Dream Key ~Caleb and Zeria only~

So it seems like it is only a matter of time before once again I take my rightful place within hell. I will overthrow Barron, the master who was going to kill me for no reason. I will make him suffer for his betrayal. And the magistrate will hear of it too. His death will be the first I cause on my journey back, because surely he will stop me. No matter, however. I will make sure he regrets every moment of his betrayal, and the lies that caused the separation from my body. I roam now in the mortal plane, trapped in a body of grave soil and souls...

"Thank you, sir, for your hospitality. I owe you much"

I handed a small pouch of coins to the elderly man who had allowed me to stay within his home for the night. I had been gravely injured and sought a place to heal and rest, in order to regain my strength. I was well again, with the gash to my abdomen healed, and my body for the most part replenished. Now...I just needed to find souls. I departed, and made my way into the small town. It was only a short walk from the house of the farmer I'd stayed at. I pitied the old man. His wife had passed away a year ago due to illness. He wasn't too far off of his death date either. I'd contemplated taking his soul, and allowing him to rejoin with his wife sooner...but no. He deserved to live his last days to the fullest.

The town wasn't big, but it was full of souls. I needed to be careful what I took, because any kind of toxin would affect me as well. There was a sudden scream. Definately a female's scream. And a cry for help. I hurried, then peered around a corner. Sure enough, in the alleyway behind a bar, three men were assaulting a young female. She was being held by another while the others stripped and touched her.

"HELP ME!"

Kesh'e sprung into action immediately, her scimitar materializing in her grasp as she beheaded one, then leapt on the other, wrenching his heart out of his chest cavity. She wheeled, just as the other plunged a knife into her breast. She let out a demonic roar, and flames burst around her, incinerating the man alive. She dropped to her knees, clutching the wound as she cauterized it with her own fire, before dispersing it. She looked to the frightened woman, knowing her eyes would be crimson instead of black.

"Go...now, please...for your own safety...forget this night..."

The woman fled. Kesh'e winced and turned, seeing the souls of the three men she'd killed. They were all stained black.

"You worthless scum...trying to rape a harmless woman.......no woman deserves to have her freedom taken from her!"

She called on her demonic powers, drawing in and feeding on the energy of all three. Instantly, she reeled and fell, choking. All three men had consumed great levels of alcohol and drugs. A scream of agony ripped from her throat, and she dropped to one knee. She needed souls. Pure ones. And fast...

Clouds. Clouds beneath his feet, the man slid through the sky like one would on ice. A smile on his face, he looked to the sun, which smiled back at him with the face of a woman he did not recognize. Frogs hopped from cloud to cloud, as cows flew past him. Below him, he could see the flying girl. The girl whose dream this belonged to. She was topless. The man laughed a bit. It had been a while since he had been in a dream this entertaining... The spirit world was a marvelous thing. Like a mirror, he could peek into the souls of others like this.

But that's when he felt it. The cold bitter wind that signaled the sudden absence of a space in the continuum. Closing his eyes, he reopened them. Surrounding him was a desert of many colors. In the air, orbs of light shone freely. In a town as populated as the one he was in, he could see many of these lights. The white ones were of those who were awake. The blue, those who slept. the green ones moved about. The remnant thoughts, ghosts of a life long past. But what he saw nearby shocked him more than anything. Large holes were bored into the sand, as three green orbs were absorbed from within them into a red one... a spirit type he had never seen before. As though it was a black hole, the blue wisps were sucked into its' presence like smoke through a chimney. With a clap of his hands, he awoke.

Sweat poured from his face. What he saw was not natural! Then again, neither was he. Looking out his window he could see into the back alley. A woman knelt on the ground by three men, panting. Just... what was this monster!? She seemed to be in pain. He recalled those bums were always doing shady things. If she really did absorb their spirits, perhaps something bad happened to her too? He was tempted to scream out to her. But what if she would do the same to him?

The man's name was Kale. He was not an ordinary human. One could call him a monster himself. He was told as he had grown up, that his family were blessed by angels. That they were keepers of the dead. That was why they could do the things they could... but his family had all but died off... Villagers of another town accused them of dark magic, and burned them. He had fled. Opening a door, he walked downstairs and into the smithery. He reached for the doorknob to go outside, shaky... but determined. She could be someone quite like himself, too. But that red soul... he had a bad feeling about this.

