Dreamcatcher

by Christian Rosnell

  “Move”, a threatening voice said behind them. “Straight ahead ten feet, then down the stairs”. Lyght hobbled over, furious and grunting with pain. He was already plotting revenge as he walked. It was all he could do to keep his cool now and keep from attacking immediately, which would surely get them killed – outnumbered as they were. Sure, Lyght could gain the strength and speed of ten men for about four minutes. But numbers still reigned supreme – if he were fighting hand-to-hand with his captors, archers could simply snipe him with arrows, numerous as they were. As angry as Lyght was, he didn’t want to die today. Better he and Mikael wait to restore their spirt to a full level – then they could fight if need be. At full spirit level, any ordinary bandits – regardless of number – would have trouble defeating them. They would simply be too fast to be hit by arrows, or anything else, really.

  The door closed behind them as they reached the bottom of the stairwell, cutting off the rushing, foaming sound of the sea outside. It was eerily quiet in whatever room they were in. The captors ordered Lyght and Mikael to their knees, and then fell silent. A creak sounded, a pause, then another. Someone slowly walking over to them, heavy boots clacking on the wooden floor.

  “The Captain needs to know”, one of the captors said, “what possessed you to dare to enter these waters, well known to be the sacred domain of the Blood Brotherhood?”

  Lyght would have laughed, were this not such a dangerous situation. “I’m sorry? I didn’t realize the sea was split up into Domains now. What proclamation from the King have I missed giving dominance of this common highway to a pirate gang?”

  “Silence!” a rough voice yelled, as Lyght felt a whistling go by his ear, and heard a sword tip crunch into the floor a moment later. Lyght jumped back; he had just been about to angle his head that direction to try to see out of his blindfold. Shocked, Lyght hung his head in disbelief. That could have been the end of him right there, and he wouldn’t have even known it was coming. He had to get out of this situation, and fast.

  The first voice spoke again, “We will let you speak to our great and fearsome Captain, if you apologize to the Brotherhood for invading our waters, and promise to never talk back to the Captain in the manner you just did. Now, do you understand?”

  Breathing hard in anger at their predicament, Lyght thought fast. Mikael was going to be largely silent here unless he had to speak. He tended to get himself into trouble even in normal situations – things like this required Lyght’s quick thinking and decision-making skills.

  Furious with himself, Lyght made the decision to live to fight another day. “I apologize…”, he said through gritted teeth, “to the Captain and the crew of the Brotherhood, for violating your domain. I won’t question your authority again.”

  At this, someone burst out in laughter right in front of them. Familiar laughter, and seemingly out of place, just wrong for the gravity of the situation. A girl. “Take them off”, she commanded.

  Lyght knew it a second before he saw it, as he stared up at the “Captain” who held his fate in her hands. Decked out in a flaring red pirate’s coat with knee high black boots and her characteristic sky blue bandana, Lyght’s little sister stood over him, almost crying with laughter.

  Lyght was so annoyed; he couldn’t even form words properly. What just happened? Was she really behind something of this scale? How? Why? What…

  Lyght was so long in finding his voice, that his little sister recovered first. She spread her arms out wide dramatically, visibly bursting to say something.

  Lyght raised his eyebrows, glancing at Mikael.

  “Happy birthday, guys.”

  Chapter Five

  “Let me get this straight – the ‘friends’ that you’ve vaguely mentioned from time to time have been pirates? I know that you sometimes don’t keep the best company, but even for you, this is extreme.” Lyght looked at his little sister, frowning. They stood all the way at the forefront of the Joy, leaning against opposite gunwales of the vessel. Mikael stood above them in front on the ship’s prow, grasping the rigging above his head and staring out to sea. They would be back in Kona shortly.

  Sky snorted derisively. “I wouldn’t say that. They’re not really pirates, just wannabes who sail around with a black flag. They’ve never even robbed anyone or taken any ships. They just have a taste for adventure – I like that. The freedom of the open sea suits me. I’m telling you, Lyght, you need to just have a bit of fun sometimes. The sound of the rushing high seas, the sound of the crashing waves and sea birds, it’s so refreshing.”

