CHAPTER 1 - DREAMS - Part 3

On the other side of the Everwinter Mountains, in the city of shadow, a young woman sat up in her bed. She looked down at her hands that were an ashy gray color and had no scales. She was ostracized for having no scales, but it wasn’t her fault the magic didn’t work. She had tried to take on the attributes of the Dark Master when she was still small, but it hadn’t worked.
Since then, her mother, the Queen of her Hive, swore to teach her the magics of their race. Through magic she would be the Queen she was born to be. Only, she didn’t want to be a Queen of the Hive. She didn’t want to learn dark magic. She just wanted to be free.
She could feel through the Hive sense that her mother wanted her, and a moment later a knock sounded at her door. She had finished dressing in the clothes befitting a Sister of the Hive, all dark colors and long flowing material and she looked toward the door.
“Enter,” she said, wishing she could escape.
“Idylls, you mother wishes to see you,” the young soldier informed her when he entered. “Its time for your lessons.”
Idylls sighed and nodded her head and stepped forward to walk out the door. The soldier let her walk ahead and then followed her through the halls of the fortress they occupied. The walls had once been a sandy color, made from local materials, but her mother’s magic had turned the bricks to black and had settled a dark cloud of smoke over the entire city.
Idylls dreaded her lessons and worse, she knew her mother could feel her dread in the Hive sense. The Queen could filter through the feelings of the entire Hive and separate a single member’s feelings from all the rest. Especially since Idylls was alone in her feelings.
The rest of the Hive, the rest of the race, was war-like and brutal. They reveled in their power, in their ability to enslave other races, and in their dark magics. Idylls wondered what it would be like to grow up somewhere else, raised by a different people.
Then she shook her head. The Host had conquered the surrounding lands, taking over the lives of an entire people and there was no where for her to go, nowhere for her to run, to escape this fate. She was a Sister of the Hive and she was destined to be its Queen. Unless someone killed her first.
She walked with her head held high, as she had been taught to do. She had to show no fear, no hesitation, not where the rest of the Hive could see her. Any one of them could be working for another Hive, in one of the neighboring cities, and they could try to kill her to get at her mother and their Hive.
Many Queens tried to assimilate other Hives, by toppling the chain of command. Assassination was common and Idylls needed to be aware of her surrounding and she needed to learn the magics of her race to defend herself.
She entered a stairwell that led down into the basements of the castle. There were no lights down here, because the humans that came down this far didn’t need to see. Idylls, like the rest of her race, could see perfectly in the dark. Idylls did have the markings that glowed in the pitch black darkness to communicate with the other Hive members and she glowed a dark blue to show her hesitation.
They entered a room that had a single torch lit. kneeling on the floor was a human, dressed in a loincloth and shackles. He looked as though he had been beaten into submission and he was bloody from a cut above his eye.
“Idylls,” her mother called, summoning her to the Queen’s side. “Tonight you must show me you can use the Shadows. Kill this human.”
Fortunately for the human, they spoke in their own tongue which he couldn’t understand. He cowered on the floor, clearly understanding that something bad was happening to him.
“Mother, must I kill a human? Why not a pig or something we can eat?” Idylls asked gently.
“Everyone out!” her mother barked, sending the guards out of the room. When the door shut, her mother spun on her with fury in her face. Her lips curled up into a snarl.
“You will obey me Idylls, or I will kill you myself! I would not allow you to be so weak that another could kill you and affect our Hive! You must be strong in the magics or you are worthless to the Hive, I’ve told you this many times!”
“But mother, I don’t want –“
“It doesn’t matter what you want!” her mother screamed at her. “This is the way of our race! I don’t know why you act so different, but you will act like a Hive member or I will end you! Am I clear?”
“Yes mother,” she said in a whisper.
The Hive Queen walked to the door and reopened it. The soldiers walked back in and stood in the corners. The Queen revealed a dark globe that had swirls of smoke twisting inside and she handed it to her daughter.
“Do it.”
Idylls took the globe and began the chant, murmuring dark words of power. The smoke began to twirl faster inside the globe and she spoke quicker. Then she bent her head over the globe and blew softly against the side of it. Smoke leaked out of the opposite side and took shape as a shadow in the room.
It was the shadow of a monster, twisted and bent at odd angles, its limbs long a pointed with cruel claws at the ends. It wavered in the torch light, waiting for its commands.
