The Divine Mage

Dreamland.

It was something the diviner had read in passing before in her youth in Bellum. She wasn’t fully familiar with the whole bit though, just that there was a tale of it being a place of fantasies come true. Or something to that effect. Gaia wasn’t quite sure anymore. It had been far too long since she had read the book, if she were honest. She no longer had access to the book any longer. Any research she could try to dig up on it has yet to yield any results to the mage on her iLac. She would have to go to the Neutral Grounds to find out about this place more in depth.

The carriage makes its stop right in front of a building within the Neutral Grounds and she steps out gingerly as she is wearing a yellow, polkadot bikini halter top with tassels hanging off of the bottom of it, a brown skirt with a yellow hip cape above it. Her legs bore a pair of tanned, knee high stockings with a pair of brown chunky heeled boots as well. She, of course, was wearing all of Olga’s designs yet again.

She makes her way towards the entrance of the building that she was to go to, only to be met with a female bursting out of the building and racing towards her to grab her by the biceps. “You’re the mage that they sent to try and help me out, yes?”

“Uh… yes? Hello, I am Gaia Sabin-Dyer.” The dark haired mage mused sweetly. Her blue glasses were pushed up softly and she glanced at the building.

“Good! Come in! Come in! I need to tell you about Dreamland. Okay, so there was this place called Dreamland, and it’s basically where dreams and spirits all reside. It was once one with Earthland and everyone communicated with one another harmoniously. Men eventually wanted more and the spirits kinda branched off and wanted their own place while people slept. Thus the two were ripped apart. Cool huh?” Woman says as she leads Gaia towards a room with sleep pods. Gaia blinked as she looked to the woman and opened her mouth. “Oh! I’m Doctor Selene Alvarez! I am working on finding all I can about Dreamland and making it a reality again. Currently Dreamland is uh… well the king who separated it from Earthland suddenly wants to have Earthland as well and rule over both. My crew was studying it here because the lack of magic here helps connect it to Dreamland… and well, my fellow crew went under some sleep and are all currently experiencing nightmares… wrought upon by the Dreamland king…”

Gaia waited till Dr Alvarez stopped talking for a brief moment before she cleared her throat. “I’ll help however I can.”

As soon as those words left her lips, Dr Alvarez grabbed both of Gaia’s hands in her own and held them tight. “You sure?! There is a high chance you may never wake up again!”

“I’m a summoner, I have spirits with me. If Dreamland is truly a spirit plane, then my spirits should also be there as well.” She nods confidently. And with that, the dark haired diviner is given a sleeping potion and leads to the sleep pod. Noya, was looking worried but seemed to want in on the thing as well, stealing a sip of the sleeping potion before laying next to her master in the sleep pod. “Please, make sure my husband is notified if I don’t get woken up. Then he can give me a lecture for being reckless.” She muses to Dr Alvarez, who snorts back and nods to the summoner before closing the pod and Gaia closed her own eyes gingerly. Noya made her way up towards Gaia’s shoulder and snuggled herself happily into her master's neck.

It only took a matter of minutes before Gaia fell into a deep sleep and felt herself floating into another world almost.

The Divine Mage

The diviner slowly opened her eyes and was greeted with a colorful place. It seemed similar to earthland, but the people seemed to ride around on various types of brooms. She was in an alleyway, with both garbage and a few other people. Slowly, she rose to her feet, hand instantly going up to touch Noya to keep her on her shoulder.

“Dreamland definitely isn’t Earthland.” She murmurs to her pet as she looks behind her. The people were clearly those who looked poor, but something about this world seemed off to the divine mage.

Screaming down the road outside of the alley got the dark haired woman's attention again and she inched closer to it to see what was going on. A short redhead was running away from a group of people who were flying on brooms. The people… didn’t exactly seem like people though. They seemed like grotesque versions of people. The redhead running away didn’t see them as so, or maybe they did? These could be the nightmares that Dr Alvarez was talking about before. She had to figure out how to help stop them from happening and wake this person up.

