Dreaming on the Precipice

All that's left are drunks and dreams. Did you realize you've been standing on the edge the whole time?

Summary
Dylan and Zil wish each other a good night and sweet dreams. Dylan heads to her room; Zil watches her go then notices Mavis is still drunk and surrounded by scattered research, staring intently at the painting on the wall. Zil quietly takes the remaining bottles of alcohol and puts them away, bringing her a large glass of water. Mavis tells them some of the finer details of the brushwork on the painting as Zil sits down beside her. She quickly notices her drink is missing, but agrees to drink the water. Mavis mentions that when she used to drink at Agloughmany, she would fence and win every time. Zil convinces her that a sword fight is not the current best action, and puts a pizza in the oven instead. They’re planning to dreamwalk to see Phibi, whom Mavis remembers from the boat as “the nice one.” Since Phibi knew Kai the best, Zil thinks she has a right to know about what happened.

After a lot of negotiating, Mavis settles in to keep an eye on Zil while they cast and dreamwalk. They pile the sand from a broken glass container into a small mount, put a few drops of ink into a divot at the top, and set a quill in the top. They tell Mavis it will probably be about an hour and set the quill on fire.

Zil's Dream
As the flame quickly burns down to the ink in a puff of blue smoke, Mavis retrieves her drink from the alcohol cabinet and sits down to watch. Zil’s mind is transported to the Reverie, the land of all dreaming. It is one of few places that remained unsevered in the Great Severing. They float past many doors until they eventually find Phibi’s, and set up the perfect meeting place for the two of them after so much time spent apart. An ethereal and unburned Troutbeck surrounds them, the meat shop still standing strong across from the community garden that the employees of Griana’s Meats’n’More used to frequent with the rest of a now-lost town. Zil takes a seat to await Phibi on a swinging bench in the center of the garden.

Phibi is surprised to find herself in a dream far more peaceful than the usual nightmares she is plagued with. The silence does not feel unnerving like it usually does, just serene. She finds the meat shop, and next to it spots her dear friend swinging in wait. She can’t quite believe it’s really Zil, wary that this could be another trick of her nightmares. It isn’t though; this feels different to both of them. Despite it being a dream, this meeting is incredibly real. They embrace and exchange pleasant catch-ups, noting Phibi’s blue hair and Zil’s new butterfly tattoos. She apologizes for the confusion that likely accompanied her appearance on wanted posters, but explains that things quickly broke bad and she did what she had to in order to keep a planesbreaker from falling into the hands of the Despara. Phibi quickly tries to lie about losing the planesbreaker, not sure if she can trust the information won’t spread if Zil knows she still has it. Zil sees through it but doesn’t say anything.

Zil waffles through some talking points, unsure how to bring up what they came here for. Eventually, they break the news that Kai is no longer with the team. They summarize the whole debacle, beginning with the first appearance of the Fellguard glaive and all the way up to her imprisonment and escape. It’s difficult news to hear. Phibi takes notice of the Sons of Hell and mentions she had her own run-in with them. She’s hopeful that if she could run into Kai she could talk some sense into her, but feels conflicted about what things would come to if she faced off against the Sons of Hell again. She is overwhelmed with emotion and quickly blurts an apology for lying about having a planesbreaker. She trusts the people she is traveling with, at least as much as she can.

Zil finishes updating Phibi on the rest of the team. They are each glad the other is safe, or as safe as they can be given the circumstances. Zil extends the offer to rejoin them in Burnfort if Phibi ever runs out of places to hide. She appreciates it. The two of them play around in the dream space some more since this is the first pleasant sleep Phibi has had in years. They go to a roller rink in Rielton that Phibi remembers from her travels. It is nautical themed, filled with bubbles and run by people wearing starfish costumes. They have a lovely time and agree to meet up again. Getting ready for their goodbyes, Phibi gives Zil a wood carving replica and wonders if she can transport physical objects through the dream space. She imparts messages for each of the other team members, which Zil tries to scrawl on their hand. For Griana: “kiss kiss kiss, hello, I love you I love you I love you.” For Dylan: “Thank you, beefcake, for helping my friends.” For Mavis: “Hello, I hope you’re feeling better. Sorry my roommate tried to kill you.” They hug goodbye and Zil disappears, instantly turning Phibi’s part of the dream into a vicious nightmare. A tapping comes from the watery glass floor of the roller rink, crashing through and filling the space with ocean. She starts to drown, and wakes up. The last thing she remembers is a single eye staring back at her.

Zil wakes up with a wooden doll in their hand and notes written all over their hands and arms. The remnants of the crackling fire are just about to go out. Mavis sits fast asleep beside them, one glass of whiskey emptied and one poured full for Zil whenever they woke up. Her journal lays open between them. Zil doesn’t want to invade her privacy, but can’t help but notice one note circled numerous times: “was it a planesbreaker?” They carefully carry Mavis to bed and place the journal on her desk. Just as Zil is leaving the room, Mavis rolls over and asks Zil to stay.