Idylls pointed at the kneeling human and said, “Tu’akt!” The shadow shivered with glee and bent over the human. It placed its shadowy hands on the human’s face and the human stiffened up and his eyes went wide.
The shadow held him there, sucking out his life force, while the man shivered and shook, rattling his chains. Idylls tried to look away but at the sharp words of her mother, she stopped and watched the man die.
When the shadow was done and the dried husk of a body fell to the floor, Idylls beckoned the shadow back and it flew into the globe to wait until it was needed again. Idylls handed the globe back to her mother and left the room.

***

Cullen, Aki and Fox reached the gates of Holdfast City at sundown. The Kingsguard soldiers recognized him and waved him in right away. Cullen led the way up the King’s Road towards the castle.
The city was still bustling, full of people moving about, selling their wares into the evening hours, or out shopping for things at the end of their day. Many of them stopped to say a word to Cullen, since the entire city recognized him.
Many stopped to stare at the two Faeries as well, since Aki was brightly colored and his armor was polished and fine, while Fox was short and carrying such a large knife. Cullen had a kind response to everyone that called to him; he had learned early on that it was the people that made the Kingdom, not the King.
They walked along the road, Aki looking curiously at the human’s businesses and crafts. Cullen kept a good pace and soon they were walking up the earthen ramp that led up to the castle outer gates.
The castle was built on a stony hill that looked over the city on one side and the ocean on the other. The castle was surrounded by tall walls that went around the edge of the cliff on three sides, and had a gate on the fourth wall that faced the city.
Aki took notice of the path that led under the gates, where the soldiers could stop an army by closing the gap and using the murder holes that were cut into the stone from above and every side. An army had never attacked castle Holdfast, but they would lose many men trying to get through that gate.
Cullen walked quickly through the Outer Ward and into the second gates of the castle proper. The castle was square, with four walls and towers on the corners. Inside the Inner Ward was the barracks, a blacksmith and the Church. Inside the castle were the Kings apartments, guest apartments, a dining hall, a solar and many other rooms to house inhabitants of the castle that made daily operations flow smoothly.
Aki was impressed with the castle and said so early on. Fox remained silent and looked about nervously. It must look huge to him, Cullen thought, looking around with new eyes.
The guards at the gate welcomed him and told him the King was just sitting down to dinner and they could find him in the main hall. Cullen thanked them and led Aki and Fox into the castle, walking through the stone halls until they reached the dining hall.
The dining hall was a huge room that could hold many diners, but tonight it seemed to be Grimm, the Dreamweaver, a few nobles from the surrounding villages and the usual amount of servants. And one other guest, Anton the High Priest of the Church.
Cullen entered from the far side and walked down the table, nodding greetings to those he knew well. When he reached the head of the table, he went down on one knee and bowed to his father, High King Remus the First.
“Greetings father,” he said clearly. “I brought two guests with me. I hope that we are welcome to your table, as we are hungry from a long walk.”
“Of course you’re welcome!” the King said happily. “Take your seats and tell me why you’re traveling with one of the Daoine Sidhe.”
Cullen showed Aki and Fox to the table, after finding a suitable chair for Fox so he could sit comfortably at the table without feeling too short. Cullen reached across the table to make himself a plate of meat and potatoes and get a mug of ale to wet his throat.
“Perhaps my story isn’t right for the dining hall father. Maybe you’d like to hear it after, more privately.”
The King looked at his son and tried to read between his words, guessing finally that Cullen didn’t want to share whatever it was with the local nobles.
“Of course, of course,” he said, waving his hand dismissively. “Eat, feed your friends and we’ll talk after your meal. In the meantime, I have news!”
Cullen took a bite of his food and swallowed it down. “Please, tell me.”
“We’re going to have a tournament!” the King announced cheerfully. “I’m inviting the Kings of the other lands, to come here and compete in some games. We haven’t had a tourney in some time, and I think now is a good time!”
“I’m sure it is, but what inspired this?” Cullen asked, looking at Grimm to see what his take on the idea was. Grimm looked as sullen as ever.
“There’s a new King in Rath, a man named Nicu. He finally gathered the Horse Lord tribes together somehow and declared himself King. So I thought we should invite him here, along with the other Kings, so we could take a measure of the man.”
