Library

AVATAR

---

With but a lazy sweep of his hand, the air split, the forest parted, and trees fell.

As an acre of woods was reduced to a metric ton of lumber, the blonde man regarded his hand with a dispassionate expression, staring at it as if it were not his own limb.

"Yet another bizarre dream." He muttered as his opened and closed his fist, brow furrowing.

He had no avatar aspirations, nor any particular interest in any such pokemon, beyond those whom could help him better his art. But...

He decided that, Whichever legendary pokemon it was that had granted him these powers in the dream, he would rather not involved himself with it in the future.

As he slowly reached for his glove and removed it, he found himself staring at an arm made of steel— more at home on an automaton than a man of flesh and blood.

With that very same hand, he knocked against his chest, and heard a metallic clang ring twice.

"Hoh." Were it not for the layer of dissonant serenity that came with a dream's territory, he was fairly sure this would've been a very appropriate moment to be consumed by the desperate feeling of body horror. "I was wondering why everything felt so... muted."

An impregnable body of steel... seemed sound in theory, but he had no desire for it.

Library

POWER

When he next opened his eyes, he faced rows of knights as far as the eyes could see.

Around him, men and women made sure to look both impressive and busy as the lines of armored soldiers continued to gather in files before him.

Beneath him, there was a throne, he realized. Made of mahogany wood and leather. Fitting, given the horrific weather around them.

This was the crown tundra. And before him was an army, branded in the Family crest of the Duchal bloodline.

How... Alarming.

His ears remained sharp despite the fact that his body did not. Indeed, the body he found himself in was little more than a fleshy prison.

A mere attempt to move his arm answered several questions as to its status.

A look at the two generals flanking him told him all he needed to know.

Gwynevere and Gwnedolyn stood tall besides him. Older than he and more battle hardened than he would've ever allowed them to become, were he given the choice.

And if they were older than himself... He could only imagine what his vessel for this dream might look like.

"Your grace." Boomed a knight as he approached the throne, taking a knee. "Your armies have readied. On your command..."

All eyes seemed to fall on him. On this feeble vessel. A pressure he had never once experienced fell upon him, chilling him to his core.

Hoh. So this was a facet of true power.

Library

LOVE

When he next opened his eyes, he found himself in front of an unfamiliar apartment door, one hand inside his pocket, the other holding onto a bag.

With a simple shift of his fingers, he felt the metallic touch of keys. With a downwards glance, he realized the bag's contents were, roughly, take out for two.

He brought his gaze back to the door before him as he pulled out the key, bringing it into the lock slowly. There wasn't any point in hesitating or thinking it over now.

He had been through this enough times to know that if he wanted to wake up, he would need to see it— whatever it was this time— through.

Opening the door, he found himself faced with the dim lighting of an upstate apartment. Even from where he stood, the iconic vista of what he could vaguely recognize to be Lumiose City's skyline stretched out beyond the dimmed glass doors of a large balcony on the other end of the room.

Low volume music hummed from sound systems stretching across the living room wall, their neon lights flickering in time with the beat.

It was curious. He had never once stood inside such a place... but he felt strangely at home.

His eyes moving around the apartment, the blonde closed the door behind himself, it shutting with a click.

In response— a figure he hadn't noticed stirred on the couch, a yawn reaching his ears as it— her, he realized, rose onto her side.

Violet eyes peered at him as a very familiar lady rose out from over the couch.

"Hey you." She said softly, her hand laying over her rounded gut as she flashed him a dazzling smile. "Welcome home."

Library

REVELATIONS

The next time he opened his eyes... he was immobilized.

Not tied down, not hand cuffed, not frozen or paralyzed... he was utterly, completely immobilized.

Given the dull pain he felt at his nape, combined with the cognitive blackhole he 'felt' from the neck down...

He would've likened it to sleep paralysis, except that he suspected this had a lot more to do with physical trauma than with unfortunate brain chemistry.

The man standing before him, however, was no paralysis demon— though if rumors about his patron were any true, he could well be if chose to.

It was safe to say this 'dream' would not be anywhere near as pleasant as the last one.

declan walsh was not a man Gwyar particularly liked, but he was one that the blonde had nonetheless been hunting for some time now, to depressingly little success.

Even from within the occupied city of Sootopolis, finding the rocket boss' personal hideout had proven beyond Gwyar's limited investigative acumen.

And though he was certain the man spent some measure of time at rocket HQ... he did not have an informant high enough in the chain of command; a necessary tool, if he was to plan an infiltration, capture and/or assassination attempt.

So this... could be useful. If only he could get even the slightest clue of where this might be—

"Pray tell, Chief Wledig— How did you find me?"

Wasn't that a good fucking question.

BIRTH BY SLEEP

ROUND 1

[attr="class","rbynote"]

KEEP YOUR POKEMON'S STRENGTH

Warning! Doing so will keep you from reaching their true potential in lieu of brute force.

Continue?

An unremarkable silhouette marched through the screen without sparing it another glance, its form shifting and growing as an essence flowed out of the dreamball in its grasp and into its body, transforming it.

Before long, it was not a blank, unremarkable avatar that stood there, but a knightly figure in heavy, fantastic armor.

The dark, gold and blood red colors and patterns that characterized an irregular Aegislash accentuated the silhouette.

"... Bit much." Gwyar pointed out as he casually tugged at his own bloody red cape, before turning his attention back to the window before him.

What an unusual experience, this had been. Awakening in an unknown castle surrounded by big-headed, faceless, vaguely humanoid entities... getting shepherded like sheep by snubbull royalty...

Hunting down his own sword.

His eyes glanced down to Gram, still held firmly in his hand... little potato hand.

Finding it hadn't been too hard.

On account of his... 'ability'.

[attr="class","rbynote"]

THE CHIVALROUS DELUSIONAL HAS-BEEN
You can see the invisible, but nobody will ever believe you.

"... What does that mean?"