Chapter 19:poisonous memories and dark dreams
Callum was not well, not well at all, he was very pale, the dim outline of blak veins dotted around his face, heavy bags had formed below his eyes, not to mention that while he slept he mumbled every now and again, "so uncomfortable", "uncomfortable with your choice to use dark magic perhaps" Rayla said half sarcastically and half scoldingly, she was a still a little too mad for sympathy "Rayla!" Ezran cut in appalled, "can you guys not, Rigran is still out there. Who knows in what state" Kaja interjected.
Despite all the power she had, it seemed very limiting as it was not able to heal Callums ailment which was making her damn frustrated with herself, Bait patted her leg sympathetically with one paw, "so uncomfortable" Callum repeated, "get him comfortable for gods sakes he's going to need to be" Kaja added as Callum fell deeper and deeper into sleep.
In Callums head
Callum woke up lying down on something hard and uneven and most uncomfortable, however when he moved as he opened his eyes there was a rattle sound, he realised that he had been lying down in a dark void on a small mountain of keys, he sat up allowing some keys he was holding to fall out of his hand and back onto the pile underneath him. Then where the keys landed there was a red glow.
Curious Callum reached through the pile of keys and dug out the Cube, but it was different somehow. There was a new symbol on it glowing bright red, when he turned it over he found that the symbol, from what he could guess, was the symbol for dark magic. He guessed as much as it reminded him of the staff Viren always had with him.
He could feel a pulling sensation, what was it? It was the cube, the cube was trying to draw him towards dark magic, "No!" he said, tossing the cube through the air and into the darkness around him, only for a hand to shoot up and catch it.
Battle ground
With Soren out of commission Snake had put himself in charge of the soldier, he had ordered them to take the injured back to the village, and sent a runner to get some villagers help with the dead, the dead were all lined up on one side while the injured were gathered on the other, very close to the rock which Claudia had placed Sorens head up against. The shock had worn off and Soren had calmed down, Snake had to give it to him, in situations he could keep his head on.
"I don't feel anything" Soren said, "how about when i do this?" Claudia asked, pinching his hand a little, "no," Soren said slowly, "well hold on, I'll have you back on your feet." Claudia said, "let me have a look at him." Snake interrupted, Claudia was desperate so she allowed him to step closer.
After removing some of Sorens armour he pushed him over, "ow, okay my face still has feeling" Soren admitted, that gave Claudia some relief in any case, Snake then began feeling down Sorens back pressing into certain points, "well?" Claudia asked, getting impatient and anxious, Snake looked grave, "his spinal cords broken, whether it's repairable, I don't know we may need an expert for this," Snake said.
"Okay so we get him to the doctors and then they will get him all better?" Claudia asked, hope rising but anxiety still in her voice, Snake tried to think of a response, he had none.
Katalis castle
Opeli had called the other council members when the guard leading the search came in, he was the same young man who happened to come across the elves on the knight of the assassination, "we searched everywhere" he informed, "lord Viren is no where to be found".
"Keep Looking" Opeli ordered, "and when you find him, do not underestimate him"
In the mirror room
"Who are you?" Viren asked the elf in the mirror, "that would mean nothing to you" the elf replied, "then where are you?" Viren said, trying to take a different route to answers, "I don't know," the Elf responded looking generally unsure, "don't lie" Viren snapped accusingly, "I don't lie. I never lie" the elf said innocently.
Viren sighed, "the dragon king had this mirror in his lair" he explained to the elf, "which means that this mirror. You. meant something to him", "perhaps i did" the Elf admitted, "and Hainn knows you, more personally from what i can tell, how?" Viren added, "he and I are old friends, from a time long past" the elf said, "he is admittedly ambitious but he is a good man. But onto other matters, tell me your needs and I will help you. "'' What I need is your name," Viren said.
"Oh very well" the Elf gave in, taking his hood off and revealing his horns, "My name is Aaravos" Viren smiled in satisfaction, that was all he needed, he covered the mirror with a blanket, placed the worm from his ear and back into the jar it was in before exiting the room, followed by the scowl of Dravaan.
