The vision didn't hit her all at once. It came fuzzy at first like her eyes were covered by a thin white blindfold, seeing the light and shadows but not able to make out what they were. Slowly, Izzy's vision cleared, revealing a scene that she had been growing quite familiar with over the past few weeks.
The vision always started the same. The scene began with a beautiful backdrop with a large green clearing surrounded on almost all sides by lush green trees, full and buzzing with life. The side not bordered by trees cut off downward sharply to a steep cliff with rocky edges jutting out of its face. Izzy couldn't entirely make out where she was in her limited perspective of everything, but she had a clear view of the cliff and it's clearing. A dark presence laid below but the vision never revealed what exactly waited at the bottom. Then a pulse of power emanated from below the cliff and all sound stopped. The birds stopped chirping, woodland creatures ran, insects disappeared. The majestic scene grew eerie and ominous.
Aarushi stepped out from the tree line, her normally dark hair a silvery-white. It whipped around her face as the wind picked up around her, her silver eyes ablaze. The markings that lined her neck and arms glowed from a light hidden inside of her. A longsword of light was gripped in her hands. Izzy always was reminded of a soldier as she saw this dream version of her friend.
Next was Snow's entrance. The vines and branches carried her from the treetops, bending to her mind and settling her down next to Aarushi. Her pale head was crowned with flowers, and vines wrapped around her arms and legs. Her outfit was loose and made out of what seemed to be some kind of plant that conformed to her body like a second skin. The bright pale pink wings behind her fluttered as she stepped towards Aarushi, saying something to her that Izzy could not make out.
Drake always came last, stealthily sneaking out of the brush. His power and light shone similar to Aarushi's but his crackled as it pulsed through his skin, like living lightning. He held two short swords in both hands as he came to the side of Aarushi, making some gesture to them.
Usually, the vision ended here and Izzy was thrown back to consciousness. However, this time the vision did not end with Drake. She watched from her invisible perch as Drake, Snow, and Aarushi all turned back to the woods and Aarushi made a strange, foreign, calling sound. It pitched high then fluttered low and rose high again, like a bird's song but it was unlike anything Izzy had her before.
Suddenly, five strangers emerged from the shadows. A man with flaming red hair that matched the fire he held in his hands, careful not to get too close to the dry brush around him. Next to him stood the image of a pale man, with pitch-black dark hair. He moved with the grace of a cat as he strode to Aarushi, talking to her about something Izzy couldn't quite make out. He flickered briefly, flashing between the man and an image of an almost identical woman. Finally, the flashing stopped, settling on the woman.
Standing the tallest out of all of them was a massive wolf. Its deep brown coat shone darkly in the sun as the muscles throughout its body rippled with each step. Clutching to it's back was a small woman with webbed hands and shining jewels planted firm along her arms and face. She opened her mouth, revealing sharp, pointed teeth, and let out a loud gurgling call that shook the trees around her. Aarushi laughed as if she understood and helped the small woman off the beast, her jewels shining brightly off her dark skin. A tall man stood stoically next to them all, reaching Snow in a single step and settling next to her side. Two wicked-looking daggers hung from his belt, along with other assortments of weapons that gleaned in the sun, looking sharp and deadly. He turned to survey the area and Izzy was alarmed at how bright his amber eyes were.
Eyes of a wolf.
Izzy was confused, to say the least. 'Who were these people?' she thought, 'And why are they in my dream?'
"Mage, mermaid, shifter, and changeling stand united with the Chosen One, the prince, fairy, and warrior" a voice whispered in her head, raspy but not old.
'Who are you?' Izzy asked, fear trickling down her spine as the vision faded away and all she saw was black.
"I am an ally, Chosen One. Gather the others, for alone, you will not win this coming war"
'Chosen One?' Izzy felt a tightness squeeze her heart, 'And what do you mean war?'
"Do not fear, Chosen One. All will be revealed"
'¿Qué cojones?' Izzy was beyond bewildered and was starting to question her sanity, the vision before her fading to a dark room, a space that didn't seem to truly exist but rather, an in-between her consciousness and the real world, 'I'm hallucinating about my friends having superpowers. I'm dreaming about people I don't even know and now, like icing on the cake, all of these things are intensifying the week of my birthday,'
Suddenly, a figure appeared before her, emerging from the darkness. She was dressed in a general's uniform and long hair was braided down her back, showing off her high cheekbones and pursed lips. A long, ugly scar ran from the start of her hairline to just above her cheek, disappearing under a cloth patch over her eye. Her eyes, Izzy realized, with a start, were a bright, vibrant red like a ruby jewel was there in place of her iris. She had the look of a seasoned soldier, her back straight and posture rigid. Even the breaths she took were calculated and measured. The woman was drive and hard labor personified and the sharp cut of her body was proof.
