Chapter 5

CHaPTeR V - I Do BeLieVe IN FaiRieS?

After being thrown out of the portal, Alex fell flat on her face, luckily tumbling onto a bed of soft, spongey moss. Behind her the doorway of light slowly vanished, though compared to the light she had seen previously in the rock beneath the tree, this one was flat on the ground. In the area behind her where the light was fading, a circle of large red and white mushrooms encompassed the portal on the floor.

Alex got up on her hands and knees and reached for the light as it faded, "No, wait!" The light had gone before she could even finish her words. Breathing heavily and shakily, she tried to process what she had just witnessed. From Jennifer trying to dissuade her, to the explosion she had felt and heard seconds ago and the strange soft floor she had landed on.

Slowly, she climbed to her feet and shouldered her backpack, taking a moment to study her surroundings. Moss blanketed the ground everywhere as if a giant green carpet covered the earth. Not only that but everything was darkened, as if it was around the time of dusk.

From what Alex could tell she was in some kind of bog or swamp. A low hanging fog suspended just metres above her head. The fog however was not your average run of the mill, milky white cloud. It was moving and swirling with shimmering rainbow coloured light. Glowing lights the size of marbles gently flitted about the air as far as the eye could see. The reflection on the water was like a dancing night sky. They may have been fireflies but they were too tiny for Alex to tell. Reeds and small trees were dotted about here and there. The small area Alex had emerged seemed to be an island in the middle of the swamp, raised up out of the water and surrounded in thick reeds and rocks at the water's edge.

The sound of the swamp was almost like a typical Louisiana bog with frogs and insects chirping in the underbrush. However there were noises she had never heard in the countryside before, unlike anything she had heard in her life. Indistinguishable whispers in her ears, strange gurgling growls and bubbling water rippled throughout the swamp. Here, Alex had the distinct feeling that every object down to the tiniest slime-covered pebble was watching her.

Alex, panicking from the strange surroundings clenched her fist and pressed it to her chest. She was expecting an episode to happen. But no headaches, seizures or dizziness occurred. She found it odd but also it gave her an overwhelming sense of relief.

The feeling of being thrust into an unknown place with not a person in sight still had her on edge, especially with the disembodied whispering. She tried her best to remain calm, worried if another episode was simply lagging. "Hello? J-Jenny?!" she called, her voice breaking.

There was no answer. But when Alex spoke, the mist flashed with light, reacting to her voice. She took a step forward, leaving a glowing green footprint in the moss when she walked. "Fox?" she squeaked quieter, again the mist pulsating with every sound she made. "Anyone?"

Alex reached into the back pocket of her jeans to take out her phone. She unlocked the screen and saw she had absolutely zero bars of signal. The kind of situation that happened only when you went into a tunnel or a cave. Alex huffed in annoyance, "where's the signal? I can't even-" she glanced at the battery power as well, seeing it only had about forty percent left of charge. She growled again, "damn, I don't have my charger either."

"At last. We speak face to face," a voice said not far from her.

Alex jumped, her heart racing. She almost flung her phone into the swamp, but still kept a tight grip on it. She shoved her phone back into her pocket again and turned towards the sound. At the bottom of the sloped island that she had landed on, a small land bridge connecting to a widened path faded into the fog. By the side of the land bridge was a cluster of large slimy green rocks. The foggy silhouette of a strange figure was sat leaning against them with two glowing lights for eyes. As the figure slowly got up and moved towards her, Alex's face went pale as the person stepped through the mist into her light.

Stood before her was a towering muscular man...dragon. Or a dragon man. Adorned with a white robe that looked an awful lot like a Greek toga. It was held together with a golden clasp at the shoulder featuring a symbol that looked like the sun. A thick golden sash was also stretched across his middle.

The man was around eight feet tall with golden scales covering the entirety of his body. His head was that of a dragon's with two large horns jutting straight backwards out the top of his head shaped like pointy handle bars, a crest of smaller straight horns nestled between them. On the end of his snout was a smaller single horn like that of a rhinoceros. Where his ears would have been placed were webbed fins coming out of the sides of his head. His Hands were clawed and his legs were shaped like a therapod dinosaur. Though instead of three, he had four clawed toes and a single hallux toe higher up on the back of each leg. Behind his back were a pair of huge folded bat-like wings, also golden in colour. From behind him was a long forked tail that brushed against the ground, a row of spikes going all the way down the appendage.

