Tell me if I need an extra line between paragraphs.

This is something I actually hope to complete. It has a rather generic premise, but I'm more focused on a few things: characters and getting to the end. Or maybe I'm just confused, I dunno.

Anyway, more activity for the sub-forum!

NEVERMIND: It's just for self-masturbation.

-

Dreamt of Lethe - 1

A figure clad in hulking metal armour, black as the night, stabbed his behemoth sword into the dirt.
  "Find her alive. Return empty-handed, and you'll be relieved of your hands," a voice growled from within the helmet. The voice reminded one of glistening corpses and deathly sicknesses. The grass upon which the knight stood withered.
  Following his command, four apparitions burst forth violently from the ground, gliding outwards and defiling the earth beneath them, each one appearing as a cloud of black smoke with a multitude of searching hands protruding from within the dark centres, scratching the air as if they belonged to a blind madman.
  Four voices joined in disharmonious chorus, hissing, "YESSSS."
  The wraiths set out in the four directions, while the knight began to inscribe a pentagram within the earth. When he was complete, he unleashed a terrible growl: "Come forth, my steed!"
  As if to mount a horse, the knight swung his leg over an invisible beast, but found purchase upon yet another shadowy apparition, this one appearing like a half-decayed, half-dismembered horse, bleeding incessantly from numerous pores, its eyes removed and in their place, orbs of seething flames. It cried out in sheer agony before setting off, racing as though death itself were on its rotting heels.

-

Dreamt of Lethe - 2

That was when I awoke, bathed in cold sweat. Clammy and with a parched mouth, I got up from my bed shakily, the voice of the dark knight still fresh in my mind, almost as if I had witnessed the scene in person. The nightmare was far too realistic for the comfort of my bed to ward away. Instead of trying to resume my sleep, I decided to get a glass of water, dress myself, and take a walk around my apartment complex despite the hour. Fortunately, my part of the city was normally quiet, safe, and secure.
  The outside air was cool and peaceful. A full moon lit the paths around the complex sufficiently so as to render the sidewalk lamps redundant. My heart quickly reasserted its normal pace before becoming slower in light of the relaxing atmosphere.
  Perhaps I became a little too relaxed, for when my mind began to wander once more, I seemed to suffer a fainting spell. I managed to stay on my feet long enough to reach a bench, but by then, I was overcome with exhaustion. I thought to close my eyes for a moment to recover. It was then that I had another nightmare, or rather, dream.

