Dreamstate: Dark Eyes

By Trevor Zawalich

Every night, as eleven-year-old Daniel Knox falls asleep, he has the dream again. It is a dream filled with grand forests, small towns, bizarre creatures, and stone castles—but it is also a place where sinister horrors lurk just out of sight. Through a chance encounter with a mysterious girl, Daniel finds himself swept up in a war. Hunted by a dark god, he must learn to master the powers within himself or see his dream world conquered by evil.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trevor Zawalich
• Release date: Nov 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301692743

Trevor Zawalich

Trevor Zawalich is the author of the Dreamstate series.If he’s not reading or writing, and sometimes even while he is, he’ll be listening to music. He is an unabashed music enthusiast and makes a point of catching his favorite bands whenever they’re in town.Born in Seattle in 1988, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from Simon Fraser University in 2010. He now lives in the heart of Vancouver, BC, with his girlfriend and his stories.

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Dreamstate: Dark Eyes

The Dreamstate Series, Book One

By Trevor Zawalich

Dreamstate: Dark Eyes

Text Copyright © 2012 Trevor Zawalich

All Rights Reserved

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT

CHAPTER 1: SLEEP

CHAPTER 2: REAL

CHAPTER 3: KRUL’DIIM

CHAPTER 4: HERESY

CHAPTER 5: REVELATION

CHAPTER 6: DANIEL

CHAPTER 7: MACROSCOPICS

CHAPTER 8: LESSONS

CHAPTER 9: POWER

CHAPTER 10: WAR

CHAPTER 11: CONTROL

CHAPTER 12: BELOW

CHAPTER 13: FEARS

CHAPTER 14: SIGHT

CHAPTER 15: ASUNDER

CHAPTER 16: CONFRONTATIONS

CHAPTER 17: REMISSION

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CHAPTER 1

SLEEP

Every night, as Daniel fell asleep, he would have the dream again. It wasn’t a terribly bad dream, nor was it very exciting, but it was always the same; and this, as he was often told, was unusual. Daniel had learned over his eleven years that when adults said unusual they often meant bad. He wasn’t bothered though, he felt a comfortable familiarity with the world in his dream; he knew what was going to happen, and that it would be simple, and pleasant.

Tonight’s sleep began no differently than any other. As always, Daniel awoke in a deep cave, illuminated only by the small, blue gemstones buried throughout the walls. Each stone was filled with a tiny, undulating spark that cast a thousand tendrils of light across the floor and ceiling. Daniel had always imagined this was what it was like to live underwater, if you were a fish and could breathe, that is. He had seen the inside of the cave every night for as long as he could remember, and so, with little hesitation, he climbed to his feet. The cave took a few minutes to navigate, it had more than a couple twists and turns, but Daniel could have found his way out with his eyes closed. Soon enough he was squinting in the bright, white light of the morning sun as it lit up the cave’s interior, washing out the dim blue fire of the walls.

Daniel stood atop a gently sloping hill covered in trees, grass, and wildflowers. In front of him, he could only see a short distance; a thick forest lay all about, obscuring any signs of people ever having been in the area. Daniel knew better though; a short, thirty-minute walk through the woods would take him within sight of a small town—a town full of people, and shops, and animals, and sounds, and sights.

It really isn’t at all like home, Daniel thought to himself as he cautiously slid his way down the hill, still wet with the morning dew. It wasn’t just the stone structures, it was the people too, the way they kept their eyes down and didn’t look too far ahead. At least I can blend in and everyone leaves me alone. This was made all the more possible by the fact that Daniel wore a simple green smock and a pair of hide pants. He always awoke in the same clothing, and they always seemed to fit—Daniel never questioned it, as he was in a dream, after all.

As Daniel approached the tree line, absentmindedly enjoying the sunshine and the singing of the small, lizard-like creatures in the trees overhead, he heard voices. There were men, or at least what he assumed were men, somewhere up ahead, quietly conversing. Daniel hadn’t seen any other people this deep in the woods for as long as he could remember, and was therefore curious. Sneaking his way closer, Daniel stayed low to the ground amongst the brush and oversized tree roots. With no one clearly in sight, Daniel began to climb to his feet, but then froze. He’d seen movement and the glint of steel. Daniel shook his head in confusion—the guards from the town never came this far out, there was nothing out here to look for… except him. Daniel slid across the leaves and grass, towards a nearby tree so he could investigate while hidden. He peered around the edges of the trunk and saw the half-concealed outlines of three figures, armored and powerful. Something about the sudden appearance of these people frightened Daniel—they weren’t supposed to be here, they had never been here before.

