Ruveneska, Chapter 8: Healing Memories by Darro

Shuren had a hard time sleeping that night. It was that dream that continued to on haunting him but this time; it was different, clearer, and more petrifying.

Shuren once again was the baby but this time, he was not about to catch fire. He was in a nice warm room with two other Grundells, a male and female. He was in the female’s arms on a wooden chair. It was swinging back and forth. The wind was blowing Shuren’s face as he went forward. His eyes were on the fire burning across from him. His father, at the table, was chipping off some wood from a block, trying to make a figure from it.

There was a loud scream from outside. Shuren’s father was lifted off his chair, he dropped his knife in which he was using. He knocked the table over and ripped off a floorboard. From that he unsheathed a long broadsword.

Shuren was lifted and carried by his mother. His father whispered something to his mother and signaled for her to run away. She jolted out of the back door and ran through the forest. Shuren was now wailing in his mother’s arms, and so was she. She was trying to calm him down, but he cried even louder.

Then there was another scream, but it came from Shuren’s house. There were sounds of metal striking metal, like a battle, followed by a sound of metal striking wood. Soon there was the scream of Shuren’s father, and he then collapsed on the floor. Shuren could see through the thick forest, Gippies invading the village, as he was told. Then, he saw something that he did not expect to see. Along with the herd of Gippies, there was a small infantry of Sleepwalkers. Shuren then saw a Gippy run out Shuren’s back door. Shuren’s mother then sent him out of her arms deep into the forest. Somehow he stopped crying, but was staring at the burning forest in front of him. “Run! Leave!” he thought. There was another scream, but this time it was from his mother, she fell to the floor, covered in blood. “NO!” Shuren rolled around, seeing Bastian pulling his sword from his mother’s body. “YOU BASTARD, BASTIAN!” He turned and ran the opposite direction. As soon as Bastian turned the corner, Shuren once again started crying. He felt arms lifting him from underneath him. He was then carried away.


Shuren woke up screaming, sweaty, with tears streaming down his face. In front of him was Rollan. Rollan was staring blankly at Shuren, as if he was spaced out.
“Excuse me Rollan?” Shuren nudged him, wiping away tears. Rollan did nothing but stare with his eyes wide open. “Hello, Rollan?” Shuren said once more. Rollan stiffened up and his pupils turned back to a grayish color. It seemed like Rollan was asleep with his eyes wide open.
“Huh?” Rollan said plainly.
“What were you doing just now . . .?” Shuren asked in relief, but still quite freaked.
Rollan then focused on Shuren, who was staring at him dumbfounded. “I’m sorry, Shuren, what did you dream of just now?” Rollan asked straitening himself up.
“What do you mean?” Shuren asked, again confused.
“I heard you screaming, in your sleep, ‘Run, leave!’ you said,” Rollan informed Shuren.
“It . . . was a nightmare, just a nightmare,” Shuren said, trying to keep it a secret.
“No, it was more. You had just dreamt of that night again haven’t you?”
“What do you mean again? How do you know about my dreams?”

“Just now, Shuren, I was watching your dream. I saw the whole thing,” Rollan said as he turned to look out the tent.
“You can do that?” asked Shuren. Rollan nodded.
“This is uncommon, especially for a Ruven. It appears that when you are asleep, your energy goes out of control.”
“When I’m asleep?”

“Yes, if we don’t get rid of it, your mind might get out of control; I have never seen it before.”

“All when I’m asleep?”
“Yes, it is also in which the state that you are closest to the dead.”
“Does that mean I may be able to talk to my parents?”
“Not necessarily. When you are unconscious, souls can communicate to you, but only in your dreams,” Rollan explained.
“And... my parents are able to talk to me in my dreams?!?” Shuren asked overly excited.
“You have to figure that out for yourself. However we must solve this dream problem before it is fatal,” Rollan said.
“How am I supposed to solve a dream?” questioned Shuren.
“By defeating it,” he said firmly

