A Legacy of Dreams (CH. 1)

FAIN

Fire was all I saw around me. Along with the screams of children. I ran toward the screams, but then the sound changed and I altered my course. Time slowed and shadows danced around me until they solidified. Soon, two children were standing in front of me in the middle of the fire, unharmed. The flames licked their bodies. They giggled, looking at each other, and ran up the stairs. I chased them to a room that was familiar to me. By the time they stopped, sweat was dripping down my brow and I was panting due to the lack of oxygen in the air. The little girl walked over to me and placed her hand on my cheek.

She looked me in the eyes and said, “Why did you let us die, Fain?”

Before I could answer, the fire swallowed them and I fell through the floor into a different scene. I was looking at the house from the outside as it burned to the ground. As it burned, a hand touched my shoulder. I turned…

… And woke with a start. The tingling sensation that meant pain to me in this world covered my body, while staring blankly at the branch that is my makeshift bed because of the dangers that lurk below at night.

Getting off the ground with some difficulty, I began to rub my eyes and brush off the dirt and leaves off. Once I was sure nothing was broken and I was clean, I went back to the tree I fell out of and gathered up my bow and quiver, along with my sack. This dream made me wonder about my life before.

I didn’t remember much of my life before I woke up on the forest floor. When I first arrived, I had no idea where I was or how I got there. I had wandered the forest for some time trying to remember something of my past. Soon, I noticed an emptiness which engulfed my sleep. No matter how hard tried I saw no dreams, but I felt like I was floating in an abyss. This abyss contained a darkness that froze you while you were there. Sometime later, I began to see a woman dressed in modern sophisticated attire. She always appeared calm, poise. Every time she visited, I would ask her name. She never answered.

She did show me about the place I was in—a place she called Legacy. She told me that everything around me was a dream that I created. Sometimes she would refer to me as an Architect from whom amazing things could spring. This stumped me. Until the day I confronted her about it.

*********************

“Fain, are you awake?” the woman’s voice caressed me into consciousness.

“Yes. Yes I am,” I replied.

“No you’re not, silly,” she replied with her girlish laugh. “Come on. Get up. It’s time for your lesson.”

Opening my eyes and sitting up, I notice that we were not in the darkness that I had come to know as the Boundary. We were in a meadow surround by various flowers. In the distance, a mountain range and a grandiose castle. I looked around for the mysterious woman but I could not find her.

“Fain, I used what little power I have to bring you to my realm.” Her voice echoed from the mountains.

“Why did you do that, my lady,” I asked, sucking in a breath as I took in the world around me. The beautiful fragrance of flowers mingled on the fresh air that surrounded me. Black and white roses encircled me in a meadow that sat between a large mountain range and a dense forest.

“It is because you have an important question for me,” she said.

“How did you know that?” I projected my voice as she was doing.

“I know everything that happens in Legacy, Fain,” she chuckled.

“Well then tell me, why do you call me an Architect?”

“At this moment I cannot tell you that secret but I do have a word of advice.”

“And what is that?”

“When your Guide comes, do not reject its help. You are a strong boy who does not rely on others because of your past. Do not let that stop you from accepting help when you need it.” There was a pause. All that passed through my mind was fear that she would fade before she could finish.

“My power dwindles fast, Fain. This is the last time we will speak for a long time; remember what I taught you and be patient.”

As the Boundary began to take me back, I called to her, “Wait, do you know about my past?”

“Bye Fain,” she whispered.

******************************

Ever since that moment, I made a world which allowed me to enjoy the simplicity of the world I left. I imagined the only thing that seemed to be inside my head: Sherwood Forest. The forest began to grow the more I thought of it until it expanded as far as my eye—which I enhanced—could see. Time went on and the world felt empty to me, so I added a small village near the majestic Major Oak of Fairwood. Along with these people, I thought of forest dwelling animals and mythical creatures. I called the whole of my creation Fairwood.

Once the town was complete, the inhabitants branched out into different areas and a thriving world sprang from my thoughts and dreams. This thought overwhelmed me, yet gave me the idea to recreate myself. Rather than some lost boy who did not remember his past, I became the Fain, protector of the forest. The humans began to create folklore around me; stories about what I was and what I had done spread like wild fire between the villages. I was made into a demon.

