Morning came far too early for Joshua. He struggled against the warmth of the rising sun, seeking solace in the last vestige of sleep. It would not allow him a reprieve, even if this night were one of the few without nightmares.

  He finally rolled off his stomach, sitting up with sore muscles and looking out from the dewy grass. The others were already up and about. Richard was stretching his legs and the woman was examining her sword. He could not see Logan nearby.

  “Not much of a leader,” Joshua whispered to himself as he stood.

  Even though that thought was a joke, Joshua was still plagued with doubt. None of them was ready to make the journey north. Someone, Richard or Logan, had to know that it was suicide. If the elements or sarpans didn’t kill them, a savod would.

  Yet, how would he learn more about the savod, learn more about the dark spot any other way?

  He rubbed at the band, touching the grooves of the runes as he pondered it. The whispers had been silent since the day before. He knew they only hid from him, but he welcomed the reprieve from their madness.

  He did not like the emptiness that pervaded his body. He felt like a hollow shell, ready to collapse with the slightest touch. He could still feel his magic shifting just under his skin, but it was lesser now, weaker.

  Something was missing.

  Logan returned before he had time to dwell on it. Logan held two water skins, filled to a ripe roundness as well as a replenished sack of food. It would not be like a hot meal at an inn, but Joshua could live with it for a few days.

  “It is time we parted ways then,” Richard said after Logan’s return. “We all have a long road ahead.”

  “I will miss you, master,” Joshua said, grasping his master’s hand.

  “Be safe Joshua,” Richard said as he took Joshua into an embrace.

  He left after that, taking the road south. Joshua waved goodbye, but he was surprised. His heart should have ached to see his master leave, but he felt nothing at all. His master had been his only real friend for so long, but he couldn’t even shed a tear.

  The three of them left soon after, taking the northern road. The dirt crunched under Joshua’s boots as he followed the other two. He kept quiet and in the rear. There was no need to draw attention.

  It left him more time to think. He still wasn’t sure if he should just leave quietly. He wanted to know more about the savod, but there might be other ways. He could not just go back to the Tower. That left him as a rogue mage with no income.

  He held back the sigh that threatened to rise to his lips. So, there wasn’t a choice at all then. All of the knowledge would fall away without the Tower. Richard’s hopeful words rang hollowly in his head.

  He rubbed his wrist again.

  Joshua ignored the whisper. He was starting to get used to them now. He focused on the path ahead, his eyes resting on his two companions. He blinked once, and the entire world changed.

  The entire world was lit green, so much like the fire he had used two nights before. He already knew what it was from; he could already feel his presence. It was the name that wanted to be said, Sarrack.

  Joshua kept walking, and the waking nightmare opened before him, filling all of his sight. It was the dark world from his dreams, the world of the savod. It was ablaze with Sarrack’s wrath, every dark spot covered with green and black fire.

  “I will find you!” Sarrack walked in step with Joshua, sending out torrents of flame from his hands. “There isn’t a place on this world you can hide!”

  The shadowy trees and rocks stood no chance against his might, but Joshua could see no savod in his path. The entire area seemed lifeless. Sarrack had to know that his attacks weren’t striking his enemies.

  As they walked together, Joshua came upon a valley. Sarrack led the way down it, carving the rock with flame. At the end of it, the savod sat in wait, all surrounding a great stone arch.

  A group of savod carried the crystal from before toward the arch. Joshua understood it instantly. This was the final stand of the savod. They would do anything to protect the crystal until their plan was complete.

  But, what was their plan? Joshua kept walking in step with Sarrack. The fire flared with his anger and excitement. Joshua knew it already; there was nothing that the savod could do. If he could just reach the crystal, then it would be over.

  The savod wouldn’t let that happen.

  They charged at Sarrack, swarming in a massive horde. A wave of darkness consumed his green flames, and for a moment, the light disappeared. All Joshua could see was the faint glow of the crystal near the arch.

  “Enough!” Sarrack yelled, forcing the savod back with a burst of flame.

  Twisted forms flew through the air, striking the valley walls before turning to ash. In one strike, Sarrack had beaten back the horde. Joshua could barely breathe, but still his feet compelled him to continue, to walk closer to the arch.

  The savod were working magic. The energy crackled in the air. It was so like the elemental magic that mages used, but there was a slight difference. Joshua licked his lips. He could almost taste it as the few savod waved their arms before the arch.

  The spell tore the air asunder as the savod finished. A heavy wind ripped in toward the opening. An infinite void opened in the arch, and through it, Joshua could see a sea of nothing punctuated with spots of light. Trails of magic snaked through the air from it, their tingling touch wrapping around him as they beckoned from the portal.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “I won’t let you escape!” Sarrack ran up to the arch, throwing away savod’s bodies in a desperate rush.

  Sarrack’s arm shot out. It stretched toward the savod, closing the distance with a fiery fist. The magic trailed behind, still attaching the arm to Sarrack’s body. It was too late. The crystal passed through the gate. Sarrack’s hand only grasped at air.

  An instant later, the gate closed and with it, the nightmare ceased. With a sickening tug, Joshua folded back into Nelim. He nearly stumbled to the ground, but he was able to regain his bearings.

  His blurred vision could just make out Logan and Elaine. They were still walking ahead of him. Even while within the vision, he had not missed a step. Joshua struggled to right his breath as he adjusted back to the world.

  Joshua stopped and rubbed his forehead. He couldn’t concentrate at all, every thought splintered into a thousand pieces before he could piece them together. He fought to clear his mind, but it refused.

  With those words, his mind cleared. Joshua started to walk again before changing to a jog to catch up with Logan and Elaine. They hadn’t noticed his lapse yet. He wasn’t sure if he should be thankful for it.