Shuren looked at Rollan insanely but remained the same.
“This dream is a problem. You can solve it by defeating it. The way you can do that, is to go inside your dream and do what you have to do,” Rollan explained.
“You mean, like kill Bastian?” Shuren asked getting excited once again. Rollan nodded.
“In a way,” Rollan answered.
“How is that possible?” Shuren asked.
“Wait until I call for you,” Rollan said. Rollan then closed his eyes still in a sitting position.
Shuren also tried to go to sleep, but the entire time he thought about what he had figured out the other day. He was the one destined to stop a war. The one destined to save the world? He didn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe it. Though for some reason he knew he was. He always felt he had something great, something that kept him alive. All of those sudden bursts of energy must have been the result of him having a special power.
The next morning Shuren woke up in his tent rather late. The sun had risen and was in the middle of the sky being blocked by no clouds. Shuren had an empty feeling in his stomach. It was growling of hunger. There was a smell of deliciousness that made it moan even louder. Shuren leaped out of the tent and saw that everyone else had already left to do their daily chores. Grundells were up and about of the village, some with water canteens, buckets of milk, wheat, and other things from the village dairy. Shuren rushed through the village to see what was making that tasty smell.
Shuren arrived at a Porchlin -chicken like bird- on a rotisserie being controlled by Lloyd. “Lloyd, you can cook?”
“There is a festival tomorrow,” Lloyd explained to him after nodding to Shuren’s question.
“Veryala is the name of this village?” Shuren asked. Lloyd nodded. A festival was just what Shuren needed to calm down. He needed to have a good time. Something to calm his nerves would do him a lot of good. Shuren then stared at the rotisserie, and back at Lloyd, “What’s the festival about?”
“It’s in honor of our ancestors who fought to keep us alive. It is fun, and it is actually tomorrow. The main event is a fighting tournament.”

Shuren was excited by this. He had to participate; this may be one of his last chances to relax before the war began. “I’ll join.”

“Good. Should you choose to go to Lord Zelzor’s Mountain, you should relax and have fun while you still can. War is a terrible thing and should only be fought for the right reasons. We are fighting to save the world from another period of slavery under the Ingles,” explained Lloyd. Shuren felt courageous after this speech. Lloyd offered some to Shuren, and Shuren gladly ate it. It was the most delicious thing Shuren has ever tasted. The flavorful marinated Porchlin meat left his taste buds wanting more. Shuren savored the taste with every bite.
“Wow Lloyd, this is delicious!” Shuren exclaimed.
“Years of perfection,” Lloyd answered.
Shuren then thought of an idea that would make his day. He finished his last piece of Porchlin and ran back to the campsite. He found Karoline and dusted himself off trying to act nonchalant, but failing miserably.
“Hey, Karoline,” Shuren said as innocent as he could. He tried to seem as if he weren’t nervous, but he couldn’t but not look at her directly.
“What?” she asked. She seemed to be clueless as of what was about to happen.
“There’s a festival tomorrow and . . .” Shuren began. Before he finished, Karoline interrupted.
“What is it?” she asked again.
“Would you like to go with me to it . . .?” Shuren asked Karoline out. He looked around, hoping that no one was watching.
“Like as in just us two?” asked Karoline as she rose her eyebrows.

“Uh yea, kind of exactly,” said Shuren nodding. He waited for a few seconds, when she did not answer him; he asked again, “Would you?”
She paused for a moment. Karoline looked as if she were thinking it over. “No,” Karoline said firmly.

Shuren felt his face get hot. “Oh, farewell then,” Shuren said as he departed quickly, hoping to not be embarrassed any more than he already has been.
Shuren and Lloyd then went to the center of Veryala to help with the festival. The village center looked exciting and colorful with decorations for the big event that was to be tomorrow. A big wooden built stage was set up, along with golden curtains and stools to be sat on. Shuren arrived here and immediately broke free of Lloyd. Shuren went to an old Grundell woman. She signaled for Shuren put up a wooden sign that read: Fortune Telling 1 kindo! He then helped her paint the stand with red and blue paint, giving the stand a shine with gloss afterward. She paid Shuren ten kindos for his services. The payment of the lady gave Shuren the idea to help out more Grundells.
Shuren walked around more and saw a Grundell family near a tree needing help with their stand. He jogged toward them and offered to help. They accepted his offer and told him the instructions. He was to climb up the tree and tie two ropes at the very top so it would dangle down for people to climb. He then had to tie two more ropes connecting two branches across from each other. This was not an easy task for Shuren. The first problem was that he was not a very good climber; the next thing was that the sticks and twigs that came out of the branches would cut Shuren.