Everything about the stranger was clean, perfect and immaculate with no scratches, scars or blemishes, even on the thin membranous wings. In the dragon man's wide eye sockets were balls of pure white light, too blinding to look at.

Alex fell backwards and shielded her eyes in terror. She then crouched down, balancing on her heels in the fetal position and putting her hands behind her head, "No, no, n-no! STOP! Leave me alone!"

"Be at peace, child," the stranger said. The light died down in the corner of Alex's eyes. As the stranger softly padded towards her, he knelt down and offered her a huge scaley hand larger than her face, "Here. Don't be afraid. Let me help you up."

Hesitating, Alex blinked and very gingerly studied the huge hand. She lowered her own hands, starting to realise that this monstrous figure could have already attacked her if he wanted to. Alex mustered her courage and shakily took his hand, looking up at his face. The lights in his eyes had died down. His eyes looked normal now for a lizard. The irises were a bright yellow and had cat-like slits for pupils, instead of blinding white balls of fire. There was somehow a kind and gentle feeling behind them. The stranger smiled the best he could with a long crocodile-like snout. "Apologies for the bright light. Is this better for your eyes?" He asked.

Alex nodded in stunned silence as she was pulled to her feet. The stranger spoke again, "And I suppose you are wondering where you are and what happened, correct? And who I am?"

Alex slowly nodded again to each suggestion.

The stranger chuckled lightly and padded away a few steps. He turned back to face Alex, "In that order, you are in the land of the Fae. You just passed through a portal at a Place of Power after touching the light in the gateway. Your friend Jennifer is in this realm also. Though not every portal will lead to the same exit for each person. That is why you cannot also see the fox that led you here. Both have been transported somewhere else nearby in this realm. And I am a Celestian. My name is Hintralios, I am your celestial guardian, I've been keeping an eye on you your entire life."

Alex found the use of her tongue again, "My entire...wh-what do you mean? Am-am I dreaming?"

"I cannot force you to believe me." Hintralios replied. "You are a clever young lady. You can figure it out as you go along. My task up until now was to gently guide. But now in the shelter of the fairy realm, I have been permitted to show myself to you fully. As you now know of the dream Solareon sent you, and know the existence of Overland, I can now help advise you when you have no one else to turn to. Especially in times of peril, such as now."

"The dream," Alex said, her voice in a whisper. "You know about that? That was sent to me? What, like an email? Solareon...I've heard that name. Who is that?"

Hintralios turned his head like a dog listening to its owner. "But all was explained in the dream, was it not?"

"It...I think?" Alex said slowly, trying to recall everything about her dream she had a month ago. "B-but what is your well...what is a...Cele-thing?"

"A Celestian," Hintralios patiently corrected. "We are messengers and guides, direct servants and children of Solareon the Celestor himself. Celestor means 'celestial' and 'creator', it is his title."

"We?" Alex noticed.

"Indeed," Hintralios put his hands behind his back, "I am one of many. Too many for you to even write down. The Celestor has tasked me personally in making sure you fulfil your destiny. He knows you will. He has seen the future."

"Wait, what? He can read the future?"

"Of course," the Celestian replied calmly, "He is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent."

Alex recalled the conversations she had sometimes had with Jennifer and her family's religion. As she recalled, those three attributes were only associated with Ra.

"That is a story for another time," the Celestian said as if reading her mind. "I must also mention your parents will be safe as well."

Alex blinked rapidly, trying to bring herself back to conversation, "Huh? My parents? The explosion! What happened?! Mom and dad! Jenny! Rachael! I need to find them all!"

The Celestian raised his hand to quiet her, "All are safe. With the fox in this realm he would have already caught the scent of your friend Jennifer and rushed to help her. He can be trusted, this you have my word. Your friend Rachael is safe where she is on earth, the explosion did not touch her, as well as your parents. The swarm of mantids that tried to kill you however did perish in the blast. Firos now believes you're dead and it would be best keep it that way. Thank you for listening to me and the fox, if you hadn't you would be dead and therefore Overland would have no saviour."

