Somewhere on the outskirts of the sea of tents occupying the outpost stood a completely innocuous one. It was shaped in the form of a rectangle and was the colour of the darkest night. In front of the tent, two rows of torches were burning with a ghostly fire, the shade of green. This tent was smaller in size than even the lesser factions inhabiting the outpost, and since it didn’t require all that much space, this outpost’s administration decided to place it as far from the centre as possible.

The tent’s location and the eerie atmosphere hanging over it meant that almost all the new arrivals avoided it in favour of the flashier tents closer to the outpost centre, but that didn’t bother the inhabitants of this specific abode.

Outside the tent, under the pitch-black artificial sky of the outpost, two figures were moving towards the gleam of the ghostly fires. The figures were only about 140 centimetres and clad from head to toe in silk robes the same colour as the tent, the colour of darkest night. What stood out was not the speed at which they moved, which was beyond anything a normal human might achieve, but rather the manner of their movement, which was a combination of drifting and slightly floating above the ground. It took the two of them mere seconds to reach the torch path at the front of the tent, at which point both of them transitioned into a regular run towards the entrance.

After reaching the tent, both of them pushed aside one side of the entrance cloth and confidently entered the tent. What greeted the two of them was a great hall adorned with marble columns. The tent’s inside was considerably bigger and created an aura of grandeur that far outstripped the tent’s shabby outside demeanour. The same torches, lit with ghostly fires, were burning on stands between the columns. Unfortunately for the duo, the hall was empty. After taking a moment to cross gazes with one another, followed by a quick nod of the head, one of the figures yelled.

“Grand Uncle! We’re baaaaaaaaack!” screamed with absolute glee, a voice that belonged to a girl no older than ten.

“Grand Uncle! We bring news!” added another voice, this time belonging to a boy roughly the same age as the previous voice.

The echo produced by the two reverberated across the marble hall they were in, but otherwise, nothing happened. No one answered back.

“He must be in his garden.” confidently said the boy.

“Indeed, he must,” assuredly confirmed the girl.

“Let’s go.” both of them said in perfect unison and started sprinting towards one of the doors leading out the marble hall and into the inner quarters.

After what seemed like countless twists and turns through the inner quarter’s maze-like structure, the two children arrived in front of a double-door. Though, considering the size of the thing, calling it a gate might be more accurate. It was made entirely of wood with breathtaking woodcarvings covering the whole surface area of it.

The duo approached the gate, and with a practised motion, the young boy placed his hands on the wood’s carved surface and said.

“Get on, Moira. We have to tell Grand Uncle as fast as we can,” said the boy.

“On it, Cian.” replied the girl.

Immediately after, the girl jumped on the boy’s shoulders in one smooth motion and reached for the entrance’s handles.

“Ready.” said the girl.

After receiving Moira’s confirmation, the boy named Cian poured strength into his legs and started to pull. A second later, the booming sound of something heavy moving ever so slowly could be heard. The doors, which, estimating by their sheer size, weighed in the tons, were being pried open by a pair of ten-year-old children.

After another minute passed, the two of them finally created an opening big enough for both of them to rush through without being crushed midway by the colossal wood doors.

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On the other side, what greeted them was a small garden lush with all manner of exotic and otherworldly vegetation. In the middle of a small patch of maw-shaped flowers, Moira and Cian immediately spotted their Grand Uncle feeding the flowers some fresh meat.

“Grand Uncle! We’re back!” yelled Moira again, this time knowing she would be heard.

The man surrounded by the patch of flesh-devouring flowers turned his head to look at the source of the voice.

“Moira, Cian, how many times did I tell you not to disturb me while I seclude myself.” the old man asked with a wispy smile blossoming on his weathered face.

The man stood tall with his hands behind his back as he turned towards the two children. He was adorned into a robe, much like the younger duo’s except that he had multiple white lines crisscrossed across the robe, starting from the robe’s collar, which was entirely white.

“But, Grand Uncle, we bring news!” replied Cian.

“Do you now?” asked the man with a smile full of mirth. ”Well then, don’t keep me waiting.” added he.

Immediately after the man spoke, he waved his hand, and a table and three chairs appeared near him. On the table were some refreshments of some sort. The man immediately took a seat at the table and started to sip on whatever was the cosmic equivalent of an early morning cup of tea. Moira and Cian took a short moment to reach the man and then another moment to jump onto the adult-sized chairs. After finally settling in comfortably, the children were expectantly looking at the man.

“Carry on, what news was so important as to stir such a ruckus?” inquired the man.

“We’ve received a message.” “From one of the induction officers on your payroll.” said the two children, completing each other.

Instantly the playful demeanour of the man disappeared, and a focused look took over.

“Which one?” asked the man.

“The creepy five eyed guy from the creepy eyes kingdom,” said Moira.

“The one from the creepy visions sect,” added Cian.

“Pahan?” the man tried to clarify.

“Yes.” the two siblings replied in unison.

A small frown formed on the man’s brow before he extended his hand as if waiting to receive something. Seeing the motion, Cian took out a small sealed scroll from the inner pocket of his robe and passed it to the man.

As soon as it entered the man’s hands, the seal dissipated, and the scroll unfurled itself before the man. Moments passed while the man read what was written in the scroll, with the previous frown starting to morph into a mischievous grin on his face.

“What’s in there, Grand Uncle?” asked Cian expectantly.

“Yeah, what does it say, Grand Uncle?” added Moira.

Taking a quick look at his grandnephew and grandniece, the man said.

“It seems someone fit to join the Legion has arrived at the outpost.” said the man with satisfaction.

“Already?” asked Moira.

“So fast?” added Cian.

“Well, not quite. I was surprised by how quickly someone with all the right qualities arrived at the outpost, but Pahan says the new arrival is merely a potential recruit. He’s sure he has the qualifications to take our trial, but whether he will succeed or not is unknown.” explained the man.

“No matter though, it’s rare for us even to get individuals eligible to take the trial, so I’m not letting this opportunity escape. It’s been a long while since the Nightmare Legion welcomed a recruit into its ranks.” added the man.

As soon as he said the words aloud, the man waved his hand, but this time instead of a table and chairs, another scroll along with a pen made of bone appeared before him. Taking the bone pen into his hands, the man started writing something on the surface of the new scroll. A few masterful strokes later, and the man was done. He pushed the new scroll with a swift motion towards Cian and said.

“Take this scroll to the outpost administration and let them know that I want all other factions to reject this man’s application before I have a chance to see him for myself. If he’s unfit to join us, then they’re free to pursue him in any way they want, but not before I’ve had a chance to make sure with my own eyes.” ordered the man.

As he handed the scroll back to Cian, both he and Moira managed to peek at the image depicted in the scroll. It was the average face of a young man in his twenties, which looked unremarkable to the siblings except for two things. The individual’s piercing green eyes, as well as the multitude of grey hair strands adorning his head. The siblings always considered grey hair a token of old age and wisdom, as was the case with their Grand Uncle, but here they found someone totally unlike their Grand Uncle, whether in age or strength, but with grey hair, which intrigued both Cian and Moira.

“Now trot off, you little troublemakers. I’m going to be angry if someone else poaches him while you laze around.” said the man.

With that said, Cian rolled the scroll and put it back into his inner pocket, and took off together with Moira.

That left the man alone in the inner garden of the keep. He took another sip of the drink from the table and wistfully smiled again.

“Well then, Alex, let’s see if you’re worthy of entering the Nightmare Queen’s Legion.” thought the man to himself.