  “Well, be that as it may”, Lyght said, still flustered from his earlier embarrassment. “You don’t threaten your beloved older brother with armed bandits, do you? On his birthday? Even for you, that’s pretty tactless.”

  Sky looked confused, “But, I thought you might appreciate the excitement. The adrenaline rush. That’s your thing, right?”

  Mikael turned from his contemplation of the sea, laughing “That’s more my thing. Your older brother knows how to face danger, sure – but I don’t think he relishes uncertainty. Why do you think he’s so focused on planning everything out, thinking of every contingency, strategizing his way around everything?” Mikael walked over, placing his arm around Lyght, “See, this is why I hang out with our man here. He’s the only reason I haven’t died doing something stupid yet.”

  Lyght just rolled his eyes, thinking to change the subject. His sister just didn’t get it – nor did Mikael, for that matter. Didn’t they understand that normal people just weren’t as reckless as they were? Regardless…

  “Look, don’t we have something more important to discuss? I’m gonna need your help on this one Mikael… I’m having a hard time explaining this even to myself.”

  “Sure thing, buddy”, Mikael said with a smile. He didn’t start it off, however, so Lyght sighed and began himself, “Mikael and I, well… you know what we spend a lot of our time doing. Exploring around in the Dark, that is. In fact, you’re probably the only one who does know we do this. Probably because you’re the only one sneaky and gutsy enough to try to follow us out at night”, Lyght added with a grin.

  Lyght’s little sister shook her head, defiant “So, what?”, she demanded, crossing her arms. Maybe she could see where this was going.

  “Well, we’re eighteen now Sky. Officially men by the laws and customs of the village. As such, we’ve decided to take responsibility for what we are. We’re going to do what we must, in order to protect the villagers that have sacrificed and laid it on the line for us, even when they didn’t have to. You know all about that, you’re one of them, too. This is our way of saying thanks. We’re going to fulfill our destiny, and do what only we can do.”

  “So, what you’re saying is…”, Sky started slowly, staring off distantly at the seabound horizon.

  “We’re leaving, Sky. After tonight’s festivities, Mikael and I are headed out for a while. And we’re not coming back until we accomplish what we’ve set out to do. For you, our parents, and the village. It’s on us now. There will be no more waiting, no more information gathering. It’s time we put it on the line for you all the same way you put it on the line for us ten years ago, and have continued to do until today. And we’re not going to fail you”, Lyght said, standing straight-backed and proud. He hoped he projected confidence; he didn’t want his sister to think he had any doubts about their chances for success.

  And I don’t doubt it myself… right?

  “You’re going to try to defeat it, aren’t you? The Dark?”, Sky asked tensely.

  Lyght nodded, surprised, but maybe unfairly so. After all, Sky was the only non-Dreamcaster they knew who understood that the Dark came every other night while the population was forced to sleep. Sky had always been gifted with a mysterious, seemingly impossible, yet incredible ability to force herself to stay awake in the Dark. Lyght had never seen anything like it. But then again, he had never really known anybody like his sister.

  Of course, she wasn’t real
ly Lyght’s sister. Not in the literal sense of the word anyway. Lyght and Mikael were both orphans, as far as they knew, and coincidentally had been taken in by Kona families in different circumstances, yet at nearly the same time. Almost like fate, it sometimes seemed to Lyght.

  Lyght and his true father had traveled the land as nomads in his youth. Lyght’s father, Lucent, had been a Dreamcaster as well, and he’d spent his life seeking out the King’s Legion, dreaming of finding and one day joining the elite organization. Lucent had wandered for eight years, taking his son with him and searching for the location of the elusive Legion – for nobody knew where they were, or even if they really existed. But Lucent had managed to keep the faith. Searching, always hopeful, for the ones who could help him hone his powers, and ultimately combine with him to form an even greater force than the Dark – the oppressive, mysterious, overwhelming force that had apparently (somehow) had killed Lyght’s mother. Lyght had originally gotten the idea to destroy the Dark from his dad, and the years they’d spent wandering in search of the group that could help them do it still remained etched in Lyght’s mind to this day.