Alex breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay so...what you said with those bugs, they were trying to kill me? What are you talking about?"

"Assassins sent by Firos. They came from Overland. With you dead, Firos would be able to usurp Overland. Which he will soon do if not for you."

Alex massaged her temples, "R-right...this is all so confusing. Overland..." Alex breathed, scarcely believing it. "I've heard that name too..."

"All topics we can discuss later," Hintralios promised, "We must press on. Do not linger too much here. Time in the Realm of the Fae is vastly different from your own. Not only that, but you are being watched."

Alex gradually turned her head to where he was looking. Out in the boggy water were several dark shapes hovering at the surface. They all had pale eyes on the sides of their head, long snouts and frothing nostrils. Alex took a nervous step towards Hintralios, seeking safety, "what are those things?"

"Mugwumps," Hintralios replied. "Serpents with the heads of horses. I wouldn't dillydally. Come, I can show you the way."

"This place has monsters?" Alex whimpered, quickly trotting after him down the dark winding path. "Where are we going?" she then asked him.

"To Overland," Hintralios replied quietly as he walked beside her. "It resides on earth, above the sky, though you can only reach it through this realm using the Places of Power."

"Um...what is Overland exactly?"

"A mythical continent," he responded, glancing down at her. "A civilisation untouched by earthly man. Similar to the legends you have of El Dorado or Shangri-La. Though no human has any knowledge of Overland. It is a beautiful place free of pollution. It is Overland you are destined to save. When you reach there I will no longer be able to freely converse with you as I do now. Only in this realm my presence can be entirely hidden."

Alex looked down for a moment, trying to take in all the information, "why would you want to hide?"

"Again..." the Celestian almost sighed, "A very long story and we have very little time."

"Okay well um...you said I...that mantis, it wanted to kill me? This guy called Firos sent them? But exactly what...what am I threatening them with?"

"You aren't just destined to save Overland but solve the problem entirely. You will slay Firos."

"S-slay? Like kill?! Why would I wanna kill anyone?!"

"It isn't about want," the Celestian told her sharply, "it's about need...destiny. With him alive, Overland is not safe. And they have all had their share of loss. Solareon decided enough is enough. And he has chosen you."

"But why ME, though?!"

"There is only so much I can say. This is a question for another time."

Alex rolled her eyes impatiently, "enough with the 'next time' garbage! What in the actual Helheim is going on?! If this is all about me then why am I getting so left in the dark here?"

"Alexis," Hintralios sighed as he turned to her, "I understand this is a lot. But I have sworn an oath. I am forbidden to reveal all the secrets to you, I can't even give you the reason. Solareon has deemed it so. You must discover the truths yourself. All of which can be found in Overland. Do not be so impatient, child. All will be revealed in time. And I for one have the utmost faith in you."

Despite her frustration, Alex found herself being calmed be his soft demeaner. Before she could say anything else, something floated by her face. Just about a foot away, a glowing green orb the size of a golf ball floated by, softly bouncing through the air. As soon as Alex looked at the orb, she immediately felt an overwhelming urge to follow it. Her eyes became glazed and her feet started to move on their own.

Hintralios stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. As he touched her, somehow she was cleansed of the trance and snapped out of it, "Do not follow it!" Hintralios commanded, "Will-o-wisps are trickster fairies that will always lead you to danger."

"That was a...?" Alex started, still in a daze. Thankfully the dancing wisp had disappeared somewhere into the bog already.

"We are almost there," Hintralios said, turning around, "come now, don't stray from the path."

The Celestian led Alex down a winding dirt footpath until they got to more solid ground. Tall grass started to grow through the endless sheet of moss as they went, appearing at the sides of the path. Crooked glowing lanterns made from sticks and sea shells stuck in the ground a metre or two between each other at the edges. Tiny moths and other insects bounced around the light of each lantern. Further along the path Alex and Hintralios arrived at a cross-section, one path heading in four directions.

"We are here," Hintralios announced.

"What's here?" Alex asked, seeing nothing but a regular crossroads.

