Boreas got out of bed when his alarm went off.
He had actually already woken up, but he had waited for the alarm to ring just so he could stay in bed a little longer.
After that, he got ready quickly, ran around the house, and finished everything in no time. He threw his backpack over his shoulder and set off for school.
Since his mother and father worked late hours, he spent most of the day alone. He did not even have a cat. And for Boreas, that was a huge loss.
Just as Boreas was about to drift into his thoughts, it started to rain. He pulled up his hood and slowed his steps. The walk to school was going to be long, and he loved the rain.
Under the sound of it, he sank into his dream world...
As always, a vast world greeted him. There was an enormous void behind it, and there were stars too, but that was not what caught Boreas's attention.
There were three landmasses in the world, large enough to stand out even to him.
The massive continent of Lwerta, the continent of Sunderia to the southeast of Lwerta, and the continent of Herdrass on the other side of the world.
Sunderia, true to its name, was covered in deserts. Herdrass was a huge, cold, mountainous continent.
Lwerta was relatively more ordinary. But it was enormous, and it held tons of people and countries.
Boreas had been going to Lwerta for a long time, and he was going to keep doing that. Because there were no people on the other continents. Those places were boring, not worth watching or imagining. At least, not to Boreas.
Boreas reached out toward Lwerta and touched it, and the moment he did, the continent began to grow. Or rather, it came closer. Closer and closer, until he arrived at a kingdom in the east of Lwerta.
At the same time, Boreas had accidentally lifted his hand in the real world, too. When he noticed, he shook his head from side to side, felt a little embarrassed, and returned to his dream world. It was much more fun there.
The name of this kingdom was the Kingdom of Jerta. At least, that was what was written. Boreas read the word letter by letter, and yes, that was what it said.
Then Boreas scanned the kingdom and moved closer to a child. After that, he imagined the child's story...
The child had red hair, and because of that, people often assumed he was a noble. It became an advantage, and the boy socialized and learned swordsmanship.
As time passed and he improved his skill, he managed to join a party made up of true nobles.
All of those nobles were corrupt, while the boy came from a simple, tiny kingdom. Still, he somehow kept up with them and did not fall for their tricks. Even so, he wanted to keep his place in the group.
Years went by. The boy's party attracted the attention of the greatest kings and welcomed many other rising stars. The party grew and became a clan. Humanity's first clan.
When Boreas looked at what he had made the boy achieve, he felt proud. Only... normally, wouldn't every party have a healer? This clan had none. Boreas wanted to imagine them too. He could imagine them, but strangely, those imaginings did not affect the boy at all. Boreas was surprised, but he chose to ignore it.
Then Boreas gave a name to the swordsman he was guiding in his dream world, a master from a small kingdom. He named him Lire. The name came from "dire." It could have been a nickname, too, but Boreas never made that clear in his mind.
The name Lire was carved into the swordsman's existence.
One day, a great king asked something of Lire's clan. Boreas was not sure what it was. But everyone in the clan looked as if they had fallen ill.
While Boreas was thinking about this, he had already arrived at school. He hung his backpack on his desk and sat down. He was the first one there... not that it mattered. He did not have any friends, after all.
At least, not in reality.
That was not a problem for him.
Boreas rested his head on the desk, grinned, and slipped back into his dream world.
When Boreas entered it again, he felt like he had missed something. The entire clan and the western kingdoms of Lwerta were gone. Even Lire was gone.
Boreas was confused. Still, he was used to encountering things he had not imagined himself, so he simply tried to rewind a little to learn what had happened...
--
That day, the clan was extremely uneasy. Everyone saw off their loved ones.
Everyone except Lire.
Lire was a mighty swordsman. The helmet he wore resembled a lion's, and the furs on his pauldrons were gifts from the king.
Anyone under his cloak felt safe, and anyone who saw Lire also saw him sharpening his sword. He did it often.
He was an honest and good man. Most people knew him as a hero.
On a day when everyone was anxious, he was neither unhappy nor uneasy.
Even if the others did not know it, he had been unable to reach his own family, too. After all, he was not truly a noble, and his family was not of any senior line. Reaching them was a long and difficult process. And if he did something too direct, his lie would be exposed, and that would not go well inside the clan.
Still, Lire was happy.
Extremely happy, grinning like a madman.
Three carriages departed from the massive guild building beside the king's palace.
Lire was sleeping on top of one of them. He was the only one who could sleep.
After a long journey through forests, meadows, and stony plains, the convoy stopped at the edge of a vast volcanic range.
Lire jumped down from the carriage and stretched. His beard fluttered in the wind. He felt old. Then he laughed and muttered something to himself. He drew his sword.
In the brightening daylight and the angle of the rising sun, Lire looked even more striking.
As noble warriors and powerful clan members passed by him, he finally came to himself and set off as well.
Today, a volcano was going to die.
At least, that was the plan...
"If only everything went according to plan." That was the thought that would pass through the minds of many clan members later. But Lire did not care. It was not his plan.
Boreas was woken by a child wearing a scarf. The classroom was already full, and the teacher had come in.
Boreas sat at his desk and listened... but he got bored quickly. He wanted to drift back into his dreams. If he did, though, he would probably get caught and scolded. So, sulking, he started scribbling into his book with his pencil.
He drew a stick figure holding a huge sword.
For someone his age, it was actually a pretty good drawing... but he still did not like it.
In the end, he leaned back, acting as if he were listening, and then he fell asleep with his eyes open. He slipped into his dreams.
--
Lire and his clan were inside a massive cavern. From one end to the other, it was filled with an enormous treasure hoard.
Of course, like everything else, it had a price.
He lifted his gaze from the treasure and looked at the gigantic dragon beside him, so huge that he felt like an ant in comparison. The whole clan, despite being practically on top of the hoard, still had not awakened it. Maybe they could take only a few things and leave.
But what the king wanted was not any of this treasure. The king only wanted the egg of that horrific thing.
Lire muttered under his breath. "I'll bring that greedy bastard its egg."
Then he drew his sword and moved with his clan.
The enormous dragon had pitch-black scales, a massive neck, and a breath that was unbearably hot. Every time it exhaled, red flames showed beneath the skin of its throat, and its eyes and lungs glowed.
The dragon's fury turned the clan to ash.
--
Someone nudged Boreas awake. This time, it was the boy behind him.
Boreas had accidentally closed his eyes, and the teacher had come right up to his desk, glaring at him.
In Boreas's mind, there was only one question.
"Teacher, what does bastard mean?"