A mew was heard from behind Gaia and she turned to see a black cat casually walking up to her. The cat seemed like it knew something as it glanced towards the little person running away. She then shifted into a humanistic person. “You’re not a part of this dream… Are you here to help her?” The bright green catlike eyes staring into the woman before her as her tail flicked in annoyance. The bell softly jingled in a stray wind, but the cat didn’t move.

“Do you know what’s going on?”

The feline nods as she sighs, her long black lashes covering her eyes. “A nightmare of her past. I am her familiar. A companion or guide, if you will. And I couldn’t guide her out of this. You feel different than the others… and the nightmares.”

Gaia’s burnt sienna eyes grew wide. “Of her past?” She turns to look at the person running. They looked like a child, and a boy. She pointed towards the little girl, and raised an eyebrow to her, only for the cat to nod. “I am here to help… I’m not sure how to defeat these nightmares though… especially si- wait.” She knew how to help, this was similar to what she grew up with, but minus money.

The Divine Mage

She started to walk out in the road and grabbed onto the arm of the young woman and held her to her. Her eyes glared at the monstrosities as she did so. The little short woman nearly tumbled into the darker haired woman who was just a head taller than her. Gaia stood there as she kept her eyes locked on the nightmare creatures.

“This doesn’t seem like Fiore. And I believe I saw you in a Sorcerer’s Magazine before with the Rune Knights.” The divine mage says as she glances at the smaller person briefly before back at the nightmares. “If you are in the Rune Knights, you must be strong, correct?”

That question got the smaller woman to pause as she looked up to her. She nodded slowly, but glanced towards the nightmare creatures. “They’re much stronger than me though…” Of course to the diviner the voice sounded rather neutral to her, but she didn’t bother with it. The feline from earlier talked about her as if she was a female, so that was what she would refer to her as until otherwise mentioned.

Gaia held her hand out and a staff formed in her hand. It wasn’t the old Ryaqold staff that she was used to… it was actually Divinus in all of her splendor. The dragons had decked it out with their own touch as well. Little vines, water marks, melted lava and twisty pieces were added onto it to represent the elements as the legendary sword was glowing softly. Turns out, Divinus was once a celestial weapon. And Stroke, the famous swordswoman, harnessed that celestial power well. She glanced over her shoulder towards the little redhead who was partially hiding behind her.

It seemed her presence here was a shock to these nightmares. They didn’t know what to make of the diviner.

The Divine Mage

“I highly doubt that you are a weak mage. Especially since you’ve been in the Sorcerer's Magazine with the Rune Knights.” She says as she puts her staff across her. “If you don’t think you’re strong enough alone… work with me and we can be strong enough together.”

Gaia’s eyes were glued to the nightmares now.

The little redhead looked up at the determined look that the woman before her held, and her brown eyes started to form water. No one believed in her like that. She gripped her hand as she looked around her to the nightmares. “You think I can be strong enough?”

“I know you can. You’re a Rune Knight. I know they train you to be strong, take pride in the occupation, and do their best to protect Fiore and the people within it. You live there now… do you not?” Gaia glanced at her and smirked to her once more before her attention was at the nightmare that decided to come and attack.

Before the woman had a chance to do anything, the little redhead quickly threw herself in front of her and flung a wand out while yelling something that she wasn’t familiar with. Fire came from the wand and the nightmare instantly reeled back to get away from the little woman in front of her.

She was breathing heavily for a moment as she kept her offensive position. “I am Wren Hayden! Warrant Officer of the Rune Knights! I have gone on plenty of missions with my squad! I have grown stronger!” She cries out.

The diviner’s eyes grew wide as she watched the little redhead shout and look ready to fight as if she wasn’t there. A smile grew on her lips before she waved her own staff and let her own fire come from the tip of it. Keeping the nightmares back.