He turned the doorknob, stepped outside, and faced her.

"Feeling ill?" he was stern, and alluded to the men lying on the ground with a nod of his head.

His face, his body, were surrounded by the shadow of the night. Not much could be made out of him quite yet.

She felt sick...as though she had been the one to drink so much. But something signaled her to turn, just in time to hear the person near her asking her if she was ill. She attempted to snarl at the enshrouded being, but only found herself falling forward again as sickness reeled through her.

"Wh....what's it...to you?"

She forced herself to her feet, using the wall of the bar as support, her body trembling. Her body screamed for pure souls, and yet...she could not take them, her strive to purify her own soul keeping her from stealing from those who had done no wrong.

"One who....shrouds himself....should not speak...."

She dropped to her knees again, letting out a sound of pain and agony...half a scream, yet not at the same time. She tried to feel out the soul of the one near her.....but somethine was strange about him. She couldn't tell whether he was a pure or dark soul. In fact...she couldn't read him at all...

"Just....what are you?"

"I'm a man lost in the dreams of the dead... a ferryman of sorts," he responded. Walking out under the lamplight, one could make out his appearance. He was in mixmatched clothing he had quickly throw on: brown cowhide pants, and a jacket. He had medium brown hair that was parted in the middle. He wasn't too tall, only about 5'8. Looking at her, he sighed.

"I could ask the same as you. I know what you did to these men, and I know what they probably did to you," he frowned, "yet I don't know how to help... or even if I should."

He reached for her hand, and knelt in front of her. He looked her in the eyes. She was definitely not a human. He could see it in her eyes. Her soul. Her souls.

"I'll help you in any way I can, but only because I know they were more a monster than you."

Kesh'e reached out, taking his hand. Her body was shaking terribly, and she wasn't sure what to do. Her body screamed at her....but yet when she took his hand, some of her pain eased, as though he were the miracle cure for her.

"I am...more monster....than you can imagine..."

She pulled herself to her feet, using Kale as a support. She used her power then to feel out in a 50 foot radius, searching for a soul she could take.....and she found one. A man whose soul was blackening as they spoke, beating his terrified wife.

"I must...go....before the soul is....too black..."

She lurched forward, as if trying to force her body along....and when she could take it no more, she expelled the souls of the bad men from her body, casting them down into hell. When her body recovered several moments later, weak from lack of nourishment, she staggered forward, then began climbing up a building next to the bar, reaching a window. So much assault in this town. So much crime and so few people with morals and values. She shook her head.

"This place....it disgusts me..."

She slid into the window and leapt behind the man, her voice strong and seemingly double layered, thanks to the demonic effects on her voice.

"You are a vile man with so little worth in this world...."

She hooked an arm around his throat, pulling him down to the floor and leaning just a scant inch from him, her eyes burning holes into his.

"Your wife deserves better than a monster like you...you will not even find a place in your afterlife...not even hell..."

Kesh'e ripped open his throat and wrenched his soul through, absorbing the energy into her body. It was nowhere near pure, but it was something to sustain herself until she could bring herself to harm an innocent. The woman screamed and moved backwards. Kesh'e crossed the room in the blink of an eye, her palm on the forehead of the frightened woman. She muttered a simple spell, and the woman fell to the floor unconscious.

"You will remember nothing...only that a burglar entered and murdered your husband after you were knocked unconscious..."

Then she departed the place, leaping down next to the man who had offered to help her.

"I am not like most demons you will encounter, spirit one...this body is not mine. It is made of grave soil and souls. I devour souls to exist. That is why I am probably strange to you...a monster..."

"Eck.." his face distorted as she approached him once more. What he just saw made him almost wish to throw up his own soul and have it hide somewhere from this girl, if he could. But then she said the words "Spirit one". It seems she had him mostly figured out already.

"A demon indeed..." he quivered, "I've never seen one before. What a frightening way to live. So either you bring yourself to murder innocents to fully sustain yourself, or you kill these scum to bring yourself to life slowly? I might be able to help after all."

He opened the door to his smithery and nodded to her, signalling she could enter.

"Let's talk inside. We'll draw unwelcome eyes out here."

Kesh'e gazed at him curiously, then nodded, heading inside. She wasn't sure what to make of this man. She didn't even know his name, and already she'd told him what she was....her weakness...

