Chapter FIFTY-EIGHT: Protection and Power
...
The Dreamer always sent him back...
This went on for some time...
After a while, the Sun Priest realized it was not out of anger, but for his own safety that she would send him away.
The only exception was when he brought a dark magic book with him to look through.
"My love, it is a necessary evil to dabble in all kinds of magic. I must regain my powers. We must defeat the Demon someday."
"That is no excuse to look into wicked spells! You are the Druid of Light, Aydan...I cannot tolerate dark-anything after what that monster did..."
Talia immediately banished him away from sheer rage at the mere sight of it.
..
He swore he would not bring another dark spell book to her realm, thereafter...Yet, never promised to not look into dark magic ever again.
...
After the visits became a regular pastime, the Dreamer always now made it a point to clear the Dreamlands near the portal. She now had time to fall asleep in Aydan's arms while he talked about their son.
Her shields would last a little longer each time, before the nightmares would come find them, as they were now pushed back farther away in the Dreamworld.
They sat quietly on the strangely colorful dark grass, looking over different spells.
The Sun Druid always made it a point to bring along different magic books to look through with Talia at his side, to provide a much needed helping hand. She also asked for potion and herbalist books. It seemed now to be routine. He would ask her for advice as she also looked over spell books with him. It reminded him of when she first became the Dreamer, all those times they would study magic together...
'No... ...Nah-uh... ...You need to pronounce those words better for that spell... ...That's not how you say that, Aydan... ...You'll need to flick your staff for that incantation... ...Silly Druid, you said it completely wrong this time...' Talia would commentate periodically, breaking the peaceful silence every once in a while.
..
But eventually their time would end...
..
"My love...perhaps, going to your shrine would allow me to prolong my visit... Maybe Dameon can join us there for once, as well," Aydan asked carefully, his voice was small and nervous as he kept his eyes on a page he was no longer reading.
"I...Aydan...It's...My duties are complicated...Sun Priest...It isn't a good idea!" Talia flustered, fumbling through her own spell book.
"No need to explain further, my love," he assured her after she rejected the suggestion.
"Really now, if I must explain...The shrine isn't safe for you, let alone Dameon...My own nightmare lurks besides its pointy crystalline walls. I have not been to it in weeks," Talia admitted shallowly. "I'm unable to heal it or confront it...My very own depraved thought, of all things!"
"Oh..." the Sun Druid uttered, unsure how to respond. The Dreamer was meant to heal dreams, not manifest her own nightmares. It seemed a convoluted idea, and he was certainly not experienced at all to make any suggestions. He also wondered if the nightmare was one inspired from the pain he had caused her.
Talia glanced over at Aydan as he struggled to say something helpful as well as appearing uneasy over finding out that her greatest fear had manifested into real form in her realm. It seemed to be eating away at him as he flipped through pages rapidly.
"It is a demon...Not just any demon nightmare...It is...Ahri...Ahriman...in his form," she stammered in a faint terrified whisper. Aydan's eyes widened. He had never seen Talia so alarmed. "Do not worry, it cannot hurt me. It simply mocks me for all my failures. However, encountering it is dangerous. It is not safe to be near...I will try to deal with it soon."
"There must be something I can do," he said searchingly. He pulled a book from the half dozen he had with him, carefully flipping through the pages.
Talia nodded. "It is my nightmare to handle, Aydan. Perhaps, someday there will be a way for an outside dream healer to assist with such foul monsters. But for now, this is my and only my duty," she said with finality in her tone.
"I see...I shall visit you here as always then, Tal," Aydan said, but he felt more powerless than ever. A poor excuse of a druid, he thought begrudgingly; however, his ill-thoughts quickly faded at the light touch of her finger tips went towards his own.
..
After a short while, with visit time coming to an end soon, the Sun Druid took another spell book from the stack he had brought with him. He casually handed her the book without saying anything. As Talia opened it, she found a ring with beautiful engravings of flowers and the sun at the center, concealed within the middle of the book's seam. Talia simply stared at it.
"I'm sorry, my love. I could not find our engagement ring. This will have to do for now," he said apologetically. "I shall continue searching for it...Someday, when peace is restored in the realms, after we have defeated the Demon, and you have fulfilled your duties here, we shall go to the mortal realm and marry in a mortal ceremony...You are my wife, Talia Maurva, regardless of mortal vows. Dameon and I shall carry your name...I shall be your human and immortal husband, my love—forever."
Talia picked up the new ring. The Sun Druid carefully placed it on her finger. She noticed he now wore a similar but larger ring as well.
"Aye...I shall hold you to your word, Sun Priest," Talia finally said, her expression difficult to read as she stared at her new ring, staring at the sun in the center. "Husband Maurva...Dameon Maurva," she uttered, with eyes bright with relief and slight jollity.
"Errm...Does this mean you have forgiven me, my love?" Aydan suddenly asked cautiously. This second proposal did not seem to play out as he had anticipated. He would need to go back any minute as her shields were now fading.
Talia nodded. "No," she said firmly, but their hands firmly locking as the nightmares approached.
"I will find your ring, my wife," Aydan said, with their foreheads now touching. "I shall be powerful again and—"
Before he could finish speaking, he found himself in an entirely different realm.
...
One day, the Sun Priest brought Dameon along. He held the boy up to touch the Dreamer's Statue. He believed it was safe enough to bring the boy for just a short while as the Dreamer made sure the nightmares were kept at bay during the dawn hours. The routine had become very predictable and much of the nightmares were pushed away from the part of the Dream Realm where Talia now usually waited.
Father and son arrived immediately upon touching the Statue. Dameon held his father's hand. Talia was already there, standing oddly in the middle of the familiar enclosure nestled in the Dream Forest. The Dreamer's back turned to them—only her red hair faced them.