  They walked for a long time, and Joshua pondered the visions all the way. Sarrack and the savod, what exactly did they have to do with each other? What was the crystal that the savod spirited away? Who was Sarrack so intent on wreaking vengeance upon?

  Joshua wanted to scream his frustration, but he kept it buttoned up. There was no sense in alerting Logan or Elaine to the whispers. The knight might even be ready to kill him if she knew of them.

  Finally, they came to a halt. The sun was setting again, and the shadows of night stretched out all around them. They set up a basic camp off the side of the road. The clear fields all around blew about in the wind, and Joshua knew then that they were alone.

  “We should start a fire,” he said as they sat down in the grass.

  “No, the less attention we attract, the better,” Logan said. “At least until after we’re further away from Nethas.”

  Again, Logan did not inspire any confidence in Joshua. He grimaced as he drew his robes tighter around his body. The air was still thick with the heat of the day, but there would not be nearly enough left to warm the rest of the night.

  “If we’re worried about being followed, one of us needs to stay on watch,” Elaine said.

  “I’ll take it,” Joshua said.

  “Wake one of us if you get tired,” Logan said as he fell back into the grass.

  They both fell silent after that, leaving Joshua alone. He sat quietly for a long time, keeping his eyes trained on the night sky. The visions from before still were vivid in his mind. He could still hear Sarrack yelling in pursuit even this long after.

  He tried to find his center, the most basic of mage teachings. He shut himself from the elemental flow, and calmed his body to silence. Only his breath remained. He reached it with ease, in moments his mind was completely clear.

  Laughter filled his head and Joshua’s concentration skewed. With just one whisper, his concentration was lost. It shouldn’t have been that easy. He gripped at the wristband until his fingers hurt.

  “Curse these whispers,” he said.

  A cricket jumped up onto his leg and started its sharp song. Joshua let it carry his attention. If he couldn’t calm his mind, he would at least focus it. An image from two nights before flashed in his head.

  Were the black spots in every living being? He quickly cupped his hands around the cricket and brought it in close. There was no reaction. All he could feel was the tiny scratch of the cricket jumping on his skin.

  “How is this supposed to work?” Joshua said, keeping his voice low.

  With a blink, he could see through his hands. He looked around furtively, checking to make sure that neither of his companions noticed the difference. He could see dark spots within them as well now, all flowing through their blood.

  Joshua turned his attention back to the cricket. He opened up his hand and peered inside. There wasn’t the same amount as in Logan or Elaine, but there were still a single black mark pulsing in the cricket’s body.

  He could see it now, but he didn’t know what he could do with it. What was the purpose of it then? Why did the curse think it so important to reveal this to him? Joshua grimaced as he looked closer.

  Joshua smiled at the instruction. It was like how Richard had taught him when he first came to the Tower. Joshua could almost hear Richard’s voice in the words. The beginning steps weren’t that different.

  Joshua breathed in the magic. It flew out of the cricket’s body in an instant, rushing out into his hands. Joshua opened his hands up, looking into the swirling orb of magic. He could feel the power within.

  Exhilaration rushed through Joshua’s heart. Just that small amount of magic was like opening his fire runes to their limits. He felt like if he were to cast a single spell now, he could set the entire field ablaze.

  “This is real power,” he whispered.

  Joshua looked down at his armband. It hadn’t changed at all, even though he had called on the power. The surge of power had faded, yet he didn’t feel lesser for it. There was still a well of power resting inside of him.

  He looked down at the remains of the cricket. It was just a dried husk now, still and unmoving. The thought of it should have chilled Joshua to his core. He knew that in his mind. But, again, he felt nothing.

  “This is just the beginning,” he said.

  Richard walked with a steady gait down the road to the west, his walking stick tapping against the stones with every other step. He was making good time now, not as fast as he would with a horse, but he could solve that soon.

  The road was a lonely place without his apprentice beside him. Joshua’s sarcasm was not always soothing, but at least it provided something more than just the buzzing of flies and the occasional shifting of deer in the woods around him.

  He was taking a risk, letting Joshua go out on his own. It was better than bringing him back to the Tower, but even this was just delaying the inevitable. Olson would make the boy answer for his mistakes.

  It wasn’t right for Richard to raise the boy’s hopes. Olson was well over a hundred years old now. There was little chance that things would change anytime soon. However, without hope, there was nothing left for him.

  That was a lesser issue. The giddy glee from the new information practically shook through Richard. There were so many ancient legends about the sylvestrians and the savod. He was never sure that they were true, but now, he had reason to believe.

  Planar magic, the planar war, worlds beyond just Nelim, it had all seemed like flights of fancy. He could still remember the tales.

  According to legend, when the sylvestri were the dominant race on Nelim, they had an empire that stretched the entire world. They had magic that could feed entire villages with just a blessing, or bring ruin to a kingdom with one curse. They found something in their search for knowledge.

  They found another world, hidden behind a veil. It was a world of twilight, where creatures from beyond their knowledge roamed. The sylvestri made a deal with those creatures, invited them to Nelim in exchange for more power.

  A great gate was constructed, and the sylvestri prepared for the arrival of their new allies, but something was amiss. The savod stepped through the open portal, with thousands of their kind pouring in behind them. They ran across the land, seeking to devour all in their path.

  The sylvestri sealed the savod, at the cost of all their power. They fell and receded into the deep dark forests. They left only ruins for the tribes of man to find and build their cities in.

  If those dark things were again walking the world, Richard worried at what it would take to stop them.

  He shuddered as he realized that, perhaps, Joshua’s journey was the more dangerous one.