The wind surged through the land with the force of a raging river whipping across the expanse of black sand below. Above, an owl bathed in hues of maroon glided gracefully, its wings slicing through the turbulent air. Amidst the chaos above, a distant sound echoed — the haunting chime of bells, a foreboding warning.
Before the fortified walls of the city adorned in regal green and gold, an army stood firm. Banners fluttered proudly against the raging wind, carrying the vibrant colors and emblem of the Empire.
Leading this formidable force was a figure draped in crimson armor, with a horned helmet crowning his stature. He stood resolute before the looming threat of the Xerxecians — an army of grotesque creatures poised to charge at a moment’s notice.
With a deafening, piercing screech, the horde then broke their ranks and charged towards the golden army.
The man in crimson armor raised his arms, a silent command that set the mighty army into swift, orchestrated, defensive formations.
The battle has begun.
Thunderous clash drowned the owl overhead as it watched over the killing fields below.
The battlefield echoed with the desperate cries of men — Xerxecians — engaged in the brutal dance of clashing swords and shattering shields. It was a symphony. A discordant tune of war playing out on the killing fields, an orchestra of two sides locked in a relentless pursuit of annihilation.
Death hung in the air, its weight felt on the owl’s glowing wings as it soared above the unfolding chaos. The creature, a helpless spectator, witnessed the tide flow of the battle, where the tide turned unpredictably from left to right.
Victory was certain for the golden army, as the battle endured until dusk.
Suddenly, a sharp sting cut through the owl’s senses — a shockwave through the very air it flew. Wild screeches filled the air as the creature struggled to fly. It circled back to witness an emanating wave from the battlefield, followed by an abrupt, blinding red light that swallowed everything. A stinging red light that threw her to wake up.
As she gasped for air, she tried to comprehend the whirlwind of emotions left by the dream — or nightmare.
“Was that… a dream?” Not knowing what it was, she wiped the sweat from her forehead; her trembling hands revealing her fear as if she were on the brink of death.
She didn’t know what to make of what her mind showed her. It puzzled her as she looked towards the balcony as Luna shone above. Seeking solace, she stepped outside to embrace the cool, night air. Her breathing deepened, her heartbeat raced, and wide-eyed, she was mesmerized, yet afraid of the sinking feeling she felt on her chest upon gazing at the Luna’s altered brilliance.
An ominous, frightening red glow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Under the dreary, overcast sky, Everess continued her exercise on the castle training grounds. Her eyes shut as she focused on the task of conjuring a shield around the training dummy. The shield pulsated with energy, but she grappled to sustain it, feeling the drain of exhaustion.
Then she began to remember the dream — the dream that repeated for several nights. Dreams or nightmares from different perspectives. A dream where she ran around, defending himself from their foes. As she noticed that in most of the dreams, she experienced the battle from different perspectives, engaged in a relentless battle, night after night. And every night this has occurred, she noticed a detail that eluded her. She was there as if she was a spectator, witnessing the battle from different points of view. Defending themselves from Xerxecians. Armedigors, vile creatures of hulking statures of Xerxecia of the Shardon Continent.
Some nights were worse than the rest. In these haunting dreams, the intensity of it became more apparent than some, but all of it stopped until a blinding red light jolted her back to reality. But it was not enough, as she felt the intensity, even in her waking hours. The brutality of the nightmares knew no bounds. Torn in half, impaled, beaten, and even trampled. All she knew too well was the feeling — something that she shouldn’t have in the first place. She endured the harrowing experiences as best as she could. But try as she may, it affected her. Her hands never stopped shaking, her breathing deepened upon remembering them.
Every waking day after the nightmarish dreams became tiring, and taxing of her energy. The energy she needed for her training and studies. With each waking moment, she found herself grappling with a weariness that extended far beyond the confines of her sleep.
She took several deep breaths, and then began to conjure a simple shield spell around the training dummy. She focused on it as she closed her eyes, imagined the dummy in her mind. She began to slowly construct the shield, she then began to remember the nightmares once more.
She struggled to keep her focus, but she did her best to do so. To focus her energies, to keep herself calm, and suddenly, the shield exploded. She looked towards the training dummy, only to find out it was no longer there.
She took a deep breath before as she struggled to stand up. As she stared blankly forward as she walked towards the bench nearby. She wasn’t able to concentrate, just like yesterday, the day before, and the day before that. The cause of this mental fog eluded her, casting a shadow of doubt over her attempts to overcome the lingering distraction.