"Places of Power are gateways to access the Realm of the Fae," he explained. "It is through this realm that all realm and world travel is possible. Even access to Avalon and Yggdrasil can be found here. The Realm of the Fae is as such nicknamed the terminal realm as of late. Places of Power will stand out as landmarks. Beneath trees, burial mounds, megalithic rock formations, toadstool rings...and a crossroads for instance."

"Crossroads?" Alex repeated, "so...how do we open it? And how do we know it goes to...Overland?"

Hintralios turned to her, "trust me. It leads to Overland. It is difficult to explain. But this is the place, I assure you. Unfortunately as I am forbidden, I am unable to access Places of Power. I am simply here because I travelled here with you. You will need the power of something physical that can use magic. When it absorbs part of the magic from the physical being, the Place of Power will activate."

Alex thought for a moment, "but...I could touch your hand. Doesn't that make you physical?"

"Not entirely. The form you see me as is for you to easily comprehend. I have no physical body or appearance. My true form is just a sentient mass of raw energy. Though there are moments I can change my density, letting me hold and touch objects as if I were truly flesh and blood. But that is besides the point. As I stated before, I am forbidden. I am not permitted to access the Places of Power to help you through. I am under oath."

Alex sighed, "right, the oath thing. Okay so how about the fox? He's a magic fox right? He opened the other...Place of Power? B-but he's not here anymore, what else do I find?"

"As I said, any physical being with magical energy residing inside them. Let's try safely befriending a fairy."

"A fairy?!"

Hintralios paused for a moment, "You did just see a fairy earlier. They're everywhere you look. You are in the Realm of the Fae."

Alex shook her head, feeling like an idiot, "Oh, right. It's just so weird...that you said fairy. Just until yesterday, I never thought they actually exis-"

"I would not finish that sentence if I were you," Hintralios advised, "fairies have many taboos, far more than all the human cultures combined do. And saying that happens to be one of the worst."

"Oh!" Alex gasped then clasped her hands over her mouth as if she had burped, "Oh no! Please say I didn't just kill one?!"

Hintralios laughed, "Oh Alex, you are amusing. But that's just in human entertainment. Real fairies simply just view those words as a very grave insult. And I wish you not to be lynched. In this realm, ears happen to be everywhere."

"Lynched?" Alex whispered with a gulp. "Okay. So where do I go? I can't see any fairies."

"Almost every speck of light you see is one," he replied. "They are as diverse as the fish in the ocean. But many of these you see are selfish and intolerant of humans. There is a settlement nearby however. There will be a tribe of traveling fairies there more attuned to the outside world. Let me guide you." Hintralios suddenly faded and shrank until he was a ball of glowing warm white light.

"What is that? What did you do?" Alex asked.

"This form will raise fewer suspicions. I am still here with you. Fairies are one of the few creatures that can always see me. Best not to scare them into attacking."

"Right," Alex gripped her bag straps nervously, "Ok then um...lead the way?"

"Follow," the orb took a right at the crossroads and hovered along the dark path.

Alex closely followed behind, thankfully Hintralios was going at a walking speed, giving her a chance to keep up. Through the mist Alex could make out brighter lights than the fairies floating everywhere. The warm orange lights were stationary but still small and closely packed together.

As they neared the lights and the mist cleared a little, Alex realised how small the settlement truly was. At the base of a huge and twisting, towering oak tree were rows of miniature cottages the size of cat carriers. The lights inside the tiny windows of the cottages flickered with a warm glow. Shelves of huge mushrooms climbed the tree, each mushroom having a rope bridge or ladder connecting to the other with tiny doors fused to the tree trunk. In the centre of the sloped village nestled in the roots was a larger house than all the others with a tower as tall as Alex herself.

"Halt!" yelled a voice.

Alex froze, not knowing where the sound had come from. Something flew up from the ground and stayed hovering in front of her face. The creature was the size of a hamster. Though it was skinny and grey with large fluttering butterfly wings.

Alex stared in amazement at the tiny creature in front of her. It was thin and humanoid, though it had elongated proportions to that of a human. Its skin was pale grey with long pointed ears, shining black eyes and prickly dark hair that stuck straight back from its head. The wings it used to fly seemed to be the pattern of a monarch butterfly. It also wore a simple warrior outfit which looked like it was made out of a mix of tree bark, crystals and leaves. It's feet were bare with four digits instead of five on all hands and feet.

