Maxxine sat at his desk, tapping his foot rapidly in sync with the pencil. His eyes narrowed in deep thought as he stared at the blank sketchbook in front of him.

“AND I’M HERE!” Maxxine flinched in his seat as he turned around with a hostile glare, seeing Vania slide on into his room without knocking. He grumbled and rubbed his nose bridge with a sigh.

“Do you even know how to knock?” He hissed but just shook his head afterwards, knowing that making a fuss did nothing about Vania’s obnoxious behavior. “Nevermind, what is it?"

“When you are done being depressed and staring at a blank piece of paper, aka right now, I’m dragging you downstairs to help me eavesdrop!” She exclaimed, and Maxxine instantly stood up and slapped his hand over her mouth and most of her face.

“If you are trying to be secretive, don’t shout your presence for everyone to hear!” He whispered before dramatically gagging at Vania as she attempted to bite his hand to get him to let go, which was successful. He wiped the palm of his hand on his shirt, then crossed his arms as he glared at Vania, who stuck her tongue out at him in response.

"Come on, let's go!” She grabbed Maxxine’s wrist and ran out of the room, half dragging him along as he stumbled and struggled to keep up at first.

Vania and Maxxine arrived in the main palace room. She pulled Maxxine down to crouch behind the wall. Maxxine rolled his eyes at how aggressive Vania was but peaked around the corner to see who it was for a brief moment, only to make eye contact with his mother, Rosalind, as she turned around.

“Ah Maxxine! Come on over to meet someone!” She spoke with elegance, unlike her usual, more stern behavior. Maxxine and his mother were quite alike, aside from the fact that she could much better mask their strict attitude. He stood up and brushed himself off, walking to the group. He instantly recognized one as the queen of the Singing Woods Colony. With her, she had another person with her. Noticeably shorter than the tall queen, but still taller in comparison to Rosalind and Maxxine, which wasn’t surprising. While the queen was much more upbeat, the other person with her seemed more cold and closed off.

"Well, isn’t it a delight to see you, Esmeray, and it’s a surprise to see you here, Zayn.” She formally addressed the visitors. “What brings you here?"

“I’m sure you’ve noticed the rather unpleasant state of things here in our world. And considering our two colonies have had quite the history going back, I wanted to keep the peace going. Starlit Caves Colony has been intrusive on our lands lately, and I warn you to be wary of them,” Esmeray elaborated. “Their lands are in danger of corruption, and in response, they’ve been threatening attacks and pushing at the borders. I believe that this same hostile behavior may affect your colony too."

“Well, thank you for the warning. I’ll be sure to have guards keep an eye out.” Rosalind nodded with appreciation. Maxxine listened to every word carefully, trying to read where this conversation was going. If this was it, then this ‘Zayn’ person didn’t need to be here. Esmeray could have brought anyone as a guardian, and by how Zayn was dressed, in a sleek black and grey-toned outfit, more of a high-class outfit than the Singing Woods armour, he didn’t assume that they were serving as a guardian or protector.

“That wasn’t the only reason we came here,” Zayn butted in. “We wanted to secure an official allyship with the Oasis Colony. In times like this, we can’t afford enemies.” Zayn stopped for a moment, glancing at Esmeray with a distant look in their eyes, then at Rosalind to see her thoughtful yet hesitant expression. Maxxine could sense the distrust in her at the intentions of Singing Woods, and Maxxine could agree with her hesitation. He watched Zayn closely, trying to read their tone and demeanor, but they were blank. Nothing off aside from how perfect they were at keeping the same face.

“I need to discuss this with my council before I make any decisions. Thank you for the offer.” Rosalind concluded. Esmeray moved her hand slightly, about to protest against Rosalind, but Zayn grabbed her wrist to stop her.

“Of course, feel free to inform us of whichever decision you make.” Zayn gave a nod, glancing at Maxxine. He hadn’t realized how tightly he had crossed his arms and how obvious his distrust was, and Zayn must have caught on. Esmeray and Zayn left with no argument. After the large doors were shut behind them, Maxxine spotted his father walking into the room with Vania.

“Esmeray and Zayn warned us about Starlit Caves and also offered an allyship.” Rosalind explained, concern shone in her eyes.

“And you accepted, right?"

“Night, I don’t trust their intentions. I know both have helped us in the past, but I don’t trust them now.” Rosalind addressed Maxxine’s father by name, something she didn’t do often in front of her children. Maxxine looked away from his parents, now facing the door once again. He watched as the doors swung open with a gust of wind. Outside, he couldn’t see any of the lights around; it was too foggy to see anything. Or at least he first thought it was fog, but as the scent of smoke and burning debris grew stronger, he realized it had to have been ash. He instantly tensed up, about to run towards it, only to be snapped free from the nightmarish vision from his sister’s voice.

“Maxxine? Are you good?” Maxxine turned to face her and was met with her lifeless eyes. A sleek, white masquerade mask over her face, blood dribbled from her nose. Her usual upbeat and energetic demeanor was long gone. He tried to hide his terror, closing his eyes for a long moment and then opening them again. She looked normal once more. He glanced back to where he saw the raining ash, only to realize the doors had never opened again.

“Maxxineee?” Vania once again called out to him, stretching out his name excessively. He bit the inside of his cheek, now seeing his parents looking at him with confusion.

“Oh, sorry, I just zoned out, I guess.” He attempted to mask the terror in his voice, although it crept out some. “I’m going to my room.” He quickly added to avoid further discussion, briskly walking back towards his room, up the flight of stairs, and out of sight.

