"Where am I?" Mane walked around with a confused expression on his face. He found himself surrounded by nothing but nothingness. There was nothing around him, only a bright white light. It was identical to the strange space Indra had called him into when he had met Ananse; but it wasn't the same place. For instance; the space Indra had called Mane into wasn't as crippling as this one. Indra's space made it seem like there were clouds everywhere, and that even the ground was made of clouds. The entire space was fluffy and soft like a cloud. One could run around all they wanted, but they wouldn't get anywhere. This strange space he currently found himself in was similar in the respect that it didn't seem to record any distances. Just like Indra's space, Mane had wondered this strange space for a while now, without any tangible results. But that was where the similarities ended – just that one thing. Everything else was different.
For starters, Indra's space was white, not bright. The entire space Indra commanded was surrounded by clouds and was white. As for this strange space Mane found himself stuck in, it was not white but bright. It was like Mane was trapped in a star, for the entire space sparkled and crackled with blinding light that took Mane a good half an hour to get accustomed to! Also, it wasn't soft like Indra's space. Mane felt like he was walking on solid earth as he traversed the strange space in the hopes of finding a way to get out. So far, he didn't have a single good idea.
Another major difference between this space and Indra's summoning space was that Mane was naked! The fact that he was naked led him to believe that no one had summoned him here. After all, what kind of perverted god will be interested in seeing an 11 year old's nakedness. At least, none of the gods he was close to had that kind of fetish.
Mane couldn't feel any other presence either. Unlike his meeting with Ananse and Indra, where there was a precursor to the meeting in the strange space, he appeared here without any warning. With Indra, the moment he touched the man, he felt a beckon. He accepted the god's call and found himself in the god's summoning space. And when he appeared there, he could feel a pair of eyes watching. They were hidden, but they watched. But this place was different. Even with his identity as a scholar, Mane couldn't feel any prying eyes. He was totally alone in this place – or so he thought.
"Master? Anyone?" After walking around aimlessly for another hour, Mane tried to find some connection to the outside world. Unlike with Ananse and Indra where he could still feel his body and his connection to his masters, but couldn't contact them, this time the connection was nonexistent. It was almost like it had been severed.
"All I did was to take a nap" Mane sighed bitterly and sat down.
"Wait! A nap! Dad was saying some strange things when I said I was tired and sleepy" Mane's brain finally caught on to something.
"Good luck. Don't get flustered" That was exactly what Ray said when Mane told him he was tired and was going to take a nap. Mane thought it was a strange dad joke (to be fair all dad jokes are strange), but now that he was stuck here, he felt that Ray knew exactly what was going on. He focused his mind and tried to fish out any other strange things his father might have said at the time.
"Sweet dreams. Remember, it is real, but it is also unreal" Mane remembered another strange sentence from his father. And he got a major clue from it.
"I need a guide" Mane announced. His words finally got a response. Mane didn't know how it was possible, but a light brighter than the one in this space, shone right before him. It was so bright that the light Mane had gotten to in this strange space seemed to grow dim. The young boy had no other option but to close his eyes. After the brighter light subsided, he uncovered eyes and stared in surprise at the strange creature before him. A miniature being was floating right in front of Mane. It looked like a downscaled version of a human being, but even a newborn baby was five times its size. It had large shimmering wings that glowed softly. It was beautiful, and Mane felt his agitated spirit calm down when he looked at it.
"You are a fairy, aren't you?" Mane stared at the strange creature before his eyes and asked. He made the guess based on a few pictures he had seen in some books about fairies.
"You are well informed. I am indeed a fairy, a fairy of the Dreamscape" the cute creature flew slowly around Mane's head and said. Mane could feel its voice ringing in his head. It didn't feel like it was speaking. It felt more like it was transferring its thoughts directly into his brain.
"Telepathy?" Since the creature wasn't using its mouth, Mane opened his mind and asked. He wasn't a telepath, but he knew that as long as one opened his/her mind and allowed it to be read by a telepath, they would be able to communicate.
"Yes. When I was told that a newbie was visiting the Dreamscape, I was very reluctant to be its chaperone. But now that I've met you, I feel that I was mistaken to judge you without knowing you. For that, I apologize"
The fairy stopped orbiting Mane's head and bowed slightly before him. Although Mane was impressed by its noble and dignified personality, his attention was drawn to something else.
"Don't worry about that. I would have been uneasy to handle newbie too. But you have mentioned the word 'Dreamscape' twice already. Is that what this place is?" Mane stood up and asked. He disregarded his nakedness and looked straight at the fairy.
"Yes. This place is the Dreamscape" the ethereal voice of the fairy sounded in Mane's mind once again. It was an ambiguous tone, and made it impossible for Mane to correctly discern the sex of the fairy. Of course, he didn't leave this thought lying around in his mind so that the fairy would see. He quickly sealed it out of the communication. Years of hiding his thoughts from his masters had finally bore fruit.
"If you say you are my chaperone, then that means you are here to make my journey way simpler? If so, I have a question to ask: what is the Dreamscape?" Mane walked forward and asked the fairy which followed him.
"The dreamscape is a different dimension where the laws aren't quite the same as the laws in the True Universe. It is akin to a virtual space, but cannot be fully controlled by the one who is visiting it. The Dreamscape is usually a testing ground for gods and born gods. I can feel your energy, Mane, son of Ray, the Brute King. You are a godling and are eligible to take a test in the Dreamscape. "
"So any god can be tested here?" Mane asked
"No" the fairy transmitted. "This dimension was discovered by the Allfather Odin. He has made it possible for those who share his bloodline to access this dimension and grow stronger" the fairy answered
"Odin? Who is Odin?" Mane tilted his head cutely and wondered.
"Considering that you possess his bloodline, this is a strange question to ask. If you do not have the answer to this question, then I can safely presume that it is because the Allfather doesn't want you to know yet. In that case, I cannot answer your question"
Mane smiled wryly when he heard the fairy's response. He thought he would finally be able to glean some information on his ancestry from the fairy, but the sharp little creature caught on and denied him any access to the information. Mane blamed himself. He wasn't careful enough. If he had been slyer and craftier, and weaved his sentences sensibly, he wouldn't have been so easily found out.
"I thought you were my chaperone?" Mane tried to get the fairy to talk
"I am, but the Allfather is my employer" the fairy smartly shut down any follow-up questions and tricks Mane had yet to use.
"Can you at least give me some information on the outside world?" Mane pleaded.
"I can" Luckily for our young Supreme, the fairy was willing to do this. Once it answered in the affirmative, Mane could hear the voices of his father and Butler Fin. They seemed to be talking about his friends and himself. Mane could feel his body, but he still couldn't wake up.
"It seems I have to pass whatever test awaits me before I can wake up" Mane realized.
"That is exactly right" the fairy chimed in.
Mane kept silent and listened to this father and Butler Fin talk about several matters, and he learnt a lot from them.
"So they decided to go to Systema? I hope they succeed and return in one piece" Mane silently prayed. He also learnt from their conversation that Aegeus wasn't average at all. He knew that his disciple wasn't average because his 1st said the boy had a large reservoir of 'hidden' energy. Plus Aegeus's understanding of outer energy was unique. However, Mane reckoned that he hadn't thought as highly of his student as he could have when he heard Butler Fin praise the boy.
"They are all striving to grow stronger. The least I can do as their captain is to grow stronger too. How does the test work?" Mane strengthened his resolve and asked his chaperone.
"I thought you would never ask. I would explain right away"