Part 4

The Future

Once again, Nicol Bolas visited Denitt in his dreams. But this time, it was different. It was just a face, the dragon's face. There was no warning, no message. He imagined that must have been the true face of Bolas. He had never been told Bolas had taken the form of a dragon.

Come to think of it, he thought in his darkened stupor, they never told me Bolas's real name. He told Denitt himself.

But there was more than the face. There was the man, who said he was Nicol. Was he really? And could any being destroy a world- an entire plane?

Denitt rethought the question.

If they could, and it mustn't be easy, why would they do it so flippantly. He imagined this would be the part where he would put his head in his hands in exasperation. But… well, he couldn't right now.

Darkness faded back in, and so too did uncertainty. That was the end of conscious thought for Denitt. He drifted off into dreams.

Those dreams were not interrupted by Nicol Bolas. Nor by memories of his parents, who had died only a couple days prior. Now, they were filled with strange, desperate pleas.

A world stretched upward in spire-like buildings.

Now Denitt was there in person. He strolled around. The citizenry talked amongst each other. He caught the small talk of a normal day. Clouds drifted in the sky. A minotaur wearing an emblazoned breastplate walked past, heaving a massive mace. Denitt watched as they passed. A fist surrounded by a star, that's what it had been. Denitt looked around once more. Posters filled the area that must have been a market. Posters hung from the wall in an alien language that seemed to shift randomly between decipherable language and its opposite. Grandiose pictures took up almost all the posters' space. They all depicted a vampire being slain by a human in a heroic gesture.

Then, out of nowhere, a being appeared, running into the market to the extreme shock of the rest of the residing populace. Their true form was muffled by the vagueness that a dream carries with it.

"Please." The form spoke with a woman's voice, to no one in particular. Then the being started to become clearer. It was a human woman donned in a blue cape. Blood was splattered across it. They seemed to be dressed up in warrior's garb, but she no longer had a helmet. Then her face came into view- brown eyes, one covered in bandage. Blood streaked down her face too, from a gash hidden somewhere in here hair, which was covered by a skin-tight hood.

She was definitely a sight. People stared in confusion and terror.

"Help me…" she seemed near collapsing, but no one rushed to help her. Then five masked figures descended into the square brandishing massive, yet thin, blades. Their masks portrayed skulls or human faces in various stages of anguish.

People screamed, scattering. One man dropped change in front of one of the figures, begging them not to take his life. The person shoved him out of the way and lifted his blade towards the woman. She looked down.

Still, no one turned towards Denitt.

"Lavinia. Asking the common people for help? Do you realize where you are? Who owns this turf?" One of them said. Their voice was gritty and annoyed.

"Yes," the woman, Lavinia, said. She paused and took out her sword from its scabbard resting on her side. One of the five figures from behind chuckled. "Isperia will be here soon. And she will relieve you all of your pathetic lives," Lavinia snarled.

"Cute." The figure stepped forward, closer to her. All the others did so too, in unison.

"So," Lavinia said,"you all wanna fight?" She lowered her sword. "You'll need more-"

The dream faded to black.

The world did not wait for Denitt. It came screaming back with a vengeance. Everything became so loud, so incredibly loud. Then it went silent, and Denitt bolted up in bed. He looked around. It seemed like an infirmary. Denitt looked to the right and saw a needle in his arm connected to a pack to his side filled with a glowing blue liquid. It seemed to churn.

Then, someone walked in the room. No- two.

Denitt looked to the left and saw Kuesh and Desha taking a stroll, but they jumped when they saw Denitt awake.

Everyone was silent. All three exchanged nervous glances.

"Er…" Kuesh said. "I think we need to talk."

Denitt got out of the infirmary bed. He still had small pangs of pain in his head, but he had never felt more well rested in his life.

"I'll talk to you later," said Desha.

"Okay," said Kuesh, seeming annoyed but vastly relieved. And with that, Desha strolled from the room.

