1 | The Terrible Dreamer

Chapter 1

VEAR

I pin a dead butterfly over the map of Akane. The War Room is dark, bare of any light except the floating orb by my head. It follows my movements, silently matching my tapping boots as I pace the table. Carved from an old tree that fell in the last world war, the map reaches from wall to wall, taking over a third of the room's occupancy, stationed in the center for all to see its magnificent glory. It's a work of art, at least to my standards that is.

Each landmark represents the five Gen's and the grotesque monsters we're born from: The forest full of Ōgini and flamboyant giants. The mountain birds with red eyes and bleeding beaks. The ruins of those who once worshipped the sun, covered in hot black sand and dying fire. The ice lands with frost bodies for they are a mystery to most, and yet, are not monstrous, fanged and clawed, horns so large they're made from evil itself. The caves of Gens Nisha lie under the Treschine Forest, expanding through thousands of tunnels that lead to all parts of the planet like secret passageways; it's so easy to get lost. Sometimes I have a hard time navigating them.

I stop pacing and sip from a steaming cup of tea, herbs prescribed to calm my mind. As if a cup of tea could really seize the turmoil that plagues me every passing night and day. Anger and obsession—they're the only emotions that my father let me feel. Not love, not admiration, not even approval. No, he loathed me just as much as the bugs that litter this map because he couldn't see their potential. Not like I can. A bug can be lethal when it chooses, or when it acquires the right host.

Unlike my father, who held fear through darkness and strength, I want to rule through power alone. In order to rule this world, I must find power that is god-like, so consuming that it will shake the planet to its very core. The only creature to hold such a power is a paper butterfly and I haven't seen it since the tender age of five. But I know it exists. I've touched it, held it in my hands, witnessed the kind of magic it possesses, and that's all it takes for me to become obsessed. I must have it again.

Shadows burst from my body, moving butterfly wings across the map—making them appear alive. Sharp nails extrude from my fingertips; they dig into the edge of the table. This planet is not so vast. Why is it so difficult to find?

Two quick knocks ramp the door and I force my shadows back into hiding. Kato waltzes in past the guards without a care in the world, drenched in black, the very pinnacle of a trained assassin ready to disappear into the night. Normally tucked away, his blonde fox tail whips around in a furry of excitement and his pointy ears poke out from their head wrap.

I down the rest of my tea. "Kato, you're late."

Kato grins, sharp teeth gleaming as he slings a bag over his shoulder. "Actually, I'm just in time. Shall we go before the others think you're dead, Vearishk?"

"One already wishes me dead. Give them one last minute of hope." I pat my childhood friend's shoulder and leave the War Room. Kato follows suit, the guards just behind.

The dark hallways light in time with our steps, the floating sphere trailing above, radiating so bright the shadows flee from the walls and back into hiding. When we reach the Silent Room, the darkness swallows us whole, refusing entry to the guards outside. A lone throne sits in the middle of the room. So delicately crafted, I run a finger over its fine bones of hands and skulls, crooked fingers, and the magical enchantment that holds all of it together, and as I sit the room shifts, fresh air wafts by like a lingering dream, along with everyone's wicked intentions. Not a speck of blood in sight, I see. Another mundane affair.

We're no longer in a room but in a forest, five thrones circling a meadow of fallen leaves and the scent of approaching death and promises of hostility. The picture's so sharp and lifelike, even through the hologram, the bloodlust cannot be quenched by the three other rulers. Urlish taps a claw tipped finger on her feather covered throne. "So, you're alive after all. Pity."