After hurriedly equipping themselves for the mission, the squad boarded the R.N.S. Impossible for the journey to Axis Island.
Once underway, the ship’s skyseer invited Malachai and Mireya to sleep under the stars, as he usually did, in case the planets had any important messages for them. The weather was bad on the first night, but the second night brought clear skies so the crew rigged three hammocks topside for the skyseers.
As Malachai and Mireya slept, each of them had a vivid dream that was clearly sent by the stars.
Malachai’s Vision
You are standing on the deck of the R.N.S. Impossible under a starry sky, contemplating the patterns of the constellations. Suddenly:
You are leaning against a parapet overlooking a confusion of walls and ships and buildings, with fireworks exploding overhead and balls of fire rolling along the ground toward you. Suddenly:
You are standing on a wide open grassland under a blue sun in a purple sky, watching a herd of six-legged creatures grazing in the distance. Suddenly:
You and your fellow squad members are being battered by the elements, though you seem to be inside a dark cave. Suddenly:
You see a huge explosion in the distance, and the flaming figure of a warrior streaking from it across the sky, raising its sword to smite the moon. Suddenly:
You are standing on the deck of the R.N.S. Impossible under a starry sky.
Mireya’s Vision
You fall asleep in a hammock slung on the deck of the R.N.S. Impossible under a starry sky. Suddenly:
A hulking monster made of leaves and vines and twigs is standing before you, raising a large club. Suddenly:
You are standing on a beach under a night sky in which the planets are all in the wrong places and the moon is shining blue. Suddenly:
You are flung into the sky, surrounded by fire, your hair aflame, and your dying thought is that you have failed to carry out the mission entrusted to you by your king. Suddenly:
You are shaken awake by the bos’n. “You sleep like the dead,” she says. “Get up. Everyone’s in the mess already.”
