Hatchet's Harbor was a faint cluster of lights to the south. They had stayed near the coast for the last two weeks, and the ground had begun sloping up, creating a wide cliff that stretched across the northern border of the bay. There were few trees, and anything that grew this far north was bitter and inedible. Shocking no one, Barret loved the challenge of needing to hunt in unfamiliar territory. He never came back with anything larger than a rabbit or hawk, but he relished ever second of the process. There was little sign of anyone else in the area, save a few very old campfires. Raine was growing worried that they wouldn't find anyone, but they pressed onward. Barret told her that if they didn't find anyone by the end of the week, they would turn around. They would have to anyways, as their supplies were running low. He and Haelith had grown more comfortable, and Barret even wrapped his tail around hers when they sat near the fire. Raine noticed, asking him about it privately later, and he explained that it was a way of showing affection, just like Keidrans and Basitins. As night fell, Raine and Haelith went to their tents, but Barret stayed awake to watch the fire.

It was the middle of the night when he woke her. "Hey, wake up."

"Urgh… wha… go tuh sleep…"

"Come on, get up, you should see this!" Barret pulled Haelith gently, and threw a blanket over her. It was chilly, and he quietly pulled her away from the camp.

"Barret… what's happening?"

"Shh… just follow me. You're going to want to see this." He pulled her through the forest, and closer to the edge of the cliffs. Half awake, she followed him, her eyes barely open, trusting that he was guiding her. As they reached the edge of the forest, she no longer felt tired.

"Whoa." Her eyes went wide, and she beheld the greatest sight ever.

Like someone had taken a paintbrush to the sky, it was lit up with brilliant streaks of green and yellow, orange and red, violet and blue, glistening, dancing as though billowing in the wind. It reflected off the water below, a brilliant mirror that shimmered and bent the light from above, causing the whole world to glow with otherworldly light. Like curtains across the sky, every color shimmered and glowed. Stars twinkled and flickered at the edge of her vision, and Barret held her close. A few seconds, an hour, a lifetime, she didn't know how long they stood there, watching the shifting and swirling colors. She held him back, and could feel her heart pounding. But then something changed with his posture, and he moved away slightly. She turned to him, and he looked down at her with the largest smile he ever had. He didn't need to say a word, and she didn't have to respond. They both knew in that moment that they were meant to be here, together. He leaned his head down, and closed his eyes, and she did the same. Pressing against each other, their foreheads touched, and their hearts soared. "Haelith…" he whispered "I… I love you."

"I know."

…

This was not her normal dream. She usually didn't remember dreams, but they certainly weren't this. It wasn't a vision like the last few times, as she was not standing on the path. Instead, she saw the inside of a cabin, with windows that looked to be covered in snow. There were no doors, but on the far side of the room, a stone fireplace sat, gently crackling and popping. A soft rug sat in the middle of the room, upon which there were two large, cushioned chairs. A simple wooden table was between them, and an empty silver platter sat on it. Raine slowly walked over, but something seemed off. Looking down, she saw that she was human somehow. As she spun to see everything in here, she noticed that it was very plain, with no decorations at all. There was nothing else to look at or do, so she walked over to a chair, and poked it.

It… was a chair.

Sitting down, she waited. Something had to happen, right? But the fire crackled and popped, and nothing else changed. Looking around, she grew frustrated and bored. Eventually, she resorted to watching the fire, wishing that she could see anything else. Eventually, even the fire bored her, and she turned back to looking around, but then yelped.

Someone was in the other chair.

He looked like a human, wearing bright silver robes with a heavy coat on top. His hair was long and silver like the robes, and his eyes were untainted, pure white, like the finest pearls. In his hand, he held a cup of tea, which he gently blew on to cool it off, while with the other hand, he gestured for Raine to also have a cup of tea, which had appeared on the platter. Tired of doing nothing, she reached down, and picked it up. She could feel the heat from the cup like it was real, but she knew this was a dream…

Right?

"Yes. It is a dream." he said. She knew his voice. "And yet, it also is not. Welcome to my mindscape. I have been hoping to speak with you for a while, though I have been too busy with other things to focus my mind on you."

"Is that so?" She was curt, almost snide.