Denitt realized Kuesh was holding something. It was the robes. He was holding them out for Denitt to take.

And Denitt did.

While he was getting dressed in his proper clothing, and not the monowhite hospital garb he was wearing, Kuesh spoke.

"So, you've been asleep for four days."

"What…?" Denitt paused in shock.

"I know… it must be surprise. But everyone's been wondering, and we all swore if we were the first ones in the room when you woke up we'd ask. Even though we're all afraid of the answer- what had you been dreaming about?"

Denitt finished dressing.

"Um…" He debated in his mind for a split second whether he should even say. He decided he might as well. " … Nicol Bolas," he said, wondering how Kuesh would respond.

"I see. Then what?"

"Well, I was on this plane. I didn't hear its name or anything. It was forest and mountains all around. I was on top of this huge one, a mountain. And Nicol was there, saying that…" Denitt closed his eyes. He felt the pain returning, but it was only him imagining it back. "He said that I shouldn't find him."

Denitt realized Kuesh was carrying a board of wood with papers pinned to it. Kuesh was looking at it. "Continue," Kuesh said calmly.

"Then there was a massive ball of light on the horizon."

Kuesh looked up, taking a pencil out of his coat and writing on the papers. "I see. And tell me, Denitt- did the ground and air become cold? Did the light grow; become blinding?"

Denitt stared in disbelief. "Y-yes. It did."

"Denitt," Kuesh said,"I need you to listen now." He sighed, and leaned down slightly so both their eyes could meet. "There are some beings in the Multiverse, the Elder-"

"Why do you call him that? Why not just call him Nicol Bolas?"

"We simply don't. Anyway, he and a select few beings are our enemies. You will learn, soon, who they are." He stood back up. "This Multiverse needs heroes. We think… we think you can be one. We think you can defeat the Elder. Not single handedly. But someday, you'll make your own team of Arinites. And they will destroy the Elder. That is why he's worried. He knows that someday, you'll succeed. And he wants to scare you early. He wants to terrify you."

"I don't understand," Denitt said. He put his head in his hands. How could so much happen so fast? More things of note had happened in the last 6 days than had happened in Denitt's whole life.

"Believe, Denitt." Kuesh smiled. "Come with me."

Denitt and Kuesh walked outside into the hallways. "Pheris, the doc, says you're alright. No permanent damage, or anything. You should be fine right now, actually. Well rested I would hope."

Denitt grabbed at Kuesh's hand and stopped him, words already in his mouth. "Kuesh. There's something I need to tell you."

"Uh… what? What is it?"

"I had another dream. After I collapsed from the one where I met Bolas."

"And?"

"Lavinia. Who is that? I was in this market, I guess on some plane, and-"

"You heard Lavinia? Uh… she's dead. Strange you had a dream of someone who lived so long ago. Not unheard of though."

"Wait- what? Dead? For how long?" Denitt could only imagine the look of shock on his face.

"Decades. Centuries. Incredibly long. Her death is still a mystery."

"Really? Because I saw it pretty clearly-"

"What?" Now Kuesh looked shocked. "You saw her death?"

"Uh… yes. I did," Denitt said.

"Come with me. I think a lot of people are going to be very, very interested in every detail you provide."

Kuesh took Denitt on a walk away from wherever the two were supposed to go moments before. The passed through several tunnels, then out onto a balcony, on the other side of Hopestream. At least a dozen laboratory benches and tables were set up there, some in various states of disarray but most pristine. At a few were ostensibly Hopestream members performing experiments. One caught Denitt's eye and particular.

Yataeso, a human, and a vampire were crowded around one table while Yataeso poured incremental amounts of an unidentifiable lucent liquid into a glass while the other two watched. He was wearing goggles that reflected the glow of the liquid.

Kuesh saw them, too. "Yataeso!" He shouted.

Yataeso still faced the glass but stole a glance over, then looked back to the glass and poured the glass agonizingly slow, but purposefully and carefully.