Deep in the forest
Rigran staggered as he walked, he could barely think anymore, sword still in hand, he staggered, having to lean from tree to tree, it was if he was in a dream and was not aware of his surroundings, he walked and walked and walked until finally he dropped the sword into a puddle and fell face forward in the mud. He lay there for a long time, eyes still open as if dead but he was still breathing.
The sound of footsteps came to his ears, he slowly rolled over to see where the noise was coming from, the splish splash of feet hitting water, two pairs of them, and emerging from the bushes were two men who picked him up and holstered him over one shoulder before following the other towards the cliff.
Callum's dream
A dark hooded and cloaked figure stood in the darkness not 10 feet away from where Callum sat, arm still raised from where it had caught the cub, cautiously Callum stood up, and walked through the blackness which he should have not been able to see through but somehow seemed to make him and the stranger out clearly.
The stranger was no taller than he was, his back still turned as Callum approached, "who are you?" Callum cautiously asked, the figure said not a word.
Outside Callum's dream
"He's delirious" Rayla said, Callum had repeated the words out loud as he slept, she was sitting legs to her chest, back turned to the rest as she looked over the forest, she should have done something to stop him from using it. No matter the outcome, dark magic was always a bad idea, "it's getting worse" Kaja said, feeling Callum's forehead, "Keep an eye on him, there might be something that can help in the bags" she added to Ezran who nodded.
"I'll go find Rigran maybe he has something that can help in that bag of potions and bombs of his' Rayla added, however before anyone could do anything there was the sound of stones clinking down the path, someone was coming, Rayla drew her swords while Kaja drew her dagger and allowed the blade to heat up. Ezran took a step back into the cave and got Zym and Bait to get behind him.
"Alright, who's there?" Rayla demanded, "show yourself or we'll introduce you to pointy and searing hot" this was a reference to both her swords and Kaja's dagger, "hell of a way to introduce an old friend" said a voice, stepping forward was…"Walter?!" they all exclaimed, both happy and confused at the same time, then stepping forward Corvus made himself known, "you?" Rayla said in surprise, "yes me" Corvus said, "relax he's on our side" Walter said, he then lowered something from over his shoulder, "Rigran?" Kaja said relieved that he was okay.
It then turned to worry again as she saw the state he was in, she tentatively stepped closer to get a good look, Rigran looked anything even worse than Callum, Rayla looked almost sick herself when she saw him, his face was so pale it was white, his normal dark skin colour gone, his eyes were black and hollow like sharks, in fact they looked almost skull like with how black they were along with the bulging and throbbing veins around them that spread all over his face from his eyes to his ears.
"Rigran are you okay?" Ezran asked tugging the younger witcher's arm, Rigran didn't even seem to be aware of it, let alone his surroundings "what happened?" he asked Walter and Corvus, "he's been like this ever since that little spat with the dragon" Walter said, "we found him like this in the forest ".
"Wait doesn't…" Rayla began swallowing some flem and stomach juices she felt crawling up her throat, "doesn't he get like this when he drinks those potions?", a horrible thought struck Kaja, "oh you idiot" she said to the young witcher looking very distressed, "come on let's get him comfortable" Walter handed the young witcher to the blacksmith girl who took him and set him down against the wall of the cave.
"So we're good?" Rayla asked Corvus, "yes" Corvus confirmed, he then turned to Ezran, "my name is Corvus, your aunt Amaya sent me." he bowed to Ezran, "i am here to serve the king"
There was a long and very disturbing silence as everyone took in this implication, especially Ezran as a look of realisation crossed his face.
In town
Claudia sat in a chair while Snake stood leaning against the wall twirling a kukri knife of his, Snake could tell Claudia was anxious, she was shifting around alot, Snake though he wouldn't admit it was also a little worried about Soren. He respected him. The nurse attending Soren finally walked out of the area where Soren was and closed the curtains, luckily there hadn't been any many who had been seriously injured during the dragon attack which was lucky otherwise they would not be able to get a space for Soren.