Even with all the humans in my world, I still had no friends until a lone blacksmith moved deeper into the forest. Lexon was a brave man and became my best—and only—friend in Fairwood. He lost his wife and kids to bandits while he was out looking for firewood. He searched for these men, but the other villagers refused to reveal their identity. Many years had passed and he failed to find them, so he decided to settle down in solitary. That was, until he met me when I fell through his roof. That though is a story for another time.

Once I was sure I had everything in my sack, I decided to head to Lexon’s house. The path was simple for those who knew the forest. From the river where I slept, it took a fair amount of the day to reach his small cottage, with its quaint stone path leading up to the wooden door. An old friend gave this door to Lexon as a wedding present and engraved it with Lexon’s family crest: an eagle clutching a heart in its talons. Lexon placed gold and silver within the engraving to make the door stand out.

He worked in the forge next to his cottage, where he made everything from weapons to nails for building. Something felt off about the place when I arrived at the front door. No candle was lit in the lantern that hung by the door. No smoke was coming out of the forge’s chimney. These little things were odd because Lexon was a raging whirlwind of fury when it came to his forge and people not keeping it lit. The candle was for wayward travelers, such as myself, so they always had a place to go, unlike he did when he was a drifter. Seeing all of Lexon’s quirks caused me to pause and wonder about my own, like packing my bag top heavy. Before I could get lost in thought, I shook my head clear.

After a few knocks on the door, I decided to check the forge. Maybe he fell asleep with a bottle of whiskey in his lap. Opening the door was difficult since it was new and not weathered down yet, making me suspicious of what was going on since Lexon placed his doors out. I walked into the main room. Nothing appeared out of place. As I inspected the various assortments of tools, I notice the thin layer of dust that had collected. Running back to the house, I saw the scorched earth.

I pound so hard on the front door of the house that I thought it was going to come of the hinges. I waited a few seconds after knocking. Still no answer. I raced to the back of the cottage. The door laid on the ground as if it blew off its hinges. Slowly, I inched forward to the opening, readying my bow as I got closer. A crow suddenly flew out, scaring my soul from my body and causing me shoot the notched arrow off into the distance. Readying another, I walked into the kitchen.

Inside was a mess. The kitchen table stood on its side, food scattered on the ground. Burn marks scarred the walls and floor in the kitchen. One mark trailed into the parlor. Cautiously, I followed. Something wet hit the back of my neck. Wiping it off with my hand, I looked up. Splattered above my head was a pool of crimson blood.

This sent me into a panic, coinciding with the creaking of floorboards and the scuffle of feet from the floorboards in the parlor room. The first thought in my head is that the murderer stayed behind. Maybe for the shelter. Maybe in the hopes of gaining some hidden item of value. Moving into the shadows of the dimly lit room, I began to skirt around the edge toward the front door. Just a few steps away from freedom, an icy cold blade touches my throat. The owner steps in closer, right up to my ear.

“You lost, Fain.” The voice had the roughness of an older man.

“What are you talking about?” I tried not to move too much so that the knife did not cut me.

“The game. You lost the game and now your friend is dead.” He chuckled in my ear.

“What did you do to Lexon?” I growled, now struggling against his grip.

“Ah-ah, you mustn’t move too much or your throat might just open up.”

“You would like that wouldn’t you, you sadistic bastard.”

“Why yes, yes I would. If you’re offering I might just do it. But then again, where is the fun if I don’t get to chase you first.” He shoved me forward. “Run, little mouse, run.”

Rather than running I turned a fired the arrow that was still notched in my bow. It missed the man’s head by a hair.

“Whoa, whoa, Fain calm down,” he said attempting to dodge my arrows. “No need to kill me or destroy my house.”

“This isn’t your house. Now, tell me what happened to Lexon.” I yelled, letting my anger come out like an icy dagger.

“I am Lexon, you blundering idiot.” He threw open the door revealing, Lexon’s face.

“Is that really you?” I said, mouth half agape.

“Yeah man, it is me so stop trying to kill me,” he said, laughing as he walked over to me.