When he finally stopped, he looked over. "Yes?" He inquired. He leaned foward and rested his hands on the table. Denitt noticed he had his large, paddle-like ears wrapped back behind his head.

"Denitt here," he said, stretching his arms out to Denitt as if he were presenting the young man,"has some information for you. I think you're going to want to hear it."

"Excuse me, please," Yataeso said. The two others moved over.

"Be quick," the vampire said.

Yataeso looked back for a second. "Sure."

He strolled up to Denitt and Kuesh. "This oughta be important he said," removing his goggles and placing them on a nearby stool.

"Denitt… er…" Kuesh didn't know how Yataeso would take but the news, but he decided it would be worse if he just said nothing. "Denitt knows who killed Lavinia."

Yataeso looked down to Denitt, dumbfounded. Denitt looked out to the unsure horizon and felt his face growing red. "I- I-" he stammered. "I never said that! I just said I saw her death!"

Yataeso looked to Kuesh. "Are you sure," he asked. "You had best not be fooling with me."

"I swear, said Kuesh.

"Child," Yataeso said,"what do you know?"

"I was in this market, surrounded by huge towers, then Lavinia ran in, all bloodied, like she'd been in battle, and she asked for help. No one did. Then five people descended into the market, and they talked, then everything went black. But it seemed like they were about to fight."

"What were the figures wearing?"

"Masks. These horrific masks. And capes. All black clothing, like they were shrouded in darkness."

"I thought so. For 112 years they lied to me."

"It was the Dimir, then, wasn't it?" Kuesh asked.

Yataeso got a distant look in his eyes, then turned to the human and vampire. "I must… this demonstration will continue in a few days. I'm afraid other business is going to be taking my time until then." And then he was off running, no, sprinting, down the tone hallways, on the wooden floors.

Kuesh protested. "Please, Yataeso, don't be so rash! Don't go alone! They will destroy you! Please!"

But it was too late. Yataeso removed his heavy coat and untied his ears, which fell down.

He shoved open the heavy metal doors, and was gone.

Denitt looked up worriedly to Kuesh, who was running his hands through his hair.

"Uh… Kuesh." It was a voice from behind. The vampire. "So… we kind of… that was a bad time."

Denitt turned around to see the vampire shrug.

"Not now, Vura," Kuesh said, running his fingers through his hair. "Denitt, you need to speak to him right now. Tell him everything you know. It would mean a lot."

"Okay," Denitt said, walking off.

"You'll probably find him in his room, thinking about how to… er, just find him, alright?" Kuesh's voice was fading. "Room 14, okay?"

Denitt reached the giant wooden doors that had shut already and pushed them open again. They weighed so much, but he was still able to pass through.

Finding the room was not very easy. After some asking for directions and meandering lost through several hallways, Denitt found his way to Room 14.

What was he supposed to do now? Knock? Ask Yataeso what was happening? What terms were they even on? He couldn't be sure.

He decided to raise his fist, and lightly tap on the door a few times.

Then he waited and thought about his last decision, which had probably been a mistake.

No one answered the door after a little while, so he knocked again. After the same amount of time, still no answer.

"Er…" Denitt leaned closer to the door. "Yataeso? Uh, Kuesh wanted me to just kinda stop by. I think he's concerned you might leave or something. And I don't think he wants that.

Only silence came from the room.

Denitt pushed on the door a little, and it swung ajar. He looked down in shock. "Uh…" He stepped forward a little bit.

Denitt shoved the door open and saw a room in a tidy kind of disarray. Papers were scattered around in little piles, quills covered a desk on the other end of the room. The bed had a disheveled cloak on it. The bookshelves were entirely full, near to bursting. It looked like a room that hadn't seen the conflict on the balcony, like a room that was expected to go back to.

But certainly, Yataeso was not there.

Denitt went to the bookshelves. Where had Yataeso gone, then? Had he planeswalked to the place with the spires, the massive city? Was he off stewing somewhere in Hopestream? What was his relation to this Lavinia? That was the most important question to him.