Dameon immediately slipped out of his father's hand when he saw his mother. However, Aydan quickly went after him, realizing something to be terribly wrong.
"Dameon, get back here!" he yelled and caught up with the boy, pulling him back.
The Dreamer turned around as the boy tried running forward again. She smirked wickedly. Her eyes were red and held a pair of sheers she pointed menacingly at them, with a journal tightly in the other arm. She screeched loudly. It was not the Dreamer, but a nightmare in Talia's form.
"Mammy?" Dameon said as the creature went towards them.
Aydan quickly put a protective shield over them. He used the strongest attack spell he could use with his limited powers as he tried to get them back to the dream portal.
The wicked nightmare summoned a blast of torrential wind towards them. The Sun Druid took a serious blow from the creature as he used himself to protect his son, nearly depleting him of all his health.
"Get away from them!" Talia shouted frantically as she tried going for the nightmare head-on. Her staff struck it down.
The nightmare hissed.
The boy screamed.
As Talia tried vanquishing the nightmare with her strongest healing spell, the nightmare took off, disintegrating into black mist, and moving much too fast to catch up to it.
"Nooo! I have been looking for her for so long!" Talia gritted. "If I take her down I shall rid myself of all the terrors she unleashes here!"
Aydan held Dameon close to him, shaken from the scare; but ready to take his mother's raft for bringing the boy to the Dreamworld.
"You could have both been killed! What were you thinking, Aydan?" she snapped, trembling with fright. She went to her son, who was now deeply terrified of her, and hid his face in his father's robes, sobbing. "Dameon, please, that thing was not your mother...I AM, my son."
"Any idea what that thing might be? How does it resemble you?" Aydan questioned as Talia held them both and cast the strongest shield she knew.
"I believe I am someone's worst nightmare, but I'm not sure who...I have been after her for weeks...She is a strong nightmare, that one."
"Ah...Er...yes, of course she would be," he said, thinking it might be his nightmare. It fit the description: an unforgiving, fuming, oaf-loving, love potion-crazed, Dreamer.
Talia grabbed the boy tightly, and placed more strong magic shields over them, nearly depleting all her mana.
..
Dameon eventually warmed up to her, as his mother hummed familiar sweet lullabies to him, but kept staring at her eyes to make sure they were still green and not crimson. His brown locks were a mess, with the front locks blown over off to one side. The boy slowly grabbed at her face to make sure she was real as he had only seen her in his dreams over the last few moons.
"Mammy, home today?" the boy asked and finally grinned. "Can I stay in Tea' Shrine, pleease?"
Talia could not hold back tears any longer. She had to be honest with him, "No, my precious son, you are not safe here...But I shall return to you soon," she promised, knowing she would now have to keep her word.
"But mammy," he cried. "Why? Daddy and I miss you."
Talia sighed.
"—Youshouldn't have brought him here. I can barely protect you when you visit, Aydan!" she gritted furiously, not able to hold back, even though her son could hear everything. "What were youthinking? Children cannot come here. YOUshould not be here either."
"Tal, you do not need to protect me...I will learn stronger spells," he said, knowing it was easier said than done. "I am trying everyday to regain the powers I have lost...This is an unfair burden for only you to hold alone."
"I know that! But it is my duty to be here!...It would just take a split second for one of these beasts to cut you down...I am afraid everyday for it! And if something were to happen to you, who would care for Dameon?" Talia snapped as the Sun Druid pulled her closer.
"The sun gods will never allow it," Aydan whispered softly in her ear.
Dameon looked up at his father, comforted by his strong faith that there was nothing to worry about, unlike his mother who continued seething.
"I...I get to decide where the Dreamer Statue goes next since it cannot go back to Faiara," Talia revealed.
"Wonderful! Please have it go to Aveyond beside the Sun Temple, my love," Aydan said thrilled over the news, holding her hands now. Their son pressed on their robes as he tried holding them both at the same time. "You would be much closer to us...Dameon and I practically live there now."
"I have already decided...It is going to Mysten Far," Talia said firmly as her shields were quickly fading. "The priestesses have agreed to watch over it."
"Please, Tal...Doing that will make it much harder to visit you," Aydan gritted back, but there was no time to plead.
As they quarreled, both sensed the nightmares coming.
He knew she was going to send them away any second.
"I must protect you both...I must," Talia stated firmly. She kissed her son and breathed in the scent of his soft brown hair, loving how real it smelled compared to the Dream Realm. Talia tried brushing the boy's hair back into place, but his hair stubbornly kept flipping to the side. It was puzzling as she pressed harder and the brown locks would not move over at all.
"Please, reconsider. I will have more powers soon," Aydan begged once more, knowing that would not likely be the case.
"Aydan, please, do not make this more difficult than it already is," Talia said. He kissed her softly, and went again as she did not pull away. Only longing in her expression as their time was short and soon to end.
"My love...have you forgiven me yet?" he asked suddenly, within earshot of Dameon.
She pulled back and stared at him momentarily, miffed that he would dare bring up his treachery in front of their boy. Talia nodded her head in the usual side-to-side pattern Aydan had already grown used to before she sent them away.
...
Back again suddenly in the High Realm, Dameon raced over to the Dreamer Statue and tapped on the tall stone figurine several times, trying to get back through to his mother in the Dream, then throwing a fit, before giving up.
...
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footnote: The last two chapters were actually really difficult to write! Looking at them again, I really am just proud of them, tbh. There's just so much that we don't actually get in the games. Dameon is so much more important, but we don't actually know what his childhood was like at all. I'm still "coloring within the lines" from the little we do find out as players.