Cullen nodded, trying to think of what he knew about his father’s Kingdom. Holdfast was the capitol and the name of the castle, the city and the surrounding land. Its borders were the Everwinter Mountains in the north, the Endless Sea to the west and south and Dustan to the east.
Dustan was a small strip of land that went from the Everwinter Mountains in the north to the Great Swamp in the south. The Great Swamp led right into the Sea and Cullen father had conquered it by building roads into the swamps.
On Dustan’s eastern border were two more lands, Vess in the north and Seawatch in the south. Then farther to the east, bordering both those lands was Rath, the great grasslands of the far east. Rath was by far the biggest territory and occupied by tribes of Horse Lords.
The Horse Lords bred horses and sold them to the rest of the Kingdom. The many different clans within its borders had never been ruled by one man before. They fought amongst themselves, which is why Remus had been able to claim it as part of his Kingdom.
Now, if a single man had gathered the tribes, and united all of the Rathians under one banner, it could mean trouble for the High King. It made sense to invite the man to Holdfast and get to know him, see what kind of leader he would be.
“I understand father, and it sounds like a wise idea,” Cullen said after quickly thinking about his lessons on the different minor Kingdoms that made up his father’s High Kingdom.
The rest of the meal went quickly, everyone eating their fill and enjoying calm quiet conversations around the table. Cullen observed that Grimm seemed grimmer than usual tonight and he resolved to speak to him later.
When the meal was over, the High King dismissed the nobles and asked Cullen and his two guests to join him and Grim and the Dreamweaver in his Solar to talk about Cullen’s visit. Cullen asked Anton to come as well.
The Solar was a large room with a whole wall of windows that looked out over the Endless Sea. It was in one of the towers and stood higher that the castle walls that surrounded the castle. It was a beautiful sight, even at night, looking at the moon over the waves of the sea.
The room held a table with bench seats as well as a desk for the King and a few other comfortable chairs. The walls had shelves with lots of books and manuscripts, and the walls had maps of the entire Kingdom, as well as smaller maps of the individual minor Kingdoms.
“So what brings you and an elf to my door Cullen?” the King asked when everyone was settled.
“I had a dream Sire, a dream I think was true,” Cullen responded, starting slowly.
“A dream?” the Dreamweaver asked. “Why do you think it was a true dream?”
“It just felt real to me, in ways I can’t quite describe, but I’m sure the message was real.”
The King shifted on his large chair behind the desk and he glanced at Grimm. “Well tell us what you saw and we’ll go from there,” he said calmly.
“I dreamed of two different paths. One path brought me to the castle and there your crown was broken. So I turned back and took the opposite trail. It led over the mountains and into the lands beyond.”
Cullen made eye contact with all four men as he spoke, hoping they would take the dream seriously, since he felt it was prophetic in nature.
“In this other land, I saw three cities that were covered in black clouds, where the people of those cities were enslaved and downtrodden. The cities were ruled by the Host, I’m sure of that. In the end of the dream, I think I saw their Dark Master, and it was a monster I can’t describe.”
“And you think you saw what’s really happened to people that live beyond the mountains then?” the Dreamweaver asked.
“I do,” Cullen said. “I mean to cross the mountains and go see for myself. I hope that a few good people will come with me, but I will go alone in needs be.”
“I have already agreed to go with him,” Aki stated in his naturally musical voice. “And where I go, Fox goes too.” He indicated the small Faery at his side.
Grimm looked over Cullen, who he still called ‘the boy’ and grunted. Then he looked at the King.
“If I may, Cullen, I’d like to get a look at these dreams if I can. Would you allow me to look?” the Dreamweaver asked politely.
“You can do that?” Cullen asked, interested in what magics the old man knew. He never showed off much, but he was a man of vast knowledge.
“I can, if you’ll let me. It wouldn’t take long and it might help determine a few things.”
“Go ahead,” Cullen answered.
The Dreamweaver heaved himself off of his own chair and hobbled over to Cullen. He stood behind him and placed his hands on either side of Cullen’s head.
“Just breathe deeply and remember the dream Cullen. Remember the images you saw.”
Cullen closed his eyes and thought back. He pictured himself as the wolf he knew he was inside, the big black and silver beast that ran through the forest. He remembered the crossroads in the woods, and he ran down the first path.
