Soulpower: Knights of Dusk and Dawn

I

I woke to the smell of smoke and burning wood and plaster as I groggily but fearfully stepped out of my bed. I was only fourteen years old so I wasn't very agile or strong at the time. But I found the strength to get out of bed while still half asleep. When I woke up completely I saw the vast majority of my room consumed in flames. My home was on fire. I ran towards the other rooms in the building to see if anyone else had awoken but they hadn't. I lived in an orphanage as I was abandoned shortly after I was born. The closest thing I had to family was the other children with me in the building and it's tenants. I ran towards their rooms and slammed their doors open but it was too late for several of them. I saw several kids and adults burnt to death in their own beds. Too hypnotized by the trance that was sleep and fatigue to get up before they were burnt into human-size pieces of charcoal. All I could remember was crying as I ran door to door hoping one of them was still alive.

"Chris! Hannah! Bill! Jessica!" I screamed their names as I went door to door but to no avail. They were all the same every room I visited. Oh god why? Why couldn't I save any of them? Then I came to the last room. My best friend Anna's room. I slammed the door open and saw that she was still alive but there was a lot of blood. I asked her what happened and she could barely speak but I remember all her words.

"Some masked figure came in here and beat me up badly. Then he said he was going to torch the place and left. He didn't say why but he told me his name."

"That doesn't matter. We need to get you help or you'll die." I remember telling her.

"No Aleaon it's too late for me. Just promise me you'll make it out yourself." she coughed.

"No. I won't accept this. I don't want to." I picked her up and tried to run out of the building with her but I wasn't strong enough. I slipped halfway down the hall and fell flat on my face and she flew out of my arms. I wasn't strong enough and I hated it. I hated myself for not being able to have the strength to save my greatest friend. I tried to pick her up again but she stopped me.

"No. No more Alaeon. Just put me down." She said softly.

I knelt down and watched her bleed in my arms. I watched as the tone of her skin paled and as the color faded from her eyes slowly. But despite all this, she still managed to smile. If only I was as old as she was then maybe I would have been stronger. A five year difference was all it was.

"No I won't leave you. I can't." I sobbed.

No matter how much I complained or cried though her expression remained unchanged. She was much stronger than I. Not in physical strength, but in willpower as well. I remember as I stared at her that I didn't notice a trace of fear in her expression at all. Only peace and determination. She wasn't afraid of death. Rather she was willing to accept her fate with open arms without a hint of hesitation. 

"What was his name?" I asked her while looking away.

"Flamberge." She uttered softly. She then tapped my chin with her finger to get me to focus on her face again.

"Alaeon... it's time for me to go." she coughed as blood trickled down the side of her mouth. She looked at me closely and brought her hand up to the side of my face. I looked at her pleading with my eyes that it wasn't true. Begging her not to die on me.

"Don't be afraid." She said. I stopped crying for a moment and I listened to the crackling of the flames around us as parts of the building collapsed behind us. She drew me in close.

"Close your eyes Alaeon. Please." She asked me. Confused I complied with her response. Then shortly after, strangely enough I felt her lips upon mine.

"You were my greatest friend Alaeon. Just remember though, no matter where I go, I'll always be with you." I heard her say. My arms became lighter as I felt her weight disappear from them. I thought maybe she had found the strength to stand on her own but when I opened my eyes, she was gone. No where to be seen and without so much as a single drop of blood but in her place were hundreds of small glimmering motes of light.

"I promise I'll find who did this." I said to myself under my breath as I felt a warm tear stream down my cheek. I got up from my kneeling position and ran through the flame-streaked halls back to the main entrance. The doors would've been scorching hot so I found the nearest window, took several steps back, and threw myself into it with the last bit of my strength.

Glass shattered everywhere as I rolled outside onto the cold wet grass outside. I got cut from the glass and was bruised from the impact but quite frankly I was too shocked by the sudden death of everyone around me along with being too tired as well on top of the fear of almost dying myself. Had I woken up minutes sooner I would've been barbecued so I guess I should count that as a small blessing among the hellish nightmares that had become a reality that night. As I lost consciousness among the shards of glass and cool grass around me, I thought again of Anna's last words before losing consciousness.

"I'll always be with you." She said.

Then I passed out and woke up almost immediately after in my room. It was a cool autumn night as the breeze flowed through my ever-so-slightly cracked open window invigorating the senses. I stared down at my gloved hands and wondered how many more times I would experience this.

Within the past two days, this was the third time that I had relived this nightmare in my sleep. The nightmare of what happened five years ago. Something terrible was awakening somewhere. I could feel it in my bones. Plus Flamberge was still out there somewhere. I had waited five years to find him and now I wasn't afraid. Nervous maybe but not afraid. I know someday I'll catch him and bring him down for what he did. I made a promise and I intended to keep it. But for now, it was time to sleep. So I could be ready for my current obstacle in the morning. My first day at the academy. The academy of the Knights of Dusk and Dawn. As I drifted back to sleep I thought that hopefully there I could finally find my answers that I'd been searching for all these years. So I can finally let Anna's soul rest in peace. But now it was time for me to rest. I have a big day tomorrow and I don't plan on messing it up. May the light and Anna guide my way on my path of destruction and creation.

For the awakening starts... tomorrow.