*1 rand = 68 minutes
Chapter 6
Dream
~Aaron~
The odds of a cat defeating a dragonet are not very good. The same goes with a thirteen year old against a giant. That’s why I ran to the guy who was at least two times bigger than the boy, why Brand and Gret ran to him; we didn’t want the boy to die.
As I heard the crunch of the windpipe I realized that Gray wasn’t as helpless as we thought he was.
“Hey,” was all Gray said when he saw we were staring at him. Here was a good-for-nothing-boy Gray standing in front of a grown man writhing on the ground in pain.
“Wow. I think I really hit my head hard earlier. Guys, you wouldn’t believe what I’m seeing.” said Brand rubbing his head.
“I think we’ve all hit our heads pretty hard,” said Gret. I agreed.
I didn’t bother closing my mouth; I’d seen how Gray had evaded all those swings, how he got hit with that sledge hammer, how he used a rock of all things as a weapon, it was all too much.
With one fluid movement Gray sheathed the sword he just used to cut off the tall guys beard. He walked over to us, other than a slight limp he didn’t show any sign of just fighting; he hadn’t even broken a sweat. The impassive look on his face showed none of the excitement of the fight seconds ago, it was just another day in the life of Gray.
Hands in his pockets he stopped a few steps away from us. Before any of us could get another word out the announcer’s voice bellowed to the crowd, “And the winners of the first battle today are the Dragon Seekers!” The crowd applauded screaming, to the right of us the entrance door opened and inside unseen to the audience was the official beckoning us inside. We started to walk over there; I looked behind and saw two doctors treating the tall guy and the officials dragging the rest of the Three Knights away. When we walked inside the official greeted us with a smile, “Congrats on making it through the second round. There’s a room waiting for you.” Tired from the fight we didn’t complain and followed him, he took us to a room that had more space than the last one and had three cots instead of one. There was a table with a chair and there were torches that brought more light into the room.
“Your possessions will be brought to you and at noon food will be provided,” the official then exited the room.
As soon as the door closed Brand swiftly said, “I call this one!” and jumped onto the cot right next to him. Rook, without a word, threw his things onto the base of the second cot then collapsed onto the bed. Gret, Gray, and I looked at the cot at the back of the room and then looked at each other. I knew Gret wasn’t selfish at all and wouldn’t try to take it, Gray didn’t seem to care about anything, and I, well, I didn’t want to just take anything…
Gret laughed, seeing our problem, and turned to Gray, “You’re wounded, sit down.”
I was a little surprised, but didn’t mind and pulled up the chair and sat in it facing everyone. Gray seemed hesitant but sat down anyway; Gret kneeled down in front of him, “Now let’s have a look at that leg.”
Gray appeared reluctant at the idea and crisscrossed his legs; I marveled at how he was able to do that with such huge boots. “Aren’t you hurt to?” he asked.
I shook my head, “Those thugs didn’t give us much trouble; I just got a few bruises, you guys?” the others shook their heads, “Now we saw that mallet hit your shin, I’m surprised you’re not begging for magic.”
Gray seemed to shrug his shoulder and I thought I heard him mutter, “Might as well…,” he uncrossed his legs and started to unlace his boots. I wondered how he could walk around in them; they looked like they were a quarter of his weight. And were those spikes? When he finished unlacing the boot Brand and I leaned in, interested in what Gray was so reluctant for us to see. Gray pulled the boot off the expose a pale, skinny foot. No, not skinny, girly. Maybe he covered so much because of how girly he looked.
He then rolled up his pant leg revealing an equally pale and feminine leg but I didn’t notice that. I sucked in my breath and Gret frowned a little.
“Ouch,” said Brand, I couldn’t agree more. That hammer almost hit his leg straight on and the hammer itself was huge but I wasn’t ready for the bruise on his leg. The guy must have bruised easily, it was already showing; Gray’s skin was a motley mix of green and purple along the whole side of his shin and the edges were a sickly yellow, my own leg started to throb looking at it.
Gray observed the wound with a detached air like it was a bug on his leg, “Hmm,” he said, “Not too bad.”
Not too bad? How much had this kid been through, even I, a former soldier, thought that looked ugly. I’d seen men cry from a bruise like that and Gray hadn’t even flinched when he got it. Gret lightly touched Gray’s leg, afraid to hurt him, Gray didn’t show any sign of being in pain, he just looked around the room humming.
“So, Gray…” I said a little awkwardly, this was the first time I’d really talked with him.
“Yeah,” he turned his head toward me.
“You were really…good out there.”
“Thanks.”
“Are you kidding?” said Brand, “He beat the shi-oh shut up Rook!- the crap out of that giant. Those were some awesome moves kid. I feel a little nervous for the way I talked to you back in the bar ha ha!”