"Yes. I have been hoping to speak with you so I may explain myself." Aruhn set down the cup, and looked at her. "I have much to say, so I would get comfortable." Raine suddenly felt a blanked on her lap, and a pillow behind her. "To begin, I must apologize. I did not intend for my interactions with you to go the way they have. I never meant to cause you distress, to cause doubt and fear. But I have been afraid of what would happen if I were to actually interfere with your actions. There are many individuals I have watched through my life, and with all of them, I took a passive role, watching from the shadows, remaining unseen. All, that is, but one. And my actions…" his voice drifted off, sad and hollow. "I have regretted it every day. And that's why I'm wary to interact with the world. I have power, Raine. Power beyond what you can believe. I can change the world. Stop wars, raise kingdoms, spurn a revolution the likes of which the world has never seen. But I am afraid of my power. That is why I watch. Why I wait. Why I do nothing."

"What power is this? What can you do that no one else can?"

Aruhn smirked, and held out his hand. "I can show you, but only for a second, as much more could shatter both of our minds." Was she really willing to trust him? She weighed her options carefully. Ignorance would be safer, but… she was curious. And the more she knew about him, the better. He seemed genuine at least. Cautiously, Raine reached for him. The second she touched his skin, her world reeled. Fragments of sound, voices, echoed. She could see faces, people, places from past, present and future. She saw flashes of color bursting in the sky over a festival. She saw Richard standing on a wall as thousands of soldiers in armor marched towards him. She saw herself as a half wolf with glowing eyes, she saw a man wearing green armor holding a strange weapon that sparked with fire, a white dragon with gold eyes looking down at a hatchling of pure silver, a tiger speaking while signing a treaty with a wolf, a stone tower gleaming with blood red light in a cavern of stone, Basitins crossing the sea in great ships of metal, Trace Legacy bleeding as he held back an invasion of wolves, a metal lance burning at the base as it rose up into the night sky, faceless soldiers of clay marching in front of a blackened mountain, Barret rushing to see-

She gasped as Aruhn pulled his hand away from hers. She reeled back, holding her head, trying to remember everything she had seen. "What you have experienced is my life constantly. I can see infinite futures, all stretching out from this moment. So many things are dictated by Fate, but what people chose is up to them. But there are a few people I have seen, a few very powerful people who can change Fate entirely. Who can bend the future to their will, who can shape the world. You are one of them Raine. I cannot see your future in it's entirety, as I can only see where Fate has woven. You can chose to leave Fate behind, you can make your own path forward. I have not seen another like you in over five hundred years."

"And they are the one you decided to interact with." Raine had a sudden understanding.

"Indeed." he said, standing up.

"And what happened? Something terrible surely, but there is always a way to change things."

"Yes. I could have changed things if I was not so naive." Wandering the room, he became expressive with his whole body as he spoke. "I was half my age when I found him: a young spellcaster who was pushing the boundaries of magic, who experimented with mana and science as though they were one. He was powerful and strong, both of body and mind. But he was sick. When I found him, he had been plagued with a disease that no one could cure, an ailment that was destroying his body from the inside. I could not cure him, though I did try. So I helped him search for ways to allow him to continue his work. For three years, we worked together, and discovered many things. But a cure was not one of them. In his searching, he was lead him to magic, a dark and dangerous ritual that has thankfully now been forgotten to time. I warned him against it, and he listened.

For a time.

But as his life waned, he grew increasingly desperate. And so, he performed the dark magic, and withdrew life force from another living being, simple livestock that had outlived it's purpose. It sustained him for a while, but soon the life was spent, and he had to perform it again. He was hesitant at first, but he knew that it was necessary if he was to live long enough to find a permanent cure. I was a fool, and could not see his heart, and after a few months suggested that he might try to contain life force in a crystal, that he may keep with him as a support in case he could not procure an animal for his magic. It was a wise thought, but I never expected him to take it to the extreme, for he had grown hungry for both life, and for power.

His lust for more became insatiable, and when I went to stop him, he turned against me. He had already been storing life for himself, consuming the lives of any he deemed a lesser being, sapient or not, and he was using it as a power source to overwhelm me. After this, I turned and fled to go find my mother, for she is far more powerful than I am. But when I returned only two days later, I found the city leveled. Everyone who lived there was dead, and the clay soldiers who defended the city turned against me, keeping me from approaching. I don't know what happened to him, if he is alive today, or if the sickness claimed him. He was, or might still be, like you: able to reshape Fate. I could not see all of his futures, just as I cannot see all of yours."

"Who was he?" Raine asked, hoping that the fear in her heart did not come out in her voice.

Aruhn looked at the fire. "His name was Thandolin [Thahn-dole-in]."