Shuren tightened the climbing gloves he was given. He jumped onto a low branch and pulled himself up. The branch he was to tie the rope on was nearly ten feet above his arms reach. He jumped on another nearby branch, lifting himself up several feet. After he repeated this process a few times, Shuren was able to tie the ropes to the branch. He called for the Grundell below. He threw Shuren the ropes. He triple knotted each rope. Than the Grundell threw Shuren two more ropes. He tied one end of each rope on one branch. He took the other ends and threw them onto the branch across from him. Shuren carefully climbed across two think branches to reach the other side. He grabbed the ropes and tied them tightly to the long branch. Once he was finished, he tested out the ropes by climbing his way back on them. Shuren reached the two ropes that dangled down and slid down one rope.

Shuren was sweating by the time he reached the ground. It was hard work, but the reward was well worth it. He was paid sixty kindos! He asked what the ropes were for, and it turned out to be an obstacle course.
The next few Grundells Shuren helped were pretty well paying also, and easy tasks as well. One of them, Shuren was to constantly fill buckets of water and bring them back. Another was that Shuren was to collect a large number of fruits, such Rascleberries, Dark Neptums, Red Templas, and Blue Brizzles. By the end of the day Shuren had already made two hundred kindos. He decided to save it for the festival the next day.
Shuren thought about Karoline and remembered how she turned him down earlier that day. Shuren wondered if she was even going to go. Shuren stopped thinking about it, and he ran to catch up with Lloyd.
Shuren found him in front of his cabin. He told him about Karoline. “She seems to like you a lot,” Lloyd said before heading back to his own cabin.
Shuren walked to his own tent muttering, “Yea, right.”
The next day Shuren was exhilarated. The festival was something to look forward to. For the first time, Shuren was about to have real fun.
Many Grundells crowded the stands at the festival. Shuren went to the first he saw immediately. It was an archery game. Shuren was given three flame arrows. The goal of the game was to shoot a flame arrow through three hoops, each not at the same level of height, lighting each one along the way, and the arrow had to light a patch of hay at the end of the course. This seemed to be a very difficult game, just the challenge Shuren was looking forward to.

He paid for the game and grabbed a bow and the arrows. He placed the flaming arrow on the side of the bow, and pulled the string and tail backwards. Shuren let go and the arrow shot through the first two hoops, only lighting two. The arrow did not make it to the third. The first arrow did not make it, but Shuren hoped for the second or third to make it. He grabbed the second arrow and took aim. He had to concentrate hard, and not to think of all the Grundells watching him play. He shot the arrow, which missed horribly. The third was his last arrow, he took strong aim, and shot. It went through three hoops and lit the patch of hay. Shuren won the game within three shots. He cheered, jumped for joy, and claimed his prize, which was a mini bow and arrow.
Lloyd soon showed up after Shuren claimed his prize. He did not seem to notice Shuren, but Shuren stayed anyway. Lloyd paid for the stand, and took his bow and arrows. Lloyd armed all three arrows and took aim. He shot all three arrows at once, and each one of them flew through all three hoops and lit the hay. Lloyd did what Shuren did in one trial. Shuren was surprised, but not so much after recollecting the events of the other day.
Shuren continued with a few more games. The next fun game Shuren enjoyed was another ranged game. He was given ten knives to take down nine moving targets. Shuren grabbed his knives and began to play. The inside of the stand was many things able to hide targets until they are needed, such as rocks, barrels and other things. The first target emerged from out of the floor. Shuren took quick aim and struck the target near the center. There was only one target down. Then another target came out of the right wall. Shuren hit it. Suddenly two targets came from the ceiling. Shuren only had enough time to shoot one knife, and he missed. Shuren had to get ready for two, so he took two knives into hand. Two more targets appeared in a circular motion. Shuren hit both of them. This time there were three targets. Shuren hit all of them. His total score was a seven out of nine. Shuren was tired of that game; he wanted to do something more challenging.
Shuren walked around and found Karoline at her own rather large stand, complete with a furnace, anvil, and pool of water.
“Karoline?” asked Shuren on sight.
“What is it?” she replied. She was wearing an apron with her hair tied up. She had gloves on and had a pair of metal tongs, which was clamping a long sword in the furnace. Karoline took the sword out of the furnace, blazing red, and placed it on the anvil. She took a hammer and hammered down the sides to give it a sharp blade. She then began to work on the point. Then she dipped the sword into the pool of water that steamed on contact.
“Never mind,” Shuren said back. “I’ll leave you to your work.”
She placed the sword into a leather sheath and set it aside. “This is the last sword.”
“Where did you get all of this?” Shuren asked.
“I paid this guy to borrow it,” she replied smiling back. She took off her apron and let down her hair. “I’m done for today.” A Grundell man came up to her stand and paid her forty kindos. She then handed him the sword she just created.
The two of them went to go have fun at the festival. They even played a game for a pair.

