An Imperial Blessing

Suspicious Dreams

Sweat trickles down my body as I jolt awake from my nightmare. Recently I have had more frequent dreams. A kingdom in flames with people screaming and children crying. And at the center of it all, a singular form. Whether it was a person or some other figure, I could never tell. All I knew was every time I dreamt of it I felt a cold chill down my spine and heard whispers. I can never tell what they were saying, only that it was some form of incantation. I got up to go to wash my face in my water pot. Standing there looking at my reflection my black hair looks ragged and tattered and my eyes have dark bags under them as I had not gotten any sleep over the past few days. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get the feeling of that form out of my mind. "It's just a dream," I told myself. Returning to my bed to lay down, I shut my eyes trying to think of anything except the figure. After about an hour passes I just plain give up and get ready for the day.

My name is Brontar, I live with my Aunt Natferri. My parents died when I was three, and she was the next person in line to raise me. No one ever told me how my parents died, only that they died a quick and painless death. Whether they were killed or died of some natural cause I could never figure out, but always was questioning. Either way, I still had to follow the same routine as any other kid in my kingdom: go to school, come home, go to sleep. People in Lakros tried to live very quiet lives for the most part. The Drakens outside of the kingdom have excellent hearing, and if they hear someone come to close to the kingdom wall they will try to break it down. Normally that wouldn't be an issue but after the Imperial Knights fell, the Drakens had become much stronger. People tell stories all the time about how the kingdom used to live in peace. Then one day the Drakens appeared. They used to ravage the kingdom and kill anyone they came across. Then the Imperial Knights showed up. Supposedly the Knights were the Drakens most powerful enemy. The Knights used to fight valiantly and without fear. It was said that a single Knight was enough to match a hundred Drakens. Then, all of the sudden a massive Draken queen appeared. After she appeared the Drakens' strength increased tenfold and so did their numbers. The Knights sent everyone they had to try and eradicate her. Some say they succeeded, and others say they failed. The only thing for certain was that every Knight but one was killed. His name was Nothuil, he now lives alone in his home. He doesn't come out much or say anything to anyone really. He only comes out to buy himself food and to refill his water bowl. I don't blame him. All of your friends die and now it's just you, I would feel the same. Either way, he doesn't try to defend us. Even though an Imperial Knight is powerful, a single Knight stands no chance against the whole of the Drakens. No citizen knows what they look like, and no Knight dares expose them to such an atrocious image. The only thing we know about them is that they're big, fast, and unrelenting. "Brontar" my Aunt calls, "Time to go to school." "Great," I think to myself. "Coming Aunt Natferri" I reply as I make my way downstairs.