Tristram. ‘We’ll start back at the beginning. But first, let’s get you on your feet. It may feel a little weird to start with, but it’ll soon become second nature.’
With Ryan’s assistance he helped Sophie shakily to her feet. She peered down at her hooves and frowned.
‘Ugh, my legs are horrible,’ she said.
‘Not as bad as your nose,’ smirked Ryan.
‘What? What’s wrong with it?’
‘Nothing Soph, it’s fine.’
‘No Ryan, show me!’
Ryan rolled his eyes and offered her his shiny forearm again. Sophie peered at her reflection and made a couple of small movements with her head. Ryan had seen his mum do the same thing many times before going out.
‘Hmm, it’s a bit big isn’t it?’ said Sophie, continuing to check herself out. ‘Hang on. What on earth is that on my forehea… oh.’
‘You’re not a horse, Soph,’ said Ryan.
‘Oh. I’m a unic…oh. Am I really? How exciting!’
Apparently the horn made all the difference.
‘Okay, I think we ought to get a move on,’ said Tristram.
‘Where are we going?’ asked Sophie.
‘Up there,’ replied Tristram, pointing to the Spire. It was still some distance away. ‘I’ll explain everything as we go.’
So Ryan was treated to a second explanation of the workings of the Dream Isle, as Tristram brought Sophie up to speed. Within a short distance she was happily trotting beside them as if she had walked on all fours her whole life. She was also remarkably receptive to everything Tristram told her, asking few questions and showing none of the suspicion that Ryan had. Again, Ryan thought that this might be down to Tristram himself and wondered why his robotic form did not come with broad shoulders and a six-pack.
‘So I’m a unicorn because that’s what I’d choose to be if I could be anything in the world?’ Sophie asked when Tristram had finished.
‘Pretty much. A lot of it is down to your personality and how you outwardly express yourself.’
‘So Ryan’s ideal self is a short, fat robot?’ she asked.
‘Oi!’ replied Ryan. He had been doing his best to keep away from Tristram to avoid any direct comparison of their stature.
‘Your avatar reflects your physical state as well,’ said Tristram. ‘Having never met Ryan I don’t know what sort of shape he’s in, but I could guess.’
‘And you’d be right,’ said Sophie, her eyes growing wider and glazing slightly. ‘So aside from the wings you look like that in real life?’ she added hopefully.
‘Oh here we go,’ said Ryan, kicking at a nearby rock.
Tristram merely laughed and Sophie appeared to blush. There was an awkward pause.
‘I’m not that fat,’ said Ryan eventually, glaring at the two of them.
‘It wasn’t me who said it,’ smiled Tristram. ‘Besides, you won’t always look like that.’
‘You mean that your avatar can change?’ asked Sophie.
‘Absolutely,’ replied Tristram. ‘People change in physical appearance, personality and outlook on life, so it makes sense that your avatar would change to reflect that.’
‘There you go, there’s hope for you yet,’ said Sophie.
‘Get lost,’ said Ryan sulkily.
The river led them up for a mile or so longer before they rounded a final bend and were faced with a most astonishing sight. The outer wall of the Spire towered over them; sheer, smooth and seemingly constructed from a single piece of white marble. From a broad aperture about halfway up the river poured, tumbling in a sparkling cascade down into a pool several metres from the base of the wall. From there it began its winding journey through the vale they had just climbed. Far below them it eventually met with the sea, which was now a distant ring of blue.
Beyond the wall rose the main body of the Spire, its smooth, glassy sides climbing high into the sky where they passed through what looked like a large, multi-sided doughnut, before tapering into a gleaming spike. The entire building was made from a multitude of geometric shapes, with no curves whatsoever. Many of the surfaces were reflecting the sunlight so brightly that it was hard to look at it for very long.
‘How do we get in?’ asked Sophie.
‘Well, I could always fly you over, but that would be cheating,’ said Tristram. ‘The entrance is round the other side. Follow me.’
Ryan followed the winged man, with Sophie trotting beside him, as they were led underneath the cascading waters and round the first corner. Ahead lay another side of the wall, which also had a stream of water pouring from an opening high above them. They passed under it, and as they rounded the next corner they figured from the position of their shadows that they had turned through a total of ninety degrees, which led Ryan to conclude that the tower was eight-sided.
