Agony of decision

Back in his room, Pafe listened to the sounds of thunder raging outside. Through the window, he could see the chaos unfolding behind the castle's walls. The world blurred into a watery haze as rain lashed against whatever lay in its path.

Droplets trickled down the stony ramparts, forming muddy rivulets as they hit the ground. The earth, already saturated, gave in to the relentless assault, turning the usually lush grassy fields into a terrain full of treacherous sludge.

The weather reflected the stormy interior of Pafe's mind. Sitting on the animal hide covering his bed, his thoughts grew darker as the tempest worsened.

With each lighting strike, his rage grew stronger. The muscles in his jaw tensed, each breath drawn through gritted teeth, the air hissing like an angry serpent.

It wasn't fair, he thought. His inner being could not accept what happened. His mind grew clouded, filled with reflections of past injustices. He wanted to hit his head against the wall, just to stop the pain.

He couldn't live like this. There was only one course of action left for him. That was the only way out.

Escape. Oh, how he longed to escape. To run away. Far, very far.

Maybe he would find the legendary Dragon River, flowing from the mountain caves where the ancient dragons used to dwell. In the tales told in front of fireplaces, the river empties into a lake.

Apparently under this body of water, the dragons would often find their last resting place. It is also where their blood used to mix with the elements. Drink the water, and you are infused with magical powers. At least thus say the legends.

Pafe stood up, took the bag he often used on his solitary hunting expeditions, and stuffed it with whatever he could get his hands on. Food and water. Clothes. Coins.

Fastening his sword under his belt, and grabbing his bow and arrows in his left hand, he was ready to leave.

--

The escape

Sneaking behind the castle guards, the young man entered the secret tunnels running underneath the castle, and culminating in the fields outside. They were meant to serve as escape paths in case of dire need.

Usually, the tunnels were filled with armed men strategically placed at different points. This time, due to his father's funeral, only a few kept watch. And Pafe knew where they were located, so it was easy for him to bypass them.

After some time of wandering through the underground passages, he reached the end. Opening the hidden hatch, he exited the tunnels into the outside world. Immediately, the pouring rain hit him hard.

In his mind it didn't matter, he had to press on. Not even stormy weather can stop him. The mud made it hard for him to run across the open field into the forest cover a few paces away.

Finally, he managed. He was now deep into the trees, hidden from view, and protected from the elements.

Pausing for a moment, he caught his breath. In his haste, he had forgotten to take a look back at the castle. He didn't even get a last glimpse of the place that had been home for his entire life.

Maybe it was for the better. He must let go of his sentiments. They would only burden him. He must stay strong. There is a long mission ahead of him.

He walked, and walked. For hours. And hours. During the darkness of the night.

After a while, the storm subsided, and he could march without needing to look for cover. He had deliberately pushed on through the deepest parts of the forest, keeping away from the roads. No one would find him here.

Spotting a covered place, he decided to camp out for the rest of the night. Tired after many hours on the run, Pafe fell asleep immediately. Waking up the next day, the young man continued on his journey, not stopping again until it got so dark he couldn't see where he was stepping.

Thus, he continued for several days. Always taking care to follow the remotest paths, he managed not to come across a single soul. It was on Monday noon, five days into his flight, that he reached his first destination.

Perched high on top of the tall rock in front of him, he saw the outlines of a castle. It was the border post of the Dragon clan's domains, the last stop before enemy territory.

Beyond lay the lands of the Unicorn clan. The two clans had been feuding for generations. While this rarely escalated into armed combat, there was no love lost between the two groups.

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Pafe knew he would have to be extra vigilant in the coming days. However first, he must get around the castle. Without being spotted by anyone.

As part of his military training growing up, he had studied the maps of the area. He knew exactly where to cross. There was a remote spot, a few hours walk from there, which was full of dangerous jagged outcroppings and steep ravines.

It would be crazy for anyone to try to walk along there. Thus it was the perfect place to get through undetected.

This would not be an easy feat, so Pafe decided to rest a bit before attempting it. Hiding in the bushes, he had the perfect view of the castle in front of him.

Gazing up, he took in the sights, going over every little nook and cranny of the building. It could be the last time he ever saw any part of his family belongings.

At the edge of the rock, lying a bit to the side of the castle, he spotted a familiar structure. It was the monastery he had visited with his mother when he was just a little boy.

Dedicated to Funak, the god of healing, this rectangular building was built ages ago on top of a gaseous hot spring that had sprung up from deep within the mountain.

