"DONNEL!" She bolted upright hand outstretched.
Derik was up in seconds as well, drawing her in and purring softly. She sobbed bitterly into his chest. Cider appeared and crawled into the bed on her other side. Neither of the pair considered the oddity of a massive telthor wolf crawling into their over-sized bed. This was their reality.Â
She laid back, Cider curled protectively around her from one side and Derik on the other. Both of them cooing and trying to sooth her back to sleep. She stared up at the ceiling, replaying the day the started so simply and ended in such trauma.Â
It began like any other day. Normal morning activities... A little fishing, a little running around. Still she had a pit in her stomach and she was out of arrows. As she was preparing to travel by plant to Nashkel to pick up some nicer arrows from the gifted fletcher there, she ran into Iris.Â
They laughed and joked. Their friendship had always been an easy one in spite of striking differences. Iris had beautiful, polished nails, Lannia wore rough leather gloves over her chipped and over-worked fingertips. Iris was an only child, and a half elf... Lannia was every bit of human and one of 8 siblings. Iris grew up well-mannered, and Lannia was born a barbarian. Still they had always shared a certain generosity of spirit.Â
The conversation turned to family. While Lannia recounted what she could remember, a pit formed in her stomach. She talked of her mother and father, of 4 sisters and 3 brothers. She didn't say, "But all but two of them are dead... And those two? I've no idea where they are."
Conversations kept coming back to her family recently and it was like needles in her soul every time. She convinced Iris to write to her elven mother, whom she'd not seen in person in some time, and then disappeared into a swirl of leafs. She stepped out, somewhere outside of Nashkel, away from the gaurds that would like arrest her for her magic.Â
She bought arrows and continued about a rather mundane day. She said hello to some friends, and checked on her consignments.Â
As she was walking away from Mudds, she ran into Marnie, who was sporting yet another set of brand new clothes. She smiled at her dear friend, and he greeted her with his usual exuberance. She loved how seeing people he knew always lit up his face. He was always just genuinely happy to see you.Â
It was time for her meditation. Same daily meditation, and she feared the same lack of results. She invited Marnie along. He had done some monk training, and enjoyed a good meditation too. They stopped at the Last Anchor for a drink and talked for a bit. Then Derik arrived home. It was such a normal day.
Then her eyelids grew heavily. Moving felt like wading through mud. The feeling of exhaustion was so sudden she instinctively reached for the bar to steady herself, even with Derik already standing behind her with his arm around her.Â
"It's only midday," She yawned and leaned heavily into Derik's arms.
The conversation continued aroudn her, but is seemed to blur with her vision. She caught only pieces. Derik and Marnie picking on each other as usual. They were like a pair of squabling... brothers...
"Cider, did you let her dig into fields of weird flowers again?" Derik joked with the Telthor
"Didn... do... any-thing," She mumbled and became dead weight in Derik's arms.
She was vaguely aware of the concern that surrounded her. Cider pacing. Derik inspecting her. Marnie confused as to weather she needed help or if this was some human thing. He eyes rolled toward Derik, her eyelids felt like they weighed a ton " Just going... To close them... A minute... So... Heavy..."
She was complete out and unaware of the shimmering light that enveloped her. She awoke standing on a beach at spring time. Derik, Marnie, and Cider were there. She looked down the beach and her jaw dropped. She knew this beach, and she knew the two children playing on it. The group watched in awe as a very young little Lannia frolicked on the shoreline with a brother whose head with shaven.
That's right... They had lice that year. Somehow she'd not managed to get them. Her grandfather said it was part of her gifts. She teared up as she watched her and her brother play. Her brothers looked a lot alike except for their hair and it was shaven off. She struggled to remember which brother she gave a shell necklace to, trying to pull the name from the foggy memory of a 6 year old.Â
The kids ran back toward the mainland, disappearing before Lannia could give chase. She felt her will returning, she could leave this vision, but she refused. The scenery seemed to blur in certain directions, so they followed in the direction that seemed clearest. They were attacked on the way by lesser spirits.Â
Lannia was baffled... Why were they attacking? Had they not called her here and even brought Marnie and Derik with her?
