Drake and his men had marched through the night without break, each carrying their packs and weapons but still retaining their optimal pace. Their training from the halls had, at least, prepared them for such work. They had marched warily, as Drake had told them earlier, “As far as we can tell, the attack came from the west so we will head east towards the plains. There is a good chance we are already encircled though, be prepared at all times to engage the enemy. We will break through if we have to! There is no quick way to tell the enemy apart from the phantoms, so, if we see do the enemy, do not hesitate, just attack quickly and efficiently. We are in a hurry! If it does turn out to be nothing, then we will ignore them and just continue!”

Soon in, the group ran into only a small detachment of the enemy, perhaps patrolling the edges. They had marched straight into the enemy group, catching each other by surprise. Drake slew the enemy in front without hesitation and before the man even noticed he was there. It was a real man, not a phantom, and he died silently, falling down from the impact. Drake prayed there was not a magician with them or, if there was, that it was the man he had just killed.

There were only three of the enemy, now two since the first one died instantly. Horace quickly blocked any possible communication with the rest of their comrades and the six of them circled and slew the two with ease, ignoring the snarls and foreign language of the enemy. Drake understood the words though, strange phrases of curses and hate. He didn’t bother to translate.

Thankfully, it didn’t appear there was with a spell caster. After the last man fell, Drake singled them to keep moving, not letting them rest. The whole encounter only took a few minutes and it only increased the urgency of the escape. They cleaned their weapons and departed without another word.

They made it through the rest of the night without any other incidents, and with the rise of the Great Lantern in the morning so also came a sweet feeling in their hearts. They had exited the borders of the forest land only hours ago and were now upon the hilly plains. There were not any soldiers or outposts to be seen, but it was quiet and peaceful. They felt they had escaped.

Hourbour looked back and exclaimed suddenly, “Curse them, those filthy dogs! They are burning the territory down!”

The group paused and looked behind as well, Drake leaning on his spear for support. It wasn’t just their territory that was in flames, the whole west coast was darkened by the black smoke wafting from fires below.

“Is that normal?” Ashton asked solemnly. “Do they usually burn the territory they conquer?”

“Yes,” The magician said. Drake would have thought that the long trek would have been difficult for the lean looking magician, but he looked calm and fresh in the morning light. Everybody else was exhausted and filthy. “In the past, after every successful attack they would burn all the land they have gained. It may just be some sort of ritual, I don’t really know. They probably view it as some sort of cleansing; we do the same thing when we take back territory. But it is good news for us at least. They have only come so far as the flames burn, for now we are out of their reach.”

The men were relieved at the news, and some slumped to the ground to rest. Drake stared back at the land, his eyes straining to see the end of the smoke. “They have taken a lot of the forest it seems.”

“The outer edges at least,” Ashton responded, squinting in the light. “Most of the inner lands will not have been secured yet; not in one night. It looks like the river fort has held at least, that was the most fortified along the edges. But all the areas that only had scouts in them were probably taken with ease.” He gazed back from where they came. “It’s a good thing we got out when we did, our entire region is in flames.”

A cool breeze came across the plains, vaporizing the sweat on their bodies and giving them much needed relief. Heath basked openly and smiled in the sunlight. Micheal said suddenly, “What do the enemies do with the bodies? I wish we could have at least buried them.”

Drake gut twisted as he thought about all the men who had died. Gethroe, Dravis; all the men he had trained with; they were all gone in just one night. What would the enemy do with their bodies? He felt angry and helpless. “I never even had a chance to save them!” He thought bitterly to himself. What was the point?

The magician answered Micheal’s question, “From what we can tell, they do not do anything special with them, as far as desecration goes. As heartless as the enemy is in their battles, so also are they in their victory. Most likely, the bodies got burned with the rest of the forest, that is all.”

