Chapter 13

“...wake up, Victor Miller....wake up…”

The darkness ebbed away from Victor’s eyes, as daylight entered the barrack. Except it wasn’t the barrack. The ceiling rose far higher above than it had been when he fell asleep. Distant as the tallest spires of the court building, forged from a beautiful marble. He wasn’t in his bed anymore either. The floor wasn’t soft and warm. It was hard. Cold. Alien.

“...time to wake up, Victor Miller… lest you find defeat in the future...”

Echoes reverberated off the walls. Victor threw himself upright on the floor. His head throbbed deep within, as if someone had hit him directly on the brain.. He held a hand against his head, and struggled to get a grip on his surroundings. The floor he rested on was a white grayish marble, stretching all across the massive chamber. Massive pillars rose against the grey walls, holding the tall ceiling up with their might. To his left, a black door loome. It was thrice as tall as him.

Victor rose from the ground. “Where am I? And who brought me here?”

A voice echoed across the wide space. “That would be me, Victor Miller.” Victor’s head shot backwards. There, a figure carrying Eric’s appearance stood on a raised platform in the middle of the room, waiting for him. The figure shrugged as Eric would. “Here I am,” it said. Victor became wide eyes, and his breathing turned ragged. The body was the same, but the voice was nothing akin.. It was calm. Powerful. Authoritative. The mere tone made him want to kneel before this figure, as if he were a god deserving such praise.

“No need to do that, my friend.” The figure’s lips curled upwards into a smile.

Victor shifted backwards. “How did you-”

The figure put a hand up. “That is a matter that will become clear in due time. As for now, it is of far greater importance for us to talk about more urgent matters. Come to the altar, please.”

Victor slowly stepped towards the altar, his footsteps echoing over the pristine marble floor. He ascended the steps. A massive glowing symbol in the center drew his attention the moment his eyes crossed with it. The symbol glew red, and pulsated every few seconds. Victor had never seen anything like it. There was something alluring at play. Little pushes on the mind encouraged him to get closer...

The echo of a finger snap stung his ears. Victor was brought out of his trance to see the figure smile. “Not there, my friend. Opposite of me.” He did as was asked, and sat on the cold marble opposite to the figure, the symbol pulsating ever so brightly in between them. “Let us begin then, shall we?”

“Yes,” Victor said, before gasping in a large breath. “Who are you and why have you brought me-”

“No questions, please.” the figure cut him off, “I’m sure you have many questions that you wish to know the answer to, but I cannot give you them at this time. Some questions are better left unanswered. For now, all we will speak of…is that which closes in on the horizon.” The figure stared him down with a gaze of utmost seriousness. Victor reeled back, his body quivered. The air grew colder. All intent and willpower to rebuke this creature evaporated. Oh gods, please wake me up, I’m having a nightmare.

The figure chuckled. “These current circumstances will soon slide away, my friend. But that which stirs up ahead will never vanish, no matter how hard you try.” Victor bit his cheek again; this time it failed to stop his intensifying breath from escaping. Again this figure, this shade, read his mind. No matter his true feelings and opinions, this figure had figured them out, perhaps before Victor himself did. He sighed. Perhaps it was time to turn his mind off, and let the shade do the thinking.

“Listen carefully,” the shade said. “On the day you’ll awaken, a terrible fate will befall upon the Ravens Hill Civil Defense. There is no escaping it, no matter how hard you try. You must endure this fate no matter what, and the two men you call friends must make it to the other end as well.”

“Eric and William?” Victor asked. The shade nodded. “How do you know of them?”

The shade shrugged, again as Eric would. “I am well knowledged, as you might have guessed already.” He tilted his head, and the corners of his lips again rose. “Have you?”

Victor groaned, and reluctantly nodded. Sneaky bastard… “Yes, you seem to be a natural talent at mind reading.” He wanted to press him further, but there was no point. Any attempt to increase the heat would be shot down, after all.