When he got with in arms reach, I dropped my bow and punched him in the face so hard he fell to the ground.

“You fucker. What was the purpose of this,” I yelled gesturing to the scene around us.

“You like it?” He smiled, looking at his workmanship with pride. “I thought I would have fun with you and try to scare you.”

“Luckily, you didn’t scare me.” I crossed my hands over my chest and stuck out my chin.

“Oh is that right?” Lexon smirked. “And the fact that you nearly put an arrow through my head doesn’t prove that you were scared?”

“I thought you were gonna murder me. What else did you expect me to do?” I said, defending myself.

“Touché,” Lexon said with a smile on his face. “Well you want to help clean this place up?”

“Fine, but only because you’re my friend and I am sure you have something for me,” I said with a loud groan of defeat.

Cleaning the mess in the parlor was relatively short, but once we got to the kitchen we knew we had our work cut out for us.

“Why did you make such a big mess,” I complained, scrubbing the burn marks—which was just soot—off the walls.

“Would you have believed it if everything was still clean in here,” he asked raising one eyebrow as he placed a bowl and the food back on the table.

“I guess you’re right there.” I picked up the over turned chairs.

“You bet I’m right. Now help me clean off this blood on the ceiling.”

Looking up at the crimson splatter on the ceiling, I remember the drop that fell onto the back of my neck. The thought sent a shiver down my spine.

“How did you get the blood up there and whose blood is it,” I asked pulling a chair over to use as a ladder.

“Carefully.” Lexon smiled. “The blood is a deer that I had for breakfast.”

“Lexon,” I said, looking at the man.

“Yeah, Fain” he said, looking up at me.

“You are one sick man,” I growled, throwing some of the dried blood at him.

He laughed. “Well when you live out here alone your mind gets a little twisted. Now hurry up and clean that. I have a job for you.” He walked out to his forge, leaving me alone to work.

I began to chisel off the deer blood. It came off relatively easy, but not without some chunks of the ceiling falling out.

Shit, I thought when a large chunk fell out.

Lexon was going to use me like a piece of metal in his forge. Where can I hide it?

Oh man, oh man I’m gonna die when he gets back.

I glanced at the open door, grabbed the largest chunks, and chucked them into the forest. Turning back to evaluate my work, my heart fell seeing all of the dust on the ground. Sighing I began to clean up the dust and burn marks.

By the time the sun reached the high point in the sky, I finished cleaning up Lexon’s murder scene and washed up using water from a nearby well. After all the sweat, dust, and blood flakes came off, I made my way to the forge. There was a crash, and Lexon shouted curses.

“Lexon, you all right man,” I said as I pushed the door open and entered.

“Yeah,” He was leaning on his anvil, which was covered with a deer-skin tarp over it.

“What’s under the tarp?” I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me, walking over to the anvil.

“Nothing,” he replied, stepping between the anvil and me.

“What are you hiding under there?” I asked, trying to push past him.

“Nothing shrimp, now did you finish cleaning the house for me?” he asked trying to change the subject.

“Yeah,” I said. “I cleaned up your mess and the rest of your kitchen.”

“Wonderful,” Lexon said distractedly. He walked over to his small desk in the back of the forge and grabbed a piece of paper. Returning back to his position in between me and the anvil he said, “Take this into town for me.”

Taking it from him, I looked for an addressee but could not find one. “Ummm who is this going to,” I asked.

“Take it to the gemstone merchant, and she will know what to do from there,” Lexon said. “Now, you leave if you want to make it a good distance before the sun sets.”

“Alright you ol’ geezer I’ll get out of your hair,” I said walking back toward the door.

“Don’t take too long. I need the item you are going for, so be back before the sun sets in two days,” he said as I stepped into the noon sun.

********

It didn’t take long for the sun to slip under the horizon. Before it was completely gone, I climbed the tallest tree I could find and sat on a branch to watch it set. Every time I watched the sunset, it seemed like it was fighting against the will of nature to stay amongst the people and share its warmth and golden rays. As it loses the battle, the thought that haunts my mind is whether or not it will come back to my world and share all it has to share. What happened if it didn’t come back? How would it affect my world? How would the whole of Legacy be affected? Where did the sun go to when it set in my world?

