Part 4

When Calesh woke again he was lying on his back on the green and fresh-smelling grass, looking at the blue sky with the sun’s bright light warming his face. It felt good. His first reaction was to touch his wound, but there was no more blood. He lifted his leather shirt and saw only a pinkish scar. He moved his tongue around the lips and felt no blood in it, no dryness whatsoever.  With a renewed strength, the young warrior leaped to his feet and took a very long breath of fresh air.

Memory was coming in small flashes and he looked instinctively back, but there was nothing but plains of grass and trees. He continued to scout the terrain with his eyes, now able to see for miles ahead, until he saw some big granite boulders on top of a small knoll. He was confused. Images of the valley appeared on his head, dispersed and almost unreal. He had been there, he knew. When, how and for what reason, he did not know. Closing his eyes and biting his teeth, Calesh made an effort to remember. There had been a battle; he had been wounded; he had been afraid and he had run to the valley. Why? No clue.

Covering the sun with the palm of his hand, Calesh focused on the boulders, and he saw it again: the dark-cloaked figured he had dreamed of. Only now he was certain that it was not a dream. He ran for it. Ran fearlessly with strong steps, fast and confident, stepping with grace, effortlessly like a bob-cat in mid-spring. He had no weapons with him but the sensation of power and strength made him feel unbeatable. Whoever or whatever lay ahead was no match for him.

As Calesh moved closer he felt his air rise again and he heard that buzzing sound, but he countered it with his mind and kept running faster and faster until he jumped to the nearest boulder and stared at the dark figure in front of him. They gazed each other for a few moments. There was nothing else around.

Calesh was about to shout a threat, but the old, grizzled and metallic voice of the figure caught him short: “You know the truth about the Prophecy of the Endless Fire?” Calesh didn’t answer, because he didn’t believe in it. And the voice continued: “The shadows in the sky are only the beginning, and the fires they bring are nothing but small burns on Balor’s skin. The cleansing fire will come from the ground.”

Calesh disregarded what seemed to him like the talk of a madman and jumped to the next boulder, approaching the dark figure to kick it to the ground. But when his foot whipped in a round kick it caught only smoke. He was taken off balance and fell on the hard rock, putting his hands in front of him with lightning reflexes, coiled into a defensive position, like a wild snake, ready to try another bite. But the figure had disappeared, and when Calesh looked up he only saw a shadow against the sky, and it seemed to him like large wings clouding the sun. A dragon, was his first thought. However, dragons were only fantasy tales of creative young kid’s minds.

When he straightened himself a voice echoed in his head: “you’re not the first, and you won’t be the last, Shadow Dragon. Balor is waiting for your fire. Set it a loose and reclaim Balor for its rightful owners. Fulfill the Prophecy of the Endless Fire.” And then he was alone again. Only now his head was held high and his footsteps would be strong and certain.

Copyright: 2017 by Duarte Malaguerra Nunes (SD Shytos)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.