Lloyd awoke in the middle of the night from an intense and emotional nightmare. His body shot upright, and Lloyd could feel the room spinning. He struggled with his eyes closed to find the sheets until he finally noticed that he must have kicked them off earlier in the nightmare. He planted his bare feet on the cold wooden floors, and Lloyd put his head between his legs and calmly inhaled and exhaled a few deep breaths. He could feel the sweat on his forehead, and the faint smell of magnolia wafted in through those deep breaths. The dream’s details drained away from his consciousness, but the emotions lingered. He had those sometimes. These body-quaking, nerve-end burning nightmares. Lloyd also had a bad habit of sleepwalking. When he was a kid, he would disappear at night and usually either end up outside in town or sometimes outside of the gates entirely. His sleepwalking died down quite a bit as he got older, but it would happen now and then. He always remembered feeling dizzy and sick to his stomach whenever he finally woke up, much like he did now. Living in a treehouse dozens of feet in the air wasn’t conducive to the safety of a young child, so Gavin and Tera ended up constructing a new room on the ground floor attached to Gavin's workshop. They were afraid that one night, he would sleepwalk right off the balcony and fall to his death. It was gruesome, but that was just the reality of it.

The stirring in his stomach calmed, and after a few minutes of careful breathing, Lloyd no longer felt like tossing his cookies. He got up, exited his room, and entered Gavin's workshop. Considering the closeness to the shop, the fact he had to walk through it to get to his room, and the desire for Lloyd to always make himself a better fighter so that he could keep up with his brother, he found himself in this room a lot. He might have caught up to his brother in talent, except Regal was as dedicated as Lloyd. Most days would consist of both of them going to school in the morning. Regal would train with the other Altereds, and Lloyd would swing his swords. Regal knew since he was ten, that he would join the Guard, and Lloyd hoped for those same years that he could tag along. It didn’t seem possible until this last year.

Lloyd grabbed his scabbard with his swords, slung his bow and quiver over his shoulder, and walked towards the workshop’s door. It must have been early, considering the sun had yet to rise. Luckily, the moon was big and bright. Enough light limped in through windows to help Lloyd stumble through the workshop. It was a reasonably massive room able to fit two or more houses within it. Copious workbenches were scattered on the room’s exterior, with yet-to-be-finished swords, daggers, and bows abound. One of the outside corners of the room housed the giant forge that Gavin used to smelt the various metals and add the multiple herbs and tonics and whatever else he needed in his Soulsmithing. Lloyd always thought having a hot flame directly next to their home was a bit dicey, but Tera told him many times that the tree could handle it. Reaching the workshop door, Lloyd slowly cracked it open and silently shut it behind him. He always liked exploring the town late at night or early in the morning when the people were no longer out and about. When he felt as if the world was his own. He delicately walked around various curves and roadways until he got to the eastern part of the village. It was a somewhat abandoned section of the town, with few houses dotting the roadways. A gate stood identical to the one Lloyd was dragged through on the west side of town the day before. The northern and southern sides of town housed similar gates as well.

“Up pretty early, are we?” Sally asked.

Lloyd nodded at Sally while he closed the gap. Sally was short and stocky, with brown hair matching her build, and blue eyes. She was in her early forties but had the reflexes and agility of someone half her age. She was one of the few citizens without powers who chose to defend it.

“Yeah, I just wanted to catch a little sunrise over the ocean,” Lloyd said.

“Been looking pretty clear all night. I think you’ll have a nice morning. Maybe I’ll hop up top and keep ma peepers on ya.” Sally said.

“I wouldn’t say no to a watchful eye.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Sally began to turn the crank that opened the gate. Before it was fully open, Lloyd began to walk through.

“Thanks,” Lloyd said.

Sally nodded and began to close the gate, which stopped in a half-closed position a moment later. Lloyd looked back to see what had happened and saw Sally looking at him.

“How’s you and your brother doing? Yous guys getting excited or nervous for the trip?”

