A nap and a development

He was back in the dreamscape. It wasn’t night though, was it? No, no he was napping. Napping with a naked Adi next to him. Speaking of Adi next to him “What the hell is this place, Vel?” His head spun around. Floating right next to him, wearing a gorgeous light pink ball gown, was Adeline. His mind was reeling, but he managed to reply. “I’ve told you about this place, the dreamscape, where I first met Seph.” She looked around, looking unimpressed. “Oh, I imagined… More.”

He wondered if she was seeing the same thing he was. “Do you see an ashen wasteland, or something else?” She nodded. “Ashen wasteland, definitely.” That was interesting. “How do I look to you?” She turned and looked at him, and he could see an expression of awe on her face. Which of course raised all sorts of questions, as he wasn’t actually seeing her face at all. “You… You look like you, but you’re glowing. With like a golden light, like the one I see in my mind when you’re in there. You’re also wearing these long flowing robes, they’re black and gold and really ornate.” Looking down at himself, he confirmed he was seeing the same robes. “Do you see yourself in a light pink ballgown?” She looked down at herself. “Yes, what in the hells is up with that? I’d never wear this!” It looked great on her though. “I think you look great in it, honestly.” She seemed to have a change of heart. “In that case, I would wear this. I need to ask Mother to put me in touch with her new tailor.”

Seph’s dreamscape voice suddenly boomed from all around them. “As it happens, I see the heir simply as golden light. A golden flame, to be precise. A man-shaped figure made entirely of golden flame.” As one, the twins spun to face him. “Oh, hi Seph. I guess that’s that question finally answered. Thanks.” Adeline seemed a bit taken aback. “That’s Seph?” Vel nodded, or at least he thought he did, who knew in this place. “Yes, how does he look to you?” As it turned out, they saw Seph the exact same way too. So, they saw everything the same way in here, that surprised Vel, and he said as much. There was another thing he wondered about too. “And how is Adi even here?”

“If I may, my liege, I might have an explanation.” Vel gestured for him to go on. “Then by all means, enlighten us.” Seph cleared his throat, and Vel made the conscious decision not to even wonder about how that worked. “Am I correct in assuming that your lady sister is sleeping next to you?” The twins confirmed that. “Then I also assume the two of you have forged a permanent bond?” Well, that cat was out of the bag then. “Yes, we have.” Vel was a bit uncomfortable. Would Seph know how they had formed the bond, or were there other ways to do so? “About that bond, what exactly is needed to forge it and uh…” Vel trailed off and the old man seemed to pick up on his discomfort. “Worry not, my liege, you face no judgement here. You are the heir. The whole world is rightfully yours, and that includes your sister.” Adeline approved. “Good, he gets it!” Seph went on. “Besides, such a thing is not unheard of for mindmages. When given the means, quite a few would gladly tread the path of family.” That made a lot of sense to Vel. “And I am certainly in no position to judge. You remember my tale, yes, about my mother?” He thought he knew where this was going. “Yes, I do. Are you saying you and your mother…” he trailed off again, and Seph picked back up. “Certainly, my liege. Recall, she loved me enough to slay her husband, go on the run and let me practice my powers on her. I barely even had to use my powers to remove some of her inhibitions. As soon as I grew into a man, her desire was there, I just needed to set her free.” Adeline joined back into the conversation. “So, you bedded your mother? Good for you, Seph!” He inclined his head at her. “Thank you, my Lady. I did a lot more than just bed her, though. I fathered 5 children with her.”

Seph was a good fit to be his teacher, excellent even. “The Unbound must have had a hand in you being the one who found me, Seph. We are too well matched for it to be coincidence.” The old man sounded genuinely touched. “Thank you, my liege, that means a lot.” He paused briefly, as if collecting himself. “But perhaps I should get back to my explanation of the Lady Adeline’s presence here?” Oh, right, both the twins had become quite distracted at the mention of Seph bedding his mother. “Yes, of course, please do.”

“So, as I was saying, you and your lady sister now share a permanent bond and you are physically close. Only mindmages can communicate in the dreamscape like this, at least usually. It is likely that your sister, due to her link and proximity to you when you came here, was pulled along. It would also explain why the two of you see everything the same, as she is relying on your mind to be here. One could almost say she is a passenger in your consciousness.”

Mindmagic, the dreamscape, all of it just kept getting more fascinating. “Why did we end up here? Did you like, call Vel?” That was a good question, Vel thought. “Yes, Lady Adeline. This morning, I cast a spell on myself. As soon as your brother went to sleep, I too would be put under, and my mind would call out to him.” Vel certainly hadn’t felt called. “Wait, I was called?” Seph nodded. “In a way, my liege. Whenever you dream your mind enters the dreamscape, so you were already here, but one could say my mind requested a meeting. Your subconscious accepted. In time, you will master even this, and be able to respond or not as you please.”

“And now that I have been reminded that I contacted you for a reason, I should get to it. Who knows how long we have before you are awoken.” Well, the person who usually woke him when he was here was with him this time, but he didn’t say that out loud. “I must apologize, my liege. I know I promised to avoid asking you to come see me in my lair again, but I must request you do so even so. There is someone I wish for you to meet.” Vel looked over at Adi. “We can manage another trip, right?” She was on board. “Of course, is tomorrow good?”

“That would be perfect, my Lady. I shall see you both tomorrow then. Safe travels” And with that, both twins returned to the world of the waking.