Chapter 18
Rommus suddenly realized he was dreaming when he could feel his mind being pulled back to the real world to join his body. He started to feel pressure where his back touched the hard ground upon which he slept. Realizing that this dream was important, he struggled to stay there in the phantom world, and after focusing his thoughts, he was able to do so.
He was again in Vindyrion at sunset. He looked to the west where the crimson sky scorched the snowcapped mountains. Beyond that great mountain range lay Medora. He knew he was far north to see these mountains, because most of the Medoran mountains were much smaller than what he was seeing.
His ears heard no sound as people rushed by him in panic. He tried to run with them to catch up and ask what they were afraid of, but his feet refused to obey him and he could only walk slowly. Finally he caught the arm of a woman running by him, but when she turned to face him, her features slid from her face and then she disappeared altogether. The sight was troubling, but he did not waste time to dwell on it. He knew that he would eventually wake up and he didn't want to miss the meaning of the dream.
He remembered the darkness being behind him in the dream on the previous night, so he turned around to examine it. When he did so, the loud sound of rushing water filled his ears as a great blackness filled his vision. He searched the area for a source of water but he found none. As he looked, he saw men in silver robes running towards him against the flow of frightened people. He took notice that the men had faces, and when he met the gaze of any of them, they would pause and bow their head to him. The men all rushed into the darkness where he lost sight of them.
Suddenly he thought of Alana. He wanted to be able to prove he was actually seeing a real vision of Vindyrion, so he looked for something distinct that he could describe to her. His eyes fell on all the things around him, but nothing seemed special enough to mention. As he searched, he didn't notice the man standing before him. It was a man wearing a silver robe.
"Are you a Mage?" Rommus asked.
The man looked confused as he pushed his hood off of his head. "Yes my Lord."
"What is everyone running from?"
"There is an enemy in the shadow, and there is an enemy in the sun."
"What does that mean? I don't have time for riddles."
The man was silent but pointed to his left. Rommus turned but saw nothing. When he turned back to the man, he was gone. He looked again to the north where the man had pointed and he saw a faint glow beyond the mountains. The light brightened until even the sunset could not be seen. In the sky, in the false sunset, he saw a figure. He tried to concentrate on the image in the sky, but the more he did so, the blurrier it became. As he stood there, he felt a feeling coming from the figure in the sky. It was as if it was trying to tell him something, but didn't know his language, and instead spoke through intense feelings. He closed his eyes and examined the feeling. He knew what it meant.
He felt a cool feeling at his feet which made him look down. A rush of water had come from the darkness and covered all the ground in a cold thin layer of the liquid. In another few seconds, it was evident that the water was rising. Although he knew this was only a dream, he felt a sense of panic. He took a few steps, but stopped himself fearing that he might step in an unseen hole where he might drown in the frigid water. As he tried to think of what to do, the false sunset faded and disappeared. The light spilling over the mountains from the west was barely enough for him to see, and soon there was nothing but blackness. He felt water rising swiftly over his knees; and his panic was rising just as fast.
Suddenly he remembered what he told Alana about being able to fly to the moon in a dream. In a futile attempt, he searched the black skies above him for any sign of the orb, but found none. He began to shiver from the icy water consuming him, and he actually feared for his life, even though he was aware that he was dreaming. This dream felt so real that he thought it might be possible to actually die there in that shadow realm.
An idea came into his head suddenly. Of course there was no moon in the sky, but there was earth beneath him. He could go anywhere he chose. Again he thought of Alana and finding some way to prove to her that this was more than a dream. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the Vindyri capital of Burnhamheade. When he opened his eyes, everything had changed.
It was a bright sunny day, with birds chirping and a cool breeze blowing. He stood at the outskirts of a mighty city that looked nothing like what he was used to. Instead of massive marble columns in front of buildings, he saw tall walls of dull-colored stone. While the colors were muted, the designs were elegant and quite impressive. There were many places where he could see elaborate scrollwork protruding from the stone for embellishment. Instead of rounded archways, the ones here came to a point, which gave the place a graceful, but slightly aggressive look, reminding him of the blade of a sword.
Where there were columns, they were thin and ornate, which reminded him more of the wrists of a woman than of the stout columns in Medora. They didn't look to be able to support much weight, so he assumed that they were more for decoration than anything else. The windows he saw were pointed arches with delicate ironwork between the panes of glass. In the larger buildings, some of the glass had been stained to make colorful pictures which he thought must light up the insides of the buildings with a dazzling effect.
One building stood taller than the rest, near the center of the city. It had a very large and distinct window if its own, which was round and depicted a scene of a man on a rearing horse, and above him the seven gods in the clouds. He was so impressed with the workmanship of the window that he didn't pay much attention to the people in the streets. When he finally took a look around him, he noticed that the people near him were on their knees bowing. He turned around to see if perhaps the Vindyri King was behind him, but he saw only more people on their knees. He cocked his head in confusion as he realized that these people were bowing to him.
He approached the nearest person to him, which was a little girl not older than five years. He squatted and put his hand under her chin, raising her face to meet his eyes. "Why do you bow?" he asked.
