Interlude 13: Nightmare

Author's Notes: It occurred to me that I never gave Jeigan a description. I shall rectify this. In other news, I made this chapter in one sitting in just half an hour. I'm quite impressed with how it turned out. At least for now.

It had been a long night before any of the group could go to bed, and Michael was probably one of the ones who needed the rest the most. For some time now he had been feeling somewhat lethargic. In truth, that was part of the reason that he had withdrawn himself from the battle they had won not even a few hours ago. But now that the fire was out, and everyone had found a place to sleep, Michael allowed his mind to wonder, as sleep overtook him. He dreamed of the last day he had been in Caelin; the day he had left most of his friends to work off his own debt. And before that, the time he had spent with Lyn as he poured out his heart as he told his story for the first and only time. A slight twinge in his chest made him frown as he was lulled to sleep by the passing breeze.

"Hello, young one!" a familiar voice chuckled over Michael as he rose up with a start.

In front of him was an old man. He was hunched over, supporting himself on an old fashioned wooden walking stick. A long grey beard draped down almost to the floor, with kind and wizened grey eyes to match. A smile crinkled his skin, bringing out familiar smile lines that erupted over his cheeks and near his eyes. He wore a large, triangular cape that slightly drooped at its topmost part. A set of deep purple robes covered his thin frame. One pair of half-moon spectacles hung from his neck with from a bead necklace. A fairly large book with an indigo cover was cradled in his free hand.

"Jeigan!" Michael gasped in shock as he violently shook his head, "How can this be?! You…you should be dead…"

"I can see how you would be so surprised, young one," Jeigan chuckled as he played with his beard, "I'd prefer to not speak about that topic matter yet, if you would indulge me."

"This can't be real!" Michael cried in denial as he began to pinch his cheek with all his might, only serving to leave a smarting red mark in reward for his action.

"Now, now!" Jeigan said with a furrowed brow as he slowly shook his head at Michael, "Why do you insist on harming yourself? This isn't some simple dream caused by a flight of fancy that you can choose to wake up from! Or is it you no longer wish to speak with an old man such as I?"

"I just can't wrap my mind around the idea," Michael explained himself, "I mean…last time I saw─"

"If you were to observe your surroundings, I'm sure you would see you are still in some random forest outside of Caelin," Jeigan reminded him as he extended his arms, "I'm quite sure that if you were dreaming about me, you would most likely have us back in my old home…which I believe Mrs. Smith is still finding the time to clean, am I right? Bless her golden heart…"

"You're right…" Michael conceded as he turned his head from side to side, drinking in the familiar view of the forest surrounding them, as well as the other members of their group sleeping in their huddled positions. "Can we…go find a better place to speak? I'd hate to wake the others up with our conversation."

"Ever the thoughtful one," Jeigan smiled again, a twinkle in his eye, "Come, there is just the perfect locale some yards away from here. It has a terrific little cliff we can sit upon and enjoy the breeze."

Without a word, Michael followed his grandfather figure through the forest, leaving the campsite as just a speck in the distance, which wasn't difficult considering everything was still concealed in darkness. But eventually, the two did indeed come across the cliff that Jeigan had spoken of, complete with the breeze and with even a view of the starry night sky, the crickets chirping in the background.

"Come" Jeigan playfully ordered as he took a seat down on the grass.

Michael silently obeyed as he too, took a seat right beside him, "This breeze feels nice."

"Indeed," Jeigan nodded, "Do you remember when we would often go out in the night and simply sit on a bench and enjoy the weather?"

"I do," Michael nodded with his eyes closed as he recounted the peaceful times, "We also spent a lot of time reading during the morning, too."

"Do you still read?" Jeigan inquired.

"Not for a long time," Michael replied sadly, "My current lifestyle doesn't allow me the luxury of being able to carry around books unless they suit a practical purpose."

"Come now!" Jeigan laughed, "Surely you can sneak in one little book to breeze through during your free time!?"

"Can we change the subject?" Michael asked as he gave Jeigan a stern look, "How are you still…you know…?"

"That is quite the unusual tale…" Jeigan told him honestly as he looked off at the sky, "After you…separated yourself from that gruesome scene, your grandfather realized the gravity of the situation and how reckless he had been. He called for a healer and─"

"That's bull!" Michael interrupted with a loud and angry shout, "He would never be second guess his actions! He does and says what he wants without a care in the world!"

"Stay your tongue!" Jeigan shot back in the tone of an angry parent, "Have you grown up in such a way as to interrupt another when they are speaking?! And I certainly don't remember teaching you to judge a person unless you truly know them!"

