Heart of a Dove: Ydris x Reader

Chapter Seven: Déjà vu

I yawned as I stood with the rest of the Soul Riders in Elizabeth's living room. She looked more worried than I had ever seen her before as she explained the situation to us. Apparently great rifts had been opening up all over Jorvik, glowing with Pandoric energy. I had only just begun my training as a Soul Rider but I had heard Pandoria mentioned several times before and it didn't sound good. To be honest, everything she was saying freaked me out. Was the world really going to end if I didn't help stop whatever was going on? It worried me that the fate of the world depended on my limited magic skills. Before coming to Jorvik, I thought magic was just a fairy tale but oh how wrong I was. It was everywhere and right now it was threatening the very existence of the world as we knew it. She gave us all an encouraging speech about the power of friendship and teamwork before we mounted up and rode off.

"What do you think is going on?" I asked Linda as we cantered down the forest road. "I don't know, but Dark Core is definitely behind it. I can feel it." She said. I swallowed hard at the mention of Dark Core, the mysterious group that used powerful dark magic to create all kinds of atrocities. "D-do you think I can do this? I don't feel ready." I confessed, severely overwhelmed with it all. "I know you can, (y/n)! You're one of us now! You have more power than you realise." She replied with a reassuring smile. I smiled weakly back in return. I didn't feel very comforted but I appreciated the gesture nonetheless. She must have sensed my unease because she turned to me again and said, "Hey, I'll be right beside you, we all will. We got this. You've got this." Lisa and Alex chimed their agreement enthusiastically. Even though the circumstances were less than desirable, it felt good to know I had a group of friends to count on. Especially after having to deal with Loretta and her group for so long. I smiled at them in thanks, feeling slightly better. They were right though, I had come a long way since I first started learning about magic, especially considering I had no idea it actually existed before coming here.

We eventually turned right and cut through the woods until we came out in the Everwind Fields. My heart almost stopped when I saw the huge gaping crack in the earth. Sure enough, a bright purple light was shooting out like a beacon of doom. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and a strong sense of unease engulfed my body like a tidal wave. Something about this rift seemed eerily familiar.. "Are you ready to show us what you got?" Alex asked, giving me a playful nudge that jolted me out of my thoughts. "Um, sure." I said, my entire body going numb as I dismounted and tried to focus my power. Suddenly I saw a flash of blinding light, a wound in the earth, a sense of hopelessness, a monster... Ydris. I fell to my knees, panting and gasping for breath. What the hell just happened?! I wondered frantically. My friends were by my side in an instant, helping me to my feet. "(Y/n)! What happened? Are you okay?" They asked, their voices seeming to blur together like some kind of dream. A dream - that was it - that was where I saw this before! I brushed their concern aside, not wanting to worry them more than I already had. "It was nothing, I just lost my balance, that's all." I said, trying my best to sound cool and collected. I knew they didn't buy it but they didn't pressure me either so I said nothing more, merely focusing my power on closing the rift.

A bright light began to form in my fingertips, growing until it was a full blast aimed directly at the rift. In almost no time at all the crack closed with a loud snap. "Great job, (y/n)!" Lisa said, with a congratulatory grin. The others all nodded and expressed their pride and approval. I was really beginning to feel good about myself. I could hardly believe I had closed it all on my own! If the ten year old, magic-loving me could see me now, she would have been ecstatic. Despite our celebrations Linda brought us back to reality. "Well, that's one down. We still have a lot more work to get done. Jorvik still isn't safe." She said, reminding us that it wasn't over yet. "I suggest we split up. We'd cover a lot more ground that way and (y/n) has proved she's more than capable of handling herself." Alex suggested. The others agreed and even I didn't mind tackling another rift on my own now that I was sure I was capable. Though the dream-vision still haunted the back of my mind, lurking in the dark corners and bringing with it a tinge of fear.

I couldn't help but wonder if Ydris had anything to do with it all, though I couldn't guess why. He was just a circus master, right? A circus master with real magic. Though I still didn't know how powerful he was. Best not to assume things.. He's been so nice to me. I thought to myself, trying to quell the tempestuous thoughts that were welling up in my mind as we each mounted up and went our separate ways. I decided to head in the direction of Golden Hills, where a few rifts had been sighted. A nice change of scenery would do me some good anyways. I clicked my heels on (h/n)'s sides, leading him/her into a quick gallop, allowing the rush of speed to take my worries away, at least for the moment. Besides, I had plenty of time to worry about my little déjà vu moment later..