“That is a relief,” Vanyor said squatting down on the ground. “But either way it does not matter. They will be given new bodies in the salvation of Kami. It is not like they are gone forever, that thought comforts me.” The men nodded, but Ashton was silent. Drake knew Ashton had his own beliefs what happened to the dead. Drake did not have any comforting beliefs though. For him, death was simply the end, a black void. He did not believe in anything and the thoughts of his friends angered him.

Drake said suddenly, “We haven’t reached our destination yet! It is still a day’s march to get to Camp Newhouse from here, we need to get moving!”

“Drake!” Ashton protested. “That’s crazy, we are all exhausted! We are out of danger for now; we should just find a place to rest. We can continue when we are ready to march again.”

“No.” Drake repeated irrationally. “The enemy could be right behind us, we are not safe here out on the plains. We need to keep going!”

“There is no indication of that,” The Magician said seriously,.“This will be a multiple day campaign most likely, they will not start their next phase so soon.”

Drake was about to protest but there was a sudden sensation in the back of Drake’s mind, like the presence of another soul. He remembered how it felt from his time with Drfuil. He wiped around, alarmed, scouring the plains with his eyes looking for the enemy. It was empty and serene.

Heath asked hesitantly “Drake, what’s wrong?”

Drake turned to the magician and asked, “Did you feel that?” The magician shook his head, confused. Drake eyed the plains again. The sensation had only lasted a moment, but it was pungent. It reminded him of somebody, but he couldn’t remember who.

Ashton spoke now, “Drake, talk to us. What’s wrong? Did you see something?”

“No”, Drake responded, still looking away. “I felt somebody around…”

There was a pause. “You felt somebody?” Michael asked skeptically. “How do you feel somebody around, what do you mean?”

Drake looked back, realizing he didn’t have a good answer. Ashton spoke instead, “Drake we are all tired, and so are you. Well,” he added, looking at the magician. “Most of us are at least. You need rest too. And food. We are all hungry I am sure.”

Drake was suddenly tired, as if Ashton’s words reminded his body of something it forgot. “Alright. Fine” he said. “Let us take a short rest, eat, gather our strength. We will start moving again at noon, though.”

Ashton nodded, “Sounds fair.”

The group moved on and found a short hill they could hide behind. In the morning light, there was a nice shadow on the back of the hill to rest in. They quickly ate the rations they had on them and then rested with relief. The magician kept a lookout; he seemed to not need rest. During this trip, Drake had come to respect the magician more, begrudgingly though. Although the magician clearly could have moved much faster than all of them, he never complained about the pace or even the rest they were now taking. Drake wondered why he had disliked the man so much before, perhaps he was just biased towards the magicians. He didn’t know.

After he had closed his eyes, he fell asleep almost immediately, resting his head on his pack, the hill blocking the rays of the sun. The others fell asleep soon as well.

I was dreaming and in my dream I was standing on a tall mountain, so tall that the all around me cold snow lay plastered across the terrain blotting out all colors. My bare feet stood atop the snow impossibly without impression, but I didn’t notice that. The mountain I was on was all part of the same mountain range and it extended so far to the left of me that I could not see the end of them. The sky was clear and cloudless, only a bright sun and blue sky was there. To my right though, was the valley, it appeared that I was on the last mountain in the long chain.

Despite being so high up, I could see clearly all the lands before me, stretching out to untold miles. There were rivers and plains and forests and lakes; all the possible and endless terrains available to a world and it was glorious to behold. The great star was in the sky, lighting up the whole of the territory and the water sparkled in its beauty and the plants and trees tall in it. I looked still and saw the land turn in its seasons, from winter to spring to summer and then fall, each season bringing about its own beauty in an ever-changing world.

Suddenly, humans appeared far below. They domesticated the lands and cared for them as I would have cared for them. They created and built as only creatures with wills could have done. Now as I looked across the land, proud towers and cities stood. Ports and harbors and many masted boats stood in the waters. The land was richer and more beautiful than ever before and my heart filled with joy to behold it.