They approached a long stand where the stand owner offered them a game; the cost was only twenty kindos. The premise of this game was that Karoline was tied up at the top of a tall wooden post. They would light the post at the bottom with fire, and Shuren had to shoot knives to untie her and free her from the flaming embers.
Karoline began to panic, “Uh oh, Shuren is horrible at throwing knives.” She recalled the events from a few days ago when they were traveling to Hogony from her group. She began to panic even more.
Shuren took aim. The stand owner lit the post, and Shuren shot his first knife. It was a miss. Karoline winced as it hit right above her head, nearly chopping a few of her hairs. Shuren shot his second knife; he barely nipped the rope, cutting a tiny slit. This was his last knife, the fire was rising, and Karoline was getting hot. Shuren closed his eyes and shot his knife with all of his possible force. He opened his eyes to see Karoline off of the post, and the stand owner putting out the fire. Karoline was relieved.
“Let’s never do that again,” Karoline said. She was still shaking from the game.
There was a horn sounding from the forest neighboring the village. “What’s that?” Shuren wondered out loud.

“It’s time for the tournament!” a Gippy called out, “all contestants come to the back entrance of the stadium!”

“Are you going to enter?” asked Shuren.

“Na, I don’t want to…” she replied calmly. “Wait here.” Karoline ran somewhere Shuren couldn’t see. After a few moments she came sprinting back with a scimitar similar to Shuren’s blade in her hands. She handed it to him, “Here, it’s designed just like yours so it won’t be hard to handle.”

“Wow Karoline, thanks.” Shuren said and began to walk toward the trail of Grundells.

“I’ll be watching!” Karoline called from behind.

Shuren followed the trail of strong Grundells to the back of the stadium. The stadium was a huge oval like figure. It rose high in the air and nothing could be seen from outside. Nothing but trees surrounded Shuren. It was hidden in the Dead Forest, and it was not easily found alone. Shuren reached the back and waited in line. It was his turn to sign up. He gave his information to the Grundell at the desk. Then Shuren proceeded onward into the waiting room of the stadium. In the room were a few other Grundells. Each looked as strong as the next. Some Grundells were sparring, others were resting. Shuren found Lloyd in the room also resting. He did not start a conversation, but instead he decided to rest. After a few minutes, the amount of people in the room doubled. After the registrations were over, a Grundell came in the room and began explaining rules.

“Alright guys, this is all just for fun, now there is a prize involved, but don’t kill each other for it. The rules are same as last year: Fight until someone gives up or is knocked out. Magic is allowed as long as no one in the crowd is hurt. These are the matches: Linkouz vs. Strata, Lloyd vs. Wresta, Halef vs. Shuren, and Zeal vs. Nina. Now those of you whose names did not get called, you folks did not make the cut, so I’m sorry but you will have to watch from the stands.” After the man said this, people complained and left. Shuren began to fell bad for those who did not get chosen.

Soon, another Grundell led the people out of the waiting room and into a side box. Shuren could now see the people in the crowd; it was the whole Grundell Village. There was nearly one hundred people watching and cheering. Shuren started to feel nervous, and regretted signing up.

Shuren was introduced to everyone left in the room. There was Linkouz, a mighty Grundell on whom Shuren was to be executed by. Zeal was a female Grundell who was a few years younger than Shuren. She had short dark blond hair and a soft face. There was also Nina, a deadly female warrior, Wresta, who was very similar to Linkouz, Strata, a surprisingly small but quick male Grundell and Halef who seemed to have a bad temper and a jerk.

“The first match: Linkouz Pretoriar versus Strata Anomia!” announced a Grundell in the middle of the arena. Shuren wished them good luck as they walked out into the center of the arena. “1! 2! 3! FIGHT!” the match started.

