Blood.
Blood everywhere.
In the center of the swirl is a boy sixteen years of age. Above him is a throne made of glowing red strings. A man sits on the throne, smiling as the boy tries to reach for help. To the right of the throne is another boy not much younger than the first - barely fifteen, it seems. His eyes glow red, and he moves his hands.
When the wave of blood permits, glowing red strings are seen holding the older boy in the water. Every time he gets close enough to grab a hold of the throne, the strings yank him even further down.
Hot tears stream down the older boy's face, and he cries out.
"Zentik!"
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Prince Zentik of the Winter Nation Shezen
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Zentik sat up, ice in his soul. The fireplace in his bedroom was out, and the windows were open. The moon was high in the cloudless sky.
Zentik stood and put on a warm brown cape, then walked to the kitchens. A large cook around his age at eighteen was before one of the five fireplaces, boiling milk. She wore a simple white dress, and had rolled up the sleeves to show her dark arms, which were covered in burns from handling various hot metals over open fires.
"Hey, Tang."
Tang jumped and spun around. Her dark hair - which was braided into countless braids and held in a bun by a single hair stick - loosened with the sudden movement.
"Hello. What brings you here so late?"
"Bad dream."
Tang nodded and took the clay kettle off the flame. She placed two cups on the large counter in the middle of the room and poured milk in them through the many holes revealed when the bottom of the kettle slid away. Boiling milk rained into the cups.
Almost like the boiling tears that stained the boy's face.
Zentik shuddered and drew his cape closer to him.
"What was the dream?" Tang asked, taking a jar of cookies from a table to the side. She broke two pieces of chocolate from a block in a shelf on the wall and dropped them in the cups. She began to stir them as she sat down and Zentik took a cookie.
"A boy was in a pool of blood. Above him, a man sat on a throne. He was smiling. A younger boy stood by the man. He was keeping the first boy from escaping."
Tang's sharp eyebrows furrowed.
"What a nightmare."
Zentik nodded and took the cup that Tang held out to him.
"More dreams like this have been happening. I'm hoping they mean nothing."
"What were the other dreams?"
Zentik tilted his head back and closed his eyes. Did he really want to remember them?
"In one, a woman broke into a vault. She stole a gemstone."
"That just seems like a weird dream."
Zentik nodded, but he didn't agree.
"The next one was… There was a boy. He was crying, and his eyes were glowing. He looked exhausted, but his hands began to move. It was like he was dancing elo stara in the Shezen way. He was in front of a castle… The Unity Castle. It had stained glass. The only people in there were servants. He ripped it apart with red strings. Then it all fades, but I felt what he felt."
"What did he feel?"
"Anger. Hatred. Sadness. Pain. It feels like I'm being ripped apart, then it stops. Light comes back, and I'm the boy. I'm on a throne made of bones."
"Bones?"
Zentik nodded.
"It's- Oh."
"What?"
"The same boy who ripped apart the castle - he's the same one who was holding the other boy down in my dream. He- It- I- That- Oh, no."
Zentik buried his face in his hands on the counter.
"It means something, doesn't it?"
Tang put a hand on Zentik's shoulder.
"It probably does. You should meet with a divinor and figure it out."
"I don't want to figure it out."
"It's probably the only way these dreams will stop."
Zentik lifted his head to look at Tang.
"Why do you have to be reasonable?"
Tang laughed.
"If I wasn't, you'd be dead by now."
Fair.
"I believe there's a divinior in Ekitabae Tari. Their name is Zadu, and they're known for being scary accurate. Ask your brother to meet with them."
"Do I have to?"
"Maybe not. But you really should."
Zentik sighed and stood straight.
"I'll talk to Lonek, then."
He took a large drink of chocolate milk and walked to the throne room with determination.