"You've got to be more careful, Kesh'e" she muttered under her breath. "You'll get yourself killed before you take your revenge if you're not careful"

As soon as she was done dealing with this spirit man, she needed to go find a hotel, and do her duties to keep souls where they belonged. And to keep herself from committing some crime that could blacken her soul. Already she struggled to make the pure part of her soul more than just a quarter.

Kesh'e flipped her waist length auburn hair behind her, her onyx black eyes glowing in the dark of the smithery.

"I doubt we'll avert attention in here either"

She was rather beautiful, after all, and wandering eyes would always fall on her slender, but toned figure clad in a black corset and long black split skirt, with black laceup boots to her knees...

"This is a private smithery. I make high value weaponry that peasants cannot afford. And, it's only open while the sun is visible. No one will come here. Besides, we're going upstairs." he smiled a bit for obvious reasons, "You can sleep here tonight, in the guest room. When you wake up, it will be as though you had just cleansed yourself of any darkness in your meals."

He began walking up a spiral staircase, and stopped halfway up to turn down to face her.

"There's no need to be nervous, I'll be in a separate room... even though I'm tempted to ask otherwise. You told me your power to seek out souls and devour them. I'll show you what makes me so different. I might be wrong, but if I'm right, the answer to your problem could very well be right there in your dreams."

He finished walking up the stairs and opened a door.

"You're too weak to start looking for a hotel, with a body like that. Other men might try to take advantage of you, and you'd risk exposing yourself. Lock your door, I don't care. But I don't want you going back out there tonight. This will be your room."

Kesh'e stared at him in disbelief as he led her inside and explained the situation. Rarely did she find anyone she could trust to treat her with kindness at finding out what she was.

"I...you..."

She sighed, shaking her head.

"I won't deny your help. I appreciate it. I dislike staying in hotels due to the risk when I am in dream state..."

Kesh'e pulled her cloak off of her shoulders, stepping into the room he'd offered her. Simplistic, yet homey. She nodded to him politely, then set her things down, turning to face him.

"I am Kesh'e Hanaan, fire demon and once second in command of a lord of hell. I would tell you his name, but I cannot, for fear of him finding me..."

He laughed at her response and stepped out of her way as she looked into the room. Smiling, he stepped aside so she could make herself comfortable. However, upon finding out her standing, it made him grow quite pale. He had really... just gotten involved with something dangerous!

"I... see. I'd rather you didn't say his name then, because he'd probably find me too! But then again, I wonder if I'd really be that tasty? My family has many theories over why I am the way I am... a lot of which claim I might be either angelic, demonic, or something in between. It's hard guessing anymore."

It was then though, that he noticed what she looked like now, without wearing that cloak. It almost made him blush, bringing back the color to his face. Turning away, he stiffened up a bit.

"This is a merchant's town. Many things come into this town that seem like they don't belong in this world, and people fitting the same description. It's quite violent at night if you haven't noticed. Please, make yourself comfortable. Also..." he turned to face her again, and pointed at the bed.


"When you go to sleep, you'll feel like you're still awake. Open your eyes after you've started to dream, and you'll figure out the rest from there. You scare me a bit, I've never met anything other than my relatives who weren't completely human. But I might get to learn something about myself finally. I'll help you in return. If I'm right, you might be able to do similar things to me."

At that, he left the woman to his own room, bidding her good night. Closing his door behind him, he looked out the window and saw the men on the road once more. Stray dogs proceeded to take the scorched men away.

No regrets, Kale.

Kesh'e shook her head and sighed. She knew she was intimidating once people knew who and what she was. But they never realized that she wasn't as powerful in this body of grave soil and souls. She was still powerful, after all, she'd spent thousands of years in that body, but god save them all if she ever did re-attain her true body.

"Goodnight..."

She waited til he was gone, then sat on the bed, unlacing her boots, then laying down and closing her eyes. It didn't take long before she slipped into her dream world. She drifted, running into the souls of the dead who had not yet passed. She soothed some, left others alone. But they all seemed drawn to her. Many a time, she'd had to fight them off, for wanting possession of her false body. But this dream now...was strange. Ever so strange.

