"Ryn has a particular set of skills that are very useful," Garrett said. "But more importantly, everyone that the Dreamer on the Throne picks is someone who is very useful."

Seeing that the princess was still looking troubled, Ryn walked over and sat next to her, taking her hand. This startled Eloise, but after a moment, she relaxed.

"You really should join us," Ryn said directly. "It's tremendous fun. Plus, if you asked, you could probably get the same kind of position I have. One of the things I didn't mention is that this mask allows me to enter into a magical space that's in that other world. And once there, I can talk to others who have also come. Oh, and did I mention you can get stronger too?"

Garrett watched dumbfounded as Ryn prattled on. With every word, the princess's eyes grew brighter and brighter. He had only ever considered presenting the pros and cons of the situation, but to listen to Ryn talk, it was a secret club full of grand adventure that served as a gateway to a world filled with mystery and power. Realizing that he had misjudged Her Majesty's romantic streak, Garrett could only admit defeat when within a few minutes of sitting down next to the queen, Ryn had completely convinced her.

"And you really think that the Dreamer on the Throne will accept me as one of his chosen?"

"Don't worry," Ryn said, patting the queen's hand. "I have a considerable amount of sway with him. He definitely will listen to me, and I think you would make a great candidate for another chosen."

"Then I'll do it," Eloise said, her eyes shining.

She kept Garrett and Ryn there for a few more minutes, chatting excitedly about the prospect of joining them in the dream world and asking all sorts of questions of Ryn, until a servant came and informed her that she had other appointments to keep. With a sigh, she stood and bid them farewell, but not before making Ryn promise to put her name forward for consideration as a Chosen of the Dreamer. Ryn couldn't stop smirking the entire way back to the inn, but Garrett remained silent until they had actually pulled into the yard.

"Well done," he said. "I didn't realize Her Majesty was such a romantic."

"And I never realized your face would look so funny when you were forced into something you hadn't been planning on doing," Ryn said, laughing.

That night, just as Ryn had promised, Queen Eloise found herself in a dream standing in front of a simple door decorated with a dream flower. As she entered, she found herself in a large stone hall, empty save for a giant figure on a throne at the other end. The feeling gave her an intense sense of familiarity and comfort. She walked forward, coming in front of the great throne where she found a golden mask hovering in the air.

"Welcome," a deep voice intoned.

Try as she might, she couldn't make out the features of the figure on the throne, but the feeling in her heart convinced her that he held no ill will towards her.

"Is this the mask?"

"Yes," the figure said. "However, think long and hard before you take it. If you do, you'll be opening yourself up to a world full of danger."

There was a certainty in the giant's voice that caused Eloise to hesitate, but then, the magical words Ryn had spoken earlier that day of adventure and mystery filled her heart, and she slowly reached for the mask. When she touched it, she felt as if an electric shock had run down her arm, and she almost withdrew her hand.

Sitting on the throne, Garrett was racking his brain for a way to convince her not to take it. He hadn't originally intended for her to be a chosen, and had only spoken of the Dreamer on the Throne because he wanted to give her some assurance that she would be protected from malicious, mysterious entities. Ryn had taken his prompting to mean something else entirely.

Assuming that Garrett wanted a level of control over the Queen, not realizing the effect that Five Blooms already had, he kicked himself for not being clearer. Garrett could only watch as Queen Eloise, ruler of Insomnium, took the mask and placed it on her face. The power of the throne surged as Garrett reluctantly accepted the prompt.

Though he had been hoping to keep the position of Chosen to acquire another fighter, he had to admit this wasn't a bad choice. The Queen's influence went far beyond even his in the waking world, and she would be a powerful addition to their forces, especially since she had the ear of the only manifesting stage warrior in the entire city. This was especially important since, even when Garrett became a manifester himself, he wouldn't be able to plant soul seeds in Duke Arkov. Much like with Gero, he would have to take a roundabout tack. Currently, that was the Queen.

