Post originally by Character_Kyrian

Kyrian had had only one goal in this whole adventure, save his cousin. However when he heard his friend yelling for his help he couldn’t not go. What he found when he got to the source of the cries had been Ita, caught in a giant web of some sort. He’d laughed and shook his head. Of course only Ita could get herself into a situation like this. Cutting her down he’d caught her before she could fall and hurt herself.

“What are you doing here?” He’d asked. But as she was talking he found himself unable to focus. Her lips were moving, but he couldn’t hear the words behind it. Squinting his eyes shut he tried clearing his mind. When he opened his eyes the land around him was different. It was like something from a nightmare, but it felt familiar somehow as well.

“What…” his senses were on overload. Everything he’d known had just changed. In an instant things had completely shifted. “Ita, are you seeing what I’m seeing?” He looked down and Ita had a grin on her face. Something about her wasn’t right though. The smile was too big, her teeth too sharp, and her hair was too brittle. This wasn’t his friend.

He looked around the land again. If this wasn’t his friend did that mean that this wasn’t really the land he was in? Or was the land he was in before the false one? His head started to hurt. There were just too many questions and no where near enough answers. He tried throwing the false Ita from his hand, but the webbing kept her stuck right were she was.

“Awww,” she began in a mocking tone. “You don’t want to be my best friend any more?” There was a tone of arrogance in her voice that the real Ita never would have had. “And here I was thinking we’d be best friends forever and ever.” She laughed an evil laugh. This was most definitely not his friend, and if the world he was in before was the made up one, he didn’t care. He wanted to go back to that one.

And just as that thought crossed his mind, everything was gone again. The ruined landscape, Ita, the webbing. All of it was gone. The world was right again. That was when he heard the crying. There was a baby’s cry coming from close by. Then there was another noise. Almost as if several people were arguing, yelling at each other.

Kyrian pushed that thought away for the time being. His goal here had been to find and help rescue his family. His father and Aunt had both been trained and knew how to protect themselves. His cousin however had been in the hands of an insane “grandfather” their whole life. That was where he was needed more. Nodding to himself, his mind made up, the young man made his way to the crying. As he made his way through the trees before him, the crying got louder.

He entered a clearing and before him was a stone alter-like table with a small child strapped to it. For the first time ever Kyrian felt an anger inside of him that he almost couldn’t control. The infant on the table couldn’t have been more then 19 maybe 20 months old, and someone had been heartless enough to mistreat it like this. Family or not, it was just wrong.

Drawing the sword that his father had given him, Kyrian cut the straps holding the child down. He slipped the sword back into its sheath, and gently reached down picking up his cousin. “Shhh.” He tried calming the baby down. “Its ok. You’re safe now.” He kissed the baby’s head, but it still cried. Kyrian couldn’t blame it. After being treated the way it had been he’d probably cry too.

“Kyrian!? Hurry!”

His father! Something had happened and he was needed. Holding the baby as safely as possible he took off at a quick jog through the trees. He headed towards his father’s voice, only to find him and his aunt on the ground, his aunt being held by his father and bleeding. “Oh no.” He rushed to their side and looked at Aursra.

“I can’t leave you two alone for long can I?” He teased as he looked over her wound. He looked up into her face, but his aunt wasn’t looking at him, just at the package in his arms. “I think he’s been calling for you.” He said with a smile. The young healer looked at the injury. “This isn’t good. It isn’t as bad as it could be, but it’s not pretty either.”

Kyrian very deliberately did not hand his cousin over to his aunt just yet. He wasn’t sure how bad she was hurt and he didn’t want to risk hurting either of them farther. He laid his hand on her cut and closed his eyes. A soft chant began coming from his mouth, and his hands began to glow. At first it didn’t seem that anything was happening, but then Aursra would begin feeling a warm sensation around the cut, and deep in her abdomen.

“If it burns that’s how you know its working.” He said through a forced smile. At least that’s what his grandmother always told him. It was then that he noticed movement on the ground not far from where they were now. There was an old man on the ground, injured as well, but still alive. Taking his hand from his aunt he inspected his work so far. This was a much bigger wound then he’d ever healed before. He was sure he could fix her, but it’d probably take a couple of sessions.

