Ten days later, Raine still was having trouble sleeping. The dream she had was haunting her, and every time she closed her eyes, she could see the golden roads stretching out before her, pain, suffering, magic, hope, joy, and infinite possibilities swirled in her mind. The rest of the group was growing more giddy as the prospect of reaching Valinos grew closer, and a meteor shower a few nights before made their spirits soar, but she grew ever distant. Every night she tried to focus, either to push the images away or, more frighteningly, to focus on one to try and see it more clearly. Try as she might, she never could cause the images to slow down, never could push them away, and never could see where the path lead. Some nights she heard the voice of Aruhn, most he was quiet. He would never say much. "Looking in vain again? Perhaps you wish the future to show itself? But what is there to see, for the future has yet to be!" "You cannot stop them. Some will pass, others will not. Fate is weaving a grand tapestry, and you will be there, though you may wish to not." "Raine. You can't stop Fate, Raine. Raine."
"Raine?" She was suddenly brought back to reality as a hand grabbed her shoulder. Richard was walking beside her. Though it was afternoon, the morning frost still clung to the ground. "Are you here still?"
She smiled gently. Despite their rocky start, the two had become rather close friends. He looked out for her, asked about her when no one else did, and actually noticed when something was off. "Just thinking. Trying to piece together everything I saw still."
Richard frowned. "I thought you didn't want to have visions."
"I don't, but I can't shake what I've seen from my mind. And then there's… him. Aruhn. I see him sometimes when I'm sleeping. He watches my dreams, laughs at me, he… I wish he would just leave me alone." She couldn't hide her frustration from him, so she didn't even bother. Despite his outwardly brash and harsh demeanor, he showed a much softer side with her.
"It's creepy. Like, why bother making himself known if he's not even going to do anything? And who else is he watching?"
"He mentioned a few people I didn't know, but he also mentioned Trace." Richard's head had never moved faster as he whirled around.
"Trace?! You never said that he knows Trace! Did he say how he was doing?"
"No. He just mentioned him among some of the 'most powerful people he's watched'." Raine was snarky. "Load of bull if you ask me. I know I'm a decent magic user, but Trace is way more powerful than I am!"
"I guess we'll just have to ask Trace about him when we see him next!"
"If there is a next time." Richard's smile faded.
"We will see him again. I know we will." For a bit, the two of them walked in silence. "Have you tried shifting back yet?
"I've been trying constantly. I thought that maybe, when we were arrested by those Templars, I might be able to force it back, but it didn't work. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to make it change. I wish Rose was here. She… she had promised to help me." Tears welled up in her eyes. "She had promised she would teach me to control it. And then… she was gone."
"Hey, you will learn to control it. I know you will. You are Raine Silverlock. You can do anything. You are powerful in ways that I don't think anyone can imagine right now. Now come on, let's not fall too far behind." The two picked up the pace and rejoined the rest of the group.
"Ah, you are still here." Lynn said with a smile. "Just over that hill, and we should be able to see Valinos." As they climbed the hill, spirits soared, the idea of actually seeing the town would give them the strength to carry on the last leg of the journey. Reaching the top, things suddenly took a turn for the worse.
Stretching out below them was a patchy and broken land. Some farms, some forests, but lots of barren stumps. Movement covered the landscape around the town, wagons moved every way collecting wood and stones. Teams of men marched here and there, and white banners with a blue insignia were everywhere. The river was covered with sails of all colors, going both up and down. Barges carrying everything from wood and metal to soldiers and slaves made port in the little town that was not so little anymore.
What was, on the map, a little insignificant town was a bustling city of soldiers and infrastructure. Camps dotted the surrounding area, and leaving along the main road were platoons of Templar soldiers escorting siege weapons.
"Where are we?" Sythe asked, trying to pull the map from Madelyn.
"Right where we should be." She was not giving up the map. "That's Valinos. There's no mistaking it. Look at the shape of the river bend, it has to be Valinos. But that road is new."
"It's all military industry." Maren said, shocked. "They're making weapons for the war."
"By the look of things, this has been going for a while." Lynn said, pointing to a number of brick buildings just outside the town that had smoke pouring from chimneys. "However, my destination has not changed. We will find out more when we get there."
"When we get there?!" Raine and Sythe had opened their mouths to protest, but it was Richard who was shouting. "In case you've forgotten, I'm a Templar dropout! Raine and Sythe are wolves! Maddie's a spy, Karen's a child, ("Hey!) Maren's a tavern-keep, and you are a politician! That is a siege factory run by Templar soldiers! What are you going to do, magic up some super papers that say we're allowed to walk around… in… there?" His voice faded as Lynn pulled out a folder of paperwork and handed it to him.
"I assure you, boy:
"I can do exactly that."