She lay in a bed of bleeding roses, a glass roof over her head revealing a bright full moon. She sat up, looking around. Kesh'e found that her cherished items were on shelves surrounding the room. Her scimitar being the most precious of them all, closely followed by the dance outfits she hadn't worn since the time of...no...she wouldn't think about it anymore. Her days of dancing were finished. She would never set foot on a stage again. She continued to look around. There was no door. Just this room and the glass roof overhead.

"Hello?"

No answer.

"Is anybody there?"

"There's more here than you know," a voice came from the wall itself. From it, the man seemed to melt clean through, as though he was part of it the whole time. He looked around, at her prized possessions. Everything had a soft glow to it. He walked over to the sword, and smiled at it. It was very well made.

"This is the Astral Plain. Whenever you dream, you become a part of it. But, you are unaware. The plain reshapes itself based on who is roaming it, forming dreams, and the settings within. I am the last of my kind who can pull people into a state of awareness. I can explore the dreams of others, and I can lead those made aware across the fields of this realm. Ghosts live here. Mere memories of beings that once were, when strong enough, take a shape. An essence. It's a type of magic, I would guess. They just, float around, with no purpose. You absorb souls, right? They aren't nearly complete souls, but they're untainted. The ghosts here? They're all pure, as their flesh and desires died long ago."

He made his way to her dresses, blushing a bit. He couldn't help but to imagine this woman wearing them. But, he had to keep his thoughts at bay. As this was the dream world, his own thoughts could indeed change things. It would be bad if he accidentally played dress-up with her by accident.

"I've never found anyone I could help with these abilities. But if you wish to see for yourself, I can guide you," he pushed against her wall, which seemed to open up. It revealed a desert of pink sand, with streaks of various colors glimmering within. Indeed, the real form of the Astral Plains was a beautiful thing. Glowing lights floated around like snow. And, as he had said, the mindless essence of the lives that once were seemed to walk mindlessly along, talking to either themselves, or loved ones that weren't there.

"This is just between you and me, but I can use this ability while awake, too. I can see the intents of others. That is to say, their souls are either white, or black, depending on what they may be plotting. It's how I knew I could trust you. I gazed into you, and saw that among the black that had stirred within you, there was light even still. And I think you would look lovely in those dresses."

Kesh'e jumped slightly as her host materialized through the wall. He was lucky she wasn't in her astral form, or he'd be getting a very inappropriate kind of show. She sighed, rising from the bed of roses, gliding across the floor to meet him. As he smiled at her sword, it brought a slight smile to her lips as well.

"The only weapon I ever had crafted for me by hell's best blacksmith. It's the only one of its kind. I always did favor scimitars..."

The fact the the blade was the color of the darkest red made it even more rare. It was difficult to make it that way. Then Kale began to explain the workings of things, and she listened intently, absorbing the knowledge like a sponge. It could be useful information to her someday.

"I have...unique abilities in this body. I am sort of a....spirit guide. I deign which souls are pure enough to rise into the heavens, and cast down or devour those to black to be allowed to remain in the spiritual plain..."

She flinched as the wall opened to reveal the beautiful scenery before her. She had never been one to like much light. Demons never really had much of a like for bright things. His comment about her soul made her cringe.

"I am...in a battle to regain the purity of my soul. It has been tainted by many years of warring in hell...many deeds I committed that were of great sin..."

She stopped, and a soft blush lit her cheeks as he stated she would look lovely in her dresses. Kesh'e sighed and shook her head.

"Dancing is long past me. I swore to never dance again and I have no intentions of going back on that vow...dancing got me stuck in the position I am today...without my real body..."

"Dancing got you where you are? I fail to see how that works, but please don't tell me. I don't think this fragile heart of mine could take the tales of someone who's literally been to Hell and back..." he walked over to the ghost of a wandering female, clad in ghostly lingerie. He grabbed her hand with his fingertips softly, and lifted it. Her own reflex picking up, she spun under his arm, before gliding through him and off to who knows where. Like the others, she was a mere figment of a life that once was. Apparently the woman she was before death was very free spirited.

"Then again, rumors tell of my own kind being from Heaven and back. I have a very odd sword that my father forged just days before he died. I dare not take it from its' chest though. Somehow, it only seems like a bad omen to me. Every time I even take it out to observe it, bad things happen." He shuttered. "The metal doesn't even look natural. It's like someone spilt oil all over the blade, and it glistens like a rainbow. Like a contrast to your sword, it's as though it was forged from clouds. A sword made of the sky itself."

