To save Ferria

The sky had broken. It wasn't pouring, it was a wall of rain, and you couldn't see through it at arm's length.

"If it lasts more than an hour, Terazena will be flooded," I thought as I left Viceroy Topal's palace. I had visited him to explain who the Golden Fire Swordswoman was and to convince him to stop chasing her. I was surprised that he doubted my words. In the end, though, he remembered the Coordinators and decided he didn't want to spoil their relationship, so he accepted my advice. I was told to leave Terazena: he had no desire to see me again. I wasn't offended. No one likes to be left with nothing. But I was sure that the hunt was over.

I was soaked to the skin before I had taken three steps. The river ran down the sidewalk and the water reached up to my ankles. 

 Two hours ago, when I arrived in Terazena, the sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky!

 I was walking through the rain when someone grabbed my arm. I turned around and saw an old man, dressed in rags, kneeling. His face, illuminated by flashes of lightning, seemed to be an eerie demonic mask.

"Save," he gasped, looking at me with his mad eyes. "Save Ferria."

Then he fainted and fell to the ground, his fingers still clutching my hand.

I didn't know who or what Ferria was, and I didn't want to know. But I couldn't leave the beggar in the pouring rain. So I took him in my arms and walked to Nick Cess's house, hoping he wouldn't turn me out. Friendship is friendship, but this was too much.

Nick let me in. "Your performances are getting more and more spectacular," he said as he closed the door behind me and pointed to the couch in the next room. "By the way, who's this?"

"The old man," I put the beggar on the couch and shrugged. "He asked for help."

Nick made a cuckoo sign. "You brought the beggar here? Are you crazy? Do you understand that..."

 "Wait!" I cut him off. "When the rain stops, we will go. I just couldn't leave him there."

"Oh, I love that 'we'!" Nick hummed.

I sighed. Water was pouring out of my hair and dress and there was a big puddle on the floor.

"Is he at least not infected?" asked Nick, pointing at the old man.

I shrugged again. 

"You're an idiot!" My companion was indignant. Then he waved his hand in despondency. "Well, I'll help him if I can. Why don't you go get cleaned up or something?"

He rang the bell and a slave led me to the guest quarters, muttering disapprovingly to himself, "Come in who knows who, no names, make troubles spread mud..." In a way, of course, he was right.

"Say it out loud, bastard," I shouted, not holding back my irritation. "Let your master hear your words!"

He looked at me without fear. "People like you come and go, but I'm here to stay."

I took a bath, changed my clothes, borrowed something that fit me from Nick's closet , and returned to the room with the old man I had found.

In my absence, the oldster had been stripped of his rags, wiped clean of dirt, and covered with a warm woolen blanket. He never regained consciousness. Nick was a doctor by profession, so he treated the patient himself. 

"This man seems to be dying," he said as I entered, "he has pneumonia and general exhaustion. I gave him a shot of antibiotics, but there is no guarantee for him."

"It's the Master's will."

Nick looked at me suspiciously. "Are you alright yourself?"

The old man groaned and began muttering something unintelligible. I leaned over him, trying to make out what he was saying.

"Ferria… save… the end… eater.…"

"I don't get it," I sighed and looked at Nick. 

"Neither do I," he hummed, "let's have a drink."

We went into another room with a bar and Nick made us a drink.

"How is Lady the Golden Fire?" he asked.

"She's fine. But ask that question to another Arthur."

"Are you still claiming to have gone back in time?"

I said nothing and Nick changed the subject. We continued to talk about nothing and then returned to the patient. The servant Nick had left with him reported that the old man was still delirious. He also had a fever.

"It's not good," Nick said, "I'm afraid he won't live to see the morning."

I nodded and thought, maybe I’d met this old man by chance. But it could be a thread leading to the Keys. There had to be a reason why I had appeared in this world. And if not for Gemma, the clues were here.

"Can you bring him to his senses?"  I asked Nick.

"Why do you need him?" he asked in surprise.

"To understand what the 'Ferria' is and from whom it must be saved."

"What or who?" he clarified.

"How should I know?"

"Are you such a hero?"

"Nick, it might be important!" I insisted.

"You didn't surprise me!"

"Could you please wake him up?"

"Listen, I am not a god!"

"But you’ve been trained to dig into the brain."

"And you know there are strict limits to the use of such techniques!"

"Damn it, Nick," I groaned, "who's going to know that, for the Great Shadow’s sake?"

"Nobody, I hope," he hummed, and I felt my victory. "Now go and relax."

I didn't insist on my presence and left, closing the door behind me. Then I sat down in the nearest chair, stretched my legs and leaned my head back.  My eyes were sleepy and my mind was confused. There was no reason to be tired, it hadn't been a hard day. But I felt strange.

I was awake because I was clearly aware of who I was and where I was, while at the same time I was transported to a completely different place and witnessed events that had never really happened to me. But I couldn't call it dreaming. It was too reliable and consistent.

I saw a rock in the sea. Its top was above the clouds, and huge waves were crashing against it. I was looking at the rock from the desk of the ship that was slowly approaching it. There were many people on the desk, young girls and boys dressed in white. They were all frightened and  distressed. The air was filled with hopelessness.

What awaited them was terrible, inescapable, petrifying. 

Hundreds of young people were being sent to their deaths. Innocent victims, sacrificed to the bloodthirsty beast. Their lives were the price for the peace of an entire nation. The Dream Eater waited for them.

"Arthur, are you asleep?" Nick's voice brought me back to reality. "The man can talk to you."

The old man looked like a living corpse. His face was distorted with suffering, his eyes burned with madness. His breath came out of his chest with a whoosh.

"You!" he gasped, as if he had just seen me. "You came to save Ferria!"

