[Amelia] Chapter 19: Dreams of the Past

[Throndir]

《Chapter 18: The Beast King

《Chapter 19: Dreams of the Past》

Location: ???
Time: ???

"My liege. It's what we have feared. Over half the city has vanished without a trace, and the surrounding landscape is... different." The person who spoke, if it could be called a person, looked to be some sort of animal. The snout, the large ears, long neck, and body, with a distinct fur pattern of a brown overcoat with a white underbelly fur. From your own perspective, this looked like some sort of walking and talking weasel. To make things stranger, however, it was wearing what looked to be armor, along with a sword at its side.

The person who responded back, however, was the individual seated on the throne next to you. And just like the weasel who spoke, this one was just as strange.

"This worries me..." The person who spoke looked like a giant white lion. Just like the armored weasel, this one too was wearing armor of sorts.

"Get a clear account of how many warriors are left, and how many of our people are still here." The talking lion commanded.

"Yes, my liege." The weasel, bowing his head, said curtly before standing up and exiting the throne room.

It was silent for a moment, before the lion sighed, and he turned towards you.

"Thoughts? You think some sort of grand magic did this?"

[Mysticsage]

Location: ? ? ?
Time: ? ? ?

It took Amelia a moment to gather her thoughts as she continued to listen and brainlessly watch the scene unfold around her.

Where was she?

How did she get here, to this possibly new land, and why did it feel somehow familiar and safe?

The atmosphere around her was like being wrapped in a warm blanket and even with her concerns racing through the back of her head, she couldn't summon the emotion to be afraid. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep cuddling Nyx with her friend's list possibly open, and yet none of that explained how she got here.

"It's as if the Shifting happened again, this must be some kind of magic," Amelia said, more to answer her own questions then to answer the question of the large man next to her, if he could be considered a man in the first place was a matter unto itself.

The lion man next to her was massive by comparison, and if it wasn't for that phantom sense of ease she would have probably been terrified. He was at least two heads taller than her and at least twice as wide, and yet something about him made him seem gentle. at least in this moment, where they were alone.

Amelia reached out tentatively to touch his arm, her thought process working on instinct more than her usual logic. The physical contact with his fur being her attempt to understand if this moment was even real. Something in the back of her head told her that this was something new. That she should consider this all strange. This new instinct that she didn't even realize she had until that moment was trying to get her to realize something about her situation. Yet her thoughts refused to click in her mind, at least for the moment. After all the gods had played games with her life before what would stop them from doing so again?

If this was another shifting or if something went wrong she needed to see for herself.

"We should go outside and see for ourselves, where we are,"She said slowly to the lion man next to her. Amelia didn't know why she wanted to involve this figure and yet here she was asking him to lead her outside. To be at her side while she got her baring as if they had known each other for ages. Like she could trust him with her life even if she was unclear why.

[Throndir]

Location: ???
Time: ???

When you reached out for him, it was then that you realized your arms didn't look like yours at all. They were covered in fur. Red, flowing, and smooth fur. When you spoke as well, your voice sounded different, though at the same time, it was familiar, as you knew it to be your own voice. It wasn't the voice of Amelia the Queen of Bursteig, but it was your voice nonetheless. It was a feminine voice, quite different from what you normally sounded like.

"Shifting?" The large lion asked looking at you curiously. But he shook his head shortly after. "Going outside to see for ourselves?" The lion grinned at the thought.

"Well if my royal advisor says so, then it shall be!" He roared, quite literally, in laughter. Next he stood up to his full height, towering over 9 feet tall. "Then my advisor. Grab your weapon, and let's go see for ourselves."

The throne room in you, though much like what you would expect from a monarch, had one difference. Behind the throne, laid against a weapons rack in the back was an assortment of beautifully adorned weapons. There were all sorts, even ones that you didn't recognize. But in further examination, you realized that you did know what each of the weapons were.

In your next post, state which weapon, if any, that you choose to bring.

[Mysticsage]

Immediately affected by the king's enthusiasm and presence as he stood, seeming to fill the room as he moved. Amelia as if on auto-pilot stood and moved to the rack of various weapons looking for the one that her heart said would be appropriate. She didn't even have the capacity to fully register that her hand had been different. Like how her gate seemed off almost taller as she almost glided across the room, like a dancer, the sound of something soft swishing behind her as she did so.

Requested Arcana lore for Staves

Rolled 1d20+7 : 16 + 7, total 23

[Throndir]

Location: ???
Time: ???