Feeling confident that she could at least hold her child, Kyrian held it out to her. “I think someone wants to say ‘Hi’.” He grinned.

As Aursra took her child, Kyrian stood and turned to the old man. This must have been Aursra’s sire. He looked weak, and very pathetic now. He leaned down and looked into the man’s face, “Does it hurt much?” with a weak grunt that he took to mean ‘yes’ Kyrian nodded. “Good. Anyone who would do that to a child deserves whatever pain they get.” He stood and gave the man a kick, hearing the grunt of pain.

He looked to his father next and saw the look in his face. He couldn’t help but feel ashamed of his actions just then, but the man had hurt his family and he felt he needed to get his kick in. Afterward it didn’t feel quite as good as he’d thought it would. At least he hadn’t done something like draw his sword, but then again he was still too young and didn’t have THAT much hate in him. He couldn’t bring himself to kill another living being. It just wasn’t who he was. And apparently neither was hurting another. It didn’t set right on him. And as he would tell in the future that kick might have cost him more then he realized.

Aursra's pleas for Verial to let go of her had fallen on deaf ears. The more she squirmed and tried to get away, the tighter he held on, still being careful not to touch the open wound himself. He was aware out of the corner of his eye that the House O' Dreams was disappearing, but the sound that was once a high pitched siren was now the soft sobbing of a child - something that sounded all too real. However, Verial kept his arms wrapped around Aursra still; she would be angry at him for keeping her from the child, but in time she would understand why. Aursra would realize that she may have brought further injury to herself, possibly even death, from moving too much.

Verial kept his mouth low to Aursra's ear, her mahogany curls brushed against the side of his face and hummed that lullaby gently until at long last he felt Aursra had gone slack. She was breathing for sure, so he felt no worry that she might have passed out or worse, but it was as if she were now too weak to fight him. Thankfully, Kyrian had heard Verial call out for him and not a moment later arrived with flushed and hurried cheeks.

As he lifted his head to look up at his son, the song he was singing ceased and Verial noticed Kyrian held a small child within his arms. Verial hoped that the sight of Aursra's child would be enough to make her rest finally and put some positive closure on the otherwise dismal events that had transpired. Despite the situation, Verial smiled slightly at his son.

"No, I suppose not," Verial said. Then returning his odd colored eyes to look down at Aursra, he directed her towards Kyrian where he cradled the child. "Kyrian has your child, Aursra. Everything will be okay."

Kyrian was right to not hand Aursra her child right away; Verial thought the closeness of it just being there should have sufficed. Verial watched as Kyrian started to heal Aursra's wound and even he could feel the warmth of his son's magic trying to mend the open flesh. When the young healer was convinced the bleeding stopped, Aursra's baby was finally held out to her.

"Slowly," Verial instructed and helped Aursra to sit up. Verial knew that it would take more than one healing session for Aursra to be completely intact once again. For now, the skin was woven together, but it still could be broken open easily. Any movements too fast after the first course of healing might open up and disturb the wound again. When Verial had been practically killed by Lumine, it had taken Sorvynia a great number of sessions to heal her son. In the end, she had run out of strength and luckily was able to rely on herbs and natural healing to work out the rest.

"Your grandmother taught you very well," Verial started with a relieved sigh. "You did great." And to this he referred to both bringing back the red-headed child and curing Aursra.

As Kyrian stood up and walked away, Verial let his arms and wings unwrap from Aursra so she could spend a few moments with her long lost child. He kept by Aursra's side, regardless of whether she wanted him to or not. Verial tilted his head and curiously looked at the infant, trying to find a bit of Angelus in that innocent and tear streaked face. There was definitely some resemblance to his younger brother that Verial could not deny.

Verial only turned his attention away from the child until he heard a muffled thud a few feet away followed by a sickening grunting sound. Behind him, Kyrian was hovering over Aursra's Sire and had kicked him in the stomach as the man was trying to feebly crawl away. Verial's mouth almost dropped open seeing that, but he held his lips pursed together in a tight, disapproving line before speaking.

