The room was completely dark when the dream shattered.
All three of Argus's moons had turned and were new, about to begin their cycles once more. It was an uncommon occurrence; the moon cycles only converged about once every two years or so. Some people liked to stay up and watch them, especially because there were usually beautiful meteor showers to accompany them, perfectly visible from the highest spires of Mac'Aree's buildings. Some people, however, were studying for their major examinations, and they had no time to fritter away on watching meteorites fall, no matter how lovely they were.
Velen had been only slightly resentful that he'd had to go to bed early; the resentment was tempered by the excitement that he felt about being tested the following morning. If the test went well—and he was confident that it would—he would finally be inducted into the holy order of Anchorites overseeing the temples of Mac'Aree. That was more than worth missing a single meteor shower, no matter how much Kil'jaeden and Archimonde pleaded with him.
But the young Eredar had not been able to sleep peacefully, no matter how he had tried. The deep darkness of the room seemed to swim and pulse before his eyes, strange shapes flickering in and out of the shadows by the yawning mouth of his closet. He had fallen asleep praying, and in his dreams had been tormented by leering, demonic faces and guttural words whispered in a language unfamiliar and painful in his ears. His friends had been there, too, but they had been sucked down into the darkness, and Velen had been left completely alone.
He woke with sweat trickling down his brow and into his mouth; the salty taste helped to anchor him solidly to consciousness, giving him something to concentrate on. Distantly, the sound of cheering resonated from somewhere around the rooftop spires—the meteor showers were on in full force outside the windows, though Velen could not catch even a flicker of their light.
"It was just a dream," he muttered to himself, focusing on the sound of his own voice, muffled though it was. "Just a bad dream."
He almost screamed when the door slid open, managing to keep his cool only with a monumental effort. Two figures slipped in through the space between door and doorframe, their long tails flicking slightly in what seemed to be anxiety.
Velen exhaled slowly, shaking his head. "What are you two doing? I thought you were going to watch the meteor shower."
"We felt something." Kil'jaeden tapped a long finger to his breastbone, just above his heart. "Are you all right?" His eyebrows were lifted high in concern.
"Fine, Jae," Velen replied, wiping at his forehead with one sleeve. "Go back outside."
"You're not telling the truth," Archimonde said immediately. Though he was the youngest of their group, and had been a member for the shortest time, he was always the quickest to catch on when someone was bending the truth. His blue eyes watched Velen keenly, and the young priest saw the same light of concern on his face as had been on Jae's.
"I had a nightmare," Velen confessed.
Jae folded his arms. "What happened?" His set, heavy stance against the wall told Velen that he would not be moving until an explanation came.
Silently cursing Jae's stubbornness, Velen pulled his knees to his chin, wrapping his tail around his legs as he let his mind wander—carefully—back into the depths of his dream.
"I saw…I saw Argus," he said at last. "Floating, serene, in space. That was all I could see for a long time, but then this strange darkness began to encroach from beyond the stars. It came in like a cloud, and it…seemed to swallow the planet, covering it up like it had never been."
Jae and Archi exchanged glances, but motioned for him to continue, remaining silent. Velen inhaled a deep breath and went on with his recollection.
"Then I was standing at the top of the Spire of the Naaru, and there was this…" He waved his hands in the air, trying to think of a proper description. "There was this figure standing there with me, looking out over Mac'Aree, and the city was on fire, but the flames were green instead of gold, and I could tell that no water would be able to put them out. The thing next to me was made out of the same darkness that had swallowed Argus, and when it looked at me, I just felt…cold. Like the Light had vanished from my soul and I'd never feel it again." Velen shivered a little, the memory of the feeling creating an uncomfortable churning in his gut.
"What did the figure do?" Jae prodded, though more gently than Velen would have expected. He and Archi both seemed more than a little disturbed by the contents of the nightmare.
Velen swallowed. "He told me that if I joined him, he would save Mac'Aree and make it his citadel, and I would be his lieutenant."
"Well, you said no, of course!" Archi snorted and shook his head, looking offended at even the suggestion of such a thing.
"I did, but…" Velen hesitated, chewing on his lip. This part of the dream he was unsure if he should share with his two friends, even linked as they were in a holy bond of souls.
"But?" Jae asked.
"You didn't," Velen said quietly.
They both looked stunned, glancing between one another and then at Velen with expressions of incredulity.
"Ve, that's ridiculous," Jae finally said. He looked almost angry, his tail flicking in agitation. "We would never do such a thing. You know us, don't you?"
Velen tapped an inadvertent hand against the hidden mark on his own breastbone, feeling the flickers of Jae's indignation. "I do," he said softly. "And I know it was just a dream. But it still felt so real. Jae, the aloneness was more than I've ever felt before. It was like this black pit inside of me, waiting to swallow me whole."
At that, Jae's expression softened somewhat, and both he and Archi uncrossed their arms and walked over to the small desk beside the bed, leaning against it comfortably.
"We're linked, brother," he said. "Forever and always. Remember?"
"You won't ever be alone, Ve." Archi grinned. "None of us will."
Despite himself, Velen had to smile at his two friends—his two brothers, really, closer to him than anyone else on Argus.
"Thank you," he said sincerely. The fear was already beginning to fade, and he felt exhaustion creeping in; they'd been talking for longer than he'd wanted to be awake, and he still had tests to do in the morning.
"Come on, Archi," Jae said, standing up straight. "Ve's got important priest things to do in the morning. We'd better let him sleep."
"See you in the morning, Anchorite Velen." Archi laughed and waved, and the two of them vanished through the door, letting it close softly behind them.
Velen drifted comfortably back to sleep, and this time, the nightmare remained only an uneasy suggestion lost in his subconscious.