"How is he?" Claudia asked urgently, the nurse pushed her glasses nervously up her face, "bad i'm afraid" she said gravely, "when will he get better" Claudia pressed hopefully, "he..he won't. He's lucky to have survived" the nurse responded even more gravely, "he's never going to walk again I'm afraid". Claudia looked distraught, she sat back down in her seat, quietly eyes to the floor "I haven't told him yet" the nurse added quickly, hoping to soften the blow.
"Then he should hear it from me" Claudia said, looking at the floor, Snake put a hand on her shoulder, seeing she needed reassurance, he may have been a Witcher of the serpent but that didn't make him heartless.
Cliffside
"King? But I'm not the king" Ezran said, "I'm just a prince. My dad…" he stopped mid sentence as it finally hit him like a blow to the stomach, his heart dropped into his gut, his eyes widened in realisation.
"Wait. No, that's not what you're saying." He denied, "he..he isn't…" but it all made sense now, Rayla stepped forward braving herself for the onslaught of guilt she was about to face, she was on her own on this. Seeing Rayla do so only confirmed what Ezran feared.
"No!" He said, "no no no!" Backing away from Rayla, "Ezran it's going..to be okay" Rayla said hesitantly tears were already beginning to brew in her eyes from the guilt of hiding it for so long.
"I'm such an Idiot" Ezran said, "I should have figured it out", "well…" Walter began, trying to find a way to diffuse the situation, "and you knew" Ezran accused, Walter flinched. "When we met Rayla" Ezran pointed accusingly at the elf, "she had two ribbons on her hands, and one fell off that night"
"That's right" Rayla said stifling guilty sobs, "it fell when…like he did", "like he did?!" Ezran exclaimed beside himself with rage, "No! Rayla. He didn't trip and fall! He didn't float to the ground like that Ribbon he got killed!"
He was so beset with anger, sorrow and guilt that he ran past Walter and down the pathway, "um Ez…" Walter began, "I'm going for a walk" Ezran said stopping for a quick moment not turning around to face them.
"My king I can't let you go alone" Corvus said, "as your king I command it" Ezran responded back coldly, Corvus tried to come up with a response, but he couldn't and so he simply allowed Ezran to run off.
Rayla sniffed guilt ridden as tears began running down her cheeks, Kaja bent down and gave a reassuring hug, Bait let out a small sympathetic and sad groan as he watched his owner leave, Zym tried to scamper after him but Bait grabbed his tail in his mouth stopping the dragon dead.
Zym got the message that Ezran needed to be alone but he still let out a small whimper as he watched the prince disappear down the path.
Katalis castle
Viren made his way to the library careful not to get caught, looking through the many different sections he took the scrolls and books that were all about Elven mages and famous Xadian Monarchs throughout the ages.
Setting them all on a table he opened one and rolled through the pages, "Aaravos…Aaravos" he repeated to himself. "There" he finally said, finding what he was looking for in a page that depicted a star symbol of the starbind elves and some other strange draconic symbols on the side of the text.
However before he could read anything the word suddenly blurred like mist and the entire page fuzzed up and the black spread across the pages like spilled ink. "What?" Viren asked, confused, opening another book he found an entire section depicted for him. But once again the name blurred up and the entire page turned black.
"What's going on here?" Viren demanded, getting frustrated, he opened a scroll and the same thing happened when he saw the name Aaravos, "what is happening?!" he demanded to himself.
"Shhh" hissed the voice of the librarian, an elderly lady with glasses, "your in a library", "yes I know that thank…" Viren began very loudly indeed, "shhh" the lady shushed him before he could finish.
In Callum's dream
Callum took a cautious step back from the aura of danger that surrounded the hooded figure in front of him, holding the cube, the red light didn't illuminate his face, not much anyway, Callum could only make out the figure's chin. Then he removed the hood and low and behold, Callum was not looking at himself, the figure in front of him was him, "don't be frightened" the cloaked Callum said, "i'm not. i'm just…" Callum said, "Confused" the cloak Callum finished, "you tried dark magic for the first time, no one expects that to be easy".