Smoke rose in the distance and a chill ran down her spine. She knew this was the past. She knew she couldn't doing anything and still she ran toward the flames. Derik and Marnie were right on her heals.Â
She came to a halt at a familiar scene. Her grandfather... Her... Marius...Â
Marius dominated her grandfather with a spell, trained his eyes on little Lannia, and then turned back to her grandfather. " ... Kill her."
She made herself watch again, as her grandfather attacked her and then incinerated himself to make it stop. She did it to honor his sacrifice, clutching her arm where a scar still marked his cutting blow to her. This time Derik witnessed it, and Marnie with him. They saw with their own eyes the horror of that day. They saw her terrified six year old face. They saw it... And some part of her was ashamed, naked.
"Oh dear gods...." Derik breathed out.
Little Lannia and the grown woman watched her grandfather die together in horror. Then little Lannia turned to face the drow.Â
"So does a brave man pass," Derik murmured, watching Lannia's grandfather pass into dust.Â
" ... you did that to grampa? You ... you did that to him?" She shrieked.
Marius scowled as he realized his prize is lost. He ignored the girl before him, turning instead to his enchanter, barking at him, "How could he resist my spell?"
" ... No one could have predicted --" Zachary started.
Little Lannia would not be ignored. Her eyes alight with fury as she summoned the spirits of fire. Older Lannia watched sadly and narrated her own capture, "It was way more than anyone my age should have been able to do."
The area lit with flame. She could still remember the remarkable heat. But the girl, little Lannia, was untrained, and the effort took too much. She collapsed, looking to the distance. Lannia stiffled her tears and explained, "... and I... Couldn't sustain it..."
"You were a child," Derik reassured.Â
They watched the figures collect the little girl, broken and bloody, and then dissolve from sight. They remained there a moment, confused. Where was the brother? Why had the spirits chosen to show her this scene again. Then they saw movement to the west and followed, only to be attacked again by spirits. Still, Lannia would not be denied.Â
Voices echoed as they dispatched their attackers stopping Lannia in her tracks, "The Darkness is coming... And it knows your name."
Derik spat venom back at them, "Then cower from it! COWER BEFORE IT!"
She smiled, remembering Cider's words and now Derik's equal confidence. She bellowed, "I am Lannia Ranloss! It should know my name!"
Derik and Lannia looked at each other, smiling. They drew strength from each other as they always did, "I am Derik Ranloss... I am the Blade that Burns! I am the Bullwark! I stand in the Middle! Come and perish!"
"I am Lannia Ranloss!" She echoed, "I am the spirit who walks!"
She did not finish her title, spotting more movement in the distance, "There!"
The scene shifted again and they were on the shoreline. A drow carried a struggling boy. Derik looked at him hard, trying to gauge the boy's age.Â
"10," Derik said, "Which brother was 4 years older than you?"
They watched the boy, beaten and roughly loaded into a rowboat. Lannia was too shocked to answer Derik at first. Her powers trembled inside her and Cider faded from view.Â
"He's about 10 there," Derik said again, "So, that should tell us which brother... You were 6."
"Oh gods," She breathed out in horror, "It's Donnel."
Once more, the scene changed around them.Â
"Oh gods... Gods... It's Donnel...," she repeated.Â
Of her three brothers the most tender-hearted, the weakest by northman standards. Her father was constantly vexed and worried that he would not grow to be much of a man. Her mother was always hiding him behind her apron strings.Â
"He was such a sweet boy," She felt tears falling again, "Barely every left my mother's side except to play with me."
The looked around, and Lannia instantly recognized the scene as one of Marius's satellite fortresses. She felt the blood drain from her face. Her stomach twisted. She wondered if you could vomit in spirit form.Â
"He must have... Seen her die," She said somberly of Donnel and her mother. She then forced herself forward. As they navigated the corridor, a spirit converged upon then again, but this time, it did not attack.
"Darkness comes and it knows your name. Turn back, Spirit that Walks. Turn back."
