The snow began to pick up as the crew neared the town square, clouding Sky’s vision and making her shiver again. She pulled her cloak tighter, but managed a smile. Ask her a year ago, and she would have never been able to see herself in the North with a crew of friends, searching for information on a secretive, elite group of Dreamcasters. It was pretty big time, she had to admit.
At this rate, I’m going to be as important as Lyght, maybe more so. She laughed a little to herself, now that was a funny thought.
They were nigh upon the town square now. Sky was near the front of the crew, and heard a kid to the left – she couldn’t see who through the snow – call out, “I think I see him! Look up there; I think he’s standing out on a balcony. See?” The kid was pointing, and the crew bunched up as they entered the town square, trying to see through the swirling snow. Sky looked where he was pointing, excited for her first glimpse of a Northerner, but stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide.
Apparently, the crew behind her didn’t catch on as quick as she did. Some continued forward, waving and calling out, “Hey!”, “Gairen? It’s us!”, and “Long time no see, man!” However, within the span of a few breathless seconds, they saw it too. Gairen was not standing on a balcony.
Even through the blast of dirty snow, a waterfall of dark red was clearly visible. Dripping silently onto the drifting snows below the wooden town hall building, the crimson flood led up to a shadowy figure twenty feet above them on the building. Sky frowned, trying to see it. On the building? She gasped in shock as her eyes locked onto it.
A man was nailed onto the building, a trio of spikes impaling him through his chest and abdomen. The writing on the wall above him was clearly lettered in blood.
Lived a Coward – Died Alone.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Lyght took a deep breath of salty sea air as he walked along, watching a group of seagulls wheeling above. The channel that ran by the great city of Glory was so wide that you couldn’t even see the other side; it was essentially like an ocean in and of itself. The churning water was a steely gray today beneath an overcast sky, and light rain had been falling on and off for the past couple hours. Lyght watched as droplets of water pattered off of the choppy surface of the channel, making an oddly resounding hissing sound. Most of the fishing vessels and other ships had recently docked, or were pulling in now. A large storm must be coming.
Lyght wasn’t headed anywhere in particular; he was just out taking a morning walk to clear his head. It was something he’d always liked to do back home. Lyght looked down as he tracked in the sand with his bare feet, feeling completely relaxed for the first time in a long time. He yawned, stretching, and ran a hand through his hair, thinking about what he wanted to do today. It was early Saturday morning, so he didn’t have to worry about going to class today. He vaguely thought that he might practice some of the Dreamcasting manipulations he’d been learning from Lyn later, but for now he had no particular agenda or purpose.
Of course, that didn’t last long, “Hey! Hey, Lyght! How’s it going?” Lyght turned to see a pair of his fellow class leaders sitting at a table eating breakfast at one of the seaside restaurants that dotted the channel banks. It was the girl Iri who had spoken, with her hulking companion Seth accompanying her as always. Iri waved him over, so Lyght left the empty beach and came up to greet his classmates. Hopping over the railing separating the restaurant from the beach, Lyght smiled a bit and greeted the pair, “Hey Iri, how’s it going? Morning, Seth.”
Iri looked towards the bar and rolled her eyes, “I’m pretty good, but unfortunately I can’t say the same about the service here. The drinks are warm”, she complained, picking hers up and sloshing it around, “and they gave me weird looks when I ordered drinks for both myself and Seth. I mean, come on.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I’m down to get out of here. Mind if we walk with you for a bit, Lyght?” Lyght shook his head to indicate that he didn’t mind, and Iri turned to try and get the server’s attention to bring the bill.
Seth looked up and nodded at Lyght, as much of a greeting as he could really give. Lyght nodded back nonetheless, intrigued as he often was by this guy. Wearing a sleeveless cut-off shirt even in this relatively chilly weather, Seth looked as usual to be one of the most outwardly dangerous people in the Academy. However, despite his build, Lyght hadn’t been able to help but notice that Seth tended to try to avoid conflict where at all possible. This was an odd trait in a Dreamcaster and someone as physically imposing as him, and Lyght had wondered about it sometimes. He would have asked Seth about it somehow, but of course the guy didn’t talk. That was kind of a shame; Lyght wished he could learn more about the guy.