Linkouz dashed back and wielded his long sword. Strata put up his fist and got into a fighting stance. Shuren thought this was an unfair match up. Linkouz had a weapon and Strata didn’t seem to have anything but his fist; he could not block from slashes from Linkouz’s sword. Strata made the first move. He sprinted towards Linkouz and hopped to his left dodging a slash from Linkouz. Shuren watched in amazement as how fast Strata could run. Shuren was barley able see his movements. Strata appeared behind Linkouz in the blink of an eye. He fiercely punched Linkouz on the back. Linkouz let out a wail, and spun around with a fast swipe of his sword. Strata ducked and tripped Linkouz leaving Linkouz to tumble on the ground. Linkouz recovered quickly and tried to slash Strata again. Strata was caught off guard and could only move enough to not get killed, he leaned backward but was left with a long cut on his right arm. Red blood gashed out of his arm as he fell backward. Linkouz placed a foot on his stomach and placed his sword towards his neck. A bell sounded that ended the fight, Linkouz won. Shuren watched in relief that no one was hurt severely. Linkouz helped Strata off the ground and showed good sportsmanship.

“The winner is: Linkouz! Please wait patiently as the next fight prepares!” the announcer said.

Strata and Linkouz walked back to the side box with reassurance.

“Next is you and Wresta,” Shuren said to Lloyd. “Are you nervous?”

Lloyd was as calm as usual, “No, I am not. I hope that he will put up a challenge.” Shuren could tell he was not bluffing. Shuren took a glance around; nobody seemed to be nervous or scared except Shuren.

“Now it is time for the second Match: Lloyd Echar versus Wresta Colston!” yelled the announcer.

Lloyd and Wresta walked out into the arena. Lloyd was carrying his bow and with his quiver on his back filled with sharp arrows. Wresta carried two short swords on each hip. They stopped in the middle of the arena.

“1! 2! 3! FIGHT!”

The fight began. Shuren was rooting for Lloyd deep down, but rooted for both out loud. Wresta began by unsheathing both swords. Lloyd slowly armed his bow while making a distance between them. He aimed for Wresta’s thigh. He shot, but it was futile as Wresta blocked it. Lloyd grinned and shot another arrow that missed. Wresta was began to get impatient and charged at Lloyd. Lloyd, surprised that Wresta would make a move, rearmed his bow quickly. Lloyd dodged the attack and shot two arrows, one missed and the other hit the back of Wresta’s arm, causing him to drop his sword. Lloyd quickly picked it up and struck Wresta. Wresta, still in pain, blocked it with his last sword. They dueled with two swords until Lloyd tripped Wresta and he fell to the ground, Lloyd bent over and hand chopped him on a certain point on the neck. Wresta was knocked out cold.

“The winner is: Lloyd Echar!”

Lloyd bowed and walked back to the side box. Shuren complimented him on his victory.

It was now Shuren’s turn. Shuren gripped his replica blade. He looked at Halef who had a smirk on his face. Halef returned a dirty look. Lloyd came up to Shuren and whispered in his ear, “Crush him.” Shuren laughed as he loosened up.

“Next up we have Shuren Willans versus Halef Crude!” Shuren walked out of the arena staring at the people, searching for Rollan and Karoline. He spotted them both along with Saron. Shuren was delighted to see them there.

Halef was carrying a broadsword on his back with an overconfident look on his face. Shuren kept a straight calm face throughout.

“1! 2! 3! FIGHT!”

Halef immediately struck Shuren, who barley had enough time to block. Halef was quick with such a massive sword. He struck horizontally but Shuren dodged it. Shuren found an opening and kneed Halef in the gut. Halef counter with a slash that cut Shuren’s leg. They exchanged slashes that were blocked by the other. Finally, Shuren overpowered Halef and knocked him in the face and onto the ground. Shuren won.

“And the winner is: Shuren!” the announcer said.

Shuren walked back to the side box, satisfied and ecstatic. Shuren sat down next to Lloyd. In the background, Shuren head the announcer call out: “FIGHT!” Nina and Zeal were fighting each other.

Shuren took a deep breath and said, “Wow, Lloyd this is so much fun.” Shuren really was enjoying himself. This was one of the first times he fought an opponent for fun.

“Yes, this event is one we look forward to every year. All year long, some people prepare for the tournament. Others prepare for food and stands to make money. Though this is the first time we’ve have outsiders that weren’t Grundells join the festival,” Lloyd explained. In the back ground, Shuren heard a large clashing sound of steel, followed by surprised and cheering viewers.

“This winner is: Zeal!” the announcer shouted. An eruption of cheer and applaud followed. Nina and Zeal walked into the box, and began to be healed.

