The Hope Collection

The Plains (unedited)

"Come on sleepyhead, time for breakfast," Rylin shook me awake.

"I don't want to get up," I rolled over and slurred my words together.

"Ew, morning breath," Rylin waved a hand in front of his nose and teased me.

"Dork," I muttered.

Rylin laughed at that comment and unzipped my sleeping bag letting the cool morning air in and I shivered. Rylin grinned and picked me up from my sleeping bag holding me bridal style. I complained and kicked my legs not giving much of a fight. I was still tired and blurry eyed with sleep. Rylin set me down next to the fire where he was cooking a couple skinned rabbits on a spit being held up and spun by magic. We can never get away from magic no matter how isolated we are, can we?

"What are staring at?," Rylin asked curiously after seeing me staring at the fire.

"Just that we will never get away from all magic," I sighed.

"Our world was created from magic, just a ball of energy and dust. We will always have our magic, though the Imperfect dimension was Powerholder made and inhabited by Powerholders, it will never have any of the magical properties the rest of the dimensions have. Want to hear a history lesson on the Imperfect dimension?," Rylin's eyebrow lifted.

"You just did, but yes, if there's more please tell me. I'll finish getting breakfast ready," I stood up and poked the rabbit meat, it was done so I put it on plates and gave Rylin a plate and kept one for myself.

"Many Powerholders don't like to believe our history, that's why it's been taken out of the curriculum at basic schools. King Johnathon wanted me to learn all that I can, he wanted me to know the rights from the wrongs and the greys from the colors. So I had to study our history, now I wish history would be brought back into schools. There's so much about it that we could have stopped recently. Let me start at the beginning," Rylin said.

I nodded and munched on the cooked rabbit, it actually tasted pretty good for being cooked over a campfire.

"Our worlds, as I had said were made of a simple ball of energy and magic dust that exploded and sent portals out into space to get to each other worlds. The Portal dimension is a dimension no one has ever gone to and lived, as far as we know. Every time someone steps through a portal, though, they pass through the middle of the Portal dimension. They don't get to stay in that world, but they get a glimpse of it on the way through. It's just stardust and darkness in there. There's nothing interesting in that world except the fact all portals have to pass through there in order to get to a different dimension," Rylin shrugged and looked at me across the fire.

He takes a bite of his rabbit and continues his story.

"The Imperfect dimension is just that, Imperfect. We as creatures of this world created a new world for our renegades and outlaws. At first it was just farmed upon and built up to be able to hold life. A certain Powerholder, whom I don't the name to, sent a meteor of fire to empty the world out so the Powerholders and animals we don't want here on these worlds. It turned into a sort of exile and there was chaos and destruction on the Imperfect dimension," Rylin told me.

I finished my rabbit and set my plate aside. I had never heard any of this. I had asked about the Imperfect dimension before, every child has in their lifetime. We all get the same answer, that it's just not as good as our world. That they, even you reader, are enemies of our kind. Lots of children believe those lies, but I don't, and now I knew why all the teachers and adults kept telling those lies to us. They didn't even know the truth, they were never told.

"In order to keep them from destroying everything our people had built up their powers and strengths were taken from them and they became the humans that live there now, powerless but intelligent when it comes to creating objects to make their lives easier. I've seen pictures of things they have created that our inspectors take when they go visit the world, machines of destruction and war. There're like powers in their own, their weapons, guns, and bombs. We still have many people with powers and special abilities living in the Imperfect dimension. There's even a hidden school for the children of those who leave our worlds and enter into their's," Rylin explained.