Chapter 1

The Dream

Eyes wild with fear and anxiety, the lady knight moved on through the wild head of the desert. Nothing but sand surrounded her. She fought an urge to scream out and yell in anger. How wind blew in her face, scarring her already tan complexion. Copper-red hair was filled with sand, and the scabbard with her was empty. When will the seas of sand end? Why did the gods even give her such an ordeal? Suddenly, the sands around her erupted, throwing the wandering knight onto the ground. Cursing, she grabbed her hilt and remembered that she didn't have her sword. Another moment lost and the desert was on top of her, covering her, choking the life out…

----

Gasping, Alanna of Trebond and Olau sat straight up, breathing heavily. It was another one of her dreams. The woman shivered and got out of bed. She looked out the window of her suite in Pirate's Swoop. One more year and she'll be the wife of the baron, the lady knight thought to herself, smiling. Still, it wouldn't be great if she kept waking up at nights gasping for breath and shivering with fear. If only she knew what the dreams meant…

Her eyes clouded, and another vision surrounded her. Alanna saw purple eyes like her own, staring at her. Almost as if pleading…then it disappeared. The Lioness blinked twice, and the whole vision vanished, even the memory of those bright purple eyes disappeared. Sighing, Alanna put her cloak on and left her rooms, heading elsewhere to think.

Waves hit the sands off the shore of the cove, washing shells and starfish ashore. The whole swoop seemed to be asleep, with the sea as its blanket. Alanna stared in the distance. She wished that the king would give her something to do. Life filled with dreams as terrifying as hers was giving her more bags under her eyes than the Ordeal of Knighthood. She sneezed a couple of times, looking around in alarm. Who could it be at this time of night?

A figure approached, wrapped in a gown of mist. The figure's complexion shined in the moonlight and her eyes glittered with power. Black hair flowed like the rippling waves by the sand. The woman, or, the perfection of female gender, smiled. "I am glad to see you here, my daughter."

"Great Mother," Alanna knelt, honoring her majestic patron goddess. "Were you the one sending me dreams?"

The goddess shook her head. "I'm afraid not, my daughter. It was not our will to bewilder you with dreams clear as the day. It was…someone else."

Alanna raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"It does not matter now," the goddess replied, a bit too quickly. "What matters is that you have a test to pass."

The lady knight blinked, not able to comprehend what the goddess had just told her. The Great Mother Goddess pointed to the waters and a giant whirlpool opened up. Around the watery pool was a pattern of ancient symbols. They were very familiar and Alanna gasped as she recognized the magic being displayed. It was the Gate of Idramm. The same gate the Duke of Conte had opened up just six months ago.

"Great Mother Goddess…" Alanna muttered to herself, forgetting that the goddess she prayed to was standing right beside her.

"Alanna," a whisper of voices called out from inside the gate, "Alanna…"

The goddess pointed her other hand at the lady knight. To Alanna's bewilderment, she was thrown into the Gate, hardly given a chance to let out a scream. The portal closed, surrounding Alanna with darkness…and as helpless as she was, she drifted off to sleep…