Linkouz and Lloyd were now supposed to fight. Shuren wished him good luck, and Linkouz also. They walked out onto the battlefield, fully healed. They stood in the center, directly across from each other. Lloyd pulled out his arrow and touched points with Linkouz’s tip.

“Now, for the first match of the semi-finals, we have Lloyd Echar against Linkouz Pretoriar! 1! 2! 3! FIGHT!”

Lloyd jumped, expecting Linkouz to strike first. He did not. For a moment, he stood motionless. Lloyd pulled out an arrow and shot quickly. Linkouz saw that the arrow was moving toward his right shoulder. In a split second, Linkouz shifted his body weight to his left. He dodges the arrow and managed to gain balance. He charged after Lloyd, hoping that moving would make it more difficult for Lloyd. Lloyd predicted his movement and shot at his leg. It skimmed his left leg. Linkouz ignored his cut and struck Lloyd. Lloyd quickly pulled out a steel arrow and blocked it. Linkouz drew back and attempted to tackle him. Lloyd was caught off guard, causing him to be sent back several feet. Lloyd rolled backwards to have his feet on the ground. He stood up and shot another arrow. The arrow swooshed through the air and was lodged into Linkouz’s forearm. Linkouz took the arrow out of his arm and threw it on the ground. He charged at Lloyd again, but this time, Lloyd shot an arrow into his thing, causing to fall the ground. Linkouz could no longer fight, Lloyd won.

“The winner is: Lloyd!” Shuren, along with the crowd, cheered and applauded loudly. The two of them limped back into the box to be healed. Shuren prepared himself to fight Zeal. She carried two daggers with her, similar to Karoline’s. Shuren knew that this would be a close combat battle. They were called out. Shuren and Zeal walked out into to center. They touched tips.

“Now, the final match of the semi-finals: Shuren Willans against Zealdera Skelter! 1! 2! 3! FIGHT!”

The battle began. Zeal readied herself. Shuren charged at her. He jumped and slashed downward. Zeal used both blade in a cross formation to block Shuren’s attack. Shuren drew back and decided to wait for her to attack. They began walking around in a circle, across from each other. Zeal made a quick gesture. Shuren, thinking that she was going to attack duck and rolled out of the way. She did not move. Shuren rolled on the ground for no apparent reason. In the crowd, there was laughter. While Shuren was still on the ground, Zeal dashed towards Shuren. Shuren lie on his back and saw her coming. She lifted her daggers and stabbed at Shuren. He rolled to dodge it. She still managed to pin his leather vest onto the ground. She took her other dagger and slashed at Shuren. Shuren forced his vest to tear to avoid getting sliced. He moved back just in time to get away with a long cut on his arm. Shuren realized that her dagger was stuck on the ground. He quickly came up to her. He kicked her dagger. It unearthed and flew away from the area. Shuren began to send a barrage of attacks at Zeal. Zeal, which had only one small dagger, could barley block any of them. With one powerful strike, Shuren knocked her blade straight into the ground. She reached down for it, but before she could, Shuren pointed his tip at her neck. Shuren won the match.

“The winner is: Shuren Willans!” Shuren wanted to jump for joy, but he did not feel that it was appropriate in front of so many people. He waited until he was in the box to celebrate. He held out his hand and helped Zeal off of the ground. They walked into the box to be healed. “There will be a fifteen minute intermission until the final match,” the announcer said as he walked into the box.

Shuren decided to spend his fifteen minutes to relax. Shuren lay on a comfortable laid out mattress alone in his room. In the room were refreshments, mainly tea and fruits. Shuren ate a few rascleberries as he drank some tea. On a desk beside the mattress, Shuren found a new brown leather vest. He wore it, replacing his ripped one. There was a knock at the door. It was time to fight the final match. Shuren walked outside and into the side box, where Lloyd waited patiently.

“The final match: Lloyd Echar versus Shuren Willans!”

Both Shuren and Lloyd walked out into the arena. They were both exhausted and were ready to collapse. They wished each other luck.

“1! 2! 3! FIGHT!”

