Dreamscape: Infinity (Book 1)

by L. R. Wolf

  The Charmed Dark Trooper raised his hands to his helmet, but rather than remove it he pointed to his neck where the helm met the chest plate. Aya peered closer and could see that it had been welded together so that the trooper couldn’t remove it. In fact, the more Aya looked, the more she could see where the entirety of the armor had been welded together, the only thing not welded were the joints, so that they would be able to move and attack.

  “Can you speak?” Aya raised an eyebrow when the Charmed Dark Trooper raised his hand to where his mouth should be and placed it there, almost like he was covering his mouth. Before she could do or say much more, the glowing eyes blazed brighter, shifting from white back to the previous yellow. He raised his sword to strike at Aya, but Elohwa, who was always close to the dreamer put an arrow through the center of the visor. The glow faded from its eyes. Aya knelt down beside the vanquished trooper and peered into the visor only to see nothing but darkness within. With a shrug, she rose to her feet and turned her attention back to the battle.

  Aya cast Fire Shield on only those within her party and the NPC guards. Dreamers had become annoyed because they would get less experience if Aya’s shield was on them. Thorn and Aya continued to quickly decimate the Dark Archers. Between Thorn’s vines inflicting poison and Burn with Aya’s buff and the Fire Domes, they hadn’t stood a chance. Elohwa and Voksil were helping the Guards clean up the Troopers that had gotten too close before they started in on the Troopers that were fighting Dreamers. Both of them were smart enough not to interfere with a Dreamer unless it looked like they absolutely needed help.

  Aya continued casting heal spells, modifying them as she went into area effect spells. She managed to create smart heals that would bounce from wounded to wounded rather than trying to heal someone who didn’t need it and waste the mana. The basic heal over time spell was fifty health a tick for ten seconds. She managed to modify it into a smart heal over time in that it would act like a buff, but wouldn’t trigger unless the person was damaged. If they were healed back up to full, then the regen would pause until the person was damaged again. This way instead of fifty health a tick for ten seconds it became fifty health per tick when injured up to ten ticks. With these new smart heals, she was able to constantly keep people healed without wasting time or mana with accidental over healing.

  The second wave took nearly fifteen minutes to finish. At this rate, they would be fighting multiples waves at once by the end. Aya frowned as she looked to her party, Elohwa and Voksil were cleaning their blades before sheathing them once more while Thorn was looting the bodies that their party had helped to kill. It was going to be a very long twenty four hours.

  ****

  Aya checked the clock in her interface. The last twenty two hours had gotten more chaotic with each new wave. More and more Troops came with every wave, each more difficult than the last and each wave adding a new element. The first wave was pure melee Troops, then came the archers. After that, they had their own healers, mages, wizards, rangers. This latest wave had added necromancers. The other Dreamers no longer cared if Aya cast her strongest fire spells, considering they helped to curb the necromancers by destroying the bodies of their enemies before they could be raised.

  During the night, Aya had watched Dreamers come and go as they woke up within the real world to start their day. Many of the Dreamers who were only now falling asleep and entering the world had been watching streams of the battles going on in and around all of the starter villages. She had already seen a few familiar names come and go during the night as friends and guildmates came to assist in Sorrent. Whenever she met their eyes, they would nod towards her, but they respectfully kept their distance and refrained from messaging her. They all knew how difficult this was for her, and they didn’t wish to add to her pain. They knew that Aya would come to them when she was ready.

  Some of the lesser populated villages had already fallen and had been turned to nothing more than ash. Va'lore had been wise enough to send mages to each village who could open a portal to Eventide keep so that the NPC’s who were forced to retreat away from their villages had someplace to go and recover from the battles.

