There is no trouble telling winter is here, I can barely breathe, the gusts of thick, cold air has left a fiery sensation throughout my body, the ice pellets that have been raining down on us for days has finally stopped, the sheet of white frost was blinding with the glare of the sun reflecting off of it just as it was about to set. for miles all I can see are trees glazed with frost, although it is beautiful my face has become numbing, if not for the sheepskin cloaks Morgana made for us and the leather boots we stole from the dead bandits we would probably be frozen over by now.
"Morgana. lets set up camp here for tonight, we have a long journey ahead of us if we are going to bring you back home. We are going to need to feel our toes"
"Yes master, I will get to it right away"
"How many times have I told you, do not call me master, I did not break you free from those bandits to serve me, out here we are equals and you are my companion. Now go fetch some firewood"
"Yes sir"
"Please, call me Zane"
She nodded as she went to search for firewood.
Maybe the best way for her to really accept me is to actually treat her like we are equal and stop bossing her around. After all a woman as beautiful as her i'll want to leave a good impression.
"Come back, I will go fetch the firewood why don't you relax and try to get warm"
Morgana smiled "Yes sir, I mean Zane"
I knelt down as I reached into my satchel to grab a blanket for her to warm up, I gazed into her eyes, not noticing before how beautiful they were before, the color resembled the prettiest shade of blue as if a lake has just barely frozen over, her long brown hair had just the perfect amount of curls, when hit by the right amount of sunlight you could see the tones of red in her hair. something about her makes me feel different when I'm with her I have this feeling of power and greatness coursing through my veins, almost like a feeling of compulsion. Although it has only been two days and we hardly talk, I need to get to know her, I stood back up.
"Here take this blanket and get yourself warm while I search for firewood"
"Thanks," She said as she smiled and wrapped herself in the thick wool blanket.
"I will be back with some wood in no time"
As I'm walking over the icy ridge returning with the firewood I hear what sounds like a cry for help in the distance, I stop for a moment and as I'm at the top of the ridge, I try my best to look around but all I see for miles are thick layers of trees covered in frost. I wait a minute and hear nothing, I come to the conclusion that my mind is playing tricks on me again, it's just the wind.
I then make a quick movement to turn around losing my footing, falling backward's down the icy ridge as I tumble and roll, the wood I was carrying falls with me when I finally land at the bottom I feel a sharp pain coming from my right leg. I raise my head with the last bit of energy I have left and all I can see is blood, one of the pieces of wood has gone clean through my right leg. My neck starts to shake as I'm losing strength, I let my head go and it smacks off the ice, unable to move I become dazed, all I can hear is ringing my vision starts to go black as I go unconscious.
Suddenly a loud voice awakens me from my sleep.
"Zane get up"
I open my eyes frightened by the loud raspy voices demands.
Only this time I didn't see the beautiful glazed ice on the top of the trees or the glare of the sun on the ground, it was dark and the sky was tinted blood red, all around me was darkness the few things I can see are impossible. Stone pillars that stand twenty feet tall, five of them forming the shape of a pentagon, each with the engraving of ancient sigils. This was dark magic the kind that hasn't been seen in hundreds of years it is sacrificial magic. I continue to look around. as I climb the top of the rocky hill, all I see is chaos the white marble walls of paragon are crumbled to pieces, the remaining walls that are left standing are colored dark from all the ashes. the citadel has fallen and the city is burning above the city a dragon circles maintaining the same strafing pattern scorching the remaining parts of whats left to paragon. You can see the dragons bright yellow eyes from miles away, the silver spikes from head to tail and the ferocious red colored body.
"This is impossible," I said aloud
"Dragons have been extinct for hundreds of years along with the sigils that were marked on those pillars, whats happening, why am I seeing this?"
The raspy voice from earlier begins to speak. I turn around to face it.
In front of me stood an old man hunched over with a walking cane, you could tell he didn't have much life left in him, raggedy grey robes all torn up, the hood he wore covered his face, he begins to speak.