-

Dreamt of Lethe - 3

Within this dream, my vision was filled with the face of a young girl, whose eyes were a frosty blue. I then beheld her surroundings; a forest illumniated by a full moon. I saw the girl, of slender figure and delicate build, run through the trees, her raven-black hair upon the wind. She frantically looked over her shoulders; it was clear to me that she was fleeing from something or someone. I saw her slow down and stop, then, fall to her knees, apparently fatigued. However, she did not stop there. She crawled into the the deceptively low roots of a particularly large tree and surprised me when she completely disappeared into its shadows.
  The girl, in her distress, evoked some feeling of sympathy within me, and I continued to watch. Her eyes gazed up at the moon and she seemed to kneel in prayer - perhaps in hopes of invoking help from some sort of god? I continued to watch her say something, then looking up to the moon earnestly once more.
  Intrigued, I sought to reach out to her, though for what reason exactly, I cannot say. Perhaps to give her a sympathetic pat on the back, to ask her why she was alone in the forest, or perhaps to aid her somehow... I knew not why exactly.  At that point, she suddenly recoiled, alarmed, as if retreating from something in my direction. I turned around to observe what she was so surprised by, but seeing nothing in particular, I curiously returned my gaze to her.
  She then said something, something that sounded like "What are you!?" It was difficult to tell though, as her voice sounded as if we were communicating whilst underwater.
  I replied by reflex, "What?"
  As she spoke again, it felt as if my senses were suddenly attuning to her world, and her voice rapidly began to come through clearer. "I asked, what are you? A ghost?"
  "What do you mean?" I asked, as I looked down at myself to confirm my appearance. It was then I saw that my form was translucent and faded - like a ghost. Suddenly, panicked, I exclaimed, "Holy! Did I die!?"
  "SHHHH! I'm being chased by a bad man, keep it down!" she hissed. "Get down, or you'll be seen!" She shoved herself into the deepest pockets of darkness provided by the great tree's roots and then she patted the ground beside herself, offering a seat.
  I settled down beside her and then asked quietly, "What's going on? Where are we? And who exactly is chasing you?"
  The girl answered in a hushed tone, "I'm being chased by a dark warrior. He's... He's after my soul. Well, not mine in particular, but..." She sighed. "He just wants people's souls. I'm not sure why, but he just does. We're in the Nazren forest, though I'm not sure how that helps someone like you... Oh, look! You're not so ghost-like anymore!"
  "Eh? Indeed, I'm no longer translucent. Although, having heard of your situation, I think I'd very much rather be a ghost right now."
  "Yeah, I wish I was a ghost too..."
  Utter silence then enveloped us for the next few minutes, left unbroken even by the wind and the fauna. But then, we heard it; it, a terrible shriek that strangled the air from our lungs and left the air dead and devoid of moisture, leaving the burning fire of fear that sets one running. Should I have followed my instincts, I would have flown in terror immediately, probably revealing both of us. However, I sat still through a sheer force of will, and so did my acquaintence, although we were both trembling and frightened like helpless kittens. When we heard the horrid howl again a minute or so later, it was a mere echo of an echo and we relaxed somewhat, although the sound itself was only marginally more bearable, like faint whispers of a madman scraping a steel blade against a whetting stone.
  When at last I my confidence returned, I asked in a hushed voice, "What was that?"
  "It was some sort of familiar that the dark warrior summons. They're his servants and they're dangerous. That's all I know."
  After giving it some thought, I realized that somehow I had seen the dark warrior and his subservient horrors in my nightmare earlier. I was chilled by that thought as I came to another revelation; I had wound up in some sort of alternate reality.
  My curiosity piqued, I asked, "Where are we again, exactly?"
  "The Nazren forest. Although I think you're about as foreign one can be; we're in the lands of King Olvorn. Still, I'm not sure if it helps..."
  I groaned, for such information was indeed incomprehensible to me. I said, "More importantly, who are you and do you perhaps know how I came to be in this nightmare?"
  "I'm just... a girl. My name is Illia. As for how you got here, I have no idea... at least, I sort of... have no idea..."
  "What do you mean?"
  "I think... I might have... accidentally, perhaps... summoned you. I prayed that the spirits would have mercy and send me aid, but I didn't actually expect anything to come of it!"
  True, I did remember that earlier in my dream, she had appeared to be praying. But, for me to actually be here... was I hallucinating or still dreaming?..