When you started thinking about that particular staff, to your surprise you knew exactly what it was and how it functioned. You remember wielding it in combat before, you remember that it was your preferred weapon, kept here in service to the king. These memories were hard to place, and once again you felt the same weird mental dissonance. They were your memories, yet they were not at the same time. It almost felt as if there were two sets of memories.

You reached out for the staff, holding it in your hands. A green window appeared in your vision.

Staff of Aspects
[Identification]
[Copy Staff]
[Absorb Staff]

You felt surprised to see the window. Or rather, at least, the one already familiar with the staff felt surprised at seeing it. It was enough that you had hesitated as well. The large lion's sharp senses noticed the momentary hesitation.

"Hmm?" The deep voice asked.

[Mysticsage]

Location: ???
Time: ???

Amelia was lost in that mental dissonance at that moment, as she stared at the staff in her hand and then the green pop-up window. Her subconscious and her conscious minds seemed to be at war with one another as both versions of herself felt real. For a second she wondered if this place, with this version of this man, was where she was supposed to be. Something deep inside her said that she needed to protect something, to help him and others in some way that she could not quite remember.

However, before she had a chance to really understand what was going on with these feelings and this strange box floating in her vision the look from her king immediately overpowered that other part of herself. Only that strange desire to protect and shape remained strong in her heart as everything else became quiet.

Without a second thought, she focused on the absorb prompt before waving it away.

"Nothing to worry about my lord, this new place just left my brain with a great many things to try and file away for later," she said with a wink and a smile that was meant to put him at ease she did not catch that how she acted may be strange.

"Shall we take a look at this new horizon?" she said moving to beside him brushing her tail lightly against his leg as she took a step forward knowing that with his large gate she had to power walk to keep up.

[Throndir]

Location: ???
Time: ???

The staff disappeared when you absorbed it. Though, half of you knew that you could easily retrieve it out again if needed. When you began to speak, the king had started briefly in shock and surprise towards you and the now-missing staff.

"What happened to the-" The lion asked when you moved towards him. He suddenly stopped mid-sentence however, and his entire body jerked, as if he had been standing in one position, then in another blink of an eye, a slightly different position. This time, instead of the confused look on his face, he seemed the same as before, and if he had suspicions about the disappearing staff, he didn't look concerned either.

The king nodded as you had stepped up. The king himself reached over to the nearby weapons rack and pulled out a large golden two-handed axe. Half of you admired it for what it was, as the weapon itself was much too large for any human to wield, and suited much better the large lion's size. He lifted the weapon with ease, and promptly hook it to some straps on his back.

"Let us be off." The king said one more time. "Let's head to the missing part of the city first. I'm sure our people there would like to see their king in these... strange times. From there, we'll check the outskirts."

[Mysticsage]

Location: ???
Time: ???

Before Amelia could respond to the king's question, and the voice in her subconscious recoiled slightly at having been seen when wanting to be hidden. Then the world froze and jerked suddenly, causing her to blink on instinct, and everything was back how it should have been. That subconscious voice let out a sigh of relief as everything seemed to settle down for a moment, wrapping itself in whatever energy set things right. It was as if something in her heart wanted to be protected from something to experience this day without everything falling apart.

"As if that would ever happen," thought the kitsune chastising herself for letting the intrigue of a new place clearly get the better of her emotions as she watched her king, not registering the glitch at all, and simply carrying on. Amelia was one of the King's advisors it was important at times like these that she does her best to push the limits.

It was with that sense of optimism and desire for connection that she followed the king down the halls of the castle. She couldn't help but chuckle seeing the ax on his back that made him seem even more massive as they went. Something about that image in her mind sturred that deeper part of herself. For some reason, a sense image of a fabric called flannel and the scent of rich wood filled her nose.

The more she thought on the images mixing with her large leonine lord, the phrase built like a lumberjack came to mind. Though that same voice in the back of her head said that the weapon was more of a gentleman's handicap, if he really wanted to hurt something with his strength he would be better off with his fangs and claws.

As she got closer to her lord as they made their way through the halls and into the fresh air that scent of fresh-cut wood and sap still lingered in her nose. In her mind, it felt like it was coming from him specifically, but she knew with a beast's sense memory such things could just be her own mind playing tricks on her. But that something inside her wanted it to be true, for him too to be connected to someplace that came to her mind as the sound of rain and the taste of a bitter drink. That sent of rain and roasted beans mixed even more with her mind of the cut lumber and flannel mixing with the various animal scents from their leader creating a warm colgone.

"Did you oil your fur this morning with something different my lord or is it simply this new place? It feels somehow nostalgic," she asked before taking in the world around her that sense of curiosity and desire for comfort still deep inside her heart.