After some effort waving her arm and shooting dirty looks at the servers, Iri was finally successful in bringing a waitress over and getting their bill. She threw down a few silver and copper Royal Standard to pay for her drink, and Seth did the same, standing up and stretching. Iri got up as well, sighing at the bad service, but turned to Lyght with a slightly calmer look on her face now that they were free, “Alright, you can lead the way.” A little bit bemused, Lyght turned to jump the rail and padded back down to the beach, Iri and Seth flanking on either side of him.
Lyght just kept walking on as he had before, looking at the channel, silent and reflective. He closed his eyes as he listened to the rush of the waves and the pattering of the rain, once again relaxed. He wished every day could be like this. But at the same time, he was glad for how far they were progressing in training. He couldn’t help but wonder what Seth and Iri felt about getting to wearing the Legion cloak every day in classes and training.
He looked up at Seth, who was looking out over the channel, and Iri, who was looking a bit awkward. Of course, she was walking along with two people who weren’t talking. Lyght looked over at her and broke the silence.
“So, I’m curious to know – what do you guys think about all this?” He gestured around in general, but explained what he meant, “You know… the city, the program, the other people, and especially being a class leader. I haven’t gotten to talk to you guys about it yet, everything’s been so busy. I mean, isn’t wearing the navy blue a dream come true for you guys? It’s so cool, right? It is for me. It still feels kinda surreal. I…” Lyght pulled up suddenly, realized he was rambling. He shook his head, but continued nonetheless.
“I guess I feel like I don’t really know you guys all that well. So what’s the story with you guys? Where are you from, and how did you get here? All that stuff.”
Lyght thought Iri looked a little uncomfortable for a second, but then she laughed and answered, “You have a lot of questions, huh? Well, to tell you the truth, we’re pretty atypical when it comes to prospective Legion members. When it comes to where we’re from, that is. We’re both from the North, which you’ve probably noticed isn’t very common at the Academy. In fact, I think we’re the only two there right now, as far as we know, who are from the North.”
Lyght looked back and forth and Iri and Seth, but he could see it was true. They did dress oddly, wearing seemingly too-light clothes all the time, and had subtle accents that were hard to place. Lyght smiled wryly to himself as looked out to gray sea again.
This must feel like summertime to them.
He looked back at Iri as she continued on, “Yeah, I’m from the Confusion domain, and Seth’s from Fear.”
Lyght tried to conceal his reaction to that one, but apparently he wasn’t very successful as Iri nodded slightly, “Now that’s one that you definitely don’t see often, isn’t it? We in the North hardly ever see people from Fear, so I’m sure Southerners don’t either. I’ve probably heard the same things about the domain that you have, so…” She glanced uncomfortably up at Seth, “Unfortunately, though, I don’t think Seth will be telling you about where he grew up. Sorry Seth,” she said, glancing over at her huge friend. He just shrugged, looking indifferent, but Lyght thought he looked a little tense. Iri was quick to change the subject.
“As for why we came to join the Legion Academy, well, I guess it’s for the same reason as everyone else. We both Dreamcasters, obviously, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued by the prospect of becoming a real Legend. I never even considered it as a real possibility. It’s a little surreal. But yeah”, Iri looked away, not meeting Lyght’s eyes. That was odd. “Yeah, that’s pretty much us.” She paused a second before raising her head to look at Lyght, auburn hair blowing in the breeze. “What about you though? Seth and I haven’t really gotten to talk to your or your friend Mikael that much. Which is weird, you know, since we’re all four class leaders. So”, Iri spread her arms out, taking Lyght’s phrase from before, “what’s the story with you?”
“Me? Well”, Lyght looked skyward, thinking, “I’m from the Hope domain, far southeast. So I guess you could say I’m all the way across the map from you. I… well, suffice it to say I grew up in the small town of Kona on the southern end of the domain. Mikael and I have known each other since we were about eight or so. We were the only two Dreamcasters in the village, so it’s safe to say we got a lot of attention over the years. It was kind of disconcerting, growing up with tons of pressure on you like that, but I came to accept it, I guess.”
