Raum | 10 Greentide, 1723 CE
A shade of thick gray clouds had blotted out the moon and stars, casting a wide net of shadows beneath the trees. The air was still in the lingering shadow, the breeze flowing imperceptibly across the blades of grass and through the tops of trees. It was like a suffocating black shroud had enveloped the clearing.
Raum was asleep in her barrow, tightly coiled knees to chest under the thick furs she used as blankets in the winter and spring. The small fireplace in the corner of the lodging still glowed from the embers of the fire. They had dimmed, but still gave off a warm radiance in the small space.
Rest was not forthcoming. Her dreams had been plagued for weeks since her inauguration into her adult apprenticeship with visions of blood and fire. Every night she would begin on the precipice of the imposing wrought iron and stone tower. She would be flung into the depths of the boiling lake below, and be rescued only to witness the rising of tens of thousands of demonic monstrosities from the great scar in the once verdant plains below the castle. Every night she would get glimpses of the horrors to follow; destruction on a scale nearly indescribable. And every night the dream ended with three segments of stone, each a crescent shape, and floating, aligned in the center of an old ruin. Between the independent curved pieces of rock, a glowing blue and purple magical aura surrounded the edges of a circular portal, and as she looked at it, the blackness at the center called to her. A voice she couldn’t recognize spoke to her, calling her into the darkness. And she wanted to follow, to lean in a touch the darkness. She would hesitate. Beyond the portal, the wall had been shaped from natural stone to provide a panoramic view of the grasslands below. Only now, the view was black and ashen, devoid of any green or life. She looked back to the entrance of the room behind her, seeing a faceless man enter. She could sense that he was scared, reaching out to her as the resolve on her face grew. She would look at him, speaking words to him that she couldn’t actually make sense of, and turning back to the portal. The dream would end the moment she touched her palm to the deep abyss, and once the abyss touched her back.
Each night she would awaken, panting and covered in a layer of sweat. Sitting bolt upright, she would instantly feel the coolness of the night air on her now wet skin, and be shocked back into the present. Each night she would don her jacket and walk out into the night, to feel more of the crisp air flow across her, and to breathe in the smells of the earth, and dew, and trees. This was home; the manifestation of safety. There was nothing here like there was in the dream.
***
Raum woke up earlier than usual, her head pounding in a throbbing headache, and her mind still heavy with the remnants of unsettling dreams. There was a portion of her that wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of stepping out of the warmth of the bed, and a part of her that was eager to begin the day. The internal opposition coupled with the headache and exhaustion she currently felt were enough to send her spinning. She could feel already that she would be unfocused in her exercises. Nonetheless, Gralik would be waiting for her shortly. She kicked the coverings to the end of the bed, and threw her bare feet out onto the rug beside her bed.
The barrow was significantly warmer than the outside air. The brisk coolness of the breeze and smell of wet grass and leaves offered her a short bit of tranquility as her headache cooled for a moment. The throbbing in her temples reduced, and for a few short seconds she could feel her mind cease with its unending roads of words and images. She took one last long breath, hoping to shake off the tiredness and unease of the night, and set out toward the grove where she and Gralik had been practicing over the last few weeks.
She arrived ahead of Gralik, and decided to nestle in on one of the smaller rocks near her sapling. Light filtered into the grove through the massive landscape of multicolored leaves. Here the petrichor scent of wet earth and foliage was stronger, and the tiny droplets on the leaves caught the filtered sunlight, casting a serene glow across the grove.
A carpet of emerald moss covered the ground, adding an ethereal atmosphere. The aftermath of the night’s rains seemed to bring the moss to life, saturating them with brilliantly vibrant green. The spongy texture softened the path into the space. Everywhere, delicate spring wildflowers had begun their first movements into blossoming, peeking out from beneath the mossy bedding.
Raum listened to the sounds of the forest around her. Birds had begun singing in the canopies of trees, calling on mates for their springtime rituals. The sweet tunes blended with the rustling of new leaves and the breeze blew softly by, creating a backdrop for the natural symphony. A feeling of renewal washed over Raum as she listened.
Gralik arrived a short time later, his faithful walking stick in tow.
“You’re always here early.” There was a light quality to his voice.
“The forest is so calm in the mornings. It’s such a pleasant way to ease into the day.”
He just nodded his agreement, taking position just beyond where she was sitting, near the center of the grove.
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As she began reciting an incantation, a subtle shift in the atmosphere around her caught her attention. The air seemed to thicken, heavy with an unfamiliar energy that sent a shiver down her spine. The words of the spell hung in the air, but felt disconnected somehow from the feeling in her limb. Confusion knitted her brows as she tried to understand the source of this strange power. It felt out of place, different from the natural forces she had been accustomed to harnessing. She closed her eyes, focusing her attention inward, and tried to call forth a simple spell.