"Who are you?" Izzy asked fear and astonishment threatening to overpower her.
The woman's eye narrowed, "Who I am is not important. All you must know is that I am here to help, "
A hysterical laugh escaped Izzy's lips, "I can't believe this. I've officially lost it,"
A sharp eyebrow raised on the woman's otherwise unperturbed face, "You are not suffering from madness, I assure you. You are the Chosen One,"
Izzy glared at what could only be described as a figment of her imagination, "What does that even mean? How am I supposed to trust you when you can't even tell me your name?"
She didn't fully know why she was entertaining the thought that whatever was happening was anything more than a side effect from lack of sleep. But, something deep inside her knew it wasn't that simple.
The woman glanced behind her as if hearing something that was invisible to Izzy's eyes.
"My time is almost up, " she murmured to herself.
She turned back to Izzy, her face stern and a realization dawned on Izzy. The features, the expressions, were all just too exact to be someone she just made up. If this was truly just an apparition she created because she was tired, she had bigger problems than she realized.
"Es realidad. Todos es," she whispered incredulously, her world turning on its axis as everything she had ever known shifted into something in a fantasy book.
"Chosen One-"
Izzy stopped her with her hand, still attempting to process that she wasn't going crazy, "My name is Isabel Page. Not 'Chosen One',"
The woman sighed but nodded, "Isabel then. I have to leave soon since these kinds of connections do not last long and I can feel your power waning. Remember, Protector, what I tell you,"
Izzy gasped as the woman's vibrant red eyes were replaced with a milky white film and when she opened her mouth, another voice, ancient and eerie, spoke.
"Before the moon, blue and bold, a great evil is foretold.
Kingdoms doomed, lives lost, but great destruction has a cost.
A forgotten race shall make its way to the Front Lands.
A high order, never ignored, shall be humbled in kind.
Feral beasts, mischievous sprites, formed in one, it has been told and will be done.
The healer, bold and strong, shall make them kneel.
For these competitors will not yield.
These nine races, different but same, will fight against Her who has been and came.
United as one, but one shall fall.
If not done, doom will come to all."
The general vanished and Izzy was abruptly pulled from her vision. Her eyes opened and she took in a loud breath, panting as if she had been holding her breath. Izzy felt a shift in the air that made her skin bristle but she couldn't figure out what it was coming from.
"Isabel?" Snow's panicked voice finally broke through, her throat clogged with unshed tears.
Izzy grunted, trying to find her bearings. She was slightly stunned from being kicked out of her daydream. It had felt so real. Her hazy vision went to Aarushi and she paused.
'Is she... glowing?' Izzy thought. The winding tattoos that peeked under Aarushi's long-sleeve seemed to glow a bright white and the air around her shimmered. Then, in a quick second, it was gone.
'It looked just like my dream. Is it possible? Could it be... real?'
"Aarushi, " Izzy's voice sounded hoarse to her own ears, "Did you just... glow?"
Aarushi's eyes went wide as Snow quickly turned to her.
"What?" she chuckled nervously and shared a quick glance with Snow, "You must have hit your head on the way down Iz,"
Izzy shook her head, her piercing headache starting to fade but her thoughts continued to swirl around her head, memories replaying on a loop. Whenever she caught Aarushi taking the occasional nap and she swore her hair shifted white, always dismissing it as a trick of the light. Whenever Aarushi lost her temper and her eyes seemed to flash a different color. "No, I didn't. I know what I saw," Izzy looked hard at Aarushi, who was growing more and more frantic, "Don't lie to me, Aarushi," She hated how her voice cracked on her friend's name, showing how much this situation was affecting her.
Snow's gaze softened and gave one last look at Aarushi, "Fine. We can explain. But not here," she glanced around at the people milling in and out of the various shops of the strip mall.
Izzy reeled back, feeling a pulse go through her body as shock slapped her in the face. The gravity of what Snow just admitted to was almost too much for her brain to process. Her hands shook as she reached for the car door handle and pulled herself up. Aarushi looked guiltily down at Izzy before turning and starting up her Jeep. Snow tried to give Izzy as much space as possible, glancing at her warily as she shakily breathed.
The car ride passed in suffocating silence.