"That's not the problem, the problem was that it WAS easy" Callum replied putting emphasis on the 'was', "even though i know it's wrong" he thought grimly mentally kicking himself, how that worked in dreams i know not, "is it really so wrong" Cloaked Callum asked, like he had read Callums mind, "Yes" Callum snapped back, "really?" Cloaked Callum asked almost tauntingly, "Yes!" Callum snapped back this time so loud that his voice echoed.
"Callum. You are looking at yourself right now" Cloaked Callum said holding out the cube "you need to destiny", "i can't do that" Callum said defiantly, cloaked Callum sighed "you're human, you weren't born with an arcanum to do primal magic or the power to access the elemental planes" he said. "But you were born to do it. It's your destiny".
"Maybe but not this kind of magic" Callum snarled glaring between the cloaked version of himself and the red symbol on the cub, "are you so sure?" Cloaked Callum questioned, Callum wasn't so sure how to answer that, "you lost the primal stone. You failed to relearn it twice. But when you tried dark magic, you succeeded, isn't fate trying to tell you something" once again he held up the cube.
"Unlimited power can be yours," he finished as all the symbols on the cube changed to dark magic, "and it is yours to decide what to do with it. Make a true difference to the world. Isn't that what you want?".
Hospital
Claudia entered the section of room, Snake close behind, her brother lay on the bed, a brace around his neck, multiple cuts and scratches on his bare chest, she took a deep breath bracing herself to tell the hard news. "Hey sor-sor" she said to her brother sitting down, Snake stayed at the entrance feeling like it would be best to give the two space. "All the people in the town are talking about you" she continued, "about how you saved the town, faced a dragon and called you a hero".
Soren did not seem encourage by the news, "saved the town?" he scoffed, "i saved them from a problem i caused, is that what heroes do?", "you'd be surprised" Snake spoke up, "believe me we all make mistakes" Soren seemed a bit happier after hearing that, "thanks Snake" he said softly. Claudia was glad her brother's spirits were raised slightly, it cheered her up, but now came the very hard bit, "i…um…i talked to the doctors, and i guess they did some tests-"
"I already know" Soren interrupted solemnly causing her to look at him in shock, Snake also looked a bit surprised, "i can't move. I can't walk and it's not going to get better" he looked out the window, a pair of kids ran past and that caused a small smile to appear on his face, "but, it's for the best."
Claudia gasped, standing up, she was so shocked, "what are you talking about?" she asked in sudden panic, wondering if she heard right, "Soren? What are you talking about? What about the crown guard? Why would you say that?".
Soren glanced away, "before we left, Dad gave me a mission", "yes" Claudia said seeming unsurprised, it wasn't unlike her father to give secret missions to either of them without the others knowledge, Viren had given her the mission to retrieve the dragon prince hatched or not. She hadn't succeeded(yet) but maybe she could complete Sorens task.
"Claudia. I was confused. The mission…" Soren was unsure what to say so he moved on, a tear rolling down his face as guilt suddenly struck him, "i didn't want to do it…but i do want dad to love me and be proud…" "but dad is proud of you" Claudia said wiping the tear away for him, "no matter what".
Soren didn't respond and that only made Claudia more worried, that worry only grew when she glanced at Snake and noticed him shifting around in an uncomfortable manner, "he knew about the mission" Claudia realised, "dad must have sent him as…as…as a backup?" she didn't want to think so negatively of Snake or the prospect that dad might not have trusted them enough to do it alone.
"Dad is just so smart." Soren continued almost in a daze, "so i figured there must've been a good reason", "Soren" Claudia interrupted his ramblings, "what did dad ask you to do?" but she knew ask was not the right word, commanded was the right word.
"Kill the prince's," Soren said.
Claudia was awestruck by this, "kill…kill them?" She stammered, "no, no" she denied, "that can't be right. You must have misunderstood" she looked at Snake who averted his eyes and she knew it was true, "and now I can't do anything terrible" Soren continued, "because I can't move at all".
Back at the cliff
"So he drank too many potions?" Rayla asked, after calming down, she and Kaja began attending to Rigran and Callum, "yes. I don't know what that idiot was thinking" Kaja responded as she sharpened one of Rigrans short swords with a rock "you and me both, for both of them" Rayla said looking at Callum and agreeing with Kaja that both boys were reckless.