"Kyrian, get back over here now," Verial said, his voice with a hint of disappointment more so than anger. "Don't let me catch you doing something like that... ever again."

There was no need to have a talk with Kyrian about his actions just then; the look in Verial's eyes and the tone of his voice had said enough for the time being. He understood why Kyrian had wanted to cause the old man pain, but it was not in their hands anymore to decide his fate. That was for Aursra and perhaps Aursra's Sire alone. It was not so much that Verial was ashamed of what Kyrian had done, but he was more fearful that his son might be inheriting some of his father's anger - something that Verial had never wanted Kyrian to be the recipient of.

Or perhaps it was that dragon slumbering inside of Kyrian, the one that as far as Verial knew, had yet to be awakened.

The child was drained. The crying did not stop as Kyrian took him up into his arms. In fact, for a moment, he writhed and tried to push the lad away or wriggle out of his grasp, but even for an infant, the child hadn't the strength, and eventually, the child sagged against the young rescuer, still giving shaky sobs. Eyes were still closed as if, through it all, the child wasn't actually awake. One had to wonder what all she'd gone through.

Verial was still holding Aursra, and her own strength was ebbing. It was getting difficult to do so much as to keep her eyes opened, but those dainty fingers were white knuckled as she held onto fistfuls of the man's shirt. Adrenaline was subsiding now that he'd managed to calm her a bit, and the pain was more intense as a result. She still murmured about the babe... was pleading only half coherently for him to go and find the child, but he just kept close, humming that lullaby. She could feel his breath against her ear. Everything seemed both hazy and clearer. Was this what it was like to be dying?

"Promise me..." Her voice was all thready, and her chest was rising and falling shallowly as if it was too much effort to draw in deeper breaths. She was, of course, going to make him promise that her child would be looked after if she was unable, but then there was Kyrian and all of a sudden she could feel the child's presence as keenly as she'd felt Verial's since finding him that fateful night weeks ago while he was on the job. The older lad received a quick glance, checking him over for any wounds, but she couldn't stay focused on him for long. Her eyes were shifting to the child he held and once there, she couldn't look away.

She tried to sit up, but even without Verial there to try to still her, the effort was such that she felt light-headed and fell back against the arm and wing cradling her in nearly the same instant. She settled for letting her fingertips extend to brush against whatever bit of the babe she could reach. Toes. There were five, unwashed little toes that wiggled against her hand. The child was still whimpering, eyes closed, as if in some world between waking and sleep.

Kyrian set to work, drawing upon his own abilities. She was oblivious to the soft glow of his hands, though she did give a sharp cry as flesh and muscle started to be knit back together. She'd never needed this sort of healing, peaceful lass that she was by nature, and when it was over, she managed to tear her gaze away from the babe to give Kyrian a grateful smile. Her fingers found the lad's face, and the look she gave him was one of pride.

Then, she was being helped into a sitting position, and there was eagerness and fear writ plainly on her face as the child was passed into her arms. So much time had passed, and she didn't know what the wee thing had had to endure. Her bloodied hand had been wiped off on the grass and on her dress, and she let her thumb wipe at the tracks of the girl-child's tears. That was when, for the first time since seeing her, eyes opened. Aursra inhaled sharply. The eyes that she gazed into were a perfect blue, so like Angelus' that she could have wept. The thing was, those eyes did not track Aursra's movements. They seemed to look through her as opposed to at her. "Oh, Sweeting.." She whispered as realization dawned. She drew the child close, trying not to sob loudly enough to frighten the babe who had finally stopped crying herself.

The young mother was oblivious to Kyrian's mistreatment of her Sire. She was only vaguely aware that Verial was using a stricter tone with his son than she was accustomed to hearing. No, she was preoccupied processing this new information. Fingers sifted through hair that was baby fine but otherwise so like her own, and she pressed her lips to the lids of sightless eyes.

"How long have you lived in darkness?"

Post originally by Character_Kyrian

"How long have you lived in darkness?"