“Thanks,” said Gray, a hint of a smile on his lips, “But you really weren’t that bad and I wasn’t that good.”
It occurred to me that Gray wasn’t being smug earlier, he was just telling the truth, as Gray talked I started to feel increasingly guilty about all my assumptions of Gray.
“You know, I don’t think we’ve really introduced,” said Brand, “I’m-,”
“Brand,” said Gray, “No need to tell me, I know all your names.” He said it without resentment or anger, again my sense of guilt increased. When did we ever acknowledge him?
“There’s no broken bones,” said Gret, taking his hands off the bruise, “the bones pretty badly bruised. I’ll try not to take long.” He then closed his eyes and laid his hands carefully over the bruise. There was a buzz in the air as the magic circulated around Gret and the bruise’s color slowly started to fade.
“So Gray…You’re like thirteen right?” asked Brand.
“I’ve already answered that,” said Gray.
“Well, how does a kid like you know-,” he punched the air and did a little reenactment of the moves Gray used earlier, pulling up his knee and dodging.
Gray opened his mouth about to explain but suddenly stopped and sighed, “Am I not truthful enough, Rook?” I was suddenly aware of a haze of magic in Rook’s direction, he casted a truth spell.
“I thought you were a non-magic user,” said Rook, narrowing his eyes.
“Just because someone can’t use magic doesn’t mean they can’t detect it,” said Gray and as if he could read minds he turned his head toward me.
“Whoa, that’s pretty handy,” said Brand, “You’re like Aaron.” It was true, I couldn’t use magic but I could detect it. Magic users could normally do it but non-magic people who could do that were rare.
Rook still looked at Gray, scrutinizing him. His magic didn’t disappear or lessen.
“Oh, come on Rook, don’t be such an a-,”
“Nah, its okay,” said Gray, “Answering your question, I didn’t exactly live in Dudlin Valley all my life. I’ve been to places, learned more than most. But I’d say I learned how to fight in Unkida.”
“Unkida!?” said Brand, “but that’s a jungle across an ocean!”
Gray didn’t seem to think that was a big deal, “I’ve been places. Anyway, I lived by myself there and learned what it’s like to really survive. In my free time I trained and honed my weapon skills and slowly I became stronger.” Wow, we sure picked up something.
“And you were how old?” asked Brand.
Gray thought about it for a second, “Pretty young. That was years ago though.”
“And your parents?” I asked.
“My old man’s up north that trash can rot in his hovel. I ran away from him years ago, before the jungle. And my mother…I don’t know. She’s probably dead.” It was sad to hear him talk; he sounded like he was talking about the weather. He saw our face and laughed without humor, “Don’t worry about me, I’ll survive.” I bet he could.
Gray pulled his leg away, abruptly cutting off the magic Gret was using to heal his leg, “Thanks but that’s enough, I’ll be okay.” The bruise looked better, it was more yellow than purple now. Gret started to protest but Gray had already unrolled his pant leg and put on his boot.
“Are we going to watch Ethan and his group?” asked Gray working on his laces.
His change of subject was apparent but I let it slide, “Why not? We’ve got all day,” I said. As if on cue the door knocked and an officer walked in carrying a pile of dirty clothes and four packs. He walked into the middle of the floor and just dumped everything onto the ground.
“Hey!” objected Brand and he rushed forward to check on whatever he thought was damaged.
“Sorry,” said the official panting, he looked like he carried everything all across the whole stadium. He turned to leave but I grabbed his arm.
“Do you know when Ethan’s group is going?” I asked.
“Do you know this person’s group name?” the official asked.
“Uh…” I never did ask him what he called his group.
The official nodded tiredly, “I’ll see what I can find out.” He left and we grabbed our things, except for Gray who had everything in his MAO. We waited for the official to come back, Rook and Gret fell asleep and Brand pulled out a book and was trying to secretly read it, Gray just stared off into space or was sleeping and I waited lounging on the chair. About a rand* later the door opened to admit the official that brought our clothes before, he still looked just as tired but this time he had a long sheet of paper.
“So Ethan right?” he said looking at me, I nodded. He scanned the paper, “Ethan…Ah, here, Ethan Jole. There’s also a Walker, Drake, Banson, and Oreman. Hmm…” he looked at it closer as if he saw something out of place.
“What?” I asked.
He looked up, “Oh, nothing. That your group?”
“Yeah, that’s them.”
“They’re the Griffon’s Crown, they fight last,” said the official looking at the sheet.
Griffon’s Crown? That was a pretty good name but was it allowed? The Griffon was the sign of the royal family, by calling themselves the Griffon’s Crown they were declaring themselves royalty.
“Could you tell us when they are about to go?” I asked, the official nodded jadedly then left without another word.
