"You’ve been doing very well," there was almost a purr beneath the mentor’s deep voice this time, "There’s been much wringing of hands in the Shadow House. Accusations flying, emotions running high. Excellent!"
Ket looked across the fire and said somberly, "If I’d known how much upheaval it would cause, I might have just kept my mouth shut."
"But that was the point!" the other protested, "How can you rise if there’s no upheaval and the ranks above you don’t change?"
Ket nodded slowly, "I suppose that’s true. When I started Dreaming, I didn’t think I’d care about the people there so much."
The other’s eyes gleamed under his hood, but he said nothing, only laughed softly.
Ket concentrated on the Dream and entered his House.
Allina and several of the other initiates were standing in the Main Entrance talking excitedly.
As Ket joined them one man said, "Do you think it’s true that Tenebral’s been giving arts and plats to Melida too?"
"I asked her about her arts," replied one of the other women, "and for someone who’s hardly more than newly awakened, she has a lot of them and a lot of plats."
"She could just have been working really hard on them," Ket observed.
"Maybe," the man allowed. He was clearly enjoying the scandal as much as anyone and not interested in hearing doubts cast on his gossip.
"They’re all in there discussing it," the woman motioned into the House, "All the Rulers and Guards have been in Guardian Missions for hours."
"They had Melida in the Initiate Lounge and questioned her till she started to cry and admitted everything," added the man.
Ket just shook his head and he and Allina left the others to their gossip. As they walked down the plane, Allina said, "I feel sorry for Melida. She is just a newly, she probably didn’t even know what was happening was wrong."
In the second room down from the House they came upon Melida. She was leaning against a wall and for a fleeting second, Ket thought he saw an expression of greed on her pretty face. When he looked more closely, she was looking down and appeared to be fighting tears.
"Have you come to shout at me too?" she asked warily.
Allina shook her head, "No, I think you’re a victim in all this. How were you to know what Tenebral was doing was wrong?’
Melida smiled up at the other woman and said, "Thank you, Allina, you are sweet. But I think I’ve caused enough trouble in the House. I won’t be dreaming again."
"You can’t just give up," Allina protested.
"It’s better for now," Melida replied, " Farewell, you two."
She curtsied to them and as she faded from the dream, Ket thought he heard a low laugh, almost like a growl.
No one in the House was surprised when the Rulers and Guardians asked Tenebral to step down. Unable to bear the disgrace, Tenebral demoted himself from the House entirely. Rumors flew that the Elders were investigating his teaching and that he might lose his halo and stature in the Dreamseers Society as well.
It also surprised no one that Erelon was elected to fill the vacant Ruler position.
The first Dream after Erelon’s ascension, Ket and Allina were standing in their Threshold when their new Ruler joined them. They bowed and curtsied and Ket said, "Congratulations, Erelon. I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more."
"I can’t say I’m sorry to be a Ruler," Erelon admitted, patting his new abyss crest, "But I wish it had happened some other way. I admired Tenebral. I can’t imagine what came over him."
"Do you think it was her fault?" Allina asked.
"I don’t know. She seemed to be just new and confused. I’d like to talk to her a bit more and find out for myself, but I haven’t seen her lately."
"You won’t," Ket told him, "we saw her a few dreams ago and she said she was leaving."
"Then I guess we’ll never know," Erelon said, "But we have to carry on. The House will suffer a bit because of the scandal, but not too much because we demoted Tenebral as soon as we knew."
With what Ket thought might be a significant look, Erelon told them,
"We’re going to need at least one new Guardian soon. It will need to be someone who dreams regularly and has proven his or her loyalty to the House."
With a bow, Erelon hurried off to a meeting at the House, leaving Ket to speculate.
"So the great one has fallen as low as he can, and new dreamers are rising," the mentor’s voice was gloating and his eye gleamed under his hood.
Ket eyed him suspiciously, "Do you know anything more about Melida?" he asked.
"Feh! A nothing, a catalyst merely," the other replied.
"So now your friend is a Ruler and looking for loyal initiates to promote to Guardian," the mentor continued.
Ket nodded eagerly, "He said so to me and Allina in thresh the other dream. And he gave us a look. Like the news was especially significant to us."
The mentor chuckled softly, "Ah that’s excellent. So you have high hopes."
"I’ve been loyal and worked for the House ever since I joined. And I did help him with the information about Tenebral," Ket replied.
Eager to return to the Dream, Ket focused on Threshold. He entered the Shadow Threshold and checked to see if his friends were dreaming. He Located Allina and Erelon in one of the planes with excellent gens and thought about joining them, then decided he would rather hunt and bring in some essences for the House Prime.
Some while later, he returned to the House and went to the Prime Room to deposit his essences.
Carissa, one of the other Guardians was there already and passed him the Prime Key, "House meeting pretty soon," she remarked, "You’ll want to be sure that you’re there for it, Ketzan."
He nodded, "I always come to the meetings when I can Dream for them," he said. Inwardly, his hopes were rising. Why would he want to be sure to be there for this meeting, he wondered.
Carissa nodded, "Good for you," she said, "It’s important to keep up with events in the House and the Dream."
Ketzan nodded, then checked again for his friends. He sensed that Allina and Erelon were down in the Vault, and went down to meet them.
