It was rare to come face to face with one's life's great nemesis. There he stood at the head of the class. Ordinary, with nothing remarkable about him. Maybe it was her history with this dark-haired boy she'd never met. But Kiyora Yagos hated him at once. Especially the way her heart pounded as she looked at him.

"My name is Tenius Dreamer," he said in a friendly tone. "I'm going to be going to school here at Actovosh High. I'm glad to meet you all, and I hope we all have a good year."

"Great, just what we needed," muttered Laurus, who looked like he wanted a cigarette.

"I think he looks nice, Laurus," said Reya.

"If by nice you mean spineless, then yeah, sure," said Laurus.

"That's enough gossip, everyone," said Ms. Everard. "Tenius, why don't you take your seat over there by Kiyora."

Wait seriously? Was he going to sit next to her? Her irritation was turned up to bewilderment. Worse still were the jealous blushes of several girls. What was going on here? As far as she could tell, Tenius was an utterly bland individual. No strong characteristics or qualities save one—the ability to get things handed to him on a silver platter.

Granted, Kiyora had not met or talked with him before now. But, then again, she was one of the things which was almost handed to him on said platter. So she liked to think she knew more than most.

The class passed that day with Tenius heedless of her glares. Several times during free periods, he was approached by girls. All of them showed signs of being smitten. Why? He'd only just got here?

"Kiyora, are you alright?" asked Gisora at lunch. "You've been out of it ever since Tenius arrived."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just distracted is all," said Kiyora. "What is he doing here?"

"How should I know?" asked Laurus. "Maybe they're hoping you'll fall in love."

"Shut up Laurus," said Kiyora. "I told you I fixed that." However, she wouldn't put it past Alchara to try it. Technically she'd only agreed not to force Kiyora into marriage. So if Kiyora married Tenius of her own free will, she'd get both.

William had given up the Goldenwood Harp for Kiyora. Meanwhile, the bitch Alchara was already using loopholes.

"Right, of course. You negotiated with Alchara in your dreams," said Laurus. "And I'm the God-Emperor Ictargo."

"We both survived an eldritch horror taking control of the entire city a few months ago," said Kiyora. "Give me the benefit of the doubt here. And I did get the engagement canceled, didn't I? So what's it matter how I did it?"

"I know, I know, I'm just screwing with you," said Laurus.

Then Gisora looked up. "Hey, look, Tenius is getting mobbed already."

Sure enough, he was being approached by yet more girls. These were a lot more forward about their intentions than the others. One of them was even hanging off of him like a cloak. Tenius looked somewhat awkward but otherwise was not treating this as anything unusual.

"Why?" asked Kiyora. "What's to like about him?"

"He doesn't look very happy," mused Reya. "Shouldn't we do something?"

"Why?" asked Gisora. "So, we have to put up with him at our table?"

"Excellent point," said Laurus. "Let's do nothing." He drew out a cigarette and a lighter. Gisora reached out and snatched both out of his hands.

"Hey!" said Gisora. "You aren't supposed to be smoking in here."

"It's my body. I'll do what I want," said Laurus.

"Not here, you won't," said Gisora.

Laurus smiled. It was the smile he got when he intended to pay someone back for a perceived slight. "You know, I think Reya is right. I think I should go over there. He looks uncomfortable."

"Oh yes, I'm sure he is," said Kiyora. "But if he's uncomfortable being mobbed by two girls, a third one won't improve things."

Laurus laughed at that. This attracted several looks. He ignored them and walked away from the table toward Tenius.

He reached the ever-growing mob of girls. He was saying something, but Kiyora couldn't hear him. They watched as the girls shrank away from him.

"What's he doing?" asked Reya.

"Probably talking about horror movies," said Kiyora. "Laurus knows how to make people uncomfortable."

"He isn't bringing him over here, is he?" asked Gisora.

Laurus started bringing Tenius over to them.

"Damn him," hissed Gisora.

Tenius reached them, looking a bit awkward. "Hey, uh, do you guys mind if I sit here?"

"Oh no, we don't mind, right, Kiyora," said Laurus.

"No," hissed Kiyora. "Not at all."

"Anyway, I was just telling Tenius about what happened a couple of months ago," said Laurus.

"Is he just messing with me?" asked Tenius.

"That depends on what he told you," said Gisora.

"Well, he told me that an eldritch horror mind-controlled everyone," said Tenius. "Is he joking?"

"His name was Laughing Wraith, and no, he is not," said Kiyora.

"You'd think someone would have said something before now, is all," said Tenius.

"Oh, they pulled all the records and news stories," said Laurus. "And people have started to forget. This kind of thing happens. Some otherworldly being invades. Everyone gets all worked up, then it gets stopped, and everyone starts failing.

"The trick is to write it all down to remember later."

"But why would Alchara do that?" asked Tenius. "I mean, wouldn't it be better if people remembered them."

"Actually, no," said Reya. "Belief is power. If people don't know about something, it can't hurt them as easily. That's why nobody got killed in Wraith's rampage. He wasn't really enough in this world to affect us."

"Is this some kind of prank?" asked Tenius.

"Nope," said Laurus. "I got slashed with a sword during it. I can show you the scar if you want."

"No thanks," said Tenius quickly.

"Why do you always have to keep bringing things like that up, Laurus?" asked Gisora.