  Voksil had woken up in the middle of the sixth wave, his Avatar abruptly disappearing. They had exchanged messages throughout the day and he had been watching the streams and keeping them up to date about what was happening in the rest of the villages. Elohwa and Aya were catching naps here and there when they could, but they had been running purely on potion infused energy for the last four hours. Voksil had returned between the nineteenth and twentieth waves, but the three had returned to Eventide Falls to spend an hour with their children before they would have to be logged out of the Dreamscape. Elohwa and Thorn joined them for the brief respite. They had returned during the twenty secondth wave amid absolute pandemonium. Three waves were assaulting the village, the Dreamers had fallen so far behind during their absence. They had managed to bring the fighting under control, but they still had at least one and a half waves still on the field, with another one only minutes away from being unleashed. Their only saving grace was now that some of the villages had fallen, other Dreamers had made their way to those still standing to continue the battle.

  Aya threw out patches of Entangling Vines for Thorn to absorb so he could heal and bulk up while Elohwa was assisting with Fire Domes and healing. Elohwa’s skill with fire had grown drastically considering she had been forced to switch from her bow and blades to help Aya keep the necromancers at bay. It appeared that not many Dreamers had been able to obtain any fire spells with which to experiment and develop their own spells. Voksil was in the thick of the Troops, his enormous blade cleaving through any Troops who dared get too close to either him or the two women. Between Voksil and Thorn, nothing was getting through to the women.

  “WATCH YOUR LEFT!” Elohwa yelled out as a massive black beast bore down on Voksil. He rolled away from the beast while at the same time bringing his sword across in an arc underneath the giant War Bear, the sword easily slicing open its belly as it passed over him.

  Aya cast Smart Delayed Regeneration on Voksil before casting the area effect version on the Dreamers and Guards who were in the midst of their own battles.

  A horn blasted somewhere in the distance signifying the advance of the newest wave. Mounted Troops rushed across the battlefield. Aya and Elohwa cast Ice Storms in an attempt to slow their movements as well as their attacks, but the enemy mages riding behind them just dispelled the ice with a wave of their hands. Fortunately for Aya, since fire attacks were currently her chosen school for the purpose of the unique Foci she was wearing, those particular attacks could not be dispelled. Aya and Elohwa had elongated their walls so that they were longer. They continued to encase the ranged Troops within the circular rotating Fire Domes to whittle them down while ranged Dreamers peppered them with arrows and magic from afar.

  “Come on, we got this! Take these bastards down and then one more wave to go!!” One of the Dreamers who had taken a healing role was in the back yelling encouragements to the others. It worked. A rallying cry went up amongst the Dreamers and the Guards as they roared their anger and defiance at the Dark Troops.

  Notifications flashed across Aya’s screen as more villages were overwhelmed with the latest wave.

  The Wood Elf Village of Vespa has fallen!

  The Ogre Village of Rilat has fallen!

  The Barbarian Village of K’Tal has fallen!

  The Avian Village of Ayre has fallen!

  Aya angrily swiped her arm across her body dismissing the notifications as well as setting another Fire Dome in motion. This one, however, was different. This Fire Dome was imbued with her emotions and was a wall of snapping, roaring blue flame as it slowly moved across the battlefield. Flames licked out from the wall engulfing anything it came in contact with. Dark Troops, Archers, Rangers, Beast Lords, Necromancers, Mages, Wizards, Warlocks, all fell before the fury of the flame. The wall pushed back all of the Troops that had been embroiled among
st the Dreamers and Guards, giving them a breather.

  Elohwa looked back at Aya in surprise to see her Dreamer’s eyes literally ablaze with power. Blue flames surrounded her fists and had already traveled up her arms and down the rest of her body full enveloping her in the blue flames. With a flick of her wrist, Aya cast Fire Storm over the Troops behind the Fire Dome, blue fire raining down on them from above causing everything it touched to Burn.

  More and more Dreamers were arriving in Sorrent, since this was the last village remaining and forces were rallying here. No one wanted to admit defeat, so they flocked here for redemption. A seemingly endless barrage of spells landed within the Dark Army, their effects amplified by the Burn status. The few melee troops who made it past the Fire Dome were greeted with arrows and spells. A few twitchy melee Dreamers were rushing out to meet them to get some hits in for experience before they were felled by those at range. Most Dreamers had given up and had opted to try their hand at archery or magic just so they could get at least a small amount of experience and some loot. Occasionally, Thorn was able to pull some of the unluckier Dark Troops to within melee range, otherwise, his vines were always out searching for loot or a victim to deliver unto death.