As he watched, he saw the Queen's soul spark continue to solidify. She had only been at the early lighting stage, though the power from the crown she wore had drastically improved the amount and the density of the energy her soul spark possessed. Now, with the addition of the Dreamer's throne, her soul spark advanced into the middle of the lighting stage, giving her a qualitative increase in power.

Queen Eloise marveled at the energy pouring through her as Garrett waved his hand, merging the version of the stone hall he and Eloise were in with the version where everyone else waited. Gero, who had clearly been prepped by Ryn, was the first to step forward and greet the Queen.

"Hello," she said with a nod. "My name is Gero.”

“Hi, I’m Eloise.”

“And you both know me," Ryn said, practically bouncing over.

The throne was currently empty, so the three women began to chat as Ryn and Gero introduced Eloise to the dream world. Garrett had retreated to the Dreamer's throne, and there he sat, looking over his kingdom. He had no idea what sort of change bringing Queen Eloise into the fold would cause, but he knew it would be significant. The last few months had been packed, and he felt like every week had brought massive changes to both his growing kingdom and himself. Pausing, Garrett suddenly laughed. Ryn had called him the King of the Klein family, and he hadn't noticed, but he had actually started to think of himself as such.

"Set your head straight, Garrett," he said out loud.

For a moment, he sat quietly, ruthlessly eliminating any feelings of pride from his heart, and when he opened his eyes, they were calm and cold once more. The territory under his control now stretched from one end of the city diagonally to the other. There were still three main areas outside his control. To the north, the Burning Pain of Gath sent his strange chosen to roam the streets, slaying nightmares whenever they were found. To the northwest of the Nobles District was the odd sword forest, full of living armor, but no ruler, while south, in the slums, the swarm of Mektess held sway.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Garrett's territory had expanded to include the palace, and even now he could feel it thrumming with power. The Mind Crystal had been integrated under the throne, thanks to a combination of the Queen's aura allowing the Dream Seeds access to the crystal itself, and Ryn's attack.

Though the crystal hadn't rejected the Dream Seeds, Garrett had found it impossible to have them infiltrate the center of the Mind Crystal, where its control structure actually lay. When Ryn had attacked it, however, it had unleashed its energy in a blast, destroying everything outside of it. In that brief moment, Garrett had been able to command the Dream Flowers to move further in, sealing them inside the crystal as it withdrew its defenses.

Once inside, the flowers had exactly the same effect on the Mind Crystal as they would have had on a person's mind. And as each of the flowers reached five blooms, Garrett found his control over the crystal solidifying. That had been how he was able to channel its energy into erasing the haze his father had introduced, as well as marking the flower ghouls as allies instead of enemies. Even now, he could feel it shining brightly in his mind, as it kept the palace safe.

These flowers are a cheat, if there ever was one.

The next day, Garrett was startled to find a visitor waiting for him in his office after he got up. Standing in front of the mirror, staring intently at it, was Duke Arkov. His burly body was even thicker in the fur coat he wore. Garrett was genuinely surprised to see him, as he hadn't been alerted by any of the flowers that the Duke had arrived, and seeing him frown seemed to please the Duke immensely.

"I wanted to have a private conversation with you," the Duke said, flashing a grin at Garrett that made him swallow. "Come along."

Before Garrett could say a thing, the Duke was behind him, gripping the handles of his wheelchair. A moment later, they weren't even in the inn anymore, but instead were standing above the city. Noticing the white-knuckled grip Garrett had on the armrest of the wheelchair, the Duke laughed.

"Afraid of heights?"

"No," Garrett said, his voice tense. "I'm afraid of hitting the ground really hard."

"Ha, spoken like a wise man. It's not the fall that'll kill you. It's the stop at the end. Still, at least up here we won't be disturbed."

Letting go of the handles of Garrett's wheelchair, the Duke walked around beside him and crouched down, treating the air as if it was solid ground, causing Garrett's heart to tremble. He had always imagined that the power of a manifester was strong, but never in a million years had he considered that they'd be able to do something like this. Looking over the city below, the Duke's eyes slowly rose into the distance. The sun was still coming up over the swamp in front of them, casting warm light through the cloudless sky, filling the earth with long shadows.

