by Liara Woo
"Uhhh…" he croaked. The ground was swaying beneath his body, and colors swam before his eyes.
"That is what we will do to you if you try to run," Thampson sneered, his words unnaturally loud. Halthren grimaced as the words ricocheted through his mind. He felt his legs being released from the chains, and one of the guards hauled him to his feet. Almost instantly his knees buckled and he fell face-first to the ground, smashing his nose against the floor. Thampson kicked his ribs. "Walk!" he shouted. When the guards pulled him up again, he tried to step forward. His legs felt like jelly, and he couldn't see straight. He staggered dizzily after the guards holding the end of his neck chain, trying to steady himself against the tilting floor.
The guards shoved him through corridors, yanking on his neck chain whenever he faltered. Going downstairs was a disaster; Halthren missed the first step and rolled all the way down to the basement, where he lay motionless on the floor, bruised and nearing unconsciousness. The guards jeered and laughed at him, and when they reached a dingy cell they decided to stay and torment him more. They kicked him, laughing when he flinched, and then they uncorked the stopper from a glass full of thick, dull-green liquid. They gripped Halthren's jaw and forced him to open his mouth. Then they poured the murky liquid into his mouth. Halthren gagged at the terrible taste and tried to spit it out, but the guards kept pouring it and soon he was choking. At last the men released him and let him fall to the ground. Halthren lay on the ground, feeling nauseous. He heard the door of the cell close behind him, and then he fell unconscious.
* * *
Halthren awakened some time later, his stomach churning like the Ocean of Storms. He rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself into a sitting position, groaning softly and rubbing his forehead.
"Hello," a hesitant voice called. "So they got you anyway? I'm sorry I couldn't help you disguise yourself. It hadn't crossed my mind at the time."
Halthren peered through his bars and saw that a young man was chained spread-eagled on the wall across from him. His chest was bare and crisscrossed by dark red whiplashes. There was a small beard on his chin, and in his eyes there was sadness.
"Who are you?" Halthren asked. The man looked confused.
"I didn't think it was that long ago that I gave you bread, a blanket, and some hot chocolate. I'm not at all regretting it, but…I wish they'd at least give me a merciful death."
Halthren was confused. "This is my first time in Soor," he said. "You must have met my friend, Joran. He has lighter hair, and he's a bit shorter."
The young man sighed. "Joran. Yes, that name seems to fit the elf I met."
"What happened?" Halthren asked.
"Somehow the Mayor found out that I'd helped an elf. They burned my inn and my home to the ground, dragged me out, and thrashed me for a good hour and a half. My parents were hung, and now I have no one and nothing." He smiled sadly. "That's life, I guess."
Halthren felt awful for the young man. "I can help you escape," he offered. "The locks in my cell and those chains probably aren't very complicated. And I still have my sword; I can cut down anyone who tries to stop us."
The man shook his head. "They've not fed me since I've been put here. They're just letting me waste away in these chains. Perhaps one day I'll be thin enough to slip through, but even then I wouldn't want to get out. My family is dead. My livelihood is gone. If I escaped I'd just be thrown back in here. I'm glad I did the right thing to help your friend, but from what I've heard he was captured anyway. If you want to help me, get out and strangle me or something. Give me a swift death."
The young man's bleak outlook made Halthren feel awful. Don't worry. He's not real. He's just Nashgor, trying to make me lose hope. Not real. Not real. It's just a dream…just a dream…
* * *
Armored guards burst through the door about three hours later. They threw open the door to Halthren's cell and pulled on the chain at his throat. Halthren gagged and his hands flew up to his neck, desperately trying to pull the chains away.
"Leave him alone!" the young man exclaimed, struggling against his bonds, but one of the guards went up to him and punched him five times in the chest and once in the face. The youth moaned, his head drooping, as the other guards merely laughed and forced Halthren to his feet. Then they dragged the elf out of his cell and back up the stairs. They pulled him through the cobblestone streets towards the center of the town, where a large amphitheater had been dug. The guards led Halthren to the bottom and threw him to the ground. Shakily he got to his feet and gripped his sword. Across from him was a giant of a man who would make a demon look like a shrimp.
"Begin," Thampson called in a cool voice. Halthren raised his sword warily as the giant, Venthain, advanced. In his meaty fists were grasped two weapons; a massive hammer and a mace studded with large metal spikes. Halthren felt fear swell within his chest, but he forced his face to remain impassive.
Venthain swung the staff; Halthren ducked the blow and backed away several steps, towards the side of the ring. The man's eyes glowed like fiery embers of hatred as he lunged again; a second time Halthren dodged. Then Halthren was attacking, holding his flashing white sword out, and he cut towards Venthain's heart, but the giant deflected the blow, which landed on his shoulder instead. Blood spurted from the shallow wound and the crowd booed angrily. Venthain's eyes narrowed in pain and he lunged towards Halthren, who jumped easily away. Then a shrill cry arose from the watching villagers; a lone voice was raised above the rest.
"Go, Father! You can beat him! I love you!"