“Indeed I am. Now then, let us continue, shall we?” The shade stood up. Victor didn’t follow his lead; the cold ground comforted him somehow. “You might be wondering why I am telling you this.”

“I do, actually.”

The shade’s gaze drifted away to a corner of the temple. “The truth is… even though today will be horrible, it will only be the beginning.” The air grew evermore colder. Chills ran up and down Victor’s spine. The shade now spoke in a distressed tone. Fear, from a being so ironwilled, so magnificent… Victor shivered as he pondered what frightened such a being.

“W-what do you mean?” Victor asked.

The shade’s gaze slowly fell back to him. “That things will get all the worse from here on, and that you better prepare yourself.” The Eric-looking creature walked up to him, squatted, and rested a hand on his shoulder. “If you have any questions, I suggest you ask them now. I must return soon.”

Victor gulped down the saliva in his mouth. “When is this attack of yours coming?” he asked first, trying his hardest to hide his own worries.

The shade breathed in, and out. “Your own body will tell. If a sudden sharp sense of danger arises, you’ll know.”

A soft, nervous moan erupted from Victor’s throat. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

The shade closed his eyes. “As you depart from the ruins of the Triumph, your shy friend will have a little accident. When that happens… you’ll know,” he said. His eyes flew back open. A white shroud arose out of his eyes, and took the world in its grasp. “It appears our meeting ends. One final thing… you have my condolences.”

* * *

“Vic. Vic? Ey Vic! Wake up!”

The dimly lit barrack reemerged in Victor’s eyes. A groan rolled out of his throat, as he woke up from his awful rest. His head throbbed, as if he had a bit too much to drink last night. He wasn’t a drinker though, so that couldn’t have been the cause. His vision was blurry; the light from the little lantern hanging on the wall seared his eyes shut with tears. His limbs were exhausted, despite an entire night’s rest.

“Doesn’t he look rather tired, Eric?”

“Yeah, he does, actually. Vic, you there? Something the matter?”

“uuurgh...” Victor ears heard Eric fine; they were the lone body part not aching or throbbing. “I guess so, Eric. I had the worst dream just now. And you were in it.”

“Oh?” Eric raised an eyebrow. “Did I somehow get in your dreams last night? Heh, that would be pretty impressive, actually.”

Victor’s head rose from his pillow. He rubbed the tears out of his eyes, and sighed. “Well, I guess you were in it. Your voice sounded odd, though. It was a lot deeper all of a sudden.”

Eric laughed. “Was it? I thought it was deep enough already. What did I talk about in there, anyway?”

“I don’t know, to be honest. You, or whatever it was, warned me about something. Apparently something big is going to come today. He also said William will trip on the streets.”

William staggered backwards, as Eric laughed. “What? No, I, I don’t trip easily, you know that!” he said, a hint of desperation in his voice. As if his honor had been damaged by a mere dream.Victor scoffed. I didn’t think people take weird dreams so seriously. Then again, my mother always told me that you learn something new everyday.

“‘s just a dream, Will. Don’t worry about silly things like those,” Eric said. “Anyway Vic, do you think you’ll be okay for the day, or do you want a little extra sleep?”

With resistance the whole way through, Victor dragged his legs out of bed. “I’ll be fine, guys. Maybe breakfast will solve it,” he said, as he slowly lifted his entire body off the bed. He stretched his arms, and let out a massive yawn.

“Alright then, Vic. See you at breakfast in a bit,” Eric said. He signaled to William, and they left for breakfast, leaving Victor to his thoughts. The shade’s warning echoed over and over in his mind. The possibility was slim and over exaggerated, but it was there alright. Wouldn’t it be better to have a little extra rest? Then again, he’s no stranger to odd dreams. Once he got to see his house burn down to the ground, and that vision didn’t come true either.

After a minute spent pondering, he headed for breakfast. Chances were strong that it was a mere headache, and that proper nourishment would strike it down. The dimly lit basement corridors were barren; everyone else in the court was enjoying breakfast already. Victor increased his pace. Already the sluggishness in his legs faded slightly.

