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An hour passed silently as Rhisanth led Matt through the golden grasses. Questions swirled in Matt's mind, but they refused to take shape. 'A strange lion in a strange land,' Matt mused. The husky sighed and followed the mage. 'I won't figure out anything on my own, and this Rhisanth isn't exactly talkative. This is definitely a strange dream. But here I am, still sleeping. I think. Doesn't feel like any other dream I've ever had, though.' He turned his gaze towards their destination, and took in the sights.

The plains began to break, with small farms on either side of the dirt road. Red barns and wooden houses marked the properties while tools leaned against the fences as if everyone had left for dinner, despite the sun hanging high in the air. More small wooden buildings were clustered in the distance, each decorated in their own way. Many of the houses were painted with bright colors. 'Straight out of a Renaissance Faire back on Earth. But...emptier.' There wasn't a soul in the village. No one mincing about and playing lutes, or decked in knightly outfits and having jousting matches. Not even peasantry haggling over prices.

"Where is everyone?" Matt asked quietly. As they moved through the edge of the village, Matt could catch the scent of others, though it was faint. The husky's ears stood straight up, straining to hear any sign of life. "It doesn't seem like anybody's been this way for hours."

Rhisanth shook his head, the motion barely noticeable beneath his thick mane. "I know not. But no matter, we must speak with the council." Matt cocked his head to the side at the mage, but the lion took no notice or ignored it and kept moving. They continued to the center of town, all the while Matt's hackles were slowly raising in apprehension. In the town square, etched into the stone ground was a large circle with sigils around the circumference. A larger rune was carved and painted white in the center. "Our carriage, so to speak. Enter the circle, Matthew."

'Just who does he think he is, bossing me around like that? Not even a "please" or "thank you,"' Matt complained to himself, though he did follow the instructions. The husky rubbed his tail nervously, smoothing down the grey-blue fur. The mage stepped in behind Matt and began mumbling, his eyes closed. The words were barely audible, so much so that Matt couldn't make any specific ones out, though they felt strange and foreign.

Matt smelled something terrible, rancid and rotting. Putting his paw up to his muzzle as if to hold back the bile, he looked up towards the houses. He could see the runes on the ground begin to glow in his peripheral vision, but his sight was locked on a number of figures shambling from between the houses. "What are those things?" Matt yelped.

Other canines, felines, herbivores, and avians were moving towards the pair, but they were grotesque pale things. Chunks of skin, feathers, fur, and in some cases, entire limbs, were missing. The clothes they wore were in tatters. But what disturbed the husky the most were the vacant stares, as if they had no mind or souls. "Rhisanth," Matt growled, the fur on his body standing on end. Shortly after, Rhisanth stopped mumbling and the glow of the runes enveloped the Matt's vision. He felt his body tingle for just a moment as if his limbs had all fallen asleep.

When the husky's vision returned, he noticed he stood in a grand hall. The floor was a pale green marble with black veins streaking through it. Giant, decorated pillars supported the vaulted ceiling. Around the perimeter of the circular hall were raised chairs made of black marble, with as many of them empty as were filled. The lighting was quite dim, and hid the faces of those in the chairs. Four wore black, five clad in blue, and three donned white. Matt heaved a sigh of relief when he noted that the shambling creatures were nowhere in sight.

"Rhisanth of the Valiant Order!" a deep voice boomed through the room, echoing in the hall for a few moments. Rhisanth stepped forward and bowed towards a set of three chairs which were higher than the others. In the center chair, wearing a sapphire blue robe, was another lion. This one was younger, broader, and taller than Rhisanth, and looked to be quite powerful physically. He had a scar across his muzzle, just above his nose, making the lion's snarling face all the more intimidating. "You disturb the council for what, this time?" The larger lion paid no heed to Matt, his gaze directed at the elderly lion.

Rhisanth swept an arm towards Matt, who backpedaled to dodge the swinging appendage. "I bring you the beginning," he stated, quietly, so that all had to strain to hear him. "I bring you the prophecy!" Rhisanth roared.

