Prologue
Blood soaked snow covered ground, the bodies of friend and foe lay strewn across the fields. Even with such a gruesome looking outcome, they were winning. That was the most important part. The blond man panted as he dashed through the carnage. A high place was where he needed to be and a high place was where he ran. The drum in his hand slipped here and there but never did he let it fall.
After all, what use would he be if he couldn't help?
Hazel eyes darted around in search of danger but as he saw none, he caught his breath. He needed it for what he was to do next as with his abilities, he knew he could help not only boost morale but quite literally give them a boost in this fight. The wind almost seemed to pickup knowingly as he reached the top of the ledge and began to play his drum rhythmically. He could feel himself singing, but what were the words again...?
The battle grew fiercer and his side was beginning to become more successful but he hadn't been paying too much attention. For when he focused solely on the battle rather than his surroundings, he heard a sudden feminine voice behind him.
"Enough."
Her voice was terse and cold, much like the sword that she plunged through his body from behind. The drum in his hand clattered to the ground as blood pool from the wound. He only managed to mutter out a single word before his world suddenly went dark.
And then, a gasp as he awoke from the terrible nightmare that relentlessly plagued him. He held his chest and then his side, and then felt the familiar bed he had fallen asleep in. Panicked breaths began to slowly but surely stabilize and a soft sigh left him, running a hand through his wavy blond hair that fell a little above his shoulder.
"Calm down, Aelius. It was just another nightmare. You're okay. Everyone is." He mumbled to himself, rubbing his face as if to scrub any recollection of this nightmare from himself.
This hadn't been the first time just this month that Aelius had seen this nightmare. And always, it ended the same way. He was trying not to lose sleep over it but as it became more and more frequent, sleep sounded less and less enticing. It was the feeling of the warm sun upon his skin from the window near his bed that further soothed his anxiety as he let out a soft sigh, leaning against said window.
"Morning to you too, dad." Aelius joked to himself.
His gaze slowly went to a letter on his desk within the cabin, remembering it like it was just yesterday he had received it. Aelius chuckled a bit to himself again as he remembered just how he'd been brought to the camp before he jolted at a sudden knock on his door.
"Aelius? It's almost time, are you alright in there?" An older man's voice asked, causing Aelius to quickly sit up and start his day.
"Y-Yeah! I'll be out there in a minute, Ezekiel! Don't worry!" Aelius called out towards the door though he heard the wooden porch creak slightly as the man outside shifted his weight.
However the other didn't pry, believing Aelius as he gave a small hum in approval.
"Alright, we'll see you at the amphitheater, okay?"
"I'll see you there, Zeke!"
Aelius heard the powerful steps begin to become quieter and quieter and the man let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. This was not to say Ezekiel was threatening but he simply didn't want others to worry about him. Aelius and Ezekiel had a rule as well: Aelius was not to tell Ezekiel about these dreams. "Why" one might ask.
It was because these were premonitions.
This was to be his outcome in what was to come. Aelius could not avoid this nor could he change it. But the blond man didn't mind. What he cared about was making sure there were less deaths than he had foretold. None of them deserved to die like that. Even if he was only in his late 20s, the others were still practically children. Well, those who were on their way anyway. But maybe this was just a bad idea all together?
Aelius dwelled on the question for a few moments as he placed his hand on the doorknob of the cabin he was in before a soft sigh escaped him. No, this was the better outcome. If it was only the adults here at the camp against...those things, they would die in vain as the world was destroyed. There's strength in numbers, and they needed this strength. Aelius stepped out into the sun, his buzzing thoughts finally subsiding as calmness came over him again. It was like the warm embrace of a parent after you've been hurt and they reassure you that you're fine.
It was comforting.
So, with a newfound sense of peace, he began to make his way to the amphitheater where everyone else was, the letter still on his desk when he left.
