Dimensional Descent

"Old Bastian, I need to talk to you," Aerin bowed respectfully at the entrance of a Dream Pavilion. He didn't need to be so polite, but Old Bastian was still his elder. That said, the fact he called him Old Bastian at all went to show how close their relationship was.

"Come in, come in," an aged but cheery voice came from the inside.

Aerin smiled a hint bitterly and then entered.

"How many times do I have to tell you there's no need for such formalities, little prince? You've already done more for the Dwarven Race than I've done in my entire lifetime. If anything, I should be bowing to you."

An aged Sparrow with a head of white hair and a face full of wrinkles beckoned Aerin forward, urging him to sit on the prayer mat by his side.

The older Sparrows grew, the larger their wings became. In fact, some of them even showed mutations that allowed them to grow multiple.

Old Bastian had two pairs of wings that looked like they had been plucked from a dragonfly's back. Usually, for the average Sparrow, a wing that was more than a foot long was already a huge boon. But Old Bastian's wings were almost as long as he was tall, spreading out to over four feet.

Though the man looked aged, the one thing that never lagged behind for Sparrows were their wings. He was more agile now than maybe any other person in the Dwarven Kingdom.

"You're flattering me again, Old Bastian," Aerin said a bit sheepishly.

"Only what you deserve, only what you deserve. Now tell me, what've you come here for today?" Old Bastian said with a jovial smile. "I can tell there's something weighing heavily on you."

Aerin took a deep breath. Even though he took a seat on the prayer mat, he had a hard time looking Old Bastian in the eye.

"Old Bastian, will you hate me if I ask you for something unreasonable?"

The old Sparrow looked at Aerin deeply before giving him a meaningful smile.

too much, little prince. That is why you're so easily manipulated. I've spoken to your father about letting you explore the world, but it seems that you've gone off and done

Aerin's heart jumped.

that. And let me guess, the report

I wouldn't call

leap out of his skin. His head snapped back to see the disguised Leonel,

had, but after seeing Old Bastian's reaction, Leonel knew

surprised. "So

released a dignified air. It was clear that even in his old age, he had

I do need your

Old

None of this surprised him, he had given it a 50/50 chance. If anything, he was happy that Old Bastian recognized this flaw, because it meant that the Dwarven Race

sneaking in was never himself, but rather Aerin. If Aerin didn't hide his tracks well enough the first time he left, it would be easy to expose Leonel instead of confusing the first and second break-ins as the same

Leonel flipped his palm and revealed the Silver

was because unlike Aerin, Old Bastian had a lot of information about the outside world... like how the Spirituals had just started a campaign against the humans for unknown

here to retaliate against the

Leonel nodded,

Dwarven Race doesn't want to get involved

sure you're smart enough to know you don't have a choice. Whether it's me or your enemies, someone is going to throw you into the fray one way or another. So

fell into silence for a long while and Leonel didn't

my Dream

"Temporarily."

kept to his word and abdicated, would their Race ever truly be free of him? Or would they end up in

didn't refute, there was no