"That is no prophecy!" a familiar voice hissed. Matt turned to see who the voice belonged to. The speaker was cloaked in black. "I have already investigated this man, he has no power."

'That's the cat Rhisanth was fighting earlier,' Matt thought in alarm, his ears folding down. 'But he's part of this council too?'

Rhisanth turned to the dark jaguar, growling. "You mean you tried to murder him, Kazar." The council members stirred, the low buzz of their whispering echoing throughout the room.

"Silence!" the head of the council boomed. "What proof do you have of this, Rhisanth? Such accusations carry great consequences should they be true, or for your case, false."

Matt's ears folded back even further at the anger in the voice, his eyes darting about quickly. He tried to look impassive, but his face and posture wouldn't cooperate. He rubbed his paw pads against his brown breeches and smoothed down his tail.

"It's true that Kazar 'tested' this young man, Matthew, but I assure you Matthew here is not ready for any such test. He is untrained, and obviously bewildered," the white-robed lion pointed at Matt again. The husky straightened his posture a little, and gritted his teeth, cursing himself for being so readable.

"So what makes you believe this young man will actually fulfill the prophecy, where others have already failed, Rhisanth?" the larger lion asked as he shook his head, his trimmed brown mane swaying just a little with the movement.

'Wait, where others have failed?'

"He comes from a world called Earth, where they have machines that rival the Lunar Angels' in complexity, and glass castles that could stand through mighty earthquakes. Carriages that ride neither with magic nor with animal, and cities that could contain every city in Ameranth!" Rhisanth declared loudly. The council members all held their breath in awe, except one.

Kazar laughed, an unpleasant wheezing noise. "And so? What difference does that make? One's place or circumstance of birth has no bearing on their power! You most of all, Rhisanth, should understand that, considering your bro..."

"No, but even you have to admit that he has much potential," the elderly lion cut Kazar off. "Without concentrating, one can feel it."

"Rhisanth, your faith in the prophecy astounds even me," the head of the council spoke softly. "Even with as much potential as this pup has, I fear there's no time to train him, and without training he will be a liability. The darkness' reckoning is at hand, and we must act now to save us all."

"Hold on a second!" Matt shouted, his chest heaving with the effort. He stepped past Rhisanth, the white-robed lion staring at the husky with eyebrows raised. "What the hell? Here you guys are, all talking about the end of the world, and if I'm your 'savior' and all that stuff, but why me? I didn't ask to be brought here, and I don't know what the hell is going on!"

No one spoke for a moment, not even Rhisanth. Matt and the head of the council stared at each other for a long moment, and just when Matt was about to back down, he heard the large lion chuckle. The husky's muzzle hung open in shock as the head of the council laughed boisterously. The other magi in the room looked at each other in confusion. "I have to admit, you have some courage, Matthew," the larger lion said. "But this concerns you as well. If the reckoning comes to pass, all life on your world is doomed as well."

"You're joking..." Matt stood stock still and stared, his icy blue eyes vacant. 'This is all too surreal.'

Rhisanth stepped towards Matt and placed a gnarled paw on the young husky's shoulder. "I am afraid he is not."

"But what am I supposed to do? That Kazar guy is right, I have no power, and no idea what to do." The dark jaguar shot a smug look from his seat, his sharp teeth gleaming in the dim light.

"The council asks nothing of you, Matthew. We have come to a decision: we cannot spare anyone to train Matthew, and if the prophecy is true, then it shall come to pass without our intervention." The head of the council stood up on his chair, his already huge height increased by the height of his seat.

Rhisanth growled, "I find it very disturbing how you leave so much to fate."

The head of the council shook his head, "I have seen the future, and it is still dark. The discovery of the supposed savior has changed nothing."

"But your Sight has limits, Lucent, and it may be the darkest times are before the light," Rhisanth countered. "I will train him myself, then."