Dreamt of Lethe - 4

Without my consent, I was caught in quite a conundrum. I sighed, finding it difficult to express my discontent with my situation without being particularly rude.
"Sorry..." apologized Illia, hanging her head.
I sighed again. It really was not her fault - it was just some sort of freak coincidence that I was here. I waved my hand to dismiss the issue.
Some time passed in silence before Illia spoke again.
"Erm, what's your name?"
"Ah, right. My name is Dameon."
"Dameon... I see."
We were shrouded once more by an awkward stillness, hiding inbetween the roots of a great tree.
This time, I was the one to break the peace.
"Hey, do you have a home we can return too? I mean, I'm not sure why we're out in the forest in the middle of the night, but we would probably be safer in a city... or village... or anywhere populated, for that matter."
Illia, then hugging her knees, seemed to curl up further; it took a minute for her to respond and by then, I was expecting the worst.
"Well... my village, if you could call it that... the warrior attacked it. He... he killed everyone!.. even... even..." She wiped her eyes then with her sleeve, which I noticed to be a particularly simple light brown sweater. I looked down, wordless, feeling rather uncomfortable and quite useless. She continued, "He burned the village down. Every time he killed someone, he seemed to steal their souls."
"How? What do you mean?" I asked softly, feeling somewhat cautious.
"Well, he would make a motion like this-" she then appeared to pretend to tear out my heart "-and then a blue light would come from the person's chest and he would put that into his helmet, like he was eating it. He was laughing the whole time... It was horrible."
As she spoke, it felt as if images of what had transpired bored into my brain and then burned across my vision. I saw the same dark knight I saw in my nightmare tear into people with his terrible claymore. Blood splattered onto his bpak armour, cursing him to a demonic appearance, but he howled with an unholy laughter that shocked me with an electric fear. The blazing fires of the village homes seemed to be such a great conflagration so as to burn my skin as well. Every swing and stab of the knight's blade I witnessed wracked me with pain; it felt as if my own entrails were left to rot on the ground, as if my own chest was hewn by the cold of steel, as if my own body was maimed and dismembered, and my own blood flooding the ground - and yet, I could not scream, for it was not I who suffered these fates. I heard the cackling of the immolated wooden houses, the shrieks of terror, and the screams of death. Those who tried to run away were chased down by the horrific apparitions, the multitudinous hands shrouded in darkness either strangling them or catching them for their master. I lost myself amidst the carnage. My reality, warped, caged me.
However, I heard a cry on the horizon of my perception. Barely conscious, I strained my ears and tried to block out the screams and shouts. I tried to focus on the fair voice that called out, different from those of the massacre. I felt as if I were trying to swim to the surface starting from the bottom of a fathomless sea. The cry became louder and louder, competing with the cries of the doomed.
"...Dameon... Dameon?.. Dameon!.. DAMEON!"
Suddenly, my mind relinquished the hallucination. I opened my eyes...
And was met with the sight of the familiar cityscape of my apartment complex, the familiar redundant streetlights...
I got up from the park bench I was lying on and shivered. I found myself covered in cold sweat again.
"Ha, another nightmare..." I said to myself, my voice shaking.
I got off from the bench and headed back to my appartment. Hopefully, the rest of the night would pass peacefully by.
When I got back to my home, I poured myself another glass of water, downed it, then, made my way to bed.
I closed my eyes and fell asleep again.

-

Dreamt of Lethe - 5

When I opened my eyes, I was sitting beside the girl, Illia. The sun was up, though she still slept soundly. We were still inbetween the great roots of a tree.