The creature certainly was not happy as the straw-sized spear it held in its tiny hands was pointing directly towards Alex's eyeball.

Alex breathed in disbelief, her eyes were wide. "C-cool...a real fairy!"

"Say what?!" the creature snarled, when it spoke, it revealed it's teeth to look like a cat's with elongated canines.

"Pardon my friend," the orb Hintralios was disguised as pulsated when he spoke, "she is not accustomed to this realm. We need someone to reveal the way to Overland for us. And then we shall be on our way."

The fairy looked between the orb and Alex with an extremely distrustful expression. "A human? Pray tell how in all the nine realms did a human walk into the Realm of the Fae?"

"Uh," Alex stammered, "W-well, I didn't mean to. I was following someone, a fox."

"A fox..." the fairy slowly started to lower its spear, still unsure whether or not they were a threat. It then looked back at Alex again, "from Overland?"

"Precisely," Hintralios confirmed. "May you help us?"

"First things first, how did a wisp befriend a human?" the fairy bared its teeth at Alex in disgust.

"I am not a wisp," Hintralios explained, "I am something...far...greater." As he said the last few words, the brightness of the orb grew with each syllable.

The fairy's eyes slowly widened and he stammered as he spoke fast paced, "o-oh. By the wings of Solareon. Please, both wait here. I will fetch the elder."

As the fairy flew through the village and into the larger house, Alex turned to Hintralios, "You didn't think of starting with that?"

"Soon you will learn that diplomacy can solve a conflict before it has begun," Hintralios explained. "You need to build trust. If I had been forceful from the start, I cannot be harmed, but you may have lost an eye and remained imprisoned here forever."

Alex tightened her lips and looked down, curling her fingers in her hair.

"You're welcome," Hintralios said.

"I just had to see for myself!" another voice spoke.

Alex turned back to see the fairy had returned with two others. One was a guard that looked similar to him and the other was a slightly wider fairy with a long white beard that dangled around his feet. A crown of twigs perched on his head and a long green robe hung down to his ankles.

The elder looked Alex up and down, an astonished look on his face, "the most important human alive, I presume?"

Alex blinked, looking back and forth from Hintralios, "I-I am?"

"But of course!" the elder exclaimed, "from this point onward, you are the one that kicks off the great healing of the cosmos! It was written in the stars!"

"R-right," Alex said, not really believing it. "Um...could you maybe help us get through the crossroad portal? Apparently I need to get to Overland."

"The chosen one requires my assistance!" the elder clasped his hand together, "oh Solareon thank you for this opportunity! This is a great honour," the elder put a hand on his chest which just bounced on his big white beard. He turned and spoke to his fairy guards, "Pip, you are on sentry duty. Nut, accompany me to the crossroads with the chosen, would you?"

Both guards bowed their heads and said, "as you say, elder."

One fairy returned to the village as the other moved closer with the elder. "Would you be so kind as to follow me?" The elder asked. With that, the older fairy flew past Alex and up the pathway back up to the crossroads. His bodyguard Nut, the fairy Alex had met first followed close behind him.

Alex looked at Hintralios for confirmation.

"Do not delay," the orb told her calmly.

"Right," Alex turned and followed the two fairies up the path.

When all four of them reached the crossroads, the elder turned to Alex and smiled, "Please champion, stand back for a moment?"

Alex looked down and shuffled backwards off the centre of the crossroads, "s-sorry!" she stuttered.

"Do not despair," the elder kindly said, "the gateway may just need some space to activate. It may startle you."

Hintralios hovered next to Alex and took the form of a Celestian again, the dragon man in his Greek toga. Both the fairies gasped and bowed, still fluttering in the air with their wings.

"Please," Hintralios held up his hand, "Don't bow to me. Solareon alone deserves your loyalty and worship."

"Of c-course!" the elder stammered. He and the guard composed themselves, "please allow me to open the way." The elder lowered himself to the ground and landed. As soon as his tiny feet touched the ground at the centre of the crossroads, the floor started to glow and a shining light erupted from the dirt.