"I don't like forgetting about anything," said Laurus. "Even the nasty stuff. My half-sister Remedia keeps a whole shed full of documents of events. They've all been scrubbed from the record."

"Doesn't the government have a problem with that?" asked Tenius.

"Well, she's allowed to do it as long as she doesn't go around trying to cause a panic," said Laurus. "Hey, if you want, I could show you some documents. You'd be surprised what horrors happen daily out here."

"No thanks," repeated Tenius.

What a complete bore.

"Any new horrors we should know about Laurus?" asked Kiyora. "Recent stuff?"

"Well, there have been some weird sightings reported in the papers," admitted Laurus. He reached into his pocket. "Supposedly, a mysterious black tree ship is flying around the skies. Several people have seen it overhead. I got a picture of it from the paper before it got nabbed.

"Here, take a look." He drew out a newspaper and showed it to them.

Kiyora unrolled the paper and looked over the front page. On it was a massive ship flying over the city of Actovosh. Its roots were long and twisted, and its branches were fighting against each other. It was utterly dark, and there was an unholy look to it. It gave her a shiver looking at it.

"This could have been photo edited," she said.

"Nah, and I'll tell you why," said Laurus. "Because this ship has been seen in Actovosh before. Look here." He drew out several other articles and put them on the table. They showed the black star in port, with pictures being taken of it as the crew entered.

"Did you steal this from Remedia as well?" asked Gisora, voice disapproving.

"No, I get to borrow her stuff as long as I bring her any interesting newspapers," said Laurus. "Geeze."

"New experimental tree ship Black Star going into production." read Kiyora. "Designed to amplify the powers of Dream Sages."

"Aren't all tree ships designed to do that?" asked Reya.

"No, they act as a channel, transforming their will into weaponry," said Tenius. "The Black Star was something new. It was supposed to enhance the powers of the one who wields it."

Kiyora blinked in surprise. How did he know about this? "So, what happened to it?"

"I don't know," said Laurus. "I couldn't find any info."

"Five years ago, on its maiden voyage, it disappeared without a trace," said Tenius. "My grandpa was talking about it. There was this huge elf hunt for it, but nobody ever found it."

"So what world was it going to?" asked Kiyora.

"A place called Narvan," said Tenius. "Realm of the Dark Elves."

"I uh," Laurus paused, "I'm not big on foreign countries. Or foreign worlds."

"We conquered it ten years ago, so our occupation is fairly recent," said Tenius. "See, the Dark Elves worship this Spider Goddess, Rioletta. She was always craving more sacrifices for her webs. They started out hitting independent worlds. Then they got bolder. They started raiding our shipping lines and taking prisoners from our unguarded worlds. You seriously never heard of this?"

"The government pretty tightly controls information," said Laurus. "We could be waging a full-scale war right now, and I'm not sure we'd know."

"Well, that explains it," said Tenius, "my grandpa went on all kinds of campaigns. He has some friends in the military. I guess growing up on a farm on a mountaintop doesn't make you as sheltered as you think, huh?" He rubbed the back of his head and smiled nervously.

"Yeah, that's great," said Kiyora. "So, how about we track down this Black Star?"

"How would we even go about it?" asked Reya.

"Well, we can bet that if it exists, the government isn't talking about it," said Laurus. "Gisora, how about you see what you can dig up?"

"Sure thing," said Gisora.

"Why would you be able to learn anything?" asked Tenius.

"My family is royalty, and my mom works in the Department of Bloodlines. She has security clearance," said Gisora. "They'd have records on the Dream Sages who were brought in for this job. Does that article have any info on the crew?"

"From the looks of things, yes," said Reya.

"Can I borrow it then, Laurus?" asked Gisora.

"Sure," said Laurus. "This is a photocopy anyway. Remedia would tan my hide if I brought the real thing to a school lunch table."

"Yeah, but this thing might be a high enough secret that you can't find out about it, Gisora," said Kiyora. "We need another lead."

"What about resting periods?" asked Reya.

"Huh?" asked Kiyora.

"Tree ships don't need fuel like other races' ships," said Reya. "Instead, they land and put their roots into fertile soil for a bit. Ideally, in very rich soil that has been specially prepared."

"There are only a few places like that in Actovosh," said Gisora.

"Yes, but we're not just talking about Actovosh," said Tenius. "The Black Star was supposed to be fast at moving between worlds. So it could easily go to any surrounding worlds and land there for a bit before returning here."

"Not without being detected," said Reya. "If the Black Star is out there, you can bet the government is very interested in what it is doing. Transporting between worlds creates a sort of ripple in reality. It can be traced."

"So it is somewhere in this world and probably nearby," noted Tenius.

"How do you know so much about tree ships Reya?" asked Kiyora.

"I want to be a gardener Kiyora," said Reya. "Tree ships are a kind of plant. Working servicing one is very high paying work."

"Okay, I'll look up any cities and towns nearby where they could have touched down," said Gisora. "Spring break is soon, so we can all look for this Black Star together."

"Right," said Kiyora.

"Hey, that reminds me, Tenius," said Laurus. "Why are you transferring to this school in the middle of the year?"

"I, uh, I'd rather not talk about it," said Tenius.

"Suit yourself," said Kiyora.

She wasn't even slightly interested anyway.