Skye is the Limit by Phenomenal Pen (best time to read books txt) 📕

“Oh wow! You’re right!” Man-At-Arms said elatedly, his eyes glowing red. He was holding his hand in front of his face. “I can even switch to x-rays!”

Now his eyes were literally shooting lights. He turned to the others to test his newfound ability.

“Don’t look here!” Nethril screamed, immediately flushed and covering the molded parts of her cuirass with her hands.

Man-At-Arms’ eyes aborted what they were doing and went back to being normal after a few rapid blinks.  

“That is excellent, Man-At-Arms,” Mage said like a teacher to a schoolchild, “but we need everyone to be able to do it so pay close attention. First, please close your eyes, Dreamwalkers.”

Everyone did as instructed.

“Erebus means darkness,” Mage spoke. “It is a world that is night time 24 hours a day 7 days a week. If any of its lights were real, they would dazzle your eyes because, in fact, you have never used your organs of sight since you first entered this world. Having said that, please open your eyes again.”

“Whoa! It’s suddenly night time,” Bear Tooth cried out.

The rest looked around them with the same curiosity, if not alarm. Bear Tooth was right. It was night and since they were in the Middle Ages and presently high up in the mountains, they were swathed in pitch-black darkness. It turned out there were no heavenly bodies at all to illuminate the real face of Erebus. The only source of light they had was the Anima bracelets spinning idly on their arms and, amid the total darkness, their animal crests looked like faint fireflies on the edge of the world.

The Dreamwalkers huddled closer and shivered against the stiff winds of the mountains.

“This is the true face of Erebus that your avatars have kept hidden from you all this time. But fear not because I shall provide you with specialized eyewear that will convert heat waves into visible rays. Everyone, please close your eyes again.”  

Everyone complied with the exception of Man-At-Arms. Mage went around to pass something invisible or non-existent to the Dreamwalkers. As soon as Mage brushed their hands, their Anima bracelets jumped onto their palms like Silly String to create various styles of night vision goggles.

For Bear Tooth, it was a pair of steampunk aviator spectacles, complete with magnifying jeweler’s loupes and brown leather side shields. In Nethril’s case, it looked like a mix between a visor and a veil, an extension of her dainty tiara. The Count’s was the most realistic because it was based on military infrared goggles and was bulky compared to the others. Mage instructed everyone to open their eyes again and to try out their individual pairs.

“I can see!” Bear Tooth shouted. He was grinning ear to ear with fangs protruding and was turning everywhere to test his new vision.

Nethril’s first attempt was also met with success. Their so-called night vision was better than the actual tech on the surface world because not only did they see the greenish contours of warm bodies, they could see the dark almost as clear as day. 

“Mine’s broken,” the Count said with a hint of anxiety in his voice.

“Is there a reason why you picked real-world technology to be the basis for your eyewear?” Mage asked. “Have you by any chance used actual infrared goggles on the surface world?”

“Yes,” the Count answered. Then he added with a lot of confusion: “I think… I mean, how else could I have known about it?”

The Count was suffused with an overwhelming, almost paralyzing feeling of déjà vu.

“Tell me, Count, did infrared goggles happen to be inaccessible or prohibitively expensive for you on the surface world?”

“Yes, I seem to recall that they were.” 

“I see,” Mage said. Turning back to the rest, he announced: “As a mage, I do not have the luxury of dreaming. And so, what little counsel I am able to provide you comes only from second-hand information I have collated from the web, posted by other real-life oneironauts even prior to the invention of SKYE and thereafter validated by me through my own limited experience with you in this realm.”

The Dreamwalkers stood mystified and wondered about Mage’s vast reservoir of arcane knowledge called the “spider web”.

“First and foremost,” Mage instructed, “it is imperative that you close your eyes. This goes for all manners of conjuring and summoning – be it to produce a weapon, defense, or a means of transportation or escape. Discovery is the one resource that has remained vital for man since infanthood. A case in point is a child who plays the game of peekaboo. It proves to itself the permanence of objects, the fact that an object can exist even when it is hidden from view.

“Second – and this applies especially to your case, dear Count – you need to possess conviction. To the same degree that a child believes a wish will be granted or that Saint Nicholas exists, you must think you are worthy of what it is you desire regardless of how illogical it may seem. A child who expects his request to be delivered believes and trusts with every fiber of their being. The child’s mind focuses on that occurrence like a planet revolves around a star. There is not a trace of doubt in the child’s mind.”