Legends of Avalon: Gardens of Atlantis

Phoenix Style, First Form. Dragon Style, Seventh Form. Tiger Style, Fourth Form.

Ray executed the movements of each form with careful precision and flowed from one form to the next with smooth fluidity.

A chilly wind blew down from the S7 Mountains under the shadows of which Ray was training. Ray savoured every second of the morning zephyr as it engulfed his being. For a few seconds he felt a refreshing calmness before his troubled thoughts returned to him.

He had woken up early as usual this morning although the reason for his waking up was not the usual. Something else had woken him this morning rather than his normal circadian rhythm.

So at this moment, while half of his mind focused on his martial arts routine the other half was preoccupied with the thing that had caused him to wake up in cold sweat not an hour ago.

Ray replayed the dream that he had. The Dark Dream. This is the name that he had given it and this morning was not the first time that he had that dream.

That same dream.

The very same one.

It was the third time he had it since after the war.

The first time was almost two months ago. When it did not recur after a few weeks, he thought that it was just a random dream, a reminiscence of the war three years ago.

However, two weeks ago he had The Dark Dream again and then three days ago, just before he received the secret mission from the headmaster, he had it for the third time. Last night was the fourth time. It was getting more frequent and more vivid.

Ray wasn't a believer in such shady pseudoscience as dream interpretation but he does know that there are Aura Techniques and magic spells that can influence a person's dreams. He also knows that for Heroes who use Aura and are thus sensitive to fluctuations in the Aura stream, their dreams may sometimes be influenced by ripples in the worlds Aura flow.

And Ray knew not to be humble in this situation. He knows that even among Heroes who are the most sensitive to the worlds Aura flow among Aura users, he is arguably one of the most sensitive even if he doesn't include the abilities of his Panoptes. With the Panoptes, he is even more sensitive to the worlds Aura flow. Far more so. It is because of this that Ray does not just brush aside a recurring dream that is so vivid to him.

However more than anything else, the main reason that he is worried about The Dark Dream is because it had plagued his sleep during the war three years ago. Almost every night he would be taken to that 'Dark World'. A world of nothingness.

He has never shared the dream with anyone. During the war he hardly had time to talk about something so shady, or even to give it too much thought. After defeating the Shadow Wraith, the dream did not recur so Ray didn't give it too much thought and gradually forgot about it. But now it had recurred, and during a time when it seems the Demons have returned and are spreading their evil through the world. Ray wondered if the dream might be related to the Demons somehow. A dark world of nothingness is a sure symbolism of the Demons was his thought.

Dragon style: third form. The power of Rays dragon style form caused cracks to appear beneath his feet.

White tiger style: second form. Despite the cold morning air, beads of sweat trickle down Ray's forehead. Ray felt a sense of satisfaction at the sensation of sweating from physical exertion. He increased his pace and intensity. This required more mental concentration which took his mind off the dream for a while.

A slight movement on his right alerted Ray that he was not alone. The thing, or rather the things that were preying on him could conceal their presence almost perfectly. They made no sound and he could detect neither their life force nor their Aura.

No… these are not creatures of Avalon. They are creatures of the Underworld. They have no Aura rather, they bear magic, Ray thought. His muscles tensed as he readied to meet their attack.

Two… three… four… Ray tried but failed to ascertain their number. He also couldn't be sure what they were; so good was their concealment ability.

Magic wielding monsters are normally uncommon in Avalon. However, in certain locations where small rifts occasionally appear between Avalon and the Underworld, magic wielding monsters may be found in greater numbers. These rifts are very small and unpredictable, and usually connect with the wilder parts of the Underworld (or so people postulate as few have dared to actually study this phenomena) so there was very little chance that Demons would use them to cross into Avalon. The S7 Mountains is one of those locations with magic wielding creatures.

Ray felt the magic curse even as the six chicken-like creatures began to cast their spell. Detecting a magical spell as it is being cast is one of Rays learned abilities. An ability he gained mostly from experience and being in multiple life and death situations. Most Heroes gain this ability after a year or two in the field. The creatures also revealed themselves when they began casting their spell, and Ray identified them as Merkava. Monsters that look like a cross between a chicken and a snake. Their bodies are shaped like that of a chicken that had been boiled in hot water for so long that all their feathers were coming off and their skin had become soft and slimy. They have small ugly hands with nasty long claws, and their bottom half look like that of a snake that is midway through the process of shedding its skin.

Ray knew that the Merkava were about to cast a powerful demonic curse called 'Metsada'. A killing curse that the Demons used to kill many innocent people and Heroes during the war three years ago. Despite the curse, Ray knew that the potency of the spell that these Merkava could muster would be nowhere near enough to harm him. He prepared to take the monsters down without killing them so that they may be used for study or experimental purposes.

But as he prepared to make his move, Ray suddenly found himself surrounded by utter darkness. Darkness that spread in every direction without end. No… not in every direction. In front of him, Ray saw it. Somehow, even in the pitch black, he can see it. A darkness even darker than utter darkness. That shadow across the winding path in the far distance was so much darker than the darkness of The Dark Dream world that everything else seemed bright in comparison.

Then he was on the battlefield.  Ray knew this battlefield. No… not battlefield. Massacre field is a more fitting name. Oyoun Qarra, this is the name of the village on the outer borders of Camelot where Ray and his team were called to fend off a Demon attack during the Shadow Wraith War three years ago. They had been too late. Children, young children in their school uniforms – some of them still holding the sandwich that they were going to eat when their lives were mercilessly ripped from them – lay lifeless on the ground. Bodies were strewn everywhere in the village. The Demons had used DIME weapons and cruel killing curses. Ray had felt depressed for weeks after the incident. He had been too late. For all the power that he was gifted with, he couldn't help those innocent people. He could do nothing to help them.

I WON'T ALLOW YOU TO HURT ANYONE

Rays scream reverberated through the S7 Mountains.

The Merkava's half formed spells were shattered in an instant. And then six black cubes appeared and engulfed each of the six Merkava. The cubes disappeared as did the Merkava, leaving not a trace that they had ever been there.

Ray stood in the middle of the silent massacre, panting and sweating profusely; not from physical overexertion but from emotional fatigue.

Memories from Oyoun Qarra flashed before Ray. The massacre of innocent lives. The children who should have had a full life ahead of them, all dead. Ray had been depressed for three weeks after the mission. Of course, he never told anyone, never allowed anyone to see his suffering.

He had tried to forget about it. Not the memory, never the memory. The things he saw on that day, and on so many other days during the war with the demons would forever be burnt into his memory. And he would never allow himself to forget any of it. They are reminders to him of what is truly important in this world, his purpose.

What Ray tried to forget were the painful emotions that accompany those memories because if he did not, then they would tear him apart. And more than anyone, Ray knew that he cannot afford to be ripped apart by his emotions. Otherwise he might burn the world to ashes.

The Dark Dream flashed in Rays mind as he struggled with his turbulent emotions. A world of darkness and in the distance, a palace darker than nothingness.

Then there was a silhouette. A person. No... not a person. Also not a Demon. A being. A being of power such that Ray has never known was possible. Such power that Ray, as powerful as he was, was suffocated by its mere presence.

The being raised a hand and everything was wiped from existence.