Confused, I attempted to recall the string of events that led me here. However, as far as I could remember, I had always been here - from when she had summoned me to my vision of the destruction of her village. It was somewhat strange; I felt like I was forgetting something important. That was when I remembered I had fainted during the vision, as the massacre had become too much for me. The last thing my memory held was... a voice, crying out my name. I imagined that it must have been Illia trying to help me escape the suffering.
Considering that my partner was asleep, I decided to observe my surroundings. She had mentioned that the forest was named "Nazren." The Nazren forest's canopy was thin, allowing quite some sunlight to reach the forest floor. Around us was an abundance of shrubbery and bushes. The forest was relatively thick and brimming with plant life. It would have been difficult for the knight or his apparitions to find us. It would also be impossible for me to navigate out, as I had no bearing on my location and apparently, the area was foreign to me.
Illia previously mentioned "King Olvorn's" lands - sounded like an important person, though I questioned the wisdom of naming any area after its current ruler. It was something worth inquiring about later though. I would also require Illia's aid in finding a way out. Food, water, shelter... as a city person, acquiring these things...
City person? Was I a city person? It felt as though something tickled my brain momentarily. I tried to follow the train of thought, but then, Illia yawned and stretched; presently, she woke up.
"Whoah, you're back!" she exclaimed, surprised by my apparent return. I was slightly confused, as I had no memory of ever leaving her. As such, I asked, "What do you mean?"
"You looked like you were having a seizure, and when I tried to wake you, you suddenly disappeared!.. like a ghost! Dameon, are you a person or a spirit? And are you all right?"
"I'm fairly certain that I am a person. Strange, though; I don't have any recollection of disappearing. I remember from when I fainted though: I felt like I was at the village when it was attacked. I saw and felt everything. It was a nightmare. I'm all right, though."
"So you saw..."
"Indeed."
She paused and then shook her head. She changed the topic: "Say, do you remember anything of where you came from?"
"Yes I d-... Well, I feel like I should, but I can't seem to remember anything prior to you summoning me."
She hung her head for the second time - she must still feel guilty about calling me out of the blue.
"Hey, it's not too big of a deal," I said, trying to brighten her mood. "Since I don't remember, it cannot honestly be such an important issue.
"I think getting to some place safe should be our priority as of now, especially with the knight on the loose."
"That's true," she mumbled. "Still, I'm sorry for being such a bother..."
Inwardly, I shook my head. She did not seem to be able to let go of the coincidential summoning. Presently, I felt something tickle my brain again; by coincidence, I had felt faint and wrnt to lie down on a bench... and I was on a walk prior to that... but before that, I still cannot remember anything.
"Dameon, what are you thinking about?"
"I'm trying to recall how I got here. I know I didn't just appear here as if I was only just born, but I can't seem to remember much more." I sighed. On top of being in a strange world, I somehow lost my memory - wonderful! "Well, hopefully it will return soon enough.
"Do you have any ideas on what where we should go now? I mean, I think it would be best if we made it to somewhere populated, but you know this world better than I do by far, so you should have the final say."
"Uhm, all right," she said hesitantly. Illia obviously not used to being in a position of power. "Let's head to the nearest town then. I know that merchants used to come by my village to trade, so if we can just find the caravan tracks, they should lead us to the town. I think it's called Ornith."
"Do you think we can backtrack to your village? We'll have an easier time finding the path if we do, unless you know where exactly in the forest we are," I suggested.
"No, I don't," she said, shaking her head. "Not exactly. I can probably find the village for us though."
"If you want, we could look for survivors too," I said, but having seen the slaughter myself, I knew the answer that was to come.
"There would be none. The warrior was... thorough." She appeared disheartened again.
"Sorry..."
"Let's go."
I nodded.
We got up and Illia set off for the village with me in tow.