Shuren knew what strategy he had to use against Lloyd. He had to use the same one from the other day. Lloyd immediately shot three arrows at once. He was not holding back. Shuren knew that they were heading towards his arms. Shuren dodged them all. Shuren picked up and arrow and placed it in his pocket without Lloyd noticing. Lloyd shot three more and Shuren dodged them again. Shuren used his agility to dash toward Lloyd and dodge arrows consistently. Shuren was finally close enough to strike. Lloyd shot a very swift arrow. Shuren was alarmed by this. He tried to dodge it, but it cut Shuren’s left arm. Shuren slashed Lloyd on his underarm. Then Shuren pulled out the arrow that he picked up earlier and stabbed Lloyd’s other arm. Lloyd could no longer use his arms. Lloyd gave up.

“The winner of the Veryala Tournament is: SHUREN WILLANS!” screamed the announcer. The crowd roared with excitement. Shuren was surprised by how loud they were.

“What if someone hears us?” Shuren asked the announcer.

The announcer laughed, “Don’t worry, there is a magical barrier.”

Shuren was simply delighted. He had never won anything before. Shuren savored every moment of it.

Shuren walked back to the side box to see Saron using magic on Lloyd. She seemed to be healing his injuries. She signaled Shuren to get his injuries also treated.

The main Grundell walked in with a small leather bag in his hand filled with kindos. “Here you go kid, the prize.” Shuren accepted it with pride.

Shuren left the stadium along with everyone else. He could not find Rollan, but he did find Karoline.

Shuren called out.

“Nice job,” she complimented. Shuren was alarmed. He could not remember her complimenting him before.

“Thanks,” said Shuren alarmed.

Shuren remembered that he needed to meet Rollan. He then thought about the dream he had earlier. His delightfulness turned into ominous.

Karoline looked at Shuren as he trembled lightly. She began to worry, “Shuren,” Karoline said interrupting Shuren’s pool of thought.
“Yes?” Shuren replied back, trying to act casual.
“I know what you’re thinking about. It’s that dream. I can sense it.”
“Well, yea, I’m supposed to conquer it somehow...”
“Let’s go and find Rollan,” Karoline told Shuren.
Shuren and Karoline went to search for Rollan who, quite actually, was easy to find. He was at the big bonfire in the center village. Rollan seemed quite distracted by the embers of the flame. His concentration was broken by the sounds of Shuren and Karoline.
“Yes?” asked Rollan without making eye contact.
“I was wondering about my dream. What am I going to do?” Shuren asked.
“I am glad that you asked me that, Shuren. It is about to take place.”
“What is?” asked Karoline looking around. There was a bed of hay on the ground, where Shuren was expected to lay.
“The event in which Shuren will conquer his dream is about to occur. I will send you into you dream, and you will find out what is causing you to have it,” explained Rollan.
“You mean right this instant?” Shuren asked. Rollan nodded.
Rollan nodded. “Go ahead and lie down, you’ll fall asleep instantly.”
“I still don’t get it…” said Shuren apprehensively.

“When you fall asleep, you will dream your nightmare, but while you sleep, I will enchant your mind, and I will bring out the source that is keeping the memory of it.”

“So, there is a thing that is bringing up the memory when I sleep?”

“Correct. I will bring it up and you will be able to defeat it. It was a gruesome sight, and Bastian may have had cast the spell on you. However, I am not sure what will happen after it comes out, that is up to you.”

“Let’s do it,” said Shuren firmly.

“Okay, lie down.”

Shuren did so. Just as Rollan said, he fell asleep.



As if Shuren woke up, he hopped off the floor, but he was not awake, he was in his dream. He was in his house with his scimitar. He saw his mother and father, doing the same as in the past dream. He studied his parents closely, discovering that he looked more like his father then his mother.