As they begin to make their way out of the castle and through the streets as they talked she did her best to keep close to him at all times. Her eyes were outward as she took stock of what changed how their people were doing.

Yet her nose kept coming back to him.

For now both Amelia's are happy to follow the dream's plot but with Amelia's high cha and will I don't think she's gonna really be able to stop a bit of dream bleed between their two minds and it is probably gonna get worse as we go. But otherwise, she is just gonna try to take in as much of this world as she can.

[Throndir]

Location: ???
Time: ???

The large lion laughed warmly at the mention of oil. He continued speaking then, making a joke, and confirming that the scent indeed was perhaps both of what you had been thinking. But his words seemed almost inaudible and incomprehensible, although, the 'royal advisor' within you didn't seem to notice anything amiss. To Amelia's mind, however, there was yet again that very clear and very strange dissonance.

The journey out of the castle and into the city too was just as dream-like, both feeling to be fast and slow-paced all at the same time. Various guards and soldiers had saluted as the duo walked through. Eventually, these individuals slowly morphed into various civilians, and other beastfolk who reached out for their benevolent king and his advisor, unsure of their own future in the wake of whatever strange disaster had fallen upon them.

Location: ???
Time: ???

The scent of the lion grew stronger and stronger even as the images surrounding you began to both fade and blur out of focus. Soon enough, you felt a hand on your shoulder. The sound of a long and drawn-out sigh accompanied that hand. It was quickly followed by the landscape around you starting to become more and more in focus from its earlier blurred-out state.

It would only take a moment to realize that it was the king. You and he were at a tall cliffside, your city just in the background a distance away, over-looking a strange and unfamiliar land. It wasn't as obvious as it was within the castle, but as the morning sun started to peek in the far distance of the horizon, it immediately told the both of you that the reports were true. These were strange lands. It wasn't just the lack of the King's Way road that marked one of the most major trade routes in your country, or the difference in geographical features with the rolling fields replaced by rocky and jagged outcroppings. The skies were an ashen gray color, the sun itself was a distinct blue, and even the various few plants and trees that you could make out from your vantage point were hues ranging between blues and purples.

[Mysticsage]

Location: ???
Time:  ???

"So much of everything is gone," Amelia said, as the weight of the things she had lost since arriving in this new world weighed on both her dreaming and conscious minds.

Seeing the road to the capital simply end in these unknown wilds, felled like an unwanted tree, made both sides of her mind retreat slightly. She leaned back into that smell emanating from the lion standing next to her as she let his hand slip from her shoulder to her side. Sheltered against his broad chest from the wind of the cliff, she did her best to steady her thoughts as she took in the various shades of blue around her that seemed to mirror her emotions.

How often had they been in a situation like this? Her memories went back to all the times in her study at the academy where she spent many a night reading setting against a man's chest like this. The nostalgia brought her comfort in moments like this, those quiet moments providing her strength to deal with the various bits of chaos. However, those memories were not as clear as they should have been, Memories that Amelia's waking mind would have recognized as the many days in the public library, sitting with a boy as he draped a jacket over her. She pushed away not wanting to see a face of a boy that she now had no hope of seeing again.

Unconsciously, she allowed this dream to get a hold of those thoughts, warping those hazy details into something new. No longer was the outline simply a young human man placing a simple hoody over her shoulders. His outline expanded massively gaining a more young feline shape as the jacket became more of a blanket-like cloak to match. The exact details of her surroundings blur even further as she let herself sink even further into the smell of the fur around her.

However, these memories were far from being solid as these images continued to shift in her mind. Something about this lion still did not seem to fit as she felt like he should. He seemed to be missing some important aspect that would provide these thoughts with more definition.

"We need to give our people something to hold onto," Amelia said, as she turned her gaze away from this new world, back to the skyline of what remained of their home. It was their job to give them the strength and stability they needed, the strength that she needed.  The looks on the faces of the people they passed stayed with her. The problem was how to provide that stability. After all, they could not be everywhere at once, then something inside of her seemed to fall into place.

It was in that moment of longing, of weakness that her heart both in the dream and in waking latched onto the thing that had been her constant source of power regardless of what world she was in. Her loving bond with her companion was the thing that, despite fate's attempts to separate or change them, only seemed to grow stronger. As she put her head back against her lord's chest, his arms fully able to wrap her away from the scenes before them, and in the waking world, Amelia wrapped her arms around the black cotton void that was Nyx's waking form mirroring the gesture on both sides of the dream. Regardless of what form it took, their love and bond shone through, and it is also the thing that allowed Amelia's subconscious to run wild.

