CHAPTER I
THE GIRL FROM LONG AGO

SOUNDTRACK- DreamSeed Saga Main Title

        “Help!” A woman’s scream echoed through the green forest at the base of the Truce Mountains. “Please help!” Birds fluttered off, startled by the desperate plea. “Somebody!!!” A massive roar of a beast bellowed in the forest, following the woman’s earnest call. “Anybody!!!”
        The woman stood by the edge of a fierce river flowing east. The beast had pushed her movements backwards, her brown boots on the border of a dirt cliff leading to a shallow chasm of violent rapids. She was, of course, unarmed- a stupid thing for anyone to be in any forest of this world.
        She prayed that she had brought some kind of weapon with her, while she stared in horror at the yellow eyes of the massive lorok creature. This beast loomed a good five and a half feet in the air while on all four legs. His sharp claws had bloodstains, boasting his experience as a carnivorous predator. He kept his majestical glowing eyes locked on her, thinking only of food for his belly. His orange fur fluttered in the wind as he stood on his two hind-legs, roaring from his mouth of vicious stalagmites. The beast waved his claws while standing, the usual protocol of a lorok’s killing ritual. A racing heart thumped in the breast of this woman. “Please help me!!!!”
        A few more inches and the woman would have fallen into the river. Breathing hard, the woman’s eyes darted from side to side. She was searching for anything to help her in this desperate moment. Then the woman caught, out of the corner of her eye, a young blond-haired man, wearing strange blue armor and wielding a massive dark charcoal-colored sword. He approached the tiger from behind. “Oh thank goodness!” the woman shouted in relief.
        The man quickly drew his red glove-covered finger up to his lips, motioning for her to become silent at once!  The young woman’s relief disappeared, being replaced with the beastly growl of the predator in front of her. The lorok slowly crept up behind the beast as he opened his mouth. Drool ran down from his magnificently sharp teeth, a foul stench of a hundred dead cadavers flowing from the gaping hole. The smell seemed to be hot... the heat of the stench brushing against the woman, making her nauseous.
        Just then, the sharp black blade came bursting out of the back of the lorok from underneath. The man had driven his blade upward from the beast’s gut. The predator gave a bellowing roar, and then collapsed on the grass with a large thud. The boy pulled out his sword, and looked at it in disgust. Dark red blood and even some organs ran along the sides of his weapon.
SOUNDTRACK- The Girl from Long Ago
        “Are you alright?” the man asked as he walked over to the rapids, cleaning his sword in the rushing water. “What the heck do you think you’re doing out here?”
 “I was going to fish for the zarks. I belong to a household that runs a zark-ranch,” the woman replied. She actually belonged to the largest and best-kept stables in all the land, filled with healthy and domesticated horse-sized white-ducks, named zarks. “The tiger knocked my pole into the rapids, and went for me.”
        “I could’ve guessed that.” The young man continued scrubbing his blade with a rock while holding it in the rapids, getting the stains of the tiger’s intestines off.
        “My name’s Audrey.” She walked close to him. “What’s yours?”
        He kept looking down at his sword in the rapids. “How many of them did you see?”
        “The loroks?”
        The man nodded, still looking down.
        “Just one,” replied Audrey.
        He turned around and knelt. “They always travel in pairs...” The man began wiping his blade on the grass. “...usually the father and the eldest son.”
        Audrey gasped,  “You mean...” She turned around and looked at the carcass- it was huge!
        The man stood again. “That was just the son, not nearly as full grown as the father. The father usually stays behind the bushes, watching his son kill.”
        The wide-eyed woman’s heart began racing again, she ran close to the man and threw her arms around him, holding onto the stranger tight. The side of her head was against his chest. “Oh no!!!” she cried, expecting a much larger father lorok to spring from the trees. There was an awkward pause. “Your heart isn’t pounding.” She said, her voice shaking. “Why aren’t you afraid?”
        The man lowed his head by hers and smiled. “Before I saved you, I killed the father.”
        The woman jumped back and hit the man in the chest, “Don’t scare me like that!” She then paused and let out a great sigh. The man looked into her large, hazel eyes. A feeling of warmth in him made this stranger give a faint smile. Wait...is that... is that...who I think it is? The man thought.
        “Where is your zark ranch?” He asked, putting his massive sword back into its holder strapped to his back.
