Chapter Text
Tamarin sat on the small green island in the meadow and listened to the water rushing in the background. It was calm and serene.
He had learned so much, and yet, there was still so much to learn.
He couldn't help but notice dark disturbances in the air, and he didn’t like that they were approaching and spreading.
Suddenly, a scream was heard somewhere in the area. Tamarin flinched at that sound and immediately got to his feet.
He went toward the source of the cry, and what he saw next was horrible.
Other saplings were being attacked by what appeared to be hounds; they looked different, unlike the one in the dream; these hounds were darker and vicious, attacking anyone they encountered.
Some of these hounds noticed Tamarin and were about to attack him, but he immediately dodged them. He stumbled on the ground.
Tamarin needed to arm himself with something; he noticed a longbow lying on the ground beside him. He immediately picked it up and fired an arrow at the dark hound. The arrow pierced through the hound's skull, killing it quickly.
Tamarin continued to fight off the hounds, as other saplings started to follow his example in fighting off the hounds. It was a long, hard fight. Finally, they defeated the hounds, but Tamarin felt this wasn’t over. Something was wrong.
There was a wisp in the air, glowing brightly and slowly stretching into the form of a ghost, a fellow sylvari, a female. Suddenly, Tamarin recognized the First-born Caithe, standing in the middle of the Dream, her eyes turning toward him.
“Dreamer, I need your help,” Caithe said, “Can you hear me where you are, within the Dream?”
Tamarin approached her, “Within the Dream? What does that mean? Why do you look transparent?” he asked.
“I am in Tyria, a faraway land,” Caithe replied, “Soon, you'll awaken here, but for now, you live in the Dream. I can't explain right now. We must hurry. Something is poisoning the Dream.”
“Poisoning the Dream? Of course, I will do whatever I can to help you. But why me?” Tamarin is willing to save the dream world at any cost, but out of all the dreamers here, Caithe asks him for help.
“Your spirit is strong. Do not underestimate yourself,” Caithe implied. “Follow me to the far embankment, where the center of the poison is.”
Tamarin followed Caithe; where this would lead, however, it would end. He knew he must be strong, he must be brave, or else the dream would be forever corrupted.
They came upon a vine bridge, but just before they could reach it, more hounds came in out of nowhere. Tamarin and Caithe readied their weapons as the hounds began to attack.
After Caithe and Tamarin defeated the hounds, they paused momentarily, looking across past the bridge, where the corruption is more substantial the closer they get to it.
It felt like a cold grip to Tamarin, getting tighter as they got closer to the source of the poison. It made him tremble.
“ Be Brave, Sapling,” Caithe reassured him when she noticed him shaking, “You must show courage, and be a beacon in the darkness.”
Tamarin looked at Caithe and nodded in response. He looked back at the bridge and deeply breathed to ease his fear. He was ready for whatever lay ahead.
The two reached their destination and saw a massive thorn shrub with some strange magic surrounding it. This must be the source of the poison; it must be.
Suddenly, Caithe stopped, “Wait...something's happening. I feel…” In a flash of light, Caithe was no longer transparent. “The Pale Tree has breathed her strength into me. She's made me tangible, but only for a few moments.”
Just then, more hounds appeared; hordes of them. Tamarin readied his sword and charged at the hound, with Caithe fighting by his side. Caithe and Tamarin took out all the hounds individually, but it wasn’t over. Something else was here; something powerful.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake, like something was moving underground. Tamarin and Caithe noticed the shrub was moving like it was alive.
A massive creature of tangled branches, roots, vines, and branches erected itself from the ground, bursting and spreading pieces of the earth as it rose. Yellow, dark eyes gleamed, and Tamarin noticed how large it was, looming far over their heads.
Its eyes glance at Caithe and Tamarin.
“The poison has taken form. Quickly, destroy it while we can!” Caithe said, daggers in her grasp.
The beast began to attack; the two Sylvari dodged and counterattacked.
The monster was gigantic, Tamarin wasn’t sure how they were gonna stop this thing, and his weapon was hardly doing any damage to it. Even Caithe’s weapons were severely hurting it.
Just then, the beast let out a roar; the force of the sound knocked back the two Sylvari on the ground.
Tamarin got up in a kneeling position. “How can we destroy this thing?”
“Every Source has a weakness,” Caithe said, “you just have to know where and what it is.”
Find its weakness? How were they supposed to find its fault, let alone know what it is? They’ve hit with everything they got, and it’s still standing.
They’ll have to figure it out, somehow; otherwise, the dream will be corrupted by this nightmare.
Tamarin stood back up on his feet, studded the creature, and readied his longbow. He only had one arrow left, so he'll have to make this last shot count.
He put the arrow on the bow, readied his aim, and released his hold on the arrow.
The flying arrow began to glow with a leaf-green aura.
It struck the beast in the chest. It let out a screech of agony.
It reared up, let out a dying roar, and finally collapsed.
It was over; the dream realm was saved from this evil darkness.
“It is finished,” said Caithe, as she started to fade from the dream. “The Dream is safe against this poison, thanks to you. We'll see each other again in the waking world, soon.”
As Caithe vanished from this realm, everything around Tamarin grew bright.
Then the brightness faded into black