Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #15 June 2015 | Page 72

gap between moments and time.

their victory was not complete, for one of the greatest
of their number had remained hidden and from its
hiding place it watched the world unfold and flourish
while it bided its time.

“Yet it is said that within this moment in time there
existed a being of unimaginable power, a being whose
power rivalled even that of the gods; however, the
existence of this being is known only to a few and to
these few he is known as the Sleeper.

“It was a thousand years later that the last of the elder
gods flung himself onto the mortal plane and sundered
the world, corrupting and changing the world as it
passed and the Phadrea could do nothing but watch
in horror, for the lord of the Phadrea enforced their
covenant.

“No one knows how the Sleeper came to be within the
void, nor do we know why he sleeps; we do, however,
know that he dreams.
“For it was the Sleeper’s dream taking form that created our world and the very stars in the sky.

“Yet Shi’ara, the lady of light, rebelled and bestowed a
great power in a mortal princess or a northern empire
of me, a power that created an order of dawn maidens,
the Madainn Reul.

“Though at times the Sleeper’s dreams turned dark,
and with that the elder gods came into being: they
were greedy and spiteful and vied for dominion over
all things.

“The war of the darkness and light ended when the
last of the elder gods was shattered across the world
and with the passing of the first of the dawn maidens,
though her daughters carried on the sisterhood, a
sisterhood that exists to this very day.”

“With little regard for the creatures and races that
were caught in their plots, the creations of the Sleeper
had become pawns in a game they could not comprehend.

Galewyn closed the book as he finished. “The reason
you are being hunted, my dear lady, is due to the fact
they suspect your lineage,” he glanced at Damitri,
“and from what I understand from the events of last
night, their assumptions were true.”

“Millennia passed and so vast was the destruction
and slaughter of the dark god wars, that as ancient
plots unfolded on the elder peoples of Ollundra their
screams for aid were heard beyond the world of Ollundra and, for the first in the history of the world, the
Sleeper stirred.

“Wait,” Selina interrupted, “you’re telling me that I
went through hell last night because of something that
happened a thousand years ago?” Her anger boiled
within her as she growled, “Where was my choice in
this?” she stood up and turned to leave.

“What began as a simple stirring of his sleep became
a single waking moment and the Sleeper saw all that
he had created and all that the elder gods had done.

“Selina,” Galewyn said, his voice now carrying a tone
of authority causing her to stop. “Regardless of your
thoughts of the legitimacy of heritage, the danger you
are in is all too real.”

“In that very moment the Phadrea came into being
and the great divine war began, as the Sleeper returned to his slumber.
“The divine war ended as suddenly as it had begun,
with the majority of the elder gods slain or imprisoned
eternally in the shadows of the world, yet such was the
destruction of the war that it was decreed that no god
would again interfere with the mortal world.
“Yet, for even though the Phadrea had been victorious

She turned back to him, tears in her eyes. “But why
me” she pleaded. “All I ever wanted was to be married
and cared for by a husband.”
A glance from Galewyn gave Damitri his cue and he
moved to stand beside her. “They hunt you because
they fear what you will become.” Reaching to her

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