  Voksil was working on his own magical skills as Aya had taught him everything she knew. He took his vast gaming knowledge and created even more new spells. Combining the Storm spell with the healing and regeneration spells he created a Healing Rain spell over the village. Guards and Dreamers alike were instantly healing from their wounds between the Smart heals, heals over time and this latest Healing Rain. Both Dreamers and NPC’s were so focused on the advancing army that no one noticed or cared about who was casting what.

  “LAST WAVE IN TWO MINUTES!” A Dreamer shouted from the frontlines. The warning was picked up and yelled by multiple Dreamers as it was passed through the crowd. Elohwa and Voksil turned their attention to refreshing buffs on the battle weary defenders, while Aya was casting seemingly continuous fire spells one after the other, decimating the enemy ranks and thinning them further.

  The second the wave timer expired, a deafening bellow erupted from the sky causing Dreamers and NPC’s to cover their ears. An enormous shape moved in front of the moon, casting a terrifying shadow over the entire village. Dreamers were looking skyward as a massive black body dove towards the village, its giant maw opened and unleashed a stream of dark magic that incinerated everything in its path. Buildings burst into flame, Guards and Dreamers screamed in pain as their flesh burned. Voksil cast his Healing Rain spell while Elohwa cast Thunder Storm, unleashing a torrent of rain upon the village to douse the flames that threatened to consume it.

  “DRAAAAGGGGOOOONNNNN!!” The Guard Commander yelled across all chat channels. A very large, lithe Dragon landed in the midst of the battlefield crushing some Dark Troops beneath its incredible bulk. Rather than physical wings, the wings were born of pure dark magic, invisible except for when the moonlight revealed their presence. Fur covered its head, back and legs. Burning red eyes scanned the battlefield looking for anyone who was unfortunate enough to be close by. Dreamers unleashed a barrage of arrows and spells, which only seemed to infuriate the Dragon, who spun its body around lashing out with its long, thin, and sharp tail, slicing through the Dreamers who were advancing on its position. Few of the Dreamers caught in the attack survived. Those who did were gravely injured while the rest were sent to the graveyard outside of town. Elohwa watched the Dragon annihilate the Dreamers. Something about the Dragon was pulling on the edges of her mind, she examined the behemoth.

  Enthralled Ancient Dragon

  Skill Level ????

  “DEBUFFS!!” Elohwa’s voice rose over the sounds of battle, she took control of the situation and issued orders to those around her. Dreamers rained down their debuffs and curses, but doing so drew the ire of the Dragon.

  Aya added a Spell Shield component to the Fire Dome before dropping it around the Dragon, enraging it further. The Dragon’s mouth opened again unleashing a stream of black shadows at the wall in front of it. Normally the flames would have shot through the wall, but the spell shield she had added kept the Dragon’s flames contained. Aya staggered under the force being generated against the wall, she was pouring all of her power into it, to keep it up long enough for Dreamers to land debuffs, curses, hexes and other damage reduction and amplifying effects on the creature.

  While the Dragon was distracted, Thorn slipped some vines through the wall, snaking them around the beast’s legs before driving the poison and fire tipped thorns between the scales around the ankle. The Dragon threw its head back roaring in pain as the fire laced poison started coursing through its body. Debuffs and curses started landing as its concentration was broken by Thorn’s sneak attack.

  Red runes appeared on the Dragon’s hide and traced their way down its body, lighting it up enough to be able to truly see the Dragon. Scales glittered in the light of the runes looking like stars against a night sky. Elohwa recognized the runes as binding runes, she also recognized the dragon.