        “Back at the outskirts of the Antilia Village.”
        My homeland... the man thought. “Tell you what,” he began.
        “Yes?” She walked a bit closer.
        “I’ll escort you back to your ranch if you promise to give me one full-grown male zark for no cost.”
        “...” Audrey was almost shocked. “A gentleman would escort a lady for free.”
        “Well, I’m no gentleman.”
        She frowned. “You got that right.” Audrey shook her head as the man brushed dirt from his armor. “Alright. I’ll see what I can do. My father is a little picky about our zarks.”
        The man knelt by the fierce river and stuck his hand in. He brought up water to his face, running his hand through his blonde hair. “I just need a fast way to get to Truce Seaport.”
        “Truce Seaport! Why in the world would you want to go to the slums!”
        “I need to get to Mensa.”
        “Mensa!!!” She was shocked again! “Isn’t that dangerous?”
 The young man laughed to himself. “Come on, let’s go.” He waved his hand, motioning her to follow.
        Yes...I thought I knew her. When I was a boy, I would go and watch the zarks. When I saw her there, feeding those animals... I never felt that way before.Why didn’t I ever talk to her? I wish I had. She never knew me.
        The man pointed to the northeast. “This way. We’ve got to go now before it gets dark.”
 She ran up beside him as they made their way through of the forest. “What happens then?”
        “You told me not to scare you...”

SOUNDTRACK- The Strings of Intarma
        “King Atreides?”
        The King of Antilia, VII Atreides of his bloodline, sat at his huge council table, his hands over his face. When he let them down, the man’s aged face appeared drowsy. “Yes, Kedri?” the king rubbed his eyes as he spoke. His golden crown shimmered in the light of the setting sun as it poured into the council room.
        “We are ready to begin.”
        Atreides waved his hand. “Proceed.”
        Councilman Kedri cleared his throat. “One year ago we had a meeting like this to see if we want to purchase and install Intarma’s reactor. We decided to do so. Today, we are going to review what has happened in the last year to see if it was a wise decision. Reya?”
        Kedri handed the conversation over to Reya, a woman who was also on the council. She shuffled some papers. “In light of the enormous amount of wealth we used to purchase the reactor a year ago, I would have to say it was money well spent. The machine has cleared the skies, they are no longer scorched in gray. The last seven months we’ve seen white clouds and rich-blue above us. It rains normal, pure drops of water from the sky. Everyone seems to be at peace, the sicknesses are almost completely gone. The farms are no longer failing, we are loosing no crops to the contamination left behind from the war,” she closed her portfolio of files. “So, I distinctly recommend continue running the reactor; we buy more fuel shipments.”
        Palmer, the financial councilman raised his hand. “We don’t know if its this machine or not. Maybe the contamination that the end of the war left behind is simply past its half-life. Perhaps it dissipated on its own, having nothing to do with the reactor. I say we shut down it down for six months, see what happens, and save a billion gold.”
        “I’ll tell you what’ll happen. The darkness will return,” everyone turned to Jonnan. He was the head representative and one of the leading scientists of the Intarma Corporation. The man’s trench coat, his suit, his shirt, even his hair was white. He wore a yellow tie, as the lapel and buttons of his trench coat were yellow also.
        “Go on,” the king acknowledged.
        “The reactors are burning a special fuel which has all the pure elements, including the ones we don’t even know about. This fuel is the blood of the planet. In laymen’s terms: by burning we are turning the abundant red blood cells into rare white ones to bulk up the planet’s immune system. Thus, we are healing our world.
        “If you refuse to buy any more shipments of reactor fuel from us, the money you spent last year on our reactor will be all for not. In addition to that fact, if you neglect in refueling this reactor you can kiss your blue skies goodbye. The positive energy discharging from the fuel, in gas form, is counteracting against the negative energy left behind from the war.”
        “Your reactor is using the same energy that spawned the war!” Chancellor Maylin, an elder member of the Antilian Royal Council and the King’s right hand man, sneered. “I know what the war was like. I know it very well. And let me tell you, it made the Lacerata Plague look like a doltish square-dance!”
        “Where’s your war now, old man?” Jonnan came back.
        “What?”