But as she worked to channel the emerging energy, she didn’t have the same sense of control that she usually did. The magic that usually flowed smoothly now felt twisted and distorted. She opened her eyes, looking at the tips of her fingers. Dark tendrils snaked around her outstretched hand, twisting and warping her spell. A surge of raw power flowed through her, tinged with an unsettling darkness. Panic welled up inside Raum as she tried to regain control, but the more she fought against the void energy, the more it seemed to resist
Gasping, Raum watched in awe and horror as her spell transformed before her eyes. Dark wisps of energy coiled around her hand, corrupting the once pure magic. The air around her crackled with an unsettling darkness, and a chill ran down her spine.
Fear coursed through her veins as she struggled to regain control. The corrupted magic lashed out, causing the surrounding flora to wither and twist. The serene clearing turned into a tableau of twisted shadows and eerie silence.
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***
It was still dark when Raum woke. She had not yet completed the night’s rendition of her horrible dream before she came back into consciousness. Her golden eyes glinted a little in the darkness, and she was largely able to make out the shapes of the room, as if the world had been drained of color and left to a series of ever lighter shades of gray. She rolled over in the bed, facing towards the center of the room. The fire had died down, and was barely lit in the stone fireplace. There was a slight reddish glow coming from the center of the coals, but not enough for normal humans to navigate the room safely. She was still groggy from the transition from slumber, and not well rested because of the dream. Her body felt heavy, and almost separate of her. A sensation of anticipation and exhaustion combined together into an altogether uncomfortable mixture.
Slowly, her eyes began to slam shut again. She didn’t fight the urge, but as they grew ever tighter, her other senses were more focused. As sight fell away, smell and sound were heightened. It was a pleasant aroma that filled her nostrils, a combination of burnt cedar and lavender. Something didn’t feel right about it though, and somewhere in her mind she registered a disconnect between the status of her fire, and a now growing crackling in the distance. There was a moment when the disconnect became overpowering, awakening the sense of urgency and anticipation that had begun to fade. Her heart began racing, without a clear reason why, and she sat bolt upright in bed. She threw off the blanket and stepped onto the woven mats on the floor. Still in her nightshirt and without shoes, she stood in the center of the chilled room, listening.
Catching a whiff of smoke, she moved the entrance of the barrow and opened the door. She scanned what she could see of the village. Near the edge of the east side of the village, she could see red sparks against the tar black sky. The clouds were so thick above that even the moonlight was hidden from view, and the large dancing flames were the only movement in the night. She threw on her leather jacket and boots, failing to tie them fully, and dashed out towards the flames.
“Fire. Wake up! There’s a fire!” She ran towards the flames, banging on each of the house doors she flew past, screaming to the occupants as she came down the small dirt path.
As she neared, the flames became increasingly more intense. The home was that of old man Whistin, a curmudgeonly farmer who rarely was able to actually work the field anymore. Most recently he had begun to help with sprouting the seedlings for the next planting season. Raum dropped the bucket in the well nearby and began furiously pulling at the rope to surface it again. When she grabbed it from the edge of the stone, others had begun to pour out of their homes, still dressed in their night clothes, or haphazardly in daytime attire.
It began swiftly and silently in the darkness. As Raum moved back to the well to grab another bucket of water, the first arrows landed in front of her. The first that she saw struck a young woman named Shari just off-center of her spin, dropping her to the ground instantly. The world stopped at that moment. Raum had difficulty registering what she had just seen. The next arrow failed to fin a body, and lodged firmly in the ground a few feet away from Shari.
Raum looked towards the direction of the arrows’ source, without really knowing what she was searching for. Her ability to see well in the dark was a benefit. She could make out several figures crouched in the woods about a hundred feet from where she stood, slightly higher on a ridgeline of a small ravine. Each of them was armed with a shortbow and were lined up in various states of ready to fire the bows. They loosed their arrows seemingly without cohesion, simply attempting carnage among the citizens.
Raum scrambled towards the elders, who only now began to cease with the fire brigade, turning their attention instead to the panicking villagers. She needed to warn them. She saw Gralik among the group. He was reviving one of the inhabitants from the hut, accompanied by Tillan and Kell, two of the other elders. Raum locked her gaze on him, moving closer. The fire from the hut had begun to spread. The arrows were different now, blazing like tiny stars across the night sky, transferring their flames to whatever they touched. Screams were now heard throughout the village, as women and children were shuffled to safety.
