To Save The World

[matthewkuch]

Gavner tossed a look over his shoulder as he ran down the dark alley, evading his predecessors. The vampire had no idea where he was going- he was well beyond lost at this point- but he could not give up. He saw an alley to the right and he darted down it before he could be detected. Gavner ran until he saw another alley and he took that route. He turned a corner and saw light at the end of the alley. Gavner sprinted down to the end and he burst out onto a ledge; the edge of a cliff. The vampire was now overlooking the entire city of Radasanth, as the sun was setting. The city was just beginning to go to sleep. Gavner looked down onto the city and saw nearby a horde of people in black armor. The leader, a man on a large black dragon flew at the front of the horde and gave an order to charge.

“No,” Gavner said to himself, “Nobody can destroy Radasanth… Its military is the best in the land!”

The horde rode into the city and half of it slipped in before any of the guards of Radasanth noticed. Sounds of metal on metal and noises of battle filled the atmosphere as the attack was forced onto the unsuspecting city. Fighting raged on for a long time and after what felt like several hours the Radasanth army prevailed and all of the black figures ceased to struggle. The battle noises stopped. Gavner smirked, enjoying the victory but suddenly a massive object that looked like a gigantic rock fell onto the city and a massive explosion ripped through the land. Metal gates melted, wooden structures disintegrated instantly, and stone buildings crumbled in the heat and force of the shock wave.

Smoke clouded vision of the entire city for over ten minutes and suddenly dispersed. When the smoke cleared, the entire city was leveled save for the citadel which was burnt and blackened. Not after long, the citadel’s base gave out and the once massive, beautiful, and majestic structure crumbled to the ground leaving the city a barren flat waste land. Gavner turned around to leave the alley when he stumbled into the black armor clad horde leader who had been on the dragon. Gavner cried out in shock and stumbled backwards right off the edge of the cliff. The last thing Gavner saw was the evil smirk on the man’s wicked face.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner sat up and gasped in air, feeling as if he had held his breath for hours. The creature of the night gulped down cool crisp air, his lungs stinging and angry. Gavner never had many nightmares, as it was rare for him to dream at all. He looked around to find himself on a deciduous forest floor as golden light from the setting sun was shining on the tops of the trees. Leaves were stuck to his traveling cloak from Gavner's covering himself with them the evening before to protect his vampric skin from the daylight. The creature of the night looked down by his left hip to find Eva, his baby wolf fast asleep- unaware that anything had even happened. Ever since Gavner had rescued her after her family was killed, Eva never left Gavner's side. They loved each other as the closest of family could possibly love one another- each so much a part of the other's life that they rejoiced together, wept together, were angry together, but one was always there to help the other when he was upset.

The creature of the night reached to his right and picked up his knapsack that had been laying beside him all night before opening it to take out a strip of deer that he had hunted two nights before. He then gently picked up the sleeping Eva and put her in the bag, which she always felt so comfortable and safe in. Standing up, he gently slung both straps over his shoulders and started to chew on the deer meat as he began to stroll through the forest. The setting sunlight that Gavner had so come to hate was too far above to burn his sensitive supernatural skin, but the child of the night could not look up at the leaves of the trees that the sun was illuminating, for the reflection of the sunlight would hurt his eyes. The vampire was trekking through the majestic elven forest that one had to pass through in order to reach the Elves of the Outlands, and their kingdom. The elves were the life of the forest, and because of their presence the forest remained in an endless summer season. Green leaves clung to every tree, and every branch of all sorts of trees. Leaves died and fell to the forest floor every several months, but as soon as the leaves died others grew in their place.

Gavner was traveling to the elven kingdom because he had been summoned by the Grand Bard under the elven Queen Olivia. The Grand Bard, Laeron, was the head of the royal army in the kingdom. Gavner saved the elf kingdom once before when a war between the elves and the dwarves had raged on for years. He and his best friend Black Shadow, whom Gavner had just met at the time, were charged to be the messengers to travel through the dangerous battlefronts and negotiate peace terms. Ever since then, Gavner was known as a great hero among the elves and the dwarves.