Soon, he heard a familiar scream that sent his mother out of the house, along with his baby form. Shuren tried to go outside of the house, but he couldn’t; it was beyond boundaries of his dream. After, Bastian entered the house. Shuren and his father were left alone to face Bastian, or as he thought. Shuren could not fight Bastian at all. He was forced to watch Bastian slay his father. Shuren ran after Bastian, who was chasing his mother. He still could not do anything. Soon his mother fell to the floor dead. Shuren’s helpless baby form was carried away, and Shuren was left with a burning house and forest. Suddenly, a part of Bastian appeared before Shuren. Shuren was infuriated at the sight. Shuren punched it in the face. It went flying back several yards. Shuren wielded his blade, screaming at the top of his lungs. Without hesitation, Shuren chopped it in two. The two halves bled out black smoke. It rose from the corpses until Shuren was surrounded in complete darkness. It appeared that Shuren was in the middle of nowhere. He was completely alone, he felt no warmth of a raging fire, no comfort of grass under his feet, nothing but darkness as far as his eye could see. Shuren then suddenly felt the presence of another person, or thing.
“Neruka,” called out a soft voice. Shuren spun around in which the direction the voice came from. There was nothing but darkness.
“Whose there?” Shuren called out. There was no answer.
“Neruka!” the soft voice called out again.
Shuren could not tell which direction the voice was coming from this time. It seemed to surround Shuren. Shuren then saw a white light appear far away. It was faint, but he went after. “Hey! Is anyone there?” called out Shuren. Yet again, there was no answer. Shuren continued to run toward the light, but the light got smaller, and fainter, as if it was running away. When Shuren stopped running toward the light, the light stopped also. Shuren started and so did the light. Soon the light evaporated from the darkness, and Shuren was left yet again all alone in pitch black darkness. “No!” Shuren yelled. The light was gone, but Shuren still felt the presence. It was if the light was tantalizing with him.
Suddenly, the light appeared right in front of Shuren, “Neruka!” it called out.
“What are you?” Shuren wondered, but somehow he knew. The presence felt so familiar, but so long lost.
“It’s me,” it said back.
“Mother. . . ” Shuren said slowly.
“Yes.”
“Why did you call me ‘Neruka’?’” Shuren asked
“That is what I named you,” it said back.
“Where’s my father?” asked Shuren.
“Right here,” said another voice, and another light appeared. Shuren glared at what appeared to be his father. This light was darker than the other, but not by much.
“This is a crazy dream . . .” Shuren muttered.
“Yes, this may seem to be a dream to you, but we are really speaking to you,” Shuren’s mother said.
“Mother . . . I saw what happened to you, I hate Bastian! And father, you also got murdered!” Shuren shrieked.
“We’re just glad to see that you are alive and well, Neruka,” his Father replied.
“I’ll avenge you two . . .” Shuren said gripping his sword tightly.
“No Neruka, do not do that. That is the last thing we want you to do, to murder, that will get you nowhere! Neruka, do not hold grudges of the past. Do not slave over past memories, but create new ones, healing memories is the best you can do,” his Mother cried. The darkness surrounding the three began to brighten. His mother’s voice changed to a more serious tone. “Listen, Neruka. You must stop Garland! We do not wish to see Oryk perish by his hands. Only you can stop him.”
“Why does it have to be me?”
“Because of fate you have to. I am honored to have a son with such a duty,” she replied.
“It is time for us to leave son,” his Father said.
“No, don’t go yet! We have seventeen years to catch up!” Shuren hollered.

The two lights said nothing back. They disappeared as the darkness cleared up. Soon, Shuren was left with a light filled room, and Shuren was spun out of his dream.


Shuren woke up to see Karoline staring at him. Karoline looked as if she had been relieved of something. “What happened?” she asked anxiously.
“I met my parents . . .”
“In your sleep?” she said into deep thought. “I heard that is possible, but a very rare occurrence.
Shuren took a quick glance around, searching for Rollan, but he did not spot him anywhere. “Where is Rollan?”
“In his tent, he is resting,” Karoline answered back. She got up and dusted herself off. “I’m going back to work.”
Shuren went to look for Rollan. As he entered his tent, Shuren noticed that Rollan was awake.
“Rollan-” Shuren was able to say until he was interrupted.

“Ah, no need to tell me what you have experienced; I can see it, remember?” Rollan re-informed Shuren. Shuren nodded. “And yes, you really did talk to your parents.”
“How is that possible?”

“Souls can communicate with you when you are in your sleep, remember when I told you this?” Rollan said. Shuren nodded. “Shuren, we need to talk about your power. We cannot hold it off any longer.”
“I understand, Rollan. It is me who has to defeat Garland, but I don’t know how to control my power,” explained Shuren. Though he was unsure that he would make any difference in the war, he could not sit back and let Garland enslave Oryk.
“That is why we must take you to see Lord Zelzor. He will teach you Shuren. The village has already selected those who will escort us there, but there is one thing you must know about Ruveneska,” Rollan said extremely seriously.
“What is it, Rollan?” Shuren asked.

“It is a serious matter. You may not tell anyone of this until it is to happen,” Rollan said.

Shuren nodded. “I understand. What is it?”