"But I thought Witchers were immune to them?" Rayla then said, "i don't know much about Witchers, just what Rigran told me, apparently even with the mutations, Witcher potions are deadly to witchers if they drink too much" Kaja responded placing the short sword back in it's sheith, then looked at Rigran with a glare "he better be having nice dreams. Because i am going to give him hell when he wakes up"
"Alright but i'm the one to knock Callums lights out" Rayla responded, "deal" Kaja responded, Rigran all of a sudden began stuffing, weezing as if struggling to breath and his hands ridged and open and closing rapidly, "Rigran?" Kaja said worriedly, trying to calm down, Corvus came over, "Walters in town getting medicine" he informed them, "i don't think medicine can fix this" Rayla said grimly.
Inside Rigrans head
Rigran was in a place that was unfamiliar, or perhaps not familiar yet, in a place that becoming familiar, he was disembodied, the way he moved felt both like flying and yet not moving in that way of dreams.
He was in Katalis castle, he remembered this day well, one year after the death of Queen Sarai, in the secret chamber that Viren had, where he would later hid the egg of the dragon prince, Dravaan walked with a much Younger Rigran, "are…are you still sure you want to do this? There is no shame in backing out" Dravaan said.
Though he wasn't showing it he was very worried, Rigran looked at his younger self and bent to one knee, go on, he said even though he knew that his younger self couldn't hear him.
"I'm sure" the younger Rigran said, Dravaan nodded absentmindedly as he led the younger Rigran downstairs, he remembered the corridor now. When he had travelled down it when chasing Rayla it had a sense of familiarity.
But recognising it now he felt a sense of nervousness as he knew what was going to happen to his younger self.
His younger self descended the stairs, there was the room where Viren did his nastier buts of work, the king had got some of the best medics, alchemists and doctors across the kingdom there.
"Are you sure you don't want to use dark magic for this?" Viren asked, "no" Dravaan said firmly, "we don't know the side effects of an instantaneous transformation"
Dravaan didn't sound very certain as he watched young Rigran get strapped to a table, "alright let the trails begin" Dravaan declared.
Elsewhere
Ezran walked through the forest alone, he was just so angry and for very good reason, he was so angry that he didn't see two glowing green eyes watching him. "Why didn't they tell me?" He wondered, "why didn't they tell me about dad? How could they?".
And it wasn't just Them he was angry at, it was himself for believing that his father would be alright. Perhaps deep down he did know and that's what made him angrier for believing such a childish thing. Granted he was still a child but he was also a prince and to become king.
Well he was king now and the weight of all those responsible had suddenly come crashing down onto his shoulders.
Ezran was shaken from his thoughts by a loud stomp and the ground underneath him shaking slightly. He stopped looking around. Another stomp and another shake of the ground stronger and louder this time.
"What in Katalis?" Ezran wondered then he heard a snort above him, he turned around and above him was the Leshen…alive. It bent down and roared in the young prince's face blowing the prince's hair back.
"Leave me alone!" Ezran snapped.
A long pause descended as Ezran turned around and stomped off, which was a testament to how angry he was. The Leshen for its part was quite taken aback, it had just revived itself through one of its remaining totems only to be dismissed by something in its own territory.
When a victim said "leave me alone" it was either screaming in agony or pleading for its life not snapping out in anger. The Leshens own anger and aggression faded from the shock of this and curiosity consumed it, it still planned on killing this morsel for trespassing, but it wanted to know what it was first of all.
It began following Ezran, Ezran for his part turned around to find the Leshen once again standing behind him, "I said leave me alone" he snapped, the Leshen cocked its head inquisitively.
The Leshen let out a low growl, "you are in my territory it is dangerous for a human" it said, "well I don't care I've got enough problems as it is" Ezran snapped.
The Leshen was even more surprised, all thoughts of killing evaporated, "you can understand me?" It asked astounded, "well yes" Ezran admitted, "I've always understood animals better than humans…or elves for that matter"
"Perhaps the Animals listen because listening to humans is all they can do. And perhaps you just listen to them." The Leshen suggested, "come" it added, sitting down against a tree and beckoning with one hand for Ezran to join him, "sit".
