Instead of a normal dream, as he slept he was caught up in memories. Memories he'd rather have forgotten but he couldn't escape. It had been a long time since he'd had this happen, nightmares that were tangled memories he couldn't wake up from.
Aquana was flying above him. He was already on the ground and the world around him was on fire. The corn was dry and made great kindling as the vast cropland was raized around him.
"Careful, he's coming!" Was all Aquana got out from her bird's eye view before that beast was upon him. The roaring yell that came from his hazy surroundings was his brief warning before he was slammed into. In a desperate move, he'd pulled his sword up to block, and that instinct just barely saved his life. He coughed and took a step back. He'd had to squint as the smoke got thicker and thicker. He was standing in the center. In the place where he'd had Aquana light the fire initially, it was now a charred and smoking bare patch of earth.
He blocked again. The sound of the two swords hitting rang in his ears. The man he was fighting was known as Darius Maxin. A little over a year ago he'd just been a humble fisherman who picked up swordplay from the occasional run-in with pirates. When the war had broken out and his homeland had been invaded he'd quickly proven that he was a prodigy in his own right. What was more, he was ten years older than Tate and twice as big. The man towered over him and was roped in muscle, add to that his rage and he was a formidable opponent.
Tate was scared, there was no other way to put it. Usually, Aquana was by his side even on the ground but this time she was busy. It had started when he'd spotted something on the ground, what he'd seen from her back was something blindingly white in the center of what should have been ash. As soon as they'd landed to investigate the shriek of another dragon was heard. Aquana had left him momentarily to check the sound intending to return immediately. However, she was attacked by an enemy dragon and their rider as soon as she was in the air. Fighting them off alone she'd urged him to check the area quickly. Having no other recourse since he could do nothing from the ground but trust that she could handle it he ran to the object. It was a pile of white lace, perfectly untouched. It was a trap.
Just after he'd picked it up the wind had shifted and the smoke had started blowing back into him, he'd lost sight of Aquana and her opponents in the sky. It was only her warning that had let him know that the trap was closing in on him as well.
Darius pounded at him relentlessly, and he escaped by sheer will and luck. Darius outclassed him as a swordsman, even if others who sought to flatter him would deny this to his face, Tate knew all too well his own limitations.
He was a Dragon Rider, he and Aquana had their own skills as a unit. He was only a good swordsman, not a great one like Darius.
"Stop running you little worm!" Darius growled as the smoke affected his vision too. Tate slunk underneath its cover, using it like a blanket. Darius knew just as Tate did that running was useless, Tate had nowhere to go. His only escape was up and that was not an option in this moment. "How does it feel to starve children?" The man roared. The question made Tate's stomach clench.
Darius chuckled darkly, "No, better yet how does it feel to burn the little ones alive? Do you get pleasure out of it? That's the only thing I can think of that would drive someone to do the things you do. Only a monster would murder as you do and feel nothing. You must feel nothing, don't you? You're not human, you're not a dragon either. You're just an abomination."
The wind blew the smoke in just such a way that Tate saw his face for a moment and he felt sick. The great warrior Darius was sneering in the opposite direction, clearly he didn't know where Tate was but he didn't have to, to achieve maximum damage. Tate didn't want to hear those words, he didn't want to think about it. He already had a hard enough time sleeping when he heard their screams in his mind, the smell of so much burning flesh woke him even from sleep. He'd taken to burning lavender in his tent just to try to make it stop but even that did not help. Only Aquana's presence brought him any semblance of peace, but she too had her own grief at what they had done, at what they had become.
The wind blew harder and the rouse was up. Darius' eyes had found him, he was now staring at him with hatred in his eyes. Tate felt something wet rolling down his face as he stared back at the older man. The man swallowed hard as he looked down at him. For the briefest of moments, Tate thought he saw the man soften but just as quickly that was gone.
Darius reached for him and Tate didn't move, didn't resist. He had no thoughts or will in that moment. Without Aquana, and without his Emporer's voice echoing in his head he was like a puppet with cut strings. At some point the lace had come to be in Darius' hands, Tate had no memory or idea of when it had gotten there. He found himself looking up at the sky, frozen and Darius used the scratchy cloth to bind his hands. He quickly had bound them behind his back he wrapped it twice around his neck and then up over his eyes. The world became not dark, but distorted through the tiny mesh, Darius leaned close to his back.