The child raised her eyebrows in a fearful but respectful expression. She did not shy away, but she found it hard to speak, as if maybe she were in the presence of her King. A woman beside her seemed to be paying close attention to the girl, so Rommus assumed that it was her mother. He turned to her and asked her the same question.
"Madam, why do you bow to me?"
Before she could answer, a loud boom shook the ground. The people jumped at the sound, and Rommus noticed that he could see through them as if they were ghosts. Another loud boom and everything around him seemed to fade as well. He realized that he was probably waking up from his dream, and he was hearing thunder in the waking world. He struggled to stay asleep to get some answers from these people, but the sound was too loud and he couldn't remain there.
He lied still when he was thrust back to the real world, hoping that if he remained motionless, he might slip back into the dream. He took a deep breath and tried to ignore the world, but the heavy rain beating on the roof and the thunder rolling overhead would not allow it. Reluctantly he opened his eyes to the soft glow of firelight. Alana sat across the room in front of the small fireplace, with her arms hugging her knees, rocking back and forth. She jumped when she heard him speak.
"I thought you said the buildings in Vindyrion lacked any ornate design."
"What are you talking about?"
"You said that the buildings in Medora were so beautiful, and that the buildings in Vindyrion were boring. I think they look rather beautiful."
"Oh so you had another dream, did you?" she asked as she spun herself around to face him. "And what do the buildings in Vindyrion look like?"
"They were tall, made of flat stone of muted colors. They had arches, but they were pointed at the top, not rounded like the ones here. There were some windows that had colored glass, and one large building
that had a huge round window with the scene of a man on a horse with the seven gods above him."
Her mouth hung open in amazement. "That's Burnhamheade," she said.
"I know it's Burnhamheade. I went there on purpose to see if there was something I could describe to you. Do you believe me now about the dreams?"
"It will be a little harder to prove than that Rommus. That window is pretty famous in Vindyrion. Word of it might have reached these parts."
Rommus stretched and covered his mouth as he yawned. "Well, I'd have to actually see the place to prove it to myself anyway. Until I can see if it looks like it does in my head, it's nothing more than a dream. I do find it odd though that I have been having these strange visions."
She ran her fingers through her hair that hung over one shoulder. "Maybe it has something to do with what the Mages did to you. Or it could be that sword. You never know what spells are cast on an object like that"
"Have you ever seen any evidence of magic?" he asked.
"Well of course, the Silver Mages use magic."
"Have you ever seen them do anything extraordinary?"
She paused for a while as she thought. "No, I guess I haven't. There are plenty of stories about them, but they are such a secret society that no one knows much about them. I have never seen them do anything magical with my own eyes."
"Right, that's my point. I have never seen the Medoran Mages practice any magic either, unless you count whatever it was they tried to do to me as magic, but that's hard to say. I think that Mages thrive on the fact that they have a power over people, but it's not necessarily a magic power."
"Well what kind of power do you mean?"
"I think they want everyone to think that they know magic, and they keep the truth a secret. The truth is, there is no magic, or at least if there is, they don't know anything about it. But fear is a magic of its own."
"I can see the wisdom in that. But how could they possibly maintain a lie like that? And what are they for if they can't really practice magic or talk to the gods?"
"I don't know. Let me show you something." He pulled a coin out of his pocket and showed it to her in the orange firelight. "See this coin?"
"Yes, I see it."
"This particular coin happens to be magical. I keep it with me at all times."
"Come on Rommus, you just told me that you don't believe in magic."
"No, I didn't say that. If you paid close attention, I said that there is no magic, or if there is, the Mages don't know about it. I never said I didn't believe."
"Okay then, what does your magic coin do?"
He placed the coin in his left hand and closed it tightly. When he opened it, it was gone. She was startled at the sight.
"Where did it go?" she asked.
"It didn't go anywhere, it's still here." He closed his hand again and turned it over. He then tapped it with the fingers of his other hand. When he turned his hand over and opened it again, the coin was in his palm.
She reached out and took the coin and examined it. "I don't know what to say Rommus. Is it really magical?"
"It is and it isn't. It's about perception."
"Well that comment alone leads me to believe that it's not really magic. How did you do it then?"
He smiled at her obvious intelligence. "I admit, it's a trick, but it really is magic too. When I put the coin in my hand, I only pretended to do so. It stayed in my right hand the whole time, but I was careful to hide it from your view. When it seemed to reappear in my left hand, I had carefully dropped it and caught it when I turned my left hand over. Then I tapped my fist to make it seem like I was exercising some magical power over the coin, and then I revealed the coin to you in my left palm."
"So it's a trick. I don't see how it can be magical then," she said as she handed the coin back to him.
"It's magical because for a minute, you believed it was magical. A trick, performed as magic, is the same as magic."
She twisted her face in confusion. "I still don't understand."
"You have to realize that you don't know the nature of all things. When we discussed the moon and the sun in the sky, you claimed that Oderion made those things happen. In a way, those are magical events for you. For me, they're not. I understand the way it works, so I know it's not magic. Do you see what I mean?"
Thunder boomed and shook the room. "I do, but who's to say you're right and I'm wrong?"
