Chapter 38

  Visions

  Armored warriors moved in rank across the plains, their endless footfalls reducing the grass to mud. Captains among them wore red, their banners glowing with flame as they held enchanted weapons aloft. Across the field another army approached, a wall of shield bearers vanguarding a horde of people armed with bows. As the two armies drew near, their differences began to stand out more.

  One of the armies had a uniformed appearance. Helmets, pauldrons, chest plates, and shields that all matched the appearance of their brethren around them. The mass produced gear worn over simple fatigues gave the ranks of warriors an elite ambiance. Few among them stood out, the captains of each unit armed with enchanted gear and some garbed in unique fashions; adventurers paid to fight.

  The opposing front carried a wall of uniform shields, linked by design and bolstered by enchantment to create a moving barricade. From there the common appearance ended. Each soldier carried their own mismatched gear, from those wearing robes to others in half plate. A few wore full suits of armor and many held staves or other foci. One amongst this army wore Giga Plate armor, appearing to be twice the size of a normal person. His shortbow seemed comical in his hands.

  As the two armies drew closer to battle, a thought struck out among all others. A question that burned heavy in the air and made the scenario more confusing. ‘What am I doing here?’ Michael thought, looking around at the armies nearing his position.

  Michael looked both ways again, then pinched his arm. A pain shot into his flesh, it stung! “Not a dream...” He said, frowning. The two armies were nearing. “Hey, stop! Don’t fight while I am here!”

  No one looked his way, and his throat felt muted. Could they not hear him? “I need to get out of here...” Michael looked around, but the lines of the armies seemed to have no end. One side already met, so Michael began to run towards the only remaining gap.

  The din of clashing metal drowned out Michael’s fleeing footsteps. Swords slammed into the wall of shields, desperate to break through. Horns and drums crashed out over roars of challenge as the two armies met. The enchanted wall of shields suffered an onslaught of swords, spears, tonfa, and numerous other weapons. Arrows rained upon the attacking army from behind their manifested defense. The continued attacks were relentless, and with one final shrieking crack of metal; the shield wall fell.

  Chaos.

  Boulders erupted from the ground to crush soldiers. Dozens of swordsmen flashed forth through the front lines, swinging their swords with indiscriminate violence. A bolt of lightning shot from the empty sky, creating an inferno that whipped tendrils out in all directions. Shields, helmets, and warriors went flying from concussive blasts striking out at random.

  As soldiers fell all around, many more held their ground. Some units crowded together to form an impenetrable defense. Others danced across the battlefield tearing through foes like grass. One warrior slashed his foes with a scythe, only to be torn in half by the claws of a beastwoman. The lines of the two armies had faded into a chaotic field of blood.

  Michael crouched beneath a boulder that had stopped rolling, trying to stay out of anyone’s way. He didn’t know if this was real, but wasn’t willing to risk it. If this were a dream, no amount of pinching or energy pulsing had woken him yet. Still, none of the warriors had so much as glanced at him. Was this a dream after all?

  Warfare continued to erupt all around, people fighting with a ferocity unmatched by anything Michael had witnessed before. Captains bellowed out orders and led soldiers capable of tearing apart steel at one another. Michael’s hiding spot would be no good all too soon. A few heartbeats of tension made his legs shake, but he had to flee.

  Pushing aside his fear, Michael fled from the boulder into a gap in the combat. The gathered warriors were too busy fighting to notice him as he slipped past. He leapt past a fallen soldier, glancing back for a moment. Could he do anything here, change this fight?

  A deep rumbling echoed over the battlefield as the sky fell dark, and all fighting stopped. Someone stepped onto the battlefield, garbed in a tattered crimson cape that unfolded behind him in a silent wind. Whispers of uncertainty leaked from warriors in both armies throughout the battlefield. The man’s long dark hair obscured his face.

  As he stepped forth, the ground before him bent out of shape. A ring of darkness shone behind him, and he drew a long tapered indigo sword. Fear washed out, silencing even the hearts of the armies gathered to do battle. One by one the warriors of both armies turned to face this new threat, abandoning the fight against one another. It began.

  Two armies rushed forth to attack the new foe, swords and cyclones of flame alike, they conjured all manners of attack against him. The ground erupted again, and a wave of blood rose up to drown away the new threat.

