Chapter 2 Haunted Dreams
He slept for what seemed days, over and over he dreamed of the actions that lead to his parents death, he saw him self standing in the battle watching but not being able to help, he was nothing, he could do nothing, and in the end the soldiers came for him, He tried to run but the soldiers were too quick, he stumbled falling to the ground. rolling onto his back he stared up into the face of the soldier who was not a soldier, his face was twisted and blurred in the darkness underneath his helm. Two glowing eyes stared down at him, into him viewing his very soul. In a harsh voice the shadowed man Said to him, ì your soul is scared, you belong to meî. With a mighty downward thrust the figure brought down his pitch black gladius at his chest. He sat straight up in the floor where he had fallen asleep. His breath, quick and shallow, heart beating as it would pound free from his chest, drenched in sweat. It had been nearly a week since the news of his parents death came and since that day the vision of the shadowy figure haunted him, in his dreams as well as in life, he had heard the voice in the street but never saw from whom it came, sometimes he would hear it when he was the only one around, like a whisper in his mind, like a ghost or a bad memory, it haunted him. Slowly he calmed down and started about his day, counting the money from his father, he found he had only 12 denars to his name. ìuhhhg, how am I going to live off 12 Denars, barely enough for a good mealî. Sighing heavily he looked near the door at the chest the soldier had dropped off the week earlier. He didnít want to open it, the memories it would unleash were too great for him to bear, But it had to be done, how else would he live. Slowly he opened the chest, inside his fathers armor, gladius and shield, also his mothers bow, and some jewelry that she wore. Again tears ran down his cheeks as he remembered his parents. The lid of the chest slammed shut and he was out the door running down the street. For hours he walked and thought. what was he to do, where was he to go, everything he loved was gone, he had nothing except memories that hurt too much to think about. the day moved on and the sun set behind the horizon casting a pale red glow across the western sky. He sat on the cliffs staring out over the ocean wishing he was anywhere but Iridine, But how would he escape the prison that bound him, he did not know. ìArincar!!î a voice came from behind him ìWe have been searching High and Low for you, what are you doing out here by the cliffs anyway?î. It was Chadorius his closest friend. He sat on the edge of the cliff next to Arincar and stared off over the ocean ahead of them, An ocean of dreams it seemed, what was beyond the horizon intrigued him. turning to Arincar he said softly, ìWhats happened to you Arin, you use to be so content with your life, Now you seem almost.... deadî ìMaybe I should be dead Chad, I should have died with them you know, Why do I have to live with this, Why must I be the one to suffer this pain, Its not fair, what does it matter I am dying on the inside, all I feel now Is hatred towards those who killed my Parents.î Silence fell between them and Arincar looked out over the ocean once more,î I am Leaving Iridine, I cant be here anymore.î Chadorius stared at Arincar not knowing what to say, ìWhat do you mean your leaving, how are you going to get away, you have no money, you have never been outside the city walls your entire life, you will be killed out there.î ìThen so be it, If I die who will care I have nothing left.îArincar stood up and Started down the street. ìArin wait upî Chad yelled out as he ran to catch up with him. ìI am coming with you, we will leave together, the two of us together can do more than one of us alone.î ìNow, how are we getting out of this cityî Chad smiled and Arincar gave him a sideways glance, ìI cant let you come with me, you parents wouldnít let you anyway.î ìMy parents, cant stop me and I cant let you go alone, either I go with you or I will tell those Priests down in the Hospice youíve lost your mind and have you locked up for them to study.î ìYou always was a pain in my ass Chad, But if you want to die with me out there then you are welcome to join me, but dont think I am going to save your hide if you get into any trouble. I have my own path to follow ì. The Sky had turned pitch black as dark storm clouds slowly floated by like an omen of death. Within the small house, Arincar stared a the chest of armor and clothes the Legion had left. After a time he pulled out his fathers armor, It was a little big on him but he still had time to grow into it, the weight was almost too much for him to bear but he figured it would protect him in an attack. He felt awkward wearing it, thinking his Father had met his end in this armor. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind and pulled out his fathers Shield and Gladius, feeling the weight carefully in his hands. It wasnít bad enough the armor weighed so damn much but the gladius and shield together he could not handle, so he decided to rid himself of the Gladius to afford him a bit more protection with the shield. ìIn the Morningî he said to himself as he removed the Armor and settled down for sleep. Sleep came quickly and he was in an open field. Above him the Stars were bright and Raven was in the middle of the sky casting its gray shadows on the land. He looked around but all was silent... except for his own mind which tried to rationalize why he was there. Then from the ground came a low rumble and Fire shot up towards the heavens from large cracks in the ground. The heat was intense and he shielded his eyes with his arms. When he looked up again a wavering figure was walking towards him from the flames. Quickly he looked around him looking for something to defend himself with, Then he realized he was wearing his fathers armor and his shield lay on the ground beside him. He gazed at the figure coming towards him and lifted the shield in front of him anticipating an attack. ìWho are youî He called out, But there was no answer. ìTell me, Who are youî. The figure stopped 10 feet from him and looked him square in the eyes. ìI am your Destiny Arincar, I am he that decides your path in life I am your master, your death, your Savior.î Arincar looked confused ìI am not a slave and I will live my life how I see fit. You claim to be my Savior but all you do is haunt my dreams, You are nothing but my imagination running wild with the fear of Death, You can not kill me, this is my dream, My world now get out of my head and leave me in peace.î ìI cant do that, you see, this is my World, you came here on your own free will, you summoned me to save you and bring you into that which is Eternal... the Power that which rules over Death.. I am Raven and you belong to me.î ìI will not listen to you, Demon, Now begone before I have to remove you by force, I fear not you, even if you are Raven, I fear nothing not even death. If I came here and summoned you then why do I resist you, If I wanted you to bring me into your power wouldnít you think I would come willingly.î ìEnoughî The figure shouted out ìI tire of your games its time for you to dieî With a powerful lunge the Warrior charged him with gladius held in front of him. With a slight rotation of the Shield Arincar Deflected the sword from him and slammed it down in and powerful swing bashing the figure with the edge of his shield at the base of his neck. An audible Snap was heard as the figure slumped lifelessly to the ground. ìYou call yourself a god yet you cannot defeat even the weakest opponent.î Turning Arincar raised an arm and waved in a wide arc through the Air and the flames were gone and only the night remained. he felt he could do anything here, in his dreams, then, from the corner of his eye he caught movement and spun around. The Figure stood in front of him gladius raised above his head. Arincar jumped back in surprise and the Gladius came down catching his armor and imbedded itself in his shoulder. With a cry of pain Arincar slumped to his knees. ìyou will pay for this Demon, Mark my words. With an upward swing the shield smashed into the side of the warriors helm knocking him off his feet. With a quick glance he noticed there was blood on the edge of his Shield, ìBloodî he said questioningly, ìIf you be a God then why do you bleed, You go back to Raven and tell him if he wants my soul he will have to come and get it himself.î With all his strength he brought the shield down in a powerful arc against the warriors head. A metallic clank was heard as the helm buckled from the force of the blow and crushed it wearers skull. With a feeling of hope Arincar turned around looking for a way out of where ever he was, sleep, Dreamland, Ravens realm he didnít know but he didnít like it. A flash of Lightning streaked across the sky illuminating the surroundings. Off in the distance stood a low hill and what he thought might be a small cave. He headed there in hopes of escaping the coming rain. After a few hundred feet another bolt of lighting struck the ground about a quartermile away from him, Then another an another, each marking a path straight toward him. He took off in a full sprint for the cave with the lightning growing ever closer. Only a couple hundred yards to go, he thought as he ran through the tall grasses. Then there was silence, He slowed his pace and looked over his shoulder...nothing, it just stopped he thought, he was 50 feet from the cave now and a bolt of white lightning struck not ten feet behind him, startled he jumped for the cave entrance and as he hit the cold rock inside a last bolt hit the cave opening shaking the ground around him, He scrambled deeper in as the entrance collapsed in a small rock slide. Silence and darkness surrounded him, Only his breath could be heard in his prison of earth and rock, then suddenly, A flame appeared in front of him as if someone had lit a torch. In fact someone had, Looking across the small cavern at him was an old man with long gray hair, A quarterstave by his side, and wearing a combination of leather and bronze armor. His eyes lit up as he looked at Arincar and he began to laugh. ìWhats in you old man, Laughing at me like that.