Atop a cliffside, a tall man gazes out towards the dark sea, the surrounding winds whip into a frenzy. His overshadowed face remains hidden, but his body stands straight and firm. A distance away, Axel Reyes, twenty-four years old, blocks his face against the harsh wind gusts. Thunder echoes from above, reverberating through his body.

“Who are you?!” Axel tries to scream out.

The wind drowns out his attempts at shouting. Out in the darkness, past the figure, several ships face each other. Bells chime to signal them to prepare for battle. Rain pours from the sky, pelting Axel’s face when he tries to push himself forward.

“What’s going on?!” Each wind gust drives his momentum backwards, his feet sliding across the damp grass. Unable to get his bearings, Axel squints his eyes with his right hand above them trying to deflect the rain.

Another figure shimmers into view with a sword drawn above his head. The figure lunges at the first shadow man, bringing the sword into a deep swing downward. A loud metallic sound rings out over the wind. The shadow man counters with his own sword, driving back his attacker. In front of Axel’s eyes, the battle between the two grows fiercer, the swings hit harder and faster each time they attack. Both sides deliver equal blows of power. A sudden shift in the shadow man’s stance gives an opening for the attacker to kick them off balance, right onto their back. A sense of urgency overtakes Axel. He redoubles his efforts to try to make it towards the two figures. However, the wind keeps holding him back creating a invisible barrier he can’t break through.

The attacker approaches with their sword ready to strike. He proceeds to bring it down, knocking the shadow man’s weapon away from him. A drop of rain hits the sword’s metal blade, its tip a few inches away from the shadow man’s throat. Around the attacker a menacing dark aura projects itself outwards drowning the area in a deep spine-chilling pressure.

“Stop it!” A sense of desperation fills Axel’s mind. He struggles continue to be in vain with helplessness overtaking all his senses.

Past both individuals, cannon fire erupts from the ships out over the ocean. From the ocean’s abyss, a sea of flames rises between both sides, consuming everything around it. In the sky two deep red animalistic eyes glare down at the destruction.

Pressure forces Axel to his knees. In front of him both figures shimmer, frozen in place for a moment, then melt away into the darkness. A deep growl carries in the wind, but Axel tries to reach out again.

Loud bird chirps rise from outside a bay window, early sun rays leak through a partially open curtain. Axel’s eyes snap open, his upper body bolts upright in bed. Through his labored breathing, his eyes dart around the room in confusion. Sweat runs down the sides of his face, dripping onto his blanket. Taking a moment to collect himself, Axel takes in a deep breath then exhales to calm his racing heart. He falls back onto his bed.

“That strange dream again,” he wipes the sweat from his forehead, averting his gaze up to the ceiling. “This is starting to annoy me.”

A tan striped cat jumps onto his bed, rubbing her body against his side, purring. Axel pets her.

“Sera, its that same dream but now it…,” he trails off and rubs his head. “Never mind.” Carefree, Sera jumps off from his lap.

Axel shakes his head to clear any unwanted thoughts. Freshly motivated, he jumps out of bed, almost falling over a stray cat toy. He turns to Sera, who yawns curled up on his desk. Not missing a beat, he changes into a set of loose blue pants with a clean white shirt. Twisting his back in both directions, the routine of stretches helps to loosen the tight muscles all over Axel’s body. Lastly, he stretches both arms over his head to build up the flexibility.

Before leaving his room, Axel pulls a light blue jacket from the back of his desk chair. He throws it over his shoulder, while striding down a dimly light hallway. On the left side table by the stairs sits a picture of a baby Axel in the arms of an older man, kneeling by a small patch of flowers. The man smiles warmly towards the camera, but young Axel wears a pouty scowl face.

Axel pushes himself through bush and tall grass, stumbling into a small opening with a few thick fallen branches. A slight breeze rustles leaves, snapping some of the smaller branches. He raises his bronze sword, aligning himself with a nearby tree truck. Multiple deep indents in the tree bark show a history of strikes over a long period of time. Sliding his feet to the left, Axel lunges forward striking the tree with alterative hits. Left. Right. Left. Left. Right. From above, leaves enter his field of vision. Axel switches postures, with a jump, he tries to lift himself upwards at the lowest leaf. Each strike sends leaves down from above, he brings his upper body to a swing, aiming at a group of them. The bronze sword swipes to the left in a complete circle. Excited to see the results, Axel watches but instead of splitting, the leaves gently land on the ground still in one piece.

