A nightmare on the pier

You wake with the damp wood of the pier beneath your back and the afternoon sun on your face.

“What was that?” you murmur. “What did I just see…?”

A shrine. Lava. A black fan. And a voice still ringing in your ears. It must have been a nightmare, you tell yourself. You fell asleep by the water, like so many times before. Whatever it was, it was terrifying.

Urunesti is the same as ever. Merchants cry their fruit and chocolate buns near the square; an ice-cream seller has discovered there is no better business than a child crying in front of his father; and on a corner, Elandor the Magnificent, “the greatest wizard in the world,” gathers his audience for a show that almost always ends with someone turned into something they shouldn’t be.

By the pier, three old friends were waiting for you.

“Oh!” exclaims Spiria Symphonia when she sees your face. “What’s wrong? You look frightened.”

Maa Aluna, who is always in a hurry to get home and feed her cats, insists she saw you sleeping on the pier “quite peacefully.” Ryu Zandermil tells the two of them to leave you alone… and immediately suggests something else:

“What if we play heroes of Arsinoe? And you’ll be the hero.”

“Yes, yes,” laughs Maa Aluna, “a new story is about to begin. How exciting!”

“Your adventures begin today!” Spiria finishes.

They say it as a joke. None of the three knows yet just how right they are.

Then, over the murmur of the harbor, comes a voice you know better than any other:

“Come home, I need your help!”

“Ah, your mother’s looking for you,” says Spiria. “I bet she has an errand for you.”

“Scatter!” the three shout at once, just like when they were children.

You get up, brush off the sand and start walking home. Behind you, the sea keeps shining. Ahead of you, without your knowing it, everything begins.