Finally.

Leandro grinned as he realized he finally had nothing to do. Not yet, anyway. Not as Leandro. All of that business was taken care of. Taking a deep breath, he let himself become Læraðr, the change washing over him like a gentle wave. He twirled a bit, giddy at how his coat flapped around him, and took another deep breath, this time to calm himself down.

Tonight he was going to visit his Wonder. For the very first time. He'd been wanting to practically since the baton had appeared in front of him and imbued him with its power. (Only practically, though, since he hadn't quite known about the whole "Wonder on another planet" thing yet).

God, he was almost afraid to start. His heart beat so rapidly in his chest he'd worried someone had replaced it with a hummingbird while he slept. But there was excitement, too; an edge of anticipation so sharp it hurt.

Biting his lip, he took yet another deep breath and closed his eyes, thinking hard about his Wonder.

"I pledge my life and loyalty to Neptune, and to Læraðr. I humbly request your aid, so that in return I may give you mine," he whispered, then felt a gentle tug on his body.

Slowly, he started to look around, gasping quietly in awe. There weren't any fish in any of the pools of water that lay scattered around the coral forest—God, he wished he could see alien fish. But he knew there wouldn't be much life beyond the plants.

Wait. He peered around again, looking at the coral, and frowned. Weren't scientists coming to the conclusion that coral was an animal, not a plant?.... Well, it was alien coral he was looking at; it probably followed different rules. Bah, he wasn't smart enough about these things anyway. All that mattered was that there was pretty coral to look at and tend to, even if there wouldn't be any fish.

The coral looked... sick and lifeless. Even for alien coral. He frowned as he walked along the ancient grooved pathways, seeing larger and larger corals with outlines of doors and even windows. Man. The magic in this place must have been something, back in its heyday, he thought idly. So many of the doors and windows were cracked open, broken, shattered, outright gone, and he could peer into the homes they'd once been. Homes that had likely been cozy and safe once upon a time.

He took a deep, shuddering breath, and kept moving on, watching the dirt and sand he kicked up swirl through the seeping water at his feet. It seemed like water had gotten in somehow, or, hopefully, perhaps someone's faucet had been left on. Man, that was a lot of water to waste for this entire area to get covered in an inch or two of water, though he wondered how much of a drip it might've been left at, considering the "hundreds of years" thing between Knights. And there were still dry patches. No matter, though, he had no idea what happened, really. All he knew was that he hoped there wasn't a crack in the dome that slowly leaked water in.

None of this felt right. It was so barren and empty. Broken things everywhere, bits of lives that had long since ceased to be.

He felt like... like Mulan, when she'd walked up on the destroyed village and found the little doll. Things like that that he kept seeing everywhere as he passed by the empty homes carefully carved into the giant coral. So much just... gone. And with the enchantments on the openings in the coral houses broken, water had flooded in, destroying what little was left.

It felt so empty and terrible. He could see more sprawling little neighborhoods, created in synergy with the natural surroundings, between the branches of the large coral houses. It spanned for miles, and he thought to himself how it rather looked like a forest. He wondered what he'd find at the end of the path he walked on, if he'd come across something like a school, or anything like a church, or... He didn't know, maybe some kind of soccer field. Or whatever the underwater sport equivalent would be.

Heh. Underwater Quidditch with little fish as the Snitches. Now that would be interesting. What would the Quaffle or Bludgers look like? Would they follow underwater physics? Would there have been other magic in place? Now there was a thought. He imagined teams going out into the water and playing games with the fish. A Snitch fish. Ooh.

He continued to walk, head swiveling to drink in (hah) all the sights his Wonder had to offer, as depressing as they all were. Every once in a while, he found a home that wasn't broken, and he would open the door to peek in.

Even with none of the doors and windows broken, the indoors of these homes were still depressing. They may not have been completely waterlogged and ruined, but there was a thick layer of dust coating everything, all the surfaces. Any food had long since rotted away. Pans over stoves with no heat left in them and only dust over the long-since-gone attempt at cooking. Chairs tipped over.

And, of course, as if his Mulan comparison from earlier had come back to haunt him, rooms that were clearly children's, looking ready for the child to come back at any moment and play with their stuffed animals, representing Earth-like creatures and non-Earth-like creatures alike. At least, if it weren't for the dust.

Everything just felt so hopeless. Dead. Destroyed.

Holding back a shiver, he continued on his path until he came up to perhaps the largest coral in the forest. It appeared to be the size of a castle. He laid a hand on the wall beside the massive door. The coral still felt wet, and coarse beneath his hand, and... If he concentrated, he could feel the dull throbbing of life, just beneath the surface. Faint, with too-long pauses between each "heartbeat", but there.

He could help this place recover. Somehow. He didn't know how yet, but maybe there would be clues inside. The doors weren't locked, allowing him to push his way inside, the water falling away behind him as he shut the door back behind him. He wasn't sure where the light was coming from—some type of bioluminescence in the coral, maybe? He wasn't exactly an expert on these things, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that he could see. This must have been where his... ancestors? Previous life? Lived. The Læraðr before him. Suddenly, he wished he'd brought a notebook of some kind, so he could take notes. He was sure he wouldn't be able to read anything he found, and that translating any of it was impossible, but he could at the very least start gathering context clues or something, and hope he was right.

