Calls From The Shadows
The paladin swung his war hammer and felt it connect with another enemy. He couldn’t see them, they always seemed to be shrouded in darkness, but he felt the hit and heard the crunch of what he assumed were bones. The enemy dropped to the ground and out of sight. He looked around but still couldn’t make out much detail. The only light was what he was creating himself. There was a part of his mind that wondered at that, this talent that he’d never displayed before, but the practical part of his brain shut that down. This is a fight. Time for curiosity later.
“Bragh!”
The voice cut through the darkness. The paladin began moving in the direction he thought, he hoped, the voice was coming from. Another shadow leapt at him, but he jabbed his war hammer into it and knocked it down to the ground. Bringing the weapon high, he swung it in a great arc at the ground and hammered the enemy into a pulp.
Ahead of him, Bragh could make out a change in the darkness. He pushed forward until he thought he could make out some shapes ahead of him. The air seemed to shift and he thought he could make out the base of a large tree. He heard movement as he stepped closer until finally he could see someone kneeling next to the trunk. The person was slight and leaning forward, dark hair spilling down and hiding their face.
“Who are you?” Bragh asked in a whisper, though even that seemed too loud and harsh for this place.
The figure looked up, her hair parting to show her face. With clear, bright eyes, she stared at the paladin and yelled, “Bragh!”
“Anaja??”
——
Braghaman’s eyes shot open and he bolted upright in his chair. He heard the sound of glass breaking but didn’t know where it came from. He looked around the room, expecting some form of attack but there was none. Forcing his breathing to slow down, he saw his knuckles were white from how tightly he was gripping the arms of his seat. With effort, he released his hold and that’s when he saw the shattered glass on the flood next to his feet. Slowly, the paladin sat back in his seat as he continued to try and force himself to calm down.
“Bragh?”
The paladin blinked a couple of times before turning to see Niviene standing in the hallway looking at him.
“I’m okay,” he answered, though not in a voice that would convince anyone.
“Another dream?” Niv asked as she stepped over to him and gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze.
“Yeah,” Bragh answered reluctantly.
“Same person?”
“No,” the paladin answered quietly, taking a slow deep breath and then letting it out. “Someone else who needed help, though. Just like all of the others.”
“What do you think it means?”
“I don’t know. But I think I’ll head to the city tomorrow and ask around. Maybe somebody knows something.”