-

Dreamt of Lethe - 6

We arrived at the border of the destroyed village. Illia was unwilling to get any closer and neither was I; we were not prepared to face the corpses that might still have remained. Instead, we found the caravan tracks that ran north and proceeded in that direction, following the well-worn path. We did not pass any merchants or other people. To pass the time, we occasionally exchanged words, but we held no lengthy discussions. I felt rather shy, but at least the one who summoned me seemed harmless and reasonable. I figured my situation could have been far worse if I were perhaps summoned by someone like the dark warrior.
Fortunately, the nearest settlement was nearby and it only took us until the afternoon to reach it. The settlement appeared to be quite developed, appearing more like a large town and yet it was not quite a small city. It was bustling with activity; men and women went about doing their daily tasks, children were out playing on the streets (perhaps it was a weekend?), and traders were advertising their wares at the top of their lungs. It seemed like a haven that not even the dark knight could penetrate.
As we arrived, Illia informed me of her plan.
"Let's find out where the local tavern is. There, we can rest or feet for a while. Afterwards, I'll get some food for us."
"Do you have money?" I asked.
"Money, Oh, er, yeah, don't worry about it. You just stay in the tavern while I get the food."
"You sure you don't want me to come with you?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine alone."
"All right then," I conceded. I felt rather unwilling to be put in a strange place by myself, but I fought off the feeling and entertained the idea of listening to travellers' stories - I found it humorous, although for a reason I could not specify. It had something in relation to the unfamiliar world I was in, but my reference point was but an obscure recollection in my mind.
When we found the local tavern, signified by its sign reading "The Cackling Crow: Bar and Inn," Illia reassured me that all would be well and that I should stay inside and rest, leaving things to her. Afterwards, she and I departed.
I slipped into the tavern expecting to find a crowd of loud drinkers, but was surprised to see the place largely empty. (In retrospect, the tavern would not be as active during the day than it would be during the night.) There were only three people inside: a wrinkled, white-haired man standing behind the bar, a sleeping man at one of the round tables scattered throughout the tavern, and a fairly fashionably dressed (if I do say so myself) adolescent female sitting on a stool at the bar - a surprising occupant, considering her Gothic Lolita clothing. She and the bartender were chatting, so naturally, by the time I took a seat in a corner of the tavern, I was eavesdropping.
The girl said in a refined and elegant manner, "So that is why I am here."
The bartender whistled. "You magi are odd folk, I can tell you that. Sending out your young like that is one big risk. I guess this is 'risky but rewarding' taken to the extreme."
"Indeed. However, I am actually quite enthusiastic about my journey. I have always envisioned myself alongside the Old Circle, studying deep into the night. Ah, how I wish I was already there." She had a dreamy air to her by now. I figured her to be a romantic, perhaps with a sprinkle of naivety. Although, perhaps she was simply pure-hearted. But what difference is there between the two?
The bartender shook his head while smiling as if in agreement with my thoughts. "Well, I wish you good fortune on your journey. The capital is still some ways off, but I'm sure one of the merchants wouldn't mind giving such a polite, young lady a ride."
"Thank you," she said. Then, she nodded so gracefully it was as if she had gotten off of her stool and bowed instead. She was quite a courteous lady indeed.
She continued. "I hope that some of the townspeople will be able to make use my services while I enjoy your hospitality."
The bartender nodded. "Hm, I know quite a few people who could use your sort of help. I can help acquaint you with them."
"Ah, would you? Thank you very much for your help."
The old man chuckled and said, "Anything for you, dear."
By this time, I felt quite embarrassed for doing such an impolite thing as eavesdropping that I almost missed Illia surreptitiously entering the tavern. She hastily made her way to my table and produced a loaf of bread, an apple, and a knife, which she began to use to split the apple and bread. However, strangely enough, I did not feel hungry at all, thus, I interrupted her rather proficient knife work and said, "I'm fine, you can have it all." She merely shrugged and began helping herself.
When she finished eating, she spoke. "All we have to do now is find some shelter for the night. I'm guessing that we'll have no choice but to beg that old man." She nodded in the direction of the bartender.
"Er, all right."
"Something wrong with that?"
"N-no, not at all. I'm just a bit uncomfortable. I've never had to beg."
In response, she shrugged again.
"We've no money," she said, "so I have no idea what else we would do besides sleep on the street. I'm sure he'll take pity on a couple of youngsters like us."
"All right then," I blurted; I felt as if there was a hint of animosity in her voice, so I gave in quickly. I did not need any more trouble on top of being lost in a world I could only barely recognize as not mine.
"What will we do until nightfall though?" I asked.
"Explore the town I guess."
With that, she got up and headed for the door. I followed her out, and thus, off we went.

The narrator is from modern times, so he shouldn't have this ancient sort of tone to him. The fantasy girl talks modern, and the modern narrator talks/thinks in fantasy.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jul 24 2011, 6:42 pm by ClansAreForGays.

I realized that. It's a combination of reading a few of H. P. Lovecraft's stories and my own twisted plan of showing the narrator to be a disturbed, no-life, pseudo-hikkikomori unreliable narrator.