Lyght paused, looking out at a deserted pier stretching out into the gray channel, watching the waves roll against its underside. He considered whether he actually wanted to bring a certain point up. He couldn’t see why not; except that he didn’t like to draw attention to himself. He also didn’t want to look like he was hiding it, however.
He turned to look at Seth, then Iri, “Now this is weird, but apparently me and Mikael are the first Dreamcasters ever to come to the Legion Academy out of the Hope domain. That just seems so unbelievable to me. In the entire history of the Dreamscape, there’s been no Dreamcasters from my domain who made it here? The odds on that seem very long. I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence.”
He continued, “And something else about my path here has been nagging at me recently; and I certainly can’t explain it.” Lyght took a deep breath, “From my understanding, everyone got a letter inviting them to the Legion Academy and telling them the time and place to meet. Is that right?” Iri looked uncomfortable again at this, but Seth nodded, so Lyght continued, “Right, well, that wasn’t what happened with me and Mikael. Lyn came to pick us up personally, and escort us all the way to the capital. Now, why would he do that? It doesn’t make any sense. Unless…”
Lyght stopped short, really hesitant to say what he’d been thinking now. Iri urged him to continue “Go on”, she said, and Seth nodded his agreement. Lyght closed his eyes resigned, and voiced his suspicion.
“The only way this kind of treatment makes sense is if Mikael and I are… special for some reason. Like, more important.” Lyght put his hands up, quick to clarify, “Now, I’m not saying we’re better than anyone else. That’s not true. I’m not saying that. I’m just bringing up the fact that, from my perspective, the whole process of being accepted to the Legion Academy, being escorted to the capital, and being made leader almost immediately seems way too good to be true. And I’m not being a pessimist, I’m really not, but you have to admit it’s weird. It’s like there’s something going on I don’t understand, but I don’t know what.” Lyght kicked a bit of sand with his foot, a little annoyed at himself for bringing all this up. After all, wasn’t he just supposed to be out on a relaxing walk?
Lyght saw Iri look at Seth, who nodded back to her. Something passed between them, but Lyght couldn’t tell what. He looked back at Iri, who was looked up musingly at the sky, “What?”
Iri maintained her posture for a second, before turning to look at Lyght. “Can I ask you a question?” Lyght nodded his consent. She continued, “This may seem random, but I promise you it’s relevant. Even if I can’t explain it right now, maybe the answer you give will help me give you more information on this in the future.” Lyght was pretty confused by this comment, but Iri pressed on nevertheless, “And you’ve got to promise to answer honestly. We’re all friends here, okay?” Lyght nodded. “Okay”, Iri began.
“Do you believe the Dark can be destroyed?”
Shocked by the sudden question, Lyght stopped in his tracks and looked with a whole new perspective at the short girl with the auburn hair tied at the back, and over to the muscular silent guy with the icy blue eyes. Both looked at him intently, waiting for his answer. He still couldn’t see why this was relevant, but he felt compelled to answer anyway. And to give a real answer.
“I believe it will be destroyed. ‘Can’ implies uncertainty”, Lyght said with a smile, standing a little taller as he spoke.
Iri didn’t answer, but Lyght thought he saw approval in her eyes. Seth’s too. Lyght closed his eyes in satisfaction.
He may have finally found some true allies.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lyght hoped he would finally be able to relax today. He arose early in the morning, as he was used to doing by now, and dressed in his Legion uniform and cloak. He didn’t understand why, but Lyn wanted the class leaders to wear the uniform at all times, not only when they were in class. He didn’t particularly mind; he liked wearing it, but at the same time he didn’t want to look like he was showing off. Lyght sighed, sure that Mikael wouldn’t be worrying about the same thing. He’d have to just deal with it, he supposed.
He wanted to spend this Sunday exploring around the city, as he hadn’t had the time for anything like that yet. This weekend was the first one that Lyn had actually given them both days off, and Lyght planned to use that to his advantage. It wasn’t just that he wanted to explore the city, although that was part of it. No, he had his own plan for today. He wanted to investigate something that had been bothering him since his arrival in the capital city.
