Alright, we can lend you a hand.” 

“What? You guys don’t have to do that; I didn’t want to interrupt your free time.” 

Tenga waved her off. “Please, we should help out a bit more too; we always see you and the Sleepers running around to help with stuff.” 

“Besides, if we all work together, it’ll make the job a lot faster, maybe even give you the time to play with us for a bit,” Quentin added. 

“Alright, thanks, guys.” They proceeded to help her do some of the laundry, which was a more complicated task than they had thought with a surprising amount of robes to be cleaned. With all four of them, though, they got the job done in record time, leaving Elizabeth enough time to join them in a game of... something. She honestly didn’t get all the rules, and despite them all being from bigger cities than her home, she wasn’t sure ‘Dunkball’ was an ‘official’ game, with their penalties of hopping on one leg for fouls and throwing the ball in empty baskets for points. Certainly nothing like she’d ever heard of. Also some of the most carefree fun she’d had in a while. Elizabeth was glad she had friends like them and hoped despite the cliquey and rivalry attitudes of the temple they’d always stay that way. 

*** 

‘Dear Lindsey, 

It’s been another few weeks. The pace I’m going at is honestly killer, but I guess it's just because Dawn sees potential in me? That’s nice at least, though I’m hoping I can take things a bit slower once I become an Adept.

How are you? You said Margrave finally left in your last letter, so hopefully things have been a bit easier around town without that jerk. I was glad to hear the hammers helped with your forge work; I thought of you the moment I saw it at the capital. Did I tell you I got to meet the Queen there? I don’t think I did last time, too focused on the Five Trials and getting used to the Temple, but I got to meet Queen Peragrine! Only for a brief time, but still. She’s apparently a very close friend of Dawn. 

Fergus (that initiate that tried to stop me from taking the trials) has continued to be a jerk, but he has a secret plan against me, but I overheard him, so I’ll be ready. I hope. I’m getting along with some of the other Initiates at least, and Victoria, who’s an Adept, and we practice Fix together. Terra seems nice enough but... also like there’s something off about him too. I dunno, maybe too paranoid with him cutting off people from sensing his emotions with Dream Walking (yeah, turns out that’s a thing we can do too), but that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong.

She thought about putting something about Ali in it but left it out. Too confusing for even her to figure out yet, plus it might be paranoia again, but she wasn’t sure if anyone else would read the letter, and she wouldn’t want any Dream Warriors to see that.

Anyways, things are good here. I’m settling in and getting used to things. I hope you’re doing well, and make sure to check in on Maya every so often, ok? She might put on a brave face, but I’m sure she’s feeling a bit upset with me gone. 

Elizabeth sent out letters to her sister too, of course (as well as her parents), but that really wasn't the same as being there would be. She hoped Maya was doing ok, but the younger girl wasn’t as good at writing, so she hadn’t gotten many letters back from her. 

With best wishes, 

Elizabeth Wry’ 

With her letter finished, she went up to the aviary to put the letter with the Adepts there. Not many people sent letters, at least not as often as she did, but the place was still pretty well guarded as the only real means of outside communication for the Initiates. She left the place with a smile on her face, thinking about what she wrote and how it was true. She was making friends, and things overall were going well.