The Mercenary's Valkyrie: Book One

Another Realm

The next reality was upon me.

Bright white light cast outwards onto an endless plain of clouds. The sun seared the tops in golden beauty and sharp peaks of mountainous earth broke through the blanket.

"Quite a sight." A familiar voice noted behind me.

I flinched and spun on the rocky peak I stood on.

The immortal—no less—stood in all of her shimmering glory. Armour shining, furs ruffling against the high winds and blonde hair set wild and free behind her. I blinked for a moment before looking away back across the vast sky.

"I really must stop these dreams of you... It does nothing good for me." I muttered.

She laughed her classic and rare melody and shook her head.

"Actually, I must take the blame for this intrusion, mortal." She admitted with a shine in those silver irises.

I paled and took in a breath of frigid air. Fortunately my subconscious had outfitted me with furs and leathers similar to the immortal's.

"Intrusion." I tested the word, lifting an eyebrow at her.

She nodded slowly and came to stand by my side. The sunlight hit her face and turned her skin golden. I could only stand there in awe like a fool.

"I brought you here." She said simply.

I kept my eyes on her, watching for any sign of lie. But who was I to know if she did decide to lie... She could shed emotion like a pair of travel boots. This is but another strange dream.

She smirked at my silent contemplation.

"You do not believe me?"

"My dreams can be deceptive..." I ventured.

Her smirk only grew.

"Very well." She said easily, as if she would enjoy what came next.

But before I had a moment to form a thought the world flashed white. I put a hand up against the light—my eyes flashing shut. When I opened them I gasped.

The world around me was totally alien and changed.

Strange sands covered the ground in hefting hills... The orange mounds of fine dust sifted in the breeze and were only more violent in colour against the searing heat of the sun. I was sweltering in a heat I had never experienced before in moments. It was hotter than the worst summer in Vayleron ten fold.

"Wh—what—this—I have never seen such a land!" I tripped over words as I gawked at the endless dunes and heat. I dipped down and grasped a handful up in a glove. The rich orange was stark against the brown leather.

She chuckled beside me but said nothing.

The world flashed white once more and I was again blinded. Upon opening my eyes this time I beheld a forest like no other I had seen. The plants did not exist... they couldn't. They were vivid, bright, contrasting—the smell alone was enough to entrance and yet the foliage was so dense in every direction I was scared I would be lost to it in a single step.

My hand still held the impossible coloured sand.

"Please. Stop." I breathed. "This is too much." I set my hands against my knees and watched the rich sand fall into the bright green forest bed.

"Too much of what, mortal?" She teased with a knowing look.

She stepped away from me to pluck a deep red orb from a plant above. She tossed it in the air a few times before presenting it to me.