He smiled a bit. Indeed, it was a beautiful sword. But he was afraid to even imagine it into existence here. The last time he looked at it, just recently...

"Well anyway," he turned to face her, "is there anything you need to know? I'm fairly sure that by letting you here at night, you'll be able to cleanse your soul slowly, but... surely."

Kesh'e shook her head again. She didn't wish to tell her tale. No. Not in this world. She would wind up recreating things she didn't even want to remember. She watched as Kale took the hand of a ghostly woman, dancing her around. Kesh'e sucked in a breath and closed her eyes. Memories flashed through her head, and the world around them began to flash things with it. Kesh'e suddenly stood there in a rather revealing dancer's outfit, her lithe body fitting the silky black material perfectly, the dangling coins jingling as she swayed back and forth. Fire lit in the air and floated around her majestically, yet with an air of seduction and passion. The sound of beating drums and the slow drawl of a violin and gardon....a breathless moan from Kesh'e, an expression of absolute lust on her face...

It was then Kesh'e realized what was happening, and screamed loudly.

"STOP!"

The images shattered, leaving Kesh'e in her long skirt, corset, and boots, panting for breath. She wrapped her arms around herself and clenched her fists, her nails biting into the soft flesh of her arms.

"Never again! NEVER!"

A look of shock appeared onhis face. Indeed, this woman had magic he knew was not of this world. But, at the end of it all, as she tore her dream apart, he sighed.

"It must be hard," he frowned. Indeed, to lock yourself away from something you love, must be a difficult thing. He walked over to her, and nodded. He had made up his mind. Whether this woman was of a simple feminine wile, or was truely an honest person didn't matter. No person should undergo such a quest alone.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." he knew that this was a place that was hard to avoid falling to temptation. He took her hand, and kissed the top of her wrist.

"Call me a fool, but you've inspired me to aid you on your quest. You're a woman of passion, I can tell. There's no way you can do it alone. You need someone to help you hold yourself strong. I'm looking for something myself. If you let me help you, I might find my own place too."

A nearby ghost began to wander around them.

"Go on. Try it."

Kesh'e looked over to Kale, fear in her eyes. She didn't like it here. Every memory came to life. One wrong memory and HE would be here, dragging her back to hell kicking and screaming. But it wasn't time to think about those things. No. Kale was offering to go with her from here on out. What shocked her most was that she hadn't cringed when he'd kissed her wrist.

"But..."

Kesh'e gazed at him, a curious look in her eyes.

"I am no special woman. I may be passionate, yes, but that isn't enough for a man to leave behind everything he has just to travel with me..."

She seemed highly suspicious.

"What's your motive? What reason do you have to go with me in search of your place? Mere companionship?"

"Companionship might be a part of it, yes. As you can imagine, having such abilities can make you quite lonely. I've distanced myself from others, in fear that I might be singled out like my family was. If I get caught even once, they'd know where I live. They'd know where to find me."

He frowned and looked way from her.

"And as time goes on, people will figure it out. Just like with my family. I'd be hung at the gallows tree, as a "Nightmare." It's what they called my parents, thinking they were demons that ate people in their sleep. Or maybe, I'd just be killed as a witch? You're the first person I've met since them. The first person who isn't human in any way but appearance."

He turned around, holding back the tears.

"I need to run. I need to escape this reclusive hole. The astral plain is vast! But what would my life amount to if I spent it sleeping? I've found someone I can actually help. My father told me one day, that there was more to myself than when I was sleeping. He told me a tale one day," Kale raised his hand, and a frightening beast appeared beside him. The image of a werewolf.

"My dad told me this after he mercilessly slaughtered the thing with his bare hands. His fists. No different than killing a bear that way, it's virtually impossible. Yet he did it with ease. I need to find out who I am. What I am. And I don't think I can find that path by traveling with a human. To be blunt, you're the answer to my only real question."

Kale looked her right in the eyes.

"That being, where to begin?"

Kesh'e frowned as she listened to his every word. He was like her, different and struggling to get by in the world without being found out. She found herself pitying him. They were alike, and that made her want to accept him more than anything.