"It's sad to see such a beautiful place has become a such a nightmare."
"Wh wh who are you?" I stuttered in fear as I spoke to the strange man.
"My name is Alden, I know you are confused, but I ask that you stay calm and come with me."
The strange man grabs my hand, he then uses his free hand to hit the cane off of the stone platform we stand on. instantly we are in the middle of paragon. All around us are homes burning to the ground, civilians running for their lives, screaming in terror as they wipe the soot out of the eyes of the children they carry. I am at a loss for words, I cant speak no matter how hard I try.
"Don't worry this isn't real, not yet anyway. This is only a vision that I have created to show you what is to come."
Finally pacing my breath I am able to form a sentence.
"What do you mean?"
The strange man lowers his hood, His eyes glowed with the same glossy yellow as the dragons. So intense that one cannot stare, across the left side of his face are deep scars that look to have been inflicted by a sword, the right side of his face is burned so bad that the skin gives off a slight glare under the lighting of the nearby flames, the burns go all the way down to his covered torso which might explain the raspy weak tone to his voice.
"There is a dark wizard rising to power, he goes by the name of Xanthos, potentially the greatest dark wizard of all time, he bends the laws of nature and abuses the gifts he was given, rather then using his powers for good he seeks chaos, thrives from it. The day is coming where the world will know his name and tremble to say it."
"What does any of this have to do to me?"
"You see son, you and I are much alike and in time you will have the answers to all of your questions, but you are not ready, the purpose of this vision is not to answer your questions but to show you one of the many possible futures."
"So I'm gonna assume you won't tell me how we are alike?"
"In time, for now, I need you to do something for me"
"There is a man who I am going to send you to, he goes by the name of Boman, when you arrive in Paragon he will find you, trust him and listen to what he has to say. He will help you find the answers you seek."
"Oh and one last thing Zane, be patient with yourself and others, things may never be as they seem during this time, you will learn more as time goes on."
Before I have the chance to form a sentence Alden hits his cane off the ground once again and vanishes leaving behind a red residue drifting in the air.
I begin to feel comfort and suddenly soft warm hands touch my face.
"Zane wake up."
I open my eyes
"Morgana! what happened?"
"You tell me, you had me worried sick."
"Well you see I was collecting firewood when I heard a scream, as I went to look I slipped and fell down the icy ridge and well as you can see the branch went into my leg and I must have blacked out. Why are you looking at me like that?
"You definitely hit your head alright, look around."
I raise my head and find myself at a loss for words, there is no snow. I see the bright green forest, the suns rays are illuminating through the openings in the treetops, the sky is a bright blue, filled with clouds, not even the slightest breeze in the air.
"Morgana, what happened to me?"
"We went our separate ways to get wood for the fire and I came across you just laying here unconscious, you must have fallen and hit your head."
"Yeah I do have a bit of a headache, maybe you are right"
I look down to see there is no cut but I am at the bottom of that same ridge I fell down only no snow, what on earth is going on? first the dream and now this. What is happening to me?
"Maybe we should set up camp here for the night, I think I could use the rest to clear my head"
"Sure thing."
I stand up and stumble as the rocks beneath my feet slip.
"The ice that I apparently imagined must have taken a toll on me"
Morgana giggles, I smile at her knowing I made her laugh.
"I tell you what Zane since you are still a little dazed how about I go and fix us a campfire and you relax"
"No its fine, I can do it"
"Its ok to need a woman to take care of you, most men do. No need to pretend to be tough."
"What do you mean pretend, I am tough."
"Have a seat tough man I will be back soon."
She grabs my satchel off the ground and begins to walk away from the trees to light a fire.
I shake my head in shame knowing I have met someone as sarcastic as me. I grab the remaining pieces of wood on the ground that I had dropped and make my way over to her.
"That was fast, how did you light the fire so quickly, you were not even gone 2 minutes"
She winks at me and flips her long brown hair.