"I've never liked your type. Always scheming, hiding in the darkness, never revealing your strength. Though I must admit that you have a boldness that quite captures my fancy."

Though the Duke wasn't looking at him, Garrett could feel the power behind each and every one of his words.

"You know, the throne should have been mine. My brother and I were twins, and technically I was born first. I learned really early, though, that I wasn't suited to the balance required of a king. My preference is to kill my enemy, chop them up with my sword until there's nothing left. And so, with the help of my younger brother, I pulled the only scheme I've ever participated in in my life. My brother and I switched our records, making him the elder. We got our wish, or at least I did. I was free to go and fight. He became king. When I returned from war, after many bloody years of conflict, he had been married, had a family, a beautiful little girl, and a handsome son."

Pausing for a moment, Duke Arkov clenched his jaw.

"So why do I tell you this? I tell you this because, had we not switched our records, had I not become the younger, it would have been me who died, and he would be here now, having this conversation with you. But, what we do has a tremendous impact on our futures, an impact that we cannot ever guess. My brother took an assassin’s blade that by all rights was mine, and the only thing that remains of my brother is that sweet daughter of his."

Duke Arkov's voice grew cold as he slowly turned to stare at Garrett.

"Know this. Should you prove false like your father, I will not scheme against you. Instead, I will tear you apart inch by excruciating inch, and I will obliterate everything that you have touched in this world, until even the memory of you no longer exists."

It was hard to know what to say in face of such a threat, but the Duke didn't seem to want a response. After he delivered it, he smiled and looked into the distance once more and Garrett remained silent beside him until the Duke pointed at a dot barely visible on the horizon.

"Do you see that? The other end of the swamp? Do you know what that is?"

"Is that Port Reverie?"

"Yes, it's Port Reverie. Once an ally. Now... well, who knows. The Queen is going to be making a trip there in a few weeks, as tradition demands of a newly crowned ruler of our fair city. I have to stay here to guard against the beasts from the mountains. You'll go with her, advise her, and protect her."

"I don't suppose I can refuse," Garrett asked.

"Absolutely not," replied the Duke, "but as a thank you for your willingness to support the Princess, I've decided to take you under my wing."

In the next moment, Garrett found himself back in his office. The Duke was nowhere to be found, and the only thing that lingered from the strange time he had just spent in midair was the memory and a token with a sword on it that lay in his palm. Gripping the token tightly, Garrett took a deep breath as he heard the Duke's voice echoing in his ears.

"I can tell that you've reached the edge, but stepping over it is a tremendously difficult matter that requires circumstances that may never happen in a person’s lifetime. In exchange for helping the Princess, I'll teach you what I know about the manifesting stage and how to unlock its secrets. From now on, you are the disciple of Arkov, Bloodless Blade."

When Ryn poked her head into the room a moment later, Garrett was still staring at the token, his expression a mixture of amusement and frustration.

“Should I come back later?” she asked.

With an annoyed sigh, Garrett tossed the token onto his desk and shook his head.

“No, come in. I have something to talk to you about.”

“Sure, what’s on your mind?”

“Remember how you’ve been talking about going to Port Reverie? Well, our trip just got moved up. In a couple weeks the princess is heading over there for some sort of diplomatic mission, and we got volunteered to go with her.”

“Wait, you said we. You’re coming?”

“Only because a musclehead idiot with entirely too much free time said I have to,” Garrett said, glowering at the token on his desk.

“This is fantastic,” Ryn said, laughing. “I can’t wait to show you around!”

Slowly, Garrett’s expression eased and a small smile flitted onto his face. Ever since he had come to this world, he had been hiding here in this small inn, tied by necessity to the Dreamer’s Throne and the tremendous power it contained. Finally, however, he felt as if he was starting to break free from his shell. He had proven to himself that he could go toe to toe with other Great Rulers, even when he wasn’t sitting on the throne. He had been tested and come out ahead. The thought of traveling to another city and leaving the safety of the Dreamer’s Throne behind was equal parts terrifying and exhilarating, but Garrett knew that it was time to spread his wings.

To Be Continued...