The light, exactly the same as Alex had previously seen inside the ring of mushrooms, was flat like a blanket, big enough for a person to fit through.

"Alright Alexis," Hintralios turned to face her directly, "Listen carefully and listen close. These Places of Power gateways can only be opened once every few hours and only for one minute. I will be with you like always but cannot interact with you openly as I am now. The first thing you need to do is find the fox and the weasel. They will both help you and explain everything. Now jump. Now!"

Despite the nervousness from the rush of information and travelling through another other-worldly portal again, Alex just took a breath and bravely jumped in. As soon as her shoes touched the light, she fell through and was cast out of a wall, falling onto the ground again. When she emerged, she landed on cold hard tiles that certainly left a bruise on her knees.

Alex groaned and winced from the pain, "ow! Again? I don't...like these portals very much."

Recovering from the fall, Alex slowly got to her feet and patted herself down again. She looked behind her and saw the light fade from the wall. She had appeared in a dead-end corridor and the light that vanished behind her had been inside the frame of a painting. The image was a very old and beautiful looking oil painting hung up in a portrait orientation against the wall. The painting was of the fairy realm, with pretty lights and flowers with houses perched on mushrooms and inside trees. It almost looked too pretty for the area Alex had just come from.

"Okay then," Alex turned back around, noticing first of all that the area she was in was a lot better lit than the realm she had just left. The long corridor she had wound up in was about two metres wide and it had doors on either side. It went dead straight for at least the length of a football pitch. The tiled floor below her was chequered black and white, smooth and shiny. The walls on either side had hundreds of paintings small and large going down the entire length of the corridor between the doorways. On the ceiling after every three doors hung small chandeliers made from iron and lit with candles.

Alex peered down the corridor to try and make out what was at the other end. She squinted her brown eyes and stood on her tiptoes, leaning from side to side if she could see anything.

"Hello?" she asked.

Nothing replied. The only sound that managed to catch her ear were the flickering flames on the chandeliers.

"H-Hintalos?" Alex tried to call out, not quite remembering his name. Still there was no answer. "Fox?" Alex took a few more steps, "Jenny? You here? Weasel? Anyone?"

Alex shyly brushed her golden blonde fringe out of her face. She gripped the straps of her backpack with both hands and started to make her way down the corridor. She glanced down at her jacket, realising it was dirty and a little tattered from landing flat on the floor twice. She huffed in annoyance, trying to brush off the dirt. Sadly there wasn't much she could do about the scuffs and scratches, "damn it. This is my favourite jacket too."

As she reached halfway down the corridor, Alex noticed that every wooden door was unique from the last. From the shape, the size, the colour, the frame or even the type of wood. The odd thing was that not a single door had a handle or doorknob. She made sure to double check each door as she went but all of them were locked and inaccessible.  Some doors looked like they could barely even fit a toddler through and others looked like they were tall and wide enough to fit an entire van. When she reached the end of the corridor, Alex had passed probably more than fifty mismatched doors.

She walked out into a huge room at the end of the corridor. But then realised she was in another much grander scale corridor. It was similar in size and shape to a railway station with arched walls like a tunnel. High above Alex, thirty metres or more was a glass ceiling, pouring light into the room. The only thing she could see out the glass was a blue sky with large white clouds. The wooden walls stopped about halfway upwards until it met the glass. On both sides of the wooden walls were more paintings. Unlike the other corridor, besides paintings there were sets of armour, weapons and tools. Even some animal horns and antlers were displayed in a few places. Alex found herself staring at the walls in curiosity, like she was in a museum.

On the floor, the tiles in this room were patterned into pictured mosaics that Alex couldn't quite make out. In the middle of the room were some red leather sofas, a tall coat rack and a long heavy glass table. Nothing else occupied them. The entire room was devoid of all signs of life.

At either end of the room were a set of double doors. Both with wooden griffins etched into the doorframes above them in the centre. "U-um," Alex swallowed, her mouth dry, "anyone there? Hello?" She looked at both doorways, moving her head like she was crossing a road. "Where do I go?" she spoke to herself, biting her lip.