From there my thoughts turn to myself. I wonder who I am. What was my life before Legacy? Why have I begun to see fire in the Boundary? The lady never told me that dreams affected me in the Boundary. She never explained why I was here. Every day I am plagued by a life of no true meaning.

All of these thoughts plagued me as I watch the last sliver of light disappear into the Boundary.

********

Once again, I was inside a house that was on fire. But this time I recognize everything from the carpet to the ceiling. I heard the screams of children coming from somewhere inside. I ran around, looking for the children. I checked every room downstairs. Nothing. Stopping to catch my breath, I heard the screams again. This time closer.

As the echoes of the screams faded, I walked toward the wooden flight of stairs and stopped. Looking up into the endless darkness that engulfed the stairs, I slowly put one foot onto the first step. Suddenly the fire was gone. I removed my foot and the fire returned, sucking all the coolness out of the air again. The screams reverberated throughout the house, then stopped suddenly. The fire disappeared and a shockwave sent me to the ground. I climbed to my knees and looked up into the brilliantly blue eyes of a young girl and the emerald green eyes of a young boy.

Both of the children were about six or seven and had similar facial features: pointed noses, endless freckles. The boy’s hair was an unkempt curly brown, while the girl’s was wavy and blonde. The sight of these two children sent a shiver down my spine and I wanted to vomit.

They shouldn’t be alive!

I had no idea why this thought passed through my mind, but it frightened me nonetheless. Movement caught my eye and brought me back to attention. The young girl started to walk toward me.

She reached her hand out and said, “Why did you let us die, Fain?”

“I don’t know,” I said with tears pooling in my eyes.

Laughter soon filled the emptiness. It grew louder until I couldn’t take it anymore. I curled up on the ground, covering my ears to protect them from their shrieking laughter.

“Why do you laugh at me?” I screamed.

“ ’Cause you don’t know what your future holds,” the young boy said and with that both of them disappeared in a blistering inferno.

Floating in the Boundary’s unending darkness, I pondered the answer.

My future.

What did that have to do with anything?

I did not think there was a future to an existence in Legacy, unless you were one of the creations. The event that I first saw when I entered the Boundary this time also bothered me. The home reminded me of a distant memory.

A memory!

Is it possible that I could have a memory?

The lady from my first days told me that I would lose all memories. I felt the Boundary begin grasping for my conscience. I fought with all my will to hold on to the memory, but it didn’t take long for the Boundary to finally gain control over my thoughts and freeze my body.

Why I am not allowed to remember? I will never know.

The inside of my eyelids burned red and highlighted my veins as sunlight hit me. I stretched out, forgetting that I was on a branch, and nearly fell out of a tree again. Luckily, I caught myself and made my way down the tree. Then I started in the direction of the town of Lengale. It was the first city I created that thrived on its own.

It started as a couple of buildings with no inhabitants, because creating humans with personality was a difficult task. Every dream that was created in Legacy drained the energy of the person, so every time I tried to create a human I would be put into an extremely deep part of the Boundary. Eventually I created a man and woman with personalities all their own. They were the founders of Lengale, but I soon had to add more humans. After adding a few more families, I left their world and lived in the forest.

That was where the legend of the forest dweller who robbed caravans began. I soon became a different thing to each town, once the people decided to spread out. Lengale soon became the capital of Fairwood and grew tremendously in a small amount of time. My original man and woman would become the first King and Queen.

Watching the town grow from a distance, I was able to influence the people through rumors and my powers as the creator. As time went on, I decided to fade out and let the world go on by itself. I ventured into the towns from time to time to catch up on the latest news.

To get into Lengale, most of the citizens went along Grimmwell Road, but I created many other paths to get in. The path from Lexon’s cottage was the only one I did not make marks for. He preferred to be left alone and I didn’t want bandits attempting to rob him. Finding the path was difficult, since it was in the trees. Even the bandits were afraid to climb the trees because of the creatures—such as the Jabwroks, a lion beast with poisonous fangs and a deadly gaze—that lived in them.