Amelia's heart, latching onto that bond, throwing magic and emotion in turn, had no way of seperating real from the imagined. So as her heart, shaped her fantasies, her dream to feed to the bond. It used more than images of cats as it's a source. It pulled on the deep whimsical things that Amelia would normally find silly, or possibly even unhealthy.

Things like the leather-clad rebels of the eighties who would not be turned away by the strength of her personality. Someone who really only existed in movies. Like the stalwart knights like Kurt, had been before all this, who always seem to be there to offer a strong back.

It was while her heart allowed the magic to take power from these kinds of thoughts that the sounds of deep purring in the waking world began to hear like the revving of a motorcycle engine to her sleeping mind.

"We need the army for our defense, and the academy needs to help find our answers," she paused.

"Why don't we use your Umbral Hunters as that civic support force? They're young like you and I, and could do the city a great service by helping people right now."

It was a seed of a thought that the sleeping part of Amelia's mind offered readily to the narrative from her mixture of emotion began to take shape as her heart strove to mix her dreams with that of the memory of the lion through their bond. Her unconscious mind loosing a bit of control and striving to bring more to the weave.

Ever since Nyx made a habit of finding a way of sneaking out of the house back in her old world, she imagined him going out on the town leading a whole gang of strays in keeping the streets safe. Those romantic thoughts didn't mean she didn't try to find a way to stop him, but he always seemed to walk his own path and pull her along. That was even more true in this new world where he had taken on the image of a nightly vigilante, fighting all kinds of things for levels and to protect those he cared about.

The sleeping part of Amelia, with the power, held onto that image of that punk rock hero, pushing it to mix with the image of the leonine king and the teenaged athlete from her memory. Her creativity now free was trying to make the proud king, himself during the day and the wild child during the night. Instead of meeting her normally, he would climb through her window when he didn't think she'd notice, covered in scrapes and bruises as badges of honor as he met all sorts in the streets.

His little gang of loveable street toughs was an open secret to many in the city, though none knew they were led by their king. The Umbral Hunters, the name had just popped into her head.

The gang was known as prideful and loud but deeply protective of their home, and its people just like their leader. The people could use a fair bit of energy and distraction right now. She looked up at her large feline companion touching the cat's heart, her dream-self unaware of what the true Amelia's subconscious pushed into his chest with the sound of nightlife, rock music, youthful street brawls into nature of nobility.

"While the Umbral Hunters help with public morale, we should head to the academy to see what we can learn. We should also send out scouts from the roost," She said as this active action seemed to give her energy.

Looking to the skyline she expected to see buildings that may have not been there before. A school for the people, and a large tower like a needle to the sky used by winged beastfolk for take-off and landing.

Amelia is doing four things:
Allowing herself to forget a boyfriend she had before using that to feed the dream

Offering some of her high school experience to this version of Nyx along with his punk rocker vigilante hero personality (this king needs a little more nyx tooth and nail lol)

Using more of her high school memories as a base to enhance any school that may or may not already exist

Using her memories of the space needle as a base for the roost. A place for winged beastfolk as a modification to a place that may or may not exist.

[Mysticsage]

Cha check

Rolled 1d20+6 : 13 + 6, total 19

[Throndir]

Location: Cliffside, a short distance from the city
Time: ???

"Hmm? The Umbral-" The lion began to ask, confusion written on his face. But just like before, he stopped midsentence, his body slightly shifted as if being rewound, and his once confused gaze became a nodding look of agreement. "That is a wise decision my royal advisor! The Umbral Hunters... That ragtag group of adventurers I lead before settling down. Unfortunately, that wouldn't solve the problem that it seems only our royal capital made it here... where-ever we are."

Over the horizon, looking towards the splendor of the capital city, you can visibly see the academy that you had spoken of. Yet again, there was a sort of dissonance within your memories, but the dissonance was quelled. You tried thinking the same thing about a tall and grand tower, akin to your world's Space Needle, for a moment the city seemed to shift slightly, with the tower in view, but a moment after that, it disappeared again.

The lion spent some moments admiring the city, and staring worriedly towards the landscape that was unfamiliar. It was then that a fireball of dark miasma exploded in one corner of the city. Screams of alarm were faintly heard far in the distance.

[Mysticsage]

As the screams of the citizens reached her vulpine sense she could feel every hair on her body in both realms stand on end. Her voice slightly caught in he throat, "Has whoever sent us here come back to take another bite from our people?!"