î the laughter subsided and the old man said to him, ìExcuse my rudeness, I would introduce myself but I think you already know who I am.î With a big grin he pulled a flask out of his back pack and drank the contents. Smiling he offered the flask to Arincar and he accepted, Although a little uneasy and took a sniff of the flask ìCinnamon Teaî he exclaimed, ìI havenít had any of this since before...î Silence fell across his face and the old man finished ìsince your parents Died.î With a rage in his eyes he turned to the old man ìHow would you know about that, I dont even know who you are and I doubt you ever knew my parentsî ìAyeî he replied. ì I knew your parents well.. you see I know a little secret that you dont and if your nice enough I will share that with you, But once I tell you, you will most likely call me crazy.î ìwell Honestly, I already thought you were crazy going off with all that laughter and allî Arincar took a long draw from the flask and handed it back to the old man. ìSo tell me old man, What be your secret.î With a quick glance at the interior of the cavern he looked straight into Arincars Eyes. ìYou see lad, the reason I know who you are and what happened to your parents is... well its because I AM YOU.î Arincar sat with a dumbfounded look on his face then with a sound of disbelief said, ìYou really are a loony arent you, sayin your me and all, Look at you , you must be 50 years old with all that gray hair, Aint no way you could be me.î ìAsk me a question I will answer it, you will understand what I mean.î ìOKî Arincar though for a moment ìWhats my best friends name?î The old man chuckled ìChadorius.. thats little easy dont you think?î ìA wise guy huh, well lets see if you know this... Whats my Uncles occupationî Heís a Pirate but wont admit it to anyone, says he is an importer and exporter of fine goods, most of which he gets for free if you know what I meanî said the old man with a wink. ìWow you must be a good friend of my uncle to know that..î ìIíll tell you what young lad, Iíll prove to you that I am you, look at you left arm, you have a scare from where your father cut you during a sparing session, He hit you a little too hard and didnít forgive himself for weeks after it happened, Now look at my left arm, Same place, same scar... now do you believe me?î Arincar looked in disbelief at the matching scar on the old mans arm ìAnd for your information Iím not 50 years old , I am 36 and you will have all this fabulous gray hair by the time your 27, too many years out to sea will do that too ya, specially when your fighting to survive on one of your uncles ships, Dont ask me why I am here its as much your dream as it is mine, just a little peculiar how here I am and I am talking to you a vision from my past..î ìPast?î Arincar said questioningly ìyou must be mistaken I must be dreaming about my future.í ìWell either way, we are both here, and we are both stuck in a cave and I must depart for I am about to wake, But maybe in the future our paths will meet again.î ìBut waitî Arincar spoke out ìHow do I get out of here?î ìUse your Imagination, It always worked for me, and, Before I go, Those dreams your having, About Raven and all that.... well on second thought Iíll let you figure it out your self.î With a smile he vanished into thin air. Arincar sat in the dark cavern thinking about what had just happened then realized he still needed to find a way out. Feeling around the floor his hands ran across what felt like a torch, for a brief second he was ecstatic the he remembered he had nothing to light it with. He sat down on the cold rock and just hoped he would wake up. Minutes and hours went by and nothing happened then he remembered what the old man had told him, use my imagination. He imagined his torch was lit and instantly flames lit up the room. He looked around there was no where to go so he imagined he had a door that led into his house and a door appeared in the wall, He grinned and pulled open the door and he was looking into his room and he was asleep in his bed, but there was someone else in the room as well. He jumped through the door at the person and found himself laying in his bed, and he realized he just woke up, Turning around he saw a figure above him, He couldnít make out the face as it was still dark outside and the figure jumped letting out a surprised scream. Leaping out of bed he wrestled the person to the floor pinning their arms to the ground with his knees. Reaching over to his dresser he got a candle and lit it with a small tinderbox. What he saw sent a surprised look across his face. It was a woman....