As he entered the room, Allina was looking up at Erelon and laughing softly. She turned as the portal chimed and smiled at Ket, "Hullo, Ketzan. We’ve been genning. Do you need a shield? The gens were generous with them this dream."
"No thanks, I have a couple of good ones," he replied.
"Almost time for the Meeting," Erelon reminded them, "You won’t want to be late for this one."
"Shall we head upstairs?" Allina suggested.
They met other members of the House, also heading for the meeting room, and Ket strained his ears to see if he could pick up any gossip. The repeated reminders to be at the meeting had him convinced that they were going to Knight a new Guardian tonight, and his hopes were high that he might be the one so honored.
All the dreaming house members gathered in the Prime Room and Decania, who had become the Senior Ruler on Tenebral’s demotion, stepped to the podium and glanced around the room with a smile.
"As you all know, we’ve had a distressing period in the House. But, we must put this all behind us and concentrate on our future. We have a most capable and scholarly new Ruler. However, Erelon’s ascension has left us short of a Guardian.
"We debated long over this decision. You are all excellent dreamers, and many of you will no doubt be called to serve in time. At this point, however, we decided on a candidate who is relatively new. This dreamer has not long been a member, but has already shown exemplary scholarship and devotion to the House and its ideals. We believe that this dreamer will have your support and ours and will work hard and well for all of us," Decania paused and looked around the room. Her eye fell on Ket and Allina and she smiled.
So certain was he that his name would be called that Ket at first failed to hear when Decania said, "Allina, please step forward."
Ket was so stunned that he barely heard the rest of the ceremony. As his shock gave way to disappointed rage, it was only a lifetime of stifling his emotions in his waking life that kept him from betraying himself. As Allina turned to face the membership, wearing her new red crest and a wide smile, Ket was somehow able to muster a smile of pride and to applaud along with the rest of the Guild.
Allina went to stand with the rest of the Guardians and the meeting continued. Ket scarcely heard the rest of the proceedings. His mind seethed with furious conjectures. Perhaps it was because he had been the one to raise questions about Tenebral? Then he remembered that Allina had said as much or more on the occasion when Erelon’s suspicions were aroused.
The meeting wound to its close and the members clustered around Allina to offer congratulations. Ket moved forward as well, unwilling to admit that he was anything but pleased by her promotion.
"Ketzan, I have to go learn all about being a Guardian," she said, "it may take awhile if you want to go hunt or something."
He painted a smile on his face and said, "I’ll wait for you."
"Very well," she said, turning as Erelon came up to her.
"Come along Guardian Allina, you have some new rooms to explore as well as new duties to learn," Erelon beamed at her and took her arm to escort her into the Guardian areas.
Ket watched as they disappeared through the portal, then turned and ran down the plane to his favorite hunting area. He spent an hour or so taking out his rage and frustration on Nightmares, stopping only when his pack was too full to continue.
He returned to the House and brought his full pack to the Prime Room. As he entered, he saw that Erelon and Allina were standing near the Prime. They were standing very close together, she looking up at him and he smiling down at her. As they heard the door chime, they moved apart a little.
Erelon beamed at him, "Ah, Ketzan, good to see you, my friend! You can be the first to congratulate us."
Ket walked forward, his mind racing again as Erelon took Allina’s hand and continued, "Our newest Guardian has consented to become my wife."
Ket gaped at them.
Allina smiled a little tentatively at him and said, "I know we’ve been playing at courtship, Ketzan. But that seemed to be all you wanted from me. And Erelon," she smiled adoringly up at the Ruler, "Erelon finally confessed that he wants so much more."
Overwhelmed with pain and rage, Ket fled from the Room. Although he had never sought the clearing and his mentor, he did so now, forcing himself out of the Dream and into that shadowy place.
The other was sitting by the fire as usual, hidden in the folds of his cloak.
Ket stood on the other side of the fire, his fists clenched, trembling with such a fierce mixture of emotions that at first he could not speak.
"Ahhhhhh," the shadowy figure, "You have done marvelously."
"What?" Ket demanded, "What do you mean? It’s all gone wrong! They didn’t knight me. And Allina, my Allina, is going to marry that, that…." words failed him.
The other’s voice was a throaty, satisfied purr, "But that rouses so much more emotion than success. You’ve admirably filled your side of our bargain."
Ket looked at him in bewilderment, "What are you talking about? What are you?"
The figure rose, the cloak swirling but still revealing nothing of what was under its dark folds, "A creature of Chaos," said the rasping voice, "We’ve watched and fed on your folk for many ages. You people are so deliciously emotional. And your Dream City magnifies all your emotions.
"And I, I am an artist," the voice gloated, "You do quite nicely on your own, but I saw that with a little nudging here and there, you could produce so much more for us."
Still bewildered, Ket asked, "What do my emotions have to do with you?"
"They feed us," the other replied, "We’re not gross matter like you. We haunt your world and your Dreams because you feed us so well."
"Noooooo!" Ket screamed and lunged across the fire.
His grasping hands clutched at the cloak and it melted in his hands like smoke. For an instant, he thought he caught a glimpse of a nightmarish, shadowy form, but then there was nothing in the clearing but shadows from the fire and the fading memory of a growling laugh.
