Ethari walked through a patch of green in the forest. There was a dense fog covering the area of the forest. Ethari walked past a strange tree, a symbol on its trunk. He wondered if that was the marking of a lost traveler, or a magic symbol that could lead him to his doom. Ethari walked past it, disregarding it. As he walked through the forest a strange feeling overwhelmed him. He had crossed into the realm of dreams.

Ethari let out a sigh. It would be difficult path, but it was nessecary for him to reach the other side. Ethari had never been in the realm of dreams before, but had heard stories of missing travelers, killed by odd creatures or lost in their own dreams. The fog was thicker, making it almost impossible for him to see. Ethari muttered a spell underneath his breath, trying not to attract attention of a beast. He drew his diamond sword, making a faint noise as he drew it from his scabbard.

He held his sword out in front of him, making a faint glow from the light spell he casted. Ethari walked through the forest, nothing had happened. This confused him, the realm of dreams was a dangerous place. Ethari slumped at the trunk of one of the trees, exhaustion overwhelming him.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, tired from the days events. When he opened them he saw his father and mother, throats slit, blood pouring from their necks. Ethari stood in horror as he watched them die and then disappear. Ethari rubbed his eyes, and then opened them, the bodies gone. Ethari let out a sigh. The forest was playing tricks on him. It had opened a door to one of his worst nightmares. Ethari returned to his slumped position on the tree, in a bewildered state.

Ethari didn't close his eyes this time, afraid of what he might see next. He stood, hoping he would soon get out of this realm. As he stood a branch from the tree grabbed at his foot and hauled him up to the top of the forest. Ethari let out a scream and used his diamond sword to cut off the branch of the tree and sent him plummeting to the ground. He tried to use his wings, but the were dismembered and destroyed.

Ethari plummeted at the ground and he closed his eyes, knowing that the fall would kill him. Nothing happened. Ethari opened his eyes and found himself still slumped on the tree. " What?" he muttered to himself " that was weird." He stood for real this time and continued to walk through the forest. While he was walking something struck him. Where was his dove, Cataraza?" Ethari began to panic. He made the whistling noise that Cataraza came to. Nothing happened. Ethari ran back to the tree he had slumped on.

Sure enough, there was the dead body of his dove. He picked up her corpse and weeped over her body. Something pecked him in the ear. He turned to face his dove. Ethari grabbed her and began to hold her. This forest was playing mind games with him. He had to get out and fast.

Arganol Deathstrider leapt from tree to tree, not aware that he was entering the somewhat dreaded, Realm of Dreams. Once he entered it, he noticed that on some assorted trees that he had looked at, there were stranger markings and carvings. He didn’t know what to make out of them, and kept on going. He lunged down from a tree and continued on foot, not realizing that his coat was giving off a dappled and distinct sheen. Within the split second that Arganol took the time to blink, the forest had already begun to play tricks on his unsuspecting mind. The forest floor was now littered with the massacred bodies of his kinmates, ones that had been slaughtered a long time ago. The Battlemage found one that resembled himself, and figured out that he was in a very bad place to be. He had studied the Realm of Dreams before, and knew that many a traveler had been killed from within its clutches, some even went mad because of the visions and dreams that it projected into their heads. Arganol thought that he saw an Archangel ahead of him, but was sure if he should dismiss the thought or not. His clan’s bodies were now gone, but the Nightsaber needed to see if the stranger was real or not, so he approached the archangel. When he caught up, he realized that the angel seemed to be holding something, but there was nothing in his hands, obviously he was also the victim of the Realm’s mystical properties and powers.

All of the sudden, a bird pecked at the angel’s ear, and he instead took the bird and held it. Arganol could tell that his person was real, because he was also getting victimized by the Realm of Dreams. The Nightsaber approached the angel and said, “I need to get out of here, I refuse to be taken in by this forest!” He looked to his left and saw the body of Anek’swa, his Lupine minion, impaled through the heart and pinned onto the trunk of a tree. The Nightsaber screamed and turned back to the Angel. He doesn’t act like this that much, but when he does, he is really in a state of imminent danger. However, when he turned to the archangel, his head was severed. Arganol closed his eyes, but did not open them this time. He had just abruptly realized the fact that if his eyes were not open to see it, the Realm of Dreams could no longer torment him. The Nightsaber began to calm down because he didn’t have to look at what the forest had in store for him. Arganol was not sure where the angel was, but called out to him in his rough Adunaic, “Just close your eyes, you can’t be afraid of what you can’t see!” Arganol awaited the response from the archangel, but wasn’t sure of the illusions had taken over his ability to hear, or if he had already left, and the Battlemage was talking to himself.