The words brought tears to Kyrian's face. How would he have reacted if that had been his daughter? Of course he was still too young to worry about having kids of his own, but still. A parent's love could drive them to do many things. Some things that they didn't think they would ever be able or willing to do. Would Kyrian have been able to stop at just one kick if that was his daughter? He wasn't sure any more. There was a time when he knew that he would never feel that kind of hate. However, the events of the last few days played over in his mind and he realized that he now questioned everything he "knew" before.

His father had seen, or at least heard, what he had done to Aursra's sire. That was a worse feeling then what he felt right after he'd done it. He could see the disappointment and worry in his father's eyes. He knew that what he had done wasn't right, but for that one brief second it felt good. Of course with his family being who they were and his grandmother the person she was, he felt wrong right after that.

The next question that he had to ask himself was what was he going to do about what he'd done? Would he try hiding it or should he revel in it? Maybe he should try to make amends? He just wasn't sure. Kyrian had thought that getting older and having the respect of his father and acknowledgment that he was maturing would make things easier. If anything it had made them harder. What respect he had built over the last few weeks was shattered with that one kick.

Kyrian wasn't sure what to do, but he did know that it was getting dark and that the trio (quartet now) wouldn't be going anywhere tonight. Besides, his aunt was in no shape to actually move just yet. He'd need another healing session with her before she could get back onto a horse. So, with that in mind, the young man went to his horse and unpacked a ball of rope. He used it to tie up Aursra's Sire, hands to hands, feet to feet, then hands to feet. Once he was secure, Kyrian searched him for anything that could be used to cut the rope or hurt them while they weren't looking. He found nothing.

Then the lad set about making camp. It may not have been the best of places for camp, but with an injured party member, a toddler, and a hurt old warlock, they weren't moving anywhere. He set it up, maybe not as well as his father and aunt would have, but it was passable. Starting a fire, he made sure that the wall around it was high enough not to catch anything else on fire. He wasn't sure what to do about food though, personally he wasn't that hungry but he didn't know about the other three. So, instead he put up the bedrolls for everyone.

"I think I'm going to go to sleep. Unless you need me?" He looked to his father, seeing as how his Aunt was slightly preoccupied.

Verial would have promised Aursra that he would have taken care of her and Angelus' child should anything have happened. And though Kyrian had been able to heal her wound and renew a bit of the shaken poet's strength, Verial nodded his head gently and said, "I promise, but you're going to be okay now." For a moment, her threaded a comforting hand through her mahogany curls careful of any tangles that may have been present from days of travel.

After all was said and done and Kyrian had returned to Verial after his scolding, they were able to turn a bit of their attention back to Aursra's child - her baby girl - despite the old, feeble man in pain right next to them. Verial kept sitting on the ground with Aursra as she cradled her child, letting her lean against his chest as if he were some sort of chair. He titled his head slightly to look at mother and daughter and nearly cringed hearing Aursra's words.

"How long have you lived in darkness?"

So the brilliant blue color of the babe's eyes was partially due to blindness. And while Verial thought it was a sad outcome, one he didn't want Aursra to have, it wasn't the worst. She was with her child now, her perhaps only remaining link to Angelus, and Verial knew she would care for the child regardless of blindness or not. There was no telling if Aursra's father had been the cause of the little girl's blindness or if she had been born with it. Really it seemed not to matter in the end.

Before Verial had noticed, Kyrian had completed setting up camp around them and had tied up Aursra's Sire. Out of the corner on his eye, Verial had watched his son go about his business as if he were in some other world. Part of Verial knew Kyrian was trying to remain busy, occupying himself with other tasks, to almost shove those guilty thoughts out of his head. There was no doubt that Kyrian was aware that he had done wrong by kicking Aursra's Sire, but it was just a matter of figuring out how to deal with that bit of anger he was not usually accustomed to.

When Kyrian had finally made his way towards his father again, Verial had hoped he would have said something (he wasn't looking for an apology necessarily), but Kyrian only asked to go to bed. It was suddenly becoming apparent to Verial that he needed to tell Kyrian about what was hidden within him - the dragons and the dreaming. Both would drive Kyrian insane or possessed if he did not learn how to deal with them soon.

