Journey to Venland

Drake’s sleep was restless. It was filled with troubled dreams. The fall of Peruvia, cities burning, and people in chains - all of these things flooded his mind. He tossed and turned in his bed, as bad dreams turned into nightmares.

Drake jerked upright as he awoke, drenched in sweat and panting heavily. He was in the stable gatehouse back home, in his own bed. The room was dark and cold. He stood up from the bed and walked to the door. His sword was there against the wall, but he disregarded it. He was barefoot and wearing only his long underwear, but he opened the door and stepped outside anyway. The ground was covered in a thin layer of snow and the air was cold, crisp, and clear. He walked across the frozen ground and out of the stables.

Something about this night was not right. He was being drawn to something out in the city. It was beckoning him, pulling him forward. He tried to fight it, but his body did not respond. It was as if it did not belong to him. Even the icy winter’s air felt as though it were gnawing at someone else’s body. He could feel it, feel the snow and ice cutting his bare feet. But it was distant, enough so that it did not touch him as he was pulled along.

He blinked.

He was surrounded by buildings, mostly Inns and shops. Drake knew where he was. This was the portion of the city where the soldiers of Svetzia’s army hung about in between patrols. The north gate was not far from here. But the palace was. Drake was confused. How had he traveled halfway across the city in the blink of an eye?

The pain of the cold was growing slightly stronger, but it still felt as though it were someone else’s. The city seemed to be asleep, oblivious to the force that was pulling Drake towards it. He walked down the street in the direction of the gates. The shadows cast in the alleys between the stone buildings seemed to be alive with evil. As the gates came into sight, he stopped. Dark shapes flowed over the ramparts and walls. He squinted to try to make them out better.

He blinked.

He was outside the palace in the center of the city square. The city was no longer asleep. Buildings were on fire. People screamed blood-curdling screams, as they were burned alive. Others fled in terror as they were cut down by the dark shapes in the shadows.

Drake could feel the pull now more than ever. He was repulsed by the vileness of it, but he could not resist. His body was pulled along; he had no control over it. He was now out of the square and back among the blazing buildings. His eyes were suddenly drawn to the back of a small alley. He felt fear, terror like none he had never experienced. The burning buildings now lit the streets and alleys against the dark of the sky. He could see bodies all over the streets. Men, women, and children - The paving stones were red with their blood.

As he surveyed his surroundings, it hit him. His body felt as if it were his own again. The cold now pierced him like a thousand knives. The raging flames blistered his skin and the dreadful presence in the alley had him by the throat. The whole city was lit up by the flames, but that alley was untouched. It remained blacker than the night itself.

A hissing voice echoed from the dark. “I’ve been searching for you,” it rasped. “You cannot escape me. I will find you, and then you will die. And when you do, the burden that you carry will come crashing down.”

Chills ran down his spine. It was drawing nearer. He stumbled backwards, tripping and falling over a body. He landed in blood stained snow, face to face with it. It was not just a man that stared back at him lifelessly; it was himself. He forced himself to his feet and fled in terror, not daring to look back. It was following him and he could not escape it. He rounded a corner and turned down the next street. His heart was pounding. It was right behind him. Its shadowy grasp was closing on him. He ran harder but he could not escape. He tripped over another body. It pounced on him as he fell. Its hands wrapped around his throat, grip tightening. He was starting to suffocate…