Section Author: 'Zool'

The child ran the celestial reaches, distracted from star streams to comet tails, laughing as he danced through spectral veils, the suns of a thousand nebulous beaches tanning the hands that darted here, and there, and there.

Nearby, the Dreamweaver travailed, her usually swift fingers now flying. It was not usually in her nature to wonder at the increased cosmic stresses vectered in her astral loom, but she did wonder at the force of it of late, for it was not like anything she had ever seen.

Carefully examining a sprouting sun which was just emerging from the heavenly firmament, the child felt someone standing behind him. He turned to see a large dark figure standing over him.

The figure stepped into the light, revealing a very tall, old man, in a pointed wizard’s hat, and a flowing Wizard's gown. His clothing was all a very dark blue, with arcane symbols in a glowing violet thread woven throughout. He had a very long, very thick white beard, over which peered soft, kind eyes, and a long thin hooked nose. He carried a long wizard's staff, the grain of the wood squirming with an internal light, and the crystal at the top gleaming a pure white beacon light.

The wizard held something out to the child. The child looked at it blankly, for he was not used to seeing strangers in the Dreamweaver's realm, before returning his gaze to the soft kind eyes.

The wizard's eyes creased, and the child knew the wizard smiled wide, and a wink decided to set the child at ease. Smiling, the child took what the Wizard was offering him, what appeared to be a chip of wood, sanded thin. The child looked to the Wizard again, who tipped his head in the Dreamweaver's direction. The child took off as directed.

"Here," said the child to the Dreamweaver over the looms din. She pigeonholed the shuttle, and let her limbs slow to rest. Taking the woodchip from his tiny hand she turned it over curiously, wood being rather unnatural where there are only ghosts of trees.

"Where did you get this?" she asked.

"From him," said the by, pointing from where he had just come. They both turned to look, but no figure was to be seen, only endless cosmic expanse...

The woman and the child looked at each other, both somewhat confused. She took another, closer look at the object in her hand. She felt something odd about it. It felt... bulkier than it looked. She felt it carefully, and definitely felt something there that could not be seen. She held it up to the astral light, and then, out of the corner of her eye, she was able to catch a glimpse of a long crystal thread, wound round and around the piece of wood. "It is a skein of thread!" she exclaimed, "The likes of which I've never seen." Her wondering eyes scoured the object now, looking for whatever else it could tell, and there, in an ink almost the color of the silvered wood it was written on, were the words;

"You will be needing this soon. -The Wizard Chronos"

*******

Yui flew through the storm, the staccato hoofbeats below her a tympanic backbeat to the rumbling thunder in the clouds and the stinging rush of the rain in her eyes and on her face. Brilliant strokes of lightning briefly illuminated the roiling depths of the storm she had been riding towards since leaving her and Aegon's countries.

She knew she should slow down, had known it for a dozen leagues. The gelding was a spirited beast, but the foam now ran freely from his mouth, and his wind whistled over the din of the storm.

She had left the forest behind some time ago, and was now coming to the end of a wide meadow at the base of a tall rocky mountain. Leaping over a raging creek, she unexpectedly hit shale on the other side. The horse skidded and bucked, nearly throwing Yui, but both managed to maintain their positions. Regaining their pace, they resumed their flight through the rain, the wind, and the night.

Yui rode league after league. The ground was much rockier and muddier now, the bushes sparse and leafless, looking like overgrown spiders, legs everywhere, hairy and misshapen, starkly outlined by the constant strobing of the cloud lightning. The going kept getting steeper, but a trail had appeared between the bushes, making it a little easier. The wind kept rising, from a moan, to a roar, to a shriek.

Constantly on her mind was the certain knowledge that they had Aegon, that he was in deadly peril, and only by coming as fast as possible did she have any chance of saving him - a chance she was uncertain still existed. She resolutely did not think about it, but kept riding, kept spurring her gelding on.

Deeper in her mind, was the sucking darkness. It was palpable now, almost a part of her, seemingly growing stronger and colder by the second. But whenever she tried to look at it, all she saw was her fright and horror that it was too late to save Aegon. Must save Aegon... The thought was overriding. All uncertainty was driven from her mind in a frenzy. All she wanted was to go faster. There was no doubt of where to go, she felt absolutely certain of where she was going, nor did she think to question why that was so.

Lightning flashed. She saw that she was almost to the top of the mountain. Ahead of her, at the end of a lonely winding track, was a castle. Tall and imposing, the appearance was eerie and dreamlike. She saw no lights, but could see it clearly, even through the storm. She did not stop to wonder at this, but put her head down and spurred the gelding on.

The wind shrieked around her, but was behind her now, seemingly pushing her on, her ebon cloak actually flowing out in front of the horse. The rain was no longer fresh, as she would expect, but seemed to carry the taint of sulfur. The thunder in the clouds was louder, deeper, slower, and the lightning was muted, with a reddish tinge. The closer she got to the open castle gate, the easier it seemed to get. Then, she felt an odd shift in energy...

Suddenly a bolt of pure energy from the sky touched down directly in front of her. She was immediately blinded by the intense blue afterglow in her retinas, and the thundercrack rang in her ears. The startled horse bucked and reared, throwing Yui off. The last thing she remembered was flying through the air, before landing on the rock strewn ground into unconsciousness.