"Yes, it's fine, Kyrian. Get some much needed rest, as your Aunt will require your help again in the morning if we are to start heading home," Verial answered. The word "home" lingered in his mind for a moment and suddenly Verial wished to be back there.

As Kyrian would go to sleep, Verial started to help Aursra up who gently held on to her child still. Slowly he wrapped his arms around her sides and helped her to stand so she could go to the other tent to rest. It was a very delicate process and each step seemed to take an eternity, but he was ever patient as he moved mother and child out of sight to one of the tents where they could sleep as well.

Food was in order and Verial gathered what he could for Aursra, Kyrian and the unnamed little girl. He brought something to each of their tents. Luckily, they had brought something to drink and eat for any unexpected bundles that might be coming back with them. Before leaving Aursra's tent, Verial wrapped a blanket around Aursra and her child, then reached out and stroked a hand across the baby's brow.

"You're in much better hands now," Verial said to the blind girl and then turned his head up towards Aursra. "This is where you really need to get stronger... for her, okay? You need to try and rest tonight. I know it hasn't been the best of days the last few weeks, but hopefully fate holds a better future for you in the days to come, Aursra."

Moving out of the small tent, Verial walked towards Aursra's birth father that was bound and tied up a few feet away from the camp. Her Sire had not moved much and had only fallen over to the side as if he made a bad attempt at escaping. Verial bit his lower lip briefly and then breathed out slowly knowing something had to be done with him. Reaching down, Verial picked up the old man who gave the saddest little whimper - one which did nothing for Verial - and carried him over to a tree. There Verial set Aursra's Sire down with his back resting against the tree, facing the opposite direction of their camp so he could not look upon them any longer.

Verial stood and looked down at Aursra's Sire for a moment and only shook his head. He said nothing; there was not much to be done any longer. The man was bleeding from the open wound still, his breathing shallow and his face sunken in and pale. In the morning, the old man would probably be dead and that would be that. If he managed to escape within the night, it would be a miracle for him to make it anywhere for help - the nearest town was days away.

So Verial opted to walk away from the Aursra's Sire. He made his way to a flat-topped boulder that surrounded the campsite and stepped up onto its three foot height. There Verial finally sat down, watching the woods for any movement. Should Aursra's Sire try to make a move, Verial would know about it. Not far off the fire flickered and gave off enough warmth that Verial could feel it on his back and raven colored wings as he sat and kept watch. Honestly though, Verial thought there was not much to worry about in the darkness tonight.

It didn't matter. Other than the guilt that gnawed at the sensitive soul of the poet for not being there when her child had needed her most, the blindness didn't matter. She didn't love her any less. If anything, she felt more protective, more in awe of this tiny girl who had lived against all odds. It didn't occur to her to question her Sire. What was done was done. Her child lived, and even if her Sire didn't die in the night, he was no longer a threat to her. She was not some scared girl anymore. If nothing else, she'd gained some confidence in herself.

She had felt the fingers in her hair, and while there were many questions that she had for Verial, she was too preoccupied and too enraptured with the child who was only half awake in her arms, to pull away or to throw any accusations his way. Besides, what sort of introduction would that be of her mother? Something about Aursra must have seemed familiar or comforting because the child had settled in against Aursra and calmed, though there were still those shuddering breaths now and again from having cried for an extended period of time.

Aursra leaned down to press her lips to a smooth, silken cheek, though her back still rested against Verial's chest. Sitting up on her own just wasn't possible, and for now, all of her anger had faded. How could she possibly think of anything else just then? She was looking at the child as if she so much as blinked, the babe would disappear. It wasn't until Kyrian returned, speaking of his desire to sleep that she glanced up, surprised to see that camp had been set up.

"Such a blessing you've been, Dear, Sweet Lad." She reached for his hand before he could go. "We couldn't have done this without you." It seemed incredibly important just then that he know that. He must have known how reluctant they had been in letting him come, but in spite of the anger he had loosed upon her Sire, he had done much in proving himself. Then, she released his arm, letting him head to his tent, suddenly realizing how very tired she was herself. Fingers caught in those baby curls, nearly the same hue as her own. The days to come would not prove easy. She was, officially, a single mother. There was a pang as she thought of Angelus, not here to share in this bittersweet reunion. Would he even have wanted to have been? That was unfair. She had been the one to disappear, and she knew had he known, he would not have abandoned their child... but in spite of Verial, who was now helping her ever so carefully to her feet, she felt suddenly very alone in this new venture.