The Divine Mage

The diviner was pleased with how this was starting to turn out as the two were keeping them back rather well. They were making progress on making them back up, even the little redhead’s feline came back to them, but the feline wasn’t speaking like it had been earlier to Gaia, or was humanoid really… She wondered how she knew that the feline was the one that she spoke to before, but only ended up suspecting that the feline was a spirit of sorts and that’s how she knew.

“You’RE weAk!” A scraggled cry came out of one of the nightmares. “YoU’Re NotHIng! YOu CAn’T wIN AnyThiNG!”

“I am stronger! I can make potions that work! I am able to levitate and do most things other’s of Sailkia have been able to do!” The little redhead said as she pointed her wand to the ground, causing the ground to shake as she did so.

Gaia was pulled back by the arm of the little one to not be caught in the ‘earthquake’ and watched as the nightmares seemed to have trouble standing still. The feline jumped nearby as well, standing between her master's legs. A smile formed on her lips as she realized that the girl wasn’t afraid anymore, moving to squat down near her. “You know… you’re dreaming, right? I think you’ve conquered your fear and should wake up now. They can’t hurt you.” She muses as she glanced back at the girl, who blinked for a moment, patting her cheek to figure out if she’s really dreaming.

“Bullshit… If I was, I could dream that I have wings.” She stopped there as indeed, she sprouted wings and lifted up in the air above the ground. She went wide eyed and looked at them before she let up a yelp from falling. Before she hit the ground, she and the cat poofed out of existence, making the diviner believe that they woke up.

She stood up as she glanced towards the nightmares that were surrounding her from before. They were growling and upset that their prey was gone. She took one step and instantly the scenery around her had changed.

She was now standing within a tall circular room with a piano near the windows that surrounded the majority of the room. There was an armrest chair and a sofa nearby with a circular end table in between them, both facing the piano. Some things were knocked over and in the middle stood a rather tall man with his head hung low. What the diviner could see was black and white hair split near the middle. She took a step back and bumped into a vase that was on a pedestal near the door. She was quick to turn around and catch the vase, but she got the attention of the man. His bloodshot pale blue eyes looked at her with utter shock that she was even there. He looked like he had been crying.

“Who are you…?” His voice was hoarse. Indeed he had been crying. “You here to kill me next? My family wasn’t enough? Are you here to come after my pets next?!”

A growl came from behind Gaia as she turned to see a dalmatian behind her. “Oh, she’s pretty… No, I'm not here to kill you. I’m here to save you.” She says as she looks back to the man, who had pulled out a wand with a dog collar on the end of it. He didn’t seem amused. Before she could do anything else, Noya managed to pop her head up from the couch and scurried over to Gaia. “Noya? How’d you get there?” She questions as she looks to her shoulder. The creature usually stayed there, but it appears the shift of scenery moved the ferrets' location as well.

Noya climbed Gaia’s legs and was back up on her shoulders once again before she glanced towards the man once again. She wasn’t sure how she was going to figure this one out. She didn’t see the smokey nightmare creatures. Yet at least.

The Divine Mage

The man looked at Gaia’s shoulder, and squinted. The white ferret made no move at the growling dog behind its master. Either it was trained well, or it had no fear. The short woman held her hands up as she made her way to the sofa, sitting down gently as she looked to the window. The sun was setting on this sparkling room.

“What happened here?” She questions the man as he looks down at her. The dog was still growling at the intruder, inching closer towards the center of the room. As the dog got closer to the couch, the ferret jumped onto the armrest and began hissing at the dog, making the dog reel back in surprise. “Noya… not okay.” The woman chided the animal before the ferret looked back and chirped at her master. “No.” Her voice was stern, like a mothers.

The man looked at the woman who calmly sat there, much like a person of wealth, like himself. He slowly rested himself on the edge of the armchair making a motion with his hand for the dog to quiet down and come sit down next to him. “You said you came here to save me…? They already took my family. My young-”

He choked up as he closed his eyes and hung his head briefly. He couldn’t bear to continue talking.