Suddenly, like a storm, a large darkness came across over my beloved territory. Wherever the shadow touched the plants rotted, the building collapsed, the rivers dried up and the people dies by the millions. I cried out in anger and distress and stepped forward to stop the destruction of my treasure, to smite the power that dared to tread about on my territory.

But as I stepped forward, the mountain below me started sinking suddenly and I fell along with it. With slow rumblings, the entire mountain chain started falling as well, crashing into the valleys and lakes below and destroying the world. I fell with the mountain, crashing into the land and then falling through it towards a void, escapable. Strong chains bound my wrists and my loneliness crushed my spirit and I called in in agony and despair. I was trapped in this cage, sealed away for all eternity. My heart broke and I cried out, if only my life could be ended to spare me from this misery!

Drake was woken up by Ashton shaking him slightly, and whispering intensely, “Drake! Drake, wake up!”

Sitting up straight Drake asked anxiously, “What going on? What’s wrong?” Tears were streaming down his face.

“You’re what’s wrong, Drake! You were thrashing around in your dreams, yelling even. You woke me up, but I don’t think anybody else has.” Ashton looked at him with concern. “Are you okay? You are crying.”

Drake rolled over and groaned; he was sore all over. “Yes, I’m fine.” He said angrily. He understood that the sadness was not his own, but he could still feel the despair in his heart. He wiped away the tears furiously.

Ashton pointed at his chest and said in a hushed voice, “Look Drake, your ring.”

Drake looked down and flinched. The ring was glowing slightly, only perceptible because they were in a shadow. Ashton looked mesmerized by the sight of it. He asked softly, “Why do you suppose I can see it, now? I haven’t seen it since the wagons in the wilderness. What were you dreaming of Drake?”

Drake grabbed the ring and chain and stuffed it down his tunic. “I try to keep it hidden, if only from myself,” He responded.

Ashton nodded as if he understood. He asked, “You had another dream about the angry god, didn’t you? I think that the ring appears when you are in contact him, no?”

Drake lashed out, “He’s a thousand, million, miles away in a whole different dimension right now, there is no way he can see me!”

Ashton smiled slightly, still looking at where Drake had hidden the ring, “You are overacting again Drake. I wonder why the lieutenant picked you as a leader when you act so unstable sometimes.”

“Dravis is dead.” Drake said bitterly, laying down and facing away. “Shows you how good his judgment was.”

“I don’t know,” Ashton said lightly, ignoring Drake’s foul temper as usual. “Dravis was a wise man I think. He was intelligent and brave, he proved that in battle. I think he saw and thought more than he let others believe he did. He knew he was going to die yesterday before the battle began, I’ll bet. It was his own principles that killed him in the end, not his error I judgment.”

Drake grunted, “Believe what you want. He was an idiot, though, who got not only himself killed but everybody in the legion. That shows you how dangerous a man like him is, how dangerous this faith in Kami can be.”

Ashton nodded solemnly and sighed. “I suppose you’re right, it was almost our death too.” He let the moment pass and then asked again, “What did you dream of Drake? I do not think you should ignore the visions you see, they might hold important meanings for you.”

Drake rolled over and challenged, “Like what?”

Ashton shrugged. “I want to know at least, if only out of curiosity. Not everybody has a mind link with a god you know, such a unique and powerful thing.”

“It’s not a mind link and it’s not wonderful, okay?!” Drake protested. “It’s a curse that doesn’t let me rest peacefully. It’ll probably haunt me for the rest of my life; I’ll never get a decent night’s sleep again.”

“The dreams are so terrible?” Ashton inquired. Ashton had been trying to get details out of him about the dreams for months now. Today, he was more relentless than usual, his eyes boring into Drake’s skull.

“Yes,” Drake stressed, hoping Ashton would drop it.

Ashton waited a moment and then asked again, “Do what did you dream about this time?”

“Good god, Ashton!” Drake spat. “Why do you want to know so badly? It doesn’t concern you!”

“Why are you so uptight about this Drake?” Ashton implored, “And it hurts to hear you say that I am not involved in this when I clearly am! But I will forgive you, please tell me!”