They argued, Lannia made herself vulnerable opened her arms as she attempted to bargain with the spirit in a non-threatening way to be allowed to continue. Marnie and Derik were not ready to show such trust. Their weapons remained at the ready.Â
"You do not understand. This path shall only lead to sorrow. Darkness comes and it knows your name. Turn back. Turn back."
It echoed again and a again.
"Darkness comes and it knows your name. Turn back. Turn back."
Derik lost patience, barking at the spirit to help or get out of the way, the ground shook beneath their feet and they were attacked. No matter how many spirits fell to them, they kept coming in an infinite storm.Â
"ENOUGH!" Lannia roared and took spirit form, breaking away.Â
"Lannia, through the door!" Derik ordered behind her and through the door she went. Curiously, the spirits stopped attacking as soon as they were through, but Derik slammed it shut behind them anyway.Â
There a new scene unfolded. Her brother was full grown now, bloodied and tied to a post. A mountain of a man wielding a vicious whip stood over him. Marius watched on cruelly demanding her brother pay for his insolence. She covered her mouth at the scene before her and forced herself to watch the torture unfold. Around her brother's neck still hung the seashell necklace.Â
When Donnel passed out finally from the torture, the torturer complained that it was too soon and walked off. Derik fixed on the man with a strange fascination, but Lannia was too fixed on Donnel to notice.Â
She placed her forehead against Donnel's, weeping for him. Weeping that he was languishing in this way and this was just a vision... There was nothing she could do.Â
" ... sister?" Donnel asked suddenly.
Lannia nearly tripped over herself with surprise. Tears streamed down his face. His expression was one of aching agony and shame.Â
"Save me, please," he begged.Â
Lannia placed her forehead back against his and began to sob pitifully. Derik moved up and placed a hand on her shoulder, "She is safe, Brother."
"I'm coming," She pleaded desperately, "I'm coming as fast as I can!"
Derik nodded, "We come for you. If we have to tear this place apart with our bare hands.... we come for you."
The sound of an arrow loosing reached her ears just as the arrow itself slammed through Donnel's chest. Marnie looked around in confusion trying to see the unseen archer. Lannia's eyes went wide in shock. Donnel's eyes bulge and his mouth opens wide in a silent scream as his body goes still. Derik whirled, warwake slinging into his hand from its scabbard. A figure fled out the door, somehow unseen.
"No... no no no..." Lannia cried impotently. She tried to grab the arrow and her hands passed through it as she continued to mutter in shock, "No... No no... Donnel? Donnel?!"
"Save me, sister ... before it's too late ..."
His voice echoed in her ears as he faded from view.Â
"I'm coming, don't die!" she wailed at the emptiness and fell against the wooden post, sobbing into it.Â
"Gods... please don't be what I think just happened..." Derik muttered and gave chase with Marnie after the footsteps down the hallway.Â
She pushed up off the post rubbing her eyes furiously and took off after them with a feral growl. They all skidded to a stop at the exit. Lannia stared... Stunned... Into her own eyes. Derik cursed, he seemed to almost expect it. He would, he would know the accuracy of Lannia's arrows. Marnie watched in shock and horror.Â
"No...," She breathed out. She drew her bow and trained the arrow on herself howling, "NO!"
The clone looked back at her, voice is filled with sorrow as she spoke, "Darkness is coming ... and it knows our name."
"I will NOT allow this to come to pass!" She howled at herself, "I will NOT!"
Derik growled at the vision, "Darkness is coming... and will have to get through me to get to her."
he vision merely stared at them. Rage filled Lannia at the vacant, hopeless stare she wore. She shook all over. Finally she snapped and roared, she loosing the arrow upon herself, missing the vision as it faded from sight. Everything started to peal away.Â
Her eyes flew open, but she did not move from where she had been laid on the couch at the anchor. She stared at the ceiling, willing it to be a dream. Derik spoke, dispelling her notions.Â
He remember it too, so a dream it was not. John told them they had settled over there only moments ago...
Here she was, woken up again that night. Her mind did love to torment her... It played over and over. She fell back to sleep whispering again, "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
It began like any other day.Â