“This is ridiculous,” she muttered under her breath as frustration grew clearly from her tone. She drank her water as she glanced over the pile of books she got from the library as she struggled to find a solution for her nightmares.
She’s been trying to figure out what her dream meant ever since that day. Even at that moment, her mind remained shackled with the vivid images and emotions she had experienced — or dreamed of. With all her knowledge, she found herself hitting a wall, as the quandary of reasons as to why she had them in the first place lingered. Her struggle with it showed, as it continued to weigh on her shoulders. With every attempt she already did, the mystery of her nightmares only deepens.
Her glance landed on a book, and quickly she grabbed the book of omens. A spark of hope showed on her face. If any book will have the answer, it should be this book. Signs in her repeating dreams, she tried to remember all of them, to try to find meaning behind them.
She knew fully well that she wouldn’t be able to study properly, nor will she be able to train with the energy she had. She already had trouble with her magic, even with the basics. The situation she’s currently in does not and will not help her at all.
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“I see you are trying to expand your horizons, my daughter. And with the book of dreams no less,” she heard her mother’s voice behind her. She saw her come as she sat beside her. “I thought you hated this subject?”
She sighed and immediately closed the book, putting it aside. “It’s not that I hate it,” she tried to explain, with a hint of frustration on her tone. “It’s just that it’s too trivial — too vague in the very sense of the word. Right now, something has been bothering me for several nights. And if I can’t get it out of my mind, it will definitely mess up with my training exercises.”
“I did notice you for several days now. Your mother is getting worried. I can see the bag under your eyes, the heaviness in your shoulders. Despite all this, however, know that everything will be alright,” her mother assured her.
They then both looked at where the training dummy once was. Her mother was stunned.
“Well, no matter. We can always have a new one placed there,” her mother turned to her. “And how is the search for the answer going then, my dear?” her mother asked.
She paused, a doubtful smile playing on her lips. “I’m close?” she sheepishly admitted. “The ruckus going on around the castle is certainly not helping.” She added.
Her mother giggled. “It’s not like you to be distracted by noises,” her mother pointed out. “Can you tell me then what’s this dream of yours that has been bothering you?”
She only looked at her mother and smiled. “Nothing for you to worry about. Pay no mind to it, Mother.”
“It’s hard to pay no mind if it’s already showing in you, my daughter.” She said. Her mother then hugged her, and gently caressed her long raven-tressed hair. “Everything you do is a bit worrisome, to be honest, my Everess. You don’t have to think about anything, really. It will just come to you like everyone does. You just have to learn to control it,” her mother told her.
Everess got confused and then quickly realized what her mother was talking about. She gently pushed her away. “No, it’s not about my magic. And to be honest, I am worried about it because at my age I still cannot control my magic properly.” She said frustratingly. “It’s embarrassing, you know, the only child of the House Ressei. Daughter of the most powerful Magister in all the Orderian. Daughter of the most accomplished Paragus in all of the Orderian! That your daughter is some sort of freak.”
“Oh, don’t say that,” she hugged her close once more. “Do not ever call yourself a freak,” she said, looking at her with a mother’s love. “And I promise you this, my daughter. The day will come when you will be able to control your magic. Just keep working on your runes and glyphs. Maybe try not to blow up another training dummy or your instructors by accident, all right?” she said with a smile.
She giggled. “Are you finally going to change the rules regarding glyph recitation? Because I can cast spells without fully reciting them out.” She grinned mischievously.
Her mother giggled as well, attempting to hush her. “Do not speak of that ability of yours, my daughter,” she said in a hushed tone. “Not everyone can do what you can.”
“The rules are a relic of ancient times. It already stood and made its point for centuries now! Maybe many people like me existed in the past, but because of this rule, they couldn’t fully realize their potential,” she explained to her amused mother.
“Hmm, I can see your point, my daughter. But still, we should have a record of that phenomenon regardless, if you think about it, right?” Her mother smiled at her with the question at hand.
She thought about it briefly and thought that she was right. So far, she even found a record of a person recording the greatest catch of his life off the coast of the Orderians. And that was one of the most intriguing that she found. Who knew there was an edible fish twice the size of a man? Since someone had recorded an edible fish twice the size of a man, which she found to be epic in its own right, she believed her abnormality should have been recorded too.