Gavner was not sure of what the elves wanted with him now, as Laeron merely said in the message that Gavner was summoned to the Grand Council and it was a very urgent matter. Whatever the elves had in store, Gavner would be more than happy to offer his assistance to them.

[matthewkuch]

Pure, white, glorious light saturated the trees above as Gavner and Eva made their way towards the heart of the forest. Beautiful beams pierced the darkness below the canopy of the trees, streaming through to the ground. The moonlight was refreshing and the creature of the night longed to bask in it, absorbing its wonder and beauty. Trunks from the surrounding trees towered over the tachytelic two, looking ominous in the magnificent light. Suddenly Gavner heard a loud whoosh that began to repeatedly sound. After listening to it, the sound began to grow closer and closer, as Gavner tried to figure out what it was. The longer that he listened to it, the more it began to sound like the beating of enormous wings.

All of a sudden, the moonlight disappeared. Gavner looked up and saw nothing but a pitch black color in the sky. Wind started to rush through the trees and tousle the vampire's bright orange hair, the thundering beats now pounding in his ears. Gavner jumped onto the side of the tree and sank his sharp fingernails into the bark before he began to scale it. The trees in this area were normal sized; consequently, leading Gavner to believe that he could climb to the top without any problems. The odd thing about his climbing though, was that the higher Gavner went, he didn't seem any closer to the top. He tossed a look towards the ground and it was very far away, but shortly thereafter he looked up and appeared to be no further than he was when he had started. Nonetheless Gavner continued higher and higher, and the wind from the thunderous wingbeats threateningly whooshed down, trying to knock the vampire off the tree. It would take a lot more to throw him down though.


Finally, as he continued up it now appeared that the treetops were getting closer, Gavner had almost reached the very tops of the trees. He looked down and saw that the forest floor was extremely small, it was as if he was looking down at a landscape where people would look as if they were ants. When Gavner reached the leaves of the tree, he forced himself up to the very top to see the blockage of the moonlight. The vampire pulled himself up, only to find nothing but night sky. He looked around and saw himself looking out over the city of Radasanth, once more. The night sky was above, but no moonlight lit the land. Figures in black had besieged the city, but it was silent. Something about its silence was eerie, leaving a sense of uneasiness in Gavner's stomach. Once more, quite suddenly, a massive flaming rock that was larger than life burst through the atmosphere at lightning speed and landed directly on the city of Radasanth. A colossal explosion ripped through the city, destroying and crumbling every structure within its reach, decimating the entire city. The familiar sight of the blackened citadel, crumbling from the base and landing in a heap of rubble that sent black ash and smoke everywhere came to pass again before the vampire’s eyes, and he suddenly became aware of the wingbeats once more.

Looking up, Gavner noticed the underside of a large black dragon. The vampire began to descend the tree, but as he took another look up at the dragon, a foot descended directly into his face, knocking him from the tree, into a descent to the forest floor that was over one-hundred feet below.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner's eyes flew open and the wind was knocked out of him, almost as if he had actually hit the forest floor. He found himself lying on his back, heart pounding in his ears. The vampire felt his ears burning, most likely bright red from his increased pulse and nightmare. He heard a soft whimper and once more looked up to see his baby wolf cub laying on his chest, but this time she was curled up in a ball. Eva wriggled and twisted, making a soft, high pitched signal of distress. Quickly, the creature of the night touched her mind with his to see if she was having a nightmare as well. He couldn't stand it when she was scared or upset.