The mountain of a man seemed to dwarf him. He whispered in his ears. "You're little demon is not coming for you boy so don't keep looking at the sky."
He heard Aquana shriek at that moment and felt himself turn cold. His breath and heart rate picked up until they were like a runaway horse, he couldn't control them if he tried. He tried to reach her in his mind but nothing came back to him, she was silent. Was she hurt? Was she...?
His world turned upside down as he was slung over Dariou's shoulder as if he weighed nothing. "You may be wondering why you're not dead. You're not dead because I made a promise to someone very important. I promised them that you would not get an easy death." He heard Darius take a deep unsteady breath. "Prepare yourself, boy, when we get there you will wish for death a thousand times before I let it take you."
Tate opened his eyes with a flash, finally free of the darkness. Free of that horrible memory. He took in a shuddering breath as he looked at the ceiling and tried to calm his heart. The mind is a funny thing, now that the door had been opened it wanted to clumsily trip down that path. It had been so long since he'd dreamed of that time, of Darious Maxin. What happened after he was taken was a blurry haze to him. He'd been held by Darius for at least a week, he knew that much. The physician who had treated him on his return said that he had blocked out the events of that time to protect himself. He'd advised Tate that it was better to never dig too deeply into what other memories were buried behind the one he could remember. Aquana, as it had turned out, had been knocked unconcious and captured as well. Besides a few minor wounds, she had just been restrained by a giant net and moved far away from him where he could not mentally reach her for a few days before she'd escaped and tried to look for him. In the end, she had been the one to find him. He had been told that he was on the brink of death when she flew into Darius' camp and stole him away. He had no memory of that at all and it was one of the few things that Aquana refused to talk about, ever. Up until the very day he'd lost her, she would become angry if he tried to find out what had happened.
The only thing he did know was that Darius survived the war. He'd gone back to the sea, or at least that was the tale that was told. Darius made a great name for himself in the war. In the empire he was vilified, even though his dealings with Tate were never made public there was plenty of material on him to spin into a story of evil. To those in the South, he was and probably would forever be a war hero of great renown. The Emperor had even pardoned him, something Tate had never understood, but he also had not questioned it. How could he, it was his Emperor's command and he was too scared to probe into anything to do with Darius. After all, Darius did appear to return quietly to his previous life with no fuss.
As the disturbing dream faded he was able to remember where and when he was. He wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep for. His memories of the previous day's events were fuzzy at best. He knew he'd fought that shameless dragon Equ. He also knew he'd won, but what happened after that?
He felt a little dizzy as he sat up, but as he did so his body forcefully reminded him of what happened. He hurt, not as terribly as he would have expected but it was pain nonetheless.
"Go slowly, you were treated but the wounds are still fresh." The voice came from beside him.
Startled he looked to find Koda sitting in a chair next to his bed.
The dragon was without his usual affable grin. He looked downright grim, to be honest. His green eyes were cold and stern as he looked at Tate.
He quickly noticed that Akashaw was behind him. He was standing in the shadows of the room, arms crossed, and back against the wall. That same intimidating pressure Tate had felt the first time he'd met him was there. Even from across the room, Tate felt it coming off the male in waves. Tate was nervous to realize that he felt a hostile energy coming from the male. He wanted to shrink away from him but there was nowhere to go.
Koda didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary. He just stared at him with an unreadable expression before finally sighing. "You did well, Tate. You passed the first part and you were supposed to do the second part today but that has been delayed."
Tate nodded mutely.
"You're going to have so new scars."
Tate shrugged, what were a few new scars, he had plenty.
Apparently, that was the wrong thing to do. Akashaw hissed, actually hissed like he was in dragon form from where he was. He pushed off the wall and stalked over. He glared down at them both and then without looking at him said. "Koda, give us the room for a moment."
Koda looked momentarily confused but seemed to have no objections to this. He nodded and then without another word left the room. Akashaw sat where Koda had just been and crossed his arms, staring at him. Those piercing red eyes seemed to pin him in place.
Long awkward moments passed before Akashaw said anything. "Tate," again Tate was caught off guard by the use of his actual name. "I think I should tell you what my ability is."
Tate was bewildered by this subject. Not that he wasn't curious about all the dragons around him, but he hadn't had time to think about what their abilities may or may not be.
Akashaw leaned in close his eyes glowing brighter and brighter like red jewels. In the barest hint of a whisper, he said the words that would change their relationship forever. "I see the dreams of others."