Sea Dragon: Rise of the Lone Wolf

The House of Aetius

The sleep was fitful and uneven and did not bring any rest. He saw himself, but from a distance, as though he was outside his body, as though he was another person. He seemed to be unconscious and was lying down. Beside his prone form knelt a woman who trying to awaken him. She glanced back and then continued shaking his body with increased urgency.  Then something entered his field of view. Slowly it crept forward, toward the woman who was trying to wake him up. It was as black as darkness, sucking light and warmth into itself. Marcus tried to scream, but he could not move, could not make a sound, except watch as the form slowly made its way toward the woman. As it came into view, it took the form of a wolf. Fear crept into his heart. The woman turned and saw the wolf and froze. Then she screamed. The black wolf went down on its haunches, its tail motionless. In a split second, it launched itself, directly at the woman.  In that instant, the woman threw her body of over the Marcus' body. Her face turned towards Marcus and her eyes squeezed shut as she anticipated the impact. Mater! Marcus screamed.

His eyes flew open. His bed was wet, drenched in sweat.  His heart was racing and his breath was coming out in short gasps. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to calm himself down. That was when he realized that someone was standing next to his bed. His jerked as he turned to see who it was. It was another woman, and she was staring at him. She smiled reassuringly. He tried to smile at her, but all he could manage was a grimace.

“I am Aurelia” she said. “I have been waiting for you to awaken.”

Marcus nodded. It was all he could manage.

“Most dreamwalkers lose a lot of their strength during their dreamwalk.” She said.  “And looking at you, I can see that that you have lost more strength than most. I will help you regain your strength.”

“Ok” Marcus said. “How long with it take? To regain my strength?”

“Anywhere from three months to a year, depending on how closely you follow my instructions.”

Marcus nodded or at least he tried to. Then a thought suddenly occurred to him, and jerked forward. The resulting pain in his abdomen and the banging in his head forced him to lay back in the bed.

“Take it easy” Aurelia said. “Best not to make any sudden movements, or any movements at all. Your body can’t take it right now.”

Marcus nodded. That was somewhat evident.

“Do you know how long I’ve been … dreaming?” He said. His voice was barely a whisper.

“Dreamwalking? I don’t know, two or three years I think. That’s the normal length of a dreamwalk, but you’ll have to ask your mother, or the dreamweaver who put you to sleep to be sure.”

“Why?” Marcus asked. His thoughts were muddled with snatches of memories surfacing from his distant past. Aurelia looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Why you should ask the dreamweaver about your dreamwalk?” She said, slowly. Marcus shook his head.

“Why... why go... dreamwalking?” He said “What is the point?”

Aurelia sighed and shook her head. She looked at Marcus with pity in her eyes.

“Beats me.” She said with a shrug. “Unfortunately, the Hesarii do not dreamwalk, and my family have some distant ties to the Hesarii.”

Marcus stared at her blankly? Hesarii? It sounded familiar, but what came to his mind was a ruling committee. The Hesarion or something. Was she talking about a ruling committee?

“Actually, we don’t have the money.” Aurelia said after a few seconds. She laughed. “Dreamwalking can be very expensive, but the people who do it claim it has benefits. It gives vast wisdom, knowledge and experience. A lifetime’s worth, in a few years, if you believe the stories.”

She began prodding Marcus’ arms. He winced at her touch.

“From what I’ve seen in my work with people who have just awoken, it can be touch and go.” She said. “Some of them just go crazy, and cannot adjust to living here. Some kill themselves. Some just don’t seem to care about anything anymore. Some don’t remember anything from their dreamwalk”

“So why would anybody want to do this?”

“Don’t let me scare you.” She said “In most cases, dreamwalking is harmless. In some cases, the dreamwalker comes back changed for the better. Some say that the so called Sea Dragon’s battle prowess was as a resulf of his dreamwalk.

Sea Dragon? The name did not sound familiar to Marcus, even amongst his new found memories. He was about to ask about the name, when another thought occurred to him.

“Is this Old Archon?” Marcus asked. That was the name that came to his mind whenever he thought of his location. Aurelia nodded.

“Yes, Old Archon in Archaiea, the stronghold of the House Aetius, also the stronghold of the entire Archaiea, I might add, during the first and second Dhacian wars.”

Marcus nodded. Her words triggered some memories of history classes with an orator named Avilius.

“The first and second Dhacian wars,” Marcus said slowly, speaking words as his memory provided them. “When the city of Hesaria was destroyed by the Dhacian League, and Archaiea was almost overrun. When Aetius arose and opposed the Dhacians. He established the city of Archon, now called Old Archon, and drove away the Dhacians from all Archiea.” His words sounded to him as the recital of information learned by rote.

“You remember well” Aurelius said nodding. She took Marcus arms and slowly raised it. Pangs of pain shot through his arm. He gritted his teeth.  She gently flexed his elbows and the pain increased. She repeated the motion a number of times.

“And thus began the legacy of Aetius, and therein lies the origin of the House Aetius, the strongest and at the same time the weakest of the Archaiean houses.” Aurelia said, completing his recital. She walked over to the other side of this bed and took his other arm in her arms. Her touch was firm and warm.

Marcus remembered the words of his mother: Marcus Aetius Septimus. His name was Marcus Aetius Septimus.

“I am of the House Aetius” he said. He did not know whether it was a statement or a question.

“You are not just of the House Aetius” Aurelia said, with a laugh. “You are from the great branch of Septimus, and in case you have forgotten, your mother is a member of the Matriarchy, and your father, your father is the Lord High Tribune”

It all sounded important to Marcus but a bit distant. The thing that was closest to his mind now was the pangs of pain running through his arm, as Aurelia lifted his arm and flexed his elbows.