Or maybe he'd get blasted with a memory on his next visit. Or something. He wasn't sure. He'd figure it out as he went, probably. Hopefully. All he wanted to do was help fix this place up, and as he looked around the foyer, with its destroyed tapestries and rugs, cracks in the walls, water damage, all of it, everything he'd been feeling swelled up inside him and he let out a sob. This was the place he should have belonged to once upon a time, when everything was bright and shiny and clean and not in this totally tattered state of disrepair. Thriving with life and animals and people.

He wiped away some tears and took a shuddering breath, steeling his determination. He needed to focus.

"Hello."

The sudden voice made him scream and fling his weapon in the direction of the voice. He watched the weapon simply pass through the ghost oh God that's a ghost, a strange alien ghost with no resistance. The ghost looked bemused at the reaction.

"S-Stay b-back!" Læraðr said, grabbing his baton and holding it front of him, back pressed to the wall, "Don't—Don't come near me, ghost!"

The ghost let out a great belly laugh. "I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to," he assured, "I'm completely incorporeal. I can't do anything to you other than talk your ear off."

Læraðr shivered. "Then... Who are you?" he asked, lowering his baton and stepping forward until he was about six feet from the ghost.

"I am Zayble. I was the Knight of Læraðr before you," he said, bowing his head. "It's nice to meet my many-times-great grandson."

Læraðr gasped quietly and bowed back. "It's nice to meet you too... Grandpa?" he said questioningly, not sure if he should or not call Zayble his grandfather right off the bat like that.

Zayble chuckled. "Just Zayble for now, if that's more comfortable for you."

Læraðr nodded, a bit relieved by that.

"I had been wondering when I should show myself to you. If you would prove to be a good Knight for Læraðr," he said, taking a moment to look around at their dreary surroundings. "...It is only too bad that no matter how hard you work... There will never again be us here. Or much of anything living."

"I know," Læraðr said quietly in response, "But maybe someday... Something will happen. When we finally purge Chaos. I want our Wonder to look its best and be able to receive life if and when it can."

Zayble nodded approvingly. "Good man. You will make a fine Knight of Læraðr. I look forward to beginning your training."

"Training?"

"Of course. I have knowledge that you don't, about our Wonder and about fighting," Zayble explained, "About our people... who they were..."

Zayble drifted over to one of the portraits of what Læraðr assumed was his family—the royal family—and gently rubbed his hand on the frame. As much as a ghost could do so, anyway.

"As long as my soul is here, I will be helping you," he said as he turned back around.

Læraðr bowed. "Thank you. I won't let you down, I swear it," he said fiercely.

"I know," Zayble said, drifting back over and sinking his hand through Læraðr's shoulder in an attempt at comfort. "I believe in you.... What's your name?"

"Oh, it's, uh, Leandro," he said, smiling a bit.

"Leandro. I believe in you. As you yourself promised, you will do your best to restore and protect this place of ours, that this Mark seals for you in your promise. You will do great things, and I will guide you to the best of my ability. Though I may not be the best guide on human customs, so I wouldn't advise coming to me with lover trouble," he added for a bit of humor in the serious atmosphere.

It worked. Læraðr laughed brightly, looking into Zayble's face with a smile. "Hey, no need to worry about that being a potential problem," he said reassuringly, "I'm like, the Love Doctor back home. People come to me for advice. I won't be troubling you with questions about it. Though you might get to hear some funny stories."

Zayble chuckled. "Sounds good to me, Leandro," he said, amused, "I've been alone for nearly a thousand years. I'll listen to everything you have to say, so long as you listen to everything I have to say as well. Deal?"

"Deal," Læraðr said with a bit of a giggle. "I look forward to working with you. So, where do we start? What are we gonna do first? I wish you could teach me your language... Oh, hey, maybe you could tell me more about, like, your alien physicality?"

"Slow down, youngster," Zayble laughed, "All in due time. You look exhausted. And here, there is no consumable food or water for you. I think it is best for you to go home and get some rest. Come back when you can, and we will talk more, I promise."

Læraðr's shoulders sagged in disappointment, but Zayble was right. "Yeah... ugh, I wish I didn't need that whole food, water, rest, keeping me alive thing. Oh, oops."

Zayble gave him a disapproving look, but it only lasted about two seconds before he chortled. "You do not offend me, Leandro. Just be careful what you wish for, hm? Go, eat, drink, and sleep. You will come back when you can. And then your education begins."

Læraðr nodded excitedly. "Yeah. I really look forward to it. Thank you, Zayble. As soon as I can be back, I will."

He wondered for a moment exactly how he was going to get home, and very decidedly clicked his heels together three times while thinking about home. He was teleported home almost immediately and he staggered, sitting down hard in his kitchen chair and powering down. Wow. He was grateful he had leftovers to eat, as he shoveled it down his throat, chased it with some juice, and then went to go collapse into bed. He needed to sleep and have time to process everything he'd seen that day.

In three weeks, he'd be back.