Gelvian feels weak inside this void. He sees darkness but also light at the end of this emptiness. Since the Awakening, he was feeling weird. As if something that was inside his core trying to get out was finally unleashed. He barely had the time to process what had happened to him. The ritual and then a full-blown assault. Then treading this weird fine line towards Ravia? He still feels dizzy just thinking about it. On the other side, that felt natural for him to do. Before his thought became clearer. His mind become clouded.
He starts seeing things but doesn't know if they are real. Gelvian knows he is sleeping. 'Maybe this is all a fever dream?' he feels. Blurry memories simmer to the top of his mind. A familiar memory he didn't experience. Yet? A field full of blood. Full of corpses. A feeling of grief, of heavy loss. A sensation of him being in the sky? Cainyorf was beneath him getting further and further away.
'What am I seeing? Is this real? Or was it real?' The vision becomes even more blurry before clearing a bit. He sees himself from the outside, dead. Neck broken. A man has stomped down. Gelvian was lying down on the ramp, lifeless. That ramp where he was enveloped in wood and stone. Where his Teacher, his Master, Ravia fought for him and saved him.
A clarity has overcome him. 'I am... I am... seeing what could have happened.' The memories blur. He sees a dark cave and a mask staring right at him. Laughing. 'This can not be. I am imagining this.' The vision changes. This time an adult man is standing. His back strong and straight. His long brown hair flowed freely in the wind. His green armor pulsing to the beat of his breath. Where he stand the grass grows thick and strong. The air feels fresher.
He has a banner in his hand. Gelvian feels himself shift giving him the chance to take a peek at the man. Both are now standing in front of a field of thousands of soldiers. The only thing staring back, is himself. 'That... No. This is can not be me.' The face shifted to the same face he sees each time he takes a look at the mirror. The adult's face turned to Gelvian. His own face stared back at him.
"This is who you were meant to be." His face returned to his adult form. A strong chin. Fine cheekbones. An air of security surrounds him.
"A Druid. A Guardian. A Teacher. A Traitor. A Conquerer." A empty laugh escapes his adult self. "You are not me." He adds with a soft voice. "I am not you. As we walk down different paths now," The face of Gelvian adult self softens. "but you and I are still one."
"Explain away this vision all you want. You know what you have seen here is true." Gelvian face turned to confusion as he was interrupted trying to think of a rational way to explain all that is happening.
"... This is a fever dream. You and I are not even REMOTELY the same!" Gelvian pointed his finger at the Adult. His voice filled with anger and weakness.
"No. We are only similar. That day. Today. I was captured. I was sold. I was... forced." The adult smiled bitterly. "You will not share the same fate as I. You can become better than I, but be warned. While we are not the same. Similar things can- no will happen if we are not vigilant."
"You can not be serious," Gelvian said distrust clear in his voice. "Tell me what will happen? Prove it!" Gelvian nearly shouted.
A soft smile formed on the adult's face. "The gods are spiteful creatures and jealous Gelvian."
The adult turns away from Gelvian. "In a few years. Something will happen, something big. You will be chosen by the gods along with many others." The adult Gelvian looks into the skies as if recollecting. "Lightborn. The saviors of all. Chosen by the gods. That is what you and many others will be called. These will be those who you need to betray to archive our goal."
"I do not believe a single- goal?" Gelvian stopped confused.
"The world is in turmoil. You will bring order to this world as you did in your past. Remember your old world?" Gelvian shifts himself to now look behind the adult.
A massive horde of disgusting creatures is there marching towards them. They are far away but from here Gelvian sees Red skinned beasts. Greenskined humanoids. Even coal-black aberrations that are painful to look at.
His grown self seems to look strained his form distorting like an electric flicker before normalizing.
"What-"
"See what I mean? What happens today will be far into the future but before that, you must get stronger. You will not be alone. The other chosen ones will help you. In turn, you must help them. Trust them. Trust in the gods. Trust that-"
His adult self looks even more strained. "Trust only yourself. Betray the Lightborn. With that, you will find a way into a secure fut-"
"No-" His adult self painful cries.
"Yes-" The face seems to be split in two for a heartbeat before becoming normal.
His adult self seems to convulse and fail around very rapidly as if skipping movement altogether. Gelvian felt something hoist him up. As he looked down he saw a red-skinned arm stick through his chest. He turned around only to see the sharkish visage of something demonic grinning back at him.
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Gelvian woke up drenched in sweat. He flailed around in panic before someone pinned him against the bed.
"Calm down little one! You are safe." A familiar voice spoke to him.
As Gelvian ceased his flailing. He open his eyes and saw that Ravia was sitting next to his bed.
