Muddy Dreams

1. End of the Path

The walk down from the forest was always the most peaceful time of my day. I didn't have to worry about Aunty screaming at me to do this and that.

The cries of the other children were whispering in the wind, soon forgotten on the path. It had been tough growing up on the fringe of the town. Barely even given a name. Micael. For all the good that did me. It ostracised me from the other nameless in the town. I wasn't one of them any longer. I was now on a different path.

A path that I was certain by this point was much much worse. The awakening ceremony tomorrow was my only chance of rising above this sludge. If you can get powerful attributes or talent, a powerful academy or clan would quickly take you from the town.

Ensuring your future and making you destined to become a Warrior of the Empire. That was my plan. My only chance of escape. The pinnacle of success. That was my goal. A few years ago, someone in the town awakened a Tier 3 ability. The following celebrations and rewards that the people of the town received from the empire were still stark in my mind.

Edmane, a few days trips from here, awakened a tier 5 around 20 years ago, the academy in that city is a stark reminder that with one talented youngster, the life of the rest of the town could be changed forever. That was also a goal. To give back to the town that for a long time treated me quite well. I could really see myself returning here after a few tours in the empire's army. Killing Aunty and Uncle and setting up a few better orphanage programs. The awakening tomorrow would reveal all. Whether I would be able to become a soldier all depended if I could awaken a tier 1 skill, that was all it would take to give me a chance.

The winding path was my only respite from it all, but the final bend in the forest was a point of despair once again. Seeing that crooked tree before the bend, seemed to bend down and reach out my soul, bringing me back into the hell that was my life. Still, the hope that was tomorrow kept me going. I didn't want to face the possibility of not awakening. That could not happen, and it would not happen. The bend came to an end. With it came madness.
That was not the town I grew up in.
That was hell.

Fires had spread, the walls had fallen in several places, a golden dome surrounded the town. A feat of magic I had never seen the like of before. The sound of a burning town should have heard from quite a bit further away than where I was, what the hell was going on. Rushing down the hill towards the town before my brain could reason with my body. I didn't know what I could do. But I damn well was going to do something. That resolute attitude lasted me all of about 20 steps before I started slowing down, the reality of the situation slowly hitting me.

That was a giant dome blocking my path forward. I had no way to break through that. I had no magical talent, no extra force of will. I was never going to be able to get through. Coming to that conclusion, I quickly tried to pull to a stop, tripping on a bit of wet grass while doing so, I made to get up and run away just about as fast as possible. That was not to be, however. I couldn't push myself up off the ground, no matter how hard I tried.

" Look what we have here, Roco, there were a few stragglers around. After all, it looks like Milo was right."

Struggling up, I finally got my arms under me, all for another burst on the pressure on my back forced me to the ground once again.

"Sorry kid, struggling just makes it worse, that's how my little ability works, the more you want to escape, the stronger it will be."

I didn't believe him. I kept going, kept trying to rise. The pressure kept growing. With a final cry, I tried to rise, I failed.
Crouching down into my sight, the ugly visage didn't make me feel any better. The burnt face didn't really fill me with a warm fuzzy feeling. His hard eyes staring me down made me feel even worse.

"Stay down, kid. Don't worry, you ain't dead yet, unawakened are safe, the boss still has a use for you guys."
Pulling me to my feet, he began leading me towards the dome. His companion Roco I gathered, towered over me. His calm stare was oddly comforting, but I supposed at this point, it couldn't get much worse. Death was coming in some form. I just needed to stave it off so I could get a chance to escape. That was my only goal. I needed to live. I needed to awaken. I needed to get out of this shithole.

Walking through the golden shield was a surreal experience. The power I felt thrumming through me as we passed through it, necklaces on my two capturers blazing mage lights on an overcast afternoon. What hit me even more, though, was the sudden noise of it all. A bubble burst. Screaming and burning filled the air. Walking through the east gates, I could see the town I had lived for the past 10 years collapse around me. The buildings I had walked past thousands of times now lay burning in the rubble.

A direct path had been burned through the town. It was quite impressive really, a small part of my brain was screaming about how much I wanted to be able to do a similar thing. My main mind, however, was reeling with the pain of what I was seeing. Walking through this new path, we soon came to the center of the town.

In front of the town hall was a horrific scene, in one corner was the survivors, unawakened and non-combatants that was plain to see, I recognized most of them. The other side was countless dead bodies of the combat awakened hanging from the town hall.