The Elf Thief

Chapter 40: The Naming Game

Chapter 40

           

The Naming Game

            A blue-grey mist surrounded Dearekk as he stood on an empty plane. The fog was dancing and swirling around the plain like the gypsy girls that would come to the castle for the fall festivals.

            He had been wandering for what seemed like hours. Sometimes silhouettes would pass by; outlines of beasts far to large to be of his world. Once he even saw a pair of sapphire eyes look at him, but as he chased after them, they disappeared into the blue mist.

            Finally giving up, the Rebel Prince simply sat on the desert-like ground and closed his eyes. Trying his best to block out the strange whispers that a wind of dreams carried across the lowland, he began to meditate.

            At first the visions came in flashes; a warrior here, a monster there. But then the images began to weave together to tell stories. They told of the Era of Dusk, They told of a hero, of a man who was not a man, but something much stronger.

            A vagabond warrior.

            They called him Centurius.

            He saw monsters, creatures that no longer dwelled in the realm of the living. He saw a whole different world, one that ended thousands of years, yet survived in the minds of those who Knew.

            “You look different than I imagined you.”

            Dearekk’s eyes jerked open. Sitting in front of him, legs crossed as he stared up at the half-elf, was a young boy of no more than ten summers.  His dark brown eyes raked up and down Dearekk as if he was inspecting him.

            “I thought you’d be bigger. And older,” the little boy declared. He wrinkled his nose and added, “And more...heroic.”

            Raising a brow, Dearekk studied the small child in front of him. “And you are?” he asked skeptically, wary of any sort of trap.

            A chirping laugh came from the boy’s mouth. “It would ruin half the fun if I told you!” he exclaimed excitedly. “Let’s play a game. I’ll give you hints and you can figure out who I am.”

            Dearekk glanced over his shoulder, looked back at the boy, and nodded slowly. “Alright,” he said standing up. “So what’s my first hint?”

            Giggling, the little boy leaned forward and flicked Dearekk’s left bicep.

            A scream of pain came out of the half-elf’s mouth before he could stop it. Falling to his knees, flashes of images sped through his mind. He saw an infinite dark pit, locked with steel bars that seemed to suck all light away. An odd mixture of screams and laughter came out of the pit, along with whispers of things that should have never been spoken.

            Suddenly, he was yanked back to the misty plain and the giggling boy. The boy’s mouth was drawn into a sly smirk, as if he knew something Dearekk didn’t.

            “And what was that?” Dearekk spat out, his hand rubbing his temple. “I never said you could invade my mind!”

            The little boy rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. “I couldn’t ‘invade your mind’ even if I wanted to. I’m just clarifying things you already know. Besides, why would I want to see what you think about? Too many problems; too may human worries. I’d much rather just play my games.” A high-pitched cackle escaped the little boy’s mouth. Still sniggering, he continued, “And that was your first hint. It’s a place called Semter. It’s where I’m from.”