A salty wind blew against his face. In the distance the cries of seagulls and the crashing of waves could be heard. Ash lifted himself up from the sandy grass outcropping he found himself on and looked around. He saw beaches for miles ahead of him, and tropical forest behind him. He noticed that instead of his body armor and weaponry he was barefoot and dressed in loose fitting cotton pants and shirt. He stood for a second and took in his surroundings and felt at peace. The whole place seemed, serene.
The wind blew slightly, rustling his loose fitting clothing. He caught a sweet smell in the air and looked into the wind tracing its source. In the distance he saw a figure walking down the beach towards him. The figure was female, and moved with the grace of a cat. Her lithe form nearly floated above the sand she walked upon. Her golden hair shined with radiance in the sun. As she walked closer Ash could make out the long tips of her Elvin ears and the sharp cut of her cheeks that seem to accentuate her alluring almond eyes. She wore a simple silken dress that clung to her perfect form. Ash’s heart leapt and his knees weakened. He had faced unspeakable horrors without pause, but faced with the sheer beauty of this woman he was paralyzed.
“Hello Ash, its been quite some time. You couldn’t write?”, she spoke with a wry grin.
“Uh uh uh, Silvanna? How? Where? What the..”, was all he could stammer.
She placed a delicate finger on his lip to silence him.
“I need you to listen Ash. We don’t have a lot of time here. Soon your body will begin to reject the colloidal neuro-silverite. This is a dream. You are still in Phase World and I am in Psyscape on Earth. Which is where you and your people need to be. There is a problem growing here that you and your friends may have some experience with. I had a premonition months back of obsidian darkness engulfing and small blue green planet. Little did I know at the time that it was your world. the rift planet, Earth.
Through various contacts I was able to secure passage here, to gain more information. I designed the amulet Chet gave you so that if you came back for me he could give it to you. The colloidal neuro-silverite is an enchanted medium that allows you and I to meet in this ‘dream’ for a short period of time. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to tell you about it, and that I had Chet be so mean to you. It is important that the Blood Elves think that you and he are enemies so that he can maintain his position on Level 9.”
“Oh.”, was all Ash could say for a moment. “What exactly is going on?”
The serene beach and tropical setting began to go hazy.
“Your body is rejecting the silverite. Listen carefully. The Vampire Kingdoms are in upheaval. The alien intelligences that control them have withdrawn their presence. Without their exerted control the vampire hordes are running wild and attacking everything with a pulse way outside of their usual hunting grounds. Magic has weakened dramatically over the past few weeks and the ley lines are beginning to dim. Many of the more powerful supernatural entities are leaving Earth like rats from a sinking ship.”
Her voice began to trail off as the haze began to close in.
“Something called the Devourer and the Negative Planar Ether is responsible for this. You and you friends have dealt with … be… ore…”
Ash found himself on his hands and knees in a dimly lit corridor, in his usual battle gear, being supported by strong metallic hands as he began to wretch out a mercury-silver mucus. The viscous liquid dripped from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
After a few moments he looked up at Azznorock and stated with a grim tone, “We need to go Home.”
