Prologue

Prologue

 Raven Knight’s boots trod silently over the low greenery of the forest floor. There was nothing to suggest anyone had been to this place. No signs of others passing through. Spotting a small pond, she sat down to watch a small, unhurried group of koi fish swim seemingly random paths.
 But the relaxing scene couldn’t distract her from the strong feeling that she should find...someone. But who? She had come to find...Allicia? No. She shifted her weight, leaning back as she struggled to picture who it was she was looking for. It wasn’t Allison. Nomad? No. Mosh? No...err, yes! It was Mosh! Everything started coming back to her: She had come to this dream planning to meet up with Mosh.
 The koi seemed undisturbed as she stood to stretch. Fishing around in her white assassin's uniform for a pocket, she pulled out an Mp3 player and a small speaker. A few buttons and the device roared to life, pounding with a melodic heavy metal song. She sang along softly to the first couple lines.
 "Come find me in the place I dream; it’s there I dream of you."
The sound waves became visible, bouncing erratically around her dream’s tranquil forest glen. Halfway between herself and a tree, the fabric of the dream began to tear open. Gazing through as she approached the opening, Raven could see another scene. Something grassy.
 On the other side, her feet met a grassy field. Goal posts stood to the far left and right, and a handful of large brick buildings lied on the opposite edge. No doubt a football field and a school of some sort, she thought. She walked across the centre line until she spotted a man standing on a paved path, staring up at a road sign. He had short dark hair, thin wire-rimmed glasses and a few days’ worth of stubble. Raven recognized him. It was Mosh, just standing there, gaping up at the sign.
 "Hey, Mosh!" Raven called, walking towards him from the side. "Do a reality check. You are dreaming!" Mosh turned his head and stared at her for a moment. He looked confused. He looked around the scene and then down at one of his hands.
 "I only have five fingers," said Mosh. "This isn't a dream."
 Raven did a face-palm, "Look again, silly!"
 Mosh looked down at his hand once more: Eight fingers.
"That's amazing," he said. "It is a dream!"
He looked away and back at his hand a few times, each time counting a new number of fingers. 8, 11, 2...
“I don't have time for this, Mosh!” She pulled out her Mp3 player again. I came to find you a date, she thought, and I’m not going to waste a lucid dream watching you amuse yourself with your hands!
 Mosh seemed completely unaware of what was going on, still staring at his fingers. She focussed her attention on the idea of finding his date, started up the music and watched as another rip in the dream opened in front of her.
 "Come on, Mosh," Raven said, eagerly grabbing Mosh by the arm and dragging him through the portal.
 "Hey... Wait!"
 They found themselves in a large tent of some kind, where a group of gorgeous women started throwing themselves at Mosh. They dragged him to a bed, cuddling him, asking him questions until so many were gathering around him he was almost buried. A couple of women went over to Raven and began groping her.
 "In case you haven't noticed," Raven yelled, 'I'm a woman!" She backed away.
 "It's okay,” one women with hip-length hair crooned. “We cater to all kinds!"
 "This is a friggin’ brothel," Raven declared. "Hey Mosh, is this what you wanted? If you’d like I can leave you here and you can have a pleasant dream. But do you still want to meet a single woman?”
 "One woman is just fine," Mosh said, trying to climb out from under the thick blanket of gorgeous women.
 Raven tried opening another portal. This time she focused a little harder on her intent to find him a dream date. A new portal opened and she dragged Mosh yet again through to the other side.