Somnios, World of Worlds. Where magic and wonder thrives. A world of constant war and bloodshed. Where we, the Gods of Somnios, have tried our best to stabilize its existence. However, something unexpected has happened. A dark power has cast us down from our thrones, forced us into mortal bodies. Hunted we are, for sport, for bounties, for power, and for other, insidious purposes. Required, is the help of outsiders, from worlds beyond our own. We have gambled with the forbidden, breaking through the barrier from our world to the next seeking champions for our cause. We have tried and tried again, and they have all failed. This time try with four more, we shall...

Prologue:

I awoke on the ground with a slight spasm, coughing out dirt and staring into a blazingly bright sun baking my face. For what felt like an eternity the world was surreal, everything around me was fuzzy and in slow motion.

I'm... alive?

I shakily rose to my feet, my muscles felt tense and my head pulsated with pain. There was a constant ringing noise in my head and I seemed to have been semi-deaf to the world. My body felt broken, and as I searched my confused mind for an explanation all I received was the feeling of gratitude that I was still alive. When I looked around I was surrounded by large chunks of smoking rubble, and was immersed in a mad mob fleeing with terror stricken faces.

I felt myself instinctively, looking for any missing body parts or bleeding. My grey clothes were dirty with many holes torn in them. Blood trickled from the many scratches and cuts I had. When I felt a my right shoulder, I found the ugly circular scar which looked like a brand of some sort.

Muted screams and muffled explosions were all I heard. Panicked people everywhere.

As I stumbled about dazed and confused, the same mystifying voice from before echoed in my head.

"Run..."

Then suddenly a jolt of energy came from somewhere within me, and the veil over my senses and mind was lifted. Everything was coming back to me; the dream, Somnios, the magical seal on my shoulder, the explosion, and most importantly, them...

The sounds of blood churning screams and cries of pain made me jump and realize the obvious.

Must Run!

“What the hell are you doing Sam? Get out of there!” I heard Aaron scream to me from the top of the Middle-wall, but it sounded more like a faint whisper from the wind. He was so far from me that he looked like a tiny stick figure atop a big white wall.

I turned and ran as frantically as I could, trying to out run the wave of the things now behind me. As I ran I could still hear the screams of agony as those left behind were devoured alive from those R-things, I forgot what they were called but it doesn’t matter.

Of course I felt bad for them, But I wanted to live as well, and that was enough.

The Middle-wall was a good half a mile away, just half a mile to safety. However I was still totally exhausted from sprinting back and forth between the Middle and Outer walls playing messenger.

It became more difficult to breathe as things went on; my arms and legs were starting to feel heavy and sore, sweat beading from my forehead dripped into my eyes and blurred my vision. As my heart pulsed harder and harder, the blood rushing through my veins felt more and more like battery acid. Despite all this I drove onward, ignoring the pain and pushing my body to its limits.

Run Dammit, Run! You'll die if you don't! I screamed to myself in my head.

While trying desperately to reach the large iron clad gate I was knocked over as the building next to me was obliterated by an explosion. Splinters and bits of smoldering rock were scattered about, and a booming shock wave flowed through my already aching body. I took a very heavy fall, skidding several feet on the cobblestone street. A few seconds later there was another explosion, this time in the street where I would have been if the first one hadn't knocked me down. It shook the earth and rattled my body to the bones. People were flung like rag-dolls while others were cut down by flying debris, it wasn't a pretty sight.

“Get up! They're coming!” it wasn’t Aaron’s voice, but Joseph’s, I looked upward while I picking myself up, I saw Joseph standing beside Aaron, both of them were screaming their heads off for me to get out of there.

Get up Get up Get up Get up Get up!

I was shoved aside as I tried to get up, and then somebody stepped on my leg.

“Arrrrrrrg! Dammit!” I howled in pain, but nobody gave a second thought, everyone here was too freaked out and in survival mode to care if a couple people were trampled.

I painfully picked myself up and looked behind me for a glimpse of what everyone was running from.

It was a swarm, a swarm of those Whatcha-ma-callits devouring anything in their path. These things just ate, that’s all they did. They were incredibly weird looking too, humanoid shape with two legs and a head with a ridiculously large mouth. They had no human arms, instead they sported a tentacle as a left arm and a pair of scythes on long slender limbs for the right. I remember seeing one of them before, but these numbered in the thousands, maybe millions. They didn’t even bother killing their prey, they seemed to prefer eating them alive as they kicked and screamed to no avail.

This gave me the boost of adrenaline I needed to work through my banged up leg. I picked myself up using some guy who ran by me as leverage. He shook me off, but I quickly regained my balance and resumed running for my life.

The Whatcha-ma-callits were quickly catching up. Running low on slower prey it seemed like they doubled their efforts to get as many people as they could.

“Close the gates!” ordered a commander from the other side of the gates, his voice boomed as if it was amplified by a loud speaker. “The Rav-vons are too close!”

