Revealed Volume 01 of An Unwanted Destiny

Twenty-Three

A couple days after the Apprentice Tournament ended, I was woken by another nightmare like the ones that plagued me while on my own in Shiftron as well as after being knocked out by Mareis. This one started with me staring at a roaring campfire, Drez sitting on a log as his eyes scanned the darkness. His aquamarine bladed greatsword lay at his feet, ready to be used when needed. After all of the nightmares in Shiftron as well as the previous one, they felt real. I thought perhaps the dreams were really old memories rising to the surface of a previous life. Drez referred to himself as my father, but I knew who my parents were.

Drez looked older than the previous times, even more, gray-streaked his hair from the previous nightmare. He wore a full beard that was peppered gray as well. A loud crackle rose from the fire and Drez leaped to his feet, drawing his sword in one smooth motion. I felt a chill up my spine and knew he had to be channeling. After a few seconds, the chill went away as he sheathed the blade.

"I'm sorry Trez," he said softly as he picked me up. "I didn't mean to startle you. Every day I grow more on edge. I worry that I will fail at keeping you safe. It has me more on edge than I believed." He gave me a look like he figured I did not truly understand him. "I wonder if we will ever find a place to live in peace. I wonder home everything is going on back home."

He continued on, but everything grew quiet as my eyelids grew heavy. I expected to wake up in my room, but when my eyes opened, I saw trees flying by with the demons from the last nightmare giving chase. I cried out in terror as my heart raced quickly. I thought it was going to burst out. There was a trio of larger demons like in the previous dream. The three of them rushed ahead of the pack. Another chill rushed up my spine.

"Don't worry Trez. Daddy won't let anything happen to you."

He spun around flinging his free hand towards the first demon he saw. Lightning shot out forth filling my ears with the explosion of thunder. He turned back around and continued running. I lifted my head over his shoulder and saw one of the demons falling to its knees. A large scorch mark covered its chest as traces of lightning arced. The other two slowed down but quickly continued their chase. One of the large demons clicked sending a section of the smaller ones off to the side.

The chill continued to run up my spine as Drez's speed seemed to increase. I wondered how powerful he truly happened to be. I remember from the previous nightmares how he quickly dispatched the demons and the two armored soldiers. He ran for what seemed like hours. He came to a stop and frantically searched around for something. I did not know what, but he found it as he ran towards a large tree with an opening in the trunk. He placed me inside the opening and moved some branches around to shield me from sight.

He walked away from the tree, drawing his sword as he waited for the beast. Sunlight reflected off the aquamarine blade as the minutes crawled by. The demons slowly moved into the clearing, their eyes darting around. They talked to each other with their clicks as the two remaining larger demons stepped forward.

"I'll give you all one chance to leave. If you attack, I will kill you all with ease."

I did not think that they understood him. The look in their eyes showed a lust for battle. One of the larger demons stepped forward pulling forth a crude looking greatsword from its back. It gave a quick series of clicks before rushing forward. The tree shook with each of its steps. I watched the beast swing its crude weapon down as it closed in Drez barely moved. I barely saw Drez strike, but the beast's arms flew off, severed just below the elbow. I heard it howl in pain before Drez severed its head. Black blood filled the air as the body fell to the ground.

His left hand moved in a blur through a series of hands signs. A chill rushed up my spine before a lightning bolt shot out hitting the other large beast in the head. Its head exploded in blood and bone splattering on some of the smaller demons. The body fell like a puppet that had its strings cut. The remaining demons stood in shock before rushing forward letting out a frenzied roar. They all swarmed Drez, but he slipped between their attacks with ease. His blade struck fast delivering killing strikes with little effort.