Rainy stood in the middle of a field not too far from the Spectrum looking up at the sky. He was thinking about the trek through the Twisted Forest and what it would entail. Sighing to himself he thought, "Guess I didn't think I'd be going alone." As soon as he thought it, he noticed a little tapping on his leg. He smiled to himself picking up Crux. "Well, not alone exactly," he said.
Rainy also thought of something else he had to do before they left Nimbus. Something in his past, something that had been bothering him for a long time. He looked up up into the night sky again. The sky was clear, the stars were glinting in the pale blue of the second moon of Nimbus, Arct. It was unusually cold out, but the cold never seemed to bother Rainy and he just kept star-gazing. A few people had come out during the night wondering what he was doing. When asked Rainy would just shrug and say quietly, "Thinking, just thinking." Rainy was debating with himself over whether he should resolve his past before he ventured into the forest. Finally, after so many years away from home, he was ready to face his only fear.
He sat out all night, until the break of dawn. The sun began to creep over the horizon, lazily waking up with the rest of the world. Rainy marveled at the different colors of the sunrise. He watched at the shades of violet, blue, red, yellow, and orange drifted over the brightening sky. The colors gave the clouds soft hues of purple or indigo, some even lilac. He smiled as the warm wind started to blow on his face. It was time. He had made his decision. His past had to come first.
Rainy walked back into the train and seeing CR, waved good morning. CR waved back, and Rainy continued through the train. He told everyone on the train that he was leaving, but before he started into the forest there was something he needed to fix first. He bid them all a temporary goodbye and said he would return before going into the forest. With those words and a quiet goodbye, Rainy scooped up Crux and headed outside.
"Goddess, lend me your power once more," he said in a hushed tone. At first nothing seemed to happen, but then suddenly there was a bright flash of white light. When the passengers un-shielded their eyes and looked out the window, Rainy was gone.
When the flash ended, Rainy opened his eyes. After they had adjusted to the sudden change of light, he saw before him an image that had haunted him all these years. The cold stone of the castle named Blackforge. This was the castle where he and his friends had been trapped. He walked out into a clearing towards the gates.
The castle was exactly how he had remembered it. The castle still stood, though the east tower had collapsed. Even after all of these years the castle still was sturdy. The gates had rusted over time, and broke off the hinges when he tried to swing them open. He walked across the rotting drawbridge into the main hall of the castle. The tapestries on the walls were all gone, probably stolen by a brave thief. But the scars of the battle still remained. Noticeable signs of lightning streaked the walls and floors. He walked through the hall into the next corridor. Just as he had remembered it, the stairs were through the door on his right. He opened the door and began the climb to the fifth floor. As he walked up he noticed that this area was strangely dark. He remembered the torches on the walls being lit, but with a shrug he continued on. After what seemed like forever, he reached the fifth floor. With a trembling hand he opened the door into the eating room of the castle. Against the wall ahead of him, the same fireplace stood, and the same table (though now noticeably weathered) that he had eaten at was there. He walked up to the table, looking around, noticing the chair he was made to sit in night after night. Rainy shuddred against the old memory. He saw a door on his left and a door ahead of him. He opened the door on his left to find what was left of the room he was locked in every night. The bed was removed, and only the box springs remained, and the end table had been damaged. Other than that, the room remained the same. The carpet was very stained, and the bars on the window were now gone, but it was still the same room. When he walked back out into the eating room of the castle, he heard a noise to his right. It was soft, a scuttling if nothing else, but it gave Rainy the chills all the same. He looked in the corner, noticing a mouse running by, before it ran under the door. He sighed a relief.
"Be strong, this is no time for weakness," he heard someone say.
At these words Rainy jumped before realizing that it was only Crux.
"Lord, don't scare me like that!" yelled Rainy, his heart racing.
"Sorry, sorry," replied Crux with a shake of her head.
He then looked over to see the door he had been afraid of all this time. Without a second thought though, he grabbed the door handle and walked inside. The room was larger than he had remembered, but still the same. Against the wall left of him stood the holding crystal which still glowed a soft green. On the right of him against the back wall was the heavily stained table; the table on which all of his friends had lost their lives. He wiped a tear from his eye as he walked to the back of the room where the bookcases and desk were. Surprisingly, whatever thieves had been here hadn't taken the books. Some of them contained old spells, not able to be cast anymore. He looked through list of books. Only one of them caught his eye, and only because it was written in old Ximin. Ximin was an old language on Nimbus. It was a thin book, with a crimson cover. It was plain, but for the silver lining on the outside edges of the book. The title of the book read "Spell XXI: Celestial Light." Intrigued by the title, Rainy opened the book and sat down at the desk.
After many hours of reading and translating the text, he finally managed to figure out how to cast the spell. It was quite simple actually, as the book was not only short, but also most of the script was a description of the spell. The spell was named Celestial Light. It had been a spell that apparently had been lost to time, for it was in none of the spellbooks. The spell took no components, and no odd rituals, just a simple phrase. When the spell was cast, the description read as follows:

There are many different effects when the Celestial Light spell is used. First and foremost the spells is only to be used by those pure of heart. Those with a tainted heart who try to cast it will be cast into an endless void, never to escape. Only the spell can decide if the caster is pure of heart, for within it, it has a scan of its own. When cast properly, a large blast of white light emits from the user and surrounds him/her. Seemingly this is all the spell does, but do not be deceived. The first effects of this spell are only noticeable after ten seconds pass. At that time a strong beam of light will shine from the caster and strike the intended target, regardless of obstruction by objects or people. It will only effect the target creature or person. Upon impact, the spell will cause a large flash of blue light, which causes the target to be consumed. But be warned, this spell has been known to drain the caster of all energy. He or she may be knocked totally unconcious after casting. But in any event, the command words are next:

Bright as the stars in the sky, brighter than the sun on the horizon. Holy light I ask for your assisstance! Bestow upon me the pure light and from the heavens may the rays pierce the darkness! Celestial Light!

Rainy spent the rest of the day copying the Ximin spell into his spell book in his own language. After he had done this, he remembered why he was here. He looked again at the wall where the crystal was. Reluctantly he stood. He noticed for the first time in hours that he was weary. Not caring and shrugging it off he looked around the room again. He saw what he saw before, except now Crux slept in the window, basking in the sunlight. He remembered now what the elder had said.

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Rainy sat under his tree again, still depressed and still sad. Everyday he would sit underneath the tree mourning the death of his friends. After a month of this the elder finally came out to talk to him.
"Yes elder? Was there something you require?" said Rainy softly.
"No, but I do have a suggestion. You mustn't mourn your friends this way. Do you think that Ravis would want you to be miserable? No! You have to go on. Wasting away like this underneath this Godforsaken tree won't solve your problems!"
Rainy thought about this for a moment before responding. "You're right elder. Of course you are, but I need a little bit more time."
"Of course you do, I'm just saying that you need to move on. I hate to see you this way."
"I know I know."
The elder began to walk away when Rainy said something else. "Elder?"
"Yes, lad what is it?"
"I haven't told anyone, but I have been having nightmares lately. They're about...." Rainy trailed off and wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his cloak. "They're about my friends. Every night I see them killed over and over and over."
The elder was silent for a what seemed like forever, until finally he spoke. "My boy you have been cursed. The curse is old, unknown to most scholars and mages in these parts. The curse is called the Dreamlock Curse. It does exactly as you have described, and until you rid yourself of it, I'm afraid it won't leave you."
"So how do I get rid of it? I need to stop this!"
"Well....you would.....have to go back...."
"Back?" asked Rainy with a confused look.
"To...Castle Blackforge. You would have to smash the crystal you were kept in there."
"I...can't....I just....can't," he replied
"It is your choice, choose well," said the elder, and he walked away.

-----------------

Rainy stood in the middle of the room sweating. He had to do it now. He had to get rid of this curse. He looked at the crystal, still the same as it had been years ago. He drew forth Avenger, half thinking that it wouldn't work at all. After all, when he had banged on the inside of the crystal nothing had happened. With a prayer on his lips, and determination in his heart, he brought the sword above his head. With a quick swipe he brought the sword down on the crystal, and it bounced off with a loud clang. Rainy was disheartened, but then he noticed something happening. The crystal began to crack, only a little at first, but cracking all the same. After three or four hits, the crystal had been cleaved clean in two. He sighed relief and for the first time in years his mind cleared and he was happy again. Though still skeptical about if the spell worked or not, he layed down on the bed in the room and curled up into a ball.
Hours later, he awoke to find himself refreshed. At first he hadn't thought about it when he woke up. After a minute of reflection he realized he hadn't had any nightmares. Rainy began to cry tears of happiness, the first tears of happiness he had cried ever. After gathering his things, he shook Crux awake. Crux, who had just been having a good dream, woke up and gave Rainy a scowl, until she noticed he was smiling that is.
"What is it? Something happen that I missed?"
"Two things actually. I learned a new spell, I'll show you the translation of it later, and..." he trailed off.
"What?" she asked in a slightly irritated tone.
"I'm no longer cursed Crux! No more dreams!"
Crux flew up to his shoulder and hugged him around the neck.
"That's really great news! But....how?"
He explained how the elder had spoken with him, seeing as how this was prior to Cruxs arrival. At midday, they both walked off of the castle grounds with a smile. He then teleported back to the train, startling many with his flashy arrival outside. The weather at the train was quite different, and Rainy arrived in the rain. He was so happy that he began to dance around in the rain, getting many puzzled looks from inside the train.
"Have you gone mad?" asked Jade.
"No! I'm actually quite sane!" he replied with a big grin.
After he had gotten inside and changed into dry clothes, he explained to everybody what had occured in the past two days. They all smiled and congratulated him on over-coming his fear. He smiled and went into his cabin, Crux following right behind him. He layed down on his bed, for the first time in years without a fear of falling asleep. Soon after he drifted off to sleep, not even thinking about his long journey into the Twisted Forest.