  He swung his sword, thousands died. The attackers fell before him, their lives cut short as the man began to walk across the battlefield. Some managed to reach him, slamming down with weapons or magic on a grand scale. Each attack that struck crumbled away, not even worth blocking.

  With the second swing of his sword, the rest of the armies perished, falling before the man. A few dying words escaped the lips of one mage, conjuring a curse. The man in the crimson cloak brushed it aside with one hand and stepped to the center of the battlefield. His gaze turned to the sky for a moment.

  Then his eyes fell to Michael. The only other man standing, Michael felt his knees buckle under that gaze. The weight made his head spin, and fear made his heart stop. “No...” Michael croaked, clutching at his chest. His vision swam as the pain grew tighter.

  Splitting pain roused Michael from his sleep, a sharp headache behind both eyes and his ears. What was that? Where was he? Michael tried to shake his head, but stopped. It hurt too much for that.

  That wasn’t like his dreams, but he had felt something like that before. “A vision...” Michael murmured, pushing himself to his feet. He’d had that feeling when the Revenant gave him a vision. It was too vivid for a dream.

  Michael got himself a drink of water, and remembered where he was. They had left Yan’s village and traveled, then made camp. He glanced back at the others sleeping in the tent. It was too early to wake them for a bad dream. He glanced at his bedroll, and remembered what he had seen.

  Maybe going back to bed was a bad idea. He felt rested, for the most part. Michael sat by the door of the tent, peering out at the night sky. It was only a few hours until dawn, he may as well keep watch.

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  Sunrise in the mountains brought an end to the day, resetting the world at Zero Hour. Birds in the trees came out of their slumber and began chirping. Michael watched nothing in particular as the morning began, nodding at Hyato as the man woke to go outside for his morning exercises.

  “What’s on your mind?” Yan asked. Michael looked over at her, and she frowned. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.” Michael said, “I think.” He blinked. Did he look troubled? Yan nodded and patted Michael on the shoulder, then went to start taking down camp. Michael walked over to Sebastian, who was getting up. “Hey, I have a question.”

  “Can it wait until later?” Sebastian asked, yawning.

  Michael paused, then nodded. “It can.”

  “Good. We should get going soon anyways.” Sebastian said. He started packing up too, so Michael helped.

  The party traveled through the Drakmor mountains, following the map given to them by Chief Odai. Each intersection they needed had landmarks and markings on each road that Yan showed everyone how to find. With this, they were able to confirm their path several times as they continued.

  Yan moved at the front of the party using agility to move off the path fast and stealthy. Michael followed after her, copying her movements to try and learn them himself. After a few hours of travel, Michael was able to keep pace with her. “You are getting really good at mirroring me, Michael.” Yan said.

  Michael grinned, “Thanks. It’s fun hopping around like this.”

  “Then why don’t you try and keep up?” Yan shot forth in a blur, jumping with a burst of energy and gliding with more energy that she conjured. Michael watched her sail towards the next crossroad and tried to jump after her. He didn’t succeed.

  After recovering from his blunder, Michael continued to try again, unable to conjure the energy like she had. Still, his own jumping technique was almost as fast. Yan waited for him at the landmark, and they waited for the others to catch up. It only took a dozen minutes for Hyato, Sebastian, and Wolf to arrive.

  “You two having fun?” Sebastian asked.

  Michael nodded, “Yep. How about you guys.”

  “Had to fight some Zori.” Hyato said.

  “Keep running off and you won’t get any glory.” Wolf said, flexing.

  “Zori Glory?” Michael asked.

  “Gory Zori Glory.” Wolf confirmed. Sebastian shook his head as the others laughed.

  Pulling out the map to double check, Sebastian pointed towards a grassy road leading down the slope. “That’s the next path.” He said.

  “Hey, Sebastian,” Michael said, matching the Evari’s pace as they continued, “I wanted to ask about something.”

  “Ask away.” Sebastian said.

  “I had a vision last night. There were two armies fighting. Then someone appeared and both armies turned on them.” Michael said.

  “That sounds cryptic. Do you think someone is out to get you?” Sebastian asked.

  “No, I don’t mean like a weird dream, there were two armies fighting and then some person in a red cloak with a dark blue sword appeared. That guy started killing everyone, both armies fell to him in just a few attacks. And they were going all out, way stronger than anything I’ve seen.” Michael said.