Rav-vons, that’s what they’re called! I knew it started with a R... oh crap, They're closing the gates! My internal dialogue was cut short when the big iron doors began to creep closer to one another..

At that moment, time began to slow down a bit. In slow motion I saw every little detail around me. It was sort of like right after that explosion, but this time I knew what exactly was going on. I saw those who ran alongside with me, they were people, just people. There were men and women fleeing for their lives, mothers and fathers carrying their children and elders.

I instantly knew who was going to make it and who wasn't by looking that their arms. Those who carried any type of luggage would be the first to go, then those with wounded and elderly, and then those with children.

When I rounded a corner there was an abrupt traffic jam of people which I plowed into head first. Panicky people began to run backwards now, toward the swarm or scattered into the many alleys of the city like mice.

What's going on?

And then I knew why, apparently a small group of Rav-vons had managed to get ahead of us, blocking the way.

They're getting smarter... I thought to myself.

Instead of stopping to eat, they began focusing on cutting people down to eat them later. I saw nearly two dozen victims dragged and piled together, they were all wounded and screaming for help, but there was no one who could.

Suddenly the seal they burned onto my arm earlier began to sting a bit like it was trying to tell me something. Soon afterwards, I instinctively ran and jumped into an ally to my left which I somehow knew would lead me around the Rav-vons. It was most likely information passed to me from the seal on my arm.

Damn thing is finally useful...

As I navigated through the narrow ally I had to duck left and right to avoid the numerous woven baskets which were basically used as trash bins. While rounding the corner of a especially large bin, I was practically knocked out as I ran into a fairly large man going the same way as me. However, I was moving so much faster than he was that we both came tumbling down after I collided with him like car.

"Daddy? Daddy please wake up, Daddy!"

When my vision refocused, I saw a little girl, no older than three, desperately shaking at her motionless father.

Oh damn...

She was still crying out when I got up and came a little closer. Everything in my body told me to forget about them and run, run my ass off. I knew I had to leave them to save myself, but the seal on my shoulder beckoned me not to. The stinging from the seal grew and grew until I finally gave in. I bent down to help him up, but I instantly realized that he'd never move again, and why he was moving so slow in the first place. His back and legs were carved up, deep slashes all over him, and there was a thick trail of blood which lead back to the Rav-vons.

Damn... what do I do... what do I do... I need to run, but if I take her along she'll slow me down and I'd definitely be eaten, but if I leave her...

Then, without any further thinking and against all logic, I scooped up the girl in my arms and threw her over my shoulder. As she kicked, screamed, bit, and punched me I jumped over her father and resumed running.

She was still kicking and screaming as I exited the ally. I ended up closer to the Gate than I thought, I was practically through already. I was so close that I could've reached it if I jumped, if only it weren’t for the mass of panicked people around me and the portable tantrum over my shoulder.

“Open fire!” Somebody on the wall commanded.

With that said, a flurry of fire power began to rain down upon the Rav-vons, but it only slowed them down. The soldiers firing were armed with the arcane rifle-like weapons called Gyns, which were apparently powered by magic, or so someone told me, I'd forgotten who.

The Gyns shot out smokey blue bolts of energy with a soft popping sound, much like a paint ball gun. However, underestimating the blue bolts was a mistake as they exploded upon impact like miniature grenades. The sound of exploding bolts was deafening, but they were nothing compared to the three year old I had right next to my head.

When I focused my attention back to the gate I saw my friend, Kenny, and my newer friend, Canace, arguing with the guard on the other side to keep it open long enough for me.

“He's right there! Let him in!” Kenny screamed

“I-I can’t they’ll get in and kill everyone!” The guard stuttered.

“C'mon! He's so close!” Canace shouted.

The area just outside the gate was heavily congested due to the iron clad doors attempting to shut and the mob trying to get in. Panic-stricken, the mob desperately packed itself into the clogged gateway, no matter what the cost was.

As I approached, the gate doors widened a bit.

“Let me in, let me in!” I shouted out as loud as I could.

Instead, six soldiers pushed their way out, allowing the gate to close.

"No! What are you doing!" I shouted, but still they persisted pushing us back. As we inched further and further away, the doors of the gates inched closer to each other.

Just as I thinking of a way to pass through the crowd, I caught myself removing the girl from my shoulder, and then positioning my left hand on her neck and my right hand on the soles of her feet. I then flipped her so that she was head first toward the gate, then I twisted my body to the right. Finally, I launched her toward the gate like a javelin with all the strength I had left within me.

She cleared the crowd, the soldiers, and the closing gate doors.

"Kenny heads up!" I screamed, just in time for the flying girl land right on top of him. I strained my neck to see if they were ok, but the guards finally managed to close the gate. The sound of them locking almost seemed to echo, sealing all of our fates.

Well, at least I'm not going to hell when I die... I thought to myself

That however, didn't stop me from trying to live, or anyone else for the matter.

