The battlefield raged around Maridan. Dragons littered the sky and the ground, attacking each other ferociously. Maridan closed his eyes and covered his ears, desperate to block out the screams of pain. The little Fae hid underneath the rubble of what had probably been some dragon's home before it had been destroyed. He trembled with fear, unsure of what was going on around him. Maridan watched as dragons much larger than any he had seen before marched past his hiding spot. They reminded him of his fluffy siblings, yet looked very different at the same time. These dragons had more fur around their heads, and their horns were massive. They looked big enough for him to perch on if he wanted to. But Maridan felt fear engulf him as these dragons stopped in front of them. They were speaking to each other, but it wasn't words that he understood. He remembered that Teacher had told him once of the old language that she and others of her age and kind had spoken. It was archaic and brutish sounding, and the few times Teacher had spoken it, it had scared him. But that might've had more to do with it being used whenever he or his siblings had gotten into trouble rather than how it sounded.

Where am I? Maridan thought. The last thing he had remembered was that he'd been eating dinner with his family. And now he was in the middle of some kind of war? He was confused and scared. Suddenly the ground trembled underneath him and he could hear screeching just outside his hiding spot. Maridan stepped forward, risking the chance of being spotted in order to see what was going on outside. He froze when he knocked a rock, the sound of it skittering across the rubble easily heard. But the dragons in front of him didn't move. It was like they hadn't heard it at all. Maridan frowned and rubbed a claw against his head in confusion. He couldn't understand why the other dragons hadn't heard him. Could they not hear? But that wouldn't make sense. They were literally just talking to each other… what's going on? Maridan stepped closer, into full sight of the dragons. One of them was looking straight at him, but it still didn't seem like they could see him.

Then the fight began again. Maridan hadn't even noticed that the sounds of the previous battle had died off. Looking up, Maridan watched in horror as dragons rained down upon the dragons in front of him, mouths dripping with fire. The dragons in front of him scattered, wings too small to take flight, their cries of pain and fear filling his ears as they fled the flames. One of the dragons in the sky landed on the ground, the earth trembling briefly with the force of the landings. Maridan wilted, turning to run back into his hiding spot, only to watch another dragon land on top of it, crushing it with a massive foot. These new dragons were much larger than the furry dragons he'd just been watching, They only had two legs, something Maridan had never seen before, and their mouths were drawn back into snarls as they attacked. Powered by fear, Maridan took flight, desperately wanting to escape this fight and find his family. Teacher! Where are you Teacher! Where am I? What's going on? Maridan's heart pounded as he dodged the fighting dragons. He glanced behind him, relaxing a little as he drew further from the fight. Turning back around, Maridan found himself face to face with a gaping maw. Maridan screamed.

"Hush Maridan." Teacher's soft voice rumbled as Maridan's eyes shot open. The Fae's body trembled with adrenaline and it took all his self control to not fly off into the darkness of the caves until it wore off. But it didn't stop him from looking around frantically, making sure that he was really seeing Teacher. Maridan spotted his siblings, sleeping in their usual spots. Teacher watched him carefully, her hair providing a curtain with which he could hide in.

"T-Teacher?" Maridan climbed Teacher's hair, perching himself underneath his mentor's chin, listening to the older dragons breathing as he tried to calm himself down.

"I'm here." Teacher lowered her head to the ground, gently curling around her frightened charge. "I'm here Maridan."

"I had-I had another dream…"

"Mmm… what was this one about?"

"There was this massive battle… dragons I didn't recognize were fighting." Maridan shuddered.

"Could you describe them to me?"

"I-I guess." Maridan paused to take a breath. "There were these fluffy dragons, like Rapskali, but… different. And there were these two legged dragons. They were speaking the language you sometimes do."

"Ah, I know the dragons you speak of. Gaoler's and Banescales. They are old dragons, like myself. They are part of the reason I hid under the earth here."

"Why? What did they do?"

Teacher looked away from him, her eyes glazing over slightly as she remembered a memory from long ago. "They just fought a lot amongst themselves. Innocent dragons were often dragged into their conflicts at times. You must've been dreaming of the past if you were dreaming of them."

"It was scary…"

"I know. Your dreams are getting worse Maridan." Teacher looked at Maridan in concern. "You aren't getting nearly enough sleep and I am worried you will fall ill because of it."

"I don't need sleeping aids Teacher. I just need to learn to control them." Maridan sighed. "I'll make sure I get some more sleep. Promise."

"You'll learn to control your dreams in time. But until you do, I will be here for you when the dreams get too much. Now try to get some more sleep, okay?"

"I'll try…" Maridan yawned. "Thank you Teacher."