Just then she heard a noise. A door creaked open from the side of the room decorated in weapons and armour. Above the doorway that had opened was a set of moose antlers. The door opened all the way in and stayed like that for a moment. Alex's heart started beating faster and faster, cautious on what was going to come from within. From what she saw next, it caused her heart to drop to her stomach.

What emerged from the doorway she almost thought was a prank. A hand completely void of flesh gripped the edge of the doorframe and hoisted out the figure it was attached to. The stranger was dressed in a huge black cloak that dragged along the floor behind him. The person was around seven feet tall and the hood of the cloak was down and around the shoulders, showing that the person's head was just a skull attached to a bony neck.

Alex's breathing became shaky and irregular, her eyes wide as saucers. Shivers ran all the way up and down her spine. Usually with this amount of surrealism she would have had a seizure by now. But instead she just stood there in shock, unable to speak or move.

The animated skeleton in the cloak walked forward from the doorway and immediately got snapped backwards with a loud CLONK. The skeleton turned round and looked up, cursing under its breath as it looked up at the doorframe above it. It had managed to wedge an extremely tall pole or walking stick between the floor and the top of the doorframe.

"What a polava," it muttered and grasped the handle with both bony hands, trying to free the shaft. The skeleton tugged a good three to four times and yanked the stick free, stumbling into the room, splinters flew from the doorframe as it did.

It was then Alex saw that the stick wasn't a walking stick at all. It was a very old looking, nine foot tall farming scythe with a long, patterned and worn wooden handle.

"This isn't h-happening," Alex managed with a stutter.

Hearing her voice, the figure turned in her direction. The skeleton showed its face for the first time. Apart from the dark empty eye sockets, there were two faint glowing red orbs inside them, acting almost in replace of eyeballs. The skeleton stared at Alex for a moment and then looked back at the doorframe. He then looked back at her and pointed back at it, "please don't mention that to anyone."

Still stunned that a moving skeleton was talking to her, Alex tried to form words again. The only sound that came out was between a grunt and a squeak, "u-ugh?"

The skeleton slowly walked towards her, Alex's body becoming more tense and shaky with each step the skeleton took. The bare bony feet tapped the floor with each time he touched the ground. The scythe, using it like a cane, also tapped the ground as he walked.

Alex still stood frozen, shaking like a leaf. "You're not real," she whispered under her breath, staring directly at him as he got closer. Her voice getting more high pitched, "you're not real, you're not real, you're not real..."

"Um, sorry to trouble you," the skeleton politely spoke in a very deep and elderly voice. His accent was also British and his jaw clacked open and closed whenever he talked. "But could you possibly tell me if you have seen this person or not?" The skeleton held up his arm and a piece of paper materialised in his hand. It was a very old and yellow piece of parchment that hung from his skeletal digits.

Alex very briefly glanced at the old paper. It seemed to be a wanted poster. One that had the drawing of a relatively handsome man with a pencil moustache, bowtie and a bowler hat. Other than those details, the rest of the drawing was too faded to even make out who it was no matter if Alex knew him or not. She looked up at the towering skeleton and ever so gently shook her head.

"No?" the skeleton sighed, though not having any lungs to do that with. The orbs in his sockets animated into sad looking eyebrows. They kept squinting quickly as if to show he was blinking. "Well...so be it," he said disappointedly, the paper vanished again. "The hunt continues." He turned and walked past Alex, the end of the scythe still clacking against the floor when he walked.

Relieved that nothing awful happened, Alex found her voice again, "U-um...what are you?"

The figure stopped and turned slowly back towards Alex again. He stared at her for a moment then gradually looked himself up and down. Lastly, he also looked up at his scythe then back towards Alex, "really?"

"I mean," Alex nervously shuffled her feet close together, "how are you real? Or am I dreaming this time?"

"Oh unfortunately I am real alright," he confirmed, "Homortem, The Reaper, Grim Reaper, Death...all those apply. Though Death is fine if you wish to call me by anything. Homortem is a rather outdated name." The skeleton cocked his skull then turned towards her a little more, "wait a minute...who are you? I'm still in Overland. You're a woman. Why are...how are you alive?"