Daniel watched the strange men for a few moments; he couldn’t quite make out any clear details to their forms, as they were obscured by shadows and branches. They didn’t appear to be doing anything out of the ordinary, but their presence still didn’t quite sit right with him, and so Daniel moved to leave. As quietly as he came, Daniel slipped through the forest, stepping across roots and stones to avoid the dry leaves underfoot. Who are they and what are they doing here? Daniel wondered as he scurried deeper into the forest. He’d never before seen anyone wearing so much armor in any of the small villages, or even the nearby town. After a short stint of walking, Daniel felt confident that he’d escaped unseen. Allowing himself to fall to the ground amidst a patch of thick moss, Daniel relaxed for just a moment before he heard the footsteps of the armored men.

Run! Daniel urged himself silently, clambering to his feet as quickly as he could manage. He didn’t know who the men were or why they’d suddenly appeared in his dream, but he ran nonetheless. His heart pounded in his ears like a drum, but he was still sure that he could hear the heavy footfall of the men giving chase. With a sudden burst of insight, Daniel made a quick turn and leapt down a steep embankment, slipping and sliding across the dry leaves and dirt. He was now heading towards the town and with any luck he’d be able to disappear into the crowds until he woke up. As he ran in the new direction, the sound of the footsteps behind him seemed to fade, but Daniel didn’t turn around to be sure. The first sign that he was nearing the town came when the trees began to thin in size. The smaller, more spindly brush then soon gave way altogether in favor of rolling farmland. Daniel burst from the forest’s edge, stumbling and sliding on the well-traveled dirt road that would lead him through the countryside and into the township proper. As soon as he was in the open, Daniel realized he may have made a mistake, leaving himself nowhere to hide, but when he turned around no one was there. Daniel paused to catch his breath as he scanned the trees for any sign of movement, any sound, any flash of metal—but there was nothing.

Ugh, Daniel groaned as he let his head slump backwards in relief. They were probably just travelers anyhow, he reassured himself as he turned towards the town. As Daniel walked and calmed his beating heart, he stopped near one of the larger farms to watch the farmers. Men and women wearing long jackets herded their flocks from atop the backs of… well, Daniel wasn’t quite sure what they were, but he did know that they were incredible to watch. The riders sat on a large saddle in the middle of the animal’s back, which was slender and muscular and covered in shimmering scales. Each creature had four long legs which ended in broad hands; Daniel had seen the beasts grabbing fence posts and other obstacles as they ran to push off of when they opted to glide. Broad wings of a thin, nearly transparent membrane spread from the animals’ sides and allowed them to swoop and slide about the fields. Neither animal nor rider ever seemed to leave the ground by more than a few feet, but the illusion was nonetheless mesmerizing. The riders would rest their boots, one on each side, at the base of the wing and body; they seemed to be able to control their mounts’ movement with only a slight shift in their weight, pressuring each wing ever so lightly. The creatures’ strong tails would flick to the left and right in time with the riders’ feet, causing them to change direction at a moment’s notice. Daniel was always impressed by the casual way that the men handled their steeds; he had a suspicion, though, that the creatures would have done very well on their own if merely given instructions. There was a fierce intelligence buried in their large amber eyes; Daniel could see it, even from where he stood against the outer fence. Guards in the town rode similar creatures, but never so quickly or freely as the ones here.

Daniel looked up towards the sky; he only had another five or six hours before he was going to be woken up. I may as well see what’s happening in town today, he thought to himself before hopping off the fence. It had obviously been a few days since the last rainfall, and as Daniel walked, he kicked up small clouds of dust by scuffing the tips of his boots into the ground. Only once did an elderly farm wife, near one of the fences, raise her head at the sound.

She made a tutting sound with her mouth and called out, ‘Ent you got nothing better to do than dirty yourself up? Boy?

Daniel looked up, surprised by the attention. Sorry, I didn’t mean— he quickly began to answer, while bending down to brush off the front of his legs.

Get ya’ gone then, the old woman cut him off before turning back to her work, pulling thatching up from the thick field.

Daniel moved quickly away from the woman, careful to lift his feet high over the path, so as to not disturb any more dirt than necessary. It took an extra bit of concentration to walk with his knees so high in the air, but one of Daniel’s many talents was his ability to turn anything into a game. He was a giant, stepping over mountainous crags and valleys. He had to be careful where he stepped and how softly he put his feet down; if he slipped up even once he could crush an entire village of people so tiny that he could barely see their little homes.