“Well, I mean — I have been looking into it as well. I searched the books in the Orderian Library but still, no luck,” she explained as she stood to stretch.
“Then maybe you are the first — a prodigy. But we must still keep this in secrecy until we know for sure that this is a new phenomenon amongst the Orderians,” her mother advised, attempting to boost her self-esteem. It was admirable of her mother to describe it as such. She smiled at the thought of it.
“Well, this noise isn’t going to help me either. I mean, I don’t get the fuss about an Imperial Diplomat visiting us. It already happened before. What’s so different about this one?” she complained.
“Ah, yes. The Imperial Diplomat arrived this morning,” her mother explained, her unease showed. “Until now, they are still in the council chambers.”
“We had visitors in the past from the empire. It wasn’t this grand, even for a diplomat. When we welcomed the Imperial Prince for the first time back then, now that’s a welcome he deserves. But a diplomat? Something’s wrong. I wonder what’s different now?” she thought out loud. She then looked at her mother’s hands and they were tight. She saw her mother trying her hardest not to show any form of anxiety.
“Well, it could be anything, I suppose. But still, something is different today. It should be nothing serious. What do you think, mother?” she tried to ease her mother once more.
“This book is indeed fascinating,” her mother suddenly mentioned.
She looked at her and saw her mother reading the book of dreams. She sat back down and they read it together when her mother turned to her.
“Tell me about this dream of yours. I wish to know. Maybe I can help?” her mother offered with a radiant smile.
“It was — odd,” she sat down as she stared into the distance. “It was as if, at first, I was a bird—like our Orderian Owls, flying over a field — a plain of black sand of some sort. And there was this huge city, with walls almost as high as the tower built into the rock mountain in the middle. Then with the same dream for several days now, it’s like I’m seeing what the soldiers are seeing.” She hugged herself as she was reminded of the brutality she experienced. “I even felt…death.”
She described it in great detail, as much as she could remember. She had memorized the dream as if it were part of her, not as a dream or nightmare, but rather like they were her lives. Multiple perspectives of it. Multiple deaths are all she has felt. She told her mother all of this.
“What do you think is the meaning of my dream, Mother?” she asked, trying not to look as worried as her mother clearly was.
“Are you sure you haven’t just been reading some odd book?” her mother asked, her voice a bit shaky.
“No, I even went ahead and checked those books. It’s not really there. The only city described in great detail is the Imperial Capital, Tamara. But like I said, Mother. The other thing that sticks out though is a general in a huge Taranos if I’m not mistaken. Clad in red armor. I wasn’t able to get close to the general. I wasn’t able to see his or her face.” she explained. Now that she thought of it though, it was her very first dream of this.
She did get close but from the back, until the blinding red light came and she woke up.
Her mother was worried and stood up. She was oblivious to the sudden change in her mood.
“Is there something about my dream, Mother?” she asked, but her mother paid no mind to it.
“Are you certain of what you saw? Of who you saw? Are you certain of it, Everess?” her mother asked out of the blue.
“Well — yes. I mean, it was fuzzy, but every time that person came into view. It, like, clears up. It is clear that person wore an armor of red and black, with a horned helmet too,” she answered nervously. She could see her mother’s hands shook.
“Now that I think about it. The emblems on the flags and banners I saw in my dream looked exactly like those on the side of the diplomat’s carriage. Also, the banners that are currently hanging near the gates, all of them were familiar.” She realized it just then as cold sweat ran through her body.
Was it really a dream? Was all she could think of. For that dream to be true, she just witnessed something that she shouldn’t have. What could it mean?
She was confused and bothered by this, the more she thought about it. Her mother then grabbed her by the arms. The look in her eyes frightened her.
“Are you certain of what you saw?!” her mother suddenly asked.
She can see in her mother’s eyes something she only saw once when she fell down a tree at a very young age — fear.
“I — I’m not sure,” was all she could utter.
“Whatever happens, you tell no one of this until you are certain of what you saw. Do I make myself clear?” her mother said — more like begged, as it sounded to her.
Her eyes shook — she was afraid. She doesn’t know how to react at that point.
“Mother, I don’t understand—”
“Pardon the intrusion,” they turned to the guards that suddenly came. “Princess Everess is being summoned to the council chambers.”
At that point, she didn't know what to think, or why she was suddenly summoned. All she knew was that based on how her mother reacted to her dreams, that this could be connected of some sort. Her chest tightened, for she knew something was wrong.
End of Chapter I