“Fine!” Drake burst. “I sometimes see his memories, and sometimes I just feel his emotions. It not pleasant, and not informative, it’s not wonderful! It’s mostly pain and agony about his current condition, trapped inside his cage unable to do anything. I get to experience those feelings as well. I hate it!”

Drake let his anger escape his mouth. Ashton stared at Drake in wonder though and asked simply, “You see his memories?”

It suddenly hit Drake why Ashton was so interested. To Drake, Drfuil was just a tormentor, but to Ashton, he was his long lost god out of their myths and legends. Ashton was like a child wanting to understand what his dead father was like.

Ashton said suddenly, “I’m sorry. If it bothers you so much, I won’t ask again.”

“No, no.” Drake replied, waving it off. “You deserve to know, i guess. I’m sorry I held it back for so long.” Drake took a deep breath, willing himself to face the memories he had. Drake started slowly, explaining what he saw and what he thought it meant. How Drfuil had created the world, saw that it was still empty and then had invited humans to live in it. How the humans planted, built, and enriched it. He told of the glory of the land in its golden age. But then also of the time of destruction and subsequent incarceration.

“I know the details are sketchy, but again, these are from dreams,” Drake said. “I don’t think I am supposed to get details, just the feelings he had.”

“And what feelings did he have?” Ashton asked his eyes bright with curiosity.

Drake suddenly felt uncomfortable, “You know, Pride and stuff…” Ashton waited patiently. “He really cared about the land, not just the people in it but the land itself. He taught the humans how to cultivate and tame it, he taught them how to build and create. He felt such joy at the works of the humans, kind of like how a dad would be proud of his son’s achievements. It would be true to say that Drfuil loved his territory and worked hard to create it into the image he thought was best. The humans thrived there!”

Drake’s tone got darker, “But then disaster befell the territory. I’m not sure why or how, I just know the feelings he had at seeing his territory getting killed and burned. Hate, anger, rage, sadness, and despair. The enemies locked him away in the end instead of just killing him so that he would have to witness the continued tragedy of his territory while he was helpless to stop it. That’s all he feels anymore I am afraid.” Drake shifted uncomfortably. “But this all happened so long ago, even he has lost track of the time. Now his land is just the wilderness as you see it.”

“I wish I could see what you have seen,” Ashton sighed leaning back. “To see the territory in its glory must have been amazing.”

Drake didn’t respond. He didn’t feel like talking about it anymore. It made him feel guilty and ashamed to talk to Ashton about it, like he had done something wrong. He turned away and tried to fall asleep again. Ashton was tactful enough not to question him anymore; he was content with what he had at the moment.

The day was growing hotter, and although the warm light of the Lantern was not reaching them at the moment, Drake could tell today was going to be a scorcher. He looked above; the sky was as clear now as it was in the dream and made him think about the gods. Did Kami have the same feelings regarding his territory? Drake didn’t know.

Ashton pulled out his flute from his tunic and then started playing softly. He had completed the flute only a month ago, to the joy of him and everybody in the camp. In the short times they were all together in the fort, he would play for them songs from the fireside. Now he played softly, and it was a tune Drake recognized, the one about the god in their lands.

After playing for a while, Ashton stopped and asked, changing the subject abruptly, “What are we going to do now anyway? Heath and the others are under the impression that we will simply fall back to headquarters and probably get reassigned to another division, or simply join with the next troops we find.”

“This talk about the past and then the future is confusing me.” Drake said, turning back to Ashton. “What do you think we should do?”

Ashton said sadly, “I do not know. I think time in this military will be the death of us, and soon. We were lucky to escape this last attack; we can’t count on that luck again. I had said this before, but I am now convinced of it. Us wilderness conscripts, we do not really have a place in this army. If we rejoin with the headquarters I am sure we will be sent to the front of the line again as scouts. But still,” he said looking back at the other men sleeping. “We cannot just abandon them either. They will get killed, soon, without us.”