Dylan's Dream
Dylan is sleepily writing a letter to Becca to update her on the day’s events. Her tattoo flashes as she falls asleep at the desk, transporting far away to a familiar grassy field with a tall oak tree. It is night this time, with stars illuminated far more than she has seen anywhere else. Becca is pacing on top of the hill, hands on her hips as she stares out at an airship in the distance. She has set her shoes neatly by the tree and set a staff just slightly taller than her leaning against the tree. The staff resonates a powerful magical energy, like many other objects Dylan has come into contact with lately. It is tall and golden, with an ornate circle atop it with an hourglass tangling from a chain in the circle’s center. Dylan sees that the sands within the hourglass are running through, but Becca whips around to stop her from touching it before she can investigate further. Becca quickly apologizes for her rude greeting and gives Dylan a hug and hello.

Dylan carefully asks about their last meeting and her newfound tattoo. Becca apologizes again; she did not mean to give it to her but she also does not know how to get rid of it, and she doesn’t want Ophelia to know. The tattoo is meant for people who are chosen, and technically Dylan had not been. She hasn’t quite learned how to control her power yet; she has only given the mark to one other person before. Dylan recognizes the name James Jonathans from things Zil has mentioned. Zil was hoping to retrieve James soon since Amanda will be returning to the Shroud, but Becca isn’t sure that will be allowed. Things are ramping up pretty quickly. Becca worries where Ophelia will send Alivia if she makes it to the top of the mountain, and asks Dylan if she can take her when she arrives just in case. Becca can transport Dylan to and from the mountain in secret to retrieve Alivia, but just the once since they are only supposed to reach the top once it’s time for them to officially join ranks with the Trueguard.

Normally, the mark is given to people once they’ve accepted their fate and joined the Trueguard, but Dylan does not get much of a choice since Becca gave it to her by mistake. Dylan recognizes the name Trueguard from stories she read growing up. Becca recounts what Ophelia has told her about the Trueguard. Originally, they were created to protect the gods from humanity, but the aim of the new Trueguard is to protect humanity from the gods. Ophelia can sense there is a new potential member and has tasked Becca with finding them, so she has been lying to keep Ophelia from learning about her mistake. If Ophelia knew, she would want to bring Dylan to the mountaintop. Becca has seen the potential futures in which the team leave the Heroes Gauntlet before they’ve won, and none of them end well.

Dylan wonders what her purpose is supposed to be in joining the Trueguard. Usually, there is a ceremony that names each member and gives them their purpose in saving humanity. There are, or will be, fourteen in total. So far in Dylan’s point in time they only have three in the ranks: Becca, the Seer. James, the Seeker. Dylan, The Bastion. There are other potentials scattered about, mostly making their way up the mountain or waiting to be confirmed. Becca confides in Dylan that she has been overwhelmed by her duties lately, and the other people on the mountain don’t seem to understand the gravity of what she has to keep track of.

They sit at the base of the tree, and Becca takes Dylan’s hand to brace for what she knows is about to happen in the night sky. She warns Dylan about the next day; a lot is about to happen following what they are seeing. It’s the Archmage Lavinia’s ship. A devout despara member managed to carve a set of runes into the ship before being caught. Dylan realizes what’s happening and runs forward, but Becca says they are only able to watch. They can’t stop it. A first explosion slowly burst from the back of the ship. Becca knows it’s hard to watch, but she didn’t want to see it alone. Everything changes after this. Dylan wonders if there are any good Afters. There are, Becca reassures her, but only if they win the tournament. There are scattered possible results from this event, maybe some where Lavinia isn’t dead, but either way she will be gone for some time. Becca warns Dylan of the new archmage. He’s not despara, he is much more. The Shroud can’t know any of this; they already know about the archmage but they cannot learn that Dylan has any information. “There’re more than one,” Becca whispers.

A star flashes and then quickly extinguishes in the night sky. Then another. More stars follow, and Becca panics about the loss of so many Afters. She’s changed something. Panicking, she gives Dylan a quick goodbye and asks her not to tell anybody what she’s learned. She gives one final secret in a single word: “Four.” Dylan wakes up with a start at her desk. She goes to the living room and sees the remnants of Zil and Mavis’ evening, and falls asleep on the couch.

Trivia

 * While they are getting ready to dream walk, Zil reveals that they have about ten old merch tees from a band they were once in. The band was called Knife Soup, and they were the drummer.
 * Phibi's new cat Cobbler normally appears in her dreams alongside her, but does not in this one.
 * Dylan is wearing a pore strip when she first shows up in her dream. She uses them to help keep her from snoring.