"…I'm sorry," Michael apologized as he looked downward, "Please, continue with your story. I won't interrupt again."

"Now, where was I…?" Jeigan began again, his tone returning to normal, "He called for a healer and I was bedridden for some time as my bod recovered from the shock of the whole ordeal. When I finally came to and was able to walk without assistance, I asked about your current condition. I had thought you would be staying with Mr. and Mrs. Smith after that incident, you see. I was beyond worried when I found that you had disappeared from Araphen like a specter. Soon after, I left the city as well to search for you. You have no idea how difficult it is to scour the world with such old bones…"

"I must have not made things easy for you then…" Michael sighed, "I did my best to keep from interacting with people. I was…not in the right mind frame for quite a while. Only recently did I start to… care for people."

"When you met the young heiress of Caelin" Jeigan correctly guessed with a twinkle in his eyes again.

"How did you know?" Michael asked.

"Word has spread far and wide about her exploits…and quite a bit about the young tactician that led her to victory after victory," Jeigan explained, "I must say, I'm quite proud of how far you were able to go."

"That means a lot coming from you" Michael told him as he blushed slightly.

"She is precious to you, isn't she?"

"She's worth more to me than my own life."

"I'm glad…" Jeigan choked as a tear trailed down his cheek, "You've found it in you to love another. You had no idea how worried I was that you would never learn to care for other again."

"I've been trying my best to live this life that was spared as best I can" Michael told him.

"Ah!" Jeigan gasped as if he had just remembered something, "That leads me to my next point…"

"What's that?" Michael asked as he watched Jeigan pick himself off the ground.

"My releasing the anger I've stored away for you the past eight years" Jeigan told him with an icy tone as he stared right into Michael's eyes.

"Jeigan?!" Michael asked as he jumped to his feet in shock.

The grass died, and the ground began to crumble all around the two, until the only space left was a single island. The path back to the forest, and to the group was cut off, a gasping chasm separating Michael and them. Nearby trees died and were set ablaze as flames began to erupt from the bottom of the landscape and fill the chasm that soon began to climb upwards to form a wall that burned Michael's skin and supercharged the air with tremendous heat.

Michael could find himself doing nothing else but quaking and shivering in fear as he fell to his knees as he turned back to Jeigan, a twisted smile on his face.

"No resistance…its good you know when fighting back is pointless" Jeigan applauded.

"J-Jeigan…" Michael barely choked out.

"Do not even begin to feel betrayed or surprised!" Jeigan yelled at him, "What else do you expect from the man you left to die as you fled the scene only to meet fortune after fortune as you carved a name for yourself in the hearts of others?! As I was buried and feed to the worms, you lived on! All because I was struck down in your place! Is there no better way to repay that debt than to die for the man that died for you?!"

Jeigan opened to the book that he had still been holding onto and the arms of demons arose from the shadows around Michael's feet, wrapping and constricting him in their unbreakable grip as he cried out in pain as eh desperately tried to gasp for air. Tears flooded down Michael's eyes as he looked dead-on into his once kind and loving guardian.

"Stop with that pathetic, sniveling gaze" Jeigan sat in disgust, "Except your end with some dignity suiting a man."

As Jeigan finished speaking, he raised his right arm, a giant ball of dark fire forming and gathering above his head. The flame grew larger than him before it began to crash in Michael. His flesh burned and his mind began to melt as pain the likes of which Michael had never experienced before washed over him with endless agony. His vision blurred as a cold and chilling laugh filled the air.

With a start, Michael awoke from his dream, panting and drenched in a cold sweat as clenched his chest. Slowly, Michael arose from his sleeping place as he bewilderedly scanned over the area, the bodies of his friends coming into his view as his eyes adapted to the night.

Resting his head against his palms, Michael's mind raced like a lightning bolt through the sky as he tried to make sense about what had just transpired.

'What the in all the hells…?! What kind of horrifying nightmare was that?! Why, now of all times, do I dream of him? I never did before! Why now?! Why, why, why, why, why, why?!'

Michael found himself apprehensive about going back to sleep. The fear of another dream like the one he had just experienced more than enough to keep him awake the rest of the night. With nothing better to do than watch the others sleep, Michael walked down the path he had walked with Jeigan to discover the same small cliff he had been to in his dream. With a shiver, Michael returned to the camp and simply sat back down at his spot. With his eyes wide open, Michael stared into the night sky as he anxiously awaited for morning to arrive.

Author's Notes: So, what did you guys think? For the first dream created by Ephidel's shadow, I think it was pretty good. Would you like to see more of them in the future? They wouldn't be the main focus of the interludes, but they would definitely have a part in them. Tell me what you think!