The Shadow in the Dream

Gideon led the two of them out of the underground while explaining the finder details of the plan. Their initial idea involved hiding the gunpowder in houses along the main street before detonating it as the Varokian forces passed nearby. That version of the plan was safer and wouldn't require Simon's help at all. Ultimately, however, the damage to the city would be catastrophic, many houses and buildings would be destroyed, and the risk of unnoticed civilians being caught in the blast was deemed too high. Several other options had been considered afterwards, but this was the one Sonia had settled on.

They understood that discarding morality would mean the battle would prove an absolute victory but that was not the Hethorian way. They were cold to their enemies, they would strike down evil where they saw it, but they would not forsake goodness.

Simon felt proud to be a part of the Order for the first time. He'd felt out of place till now, himself faithless and at odds with Hethoria herself, yet that didn't matter to him now. These people were fighting for their lives, they had every right to achieve victory at whatever cost they felt necessary. Even so they had decided that their foremost duty was to the people they protected, that they would refuse to even risk forsaking them.

If he had just been acting out of loyalty to Sonia and his friends before, he now acted out of genuine commitment to their ideals, regardless of his feelings on Hethoria herself. Gideon found their path back flawlessly, arriving back at the staircase before Simon had even realised it. 

The climb up the stairs was quiet, a rarity for Gideon, but perhaps understandable given the mood. The spell Simon needed to cast was not just above his own current level, it was above Gideon's and even Sonia's as well. He would need to find a way to teach Simon something that he could never achieve himself, and he had to do so in just two short weeks.

Gideon chose to break the silence between them after the door to the underground had been closed. 

"I will not pretend, Simon, that our success is certain. We're walking a tight rope, and we'll need to ensure we don't find ourselves slipping. We will not start our learning today, I need time to consider our approach. For today, rest. And I do mean rest, no more training in any way. Your objective is no longer some vague idea of getting stronger, it is now concrete and certain. Unnecessary training will get you no closer to results."

Simon nodded firmly. "I'll take the opportunity, then. I may not know how we're going to achieve this, but I have a feeling there's not much chance if I don't listen to you."

"It's appreciated Simon. Now, I do think I'm going to have a very long day." Gideon headed toward his room, trying to envision whatever plan he could to get this spell cast.

Simon for his part was left uncomfortably free. He had spent so much time in the last week just training that he didn't really know what to do with the extra time. It was still quite early in the afternoon, so heading straight to bed wasn't an option either. For now, he decided it would be best to eat and then consider the rest afterwards.

Simon spent most of the day beside Sonia's bed. Her head wound had healed by now, the bandage removed. The wound had been remarkably small for how much blood had come running out, a gash barely the size of a button. Consequently, the wound had healed well. While the skin around the wound was somewhat discoloured, it looked like the scar would be small. None of this mattered to Simon though. Sonia still hadn't stirred and every day she slept the more worried he became. He was well aware that this could be the beginnings of a coma, and found himself with desperate little assurance otherwise.

Sonia was his mentor in this world. She had been the one who taught him the basics and helped him understand them, she had been the one who had saved his life when he first arrived, and even now as she slept, she was the one whose plan they were relying on.

Hethoria had clearly explained to Simon why he had been chosen, as shallow as her reasons were. Even now, however, he truly couldn't understand why she hadn't seen Sonia as the better option. She had the skills, the training, and the experience that he lacked. He was certain that the Varokians would already be defeated had she been the one knighted instead.

Simon sighed, he had been sitting here for hours now, lost in his own thoughts. The sunset had come and gone, and nights pall now lurked outside. Deciding he had had enough feeling guilty, he began to leave the room, one last glance toward Sonia stoking his determination. He would do her proud, he would ensure it.

Simon had expected to wake in the morning and go straight to Gideon, ready and raring to begin whatever training process he had envisioned. Instead, he found himself in the familiar emptiness of the dream. He was surprised to say the least, it had been over a week since he had last been here, and with how furious Hethoria had been after their last conversation, he had expected it to be a while longer.

"Hello? Thank you for bringing me here again!" When Hethoria did not appear immediately, Simon decided to try shouting into the void for the time being. He was confused when that too failed to prompt Hethoria's arrival. Was she playing with him, he wondered. It was only when a foreboding chill ran down his spine that he remembered this had happened once before.

Simon whirled around on the spot. Two hollow white pits stared at him from within a featureless black void. Simon screamed, using what Hethoria had taught him to push himself as far away as possible. He remembered what she had said. If he made any contact with that thing, his life as he knew it would be over. Forget the cloister or the battle against the Varokians, he'd be driven so insane that none of that would even begin to matter to him.

"Hethoria! Where are you! I need your help! Please!" He shouted louder this time, making no doubt of the urgency in his tone. Hethoria did not respond.

Simon knew he had offended her yet even then could not imagine that she would leave him alone in a situation like this. Something was wrong here, he just couldn't be sure what.

Simon repeated his screams a handful times more, feeling it worth the attempt even if he expected its futility. In the meantime, his eyes never left the shadowed figure. It did not move, or was moving so slowly he couldn't begin to tell. His panic began to quell as the minutes crawled by. Slowly, as his sense of security increased, so did his curiosity. He had stopped shouting some time ago, instead observing the shadow quietly.

Hethoria had said it was some form of consciousness that had found its way into this realm by accident, despite that strange outer appearance, there was a person in there. Simon didn't get any closer but instead circled around it, trying to get a full grasp of what it was. Its eyed seemed to follow him as he did but it was impossible to really tell with its lack of definable features.

The shadow was flat. The far side of it merely a reflection of the other. It's unblinking eyes staring at him even here. There was little to glean from examining it further. It's body, like its face, showed no definition regardless of what angle Simon attempted to look at it from. 

Having gleaned all that he could, Simon began to float back to a safer distance, not wanting to risk anything for any longer than necessary. It continued to sit still, never even hinting at the slightest mobility.

The remainder of the night passed much the same way, with the two caught in a stalemate of stares. Hethoria never appeared.