This improv training continues for twenty minutes. Repeatedly, he tries to split the leaves when they reach his eye level but each time nothing happens. He tries to recollect himself but can feel the frustration building inside. Behind him, a medium size bird lands on a nearby branch. A falctor with a large frame and light blue silverish feathers on its wings, stares at Axel’s back.

A loud squawk echoes, breaking the moment of Axel’s concentration. During a lunging swing, the noise throws Axel off balance. He crashes back onto the ground from the backwards momentum. Pain shoots through his body up to his head.

“You again?” Axel struggles to his elbows and twists around to stare at the bird. The falctor gives him a deep stare. Squawk. Squawk. Its wings spread in a mocking manner. “So, you think this is funny?”

“Kik-kik-kik!” It hops to a lower tree branch and flaps its wings again.

“Grrrrrr.” He jumps up and reaches out to the branch it’s on. At the same time, the falctor pushes the branch back and takes off into the sky. Flexing from the bird’s weight push off, the branch flings forward right into Axel’s face.

The force throws Axel back into a stumble. He clutches his nose with tears filling the corner of his eyes. A short distance away the falctor lands on a higher branch. “Kik-kik-kik!”  Axel takes off at the same time as the bird takes flight again. The cat and mouse chase ensues. Through the trees the falctor swishes and glides between the lower branches. Behind, Axel tries his best not to fall too far behind. Moments later, Axel’s feet meet the sand line of the beach. Waves crash over the sand before retreating into the choppy ocean. Up in the air, the falctor uses the sun to cover its trail, disappearing. From sudden changes in light, Axel becomes momentarily blinded. He moves his hand over both eyes to get a clear view of the beach. His eyes scan the shorelines and catch a glimpse of a small figure further down the beach.

“What the...”

He walks towards the figure and makes out the image of an unconscious man. Axel picks up the pace into a sprint. A man lays motionless, face down on the sand. His clothes are in tatters, shredded in multiple places. A few scratches cover his pale face, arms and legs. Blood streams from open deep cuts on the bottom of his feet, and forearm. Between the cuts, small burns also cover most of his neck, left upper arm and ankles. Axel knees down, shaking his shoulder.

“Hey, are you alive?”

A huge wave washes over the man, pushing him further onto the sand. Axel struggles to flip him onto his back and secures him by his armpits. With a strong effort, he grits his teeth while pulling Ryo’s body away in short heaves from the ocean’s waves. “I really hope you aren’t dead. How do I explain a random dead body to the Mr. Yasgnir?” Axel groans with each short pull.

A safe distance away, Axel checks on him again. From his wrist, he feels a weak fading pulse.  The man’s chest barely rises with no fresh air intake. Axel places his hands on Ryo’s chest, beginning compressions trying to improve his breathing. Moments later, he jolts to his side, coughing up a lot of water. Color slowly returns to his face. Intense pain overtakes his senses, temporarily paralyzing him from moving. Through each pulse of pain, his consciousness wanes in and out.

“Fire…des…troy.” The man gasps to take fresh air.

“What?” Axel leans over. “What fire? Hey! Hello?”

Ryo’s head slumps to the side, his consciousness fading away again.

“What in the world?” Axel surveys his surroundings. An empty beach gives no sign of any other presence besides them. He notices next to Ryo’s clenched left hand, a shining item buried in the sand. Axel picks up a silver flame necklace, undamaged.

“First my dream, now this?” Axel musters up all of his strength, he shifts the left arm around his neck. He hoists him into an upright position, proceeding to drag him back to his house. “You better not be dead by the time we get back.”

A short distance away watching the scene, the falctor perches on a rotten fallen tree stump. Its keen eyes stare in Axel’s direction, then it takes off to the sky, heading towards the open ocean.