  And here Lyght was again, remembering it all. Lyght had spent years in shock, trying not to think about him, and what had happened ten years ago… But his thoughts had increasingly drifted to his father this past year. Maybe it was because Lyght found himself subconsciously pondering the path he thought to be dead – his father’s dream of becoming a Legend that his son could be proud of. Lyght had always secretly dreamed of joining the Legion himself; he could picture himself standing with a hundred-strong elite Dreamcasters and being named a champion of the people in his domain, as they tied the cape on and named him officially a Legend of the Dreamscape. He smiled to himself; it still gave him a rush to think about it.

  Lucent had always seemed out of place in the Dreamscape – Lyght could never track down any family members or friends he had, or figure out where he was from. He simply was, as if he had sprouted out of the ground, parallel to Lyght’s existence. Despite his seeming lack of a past (he never explained how he met Lyght’s mother), Lyght’s father had been a man of incomparable vision and passion for building a magnificent future.

  Averting his eyes and looking down at the deck, Lyght tried to ignore the familiar pain washing over him. He needed to be strong like his dad; Sky deserved an explanation.

  “Look, though I grew up a nomad, I truly found my home with you and mom and dad” (as he referred to Sky’s parents – who had raised him from age eight). “Kona is my home – you guys are my people, and always will be. Mom and dad say that although you were only six, your healing abilities saved my life. The only reason I’m even alive is because you guys happened to find me on your way back from Pride to Kona, and that you just so happened to be a healing prodigy by age six. I mean, what were the chances?”

  Lyght looked into his sister’s deep green eyes, “I know I’m not serious with you very often, but if I’m being honest, I don’t know how I’m ever going to pay back the debt. Don’t you see? I have to try. We have to try.” He looked down at Sky, willing her to understand. She had to understand. He didn’t want to leave. He didn’t. But he had to. Lyght’s dad had done what he had to. In a way, they all did.

  Mikael put a hand on his shoulder. “What he’s saying is that we’re gonna go out, find the source of the Dark, and destroy it. Nothing more, nothing less. Take it from me if you want Sky, we’re not gonna fail. You can trust us.”

  Sky turned, jumping up onto the prow of the bobbing ship, and stared out to sea with an inscrutable expression. The wind kicked up, and she closed her eyes, completely silenced for once. Lyght waited patiently for her response. To be honest, it didn’t matter what she said, they were going anyway. A deep part of him, however, wanted her blessing. He would feel a lot better knowing that the one person who knew what they were up against supported them in their fight.

  Finally, she turned, seemingly resigned. “Ok”, she muttered. Then louder, “Ok, but you have to promise you’re coming back once you’ve destroyed it, alright? You won’t continue to do anything else… like seek out the Legion, for instance.”

  After pausing for a fraction of a second, Lyght cracked a smile with effort, “I promise.” He extended his right arm out in a fist, eyebrows raised. Sky sighed, still seeming a bit unsatisfied. However, she extended her fist to meet her brother’s. “Deal”.

  Quick as lightning, she flipped her hand up to Lyght’s forearm and twisted, “You better not break your promise”, she said tensely, eyes burning into him.

  “Ok, ok, you got it. It’s a promise”, Lyght said quickly, eyes watering. She let go of him and spun around on her heel, huffing and crossing her arms.

  Mikael laughed, as usual. Always the lighthearted one. “So, we’re in business then?”, he asked, rubbing his hands together. “In that case…” he started, a spark catching in his eye. He pointed, “Let’s get this party started.”

  Lyght and Sky turned, looking out over the water. They hadn’t even noticed; in the midst of their heavy conversation, they had pulled up to Kona. They were in the small bay now where the village sat, and Lyght saw the people going by in fishing vessels and some sharp-sighted people on shore begin cheering. Mikael, seeing them as well, jumped explosively with Dreamcasting power – unnecessary by any measure – and flew headlong to the very front of the prow, landing and throwing his arms up, much to the pleasure of the growing crowd on the shoreline.