Denitt looked around the room. The disheveled robe. A cabinet full of papers, across which were strewn myriad equations. A box, labeled Memories in sharp, neat ink. A bottle of bl-

A box labeled "Memories"?

Denitt wanted to look. But he shouldn't- right?

He slowly walked to his, each step more tentative than the last. He stole glances over to the door, as if expecting Yataeso to walk in at any moment. He clapped lightly and the room was drenched in light.

He finally reached the box. He looked over it.

Reaching a hand out, he gripped the edge of the lid. The box was made of some kind of hardwood.

Denitt removed the lid, which was surprising light and looked inside.

Sheets of paper. Notes. Books. Collections of miscellaneous periodicals with names like "Hanweir Chronicles" and "Ravnica this Week", among others. But most notably were inked sketches. One was peeking out of the clutter, in the very corner of the receptacle.

He lightly pulled it from its prison and saw it was blank.

No. He turned it around. There it was- Yataeso. And the woman he had seen in his dream, Lavinia. Both of them stood there, smiling, holding hands. It was on a bridge, in a park. Denitt examined it closer. The spires of the city Denitt had been in rose into the sky behind large trees.

There was no color to the image but the outlining was unmistakable. Even Lavinia could be deciphered, outside of her armor and hood.

They both looked so ha-

There was a clapping and the lights turned off.

Denitt gulped. Could it be…?

"So, he's not here, huh?" It was Kuesh.

Denitt snapped up faster than lightning, gingerly sticking the paper in the box and closing the lid. He turned around. There Kuesh was, leaning against the doorframe. He was cloaked in shadow. Denitt could hardly make him out but the voice was unmistakable.

"Er- no. No, he's not here. And he wasn't when I got here either." Denitt could feel himself getting more nervous.

"Alright. Cool. Just checking back on ya. We're leaving tomorrow, by the way. Venser is very… uh, he very determined that I give you a tour of the Multiverse. Its major planes, anyway."

"Okay," Denitt said, not sure exactly how to respond.

"I'll see you around. Acquaint yourself with some more people while you're here," Kuesh said.

"Okay."

And with that, Kuesh ducked around the doorway and was gone.

There was almost no way that he hadn't seen Denitt looking at the picture right?

He started walking towards the door.

Kuesh suddenly popped back into sight. "Also," he said,"if you want an explanation of all… all that, we can discuss it tomorrow. I guess."

And he left again.

Denitt walked around Hopestream. He didn't really talk to anyone, he just strolled around and thought. He didn't think of much. He spent a lot of time staring out at the sunset, the inspiring yet dread-inducing awe.

A couple hours had passed. It seemed that night time had to be coming soon. He left the deck he had been standing on and went inside. He looked side to side, down the hallway next to the balcony. No one was in either direction. He walked in and took a right, back the way he had come.

He passed a woman in the hallway. She was leaning against the wall behind her, looking over a scroll. She glanced up as Denitt passed. He nodded at her, but she was already looking down at the scroll again.

Denitt came to a door and pushed it open. Now, he was in another hallway, down which half the lodging rooms were set.

After strolling down the corridor, and another beyond that, he wound up back at the infirmary. He heard whispering inside. He wasn't one to pry, but…

He sidled up to a doorway, out of sight. But he could hear the conversation beyond it clearly. Two men, mid-conversation.

"-boy is clearly clairvoyant."

"Don't be so sure yet." The second voice sounded familiar.

"Well, if Yataeso comes back telling us all about the Dimir and Lavinia and all that business, then-"

"He won't." Denitt realized- it was Kuesh. The former sighed inaudibly.

"And what makes you so certain?"

"I saw her die. I was in that crowd, you know."

"Yes, yes. But what if he does manage to break the curse? He spent hundreds of years trying to figure it out."

"It doesn't matter. Even if he broke the curse, she would just collapse and die in front of him. Die for real this time. It's best that he doesn't even get to Lavinia."

