The waking world t Sunny with the usual inhospitable pressure. In fact, it was stronger than usual because, due to Rain unexpectedly returning to NQSC, there were two of his incarnations there at the mont.
One was about to leave soon — the Dream Gate connecting NQSC to Bastion was about to close according to schedule, so his sister and her friends had to use their cover identities as governnt agents and hurry through.
The second incarnation, however, was going to linger for a while longer.
At the mont, he was quietly walking down the street, sticking to the shadows. NQSC was changing with unnerving speed. It was different every ti Sunny visited, and the shift that had happened after the Dreamspawn's crisis was especially dire. The city had never felt that tense, fragile, and warlike...
But not today. Today was Rembrance Day, and people were actually in a festive mood — after all, they got to rest from the demanding burdens of their jobs and spend ti with their close ones. The atmosphere was sowhat bittersweet because of the solemn nature of the holiday, and nurous passersby had wistful expressions on their faces... but mostly, people were excited. That was because Lady Changing Star was set to deliver a speech in a few hours. Her fa was as staggering as ever, and since most subjects of the Longing Domain did not get to see their goddess often, her public appearances were always highly anticipated events.
The people in the waking world were going to watch the speech on the public screens in the squares or in the privacy of their hos. The people in the Dream Realm, anwhile, were split between two groups: those who lived in Bastion or Ravenheart could try to see Changing Star with their own two eyes, while the rest of them were going to see her in their dreams.
Quite literally.
Instant communication had always been a problem for the inhabitants of the Dream Realm, and it only grew more pressing as more and more settlers arrived. The Citadel Cities were separated by the vast and perilous expanse of wilderness, but they often needed to exchange information in real ti.
For the longest ti, the most convenient form of communicating information across vast distances was to use the waking world as an interdiary.
An Awakened in the westernmost Citadel City of the Tear River Basin and an Awakened in the easternmost Citadel of the forr Sword Domain could be living in the sa apartnt in NQSC, so they freely exchange information as soon as they climbed out of their sleeping pods.
In fact, the governnt had long established special communication dormitories, which housed one resident from each of humanity's Citadel Cities — Legacy Clans had their own chains of Awakened in place, as well. But even that thod involved too many steps and was too slow for the reality of the encroaching apocalypse, not to ntion its inherent limitations.
So, a new thod of communication has been developed to hasten the process. That thod was created by Saint Thane, the Dream rchant. Thane had suffered greatly during the Dreamspawn crisis, but life went on, so he had to move on with his life as well.
The version of Dreamscape for the Dream Realm he had been working on for a long while was finally complete and deployed, allowing for people living in distant Citadel Cities — mundane or Awakened — to communicate in their dreams. All they had to do was fall asleep in a special runic circle.
There were special dormitories built in each Citadel City, each fitted with scores of private quarters where the runic circle had already been drawn. Alternatively, affluent individuals could commission a sorcerer to create the enchantnt in their own residences.
Sorcerers were still a rare breed, but there were more and more of them with each years. That was because the knowledge of runic sorcery, which had been fervently guarded by the Great Clans before, was now being freely taught to anyone who wanted to learn. Special courses were established at the Awakened Academy, and there were Runic Schools opening up in various Citadels as well.
So, the speech Nephis was about to give would be shown both on myriad screens in the waking world and in the Dreamscape, making it available for everyone who wanted to hear it.
Of course, Sunny was going to hear it with his own two ears. In fact, he was going to be on the stage with Nephis when she delivered the speech — even if no one would know that he was there, hidden in the shadows.
Well, at least one of his incarnations would. This incarnation, anwhile, approached the door of an unassuming restaurant and walked inside.
The waiter guided him to a private booth, where three people were waiting for him. Seeing him, they rose and straightened their postures.
Sunny smiled faintly.
"At ease."
The people he was eting today, on Rembrance Day, were Quentin, Kim, and Luster — the last living soldiers of the First Irregular Company.
"You made it, Captain."
Kim smiled and saluted him.
It was strange to hear her address him that way again. Sunny was already used to being called "boss" by the agents of the Shadow Clan, so a bittersweet emotion montarily rose in his chest.
She remained silent for a mont, then scoffed.
“How many tis do I have to say it? It's Major, damn it. I was promoted ages ago."
Chuckling, they sat down.
There was a bottle with strong liquor on the table — the expensive stuff brewed especially for the Awakened. Sunny knew that it would have no effect on him, still, but today... today was not a day for tea, coffee, water, or wine.
It was a day for sothing bitter.
He looked at Quentin, who reached for the bottle.
“Beth couldn't make it?"
Quentin nodded with a smile.
"You know how she is, Captain. The festivities are expected to put an unprecedented strain on the electrical grid, so Beth is stuck in her office."
He poured the liquor into the glasses. Before the Irregulars could raise a toast, however, Sunny stopped them.
"Not yet. We are waiting for one more."
A few minutes later, the door opened again, and the temperature in the room seed to drop by a few degrees.
The mbers of his cohort jumped to their feet again... far faster than they had when he arrived.
"Colonel!"
“Lady Jet!"
“Uh... wow!"
Jet glanced at them, her icy-blue eyes emanating a palpable chill.
Then, she smiled wryly.
"I hope I am not too late."
The five of them settled behind the table and raised their glasses.
Sunny inhaled deeply and remained silent for a few seconds.
In the end, he said:
"To the First Irregular Company. Bottoms up..."
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