        “Name one bad thing that’s happened since the activation of our reactor,” Jonnan scorned as the elderly Chancellor fell silent. “See?” Jonnan continued; his tone became more aggressive. “Every kingdom on this planet has a reactor, and every kingdom is in peace and prosperity. That peace and prosperity is a part of a balance. If one kingdom neglects that balance, the whole system is ineffective. Every kingdom must cooperate for the balance to work.”
        Jonnan leaned back in his chair. “I’m sorry, but its time to wake up. That peace and prosperity is in our control. Refuse Intarma, and you refuse the balance. You agitate the contamination, you invite the dark times back into the lives of everyone in the world, even if just one reactor isn’t burning. The world will automatically be at war again, I guarantee it. We want the world at peace, we don’t want conflict. So why do you give us conflict?”
        Jonnan stared at King Atreides during a lengthy period of silence. He seemed to be overwhelmed, as if a sudden wave of drowsiness passed over him. The king spoke, “We will purchase five more year’s worth of refueling shipments.”
        Palmer’s mouth dropped. “Sir, I highly advise against that. At least one year, not five. That’s five billion in gold, Sire.”
        Chancellor Maylin agreed, “My Lord, we certainly can’t give these snakes that much trust!”
        The king refrained from listening. “Kedri, order five more years of refueling shipments, and I want a message sent to the other kingdoms to strongly advise to do the same.”
        “Whatever you say, my Lord.” Kedri scribbled down the order and handed it to Jonnan.
        He accepted the paper. “There is one other thing.” Jonnan held a finger up. “You all know that Dr. Doan and I lead the project that created the technology for the reactors. We have teamed up once again, and have developed an add-on to the reactor. It is called DreamSeed technology. We will be able to open our market to the public, now.
        “This will not involve your money. Usage of a part of your reactor will be licensed back by us, so we can commercialize it. But before you refrain, understand this: the kingdom of Antilia will receive fifty percent of our profits from the DreamSeed technology. We will hold a demonstration of this piece of technology tomorrow, at the Centennial Festival. That is...with your permission, King Atreides...”
        “What is this DreamSeed technology?” the king asked.
        “Simplistic, insignificant, but enchanting dreams of the public that will have no effect on anything. A sort of reverse dreaming. The public can choose from a variety of dreams that we can give them. When we upload the dreams into their mind, the same fuel that powers the reactors will project the dream into physical reality.”
        Kedri wondered, “Dreams like what?”
        “Dreams like flying for a certain period of time, depending upon how much they pay. This sort of thing goes without saying: the public will like this. Might I remind you, the Kingdom of Antilia will receive fifty-percent of our profits.”
        Atreides rubbed his beard. “Sounds interesting. We’ve always had a good relationship with Intarma. Sure. Proceed with your plans for this commercialized event at the festival tomorrow.”
        Jonnan grinned, “Excellent.”
        King Atreides stood, as did everyone else, and shook hands with Jonnan. “We’ll be in touch,” Jonnan said to the Atreides. He then walked for the massive door. Turning back to Maylin who was standing beside the king, Jonnan closed, “We’re only manufacturing illusions.”
        “Call it what you will,” Chancellor Maylin began, “but it seems like a way to sell and gauge what caused a rampant chaos nearly four hundred years ago- stating that you’ve got it under control, that its safe,” Maylin disdained any thought of this technology. “You’re not fooling me. The world suffered too much during those four-hundred years of war. We can’t have that again.”
        “Don’t worry,” Jonnan slid on his blue-lensed, rectangular framed sunglasses. “Your in good hands with Intarma.” He walked out the door.

SOUNDTRACK- The Girl from Long Ago
        The two approached the ranch as the sun was setting, turning the sky bright orange. It quickly went to deep purple by the time they reached the house. The lanterns all around the ranch were lit a glowing yellow, and the zarks were either floating around on a vast pond, or casually walking about in the fenced enclosure. The zarks made noises like most ducks do. “Quak! Quak!” they called. Their noise seemed to be much louder than a normal duck’s.
        A rather tall and thin old man came rushing outside and shouted, “Audrey! I was beginning to get worried.”
        “Papa!” Audrey shouted, watching her father run out to her. He hugged his daughter.
 Audrey’s father was startled at the sight of the man that escorted her back to her home.  “And who might this be?”
        “Father, this man saved my life in the forest. I was attacked by a lorok!”
