The Flames of Thotus: Dreams

Chapter 3. The Cherry-Oak Hill

There wasn't much grass or greenery in Central Handil. The stone and wood swallowed it all. As much as he loved his brother, Termus needed to find time alone, away from the prying eyes and bothering people. He had always loved the green. The smell of the trees and grass carried on the wind, giving him a sense of serenity like nothing else in this world could. He had left the house earlier that day to find a piece of that tranquility, leaving all of his concerns back at Frank's mansion.

There was a park, of course. He had heard that every great city has a park. A place where the sea of green sprawled and the underbrush flourished. Where the insects buzzed about their short, busy lives. But he also knew of the people that would visit. The constant hum of chatter, the footsteps against the cobblestone paths. He knew he'd find no peace there. But he did know of another place. A small hill in the northern part of the Noble's District. He felt like this place was his own.

So he found himself sitting against the trunk of the one tree that sat atop the hill, a small cherry-oak, its pink and red petals swaying lightly in the breeze. Even sitting down, he could still see the whole upper district from this one hill. Its brown, slanted rooftops and the stone and wooden walls of its houses. Occasionally, a horse-driven carriage would pass through the open stone streets, but at this time of day, most of the nobles were off to the central heart of the city, the Legion headquarters, earning their meals and houses, trading their time for a bit more gold.

As relaxed as he should have been, he couldn't shake the thought of what had transpired earlier. Tomorrow, they would all be officers. Something about that was unsettling to him. He had trained for a very long time, most of his life with Frank, actually. All for this day. The inauguration would be held tomorrow at the headquarters and after they said their oaths and pledged their lives, there was no looking back.

He might have been okay with the uncertainty of it all, had it not been for the fact that his brother was wrapped up in all of this as well. He had dreamed of this day for a long time, his brother and him swearing their oaths and taking their first real step toward greatness. And they were doing it together. So why did he feel so dreadful? Was it because they were heading into a war? They would be safe with the commanders, far away from the actual fighting, he kept telling himself. This is just a training exercise for them.

The large stone walls of the city seemed to be closing in on him as the sun began setting and the yellow haze of Thenoax's Ring shimmered across the sky. Had he been there that long that it was almost sunset already? He wasn't ready to leave just yet. He wanted to stay just a few minutes longer.

He tried over and over again to shift his thoughts to something more positive but they always kept swaying back to his brother. How they would dance in between crowds of sellers and buyers in the Mercantile District, sliding their fingers into whoever had the fattest pockets. They had gotten very good at pickpocketing during their orphaned years. Gnove was always better, of course. Termus never did grasp the art of stealth. As much as he hated admitting, that was one thing his brother had always beaten him at.

But sooner or later, they would get caught. They always got caught eventually. Luckily, no one gave enough of a thought to two homeless orphan boys to even bother punishing them, so they were always let go with a warning. This hill is where they would sleep when it was warm out. They never had to worry about criminals or busy merchants in this district. They could grab a few blankets and steal some apples and be set for a night or two. He can't even remember one night that he would dream while under this tree with his brother. A coincidence, most likely, but still. He never felt more at peace than those dreamless nights under the cherry-oak.

As grateful as Termus was to his foster father, sometimes he missed those days. The days were dirty and the nights were restless sometimes, but he missed the freedom. When people weren't bothering them or chasing them for stealing their goods, he always felt like he had a home, a place to come back to, even when he really didn't.