Moving as swiftly as I could without falling out of the trees, I made it to the wall of Lengale sometime before the sun sat highest in the sky. I moved into the shadows to avoid being seen by the patrolling soldiers and stationed archers. Finding the entrance, I created on my last run took some time from where I was hidden. The entrance was a warp in the wall that only I could see but would place any wanderer into the downtown part of Lengale. It was just behind one of the guards who was fixing some part of his armor.

Sliding farther back into the shadow, I tried to think of a way around the guard without being seen by the archers. That’s when the idea of an invisibility ring hit me. Concentrating on that thought, I soon felt my energy drop, and the fabric of the world around me tightened and loosened. When I opened my eyes, a red ring laid on the ground. The ring was cold to the touch, yet looked like it was holding enough energy to start a forest fire. I placed it on my right ring finger and stepped out into the sunlight.

Hesitating a little, I continued walking until I reached the area of the wall behind the guard. Slowly stepping up to the entrance, I froze when the guard suddenly turned around. Holding my breath, I continued to step through the entrance until I was safely on the other side.

Releasing my breath, I turned away from the wall and began walking down the cobbled street to the gemstone merchant’s shop. The street was empty except for a few early risers. I nodded to a jewel merchant. He walked past me without any acknowledgement.

“You could at least make some sign of acknowledgement, you fucker,” I said turning around to face the man.

“Who said that?” the man said, looking around for the owner of the voice.

“Me. Are you really that blind that you can’t see another person,” I said walking up to the man.

“Where are you, you insolent brat?” the man said, his fear turning into anger.

“Right in forn—” I began to reply.

“Where are you?’

I decided to have some fun with the invisibility ring. While the man was standing there waiting me to walk out of the shadows, I stepped behind him and pants him. Even us eighteen-year-olds enjoy juvenile tricks.

“Fuck,” he blustered, his face blushing. “I’ll get you for that, whoever you are.”

He bent down to pull up his pants and I pulled his coat over his head and pushed him to the ground. When he got up, his face was redder than some of the roses I had seen in the forest.

“You’ll regret this,” he yelled, turning and stalking down the street. It was filling up with morning crowds.

I pulled off the ring and laughed at the man as he turned the corner, then made my way to the shop. It was harder to maneuver the street now that more people had begun their day. Every day before noon, the streets filled up with people looking to buy new items from the merchant stalls that lined the streets. Merchant voices yelled at every passerby trying to entice them to purchase their exotic items. It took some time but I finally reached the gemstone merchant’s shop. The shop blended in with the buildings around it. The door was a simple wooden door and the shutters hung from their hinges in the front—probably from someone trying to break in. Upon entering the shop, my mouth fell open at the sight of all the precious gemstones.

It was a wonder the store wasn’t robbed, with such a collection. I didn’t see anyone at the counter in the back of the store, so I proceeded to look around. Most of the gems were in glass boxes and on ornate stands. The ones of immense value had special names and stood in thick glass containers.

One of the gems called out to me. It sat on the counter in a plain wooden stand. I walked over and read the nameplate: Mother’s Eye. There was no price. I set the paper Lexon gave me down and examined the gem closer. It was a rather large gem—or at least from what I had seen—and it seemed to catch the light. The color was a rich golden honey.

The longer I stared at the gem the more I felt something pulling me toward it. I reached down to touch it.

“Don’t,” a woman said, a worried expression on her face when I looked up.

I screamed—I didn’t realize someone was watching me—stumbling back and nearly knocking over multiple stands.

“You idiot, you’re going to wreck my entire store,” she said, running down the rest of stairs.

“I’m sorry,” I said hurrying to pick up what did fall.

“Leave that stuff alone, you will just break it,” she said. She pushed me out of the way and picked the items up with a cloth. “You’re lucky nothing broke or else you would be in some serious trouble.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am.”

“Name’s Charlie, not ma’am.” She stood and turned toward me. When I got a good look at her, I saw that she was no older than me. Her eyes shifted from brown to slightly green depending on the lighting, and her brown hair fell to her shoulders. She was lithe, which was surprising since city dwellers were usually bony unless they are upper class.

“Hey idiot, what are you gawking at?” Charlie said glaring at me.

“Nothing,” I replied smoothing my hair down and leaning against the display rack portraying coolness.