Just like the one in the Nightmare Realm, he thought.
They had just walked under yet another cascade – which, like the others, formed a small pool a short distance from the wall before heading off down the mountainside – when a figure appeared from round the next corner. It was a real mountain of a man, with dark skin, broad shoulders and a head that appeared clean-shaven from the front, but on closer inspection had a long, plaited ponytail protruding from the back.
Tristram raised an open palm to greet him and, as the man returned the gesture, Ryan and Sophie noticed that instead of hands he had large pincers, rather like those of a crab.
‘Greetings Ainsworth,’ he said to Tristram, in a voice that crackled and rumbled like an electric storm. ‘New recruits?’
He eyed Sophie and Ryan keenly.
‘Absolutely,’ replied Tristram, gesturing for the two of them to step forward. ‘Ryan, Sophie, meet Mr Ulysses Rockwell. He is the vice chancellor of this facility and an expert in Physical Evolution.’
Rockwell gave them a curt nod.
‘You’re just in time,’ he said. ‘Head straight in and Madame Birchwood will see to you.’
Then, without further word, he strode past them and dived into the pool at the foot of the waterfall.
‘Busy man, him,’ said Tristram. ‘Splits his time between teaching and patrolling. Generally he likes to work alone, but he’s a good tutor when he’s in the mood.’
‘This is all starting to sound a lot like school,’ said Ryan, staring at the pool of water into which Rockwell had vanished.
‘That’s very true,’ replied Tristram. ‘But trust me, this isn’t like any school you’ve ever been to. You’re going to be begging to come back here to learn more. Follow me.’
Ryan gave Sophie a dubious glance, but she merely swished her tail and headed after Tristram. They were just rounding the next corner when a voice called out from above them.
‘Hey! Tristram!’
They all looked up and saw the face of a young woman beaming down at them. She had fair skin and long, bright green hair. Everything else about her was concealed behind the wall.
Tristram smiled.
‘Just a second,’ he said to Ryan and Sophie. Then he launched himself into the air and with a few beats of his huge wings he was level with the woman.
They appeared to share a joke, to which Sophie snorted and pawed at the ground with her hoof.
‘You’re really getting into this horse thing,’ Ryan remarked.
‘Shut up,’ she replied, and she turned to stare out at the beautiful vista behind them.
The mountain was conical, with deep furrows carved into its flanks by the rivers that issued from the Spire. Some of them split and followed multiple courses down to the sea, while others stayed as one, cutting deep ravines where the water disappeared from sight, only to reappear further down where the land flattened out. Not a single plant could be seen growing on the slopes, but as the two of them gazed at the landscape they began to catch sight of people moving through it; some alone, others in small groups.
There was a thud behind them as Tristram touched down.
‘Sorry about that,’ he said. ‘Old
friend I haven’t seen for a while.’
They rounded the next corner and arrived at the main gate. Here the waters of another river had been split in two and channelled so that it cascaded down either side of two massive marble doors. Standing between them was like looking out of a window with sparkling curtains drawn back on either side of it. They paused for a moment to soak in the spectacular view, before Tristram ushered them through.
They arrived in a courtyard that encircled the Spire. It was arranged in a series of shallow terraces, which followed the contours of the mountain and were bisected by a slope leading directly from the gate to a pair of towering glass doors at the front of the building. Overhead was a walkway leading from a balcony not far from the base of the Spire, which traced the path of two glass channels that issued from its side, carrying the waters of the river. Like spokes of a wheel, similar walkways projected from the Spire to the outer wall in each of the other octants.
Close to the gate the ground was worn smooth, and it was easy to see why. Over a hundred people were milling around outside the Spire, though the word ‘people’, Ryan decided, didn’t really do the scene justice. While he was aware that each one was the avatar of a sleeping human being, the sheer diversity was simply mind-boggling. There were mythical creatures, bio-mechanical creations, spirits, beasts and everything in between. Bipeds, quadrupeds and those with more than their God-given amount of limbs were all there. It was truly the most bizarre thing Ryan had ever seen.
‘It looks like the love child a sci-fi and a fantasy convention,’ he said.
‘You should