"You would work against the will of the Council, Rhisanth? Your seat is already in jeopardy with your recent foolishness. Disobeying a direct order from the Council would all but remove you from it."

"When have I ever listened to you, my brother?" Rhisanth whispered so quietly that Matt barely heard him. The elderly lion raised his voice, "I will train him, Lucent. And your work will look foolish when we are done. We take our leave from here."

Before Matt could say anything, his vision clouded with a white fog. The amphitheater and council were obscured, and quickly faded to nothing.

When Matt's sight cleared, he found himself on a plastic tiled floor, looking up into the worried face of a brown-furred moose. Chris' long brown muzzle broke into a smile, "Matt! You're all right!"

The husky yawned and sat up, raising his arms over his head to stretch his sleepy muscles. 'I probably shouldn't tell him about my, uh, little trip. He'll think I've completely lost it.' "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. Sorry to worry you, Chris."

Chris reached down and Matt took his paw, watching the moose's large arm muscles bunch as he pulled the husky up. "You should go home," Chris suggested slowly, his brow furrowing. Matt shook his head and quickly explained what the doctor had told him the day before. "Really, Matt? Narcolepsy? You should have told me earlier, I had no idea if you were okay or not!"

Matt mentally kicked himself. "Sorry, I guess you're right. Thanks for sticking around though. I really appreciate it." The husky grinned shyly at Chris, who hugged him briefly before putting him at arm's length. "I really should get going though. I don't want to be late for class." Matt waved goodbye, knowing that the tall moose would stand there and think about this event for a little while. Musing over what happened during his narcoleptic attack, Matt walked towards the lecture theatres by the library.

* * * * *

Kael was playing yet another video game on his computer when Matt burst in through the door. "What's up, dude?" the kangaroo asked, not even turning to look at his roommate.

"The strangest thing happened to me today," Matt said, his voice hushed but excited. 'I still don't know if I should tell Kael. He'll believe me, maybe?' Kael nodded, but continued to play his game. "Well, uh, I fell asleep after my math test."

The kangaroo paused his game and spun his chair with his legs, his thick tail just missing Matt's knees as Kael swung around. "What? In the hallways? Were you okay, dude?"

The husky shook his head. "I was fine. Chris was there, he stuck around and helped me out." Kael raised an eyebrow at Matt, but the husky ignored his roommate's questioning look. "Anyhow, I don't...how am I going to say this without sounding completely nuts? When I passed out, I had the strangest dream about being in another world, Ameranth, with mages and magic, leather breeches and shirts, zombies and medieval villages. There's a prophecy that I'm supposed to be involved in, and...what?"

"Ameranth? Magic? A prophecy? Sounds like some sort of delusional fantasy to me."

Matt threw his paws into the air, his icy eyes glittering while he ground his teeth. "So what, you think I'm a schizoid or something now, as well as narcoleptic?"

"Dude, hold on, I mean, it was just a vivid dream right?"

"I dunno, it felt real, Kael. I've had dreams where I wished they were real, but this didn't feel like any dream I've ever had before." Matt clenched his paws in frustration, his nails digging into his pads. He looked at his roommate's face for a moment, then sighed. "You don't believe me. You really do think I've gone off the deep end."

Kael stared at the husky for a moment. "The thought had crossed my mind, dude."

Matt stood up, his ears pressed against his head as he snarled, "Damn it, you're hopeless! Just....argh!" The husky stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him, leaving Kael in the room wondering about his friend.

Matt walked quickly, not actually going anywhere in particular, staring at his feet travelling over the sidewalk. He had his headphones over his ears, and one hand was fiddling with the music player, skipping over songs rapidly as his usual assortment of upbeat electronica really wasn't matching his mood.