Brand yawned and stretched his arms, “Might as well get some Zs. If you ask me they woke us up too early.” He then fell back on the cot and within minutes he was snoring deafeningly with his mouth hanging open. Gret and Rook were still out; they were drained from using magic and went on being unconscious. I never really could tell if Gray was asleep or not, but his eyes always seemed to be staring right through me (I couldn’t even see his eyes for god’s sake).
I didn’t feel very tired; I was already awake and could never take naps. I sat there tapping the chair but I soon got bored and pulled out the map. It was old, very old, the paper might have been white once but now it was an aged tan. The map covered Kangrada, the country we were and the King of this region ruled, but more importantly it covered Cloud Isle to the north of Kangrada. I’d seen plenty of maps but all of them didn’t have anything on Cloud Isle, this one was different. Mountains and cities covered that spot that was always blank; Tiear, Wikaida, Puliedeth, all unfamiliar and tempting names. Spidery letters and scribbles drew a landscape I never imagined before. I spent hours memorizing the rivers and mountains. More than once my eyes went back to one name; Efedilia. My finger traced around it’s little picture of a castle and next to it there was two almost indecipherable words: Dragon Dancer.
“Where did you get that?” I jumped in surprise when Gray unexpectedly whispered in my ear.
“What’d you do that for?” I said in a high-pitched whisper, rubbing my ear.
Gray ignored me and stared at the map, he started to reach for it but I quickly grabbed it and stretched my arms out so it was out of his reach.
“Don’t! It’s very ripable and shouldn’t be touched by kids.” I said.
“Then shouldn’t you not be touching it?” asked Gray putting his hands in his pockets.
“Very funny,” I said and put the map back on the desk.
“Where did you get it?” Gray asked again.
“An old man gave it to me when I was in the guard.” I was a captain in the king’s guard, I gave the old man some warm food and shelter when his house was destroyed by a dragonet. He was so thankful he gave me the map; he said it was a family treasure.
“What was his name?”
“Jamal, I think…Why’d you ask?”
Gray gave a small smile, “I don’t know, maybe his name was Marvol.”
“Ha ha, that would be something.” Marvol was a famous mapmaker, his work was almost priceless. Maps by him were rare, I hadn’t seen one myself. It was said that if there was a map of Cloud Isle it would have been done by him.
Gray seemed to lose interest and walked away, I turned at the sound of the door opening. Gray was walking out.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“To get some air,” said Gray, “I’ll be gone for awhile.”
“Okay. Don’t get lost kid.” I said, turning back around.
“I won’t,” he said with a hint of a laugh and he closed the door behind him.
Gray really didn’t come back for awhile, rands passed in which I examined the map and paced around the room. Sometime later Gray came back, his arms full with food.
“The officials gave it to me,” he said when I asked where he got it. At the smell of food the others woke and happily grabbed something to eat. The meal was simple; brisket, bread, cheese, and a few apples, but it was good and filling. There was plenty of it, Brand had at least three persons worth of food.
When we finished eating everyone fell into a slumber, I think even Gray slept and of course I didn’t. More time passed where I studied the map and cleaned my sword waiting for the knock on the door. Finally the knock came and the same tired official poked his head out of the door.
“The Griffon’s Crown will be fighting soon,” he said.
Quickly I woke everyone up and we all shuffled out the door, the official led us to a place where we could sit and watch the fight, right on the outermost ring of chairs. By the time we sat down Ethan’s group wasn’t out yet, there was another group finishing up, the Excruciates. People were shouting one name, “LUE-COR! LUE-COR!”
“Luecor’s in the tournament?” shouted Brand over the audience; he looked into the arena excitedly. Luecor was famous in these parts; he was said that he’s killed more men than any dragonet. Many people came to challenge him all lost, no one could ever beat him. He was the champion last year; evidentially he had come back for more.
I didn’t know what Luecor looked like but as soon as I looked at the fighters I could tell who he was. There was a tall man standing in the middle with dark brown hair, he had his sword raised and he looked on at the crowd, encouraging their cheers. He stood on a man who was covered in blood; he would never get up again. Suddenly I felt it, a giant wave of magic coming from him and my breath was sucked out of my chest. This guy was a powerful magic user, so powerful he made Rook’s magic childish in comparison. How were we going to defeat him?
The announcer proclaimed Luecor’s group the winners, more enthusiastic than he was with us. The crowd quieted down and the arena was cleared. Again the announcer’s voice boomed, this time announcing Ethan’s group and another group called the Macabres. Ethan stepped out and we cheered for him and his group (all five of them made it), trying to be louder than the rest of the audience.
