Tyren's head tossed about his pillow, his moans intruding the silence of the night in much the same way as his dreams intruded his slumber.
A monster loomed above him, as he feverishly gripped his sword, his eyes searching the surrounding area for a way out of the sewer. Seeing none that were immediately available, he groaned, then leapt out of the way as the huge, aqua creature lowered its horns and charged. The chains around its arms seemed to be of no consequence to it, and with amazing agility, it turned, looking for him. Further separated from the exit, Tyren stepped forward and dealt it a gash straight through its body. It howled, and tendrils of magic rose around it, calling forth a large tidal wave. Frozen from fright, he could only watch on as the shadow covered him, and crashed down… on the beast itself. The aftershocks of the wave swept him past the monster and towards the exit, but the force left him momentarily motionless. Luckily for him, the creature, too, was stunned. His terror pushed him upright, and Tyren raced towards the exit and clambered out – into an abandoned yard full of decrepit trains and a host of creatures, unhappy about the intruder.
Tyren awoke with a start and sat up – that is, he tried to sit up, before remembering the ropes around him. He shut his eyes in disgust. I couldn't even stand up and face that monster. And if that guy was right, I didn't even make it through that train place. His contempt grew with each passing moment, and the sleep he fell into was far from restful.
"Hurry up, Tyren. The Don's getting too far ahead, and if we're not careful he'll get lost in the crowd. Then we'd be in trouble."
"Sorry, man. I'm trying, but it's really hard to push through a crowd of people in the narrow alleyways of Sector 3 when you're my size. People don't tend to give way if you're not a hulking great mass of muscle, you know."
"I have no idea why he hired you as a bodyguard – you're only sixteen, and you don't even have the right build for it."
He must have seen something in Tyren's expression, as he quickly changed tack.
"It's not that you're not good at it," he said, patting Tyren on the shoulder. "You just need a few more years to get more experience and fill out a bit. Now, get moving – we almost lost him there!"
Tyren looked around for his companion as he melted into the crowd, and swore silently to himself. Eyes desperately searching, he furiously shoved his way through the thronging mass, only to find that he was alone. He had lost his partner, and he had lost Don Corneo, the man he was charged to protect. Without warning, he was pushed into an alleyway, as two generously endowed men towered over him. He automatically drew his sword, and assumed a fighting stance.
"You see that? The runt wants to fight!"
"Don't worry, kid. We're not here to fight. You work for Don Corneo, right? Well, our master has a message we'd like you to give to him."
The figures loomed on either side of him, cracking their knuckles, as he raised his sword in defence.
Tyren's heart seemed to jolt his eyes open, only to be greeted by a pair of deep brown eyes staring intently at him.
"Good, you're finally awake. I think you were having a nightmare of sorts, the way your head was jolting around, not to mention those noises you were making. I would have shaken you out of it, but did you know that it's really bad to wake someone who's having a nightmare? I can tell you what your nightmare meant, if you want."
She comprehended his blank look, and shook her head.
"So Bent wasn't kidding around. You don't know who we are, do you? Do you even know who you are?"
Words filtered through to his consciousness, as he struggled to deal with a form of communication that had been forced into the annals of his memory.
"I'm… I'm… I'm a failure."