Dreamt of Lethe - 7

Illia and I explored the town which we found to be called Idjek. We spent the day walking trough the residential and market districts. During our sojourns in these areas, I noticed Illia constantly scanning the environment, appearing to take in every detail of the streets and roads. On the other hand, I paid little heed to our surroundings and merely followed Illia's lead. However, as we made our way through the bustle of the market district, I overheard many conversations across a variety of topics, from successes in work to financial collapses to family issues.
  As I listened, my ears picked up the word "Nazren," and I quickly attuned to that conversation.
  "Can you believe it? Nazren village was burned to the ground!"
  "What? How? What about the people living there?"
  "They were all gone - no bodies, nothing! It's as if they burned their own village and left of their own volition."
  I stopped listening and had to shout over the merchants to catch Illia's attention.
  "Illia," I said, "it seems that news of your village's destruction is spreading, but nobody knows what happened."
  She merely nodded and shrugged before continuing onward, although the news did seem to put some weight to her steps.
  I pondered over what the people had said earlier. They had mentioned that there were no bodies to be found, meaning that here certainly were no other survivors besides Illia herself. I then recognized the significance of the detail - someone did not want to reveal that the destruction of the village was brutal and merciless; much blood was spilled, but also thoroughly cleansed. I could assume that the dark knight was trying to keep his attack hidden behind a shroud of abandoned, burned ruins. And if he was removing evidence of his crimes, did that mean he was willing to commit such heinous acts again, before someone alerts any other settlements? It seemed a wild guess, but it felt as if it were the case. For some reason, I felt that if the dark knight desired souls, he would continue to seek out more victims in order to quench his presumably insatiable thirst. However, it may merely have been my imagination playing tricks upon me.
  "Illia, should we warn the town about the knight? Should we tell everyone what really happened?" I asked.
  She did not even bother to turn around to answer. "No. I doubt anyone would believe us. We're just a couple of young adults that nobody trusts. Besides, I doubt the warrior would attack a place as populated as this."
  "We should do so regardless. These people have to be warned; their lives are at stake."
  "So what?" she asked coldly as she whipped around. It was really more like a statement than a question though. "Who would you even tell? The town mayor? Would he even want to see people like us?"
  "What do you mean?" I was beginning to get frustrated. Illia seemed set on not telling, despite the potential consequences.
  "Nobody warned my village of what might happen, so why should we warn anyone else!?" She shouted angrily. Some bystanders took pause in their steps, but continued on. She seemed furious, but, surprisingly, her voice sounded as if it were hinging on weeping.
  "You'll only regret not sparing these people the same fate later," I whispered quietly myself. Then I told her, "Forget it," before falling back in the argument; I really did not need more trouble, especially with the only person that seemed helpful to me. However, I intended to warn the town regardless of Illia's refusal.
  After a moment of tense staring, Illia turned around again and moved on. "I will forget it," I heard her grumble under her breath.
  The rest of our journey through the town was uneventful. As the sun began to set, our moods grew better and we agreed to return to the tavern to attempt to persuade the owner to let us take shelter for the night. Meanwhile, I thought of how to best present my warning to whoever would listen. Hopefully, I would be able to talk with the town mayor or whoever else was in charge of Idjek. However, that was a matter for another time...

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Aug 5 2011, 7:24 pm by Sand Wraith.