He reached the castle and it looked gray and beaten down. He saw his father, the High King, with his head in his hands and the broke crown on the floor. He felt a twinge of fear and as a wolf, he turned around and ran back to the woods.
He found the crossroads again and took the opposite path. Then he ran up the mountains and crossed over them, bypassing the heavy snows that lay there. He saw the sun, but huge and bright, blocking out most of the land below.
He saw the wall again, the wall that ran from horizon to horizon on either side. He passed under that wall, through an arched gateway and he ran to the first city. It was covered by a black cloud and he saw the stooped, weary slaves working.
This time he noticed that the people looked different from the people back home. They had darker skin colors and wore strange clothing. But they were humans and they were slaves. And the Host was definitely ruling the city. They marched past the humans and kicked them around.
Cullen ran again, to another city that looked much the same. Dark clouds making it gloomy and dark in the city limits, with slaves working for the Host. Cullen ran past in his mind and ran for the tall mountain in the distance.
The mountain was dark and held another city inside of it. A huge river that was a waterfall fell from the cliffs above to a vast pool below. Cullen tried to run up that mountain, trying to see why smoke billowed out of the top.
Then it came again, the dark face, like a monstrous grin, all teeth and fangs, with bright red eyes that looked right through him. Cullen faltered at the power and knowledge in those eyes. He tried to stand before it, but it was too much. He needed to get away from those eyes!
Cullen opened his eyes and jumped up off the chair. Everyone started and the Dreamweaver gasped for air as he came out of the vision suddenly too. He bent over gasping for air and Cullen rounded the chair to hold on to him.
He asked for water and Cullen gave him some, slipping him into the chair in his place. He kept one hand on the old man as he calmed himself.
“It is a true dream,” the old man finally said. “But there’s something else Cullen. It was sent to you on purpose. Someone wanted you to see those images.”
“What?” Cullen said in disbelief.
“How can that be?” the High King echoed.
“It’s a powerful piece of magic, but one I think elves would be capable of. I think the Host sent you this warning to tempt you to come Cullen. I think they will be waiting for you.”
“I see.” Cullen got a cup of water for himself and paced the room drinking. He glanced at Aki, who sat straight and tall in the chair, ready to leave still. Cullen could tell he wasn’t fazed by the idea.
“You’re going to go anyway, aren’t you?” Grimm finally said, practically growling it out.
“I don’t see that I have a choice Grimm,” Cullen said calmly again. “There are humans suffering at their hands. They may want me to come, but I think I can beat them.”
“How?” Grimm almost shouted. “You won’t have an army at your back this time Cullen! And they are obviously already dug in there, it’s their territory!”
“All the more reason to go in quietly. I’ll just go there to take a look around. Maybe there’s something I can do, maybe there’s not. But I have to try.”
“I don’t like it boy,” Grimm snarled.
“I don’t either. But a small group of us can probably get in and back out easily if we’re careful. Whoever sent the dream, threatened my father too, I saw the broken crown. So if I don’t go, they will come after us again.”
“We faced them before Cullen, we can face them again,” the King finally spoke also staying calm.
“We didn’t face all of them. We faced one Queen, and just her Hive. We didn’t face the Dark Master. I have to at least go learn more about them, that way we can defend ourselves better.”
“I can’t stop you, can I?” the King asked.
“No father, I have to do this.”
The High King bowed his head and the room went silent. Cullen looked at Grimm who angrily looked away. Then he looked at the Dreamweaver who looked worried and weary from the dream search.
“I’d like to go with you,” Anton said suddenly. Cullen glanced at him and saw that he was serious.
“Why?” Cullen asked.
“Because you’re gonna need all the help you can get, and I trust you Cullen. After everything I saw during the War, I believe in you. and who knows, maybe God will be watching and give us fortune. It can’t hurt to have a Priest on your side.”
Cullen smiled. “Well then, that makes four of us. I’ve called my brothers here, they should be here by tomorrow, and I’ve summoned Tik as well. Now I just need your support for the scariest part of this whole plan.”
“What’s that?” the King asked quizzically.
“I have to ask Sonia to come.”
The room went silent again. Everyone there knew Sonia believed in peace and hated War. No one envied Cullen’s position at that moment. This was something he’d have to do alone.