Looking up in surprise, Halthren saw three people chained to seats in the stadium. They must be Venthain's family. He's doing this all for them. He hates me because he sees me as an obstacle in his family's peace and happiness. Halthren looked in confusion from Venthain to his family and back. It's not real, he told himself. It seems like it is, but it isn't! It's just Nashgor trying to make me give in…trying to make me show mercy.
But no matter how Halthren looked at it, Venthain was fighting for those he loved. That sort of thing shouldn't be discouraged. Ever. Halthren didn't have the heart to kill a man who was trying to help his family. He stood firm this time as the mace swung towards him; with his teeth clenched he braced himself for the impact, but it never came. He opened his eyes to see the man looking at him in confusion.
"Why do you not arm yourself?" he growled.
"Because I believe you need to win this battle," Halthren answered.
"Halthren, what are you doing?!" a familiar voice called. Bewildered, he spun to see the source of the sound; Joran was also in the stands, chained to his own chair. Halthren's eyes widened as he realized the awful truth, and his gaze settled on Thampson watching with a smile on his face. He was never going to set Joran free! It was all just a ruse for his entertainment!
It was that moment when he felt the hammer come smashing into his ribs; he felt several of them crack as he was hurled to the ground. The watching villagers cheered loudly, pumping their fists. Winded, his chest throbbing, Halthren struggled back to his feet. This man fully intends to kill me! I have to get out of here!
The voice of Kylaras entered his mind. You must stay in the Dream Kingdom for a whole five hours. It is impossible to leave before then. It is the magic of the stars that keeps you here, but our powers have limits.
Panic engulfed him. Desperately Halthren drew his sword in time to parry the next blow, which sent vibrations up his arm and rattled his bones. Grimacing, he used the side of the enclosure to pull himself to his feet, one hand pressed to his broken ribs. He barely ducked in time to avoid Venthain's next lunge with the terrible spiked mace.
I'm losing this.
Anxious, his heart pounding and his stomach sick with uneasiness, he raced to the other side of the arena and tried to remember how long he'd been in Soor so far. One hour getting to the Mayor…perhaps three more in the cell…His stomach lurched. An hour! He had to stay alive for a whole hour!
Venthain was racing towards h
im; Halthren ran to miss his blow but the mace hit his knee, probably fracturing it. He cried out in pain, falling to the ground as the crowd cheered eagerly. His leg burned and ached; he struggled to stand and limped over to the side of the enclosure. Panting, he looked around to see if, by some miracle, there was something he could use as a crutch. He raised his sword and deflected the giant's hammer, but the man's fist collided with his cheek, breaking his nose and sending him lurching to the ground.
"Finish him! Finish him!" the crowd jeered.
How am I going to survive?! Halthren thought, panicked, as he tried to crawl away from Venthain, but the man's foot smashed down on his back, flattening him to the ground. Halthren gasped as new pain erupted in his broken ribs. I cannot endure much more of this, he thought, reaching backwards and slashing at the man's foot. He didn't know if he'd drawn blood or not, but the foot lifted from his back and he staggered to his feet, leaning heavily on the side of the stadium. Blood streamed from his broken nose; he could taste it on his lips. Get up, he told himself. Get up and fight. Ignore the pain.
Much to his opponent's shock, he ran to the other side of the enclosure, limping slightly. When he arrived his knee buckled, but as Venthain chased after him he forced himself to stand and keep running. Venthain chased him all over the arena, but he couldn't hope to catch Halthren. Elves—even wounded elves—could run several times faster than any normal human. But it was exhausting.
Halthren ran circles around the edge of the enclosure, his breaths short and painful because of his ribs, sweat streaming from his face. He forced his legs to keep moving long after they burned in agony, protesting ferociously. At last they gave out and he collapsed against the side of the arena, heaving for breath despite the sharp throbbing in his chest from his ribs. He was drowning in perspiration; he couldn't breathe; the air was thick and stifling and his body throbbed angrily.
Venthain raised his hammer, ready to hit the elf into oblivion, but he faltered mid-swipe.
Something about Halthren's expression, his face a mask of agony, his deep blue eyes wide and pleading, must have caused a flicker of doubt in Venthain's mind, even though it was soon quashed. The blow still hit Halthren squarely in the head, but it didn't cave in his skull. He fell to his side, stars dancing in front of his eyes. All of a sudden his vision darkened, and the shouts of the watching villagers echoed dimly in his mind. Groaning, he rolled to his knees, only to have the hammer crash down on his back. Fiery pain exploded in his body.
Coughing, he tried to stand, his vision still blurry. With a low moan he pulled himself to his feet, only to have fierce blows rain down on his side, knocking the air from his lungs. He crumpled again to the floor of the arena. Help me, Kylaras! Please! I can't do anything for Light when I'm dead! He crawled away, but Venthain wouldn't allow that. The next thing he felt was severe pain, and an odd, lifting sensation…
* * *
When he next came to his senses, he was back on the tiny island that the mermaid had brought him to. Every bone in his body ached, and his muscles were sore. "What happened?" he asked groggily to no one in particular.