Apparently, it had healing powers, and people with incurable illnesses would sometimes come there to try to get healed. His mother had brought him there when he was gravely sick. In her words, it saved his life.

The monks grew a variety of healing plants on the grounds. When he was staying there, they fed him a mix of their strange concoctions day in and day out. At the same time, his mother spent countless hours in the middle of the monastery's gardens, kneeling in front of the statue of the god of healing. She was praying for her little boy to get well.

Pafe remembered how every night, the head priest would come to him to tell him tales of the ancient gods and heroes. One particular story stuck in his mind.

It was about the creation of the world. The sagely old man dressed in brown robes recounted how in the ancient days, the time before time, the gods used to live in a crystal city high up in the heavens.

This current world was back then just a dead rock, with no air, no humans, no life. The gods came down and decided to create a majestic garden. The first day they created the air, the next day they filled the world with oceans, the day after they created the plants, and finally they populated the land with animals.

Resting for several days, they saw that something was missing. They were enjoying the bounty of the world they constructed, but felt they could share this plenty with others. On the last day, they created the humans.

Made in the image of the gods, humans were not as powerful as them. They did not have the magic powers the eternal creators of the world had. For many millennia, gods and humans shared the world. It was a golden age.

Then darkness came. Monsters flew down from the sky. Raining thunderbolts, they destroyed the cities. The monsters were defeated, but the golden age was no more.

The gods departed, and the humans were left to fend on their own. From those days on, the gods reigned from far away, only rarely intervening in the affairs of humans. At first, glorious creatures like dragons still roamed the land, sky, and water.

Unfortunately, over time, the magic slowly trickled out of the world. The dragons disappeared, leaving behind only their descendants in human form. This is where the Dragon clan, the Tanamuse, came from.

Little young Pafe loved this story. The head priest's tales sparked his curiosity. He had thousands of questions. The old man did the best he could answering them, but not always was he successful.

Looking back on it all, those memories stayed etched in his mind. In lots of ways, they formed him. He felt a hint of sadness. Gazing up at the castle and the monastery, it was like seeing a part of himself.

Now, he was determined to leave all this behind.

--

Fear and doubt

Perhaps Pafe took on more than he bargained for. The path he chose led through almost impassable terrain. Scrambling over rocks, then slipping on patches of powdery terrain, before once again crawling through tight spaces. It was all part of the game.

With each laborious step, he battled against the relentless pull of gravity, his boots skidding on loose gravel, threatening to send him tumbling into the gaping maw of the jagged ravine.

The young man on the run spent more time falling down than actually standing up on his feet. His knees and elbows bloodied, he struggled on.

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, his clothes turning soaking wet. It was man versus mountain, and the mountain was winning. It took Pafe almost the entire day to pass onto the other side.

He felt a sense of enormous relief when he finally made it onto flat ground. However, this feeling was short-lived. Down on the ground, he spotted an innocuous looking marker. A unicorn head.

He was in enemy territory. This was the land of the Unicorn clan. He must be extra careful now. At any moment, a border patrol could be passing through. If he were discovered, it was likely off with his head.

The idea was to pass through as quickly as possible. Get in and get out.

Walking briskly for an hour, he found a good hiding spot. That's where he settled in for the night, his first in Unicorn territory.

As he lay there in the open, exposed on a freezing night, he reflected on all those evenings he had spent alone in his room, looking at the wall and wondering why no one wanted to play with him.

His mind went racing. Flashes of his childhood came back in a sequence. Then the gravity of the present situation dawned on him. He realized where he found himself. Far away from home, far away from everyone he had ever known.

His entire body started trembling. Quick, halting breaths came in at irregular times. Pafe felt scared. Previously he had been alone, but always surrounded by people. Now, there was no one in sight. He was truly alone.

Other thoughts came into his heads. Why did he escape? What was the point? What was the end goal?

Fear was replaced by doubt.

Was it revenge he wanted? Was it to show them who is the boss? Or was it simply to prove them wrong, that he indeed is worthy?

That didn't matter. Mere survival was the only important thing for now. Where was he headed? He didn't know. He just wanted to get away as far as possible.

As the night grew deeper, he found himself not able to sleep. Images started appearing in his head. The same ones he had seen after ripping out his eye.

The most prominent of these was the dragon. Dragon. Dragon. Dragon. It kept appearing again and again.

"Damn dragon! Get out of my head!" He mumbled.