The fight started and the groups charged at each other. The red haired one, I think his name was Walker, stayed put and worked his magic against the other team’s magic user. Banson got out a club and started to fight against someone with an axe (not the one from before), another one who I think was called Oreman got out his sword and went and fought against a rather big guy. Ethan and his other team member (I don’t remember his name) faced off against the other two opponents who I suspected were twins. It didn’t take long to see that Ethan’s group was going to win; Ethan was an adept swordsman, his swings and thrusts were unpredictable and clever and his broadsword dealt heavy blows. The rest of the group was rather good too; all of them were clearly experienced fighters. Soon everyone of Ethan’s group won except for Walker and Ethan himself.
All of a sudden everything changed, and Ethan’s seemed to slow down, I turned my head to Walker and saw that he was on the ground, defeated. Ethan’s opponent realized this and from here I could see his smile. I squinted my eyes and could see black marks, ropes, wrapping around Ethan, restricting his movements. Taking his time Ethan’s opponent lifted his sword, about to make a killing stroke, Ethan’s group ran toward him, but they were too far and too late.
Ethan struggled but couldn’t break the ropes, the sword dropped toward his neck. At the last moment Ethan twisted his head, the sword almost brushing his face and spun his sword around and with a practiced hand cut the ropes around him, nearly cutting his own skin. His arms free Ethan lunged at his opponent, his sword stopped right at the skin of his opponent’s neck.
The crowd burst and so did my group and me. Ethan’s opponent dropped his sword and raised his hands in surrender, shouting at his magic user not to not do anything. The announcer’s voice boomed, proclaiming the last winner of the day. Hurriedly I motioned to the rest of my group that we need to leave before the audience started to exit. We got up and we asked an official if he could take us to Ethan’s group. We were guided to Ethan’s room and I knocked on his door.
“Who is it?” yelled Oreman.
“Aaron and company,” I yelled back.
The door opened, “Well if it isn’t the Dragon Seekers,” said Walker holding the door open. We walked in, just barley fitting in the room.
“Hey Aaron,” said Ethan tiredly from his cot.
“Hey,” I said, “Nice fight out there.”
“Thanks. You did a pretty good job out there yourself. You especially,” he said to Gray, “I think you surprised us all. Are you-” he suddenly stopped talking and stared at Gray.
“Thanks,” said Gray, “Should I call you Ethan?”
“I’d like it if you did. And you’re Gray?” said Ethan.
“Please.” I couldn’t help but think that there was something more to their conversation.
For some time we stayed in their room, talking about each other’s fights, reenacting certain parts. Gray’s fight was pretty popular as was Ethan’s. But for some reason Ethan seemed to be tense around Gray.
Too soon it became late and we had to leave in order to get some sleep for tomorrow. By the time we reached our room everyone was exhausted. I laid my mat on the floor and got ready to sleep; the others followed my example, Brand, Rook, and Gret (after some persuasion on Gray’s part) on their cots. Gray just sat with his back against the wall, and looked like he fell asleep. I fell asleep quickly.
That was the first night I dreamt of her.
Nightmares and dreams twisted together, littered in my sleep as usual. I lived in moments, forgetting they were just a part of a dream then forgot them just as quickly. Scene by scene passed by, they were confusing yet all seemed real in my dream-like state.
Abruptly it was different. I was in a dream that was clear; I could think straight, I knew I was asleep and I knew who I was. I was standing on a white floor; there were no walls or ceiling, just an abyss in all directions of white. Then a sound filled my ears, a girl sobbing. The sheer amount of grief in the cry made my blood cold and I felt compelled to find her. I ran, trying to find the source and slowly I saw a figure in the distance. Getting closer I saw a girl, no older than me, sitting on a small white chair hunched over. I slowed down and walked over to her as to not scare her, as I got closer I saw her back was exposed and…wrong somehow. I stepped closer and I slowly realized what was so wrong with her back and felt nauseous. Silver lines covered her back, scars, hundreds of them. But what made it so grotesque was that they formed to intricately detailed wings on her back; someone had used her flesh to make the most lifelike carving I ever seen. She was still crying, her shoulders violently moving up and down. On impulse I reached my hand out to comfort her, as soon as I touched her shoulder she turned around, cold gray eyes met mine.
“Aaron?” she whispered and my name rang in my ears like she shouted.
I was suddenly thrown into another vision. I stood in a building, it’s floor coved in a pool of blood. Mutilated bodies were strewn across the floor and in the middle I saw the shadowed figure of a child. From the child’s hand a drop of blood fell.
I woke up with a start. Putting my hand over my face I found tears there. Quickly I wiped them away. What was with that dream? It was so surreal yet awake I felt that the girl and the child were real. I was shaking, looking around I checked to see if any the guys saw me. Gray sat across the room, facing me. Embarrassed I stopped shaking. I watched him, waiting for him to laugh at me or make a smart remark. He just sat there and I realized he was probably asleep. Either way I was thankful.
I lay down on my mat, taking shaky breaths. Sometime through the night I fell asleep again, only flashes of the vision were left.