Suddenly Gavner was in her dream, spectating through their telepathic bond. Eva was running from something. Gavner looked around and noticed that they were in a small cave. He gently touched her soft fur with his hand, saying "Eva, wake up girl." His wolf cub jolted awake, and Gavner began to comfort her sympathetically. She telepathically shared her despair and fright with him, as she had been fleeing for her life from the unknown. Gavner comforted her with fond memories of playing with her sisters and enjoying long nature runs in the forest at night, howling at the moon and exploring new and exciting things. By the time Eva was calmed down, Gavner had promised to let her stop and search for her favorite flowers during their travels that night. Until then, he agreed to let her explore the cave before they went out to continue their journey. The vampire watched as his little companion ran around the rocky shelter, curious about anything and everything. She found a small pool of water toward the opposite side of the enclosure. Jumping and rolling in the water, Eva began to forget all of the cares and troubles of the world.

Gavner smirked. Long gone were the days that he could forget about the problems and issues that faced him. Very real problems such as war and destruction, honor and morals- issues that influenced the very course of his life- he had no way of escaping. The beautiful shade of ignorance had been drawn long ago, and these ideas were not only here, but here to stay for the rest of his life. Gavner still liked observing the lives of those who still enjoyed such ignorance. After breakfast Gavner and Eva continued their trek to the elven city. The tree canopy continued to grow thicker and thicker as they reached the heart of the forest; at this point in the journey it provided ample cover from the insidious rays of the sun. After a while of walking the tree trunks started to become coniferous, enormous, and very spaced out.

“The alpine wall,” Gavner said softly to Eva, we are getting close.”

The smell of the pine needles and the soothing musk of the forest floor comforted Gavner as he and his wolf cub continued onward toward their destination. It grew cool and brisk, as the canopy shielded all of the warmth and light from the sun hundreds of feet above. The dark outline of trees were all that the eye could see in every direction. Gavner began looking at the trunks of the trees as the progressed until he found a beautiful emblem of an arrow on the front side of one. It was the guide marker to the path.

[matthewkuch]

The arrow was beautifully adorned with curling designs and arced patterns, all appearing to be grown into the tree. This design was not carved, nor impressed or painted, but a part of the tree itself. It made the tree a beacon of hope, and a well needed outlier from the other trees. Gavner smiled and touched the tree, and suddenly he was at the top of the forest canopy, overlooking Radasanth once more. This time no battle, nor any ceremonious event preceded the death and destruction that unfurled. Without any warning, or prelude, a massive stone descended from the sky and impacted the center of the city. Upon crashing into the ground, there was a blinding flash of light from which Gavner shielded his eyes, and when he looked again, there was a massive explosion, deafening even from the distance that Gavner was at, which took the shape of what looked like a mushroom. From out of the mushroom rose a black dragon, with thunderous wingbeats and a malevolent rider.

Gavner inhaled sharply; he was back in the elven forest with his hand on the tree. He could once more smell the pine needles and must of the familiar area. He opened his eyes and recognized the fading light; it was about an hour from sunset. Looking at the tree, and straightening up, he started in the direction that the arrow was pointing.

“Come on, Eva,” he said motioning to his wolf, “this way.”

Recurring nightmares was a thing that Gavner had been warned about in his clan. Vampires had no set religion; however, much stock was put into omens. One time, Gavner was preparing his squadron to be taken into battle, and he heard the call of a night owl during the dawn. Such was an omen that one must lead a surprise attack, which would allegedly turn the tides of the battle. So Gavner and his team sneaked to the left flank of the army camp and found it unguarded. Subsequently, as they infiltrated, they found the enemy’s spy platoon just waking up- vampire spies did their work during the day while only half-vampires could stand watch in the sun because they had immunity from its harmful rays. It was a quick battle, and casualties were heavy, but Gavner managed to wipe out all of the enemy’s spies. Gavner subsequently launched a counterattack and called upon his clan’s spy division to do their work because there were no defensive spies to impede. From then on, the covert operations attacked a few points of weaknesses, and defeated the enemy’s war prince, causing them to surrender. Gavner’s army traded the victory of the battle for the enemy prince’s life in return.

Many would call it coincidence, but it was Gavner’s following the omen that led them to victory. Now the omen was the recurring dreams. They signified that something significant was going to happen, whether it was the event that occurred in the dream or not. Regardless, Gavner was going to be prepared for whatever was going to happen.