Whatcha’ walking like that for? A girl’s voice interrupted Daniel’s train of thought, causing him to stumble and destroy most of a small nation underfoot.

Daniel stared at the ruined dust pile for a few moments before glancing to the source of the intrusion. A girl no more than two or three years older than him sat atop a wooden fence rail. She was mostly dressed in leather and skins; she had obviously tried to decorate some parts of her outfit herself, where pieces of fur and beading were crudely sewn into loose patterns. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in braids; these too were filled with beads and other ornaments. Daniel had never seen another person in town that had looked quite like her, or at least not that he could remember. She sat with a wide grin on her face, staring happily at Daniel. Finally deciding she posed no real threat, Daniel answered simply, ‘Cause.

Hmm, she grunted as she dismounted the high railing. Don’t talk very much, do ya’? Well that’s fine. Name’s Leerah; Leerah Tact’xl. What’s yours? Leerah held out her right hand for Daniel to shake, still with a broad smile plastered across her face.

…Daniel, Daniel finally answered, cautiously taking her hand in his and shaking. She stood only about half a head taller than him, but her face was already starting to look more like that of an adult, and less like a child.

"It’s good to meet ya’ Daniel. So where are we going today? I ‘ent got nothing to do and ya’ look like fun... Leerah paused for a few moments as if considering her position. Can I come along too?"

Sure, if you want, said Daniel.

Great! Leerah shouted as she began to march down the dusty path. Daniel had to hurry his pace to catch up. The walk to the town was expedited all the more by Leerah’s chatter. Daniel smiled and listened for most of the time; Leerah was unusual, and that made him relax around her. He didn’t need to pretend not to be himself; not that he would have had the chance even if he wanted, as he could barely get a word in edgewise.

Daniel had come back from his thoughts in the middle of Leerah’s explanation about the best way to ride wild swee’flits, which were the winged beasts that he had seen the men in the field riding. Now, see, because ya’ don’t have the saddle on the swee’flit, ya’ gotta grab real tight around their neck, like this. Leerah demonstrated the correct stance by jumping onto the trunk of a smaller tree and holding on tight with both her arms and legs. Daniel watched the spectacle with a pleased smile; Leerah was fun.

"If ya’ aren’t real careful, though, they’ll try to turn their heads right around and give ya’ a fearsome bite. And if they can’t do that, they’ll twist and turn until ya’ fly right off their backs… and then they’ll give ya’ a bite." Leerah finished her statement by pulling down the sleeve of her tunic, covering what looked suspiciously like a bruised beak mark.

What about the tall ones, with the arms on their faces? Daniel asked, recalling another of the creatures he had seen on the farms. The animals were nearly the size of an elephant, with long tentacles sprouting from their mouths; they’d always looked to him as if someone had taken the very best parts of an octopus, and squished them onto the head of a giraffe. Can you ride those too?

What, the konrah? No, they ‘ent no fun at all. They’re too stubborn to ride, they’ll just stand there and eat leaves until ya’ get bored and climb off. Where ya’ from Daniel? It’s awful funny to not know all this stuff already; even if ya’ are from the city.

I’m… from somewhere else… not from around here. Daniel made a face while answering. His dreams had never asked him where he was from before. This sleep was turning out a lot more exciting than most nights, where the most he could hope for was a new stall in the market.

Ohh, ya’ came here from one of the other states? I don’t think I’ve ever met someone from that far away… or at least not really. I’m from out there, Leerah gestured to the west, or what Daniel assumed was the west from where the sun was in the sky. I don’t too often get into town; it always feels a bit… open. Ya’ know?

Daniel didn’t know, but he nodded nonetheless, not wanting to offend his strange companion. The town had always seemed small and rather quaint to him, like it was straight out of one of his books back home, with castles and dragons and knights. The town, of course, didn’t have any of these things, but there were houses and streets made of stone, and that seemed close enough to count.

So what state you come from? Leerah pushed.

Nebraska, Daniel offered; there seemed no real reason to lie, and so he didn’t.

Leerah made a face, That ‘ent no state. Or… not one that I’ve heard of. She shrugged in contemplation. You’re funny Daniel, I like ya’. You don’t have to say where you’re from if ya’ don’t wanna. I ‘ent one of the clerics, though, if that’s what you’re afraid of.

Daniel nodded carefully; he didn’t know what most of the words she was using meant, but they seemed important, and so he played along. I’m not afraid of anything; I just don’t want to get caught by the clerics. Daniel spoke loudly and tagged on the last part as an afterthought; whatever the clerics were, Leerah seemed to think that they were bad.