“He’s doing pretty good. He’s been thinking about and training for this day for some time now. I think I’m about the same. Can’t go wrong with two Omegas being your escorts right? Although, I wouldn’t mind being teleported to The Citadel.” Lloyd said, thinking about how truly incredible that power must be.

“No thanks. I like ta keep my feet firmly on the ground. I just want to say that what you are doing is really brave. I really take inspiration from it. I wish more youngin’s were like you. It is safe here, yet you want to go into the unknown. Even before the Cataclysm, leaving your town for good wasn’t a choice many people made easily. I’ll make sure to keep everyone safe here.”

Lloyd walked back towards the gate with open arms. They embraced each other for a few moments before letting go.

“Thank you for that. Most people think I’m foolish to go,” Lloyd said as he readjusted his bow, which was slightly off-kilter from the hug.

Sally briefly chortled. “Meh. Most people lead foolish lives while pretending to be savants and sages. They tell you to stay because it is known. Even then, it’s foolish to assume you know what your life will look like when you avoid all the risks. Now, dangerous for sure, but such is life. If The Citadel is right, danger might be coming for all of us. Just watch your back out there.”

“Yes ma’am,” Lloyd replied, turning around to head to the shore.

After a short walk through the open meadows, he quickly found himself in front of one of the old fishing docks. The shoreline was littered with docks of various lengths; Lloyd chose the shortest one. Most of them were severely weathered, and almost all had damage done to them by the various beasts that inhabited the waters. The dock Lloyd was headed to had been worn down and washed away by the years. The remnants of the pier made for a nice short walk in the shallow water, which many larger aquatic creatures couldn't reach. He sat on the end of the dock and stared out into the horizon. For a while he sat in silence, his mind surprisingly still.

More time must have passed than he realized because the skies began to brighten as the red sun crested the horizon. There was a faint creaking behind Lloyd, and he didn't need to turn around to know who it was, or at least he hoped he knew who it was. Probably not good survival instincts to not check. Regal plopped down next to him a moment later, tossing his legs over the dock and letting them hang just a few inches above the water.

“Figured I'd find you out here when I saw you weren't in your room,” Regal said.

Lloyd continued to stare at the horizon as he answered. “Yeah, I woke up to a bunch of those nightmares and just decided I wanted to come out here.” Lloyd turned to look at Regal and saw a brief look of concern flash across his face.

“Quite the view, ain’t it?” Regal asked.

Lloyd breathed in the salty sea air as he watched the red-tipped waves ripple in the distance. He spotted a few seagulls soaring just above the waves and a significant disturbance of water a few hundred feet from shore, fortunately not close enough to be concerning. Yet.

“It is. How do you think the ocean will look in The Citadel?” Lloyd asked.

“Ocean on both sides, I think that’ll be pretty awesome. Plus, I’m sure the city won’t be anything to scoff at either.”

“True enough.”

The two men sat silently for a few moments before Regal spoke again. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to. Not sure what difference a pair of Omegas and a normie from the far Eastside of the Kingdom will have.” Regal said with a smile, staring into Lloyd’s eyes.

Lloyd loved his brother, but at that moment, he felt a wave of anger rush through him as his cheeks reddened. “Fuck that man! We have trained for more than half our lives for this. No way we let the Kingdom fall because we were too damn scared to try!” Lloyd yelled at his brother, angrily staring at him. Lloyd knew it was probably over the top, but there was no way he was going to give up on his dream, and damn sure he wasn’t going to hold Regal back because he was concerned about him.

Regal returned the stare until a smile cracked the facade. Regal elbowed his brother in the arm before he spoke. “Good, bring that energy with us. You know I wouldn’t want to go on this trip with anybody else.” Regal said and then stood up. He extended his hand towards Lloyd, who took it and was yanked up to his feet. For the second time that morning, Lloyd was pulled into a hug. The pair of men turned to walk back to town just as the sun had fully risen above the horizon.