"And you won't attack me?" Ezran asked cautiously, "you attacked those people and the dragon earlier", "I was protecting my territory from intruders. As Leshens do, but i am an older Leshen, wiser" Leshen explained "Humans…most humans" it corrected, "only listen to actions. You however listen better so we shall talk and listen"
Ezran thought about it before sitting down in front of the Leshen and told the Leshen his story while the Leshen listened.
Back at the cliff inside Callum's head
Callum reached for the cube, perhaps destiny was telling him that dark magic was his destiny, dark magic was his fate no matter how he denied or tried to defy it. "Accept it" his other self said.
Callum continued to reach for the cube and it began to glow a brighter shade of red, "Callum" a voice said just as he was about to take it. It was his father, sitting in chains on his throne.
"Do not listen to him. Destiny is a lie you are free" he said, "free from past and future." "No take it" his dark self urged "The past has happened so don't dwell on it. And the future is not written in stone" the chained king continued.
"Look inside yourself Callum" his dark self interrupted almost desperately but still with that commanding tone "this is your destiny" he held up the red cube, "you can't defy fate".
"Fate is a lie Callum" the king cut in, "your choices are yours", Callum reached for the cube the words of both of them ringing inside his head, maybe destiny was trying to tell him something.
But then he remembered what the letter said, the letter the king, his stepfather had given him, and the words ringing inside his head now. He was not going to defile his memory by choosing this path.
"No. I am who I want to be" he yelled at his dark self eyes like stone, the dark Callum looked taken aback, "but this is you destiny" he said, "NO" Callum shouted back, "Destiny is a book you write yourself" the glowing red of the cube disappeared and dark callum's body began to turn ashen grey, his hair a dark blue, his eyes black starting from the hand that held the cube and growing upwards across his body.
And his body began to crack with purple spiderweb cracks in the skin until finally it crumpled to dust on the floor. The cube disappeared into the sand on the floor.
"Whoa. Ha that was intense" he said to the still chained up king, "it's your dream kid" the king shrugged nonchalantly and the throne then slid away. An awkward silence filled the void and Callum felt just as awkward.
On the cliff, real world
Walter plucked his lute as Kaja attended to Rigran who was news of more medical attention than Callum while Rayla sat next to Callum with Bait and Zym and Corvus paced.
"The king is missing" Corvus declared, "good observation, anything else we missed? Perhaps the cloudy sky?" Walter said sarcastically, "he's not missing he just went for a walk" Rayla interjected.
"He hasn't returned and we don't know where he is" Corvus responded, "yup he's lost" Kaja deadpanned, Rayla sighed, "well your the tracker" she told Corvus, "isn't it your job to find him".
"Yes" Corvus responded, "and I shall" and with that he sprinted off, "lord that guy is going to become older than he'll look," Walter said.
"What? like you?" Rayla teased, Kaja burst out laughing even bait made a slight chuckling sound, "oh ha ha laugh it up" Walter responded.
Back in town
Claudia paced around while Snake twirled a kukri knife, "hey it's okay Clauds" Soren said jovially, "I'm relieved actually. I'm now free to do what I want", "I think the doctors might need to re-examine your head to see if there is any brain injury" Snake thought, at least he kept his spirits high. "So what are you going to do now?" Claudia asked.
A loud THUNK interrupted the conversation and both Claudia and Snake turned out the window, an arrow was lodged into a wooden beam, "you two stay here I think it's for me" Snake said.
Snake exited the hospital and pulled the arrow out, the arrow was not one he had seen before, it had a hawks head for an arrowhead, and was made of a silvery metal. There was a scroll tied around the main body of the arrow.
He unrolled it and on the paper was a wanted poster of himself, on the bottom was a small note,
Assassination
Hainns orders
Neolandia-capital city
Meet outside town for pickup
Target:king of Neolandia.
Only mortally injure him, if he dies in the process too bad.
