Daryn lay in bed, tossing and turning. In his dream he was running from something. He couldn't see it, but he knew it was there, just behind him. He ran faster, but pulled up sharply at the edge of a cliff. He looked down, then up and froze, seeing the castle above him. He heard the thing stop behind him and turned. He saw a huge griffin, its golden-red feathers blending to the tawny fur of the leonine hindquarters. On its head he saw a fiery red stripe running from the base of the beak up between the eyes. He knew this meant something, but couldn't remember what. The griffin screeched and started glowing with a violet light. He closed his eyes quickly, the light becoming as bright as day.
"What the…" Daryn looked around, the dream over. He was still in one of the guestrooms at Cilen's house. Shaking his head, he lay back down and tried to get back to sleep.
Shanaya stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours before she fell asleep. Soon after she did, the dream came. She was in a forest, one like no other she had seen. The path was smooth and straight, clear of leaves and fallen branches, and it seemed that the trees themselves kept it that way. She walked onwards for what seemed like only a few seconds before she came to a small clearing. Though the sky was dark, the clearing was as bright as if it were full noon. In the center was a small temple-like building, where the light seemed to originate. She walked towards it, then saw a small boy walk out, holding something in his hand. The object glowed with an inner light, almost silver, but with tinges of red, blue and gold. The boy looked at her and grinned, holding the object up. She saw now that it was a dagger, with a single blood-red stone set just below the blade.
"I got it!" the boy waved the dagger in the air. "I got the Dagger!" He laughed and ran towards the path beyond Shanaya, when something hit him from the side, knocking him to the ground. There was a bloodcurdling shriek as the thing dived down at the boy again…
"Aina…" Shanaya woke in a cold sweat, and shook her head. Knowing she was unlikely to get anymore sleep, she stared into the middle distance, thinking about the dream.
Briyen had fallen asleep almost instantly, but it was hours before the dream started. He stood in some sort of throne room, the Dagger in his hand. Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned to see a man enter. He had electric violet eyes that glowed, as well as long jet-black hair, pulled back into a ponytail. Seeing Briyen, the man stopped.
"You have the Dagger. You have come to destroy me, no doubt."
Briyen tightened his grip on the dagger, and nodded a little. The man laughed.
"You are but a child. You know you cannot defeat me, with or without the Dagger."
Briyen narrowed his eyes. "Yes I can."
The man laughed and started forward and Briyen advanced to meet him. Just before he came into striking distance, the dream ended and he woke up.
Sitting up in bed, he shook his head, sighing. "I wish I knew what these dreams mean…"
Cilen slept soundly, the dream coming late in the night. He stood in a dungeon, looking through the bars of a cell. The inhabitants of it were huddled in a corner.
One of them looked up. "Cilen?"
Cilen started, hearing his name. "R-ronylan? Ronylan Jerenath?"
Ronylan stood and walked to the bars. "Cilen, thank the stars. I was afraid you wouldn't make it…" he broke off, looking at the entrance to the cells. "Orcs, coming to check on the prisoners, no doubt."
"Oh wonderful," Cilen muttered, looking around for a place to hide. He ducked behind a large barrel as a pair of orcs entered. They were big, ugly things, about 7' tall, and half that wide, dressed in bits of leather and buckskin, with iron armor and shortswords.
One of them walked to the cell and pushed Ronylan back from the bars. "Trying to get out, eh?"
Ronylan glared, but did not answer. The orc laughed, a deep, grating sound, much like the snort of a pig. "Don't worry. The master will soon deal with you and the girl."
It prodded its partner and they walked back up the stairs, conversing in their language. Cilen peeked out from behind the barrel, wondering what they meant by that. Just then he heard a rooster crow and looked around. He was back in his room, the dawn light shining in through the window. Getting up, he walked out into the living room to find the others already there.
One look at their faces was all he needed. "You had dreams too. Strange dreams."
They all nodded. Briyen looked at his brother. "They are trying to tell us something, but I don't know what."
Cilen sighed. "I guess we'll find out when what or whoever sent the dreams wants us to. In the meantime, how about breakfast?"
Go to Chapter Seven.