Hours had passed, and Maxxine refused to leave his room. He didn’t want to be confronted about his odd behavior, nor did he want to face whatever those visions were again. Maybe he was going crazy; he wouldn’t be surprised. He sat at the foot of his bed and watched out the large, stained glass window. Through the detailed glass with his colony’s symbol displayed on it, he could look out on some of the colony, the various market stands, and small homes near the large oasis. Lots of lights were posted along the paths and buildings to light up the territory despite the dark skies, protecting it from the creatures that roam in the dark lands. He felt bad for the people of this colony. While they may appear strong, recent days have killed off so many of their farms and main food sources, water is slowly becoming more toxic and difficult to purify to drink. People were starving down there, and no one could do anything about it.

“Dear, may I come in?” Rosalind knocked on the door softly.

“Sure.” Maxxine replied, not looking at the door as it creaked open. The bed shook slightly as his mother sat beside him on the bed.

“What happened back there? You’re acting off?” Maxxine opened his mouth to reply, only for a booming voice to echo in the back of his mind.

“Don’t say anything.”

He forced his face to stay blank, though the fear was overwhelming. “I’m fine; nothing happened.” He scolded himself internally at how horrible his lie was, which Rosalind quickly caught onto.

“Don’t lie, I want to help.” She pressed on with worry for her kid, placing a hand on his shoulder. Maxxine could feel an unnatural presence lurking, watching.

“I said I’m fine.” He spoke more sternly. “Don’t worry about me. If something was wrong, I wouldn’t share it anyway.”

“That is no way to speak to me! I’m just trying to help!"

“Then leave! I don’t need your help! Just leave me be!” He shut down the conversation, turning away more and pinning down his ears. He felt as his mother’s hand left his shoulder, turning slightly to see as Rosalind left the room. He scowled at his own behavior. He never meant to upset her, but he didn’t want to hurt them, or anyone, for that matter. He grabbed his own pillow, punching into it and then burying his head against it, letting out a muffled, frustrated groan. He lowered the pillow to his lap, staring forward again, watching the sky more this time. The moon’s rings dimmed as it slowly became night, the lands growing darker as they did every day. While the dark skies never illuminated the lands much, the rings were the only clear indicator of any remotely existing day and night cycle. He laid back in his bed, consumed in his own thoughts about the strange presence, the voice, and those visions. Nothing seemed natural. All he could do was hope that it’d go away on its own.

Maxxine eventually fell asleep, although his dreams couldn’t be farther away from peaceful. As his sight left the pitch blackness that often accompanied his slumber, he saw the same ash-grey skies that plagued his vision prior; this time, it felt so much more real. He realized this place was his own colony. The village was destroyed, almost unrecognizable. Buildings that were caved in had lingering flames, eating away at the remains of these homes. People’s bodies lined the paths, it appeared that most weren’t lucky enough to escape. The horrid mix of scents from decay and smoke burned his nose. He quickly began to run to the palace, but as he picked up the pace, the area morphed from his own burning home to the woods. Specifically of the Singing Woods Colony. Strange symbols were carved into the trees, resembling something that looked similar to an eye with weird lines that branched out from it. Corrupteds and nightmare creatures lurked in the dark forest. It was a dangerous combination, especially because those nightmare creatures were the reason for the high number of corrupted beings that roamed this world.

He was up in the treetops now, at the entrance of their palace. The doors were wide open already. He cautiously walked in, seeing a silhouette on the throne, with another figure forced to bow to them from ghostly hands that hovered around the now-bowing figure. He stumbled back before bumping into someone behind him. He jumped as he turned, once again seeing Vania with the mask. But much more blood had begun running down from under her sleeves, from her nose, and from her mouth. He shakily went to reach out a hand to her. Panic racked his mind. She vanished along with the palace, now left in front of a temple. Just over it, he could see the moon; the rings around it shattered and began to fall. This was how the world would end, and it had already started.

“Find it.” The same voice as before was back, its tone cold and demanding. Maxxine glanced around to see if he could see the figure now, but nothing. The ground started shaking, then crumbling from beneath him. He panicked and tried to run, but the floor gave out under him, swallowing him into the cold abyss.

Maxxine flung himself awake, his heart beating fast and his eyes wide with terror. He got up and looked out the window. Still night, nothing was destroyed. Yet. He stared for a moment, pondering what to do next. It was no mere coincidence that he had seen these visions multiple times. He’d talk to Vania; she’d at least be able to help ease his fears.

He headed down the halls, remaining quiet to not disturb anyone, making his way to Vania’s door and cautiously opening it. He pushed it shut carefully and went to shake her awake, only for that voice to appear again.

“Don’t tell her!”

He hesitated, but he couldn’t keep this a secret. He had to protect and warn her. He shook her slightly until she stirred. 

“Vania! Wake up!” He whispered urgently. That seemed to get her attention. She quickly sat up with a grumble.

“It’s early! What is it?” He bit his cheek, gathering his thoughts before going on to explain.

“It’s urgent. I’ve had a few of these strange visions. Something with the Singing Woods Colony, and then this temple. Our home being destroyed—no, the whole world! About needing to find something-” He was cut off.

"OO, we’re finding something?! Come on, we should hurry up then! This is so cool! A mystery! Saving the world!” She moved her hands over her head and spread them apart for the extra dramatic flare, wide awake now. She leaped out of bed and rummaged through her closet.

Maxxine shook his head. “No wait-! I’m doing this, not you-” Vania shoved a bag at him before he could finish.

“Grab some things! We’re leaving before our parents wake up!” She started pushing him out the door.

“Vania wait!” He flinched as the door slammed shut in his face. He sighed, now knowing there was no way to talk her out of this. Dragging himself back to his room, he grabbed a few things, including a notebook and pencil, as well as even an old knife. He feared what would happen now; he never intended for her to follow along. He’d at least protect her on this journey, wherever it brought them.