It took all of her strength to safely cradle the child as they moved. Each step sent a jolt of discomfort, though the healing she'd received had numbed a significant part of the actual pain... for now at least. Finally, they made it to the tent, and she managed a strained but nonetheless grateful smile for Verial. That feeling of betrayal wasn't forgotten. It still lurked there in her naturally expressive eyes, whether she wanted him to see it there or not. She just had other things to concentrate on just now.

The young woman got situated with the child, in a position that was half laying, half sitting. When Verial returned with food, she began to coax the little one to try to drink down some of the milk she'd been keeping magically cooled inside a bottle of sorts. She'd tried offering some other foods, but the child seemed to exhausted to do more than lazily suckle down the milk. Aursra managed to nibble at an apple and some dried meat herself, but like her daughter, eating wasn't all that high on her priority list. With an arm cradled beneath the babe, Aursra--laid on her uninjured side--was beginning to doze. Before long, both of them were breathing deeply... in what might prove the best night's rest in a long time for either of them.

At some point before then, in that limbo between wakefulness and dreams, she murmured two words against the babe's shell-shaped ear.

"Mychalyna Psalm."

Post originally by Character_Kyrian

Kyrian smiled weakly to his aunt. Her words did make him feel a little better. The problem wasn't with her, but with him. He hurt inside, almost as if the kick hadn't landed on Aursra's sire, but on him. The anger he'd felt at seeing his cousin mistreated the way she had been, left him feeling drained as well. Not to mention the stress of the healing he'd done. It wasn't a small wound, and despite appearances it hadn't been easy for him. He offered his father the same smile he'd given his aunt and went to his tent. He had helped, and what’s more, he'd been recognized for it. That was nice.

But now it was time for rest. He closed the tent door behind him and completely ignored the mess he was. Usually his nightly ritual would find him at least rubbing down with a damp cloth and changing into clothes that felt clean, but tonight he just fell into his sleeping sack. He was mostly asleep when his father brought the food in for him. The smell was enticing but not enough so to get him out of bed. Letting the food go cold, Kyrian fell asleep.

They were almost home! Having spent all that time out "on the road" had been more tiring then he'd thought possible. He'd healed his aunt's wounds completely and they rode their horses, who were about as relieved to see home as they were. His cousin had been so well behaved the entire way home, it was almost like she wasn't even there. As they came closer to the cottage, he could see his grandmother and Ita on the front porch waving to them smiling. It had seemed like so long ago that they'd left.

The group was still a little ways away when Kyrian noticed movement from the corner of the cottage. A dark shadow ran from the far side across the profile of Sorvynia, and then continued past to the other corner of the house, disappearing behind it again. The young man's eyes went back to his grandmother; she stood there with her hand to her throat, a blank look on her face. Then blood started to pour from between her fingers and down the long white dress she wore.

"NO!" Kyrian yelled and urged his horse on faster. But the faster his steed went the slower it seemed to move. He could hear the sounds of his father and aunt behind him also trying to make it to the cottage in time. He watched in horror as the limp form of his grandmother, his friend, his teacher, all of them in one person, fell to the porch, then rolled down the front of the stairs. Her head was at an odd angle, one that heads shouldn't be able to turn, and the expression on her face was one of pure shock.

“Gramma!” he screamed as he finally got to the house and jumped from his horse. But they were too late. Sorvynia was dead. Tears poured down his face as he pulled the lifeless form into his arms and rocked back and forth. “This can’t be happening.” He muttered to himself. Then, remembering Ita he turned and looked for her. He found her lying at in a position similar to his Gramma’s but she was against the wall of the house. It appeared that when the shadow streaked across, it sliced Sorvynia’s throat and smacked Ita so hard that upon hitting the wall she died. In two seconds Kyrian had lost two of the most important people in his life.