Kind Regard criorbrihainn
What was this about?, oh well, he would have to trust Criorbrihainn, though for some reason the prospect of more money was no longer as appealing to him as it used to be. It had been losing its touch on him for the last couple of years.
He was just about to head to the forest when there was the sound of a scuffle inside the hospital, then the doors flew open and Claudia was thrown out of the hospital and out into the streets.
Snake walked over and helped up a slightly frazzle haired Claudia to her feet, "everything okay?: Snake asked, "not really" Claudia admitted, "you?"
"I just got a new mission from your father" he said, "what?" Claudia exclaimed, "but what about Soren? He can't stay like that!"
"We might not have a choice," Snake snapped, grabbing her wrists to calm her down, "listen. Dark magic doesn't solve everything. Dark magic is useful, yes but not everything has a shortcut. And even then sometimes the shortcuts are alway the most dangerous"
Claudia stopped struggling the words ringing inside her head, Snake went to leave, "wait before you go can you stay with Soren for a bit longer. Just tell him I've gone into town" she said.
Snake paused but nodded eventually and went inside the hospital as Claudia went for a walk.
Back inside Rigrans head
Rigran watched as his younger self was strapped to a table, "a-are we sure about this?" the dark mage asked, "this is so he doesn't hurt anyone including himself" Dravaan said, he sounded on the verge of having a nervous breakdown but hid it well all things considered. He picked up a flask of some green liquid, "ready?" Dravaan asked, the younger Rigran nodded.
Dravaan tipped the contents down young Rigrans mouth, young Rigran began to cough and splutter. The scene then changed to that of a dark room, circular like a dungeon, his behaviour was hardly recognisable, he was wailing and retching and vomiting horrible, his hands clasped so tight that his nails dug into his palms and he bled, "shit how did the king agree to this?" Rigran heard one guard outside said as he watched his younger self retch and squirm.
In the dream it was two days which passed seemingly in an instant to Rigran as he watched his younger self begin to settle but with cuts and gnashing where he had clawed at himself in his pain, his body sweaty and hot.
The door opened and Opeli stepped in, nervously walking up to young Rigran who looked up at her tiredly, in the background he could hear an argument, "That wasn't even the real Trail. We have to stop my king" Virens voice said, "we can't if we do he'll be day in a day, we need to give it to him, at least he has a chance this way" Dravaans cracked desperate voice said.
As the young Rigran was picked up by Opeli, the present Rigran looked out the door to see the King deep in thought, "we have already lost so much recently" he said lamentingly "the queens of Durin…my Queen…we need to continue the trials if only so Rigran can have a chance to live".
Viren was obviously angry, "we should never have done these trials in the first place!" he yelled before walking away, the king sighed, tiredly, "your majesties" Opeli said as she placed Rigran on the table, "is this what happens to all Witchers in the trails" Harrow asked, Dravaan was silent for a bit, "let's just say that most are worse at the stage he's at" he said finally, "and there is worse to come"
The king sighed regretfully, and turned unable to Watch as Dravaan took a needle filled with greener liquid, but his shook, with what Rigran couldn't tell, he was shaking so much he dropped i, he hastily picked it up again.
"Sir?" one of the kingdoms druids asked, "i need you to do it" the elder witcher said finally handing the needle to the druid, the druid nodded in respect and punctured the skin and inject the entire green cerum into Rigrans viens.
Real world Unknown location, outside the village
Snake waited while carving something with one of his scythes, he blew on it to get remaining dust off it, suddenly he felt the temperature rise, he looked up it was still very cloudy from the rainstorm. No sun poked through the clouds, but this heat couldn't had been made by the sun no matter how harsh it beat down on the earth.
Snake dropped the carving and readied for a fight, turns out he didn't need to as from the sky came the whinny of a horse, he looked up and found to his surprise that a flaming horse was descending upon him, hit hit the ground in front of him raising enough of a shockwave to make him stagger.
Once the dust had clear Snake looked up at the rider, "would you be Snake" he asked, "you with Hainn?" Snake asked, that was all the confirmation Malum needed, "then to Neolandia we go" that was all Snake needed, his mission had begun