  “I don’t recognize the description.” Sebastian said, “But one person taking on two armies. How many people were there in the armies.”

  “There were too many to count. Hundreds or... thousands? More people than all of Nita.” Michael said, thinking back. “Is there someone who can fight that many people and win?”

  “Well, one person comes to mind.” Sebastian said.

  “Really? Who?”

  Sebastian, Yan, and Wolf all answered at the same time. “Maximus.”

  Michael blinked and looked between the three of them. “Who is that?”

  “The strongest person that ever lived.” Wolf said.

  “The living nightmare.” Yan said.

  “Fear.” Hyato added. Michael didn’t realize he was listening.

  “Ohhhh kay...” Michael said. He studied everyone for a moment. Hyato seemed stoic as usual, but his gaze was distant. Yan watched with a curiosity he had come to expect, looking towards Sebastian for more information. Wolf looked away, hiding his face.

  Sebastian placed a hand on Michael’s shoulder. “Maximus was the person who almost took over the world, leaving a path of destruction in his wake.” His face was bereft of humor, and his serious tone made Michael gulp.

  “He... was that person. Not is?” Michael said.

  “It will take a bit of explanation.” Sebastian said. “I need to explain the Broken Times, and the Dark War.”

  “Well, they’ve been brought up.” Michael said. “That all happened over a hundred years ago, right?”

  “It started that long ago, and ended ninety-seven years ago.” Sebastian said, focusing on continuing through the mountain path. “I can tell you what I know, but it will take some time.”

  “Tell me.” Michael said. “It might be important.”

  “How could something that happened, and ended, so long ago be important now?” Sebastian asked.

  “Because, I had a vision.” Michael said. “And the only other times I’ve had visions like that, were when I was exposed to the Revenant. It might be connected to Maximus.”

  Sebastian rubbed his chin, closing his eyes in thought for a moment. The party all stopped moving as he did, waiting for a response. Michael shared a look with Yan, but Hyato looked away when Michael looked at him. ‘He already knows.’ Michael thought.

  “Okay.” Sebastian said after a minute of thought. “I’ll explain it as best as I can, at camp tonight. We shouldn’t be distracted as we travel.” Michael nodded.

  “Now that that’s settled.” Wolf said, “Let’s pick up the pace! No use dawdling in the mountains, I want to see those endless Ranear Plains!” He started to jog ahead. The others picked up the pace, even Sebastian.

  “We aren’t going to get there today.” Yan said, “It’s way too far.”

  “We won’t know until we try!” Wolf said with a thumbs up. He started to course energy into his steps. He took long strides along the mountain path and cheered for everyone to join him. Michael and the others chased after Wolf.

  Deep in the eastern mountains of Drakmor a twisted chasm splintered the valleys. The chasms walls were melted slag and bulbous glass deposits. Only hardy fungus could grow here, the plants stood no chance. Atop a plateau in this chasm a tall stone tower loomed over the nearby peaks. It’s striking silhouette could be seen even a mile away at a small rocky alcove near the mountain road.

  A flickering black flame stirred to life within that alcove as the man sitting there broke from a deep trance. He pocketed the orb that emitted the fire and looked around. For a moment it seemed he was alone.

  “Vero,” echoed the voice from within the armor as Velicio entered the alcove. “You have returned. Were you successful?”

  “I might have been.” Vero said in his raspy voice. “The seed has been planted, but it’s getting more difficult to send. From here we will just have to wait.”

  “A little more patience won’t be an issue.” Velicio said, “What do we do for now?”

  “I’m going to go ahead, you stay behind to make sure nothing goes wrong. I will take the host to Cryston.” Vero looked over at the unconscious form of Vy, tied up in the corner of the alcove. Velicio looked at the bandit host, then out at the fading sunlight.

  “We’re getting very close.” Velicio said.

  “There’s still two important pieces to collect.” Vero said. “My goal seems so distant. Yet closer than ever.” Vero’s outstretched hand pointed towards the north and flecks of mana fell from his palm. Clouds formed at his feet and lifted him into the air.

  “Be careful, Brother.” Velicio said.

  Vero shrugged his hood over his head. “I don’t need to be. I am strong.” With a flick of his wrist the clouds encompassed him and carried him off into darkening mountains. Velicio watched him depart, and remained standing vigilant. Night fell in the Drakmor Mountains.