"Nothing fun happens." Karen whined.
"You always say that nothing fun is happening, and that's when everything goes wrong." Maren scolded.
"Yeah, but that at least is interesting!" They had left the road two week prior, and were braving open country. While indeed boring, the travel was at least smooth. The miles seemed to fade, and they walked without trouble besides a bit of rain and sleet, and the occasional morning frost..
"Perhaps we should take a short break." Lynn suggested. The old goat was usually quiet, always determined to move forward to whatever goal he had set for himself. "It would actually be good for me to talk with each of you, I have been working on paperwork for a few days, and am going to need to know more about you to make this as authentic as possible."
"How do you have time to do paperwork?" Red asked. "We've done nothing but walk and sleep for three weeks."
"I'm more than capable of multitasking, young Master Richard."
"Your name is Richard?" Raine asked, but her question fell on deaf ears.
"How did you know my name?! Everyone here calls me 'Red' because no one can remember it!" Appearing behind Lynn, was a smiling Madelyn, holding a journal.
"You really need to work on your handwriting. I thought I was looking at some sort of spy code when I opened this, but nope!" Richard rushed over and snatched the book out of her hands.
"You read my journal?! I- You- Stay out of my stuff!" Sythe and Raine chuckled behind him. Still fuming he whipped around and shouted "Something funny?!"
"Your name is Richard! Why didn't you tell anyone?" Raine said, stifling her giggles.
"No one ever asked!" Richard said indignantly, and hearty laughter from nearby filled the air. Looking over, a man was lifting stones onto a low wall, laughing merrily as he worked.
"Ohoho! Sorry, couldn't help but overhear! That's the funniest thing I've heard in years!" Setting a stone down, he stood up. Though it was chilly, the man was dressed plainly, like a farmer, with a big hat and sweat dripping from his brow. "You lot have been traveling together for what I'd guess to be at least two months, and you haven't even learned each other's real names! My niece will be rolling when she hears that!" His laughter died down to a low chuckle. "Don't mean to laugh at your expense. Nothing much happens round here."
"Just fix your wall, old man." Richard said grumpily.
Still smiling the man asked "Where are you lot headed? Surely there are other roads you could have taken."
"None of your-"
"Valinos." Raine cut in. "But we would rather avoid roads for… obvious reasons."
"Sure, sure. But why take this road then?"
"There's not a road here." Madelyn said, holding up the map.
"Sure there is." He said, putting a foot up and leaned on it. "I'm the one who paved it." Looking around, everyone glanced at the ground, then the fields they were passing between. On their left was the stone wall he was repairing, and on the right was a crude log fence.
"You've done a great job… paving it…" Sythe said as kept walking on the 'road'.
"Respect your elders, young wolf." The man went back to his work. A few minutes passed in quiet as they waited for the old man to make any other comments, but none came. As the group began walking again, a voice called out from behind them. "I know everyone who travels my roads. We'll talk later." As there was a collective double-take, the man was gone.
"Uh… I didn't imagine that all, did I?" Maren said, as the group slowly began moving.
"No. I suspect whoever that was, was more than meets the eye." Lynn said, pressing on.
That night, the group settled in. Tents were pitched in a small wooded area where Mrs. Nibbly wandered off for a while, and Sythe managed to find a pair of rabbits. Dinner was plain, but filling. Slowly, everyone dispersed to their tents. As Raine settled in, she couldn't shake the feeling that they missed something earlier. She fell, slowly, into a restless sleep.
Then the dreams began.
Before her was a road. Glowing gold, she followed, and the road faded behind her. Straight forward the road went, and onward so did she. As she looked behind her, there was nothing. No light, no stars, no ground. Looking forward, was only the path. Then, the path began to extend. As she watched, the golden glow rushed forward, before a flash of light blinded her. Like branches of a tree, suddenly tens of thousands of paths lay before her. A voice suddenly echoed in her mind "So young. So many options. So many lead to destruction."
Whirling around she asked "Who was that? Where are you?" As the roads continued to grow, they split like roots, some shot straight out, others curved one way, some led back onto themselves or other branches.
"Oh? You hear me?" the voice said again. It was almost… familiar.
"I know your voice, who are you?" she shouted, her voice echoing into the hollow nothingness around her.
"Ah, the paths before you are many, Raine Silverlock. But perhaps I can help you." the voice was becoming more clear, more focused. And suddenly Raine realized that she had heard that voice before. Earlier that day.
"You…"
"Me." Whirling around, she was face to face with the farmer. He was leaning against a pole that sat next to the road, one that hadn't been there before. A signpost that pointed every way, with words that swirled and shifted constantly. "You've got magic. Lots of it. Not many folks would be able to hear me, let alone be able to talk back to me. I've touched the dreams of thousands, and never have I felt magic like yours. Oh, I've watched my fair share of powerful magic users, from Thandolin the Deceiver and Malkloz the Unifier to the fallen Trace Legacy. But you… oh, you are unique. Fate pulls you, and magic swirls in your blood. Perhaps you… yes… Fate will pull you to him in time."
"Who are you?" Raine asked, stepping closer.
"That, my young wolf, is the wrong question right now."
"What?"
"The question right now, is who are you? Who are you?" As he asked this, images blurred to life around her. She saw herself as a human, crying over countless graves. Her, a wolf, kneeling, bleeding, a vicious scowl on her face. Richard, turning away with sorrow. Fire, burning brightly as an angry Trace Legacy walked toward her. A blackened mountain and an army of faceless soldiers. A silver wolf with glowing eyes, magic coursing through her veins, silhouettes of people cowering before her. A half wolf, smiling with her friends. A creature with black scales over her, an outstretched hand offered to her. Blood, pooling, and the sword that dealt the wound. Countless other images flew around her, showing pain and sorrow, showing joy and love, showing fear and terror, showing magic and power, showing bloody battles, showing peace and hope.
"WHO ARE YOU?" Raine shouted, waving her arms to clear the images. She reached out for the man to grab him, only to find he had no solid form, and she fell from the solid path, falling into nothingness.
"You will call me 'Aruhn' [Ah-roon]"
She rolled over in a cold sweat, panting heavily. The ground was cold beneath her fur, the sky still dark outside her tent. The name echoed in her mind, and she slept no more that night, for fear of what her dreams might bring.