He wanted to learn more about the King, Decimader Vuruman. Lyght had grown up knowing him as “The Hero”, as he was affectionately called by many in the Dreamscape, especially in small Southern towns like the one Lyght was from. Admittedly, Lyght didn’t know much about the man, save for the stories and legends about his feats that led to his ascension to ruler. Common convention was that he must not have even been a normal man at all, if nothing else because his rule had spanned over a thousand years, and was still ongoing. Lyght didn’t know what to believe about him, to be honest.
And so Lyght’s plan for the morning, vague as it was, was to try to gain admittance to Triumph; the towering diamond shard-like building that served as the headquarters of not only the King, but also the senior members of the Legion, like the First Legend. Lyght honestly didn’t expect to be admitted very far into the building, if at all. If he had been dressed in normal clothes, he was sure he’d have no chance. However, dressed in the Legion uniform, he hoped he might at least be able to get inside. It would be clear under any inspection that he was not actually a real Legend at all – after all, he was eighteen, and looked it – but maybe the uniform would impress the guards. Even if he didn’t get all the way to the top to seek an audience with the King himself (and there was little to no chance of that happening), maybe he would happen to run into and be able to speak with one of the senior Legends in the building. Most likely he’d just be kicked out before he got to do anything, but Lyght felt compelled to try. He honestly didn’t have that much else to do, anyway.
Lyght exited his room via his balcony, jumping down into the still empty streets, looking around. He was perplexed for a moment by the absolutely deserted streets, before he realized that last night had been a Dark night. No one would be getting up, as far as he knew, until eight o’clock. Glancing at his watch, Lyght saw that there was still half an hour to go until eight. He couldn’t help but wonder if the tower Triumph would have non-Legion guards posted outside on Dark nights and in the morning following. He couldn’t see how that would be possible; normal people felt the strongest urge to be Asleep at this time, as he understood it. He was in trouble if Legion members were guarding the massive gate at the base of the tower,
for they’d recognize right away that he wasn’t one of them. However, it should take Lyght about exactly a half hour to reach the gate. He’d just have to take his time on the way there, he supposed, and hope they’d switched to ordinary guards by the time he’d got there.
After thinking for a moment, Lyght nodded to himself and struck off into the city and away from the waterfront where the hotel he stayed in was located. The glow of the rising sun behind him gave the Dark steel buildings in the “Heart” of the great city a fiery sheen; Lyght had to shield his eyes a little bit to even look at them.
As Lyght strolled along the cobbled streets of by far the largest city he’d ever been to, he took in the intricately sculpted, colossal buildings soaring over him. He felt surrounded by the towering architecture, but at the same time, he was completely alone. The city was completely deserted at this hour, and Lyght had to admit it felt a little eerie. Now that he thought of it, he supposed he’d always been headed in the opposite direction to Zone Zero for class at this time of day, not turning around into the massive dark steel city. Somehow, the fact that he was in such a heavily populated and significant area made the emptiness of the streets, shops, and buildings that much more off-putting.
But, after a few minutes, Lyght realized the streets were not completely deserted. He didn’t want to turn his head and look, but he thought he was being followed by someone. When he turned a corner, he’d see a flash of gold or green out of the corner of his eye, but then nothing. After a minute, Lyght took a sudden turn down an alley that allowed him to naturally tilt his head backwards a little bit, and he did indeed catch a brief flash of color as someone ducked out of sight behind a dumpster. Lyght frowned, but decided to keep walking. They didn’t seem to be too much of a threat; Lyght supposed if they were that dangerous, they would’ve been harder to detect, and they probably would’ve attacked him by now, seeing as he was alone. Whoever it was, they probably weren’t a Dreamcaster, or they would’ve been more subtle about it. Lyght just kept on walking; he could try to figure out what this person wanted by analyzing where they followed him to. Would they try to gain admittance to the tower of Triumph as well? He guessed he’d see.
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