Dreamt of Lethe - 8

By the time we arrived at The Cackling Crow, the sun had set. We found many more occupants and that the atmosphere was much livelier - enough so that one could describe the tavern as "crowded." Nonetheless, we were able to find a vacant table in the corner of the tavern once more (it seemed that both Illia and I had a predisposition to being somewhat clandestine); however, the table was already being used by one other person, which happened to be the young lady in the Gothic Lolita dress I had overheard earlier during the day.
  "Excuse us, may we also use this table?" I asked as politely as possible.
  "Certainly," she responded with a nod. This girl was so polite she made me feel guilty for even having considered eavesdropping on her and the owner.
  Illia and I took our seats at the table. An eerie silence then fell between each of us. No party seemed willing to talk, thus, we were left fidgeting. The din around us seemed to swallow the table whole like some great whale eating a single krill. The seconds passed into minutes and the minutes marched on in awkward silence.
  Illia looked over at me and said, "We should probably talk with the owner now."
  "Ah, right. Let's go then. Excuse us."
  We got up from the table and went over to the owner.
  "Excuse me, sir," said Illia. She caught the old man's attention he turned towards her.
  "What can I do for you, young lady?" he asked. His voice sounded like rickety wood, but the woodwork would have been executed with passion and care.
  "My cousin and I are fleeing from the village of Nazren, which was burnt to the ground. We don't have any money, but we were hoping that you would grant us your hospitality considering our plight."
  "Ahhh, yes, I've heard of the destruction of Nazren. It's truly a shame - I don't think whoever did this realized the repercussions of burning such a village down; a lot of folk would be rendered homeless!
  "Yes, I'll let you stay the night in one of my rooms, so long as you make sure to make the beds and keep the room clean."
  "Really? Thank you so much! We promise we'll take good care of the rooms."
  "Very well. May I have your names?" As he asked that, he produced what appeared to be a guest log.
  "My name is Jill and my cousin is Jack," responded Illia. For some reason, I felt as though I needed to slap my face with the palm of my hand when I heard the pseudonyms she used.
  "Jill... and... Jack..." mumbled the old man, writing our names down. "All right, Jill, you and your cousin can have room three. There are two beds In it, so you'll both be accommodated. If you need to stay more nights, feel free to do so."
  "Thank you again," said Illia, this time, bowing.
  When we left and were out of earshot, I asked Illia, "Why did you lie about our names?"
  "The warrior might be hunting us still. Well, mostly me, but it's safer if we both use aliases."
  "Fair enough."
  We returned to the table. Presently, I decided to have a serious discussion with Illia.
  "Illia, I think we should warn the town about the dark knight."
  "No."
  "What? Why not?"
  "I don't want to."
  "Why don't you want to?"
  "Nobody warned Nazren, so why should we warn this town?"
  "Perhaps nobody else survived his attacks. Maybe your village was the first. Either way, it's our duty as survivors to tell others what happened. Well, I'm not really a survivor, I saw what had happened."
  "Okay, maybe so, but what if the dark warrior stopped after Nazren?"
  "For some reason, I don't think that's the case. The knight was bloodthirsty, we both know that."
  "...No, I still don't want to."
  "What? Are you serious?" I was beginning to get angry. I remember having thought how stubborn, illogical, and immoral Illia seemed, which was why I then asked with a raised voice, "Are you really going to condemn families to destruction, perhaps leaving children without parents and without homes to suffer on the streets?"
  "SHUT UP! You don't know what suffering is!"
  I was almost taken aback. Something tickled my brain again, but I was numb to it from the smoldering anger I felt. I tried to remain calm, but I wanted to take a stab back at her.
  "Even though you say that, you're still willing to let this matter pass unattended! How cruel can you be!?"
  She was mad; oh, how mad she was. If emotions could kill, I'm sure she would have killed me ten times already. She clenched her fists, screwed her eyes shut, and stomped.
  "Ugh! I'm done for the night!"
  She whipped around and made her way upstairs to where the rooms were. My sigh followed her wake.
  "Um, excuse me..." came a shy voice, which surprised me, as I had completely forgotten the presence of the lady due to my argument with Illia. I turned to face the lady.
  "Yes?" answered I.
  "Forgive me, but I could not help but to overhear your conversation. Um, if it pleases you, would you explain to me what your argument was about? It seemed important." She looked at me with eyes radiating such pureness and honesty that I could not refuse. Thus, I explained our predicament, disclosing the truth about Nazren's destruction at the hands of the dark knight.
  "Ah, if only I had known..." she mumbled to herself.
  "What do you mean?" I inquired, curious.
  "I had actually visited Nazren just yesterday. If I had even the slightest idea of what might have happened, I would have stayed to help."
  "How could you have helped? I don't mean to be rude, but I don't think you could have fought against him."
  At this, she appeared to become indignant. She looked at me with an excited fire in her eyes and said, "I will have you know that I am a proud magician of the Ize family!" Something about "Ize" caused another tickling sensation within my skull and I tried to dig through my mind to find out what it reminded me of, but to no avail.
  "I see," came my response, which seemed strangely indifferent to her status.
  "Oh. Well, are you not surprised?"
  I blinked. "For some reason, I'm not."
  "Oh." She seemed to be slightly disappointed with my reaction. I did not wish to perturb her so I attempted to keep the conversation going with the hopes of ending it on a high note.
  "Well, since you're a magician, I see what you mean by perhaps having been able to help. What sort of magic do you know?"
  "All kinds!" she exclaimed. The playful fire in her eyes were sparked once more. "I know household magic, duelling magic, theatre magic, and even magic games! Surely I would have been able to take on the knight!"
  I laughed nervously, for images of the slaughter that I had seen in the vision barged into my mind. "Perhaps, perhaps."
  Abruptly, the lady changed the topic: "Say, what is your name? Ah, wait, I apologize, I should introduce myself first. I am Jillian of the Ize family. Who might you be?"
  "I'm Dameon," said I. "I'm pleased to meet you."
  "As am I," she said with a nod that again radiated such politeness it felt as though she had bowed instead.
  "I think I'm going to make up with my friend now. Good night."
  Jillian waved as I left to attempt to reconcile with Illia.