        “Were you hurt?!?”
        “No. I’m alright.”
        “Well, great! What’s your name, laddy?”
        The man almost hesitated, but then he spoke, “Janus.”
        “Well Janus, I’m Tabbin, and I’m in your debt. Come in and have dinner with us!”
        “Actually,” Janus began, “I was wondering if_”
        “Come on!” Tabbin shouted. He and Audrey had already began bolting to the dinner table.
        “Never mind,” he said, standing out there all alone with the zarks. He smiled at them, remembering his childhood, and turned to head for the house.
        Inside, Audrey and her father had already began wolfing down on fried-zark. “I love zark!” Tabbin shouted. “I love raising them! I love riding them! I love feeding them! I love selling them! I love grooming them! I love eating them! I love zark!” He bellowed a humble laugh with a mouthful of richly cooked meat. Audrey’s mother, Fiona, was at the kitchen preparing a plate for her and their guest.
        Tabbin pulled up a chair and slapped his hand on it. “Sit down, boy! You’re gonna eat like you’ve never eaten before!” Janus sat down and Audrey’s mother sat a plate in front of him. It looked delicious! He could not wait to eat! Once she handed him a fork, he thanked her and began. It had been days since he had last eaten.
        “So, Janus.” Tabbin began. “Tell me- why were you out in the forest?”
        “I’m a bounty hunt_” he paused. “I...I wanted to find some Truce Mountain bass. These mountains have the best fish.”
        Tabbin smiled. “Audrey was looking for fish, too. We gotta stock up the pond, ya’ know.” Janus replied with a kind smile and continued eating.
        Audrey looked up. “Well...what’s with your armor and that sword?”
        “Yeah...” Tabbin said, looking back up.
        “My grandfather’s. There’s a lot of fierce beasts out there, Audrey. You can never be too careful, right?” he replied.
        “Ah...what’s the biggest game you ever killed?” Tabbin stuffed some more zark into his mouth.
        “Probably that lorok that I saved Audrey from,” Janus said, cleverly changing the subject.
        Tabbin slapped his hand on the table again. “Which reminds me- I owe you a lot! You can sleep here any time you like. We have a guest room!”
        Janus told Tabbin of his request with a zark. Tabbin didn’t seem to mind, as he also told him he needed to pass through the village of Antilia to buy tonics and other supplies for his journey to Mensa. Audrey asked him if he could escort her to the Centennial Festival, because it would be on his way. He accepted her request.
        Audrey could tell Janus was attracted to her. She thought it was cute how shy Janus seemed to be. But there was a certain strangeness in him. Almost as if he was cut off from happiness, as if something was eating him away...

SOUNDTRACK- The Strings of Intarma
        Jonnan stood before a window in his room of the Antilia Inn. The village’s streets were illuminated in glowing lanterns. Like a candle inside a jack-o-lantern, each window to the houses of the village glowed.
        Jonnan reached into his white trench coat and pulled out a hand-sized black box. He set it on a desk, pressed a button, and went across the room. A small video screen was warming up as a dial tone sounded from the tiny speakers. A beam of yellow covered Jonnan as it shot from the black box. Static shimmered onto the blank screen and then was replaced with the image of the Intarma Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer, Castor. “Sir,” Jonnan began, “I used the mind device hidden in my pocket to get the king to agree to our terms.”
        The elderly voice of Castor was a bit distorted over the speaker of the device. “Excellent.”
        “Are the crates ready to be shipped?”
        “We’ve scheduled for a transport. Someone by the name of Fox Sage will be our cargo runner. His aqua-hovercraft is named the...” Castor flipped through some papers. “...the Thunder Serpent. Fox Sage has a reputation as the best hovercraft pilot on the planet. He’s always on time and very punctual. The first shipment and the equipment for the Centennial Festival will be arriving around two o’clock in the morning.”
        “Wonderful.” Jonnan smiled, rubbing his face, exhausted. “I’ll be waiting here at the Antilia Inn for the hovertrain, with the cargo, to arrive from Truce Seaport.”
        “Contact me after the demonstration. I want to know how much money we’re about to rake in.”
        “Yes, of course, sir! You won’t be disappointed.” Jonnan closed the communicator and sighed. After a period of staring out at the Hataric Ocean, he closed his eyes. “Tomorrow, the time will come...”