"I...suppose it wouldn't be too much of a trouble then...just...you'll have to deal with my frequent stops in bad places for soul searching...I feed rather regularly..."

She ran a hand through her waist length, dark auburn hair, sighing. A new companion achieved for a common goal. At least she wouldn't be so alone anymore.

"You intrigue me, astral one...I look forward to travelling with you..."

"I'll take a day to pack up. I have a good amount saved up in case we need to buy food or rooms at night. I will admit, I'm nervous," he proceeded back into the room they had left, the walls closing back around them. He looked back at her sword.

"I'll have no choice but to bring my own broadsword. I'd rather not take it out, but I can assure you. I won't be in the way if we're attacked."

He sat on the bed of roses. It was soft. As violent as she was, there was still something gentle about her. She was still a woman after all.

Kesh'e nodded. She knew he had a life here he'd started that he would be reluctant to give up. At least, not without belongings anyway. With graceful movements, she went back to the bed, sitting next to Kale.

"Don't rush. If you need to remain here for a few days, then we can remain here. It's not like there's a lack of tainted souls here..."

She yawned softly. She was worn out from everything, and even in the dream world, she needed to rest. Guiding souls was no easy job...

"We'll head for the town of Kam'riel once we leave..."

"I see you've had your fill of the dream world for now. I'll bid thee adieu. Meet me in the morning, I suppose," he bowed, and leaned back on her bed. He melted into it, and drifted into darkness. He sat there, in his own empty dream, silent, his eyes open. He was scared. But, this woman he has met... has inspired him to move on. He felt a deep beating in his chest. Was it an illusion from within his dream, or could he feel it from his body? He didn't really know. He closed his eyes, and slept for the first time in ages.

~The next morning~

Kale got up, and looked to the right of his bed. The chest his sword was in, locked tight with chains. He didn't open it quite yet. Not until they were ready to head out would he dare. He got dressed, in his leather boots and jeans. His peasant's cotton shirt did indeed make him appear to be the blacksmith he was. He looked out the window, and saw everyone on their merry way. The drunkards by the tavern were conversing amongst themselves. They were idiots.

He proceeded to outside of his guest's door. He knocked a bit. No answer. Was she still alseep? Cracking the door open, he looked inside. Indeed, she was. Still asleep like a baby, she was awfully cute. He blushed a bit, and crept back outside of the room. Regaining his composure, he cleared his throat.

"It's time to wake up, lady!"

Kesh'e nodded as Kale drifted away, disappearing from the dream world to what she presumed was his own body again. She laid down herself upon the bed of bleeding roses, and let herself drift into deep dream.

The next morning, she awoke to Kale's voice calling her to wake up. She groaned softly, sitting up. Slowly but surely, she rose to her feet, smoothing out her skirt and grabbing a brush from her satchel.

"You may enter..."

She began with the process of brushing her waist-length, dark auburn hair. She loved her hair, and kept it as nicely tended as she could...

Kale walked in, averting eye contact as best he could. There was something charming about a girl as she wakes up. Then again, mornings have a certain effect on men and their way of thinking. But that doesn't change the universal fact that sleepy girls are cute. Shaking it off as best he could, he quickly had to turn around, adjusting his pants to prevent the obvious from showing.

Turning back around, he nodded.

"There are still a few things I will need to take care of. All my money is in gold, so our travel will be light. I'll need to make sure we have proper things. I have a horse in the back you probably have not seen yet. It's quite strong. If you don't have one, it should be able to carry us both quite easily. If there's anything basic you need before we leave, I can probably afford it... probably."

Kesh'e gazed at Kale with an almost sleepy expression on her face for several moments....before nodding.

"I have what supplies I need. And I do not have a horse. Most animals tend to avoid me..."

She recalled the first time she'd attempted to get on a horse after she'd awoken in her dirt and soul body. The terrified animal had thrown her off and nearly killed her. Kesh'e cringed as she recalled the pain and agony she'd felt.

"It is likely best if I walk alongside your horse...even then, the animal may be a bit fidgety..."

She didn't need to see him to know what looking at her did to his body. She could feel the rise in his bodily temperature. She sighed, rejecting the memories of what had become of her when she had inadvertently seduced Barron without meaning to. Another reason she would never dance again. Her dances were filled with too much fire and passion...