I sat down on the chair near the couch and rubbed the bridge of my nose.

"I... mm... What is Ferria?"

"Ferria is an island beyond the four seas," the old man explained in a broken voice. "The last ship crashed. We couldn't find twelve by twelve, only ten by ten. The Eater became angry. It will leave its island to punish my people."

"The Dream Eater?" I clarified, understanding that everything was already preordained. "What is this creature?"

"An ancient horror, a punishment sent by the gods of the night. No one knows what it is. Those who have seen it can say no more."

"That's clear," I nodded, remembering the Demon Rock and the ship of the doomed. "Why are you looking for a defender so far from home? Are there no brave men in Ferria?"

"I was looking for the one mentioned in an old prophecy. It says that a stranger from nowhere with a sapphire sword and sapphire eyes will save Ferria from the Dream Eater. For centuries we have waited for a sign, stargazers have searched the skies tirelessly... I have seen it, the Star of Hope! It flashed across the northern horizon! I could do little, but I saddled the wind and flew to the place where the star shone brightest... I searched for you for twelve days and was already in despair, but the Most High was merciful... I will go peacefully."

"Just tell me how…" I began.

The old man's eyes closed. I grabbed his thin arm, but life had already left his body.

I looked at Nick.

"What did you want?" He spread his hands. "Talking has cost him too much."

"Too bad, he could have told us a lot."

"I think he said everything he wanted to," Nick said. "As far as I'm concerned, it's nonsense. How do you think he 'saddled the wind'?"

We left the room, leaving the dead body in the care of the servants.

"I hope you’re not going to look for that ghostly Ferria?" my friend asked suspiciously when we reached my room.

"No, of course not," I replied quickly, "I have enough to worry about."

Nick looked at me with a strange expression, waved his hand, wished me good night, and left quickly. I was grateful to him.

When I was left alone, I undressed, lay down on the bed and started to think. So everything was preordained. There, in my past (or future), when the agent of the Coordinating Service had turned into the "hired hero" Archie Corney, was a vague thing. I could not understand why I was being attributed to someone else's deeds that happened long before I left the service. Every time someone talked about the exploits of Archie the Fearless, they mentioned the Dream Eater of Demon Rock.

An attributed feat, a vision, a dying man's tale... And the fact that Kainos had thrown me right here.

I really had no desire to mess with any demons. Not even for the Keys of the Great Master. But who cared about my desires? If I'd gone another way or left J'Agar'Tall altogether, I would have ended up on Demon Rock anyway. So was it worth it?

Actually, it wasn't. But at least I had to know about the mission. First of all, I had to find out where this island was. Four Seas could be anywhere. 

By the way, there was no guarantee that my mission would be successful. The story of the Dream Eater was the most fantastic of all the stories  told about me.

What was it like? "The waters of the ocean parted, and he reached the island where the demon lived. And there was a battle, and the rock split open, and the abyss swallowed it and the Eater..."

That was all. There was no mention of what happened to Archie the Fearless. Maybe he drowned there, too?

I would find out soon enough.

Ferria turned out to be an island. It was about the size of New Zealand, and the distance from Terazena to it was like from London to Auckland. It was a long way, considering that the fastest ships were sailing ones. I had no time for a sea voyage, so I walked through the Lace. I could even go straight to the Dream Eater, but, well, that was kind of scary.

Ferria was like a paradise. There were beaches of white sand and turquoise ocean water, and emerald forests full of colorful birds and giant butterflies. There were fast-flowing rivers and rushing waterfalls, heady-scented flowers and delicious fruits that fell right under your feet. Live and be happy.

So they did. They paid the Dream Eater by giving him young and innocent souls, and were happy.

The people of Ferria were not what I had imagined. They were not savages, they  were civilized. They had white stone temples and amazing sculptures. The dwellings of the Ferrians were lighted by electricity, obtained here by solar panels, and were equipped with running water and sewers. They had self-propelled wagons, though I didn’t understand what kind of traction they had. Every inhabitant was taught reading, writing, and arithmetic from an early age, and their system of philosophical teachings was amazingly complex.

They also refused weapons. 

And they let their sons and daughters die to keep themselves alive and happy. Honestly, they were not worth risking my life for! But I was already there.

Upon arrival, I found myself at the party. There was music, dancing, and fireworks. It turned out that the party was in my honor. They knew I was coming and had prepared the meeting. How nice of them!

In the midst of the fun, I realized I couldn't take it anymore. A plague party was not for me. I broke away from the circle of dancers and walked toward the ocean, following the wind and the sound of the surf. I'd rather meet the Eater than stay with them.

I found the boat near the shore and the beautiful girl in it. The girl was wearing a tiered necklace of fresh flowers and nothing else.

"I knew you would come!" she said, throwing her arms around my neck and kissing me passionately.

"I didn't come to see you," I protested, trying to free myself. 

"Oh, I know. You're going to the Demon Rock," she said sadly. "Listen to me. I am one of those destined for the Dream Eater. My sister went last year, and next year it will be my turn. I want you to kill the demon, my sapphire-eyed hero. I want to live!"

"I will do my best," I promised.

The girl took my hand and led me to the boat.

"There's some water and food inside," she said. "Just keep heading south. That star triangle over there will show you the way. You'll reach Demon Rock in three days. Go. Go before they notice you are gone."

"Don't they want to get rid of the Eater?" I asked.

"They are afraid it will get worse. Don't judge them too harshly, they lack the ability to be heroes."

I thought they shouldn't be heroes, but at least they should be human, but I didn't say it out loud for fear of sounding like a prude and a moralist. I kissed the girl again and jumped into the boat.

She waved her hand from the shore - the black shadow on the white sand.