"Magic of course"
As I roll my eyes at her in response, I lay more wood aside for us to burn after as well as the big brown bag I use to carry two quilts which were made of homespun wool by one of the elder ladies in Paragon, she gave me them before I left, both are equally as soft and fluffy as she used the highest quality of wool. One is red with a blue dragon crest stitched on the center while the other is blue with a red dragon crest stitched on the center both made with such detail you can count the scales on each dragon and you can stare into what looks like two real sets of eyes, one with yellow eyes and another with blue. Each quilt has different words written across the bottom but it is not a language I'm familiar with.
"Here Morgana, take one of these."
I hand her the red quilt.
She leans over to glance at the writing on the quilt I have.
"Cum unus cadit draco, a versus draco resurgemus."
"Wait, you understand what it says?"
"Of course I do I'm a woman of many talents when you combine the writing on the quilts it says, When one dragon falls, The true dragon shall rise. It is written in an old form of Latin, this particular form is usually only written in a prophecy that is written by prophets themselves. How did you get your hands on these?"
"When I left Paragon there was an elderly lady gave them to me, told me they will keep me warm and provide comfort on my journey."
"Do you know who this woman is?"
"She said her name was Porrima."
"You do realize that the name Porrima is an alias to a goddess named Antevorta, if what you are saying is true then you were visited by someone with the gift of sight, one who is able to see the future, These quilts may have a very important meaning."
"Something else happened to me when I hit my head. I dreamt of a dark world where Paragon was burning down by a dragon, there was an old man in grey robes, his face was scarred with burns and slashes as if he has been through hell and survived, his eyes glowed with a fierce yellow the same as the dragon in the dream, and the same as the one on this quilt. He claimed that there is a dark wizard rising to power and that he endangers the world and he is sending me to Paragon to find a man named Boman"
"If what you are telling me is true Zane then we must find Boman, Where I come from there were many ancient books and journals kept in our library's forbidden section, there was one journal in specific that spoke of a man with dragons blood his eyes glowed of the same yellow you speak of, it said that the one who has dragon blood has the ability to conjure the power of the dragons allowing them to perform powerful magic and in some cases they can even control them."
"How is it exactly that you came to know of all this?"
"When I was growing up I had an interest in history and myth's, my mother used to sneak me books and teach me to read whenever father was away. I was fortunate enough to have picked up other languages along the way such as the latin on your quilts."
"Well, you had a better family then me by the sounds of it, when I was a boy my nights consisted of being beaten or watching my mother get beaten by our drunken father. One night I got between him and my mother and he pinned me to the wall and cut my right cheek with a knife that had been dipped in nights torment, the worst poison you can inflict on someone. It creates a deep sleep and accesses your fears and uses them against you, creating your own personal hell to relive over and over until woken, a couple of minutes in real time could be a year in your head, If not for my brother Ashton giving me the antidote I wouldn't be here right now."
"You should never assume anything about ones past, although what happened to you sounds torturous you were not there to see all that has happened to me, I didn't get here today by having a free pass of being highborn, I had to work for my freedom. I spent most of my years as a prisoner locked away or tortured because my father was on the run and I was the one who got caught."
"I meant no harm, Please give me a cha-"
"Forget it, its time I get some sleep, we have a long day tomorrow if we hope to reach Paragon."
As Morgana lays down by the fire facing away from me I lay down on the opposite side to give her some space, I feel really guilty for what I have said but I also think she overreacted. All around me is now dark, as time passes I have trouble sleeping. The cool breeze is causing leaves to rustle and glide through the air I can hear even the smallest sounds such as the owls hooting and the wolves howling over the nearby mountains, I look up to see the sky lit up by the bright full moon with too many stars to count, I begin trying to make shapes out of the stars as I try to fall asleep, I see what looks like a knight, another looks like a carriage, but the last shape I pick out is none other than a dragon.