-Chapter 1-  


    The haze was darker than the night sky, thick as the murky sea.

     She walked onward, endlessly engulfed by the inescapable shadow.

      In the darkness echoed the high-pitched voices of a requiem through the endless sea, but she could not tell in what direction they were or how far away they were. The echoes gave the impression that she was alone, but she knew this was not so.

       The haze was vast and mysterious, twisted by malice. Yet uncertainty lurked within the haze-illuminating hands that reached out to grab her, fingers stretching, melting away into nothingness.

       Finally the haze dissipated to reveal that she stood in a valley, the soil beneath her feet filled of lifeless darkness. Emitted by the shadows innumerable forms appeared, the silhouettes of many creatures lying dead before her. They were all different matters of shapes-monstrous, horrific, and terrifying-each one having the look that could be seen in a nightmarish dream. Some were still bleeding from their wounds, signifying that the creatures were recently slaughtered as if the hands of death itself had come, grasping ahold of its prize as it ripped the life out of their bodies.  

       She felt the fear crash down on her, and she could sense the pain in the air. The creatures lay no more than half-hundred yards off and fairly they were seen in the dark. Even at this distance, she could see the agony in their eyes, but she cloud not tell what slaw them.

         All she could do was stand there and stare.

          They’re all dead.

          What could have happened here? She would soon find out, but she could only stand there petrified. There was no where to go; no path to walk.

          She felt all the blood in her body was freezing. She was sweaty and sick with the knowledge that there was someone out there in the dark. Suddenly, through the darkness she spotted the shadowy figure of what look like a man near farthest end of the creatures.

          Its shape was manlike yet not human.  The figure was shape very differently from the creatures, but the darkness was too thick for her to see what it was.

          Who are you?

          The mysterious figure turned. And walked until the darkness swallowed it from her sight…

          Lenelle! Lenelle! Wake up Lenelle!

      Lenelle awoke from the covers of her bed.

     Sweat beaded at her temples and stung her eyes. She blinked quickly a few times, then took a deep breath.

     “Quickly Lenelle, Simon needs us,” said her friend Susan out loud. She had come to her room to check on her.

     Lenelle raised herself up on her bed.

     “I’ll be down.”

     “Please hurry.”

     Susan walked out the door of her room, shutting it as she left.

     “I was dreaming,” She said quietly. She had to check to be certain before she could relax. Nope…no hymning voices, no haze, no creatures.

     “Was it just a dream?” she said again. Could it have been nothing more than dream? Though she‘d had the same dream every night for the past month.

     Lenelle shook her head. The room was dim; her window emitted the early morning sun light. She pulled the bed covers to the side her. It was still far too early for most people to out of bed.

       Her body felt heavy. When she lifted her hands and feet off the bed she felt resistance as if moving through thick liquid.

       She’d first had the dream about four weeks ago. In the beginning, it was only a dream of darkness. She feared the haze, but as hard as she walked, she couldn’t find a way out. Then on the seventh night, she saw the haze dissipate to reveal the valley and awoke gasping. On the ninth night, she saw the dead bodies of the creatures. At first, they were a little more than faint shapes in the darkness, but as the dream kept recurring she’d realized that the shapes were creatures. When on the fifteenth night, she stood there motionless staring off into the darkness, until she saw the mysterious figure standing among the shadows of the creatures.

       Lenelle laid a hand on her head, and tried to comfort her uneased mind. What was that?

       What does all of this mean?  She shook her head. It was only a dream.

        Even if it haunted her sleep every night for a month, even if it progressed further each time, a dream was still just a dream. Yet regardless of how many times she would say this, her pulse would race and her throat would grow sore from her ragged breathing.

     Lenelle was mentally and physically exhausted, but at last she forced herself to get up, change into her maids outfit, and left her bedroom. The hallway had numerous rooms on each side that stretched on until it reached the stair case. Her footsteps could be heard down the wooden stairs to the dining hall where Susan and the other maids were busy.

      “Good morning,” She called out to Simon, who stood at the base of the fire well.

      “Finally up?  You’re late,” Simon said, turning to look at Lenelle. His arms were crossed, and a stern expression spread across his face.

       “Lenelle, are you feeling well? You haven’t been yourself at late, have you?”

       For a moment, Lenelle froze, unsure of what to say to Simon. Then, she took a breath, and sighed deeply in hesitation.

       “Is something the matter?”

         Lenelle kept quiet and didn’t respond to what Simon said.

       The middle age man rolled his eyes, and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Ordinarily, he would have liked to have gotten something out of her, but he could understand that she had something on her mind.

        “It’s alright, you don’t need to tell me,” Simon said as he removed his hand from her shoulder.”Now I need for you to sweep and wash the outside today. After you’re done, the tables should be clean so that you and the others can have breakfast. Just try to feel better.”

        Lenelle sighed quietly.

       “Yes, Simon,” she replied, her eyes wandering over to look out the window. The morning sky was lit in a wide array of bright colors. It was the beginning of April, and the days were warm of the coming spring.

      Lenelle lived in a tavern. It wasn’t a bad place nor a place filled with endless troubles. No, the fact that she lived there was the only reason that the tavern was her home.