The spring air was cool, but the slight breeze was warm on his fur. The scents of mud, grass and recent rain overwhelmed his nose, but Matt didn't mind. 'What if I am delusional? Next song. Should I be talking to a psychiatrist? But what if I have to give up school and go to a mental hospital? Ugh, no, this song is too happy. But what if the universe really is going to end or something crazy like that? What if I am the only one who can stop it? Seriously? Do I not have any mellow music on this thing? How would I stop it? What if I'm not actually...' Matt's train of thought came to a screeching halt as he walked right into someone and knocked both himself and the stranger down.

"Ouch! I'm so sorry!" the husky said quickly, rubbing his tail and bottom to dull the pain as he picked himself and his headphones up. He looked at who he had knocked down. He saw a young cat, a cougar he believed. The cougar was lithe, having a runner's build under his dark cream fur. His tail lashed a bit, the dark brown tip waving angrily. The husky moved his eyes up the cougar's tight red t-shirt to his face. His muzzle was a lighter cream color, with dark brown markings around his nose, almost like a mustache. His ears were also brown, and both had three studs each on the upper edge. Matt felt his chest tighten a little when he looked into the cat's light brown eyes. The cougar looked up at Matt and smiled, picking his heavy book bag from the ground. Matt offered his paw and helped the other boy to his feet. "I'm really, really sorry. I should've been watching where I was going, but I was thinking about something, and was distracted, and..."

The cougar shook his head. "It's all right. I wasn't paying attention either." He brushed his paws on his jeans as if to wipe off any dirt and smiled at Matt again. He was shorter than the husky, but only by a couple inches. "By the way, my name's Jay," he said, this time offering his paw to Matt.

"Oh, man, uh, I'm Matt, nice to meet you. Hey, did you wanna go grab a coffee or something? I can buy, it's the least I can do for knocking you over."

Jay looked at his watch for a second. "Sure, love to. Can't chat for long though, lots of school work to do."

"I know the feeling," Matt grinned, his tail wagging slowly. They started towards the campus coffee shop together. "So, tell me a little about yourself."

* * * * *

Matt ran into his friend Laura's room, not even bothering to knock. "Hey sweetie," she said, looking up from her book. She was a wolf with white fur, from the tips of her toes to the ends of the lengthy hair cascading down from her head. She was curvaceous, with ample hips and an ample chest, and very long legs. She had, apparently, opted to dye the tip of her tail black, and had also dyed black claw swipes into her arms, making her look a little wild. "You seem awfully excited," her sing-song voice announced.

"I am!" Matt smiled broadly, jumping on her bed and seating himself. "You'll never guess what happened!"

"You have a date?" she winked.

Matt's tail stopped wagging for just a moment, "Yeah, okay, so you guessed."

"With who? You'll have to give me all the sordid details!" Matt told Laura about his evening with Jay, telling her how cute the cougar was, and how smart, and how athletic, and how nice, and more. "Oh Matt, you've got it bad, and you just met this cat!" Laura laughed, hugging the husky tightly. "You think it'll work out this time?"

"I hope so. I hate thinking I'm terminally single, or something," Matt said, exasperation creeping into his voice.

The wolf laughed again, her white hair falling in front of her face. "Terminally single? Sweetie, you get more dates than Kael and myself do combined!" Her long fingers brushed the hair aside.

"But none of them work out!" the husky whined. "I swear, I must have some horrible personality flaw you guys are trying to hide from me."

"Maybe that you just don't have enough confidence in yourself," Laura smiled. She poked the husky in the chest, "really, I think you're cute as a button, and you're just as smart as this Jay guy."

Matt squirmed at the poke. "Yeah, I guess you did ask me out at the beginning of the year," his teeth gleamed in the light as he grinned.

"See, and we're still friends, even though you told me that you wouldn't go to the club because you couldn't dance rather than just telling me you weren't interested." Laura had hopped off the bed, her tail wagging as she giggled. "But I really do need to get some work done."

The husky laughed, "Work? I'm impressed!"

"Oh, shut up!" the wolf laughed. "I'm not always slacking off!" She pushed Matt playfully out of her room with a hip bump. "Have fun! And tell me about it when you get back!"

"Definitely!"