Ethari stared at the new stranger who approached him. He looked like a lion, but a dark shade of purple. “Just close your eyes, you can’t be afraid of what you can’t see!” the creature shouted. Ethari reached out his will first, to see if he could detect evil in the creature. He could not, thankfully.

"All right, I'll close my eye's, but it makes me uneasy. The forest could play tricks with our ears, making us hear things that aren't there. I recommend that you hold any familiars close, for you could lose them in the forest. As for us," Ethari said, seathing his sword and drawing his bow, "we should both take hold of my short bow and use it to not lose each other. Please, try not to snap my bowstring, but if you do, it will be alright, for our safety's are more important than my neglected bow."

Ethari opened his eyes to try and hand the new comer a side of the bow, and saw the image of his sister, just about to stab him in the stomach, and she radiated of evil, and had a sword crafted of the purest black marble. Ethari let out a scream, and she disappeared. Ethari quickly closed is eyes again and said "disregard that scream of mine, I have opened my eyes and was plagued by another vision. Please, try to guide your hand to the bow, I wish not to be struck by another one of the visions."

Ethari began to wonder, how where the images created. It must be powerful magic, and a extremely powerful wizard must have casted it. May be it was a artifact that created the illusionary effects. Ethari shook the thought off. He did not want to stay here one more second, so he wasn't going to bring in thoughts of powerful magic in his head.

Arganol listened in relief as the Archangel began to speak to him. At least I wasn't talking to myself, he thought to himself. He heard the angel say, "All right, I'll close my eyes, but it makes me uneasy. The forest could play tricks with our ears, making us hear things that aren't there. I recommend that you hold any familiars close, for you could lose them in the forest. As for us, we should both take hold of my short bow and use it to not lose each other. Please, try not to snap my bowstring, but if you do, it will be alright, for our safety's are more important than my neglected bow." Arganol silently thought that it was a good idea, and transformed into his human form. He reached out and clutched part of the shortbow, glad that the angel at least had intelligence.

His thoughts abruptly disentegrated as a large scream was let out of the angel, which caused Arganol to open his eyes and look. He saw Anek'swa about to cut through his body with a scimitar and jumped backwards, but immediatly closed his eyes again. "Sorry, I opened my eyes too," Arganol said to the Archangel. "So, because we're going to be walking for awhile, what's your name?" The Nightsaber said calmly to the Archangel while he took hold of the shortbow again.

The Battlemage was wondering how the Realm of Dreams came to create illusions, based on things that could or have actually happened in the target's life. He thought of endless possibilities, thinking of basically every variable that he could. He even thought for a bit that the forest could be alive, but easily dismissed that hypothesis. He came to the conclusion that one of the gods must have casted some sort of spell over the entire place, however their motive was unbeknownst to Arganol. Maybe they sent someone in here and casted the spell to punish them, the Nightsaber thought to himself. He looked over at the Archangel without opening his eyes and asked him, "I wonder why the Realm of Dreams is like this. I think that one of the gods must have casted a spell over the place."

"My name is Ethari Xilophent, ArchAngel, and Harbringer of Balance." Ethari said to the creature's question. " I think that any thing could have caused this, I mean, the list is limitless. There could have been a catalyst of some sort, or a god dying, or may be a spell cast by the gods, or a extremely powerful artifact or wizard. I doubt a wizard could create some thing of this effect though, it must have been a god or a artifact created by the gods."

Ethari held the bow, and began to walk down the forest. Ethari then made a abrupt stop. "How will we know if there is a tree in our way," Ethari questioned. "Ah, I have a solution," Ethari said, "I'll hold my sword in front of me, and if any thing is in my way, I will feel it with my sword. I recommend you do this as well, with a weapon that you have." Ethari could see the light from the spell he had cast under neath his eyelids, knowing that it was his real sword, rather than an illusion.

Ethari heard a twig snap. Ethari quickly turned his head, frightened. "Did you hear that," Ethari questioned. Was the forest still playing tricks, or was there a warg or a owl bear lurking in the trees, hoping to catch them off guard. Ethari opened his eyes, fearing what he would see. It could be any thing that the forest wished for him to see, even his worse nightmares.

A raven swooped down, and grabbed at Ethari's head. Ethari blinked, thinking it as a illusion of the forest, but felt the pain shoot through his head. Ethari pulled up his sleeve and began to wipe the blood off. "We better hurry," he said ,"some things are mistaking us as dead."