Ever since her Grandfather had given her a gift; a small little box, telling her it had once belonged to his own grandmother; it’s history being a mystery, Raven has begun taking notice strange things, whenever she sleeps, she no longer gets any rest, often being awoken by nightmares, often violent.
As she lay in her bed, the moonlight spilling through her window, casting a silvery glow; sleep would claim her, the world melted away as she found herself a drift in an endless, shadowy expanse.
It started as it usually would, as a faint flicker, a distant glimmer that slowly began to intensify into a glaring orange glow; Raven found herself squinting against the brightness, her heart started to thump in her chest; the air was thick and acrid; tinged with the scent of smoke and despair; she realised she was stood on the outskirts of a town, a place that felt hauntingly familiar yet terrifyingly different.
The sky was a murky shade of grey; pregnant with the weight of impending doom
Before her lay a vision of destruction; buildings engulfed in flame, their once sturdy walls melting away under the merciless heat; the crackle of fire and the wails of the terrified people resonated in her ears; she was drowning in a tide of horror, she felt paralyzed, her feet rooted to the ground as she watched chaos unfold.
The ground crunched behind her as someone approached; when Raven finally managed to turn her head to look; she noticed a woman cloaked in an ethereal light; it took a moment, she was sure she recognised this woman; her heart skipped a beat as the figure stopped beside her, she was hit with a jolt of realisation “Nana?” she whispered
Lydia shifted her eyes towards Raven a moment before turning her gaze to the destruction before them; she had a glow of otherworldly luminescence, there seemed to be a coldness present within her expression “Too long has he been free to do as he pleases” Lydia said, her tone was sharp, she was unhappy “What you see here is the consequences of your grandfather’s decision to abandon everything we once worked to prevent” she shifted her attention back to Raven “You need to listen to me Raven; and listen carefully, this is no mere dream, this is a warning of what is to come; he has been awake for the past Seventy-Five Years, he has run free and built up his following, he’s beginning to make his move”
“What is happening?; what are you telling me?” Raven implored, her voice trembled
“The world as you know it; is a lie” Lydia turned her gaze back to the destruction “You see the cracks when you observe those in positions of power; the greed, the corruption; people ignore it because it is easier, but what you currently have, is about to come crashing down; the Imperium has returned to a position of strength, they are influencing the very world around you to sow misery and chaos at the bidding of the Celestial master”
Raven listened carefully, she didn’t understand; but the tone that Lydia spoke with forced her to pay attention “This is the result of human ignorance; the convenience of lies is preferred to the truth” Lydia states “The only thing distracting their master right now though, is you” Lydia says with an ominous tone “He has taken interest in you, I haven’t worked out the reason yet; but you are in danger, and you can’t continue to live in ignorance, no matter how much your grandfather has tried to remove himself and your family from what has been going on, sooner or later you’ll be forced into this life, you need to be ready for what is to come”
She felt fear as she listened; a rising tide of emotions, she was struggling to process what Lydia was telling her; her eyes turned to the destruction
Lydia shifted her gaze, she could see Raven’s fear, it softened her expression; there was a mix of sorrow, but also pride as she gave a gentle smile “Don’t let yourself be consumed by fear, find Gallus, he is who will guide you”
Raven looked to Lydia again; but an explosion snapped her eyes back to the burning town; shadows of people rushed to escape, their faces obscured by smoke and panic; though as she stared, the faces of those most important to her she caught sight of “No!” she screamed, moving forwards as she reached her right hand out, but the intensity of the fire kept her at bay, she found she could not get anywhere near them
Then, the scene shifted; she found herself now standing outside of a building she had passed many times; the town hall, staring upwards, she noticed the clock-face, its hand span erratically, racing towards midnight; the ground beneath her felt as though it was trembling as the air grew heavy with despair; she felt a new presence, turning around she saw a large shadowy figure in the distance; its very shape reminded her of a Minotaur, it was staring towards her before she then felt hands clawing at her from the ground she was standing on, her eyes shifting down to see what was going on, spectral wraiths, twisted, the very embodiment of fear clawed at her ankles, it forced her to move backwards, her breathing increase, she felt her heart beating too fast “Raven!” she heard Lydia shout
She snapped her attention to see her grandmother looking at her “Wake up!” she told her, being directly in front of Raven again, she gently put her finger against Raven’s forehead “Wake up” she repeated, this time softly
When Raven’s eyes opened, she found herself breathing heavily; though her eyes had to adjust, the world around her was now much brighter, but there was a shadow hovering over her, since her eyes hadn’t processed what she was staring up at, her immediate reaction was to scream as she raised her arms to shield her face “Raven” a voice said softly, “Raven calm down” a calm voice told her
Shifting her arms; her eyes slowly adjusted, she found it was Yasmin looking down at her, her breathing was clearly erratic though, her chest heaved up and down; she glanced around as she slowly moved, panic was etched on her face, streaks of tears were rolling down her cheeks “Where….” She started with a broken voice “Am I awake?”
“Your awake; you’ve had a nightmare” Yasmin told her softly; her hand gently caressed Raven’s cheek, before she finally brought Raven into a gentle hug
“I keep having them…, I keep having them over and over” Raven’s voice trembled, she was beginning to become terrified of sleeping with how often her visions of despair and destruction were becoming; it had begun impacting so much, she found herself on a warning from her place of work due to being signed off for illness
“We’ll find a way to get through this together” Yasmin gently rubbed Raven’s back as she kept her in her embrace; she could feel Raven’s frame tremble; she knew Raven would not be going back to sleep that night, so she decided she would be staying awake with her, to make sure she wasn’t left alone all night, Yasmin after all was no stranger to working without sleep
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