The King Trials 2: Beyond.

~Welcome to Veilheim~

Consciousness leaks in slowly, like droplets dripping off leaves after rainfall. My senses awaken. Something's wrong. I feel relaxed. My body embraced in comfort, lying on something feather-soft like a bed of cotton clouds. And if I make any sudden movements. I might sink to obscurity.

I peel my eyes widen, the intense light wanes, receding to the corners. I bolt upright. I gawk at the enormous canopy bed beneath me with a gaudy, gilded frame walled by ornate columns that hold up the roof. My legs veiled over by silky sheets, and an abundance of embroidered pillows around me.

I fling the sheets off me, scrambling out of the bed. My feet meet with the cold glazed floor, elevated on a platform with a short staircase. I brush past the cream, drooping drapes that are tied to each of the four bedposts. The bedchamber is extravagant and excessive in size with an elaborate vanity set decorated with bizarre objects. Beside it, all my belongings and my boots are neatly packed by the table's legs that sit at a jaunt angle. The protruding ceiling is made of multi-coloured glass and the gilded bronze walls are ornate with decorative elements and accent lighting to highlight the opulent features.

How did I get here?

And why can't I remember anything?

My gaze trails the patterned, tiled floors to the west side of the room that leads to an exclusive balcony. The two large doors are swept open, inviting the arid desert air. Cautiously, I make my way towards it to the sight beyond enlarging. I make it outside, holding the railing to keep myself steady.

"Impossible...."

My eyes skim over a palace-city, a sprawling cluster of coloured-top villages and public infrastructure. Beyond is an oasis, stretches of evergreen, fruitful orchards with lagoons, a paradise-green marvel with sparkling waterfalls that cascades into pools of crystalline surfaces. An entire civilization, with its own wonderland-green eco-system, all hidden in the plains of the Night Desert.

A distant groan alerts me of a visitor.

I dash to the sidewall to flatten myself against it. I turn my head, sneaking a peek through the glass door at a slim figure garbed in a one-shoulder, crimson dress holding a tray with an odd-shaped jug and a lone chalice beside it.

She stares at the empty bed for a brief moment, utterly confounded. She moves to it, in the direction of the bedside table. I abandon my hiding spot and expose myself, re-entering the bedchamber.

She spots me instantly. She drops with the tray with a small rattle. "Vaya miarkujecie adpačyvać."

I frown at her. "What? Who are you? What did you do to me, why can I not remember how I got here?"

"Sakretnyja pryčyny."

My frown deepens, my anxiety mounts. I turn from her, pacing feverishly. "I remember how we got here; I remember bidding Zoar  farewell. Then...that thing spurted from the sand like some kind of resurrection. Then...blank."

I look back at her and her galaxy-blue eyes fill with a thousand questions. Her skin starshadow-black, flaunting a shiny, hairless head.

Remember, as the Sagetai. You are linked to all species, all races. Their language is your language.

My first pathway. I channel my breathing into calm breaths, and I affix her with a focused stare.

"How did I get here?" I ask in her tongue. Velenese.

She gapes at me but shakes off her shock, recovering quickly.

She answers back and this time. Her words translate themselves in my mind, she says, "Your entire convoy was granted entry by the gatekeeper. It is he that keeps our city hidden and the barrier that keeps us protected from the smallest to the biggest peril. The reason why you do not remember your entrance is a matter of precaution. A way to safeguard Velheim forever."