  “It can not be….” Elohwa had seen plenty of the depictions of it as she and Aya had farmed as many Ancient Chests as they could before the rest of the Dreamers reentered the world. She glanced over at Aya. Both of her arms were lifted up as if trying to halt someone or something, her hair was matted to her face, sweat streamed down it and her stance had shifted so that one foot was behind her to keep her stable while she focused all of her mana at the Fire Dome surrounding the Dragon. She rushed to her Dreamer’s side to try and get her attention.

  “AYA! STOP!” Elohwa stepped in front of the blazing form of Aya. Aya blinked and then focused on Elohwa. But the moment she did so, her concentration broke, the flames surrounding her and the flickering in her eyes died away. Sensing weakness, the Dragon roared again, the ground quaked beneath the Dreamers and the NPC’s who were still standing, as the Fire Dome surrounding the Dragon was extinguished. That small lapse in concentration drove Aya to her knees, exhaustion quickly overtaking her. Elohwa knelt in front of her, holding out a mana potion.

  Aya took the potion and just barely managed to choke down its contents. “What….happened?” Aya was looking around as if only now seeing what was going on around her.

  “I think you were in a Spell Trance. It makes your spells more powerful but at the cost of losing focus and mana at a rapid pace. Your mana regen was barely keeping up with it, hence the exhaustion and likely the headache you will be experiencing later.” Elohwa handed her some berries out of one of the kitchen’s rations. “Do you think you can charm the Dragon with your bracelet?” She knew she sounded like she was pleading, but she didn’t care. If that Dragon was who she believed him to be, it could change everything.

  “You want me to what now??” Aya’s head was in a fog from the strain the spell trance had put on her and she wasn’t quite sure she had heard Elohwa correctly.

  “The Dragon, I believe it to be the Ancient one depicted on those banners and tapestries within the caves holding the Ancient Chests, the one that adorns the Royal Crest. The runes covering his body are binding runes. I think he may have been enthralled by the Dark. If that is the case, attempting another charm on him might be able to break the first spell and release him.” Elohwa knew that Dragons were already immensely powerful. For an Ancient Dragon who was infinitely more powerful to have been enthralled meant that whoever did it was incredibly powerful in their own right, or, she suspected, to have used a tremendous amount of blood magic.

  Aya was still reeling from the after effects of the trance. Her mind was struggling to comprehend the fact that Elohwa wanted her to try and charm a dragon, an Ancient Dragon at that. “I...I can try...I’m just not sure this bracelet is that powerful.” Aya rubbed her eyes and shook her head to try and clear out the cobwebs.

  “It is not the strength of the bracelet but the strength of the caster. We do not need to actually charm the dragon, just cause conflict with the current binding spell. That should be enough to allo
w him to break free.” Elohwa bit her lip as the sounds of battle raged around them. Metal rang on metal and spells exploded against the hide of the Dragon and the remaining Dark Troops.

  “Why do I feel like I’m sensing a ‘but’ coming?” Aya knew there had to be more to this than just triggering the spell on an item. It just sounded way too easy to her, and charming an Ancient Dragon definitely did not sound like it would be easy.

  Elohwa frowned, Aya was still recovering from the trance, so what she was about to ask of her would cause more than a little pain and one hell of a headache. “You will need to return to the Spell Trance, and, most likely, add blood to it.”

  Aya sighed, her eyes looking out at the slaughter going on around them. Dreamers who decided to charge in were being sent to the graveyard. Voksil was doing everything he could just to keep the NPCs and Dreamers alive who remained within the area of effect heals and regenerative spells he was constantly casting.

  “Ok, what do I need to do?” Aya didn’t know much about blood magic other than that it was one of the most powerful forms of magic, but it came at great cost.

  Elohwa held up one of her twin blades, “I will need to make a cut on your hands. You will want to cover the Foci with the blood. To get back into the Spell Trance I need you to think of something that causes extreme emotion. You need to hold on to that emotion and use it.”

  Aya wasn’t exactly looking forward to having her hands cut. But if by doing so she could help release this Dragon from enslavement, then she was willing to do it. Besides, a simple healing spell and a healing potion would take care of it. She held her hands out to Elohwa palms up.