Ashton looked back at Drake. The ring had disappeared again and Drake was looking at him with serious eyes. He said, “I could kill the magician. His spells won’t work on me you know. I could tell the others that he had turned on me or something. They would believe me.”

“Really?” Ashton said dryly. “To what end? How would that help us?”

Drake sat up, “We could lead them away from the military. Find a safe place to hide until the war is over. We could live out here, maybe.”

“And how would you convince them of that?” Ashton said, not taking Drake’s words seriously. “Getting the indoctrinated soldiers to run away would be hard enough, but Michael is a native, remember? I doubt anything will get her away from her city. You want to live out here? In the war zone? Or in the enemy territory? Good luck with that, if either side catches us they will kill us for being traitors or kill us for being enemies. And how would we get food? We get all of it now from Kami, I doubt there are many natural resources we can use out here…”

“Okay!” Drake said angrily. “I get it! It was just an idea.” Ashton snorted in amusement. “Maybe you should come up with an idea and I can make you feel stupid.” Ashton laughed again. “No seriously,” Drake said, “Do you have a better idea? I want to hear it.” Ashton didn’t respond. “Then shut up and go to sleep!” Drake turned over again and closed his eyes.

Ashton didn’t move, but sat thinking quietly. He said after a bit, “There must be something we have overlooked, something that can help us. I think we will find our ways eventually, for now, just believe.”

Drake spat back, “If I hear somebody tell me to believe in something again I am going to lose it!” Ashton shook his head.

As they lay down, there was a commotion above them and Drake sat up in alert. Ashton crawled up to peer over the hill cautiously. He said back down to Drake sarcastically, “If you still want to kill the magician, do it quickly! He is coming our way.” Drake looked up and crawled up to Ashton. “It is not noon yet, I wonder why he is coming over.” Ashton said.

“I’m sure we'll find out when he gets here,” Drake replied. “It probably isn’t good news anyway.” He turned around and slumped down again. Ashton did the same. They were still tired despite the brief rest.

Soon they heard the magician calling out to them. He sounded anxious and nervous. Drake didn’t like that sound and awoke the rest of the men. “Get yourselves ready!” he said sliding down to the men below and waking them. “The magician is nervous, so I am nervous too!”

They did so obediently, but a little groggily. They gathered their belonging and waited for the magician to appear. He did so readily.

“Drake,” the Magician said earnestly peering down from the top of the hill. “I have been calling your name. Get up here quickly!”

Drake climbed the slope for the third time “What is it?” he called out.

“The general magistrate is here to see you!” the magician squeaked out, something Drake had never seen before.

“Who the hell is the general magistrate?” Drake asked grumpily, reaching the peak.

The magician nearly exploded in indignation. Ashton had climbed up with Drake and asked curiously, “Coming to see Drake? Who would know he is out here in the first place?”

A familiar figure appeared in front of them. It wore a blue sash with a gold-plated pin on that glittered in the light. “I am the general magistrate, Drake.” He said coolly. The magician nearly bowed in front of the figure in reverence. “Though I suppose that title would have little relevance to you,” he continued.

Drake’s felt his blood pressure rise, “You!” he shouted, clenching his hands.

“Yes, me.” The figure said easily. Ashton only stared in bewilderment. “It took me a long time to find you Drake, imagine my dismay to find out you were part of a legion that was way out on the outskirts! But I am so glad to see you are safe.”

“Gatal!” Drake burst. “That was you I felt this morning, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, it was, I had been probing the fronts for a while looking for you.”

“What do you want from us now?” Drake said defensively, ready to strike if need be.

The figure smiled mysteriously, “Don’t be so hostile Drake. I come in peace, or at least, as peaceful as it can be in these times of war.” He stepped forward and reached out with a grin, “When I first saw you in the lower halls of the city I knew great things were awaiting you. Come now Drake, I will guide you to that greatness, and to the freedom I know you are looking for. In fact,” he said, bringing his arms wide. “I can offer you all that you wish for, if you just follow me Drake!”