“Right. You have a bit of drool on your chin,” she said pointing to my chin.

I wiped it off as she asked, “So what can I do for you?”

“Umm… Oh hang on,” I said, reaching into my pack for the note Lexon gave me. My eyes widened as I realized it was not there, but then I remembered that I placed it down earlier.

I walked over to the note and picked it up, waving it back at her saying, “Here it is.”

She took the note from me and read it. Her face paled slightly as she finished. She turned and walked into the back room. When she returned, she had a box with her. The Mother’s Eye was placed into the box.

“Here. Take it and leave now,” Charlie said, staring at the store floor to avoid my confused gaze.

“Are you….”

“Just take it and go now,” she yelled before I could finish.

I grab the box, place it into my pack, and left the store with only a glance back at Charlie. She was staring at me with tears welling up in her eyes.

********

The sunshine nearly blinded me as I stepped into the street. Oddly enough the streets were empty even though the sun had reached its noon point in the sky. I began to walk back to the warp I enter through until movement in the corner of my eye made me stop. I hear the shuffling of feet behind me so I pull my bow off my shoulder and notch an arrow as fast as I could. Spinning around I came face to face with the man from earlier.

“Remember me, you little bastard,” he grinned. “I’m the one you decided to mess with. Well I’ve got news for you that was a bad idea.”

“What are you talking about,” I said raising my bow as he moved forward slowly.

“Don’t play dumb, you little shit,” he spat. “I saw you just before I turned the corner. Thought that was a fancy little trick turning yourself invisible, huh? Well it just got you into some deep shit.”

He was now standing at the tip of my bow. He whistled and three other men joined him. I panicked and sought some escape. There was none.

Make one, a voice said in my head.

So I turned toward the smallest of the three and shot my arrow. It hit between his eyes with a thunk. Without thinking, I ran through the gap his fallen body left. I ran for my life.

“After him! Don’t let him get away!” yelled the leader.

The other two lackeys caught up to me. One made a dive at my feet, knocking me to the ground. My head struck the cobblestones so hard I saw stars and nearly passed out. The taller of the two yanked me to my feet. Once I regained my footing and the world stopped spinning, I pulled out another arrow and shot. This shot went straight through the man’s chest and struck the sign behind it. While regaining my senses and letting off another arrow, the rest of the group caught up to me.

Even as he fell, a searing pain shot up my left side. I turned, feet dragging on the stones, and faced the last man. He held a bloodied knife. This also gave the leader time to catch up to us. Knowing that I couldn’t take the chance of shooting and missing now that there was two of them and one had a weapon, I ran toward the wall. Every step drained my energy. The man was nearly on top of me when I finally reached the wall and launched myself through it.

I land on the other side with a thud. I stood groaning but was knock back to the ground when the two men came bowling through the warp. The leader got up, followed by his lackey.

“You can’t get away from me you bastard,” the leader said into my ear.

“Hey, you there! Where did you come from?” A guard yelled.

I used the distraction, elbowed the leader in the face. It crunched under my elbow. I rolled to my feet and began to make a beeline straight for the forest. Stumbling across the open ground, I heard more shouts. Several arrows landed around me. Just before I entered the forest, a sharp pain rose from my thigh up through my spine. Looking down, I saw the shaft of an arrow protruding out of my right thigh. The adrenaline in my body allowed me to continue running from the men who begun their chase again.

It was a good thing that I knew the forest so well or else I would have been in even more trouble, but with all the blood loss I was starting to get dizzy. Hearing the men close behind, I climbed the tree as fast as I could. In minutes, one of the men was right under the branch I climb onto. He searched the area around the tree but stopped when he saw the blood at the base under my branch. He slowly raised his head until our eyes met. By this point, I already had an arrow notched and ready to fire, the moment he moved forward I fired. The arrow landed with a sinking squelch into his abdomen. It didn’t faze him, so I shot another. It took five arrows to take him down.

As he died, I watch as the life drain out of his eyes before I fell out of the tree onto the ground. Looking up into the azure sky, I noticed that there weren’t any clouds.

Only one thought crossed my mind before I passed out: Lexon what did you want with a magical stone?