Alex's eyes flashed wide and her heart went into overdrive in fear. She took a step back, "N-no! Please leave me alone, don't kill me!"

"Oh please, don't misunderstand," Death assured her, "I'm not after you, I would know if I was, believe me. Hmm...just one moment," the skeleton held out his hand again and this time an hour glass miraculously appeared in his palm. The top of the hourglass was practically full and barely any sand was trickling into the bottom. There wasn't anything special about the hourglass but the skeleton studied it as if he was reading an exam paper.

Alex patiently waited.

Death muttered Alex's life details, almost like the hourglass was a Wikipedia article, "Hmm...Alexis Maria Smith, born in the city of New York, Brooklyn. Born on the third of Quintilis, exactly 2000 years after the fall of the Roman Empire. Daughter of Shawn and Julianna Smith. Aged sixteen, loves to game, draw, listen to music, sing and various outdoor activities. Tomboyish personality. Diet is vegetarian. Got her ears pierced at age twelve. Her best friends are Rachael Anderson and Jennifer Patil. Her favourite colour is blue, and her favourite animal is a rabbit. What else..."

Alex blinked, shocked to see how correct everything was. But then her ears turned pink, embarrassed at the more personal details. "How do you know all that?"

Death tried to impatiently wave aside her question, "Shh. Death, remember?" He continued to study the hourglass until the orbs in his sockets flashed wider for a moment. His jawbone creaked open and his skull swivelled towards her, "The chosen one."

"Ch-chosen one?" Alex repeated. "People keep saying that. I'm not sure what I'm chosen for, other than killing a guy called Firos. But I've no idea why it has to be me."

Death's jaw closed again, "Well I never thought-" the hourglass slipped from his hand and he quickly rushed to grab it, juggling it three times before he managed to catch it again with both hands. His scythe had clattered to the floor. Death breathed a sigh of relief, again without lungs. "Oof. That was close."

Alex blinked hard, "Wait...is that...that's my hourglass, right? Like my life is in that, yeah? What happens if you drop it?"

Death stared back at her vacantly, completely still. His voice became very small and nonchalant. "I caught it, didn't I?"

"HUH?!"

"The important thing is..." Death caused the hourglass to vanish again, "You are the chosen one! And you're here! Where you need to be! Oh how long it's been. Wow...a human. In Overland! The first lesser human to ever set foot here. Utterly amazing!"

"Lesser human?"

"Now I imagine you have a dragon to kill so I uh, wish you the best of luck!" Death grinned, even though he already permanently was. He leant down to pick up his scythe. "I shall take my leave! Good day to you!"

Alex flung up her hands in complete shock, "WHAT? TIME OUT! I'M KILLING A WHAT NOW?!"

"A dragon?" Death repeated.

"HUH?!" Alex yelled, not managing to form any other words.

"Did no one mention that to you?" Death asked with a sigh, scratching the rim of his eye sockets. "That Firos is a dragon?"

"N-NO!"

"Ah...well now you know. Good luck!" Death turned to walk away.

"Wait!" Alex held her hand out towards him, "where do I even go from here?!"

"Hm..." Death tapped his scythe with a finger, "Someone has done a very shoddy job at explaining things to you."

"I one hundred percent agree. One dragon man was very cryptic. I have no idea where I'm going!" Alex flapped her arms by her sides, exasperated.

Death tried to make sense of what she said, "a Celestian came to you?"

Alex was taken aback, "You know what they are?"

Death scoffed lightly, "Of course! They are beings older than I am! Or well...older than he was. The fact that one came to you is an excellent sign. Shows Solareon is looking out for you. Well. I unfortunately must take my leave but...the least I can do is point you in the right direction. Through those doors over there. The secretary to this travel room is through there. I'm sure she can tell you which door to take. She'll let you through no problem I'm sure."

Alex turned to the double doors to where Death was nodding to. She then turned back around towards him, "Thank-"

He had vanished. Again, Alex was alone.

"You," Alex pursed her lips, "Bye then."

With that, Alex quickly turned towards the double doors and walked to the end of the room. Thankfully these doors opened with no problem. Alex pulled the doors with the centre handles towards her and entered into the next room.