"If you had remembered that those in the Dream Kingdom are not real, feeling beings, you would not have been injured." The voice belonged to Kylaras. "I trust that you will not allow such a thing to happen again."
Halthren looked around, but he couldn't see her. "Wha…?"
"Nashgor was using those in the Dream Kingdom against you. It wanted you to feel sympathy and not wish to fight. But you had a sword. You had been trained for thirty years in combat. You could have escaped injury. Why didn't you?"
"I couldn't help it. Those who were good and loved their families were being punished for no reason, and I didn't want to make them suffer more. It was too hard for me to believe that they weren't real," Halthren answered hoarsely. "What do I do now?"
"Return to your companions. The next time you enter the Dream Kingdom, I suggest you choose a different strategy."
"Alright," Halthren said, lying back down and closing his eyes. "I just need to rest…for a moment…"
He stayed on the island for a several days, regaining his strength. Although the injuries he'd gained in the Dream Realm didn't stay with him, he was still exhausted, sore, and weak from the fight. When he was strong enough to fight, he thought his way back to Loriina, Katie, and Relenthus. He arrived on the northern side of a lagoon near a thick tropical forest; no one was there so he walked back and forth across the sand, keeping close to the ocean. As the sun started to sink, he saw a silver dragon with riders on her back land across on the other side of the lagoon. Without hesitation he leaped into the water and swam towards them.
* * *
Loriina landed just as the sun began to set. The beach was white and sandy; tall coconut and palm trees shot up from the ground, lazily swaying, and bushes with bright flowers hid in the shadows. Thick vines and dense undergrowth made the forest beyond the paradisiacal beach seem impenetrable.
"We've landed in Dralantia—the kingdom of dragons," Loriina informed them with surprise. "I didn't know how far south we'd gone; it was certainly more than I had thought."
"So Dralantia is in the south?" Katie inquired.
Loriina shook her head. "It's more of in the middle, not quite north or south, between the lands of griffins and the dwarfs. But considering where we took off from Kylaras, we've travelled far to the south."
"Where are the unicorns?" Relenthus asked.
"Aspeniel said that no one knows," Katie sighed. "We're just going to have to search the whole world."
"That's not necessarily true," a familiar voice called. Katie's heart skipped a beat. She spun around and saw Halthren walking up the beach towards them, looking exhausted in the dim light of the fading day. His tunic and leggings were torn and ragged; he was barefoot and soaking wet. But other than that he looked completely unharmed, and there was a white sword sheathed at his side.
"You're alive!" Katie exclaimed, running to meet him. Taking his long, slender hands in her own, she looked up into his silver-blue eyes. "I thought the roc had eaten you!"
"I was fortunate," Halthren responded with a small smile, glancing down at his hands, held firmly and yet tenderly in Katie's grasp. The now-familiar fluttering began again beneath his sternum. "More fortunate than I normally am. And about the unicorns…I know how to find them."
Relenthus frowned. "Wait, Halthren. That's fantastic, but you owe us an explanation. How on Allagandria did you survive? We heard your scream!"
Katie felt sadness sprout to life in her heart as she recalled that moment. "It sounded as if you were in complete agony."
Halthren gave a strangled laugh, feeling embarrassed. "Actually…that was because the roc dropped me, and…I am not particularly fond of…of being dropped."
"It dropped you?! That must have been at least three hundred feet!" Loriina exclaimed.
"I'm surprised that your bones haven't shattered," Relenthus commented. "I didn't think you could have swum the entire ocean without drowning after a fall like that."
"I did drown, actually," he admitted. "A mermaid saved me. She took me to a small island that had freshwater on it."
"So you have established good friendship with the mermaids," Relenthus mocked. Halthren glared at him.
"Alright, Relenthus. That's enough," Loriina huffed exasperatedly. "So…you know where to find the unicorns, Halthren?"
"Well, I know how," he answered. "On the island…well…I guess I…changed."
Katie looked at him, confused. "Changed in what way? What exactly happened?"
He gazed into her eyes. Katie's heart hammered and she felt as if he was the only real thing in the entire world. She was mesmerized. When he looked away, she felt a twinge of regret. "I can find out where they are quickly," Halthren said.
Katie was no less befuddled. "How?" she asked. But just as he opened his mouth to reply, the palm trees behind him burst into flames. With a yelp of fear she jumped away, instinctively clinging to Ha
lthren's shoulders. He looked just as startled as she was.
"We have to get out of here," Loriina said nervously. "There's a dragon fight nearby."
"You don't have to ask me twice," Relenthus said, hurriedly striding over to the dragon. Suddenly two huge beasts crashed through the flames, shrieking and scratching at each other. The trees they'd burst through crashed to the ground. Katie screamed as one of them fell straight towards her; panic fluttered in her heart and she tried to run, but she was paralyzed by fear. Halthren grabbed her shoulders and pulled her out of the way as the tree crashed down, but almost simultaneously one of the dragons' tails knocked him in the head. Instantly he went limp, his eyes rolling back, and he collapsed unconscious on the sandy ground.