"That's exactly my point. It's about perception, not reality. If I never told you the secret to this coin trick, you might have gone on believing that I had a magical power?albeit a very useless one. But understanding the nature of the coin and what I can do with it means that I can manipulate your perceptions, and there is power in that. Some would call that power magic."
She stared into his eyes for a while as if trying to unlock the mysteries inside him. "You're a lot smarter than I took you for at first, Rommus Tirinius. That makes sense to me. But if that's all true, then how can we be sure what reality really is?"
"That's a complicated question. I can't say for sure I know much about reality, but I can say that I live my life in the pursuit of it. Underneath of everything, there is truth. It may not always be easy to find, but everything is built on truth."
"But in your theory, the Mages are built on a lie."
"No, I don't mean that sort of truth when I say that. I don't mean that everything is truthful; I mean that when you pull back all the curtains, there is a reality that those lies are built upon. This coin is real. My knowledge of how to use the coin is real. But using those two truths, I can tell a lie. I can manipulate your reality to suit me. Do you know what I mean?"
"I think so. I never thought of anything like this before. Where did you learn this?"
"I learned the trick from my father when I was a boy, but I came up with the theory on my own many years ago. I have had a lot of time alone to think about such boring things."
She laughed and leaned back so that she could cross her feet out in front of her on the floor. "I wouldn't call that sort of thing boring, but I guess some people might. So if the Mages are tricking people into thinking they have these powers, what is their purpose? What are they trying to accomplish?"
"I don't know. I can't say for sure that they don't really have magical powers; it's just what I think. Either way, they are comfortable in letting people believe they do, so it only makes sense that they have an agenda. I don't know what it could be, but they seem to like the power they have, so perhaps their agenda is simply to have more power. Making people fear them just enhances their control over them."
"So maybe they intend to eventually rule Medora? Or the Silver Mages might wish to rule Vindyrion?"
"It's possible. Or perhaps they work together in efforts to rule all the lands. All we can do is guess. But I can't imagine that the Medoran or Vindyri armies would let them come to power. I know the Medorans fear them, but the Legions would slaughter them if they thought they posed a threat."
She was quiet for a while as she stared at her feet in thought. "What do you think the Mages wanted with you?" she asked.
"I think you already asked me that. I really don't know. I am only significant because I am a Tirinius, and the son of the General. And the fact that we were both attacked on the same day might mean something, but then again it might not. If the Mages were behind both attempts, then my guess is that they want to cripple the Medoran army for some reason. The fact that a Vindyri woman was used to try to assassinate my father right before we sent men to help the Vindyri in battle seems strange to me too. Maybe the Mages want the Legions in disarray so that they can make some kind of move and overthrow the Empire."
"Do you think that could really happen?"
"No, I don't think so. I think the might of the army is much too great. It's not like the whole army could have the wool pulled over their eyes at once. There are plenty of soldiers who remain suspicious of everyone at all times. They wouldn't let a few Mages get away with taking over the Em
pire. Even if they somehow did, the army would not be loyal to them. The Mages might run things for a while, but eventually, soldiers?Medoran or otherwise?would come to destroy them."
They both sat for a while and listened to the relentless rain batter the roof. Lightning flashed outside the small window and thunder continued to shake the ground as if the mountains in the north were crumbling. The storm seemed to get worse as time wore on, and Rommus was beginning to think that they would have to stay in the camp for more than one night. It didn't really matter how long it took them to get to Reyth, but he was not comfortable staying in Medora, and wanted to be on his way.
"It's hard to sleep with all this noise," Alana said.
"I know. I am a pretty light sleeper, but for some reason, thunder rarely wakes me up. This time however, it's just too loud. I hope that it lets up by morning so that we can be on our way."
"I'm a light sleeper too. I can never sleep through thunder. I remember being scared to death when I was little and sneaking into bed with my mother. I guess it seems kind of silly, but maybe the fear of it kind of carries over into adulthood. I'm not afraid of it or anything, but it always keeps me from sleeping."
Rommus rubbed his tired eyes with the palms of his hands. "Well it could just be that thunder is loud too. I don't think it's all that uncommon to wake up during a storm."
She cleared her throat after a short silence. "Rommus, if it turns out that you really are dreaming about the future, or about distant places you have never seen, is that magic?"
"I didn't think about that," he said as he put his hands behind his head and got comfortable on the floor. "I am no expert on magic or dreams. I don't have an explanation for it. I guess I'll have to go to Reyth and see what happens. If I can learn the nature of the dreams, then maybe I can use them to my advantage. Then again they might just be ordinary dreams. The statue I predicted that we'd see could have been there since I was a boy, and maybe being out here triggered some forgotten memory of it."
"Well maybe you saw the statue when you were a boy, but it doesn't explain how you could have visions of Vindyrion. I am anxious to see your face when we get there." She followed his lead and tried her best to get comfortable. "Maybe the Mages turned you into one of them, or maybe into some kind of seer."
Rommus closed his eyes. "Well let's see if I have the power to make this storm stop." After a short silence the room shook with thunder, making them both laugh. "I guess not. Hopefully I'll at least have power enough to get some sleep tonight."
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