The mob became mad with fear and panic, even more so than before. People began trying to scale the wall, which was impossible, but they tried nonetheless. Some even lost their fingernails, yet they seemed to be oblivious to their loss as they bloodied the wall scratching and looking for holds. The more sensible pounded on the door, pleading to the guards on the other side to let them in.

People were dying...

The bones of those eaten with the tiniest morsels of flesh scattered about...

The massive sea of almost unkillable things only several yards away...

The feeling of being abandoned by the only hope you had to survive...

Children weeping, fathers weeping like the children, mothers screaming at the fathers for weeping like the children...

Oh yeah, suicide was looking very good right now. However, that wasn't an option, not by a god damned long shot. I'm not going to die this, hell no I'm not.

The six soldiers who had allowed the gate to close lined up and attempted to hold off the swarm futilely, five were eaten right away. I finally pushed myself past the mob and began pounding on the giant iron gates, pleading them to let me in.

"Sam? Sam? Saaaam! Where are you?"

Above on the wall, Aaron called out my name, searching for me to see if I were still alive.

I stepped back a bit, fortunately there was some room due to the fact the Rav-vons were being shot down by soldiers on the rampart and the mob pressed against the wall.

The soldiers along the wall and their Gyns had done a good job keeping the Rav-vons at bay. There was a long ring of their body parts piling up, however this didn't last long. Slowly, the ring edged its way to the remaining citizens trying desperately to survive, with me amongst them.

I looked up frantically, trying to see the faces of my friends, praying that they could help me.

I saw Aaron, but not Joseph.

“Where’s... Joseph?” I shouted toward Aaron in between breathes.

“He went to get some rope!”

Rope! Yes, a chance at survival! Or I may have been giving myself false hope. I then saw something approach me quickly with the corner of my eye.

Barely dodging a swing of the already bloodied blades of a Rav-von, I jumped back yet again to avoid another assault with blades. I was scared, I was exhausted, I couldn't think. All I saw was Death's ugly grin.

While trying my best not to become sushi, I tripped backwards and fell to the ground, knocking the wind out of myself in the process. The Rav-von took advantage of this and went in for the kill, lunging its face at me to bite.

Above, I saw Joseph pointing a small Gyn toward my direction. It was a pistol like thing that looked like a handgun version of the bigger ones I've seen.

Joseph’s hands were shaking as he held the gun. Even with both hands on it, the Gyn shook badly as he squeezed off a shot.

BOOM

Unlike the rifle versions, this smaller one sounded more like a cannon when fired.

“ARRRaAGggLL”

A Rav-von's chest was blown to bits, its black entrails scattered about in the air, but not the one that was after me.

“Joseph you dumbass! Gimme that!” Aaron shouted as he grabbed the Gyn from Joseph's shaking hands.

“CRAP!” I choked out as the Rav-von’s head dived.

I rolled and dodged the bite, and then again, and then again. I kept rolling until I became entangled in the body parts of another Rav-von, the very same one that Joseph accidentally hit.

End of the line.

The creature pursuing me lunged toward me again, this time brandishing its scythes to cut me down.

BOOM

“Grraad-dammit!”

The Rav-von thankfully took this shot in the head, which blew it apart. Yet this was only a brief set back, it'd take more then just a missing head to stop these things, I knew that first hand.

The Grraad-dammit I heard was from Aaron, whose wrist was either sprained or broken from the recoil of the Gyn. He held it with his right hand alone without knowing how to and what the massive recoil would do to him.

He had dropped the Gyn and it landed a few feet short to me with a soft thud. I ran and picked it up, and pointed its barrel toward the swarm.

The Gyn felt slippery in my sweaty hands. I held it as a I would a gun from earth, but I felt no trigger where a trigger should be, no hammer to cock back. Found nothing about its shape and design that would even suggest that it had a trigger.

Then I was faced with quite a dilemma, I didn’t know how to use it. So I did what I usually did when I’m scared this much...

I froze, too terrified to think, too terrified to move, just scared stupid. My body finally let itself relax as I collapsed against the wall, it stung the cuts on my back as I slid down until I was sitting. My tired body was done, like an over heated engine, the only thing I could do was stop to cool down. I didn't even have the strength to grip onto the Gyn anymore.

I gazed upon the horde of Rav-vons eager to devour me alive, the only thing holding them off was a hailstorm of fire power from the wall behind me, but they were getting closer nonetheless. I had nothing else to do but contemplate my eventual death by ingestion.

But instead of being sullen, I started to laugh. I laughed in my head, the gravity of the situation unable to reach my brain. I laughed and laughed some more as the world around me grew darker because I couldn’t help but have flash backs of the events that lead up to this moment. From when I first had that stupid dream to when we were sucked into this place. I laughed because I was having a “seeing my life past before my eyes right before I die” experience. How hilarious...

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Author notes: Sorry if things are kind of slow, took me a while to define the plot, and because of that things might be a bit weird... Please excuse the first several chapters, it doesn't pick up until around chapters 10 or so.