"Everything is fine." She said to him. He saw multiple bandages around her abdomen and arms. She looked beat up. Her sandy-blond hair wasn't as pretty as he remembered. As Gelvian turned around he saw other people also in bed and in various states of health.
"Where am I?" He asked looking down seeing his splinted right arm.
"On the plaza in a field hospital. Everyone hurt was brought here." She said.
"Where is my sister Levia? Where is Fang? Are they both alright?-"
"Peace. Both are fine. Your parents too. Both are busy working. Your mother is helping the ones who are in critical condition. As for your father he is one of the people organizing everything." Ravia said. "They both came by and visited all of you before leaving you in my care. Fang is near a fireplace warming himself up. He is grumpy." She added smirking.
Ravia smiled at Gelvian and petted the top of his head before ruffling his hair. "Thanks for saving my life. Little Gelvian. I would have died without your help."
"What?" Gelvian asked in confusion.
"Remember our bond? Our pact. You utilized it to give me most of your energy. It was just enough for me to close the deepest wounds. I was still bleeding after that."
"Oh, that is what that was. It felt weird to be wandering... I think you can call it outside of one's self? Where I wandered?"
"Well yes, that is an accurate description." Ravia laughed. "Our druidic talents are deeply connected to nature and life. If you were any weaker in your talent I think your transfer would not have been enough to save me."
"So we would have just suffocated beneath the ground?" Gelvian grimaced.
"Pretty much or I would have opened the holes anyway," Ravia said. "I would have been dead-" Ravia blurted out before catching herself. "There is so much that you need to learn," Ravia added with a tired voice. "I need to teach so much to you."
A moment of calm silence hovered between them.
"Ravia... I mean Master Ravia-" Gelvian said respectfully.
"Please little Gelvian you can call me Ravia without reservation. You saved my life. If you didn't earn my respect before you definitely did today."
"But you saved me and you got hurt in doing so." Gelvian countered.
"You are cute. Just accept the praise." Ravia said with a smile.
"Ravia... I have a question. Is having a weird..." Gelvian stopped taking a deep breath. "Is a weird dream normal after the Awakening?" Gelvian reluctantly asked. Unsure if Ravia would just brush his concern to the side.
She put a hand on her chin staring at the tent ceiling for a moment.
"Normally divine talented have those dreams. The gods talk to them or so they claim. I didn't have weird or special dreams when I had my Awakening. I only had a mountain bluebird catcalling other birds near my window." Ravia said pausing a bit before adding "This dream could be because of what happened today. It was a stressful day after all. Having dreams because something dangerous happened is normal."
"But it felt so real and so weird. As if they were memories-" Gelvian stopped himself. He must sound like a helpless kid he thought.
Ravia ponded to herself. 'He has a strong talent and is a smart student. He knows it is weird to ask me, about what he even himself describes as a dream maybe a memory, not a vision. I should hear out what he feels and thinks. I could gain a glimpse of his mental well-being. Keeping something like this bottled up could be bad for both of us. Remember Relios.'
"Tell me what you saw," Ravia said. "Everything. Do not leave anything out."
Gelvian was sure she would just brush him off. Relieved he told her everything from the weird memories where he thinks he was kidnapped to what he believes was him on a field-leading thousands against a swarm of monsters up to him being impaled and then waking up.
After he finished he held his breath awaiting the reaction from Ravia.
"This is quite ominous to say- That sounds really..." Ravia looks a bit stunned unsure what to say. 'He must have been scared so much. This dream can imply a lot of anxiety, fear and dread.'
"Wild." she says quietly. "Should something like this happen... Well, I would be there to protect you. You don't have to fear. You just concentrate on learning."
Her face turned into a slight grin.
"You will be learning more about other talents and your own in these coming months. Then we will go to Grove and teach you there," Ravia said. "And in a few years, you will be able to protect yourself too."
"But didn't my parents say-"
"I know what they said. I thought this place was safe. Your parents too. I will ask them tomorrow." She stood up and put a hand on Gelvian shoulder softly pushing him down. "Go rest now. Get some sleep."
Gelvian laid down and turned his back to Ravia.
Ravia continued thinking. 'What happened today was quite dangerous. Not only did the town get attacked. They got breached too. While he may not be at the age to be away from his parents. I can try to convince them to let both children stay at the Grove for a year or two.' She sighed to herself.
'Today will be a stressful day but as they say, you gotta strike the iron while it is hot.' As she got up to wander around 'Maybe tomorrow. They will see that as me being opportunistic in the worst case. Hopefully, I can convince them I am truly concerned for their safety... This definitely will go smoothly.' She ran a hand through her hair. "Who am I kidding? This can end with me being expelled from elven society but I can't let that sit on me." She said to herself softly. "But I have got to try."