Some deep dread from the waking world that she knew what was going to be coming next seeped into the terror of her dream self. Looking at her King she quickly grabbed his hand eyes flaring with a mixture of emotion. "We must face this head on, together! Don't worry about dignity my king, just pick me up and let's get to the people's side as soon as possible!" She said almost throwing herself into his arm as she wished to be bridal carried to the scene. Her face red as she buried her face into his thick upper chest and neck to try and stay as aerodynamic as possible. She didn't care that he could most likely hear if not feel her own heart beating out of her chest from the adrenaline. Nor did she care what they looked like.

"Quickly, let the beast out and run to the fight faster then the wind!"

Gonna have Nyx use a free dream verison of Flash step and his sure footed feet to run with the two of us to the fight as fast as possible.

I will be casting ice storm from my staff set as soon as the king or I can find the threat, if there is a big fire or threats. It has a very large area over 400 ft range

[Mysticsage]

Location: Across the City
Time: ???

Amelia was terrified about running into the thick of the flames, like she was riding a roller coaster approaching a massive drop. However, Amelia's waking mind was not in full control as the fox in the dream covered for those fears with a tacticians wit. After all she had a partner with her that both versions of Amelia felt they could rely on no matter what. The King was after all, matched her wit with his sheer brawn and power, making them an ideal duo. The narrative of the dream itself also provisioned with powers and equipment to match their roles, and to that the blessings of the waking world and they had a glimmer of a chance to change the narrative entirely.

Amelia watched from the sidelines as the duo came face to face with their first threats. A pair of hulking demon beasts able to bash and burn their way through their impressive defenses. However, the damage the king could inflict combined with his advisor's support far outpaced anything the intruders could muster. Their enemy was no joke if even one could physically match the king as they did, but this smaller encounter had given Amelia's avatar some much needed context. Mainly she learned that these creatures, outside of being brutes, only had one trick to produce black fire that could affect an area, that they would focus on the closest threat without worrying about their surroundings, and most importantly, they bared a striking resemblance to some shadow beasts tied to old legends from their homelands. Putting the strange connections between this new world and their homeworld aside for now she had a pretty confident understanding of the enemy.

The next step was to understand the battlefield as a whole, so that they could try to rally a proper defense. Spending a full minute, during which the king had to face several more demons alone, she cast a spell that allowed her to see from the sky like a bird.  The city was being besieged by three fronts in the north, east, and west. The west was where the majority of the civilians were being protected by the knights that had quickly had to organize a defense. In the east there was a party of six demons trying to sneak past the defenses to gain access to the heart of the city. Finally, the lion's share of the demons were in the north, along with their boss. She knew at a glance that the north would be where the king would want to go next. Wordlessly, she formulated  plans for each of the two other fronts, so that their combined attention could be focused on the boss in the front.

After all, it was only proper that the king greet foreign dignitaries with the accepted amount of pomp and circumstance.

Fueled by the storm of emotions shared between the fox and the girl, the dream shifted for a moment to allow the fox access to the Friends List blessing, so that she could armchair general the various troops in the west and those still scattered into a proper defense. The sneaking demons in the east needed a more violent answer, which the fox solved by summoning a cyclone to harass them signaling their defense. In less than two minutes, exactly the fox had managed to disrupt most of the attempts to destroy their home. The north however was another problem, by far the largest group of demons, if left alone they could easily have taken the city alone with the help of their boss, not an ideal fight when already winded. However, fatigue did little to stop the ruler of beasts from jumping into the swarm.

The fox cast what magic she could to slow them down and strengthen her king, even going so far as to making him grow to the point that he matched the rank and file demons in size, and covering him in dangerous thorns. Still, the best tactics in the world can be outdone by sheer numbers, and the demons had their fair share. They refused to think of anything else but killing the duo, even resulting in friendly fire as they tried to swarm the king and drown him in attacks. Their plan would have succeeded, should have succeeded as the lion was taken within in an inch of his life. However, the fox from the shadows was able to change the course of the dream with a high powered heal spell, allowing the lion to finish the minions almost at full strength.

This play however, caught the attention of the demon general, a creature of a similar shape to the others but even larger, and more intelligent. He took notice of Amelia despite her best efforts, and seemed ready to switch targets after calling out the fact they could use light magic. However, this revelation distracted the general just enough that before he could act the king had killed him where he stood letting his ax remove his head from the body.

Winning what should have been an impossible fight, new hope blooms in the waking Amelia's chest, along with a question.

What would happen next, now that they had somehow managed to survive?