Then he felt it. Just like in camp when he’d seen Aursra’s sire. The anger built up inside him until it was ready to burst free. He let out a scream that seemed to last forever, and left his throat raw. That only seemed to add to his anger though, not release it. The once prince, stood and made his way to the corner of the cottage he’d once called home. The word now seemed alien to him. “Home”. Home was where his family was. Home was where his friends were. And now he’d lost two of those. Home was the last thing on his mind.

As he came around the corner of the cottage he saw the tail end of the shadow rounding the back corner. It could run, but Kyrian would catch it. Of that much he was certain. He ran faster and sped around the other corner just seconds after the shadow had. And in his hast he ran smack into the back of said shadow. He bounced off and landed on the ground. It wasn’t a shadow at all, of course Kyrian didn’t think it was (shadows didn’t kill on their own), but a person.

Jumping back to his feet, he pulled the sword his father had given him. He would avenge the death of his grandmother. “Turn around so that I can see the look on your face when I kill you!” he yelled. He’d never felt anger like this before in his life. He’d never thought he would say words like that to anyone either.

Then the shadow turned. Kyrian looked into his own eyes. The person before him was in fact his exact double, with one exception, the smile that was on the shadow Kyrian was one of pure malice. He’d enjoyed doing that he’d done. It was the way things should have been handled a long time ago. Instead of teaching him to heal, his father should have insisted that he learn to fight. And now with the old hag out of the way Kyrian could do that.

It was like Kyrian knew what the darker version of himself was thinking. It scared him deeply. He could see himself having become like this person if he hadn’t been raised the way he had been. However the pity he’d started to feel for him disappeared when his darker part attacked. He moved faster then anyone else Kyrian had ever seen. It was like he’d spent his whole life doing nothing but training. And the real Kyrian hadn’t trained with the sword, but as a last resort. Oh, this wouldn’t end well.

And ending was exactly what was about to happen. After a blow that left Kyrian’s hand numb, his double followed it up with a slash down and directed through the head. Kyrian just closed his eyes and prayed. As he did he felt a warm bright light spread over his right shoulder and out in front of him. It practically blinded him even with his eyes closed. The light dimmed and as it did he risked opening him. His darker half was no long in front of him about to attack, it was too busy, locked in a battle with yet another Kyrian. This one covered completely in white.

The two Kyrian’s crossed weapons and a shockwave that through the real Kyrian several feet, went out. When he looked around he noticed that the house was completely destroyed in the blast. And now it seemed that the two had come to a stalemate. Not that either seemed to care. Neither moved forward or backward. They just stood, holding their ground. Then he could hear their voices in his head, “Kyrian, I will devour you. But you’ll be free. Free from being the perfect son, and friend. Free of all the standards they have for you here. Let me in.” and the other one, “Don’t give in Kyrian. It isn’t what your mother or father would do. Your father has won his battle with this demon, now it’s your turn to fight.”

At the mention of his mother and father, Kyrian looked back where they had been. He ran. If they’d been hurt he’d kill both Kyrians. But as he came around the debris he saw that they were both there, sifting through the wreckage. Wait, his mother hadn’t been with them. She gone missing years before.

Kryian sat up so fast that the sleeping sack he’d been using flew off of him. Completely disorientated, he looked around. They were still in their tents. They hadn’t even left yet. Calming down realizing that it had all been a dream, when he lay back down and was chilled. Apparently at some point in the middle of the night, he’d gotten hot and now his sack was soaked with his sweat. Changing clothes, Kyrian stepped from the tent to great a new day.

He was the only one awake just yet however. Which meant he had time to think. He remembered the dream vividly. It was so realistic, up till the end. But even that seemed right for a moment. What did it mean? Gramma was always talking about dreams and their meanings. What hidden message did this one have? Shaking it off to a rough day yesterday, Kyrian forced a smile to his face and shook his head to clear it a bit. If they were going to be leaving today, he’d have to preform another healing on Aursra before hand. Hopefully she’d be able to part with the baby long enough to allow him to treat her.