Now a third voice chimed in. It too sounded familiar. "I agree with Kuesh."

Denitt realized who this too was. "It could have been a coincidence," Desha said.

"Really? An event he never heard about on a plane nigh foreign to him."

"Vura-" Wasn't that the vampire Denitt had seen on the balcony that afternoon, rigging up some kind of chemical with Yataeso? "-you have to understand-"

Vura cut Kuesh off. "Consider this. What if, and you know I hate to say this, but what if the Elder put the thought in his head? What if he wants to bait Yataeso to Ravnica just to kill him?"

"Yataeso wouldn't be that dumb," Kuesh said.

"We're all puppets for Bolas. Don't act like we're beyond any of his machinations."

"Listen!" Desha declared. "What if we all go there to cover for him? Certainly the Elder couldn't take us all on, especially in the middle of Ravnica."

"Perhaps," Vura said, contemplatively. "Very well."

There was the sound of scuffling feet, then it stopped.

"But not you, Kuesh. Desha and I will go. You still need to take Denitt on the tour."

"Very well. Very well. Still tomorrow?"

"Remind me- did Pheris clear him?"

"Yes."

"Then absolutely. As soon as possible."

"Okay."

Again there was the shuffling of feet, and Denitt realized in shock it meant they were leaving the room. He scrambled as quiet as he could around the next hallway corner, and kept running until he got to his room.

He threw open the door and walked in. There was something on his bed now. The door closed behind him as he went to the bed.

The package was relatively small, wrapped in parchment and tied up with twine. He shuffled the twine off the parchment, which fell away.

It was two books. On one was a slip of paper- a note. It read, in plain lettering: "Journals. Use these well- they are the cornerstones of advanced thought in Hopestream. They mean more than pages here- they mean the summation of thought and ideas. -Friend from the Outside".

Denitt blinked at the note. It didn't really do anything. He felt something on the back and flipped it over. A pencil. A stump of graphite neatly wrapped in wood. It was strapped to the journal by a piece of some sticky blue substance. He pulled it away with some of the note, which he threw onto his bookshelf. He sat down on his bed with the journals and pencil. He spun the pencil around in his hand. So light. He stared at the first journal. Blue, with a black binding. It had three white dots across the top. Except for those, the face was completely blank. He slid it to the back and looked at the second. It looked exactly the same except for a large black line down the middle, written into which was a symbol, a triangle split into three parts with a maze-like design in the middle. In the center was another triangle.

Denitt opened it and a slip of paper fell down, stuck to the inside by a string. Denitt reached a hand down and inspected it.

Ravnican Papery and Books, Tin Street. Acid-free. 200 pgs. From non-recyclable sources. Contains some magical potency. C.T. recommends not using the book for summoning servant forces- spells in this realm may backfire on the user. RAVNICAN PAPERY AND BOOKS IS A PROUD MEMBER OF THE ORZHOV BANK AND TRADING SYSTEM. SHOP UNDER PROTECTION BY THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE WOJEK LEGION. Ravnican Papery and Books owned by Calvis Terrana.

Denitt tore it from the book and threw it onto the bookshelf atop the note. He closed the journal and slip it onto the top most shelf. He tried to do the same with the other, but it slid off onto the floor. He got off the bed and leaned over to pick it up.

There was a knock at the door. Denitt shot straight up. There was a second knock.

"Denitt?" It was Kuesh.

"Yes?" Denitt replied. He knelt to pick up the book. He slid it next to the other book already on the shelf.

"Dinner is almost ready. Come join the rest of us."

"Okay," Denitt said, but there was no response. Kuesh had left.

Denitt got up and straightened his cloak. Was it really expected that he had to keep it on all the time? It was heavy, and, frankly, he imagined it would not be helpful in some kind of arcane combat, if it was anything like what he had heard stories of before.

Denitt walked out of his room to an empty hallway. He stared down it for a second before he started walking.