Leerah grin suddenly faded at Daniel’s outburst and gave him a gentle push. Keep your voice down around here. Don’t think that just ‘cause these people ‘ent in their colors it means you’re safe. Half a chance and they’d turn ya’ in—s’posed to be a couple templars round here too. Dunno what they’re lookin’ for, but it can’t be anything good.

Right, Daniel replied as he began to wonder to himself, Were the strange men in the woods ‘templars?’ Maybe they had been ‘clerics?’ His thoughts were pushed to the side as Leerah began to shout that they were close to the town, and that she could see the market goers in the distance, moving in and out of the buildings ahead.

Daniel was always quite fond of the small town. It was more developed than the surrounding countryside, but only just. For the most part, the roads were still made from tightly packed dirt, and the buildings constructed of wood. The market, however, would be in the center of the town, where the streets and stalls were made from the same dark stone as the buildings around them. Daniel had heard talk of a larger city, with walls and towers that reached the sky, but had never had the time to explore anywhere so far away. There were other villages that he had found, but they were small and he grew tired of them in only a few days’ worth of sleep. Daniel’s favorite parts of the town were the glowing gemstones that had been placed in the more solid stone walls and pathways. He imagined that during the night, the effect would be much more pronounced, but he wasn’t sure, as he always visited during the day and the sunlight cleanly washed away the blue.

What do ya’ wanna do first? Leerah asked Daniel as they entered the outskirts of the town, where the streets were dusty and the buildings were still wooden, with roofs made from thick thatching.

I dunno, Daniel responded. He was far more interested in what Leerah would have to say on the matter; maybe she knew something new to explore that he hadn’t found yet.

Well, I wanna look at the shops, Leerah stated. C’mon, we should go this way—just to be safe. She grabbed Daniel by the hand and pulled him into a small alley. He generally took the larger streets as no one had ever bothered to stop him before. It always seemed, to Daniel, that disappearing into a crowd, if necessary, was much preferable to being seen alone.

Here we are! Leerah finally exclaimed as they emerged from one end of the small street and into a throng of market-goers. Just remember to keep your head down if ya’ see one of the clerics, okay?

Daniel nodded; he had no idea what a cleric would look like, but if he noticed something out of the ordinary, he would make sure to alert Leerah to it as discreetly as possible. Wandering the shop stalls together, Daniel wanted to spend most of his time looking at the small animals in cages. Even after all the times that he’d visited the town, the creatures still held his attention with their strange forms. The zy’nim were of interest to Daniel; they were cricket-like creatures, about the size of a cat and covered in feathers. They hopped and flipped about their cages, providing Daniel with hours of entertainment over the years that he’d been visiting the markets. He found, though, that Leerah was much more interested in the smaller, shinier, and far more boring, trinkets for sale. At one point during their exploration, she produced a few small octagonal coins from a leather satchel at her hip. The coins were inscribed with a series of symbols that Daniel couldn’t quite make out; although he was sure he wouldn’t be able to read them, even if he could see properly. She handed them to the shopkeeper in exchange for what appeared to be a golden shell attached to a short length of string. Leerah tied the newly purchased trinket around her wrist and held the shell up into a patch of sun. Light splintered off of the surface in a broad spectrum of colors; she looked pleased.

What do ya’ think? Leerah asked, pushing the charm into Daniel’s face.

It looks nice, he offered while pulling his head back, to allow his eyes to focus.

I think so too, Leerah answered as she began to wander away again, still admiring her purchase. Daniel trailed behind her, staring dully at the stalls selling the usual, everyday fare he had come to expect. He paused for a few moments to watch one vendor, who appeared to have inlaid a number of smaller glowing blue gemstones into metal fittings and caps. He wasn’t quite sure the reason for the ornaments, but they looked more functional than decorative. It was fascinating to watch. He thought it best to ask Leerah what exactly the stones were for, even if it meant admitting that he didn’t understand another common object in this world. But when he turned to where she had been standing a few seconds earlier, she was gone.

Daniel turned to his left and then to his right. Leerah had completely disappeared into the crowd. He wasn’t sure how she’d managed such a feat—her clothing stood out from anything the townsfolk wore, and the beading on her tunic made her glimmer in the sunlight. Leerah? Daniel called out. No answer came back, but something did change in the crowd around him. There was a sudden hushed intensity that came over the market. Taller folk began to peer over the heads of those around them, standing on tip-toe as if to see something of importance. Daniel tried to push his way through, towards the direction where everyone else was looking. He soon found it easier to move as the group began to disperse, pushing towards the