  Lyght hesitated. He didn’t want to what Mikael just did; that wasn’t his usual mode of operation. Sky sensed his objection, “Come on big bro, it’s your eighteenth birthday. It’s your day.”

  Lyght nodded appreciatively, and then, drawing up the strength of a hundred men through Dreamcasting, jumped with a force that shook the deck below. Erupting over a hundred and fifty feet into the air, warm coastal air whipping his shirt up, he smiled contentedly, twisting to land perfectly perched on the edge of the swaying crow’s nest. Standing up precariously on the edge, he stared down affectionately at his home, his life.

  Nestled by the sea, the wooden houses with palm leaf rooftops looked unusually small, but all the more comforting for it. He could see the playground that he had torn up as a kid. Could see the schoolhouse where he had learned, laughed, and spent his days. He was a good student, one of the best, but Mikael had been a bad influence on him. Lyght remembered the pair of them getting kicked out of class countless times. The nostalgia of ten years of his life – the majority of it so far – was carried to him on the warm southern sea breeze. Lyght looked down on his home from a high vantage point as never before, making him see just how much he was going to miss it. But he wasn’t gone yet. Not by a long shot.

  Turning his gaze towards the growing crowd on the beach, much closer now, Lyght raised his right arm hesitantly. They cheered him on, pointing up and chanting something. He strained to hear, and finally caught snatches of his name, and Mikael’s too. They were chanting for them. Them!

  Grinning widely, Lyght spread his arms to his side, palms up, and closed his eyes leisurely – letting the praise and warm coastal wind wash over him. Yes, this was his day. He could feel his heart going faster than a speeding arrow. He was ready to go.

  Let’s do this.

  He crouched and sprung powerfully again, soaring over the deck, and landing next to Mikael on the tip of the thick prow of the ship.

  They looked at each other, grinning wickedly, and then away again. Simultaneously, they both flipped backwards into the air, and – kicking hard off the mast – blasted forward like a pair of human missiles. Wind roared in Lyght ears; chants, blue-green sea, gold sand, and blue sky spinning crazily around him, before he slowed alongside his longtime friend and dropped to the sand in the midst of the crowd, who surrounded the two of them, cheering. They were two of the most skilled and promising kids to have ever grown up in the small village. Real, actual Dreamcasters.

  But not kids anymore. Men.

  “Nothing like bei
ng late to your own party!”, the village leader, Micah, exclaimed, walking up to the pair with his arms spread out wide. “But you’re home now, and that’s what matters.”

  Micah turned to address the whole crowd – it seemed like the entire village had gathered on the seafront by now – “let the New Year celebrations, and long-awaited coming-of-age of Kona’s very own Dreamcaster duo… BEGIN!”

  Chapter Six

  The essence of power is respect. Not love – for those who claim to love you may often have a different view of what is best for you and them. Nor hate – for it is parasitic in nature, and power cannot be maintained where there is a loss or transfer of this power. Respect is the balance, respect is the ideal – for in a relationship of mutual respect, both sides know their position and are content in it. Above all, we know this – respect is earned, not given.

  “Um…. K… King Decimader? Your guest is here to see you.”

  Concentration broken, this man called Decimader looked up from the book he had been reading. Standing in front of the hundred foot high wall-to-wall windows at the top of Triumph – his sky-high palace – he could see that twilight had fallen on his city, casting dusky shades of gold, brown, and russet on the Dark steel towers below. Looking out at the blood-red sunset, still visible from this height, he sighed and shook his head. He had been reading for too long again. God knows, these philosophical Augustine volumes had hooked him lately.

  Snapping the dusty volume shut, he turned to look at the little messenger who had come to notify him. This kid had to be, what, twelve or thirteen? Anymore, it seemed like the Senate redirected more of his good resources toward other objectives. Decimader knew what they were dealing with, so really, who could blame them? That wouldn’t stop him, however, from giving them a stern talking-to. Respectful, of course. He had to maintain the respect; the reading had been right on point. Past centuries had shown him the outcomes if he didn’t.