Gaia frowns as she leaned forward and puts a hand on his knee. “I can assure you, they’re all fine. This is a dream that you’re currently unable to wake up from.” She smiles sweetly to him. Noya chirped and nodded as well. “What were they that attacked here?” She questions as he was looking confused. She wasn’t going to explain any further.

“Who… are you?”

She sat up straight and smiled sweetly as she tilted her head. “Gaia Sabin-Dyer. Daughter of Bartolomeu and Bellona Sabin of Bellum. The owners of the Sabin travel company.” She had her right leg crossed over her left knee and her hands folded neatly on her right knee. “Can I ask for your name as well?”

He takes a deep breath and nods. “Valéry Phacelia, owner of C.J. Renard, Men’s Attire. And one of the heir’s of house Phacelia.”

Gaia smiles at him. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

The Divine Mage

Valéry sighs and holds his hand out to her. “Pleasure is mine I suppose… I feel I’ve seen you before. Are you a model?”

Gaia blinked as she raised an eyebrow to him. “I am a model, with Olga Wilson. She’s my exclusive designer as well.” The man scoffed as he opened his mouth to say something, but the doors to the room had something hard crash against them. The two noble people stood up and faced the door. “Remember. This is just a dream. Nothing is real. There are nightmares roaming about. If you face this, you can wake up.” She takes a deep breath and holds out her hand for one of her staff’s to materialize in her hands.

Within her hands a staff made of earth and wood, and was adorned with Joyan decorations appeared in her hand. She pressed the butt of the staff to the ground, smirking to herself as she was happy that this still worked. “Don’t take revenge on your nightmares. But face them and let them know you’re not afraid.” She says as she leans the top of the staff forward as the doors burst open. She lifted up the staff and slammed the but at the ground again. The ground began cracking from the end of the staff and around the area towards the door.

The man glanced over to her before looking back at the door, holding up his wand as he glared at the door.

A bang came at the door again.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

CRASH!

In came several people through the now broken door.

The diviner’s eyes opened wide for a moment as she saw the grotesque looks of the people before her. One she recognized, as he looked similar to Valéry, especially in hair style. She had seen him on the cover of a sorcerers magazine before. The difference though, the skin seemed like it was graying, and the veins were looking blackish.

The dalmatian started to growl and whimper at the same time right next to her owner as she looked onto the people they knew.

“They’re not real.”

“They’re only a nightmare.” She had to reassure him before they figured out a way to help him face these zombies. “They’re illusions.”

The Divine Mage

“Right… not real. Zombies. I’m asleep.” He growls to himself as he looks straight on to the hoard. More specifically, the person who looked similar to him. “He’s still alive… they’re still alive… No one’s gone.” He growls as he steps forward.

Gaia looked towards the group and kept her staff ready. The man walked forward and she tapped the butt of the staff in the ground, cracking it and getting pieces of the earth up in the air as she watched him do as he was. She was preparing for a fight, just in case.

The zombies were getting agitated with how he calmly walked to them, then they began to jump at him. His dog let up a growl and seemed to almost shove a couple of them away from her master.

The diviner let the rocks that she broke from the floor fling at some of them to slow them down, intending not to hurt them much.

As soon as the man got to the grayed white haired one, his arms reached out and he began to hug him while the zombie flailed in his arms. His dog was seeming confused and highly concerned as he continued to hold onto the zombie as it sunk its teeth into his shoulder.

“A little heads up at what you’re doing would be lovely!” She pulled out a key from her belt and looked at it while being a bit concerned over a thought she was having. “Please work. I open Venus’ Barrier!” She held the key out while seeming a bit surprised it actually worked!

An angelic woman appeared before the summoner as she looked back at Gaia. “We’re not in the mortal realm?”

“No, we’re not. And I need your help. He’s being harmed here in the Dreamland realm.”

Venus looked at the man being bitten, and frowned as she wasn’t sure what exactly she should do to help him. Things worked differently here. She then holds out her hands and tries to heal him anyways as Noya climbs up his back and tries to separate the two from one another.