The jovial old man greeted him as usual when he walked into the dining hall. He was seated by his two friends; the old man had picked up on that. Eric and William greeted him, and stopped eating for a moment. “‘s bit of a bastard move to chomp on your food while your friend’s got none, you know,” Eric explained. The old man returned not long after with another tall mug of milk, and a plate. This morning’s meal wasn’t anything special: Bread with a dash of butter and a slice of Origin Cheese. Victor didn’t mind. Well, one needs the plain and ordinary in life to make appreciating the special possible, or so my mother said.

Breakfast passed as it always did. Casual banter, a filled stomach,all things that help someone wake up. Breakfast in this clean, well-lit hall would brighten anyone’s spirit. Helping further was the pleasant air; the windows up above were put ajar, and thus brought freshness into the hall for all to enjoy. Breakfast in this clean, well-lit hall would brighten anyone’s spirit.

After everyone finished stuffing themselves, the guildmaster rose from his chair and ordered his men to retrieve all they brought along with them on the expedition. It was time to go back home. Or what they called home, anyway. Going back to that stale old headquarter would be a challenge. Victor sighed as he got out of his chair, his two friends following his lead.

They entered their barrack for the final time. Victor slung his supply bag over his back, and put his sword in its sheath. He shot a glance back at the room as he left. Goodbye, soft bed. You will be missed. Eric closed the door behind them, and they were off for roll call. Victor’s headache had passed, but his legs were still exhausted; their healing process had ceased. He dreaded the road ahead. Guess this is the calamity that figure meant.

A bright blue sky greeted the company as they left the court. The temperature was perfect; warm enough to avoid the cold, and any excess heat was nullified by an occasional breeze . The three walked southwards down the Dusk Street. The street served as a marketplace for the locals, and as such bustled with people browsing the items on display. Fruits and vegetables, carpets, furniture, freshly baked bread, all was on display catching attention.

Half the guild was already in formation by the time the company arrived. A few minutes passed, and the guildmaster arrived with Roderick. Roll call went as usual, complete with stragglers arriving midway through the proceedings. Once again they were made to wait, and received a firm yelling after the guildmaster had finished reading off the list of names. Victor felt for them. He understood the need for it of course, but those who didn’t stay overnight at the court wouldn’t have any idea when the departure time was. Some appeared hungry, their legs trembling from exhaustion. Not that the guildmaster cared.

“Alright, enough of you idiots, in the line with you. Quick!”

The humiliated stragglers fell into their positions, already drained. The long road back to Ravens Hill lay ahead, uncaring for the emotions of those travelling over it.

“You’re all in formation, looks like. Alright, move out!”

Feet clacked forward. The march of the Civil Defense had resumed. The guards raised the portcullis, and bid the men a final goodbye as they passed by. As they crossed from the cobblestone to the dirt, by some odd streak of misfortune, William foot slid into a crack. He tumbled straight forwards, planting face first into the dirt. He lifted his head off the ground with a groan. His face had become dusty.

Victor stuck a hand out. “Need help, Will?”

“No Victor, I’m fine,” William said. He swept the hand away, and pushed himself off the dirt. “It’s like I’ve tempted fate. Your dream said I’d trip, I thought otherwise, and yet here we are.”

Victor bit his lip, and shrugged. “Crazier things happen,” he said with fake optimism. His mind dawdled back to the shade from his dream. Its warning echoed like a bell in an abandoned alley. One of his predictions, the way by which he intended to establish trust, had come true. Nerves crept up his spine. It was still far fetched to fully believe him, but genuine fear now stirred within; something lurked nearby.

They moved on into the Nightsilk Forest. That served to calm his weary mind. The threat remained, but nature remained peaceful as ever. Roderick once again brought out his magic and illuminated the woods, their beauty revealed to the world once again. They were beautiful still. The tall black flowers basking in their clearings, the Dragonspiders lurking about the woods by their nests searching for a meal, all set to the oddly comforting sounds of boots squelching into the dirt.