Jen
“Jen, wake up.” Master Harrak’s harsh voice woke me immediately. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. No light streamed in through my window. What could my history teacher want in the middle of the night? I got out of bed and bowed to him.
“Yes, Master Harrak?”
“Get dressed, then go to the Tower. Seer Gallan is waiting for you.” Master Harrak left as silently as he came, shutting the door behind him. For a second I stood in the center of the room, unable to move. What would the seer want with me? I whirled and jerked open the closet doors. I pulled on my clothes, not even paying attention to what I was putting on. All my clothes were the same anyway. I grabbed my cape and ran out the door. I ran as fast as I could down the corridor, up a flight of stairs, took the second right, third left, up another flight of stairs, through a courtyard, and through an arched hallway. I skidded to a stop in front of the Tower door. Despite the run, my breathing was even and my heart beat was regular. I put on my black cape and took a deep breath. I looked down and realized with horror I had forgotten to put on shoes. “Jen, you idiot,” I muttered. I stood indecisively before the door. If I went back for my shoes, I would be very late. But going in without them would be extremely disrespectful to the seer. The choice was taken out of my hands when the door opened. The seer knew I was here. I sighed and started up the Tower steps. All four thousand of them. The stairway curved upwards before me, disappearing into the darkness. I held out my right hand and a white ball of fire appeared floating over my hand. It gave no heat or smoke, only light. I started out sprinting up the stairs, then walking, then trudging. I had to stop and rest twice, but I eventually made it up stairs. I stopped at the top and doubled over, trying to compose myself before I was before Seer Gallan.
“Quite a workout, isn’t it?” I looked up and saw a man around sixty standing in front of me. He was small and frail looking, but I knew he was a powerful Magi. I bowed to him while trying to move my cape so it hid my bare feet. “I already know.” I looked up.
“Master?” I questioned. He laughed.
“I am a seer, Jen. I knew you would come quickly, and without shoes. So stop worrying about it.” He clapped me on the back and led me to the center of the circular room. A simple table and two chairs stood in the exact center of the room. A bed was against the wall and next to it was a small cupboard, but other than that the room was empty.
“Sit, Jen.” I obediently sat down in one of the chairs while Seer Gallan sat in the other. “Do you know why I sent for you?” he asked.
“My dream?” Seer Gallan nodded.
“Among other things. Why don’t you tell me about your dream, starting with when you first dreamed it.” I took a deep breath. I did not want to do this. I should never have told anyone about my recurring dream. “It’s all right Jen” he said when I hesitated. “It is alright. Tell me.” I looked down, studying the table.
“I…I first had the dream when I was three years old, my first night at the Institute. Since then, I have had it at least once a month. Sometimes, when I’m stressed or worried, I can have it once a week.”
“Have you ever had it two nights in a row?”
“Yes. I was sick when I was ten years old. For a week I could not move from my bed. Most of the time I was delirious. All the time I was out, I had the dream. Continuously.”
“What was the dream?” I didn’t answer. Seer Gallan touched my shoulder, bringing my gaze back to his. “What is the dream?” I retuned my gaze to the table. I felt so cowardly, so ashamed. Because my dream had nothing scary, nothing really disturbing, that would cause me to fear it like I do.
“My dream begins with me walking along a road. It’s a dirt road leading straight through some thick woods.”
“Have you seen this before?”
“No. I know it only from my dream.”
“Continue.”
“The forest is beautiful. Sunlight streams through the leaf cover. But as I walk further, things slowly begin to change, so slowly that I do not notice. The sunlight disappears. The trees become black and twisted. A thick fog obscures my vision after a few feet. The landscape that I do see becomes eerie and…alien. Eventually I come to a clearing. A farmhouse looms to the side of the road. It’s large, but old. And dark. I walk further and eventually come to a lake. The surface is almost black and there are absolutely no ripples. The lake is circular, and some dark reeds grow on the other side, just barely visible through the thick fog. For some reason, I try to see beneath the opaque surface. I am looking for something, but I don’t know what. A broken down fence is on my left and on it a black cat sits beside a large raven. The only thing moving in the scene is the cat’s tail as it twitches. I turn around and see a field of corn.” I stopped. I wasn’t sure if I could tell the next part. Not only was I embarrassed that this terrified me, I was not sure if I could force the words past my throat. Telling my dream seemed to drag it from the world of dreams into my world.
“Jen. Look at me Jen.” I looked at him. “What did you see in the corn?” I stared at him, not seeing him, but seeing the cornfield.
“Scarecrows. I see scarecrows,” I whispered.
“Why do these scarecrows frighten you?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that I wake up either in a cold sweat or screaming.” I was still whispering, but my voice had grown stronger.
“Is there any more to the dream?” I shook my head. Seer Gallan leaned back in his chair and folded his hands on the table, his eyes closed. For several minutes neither of us spoke. I waited for Seer Gallan to dismiss my dream as the idle workings of my mind. Please let him say that. Or that I’m crazy. Being crazy is infinitely better than my dream actually meaning something, or even worse, being an actual place. Finally he opened his eyes. He got up and went to the cupboard and pulled out two cups and a pitcher. He poured some water from the pitcher into both cups and set one before me. He returned the pitcher before sitting back down.
“Your dream is only one of the reasons I sent for you. As seer of the Institute, I also locate exceptional students. And you are one of them.” I stared at him open mouthed. Me? It took me two years to even be able to levitate anything. I struggled to memorize spells and I had almost the slowest reaction time of anyone in my class. How could I be exceptional? I started to explain this to Seer Gallan.
“Seer, I do not see how I am-” He cut me off.
“Yes, I know you have struggled, but that is why you are exceptional. The Magi who can perform spells easily forget them just as easily. But you remember every spell you ever learned. Your stamina is amazing. I have never seen anyone perform as many spells in a row as you do. And your slow reaction time comes more from you debating which spell to use. Most students use the same spell over and over, but you vary your attacks. Yes, you are exceptional, and with further training you can be truly astounding.” I was by now openly gaping at him. He had to mistake me for someone else. But I hoped he hadn’t. I desperately wanted to be the person he described. I wanted to be powerful. I imagined what it would be like to be one of the most powerful men in the world. His next words broke me out of my dreams.
“And then there is the matter of seeing your future.”
“Seer?”
“The Headmaster wants me to look into your future.” He frowned. “I do not like doing this. Seeing things as they come to me is one thing, but purposefully looking into someone’s future can be…invasive. I may see things you do not want me to see or tell you things you do not want to know. But the Headmaster has ordered me to, so there is nothing either of us can do to change it. Understand?” I nodded, but inwardly I was not as calm. I heard of people who had their futures looked into. One was kicked out of the Institute and exiled to the Waste Lands. Another never spoke to anyone ever again. I even heard of one who committed suicide because of what was seen in his future. But going against the Headmaster was unthinkable. I would be lucky to be exiled. More than likely I would be publicly executed as an example to future rebels. It’s no wonder what I decided.
“How do we do this?” I asked.
“You do nothing,” he replied. “Just don’t move.” He stared straight at me as all expression left his face and he stopped breathing. A few seconds later his eyes rolled back in his head so only white showed. I grimaced, but tried not to move. A minute passed. Ten minutes. An hour. I was reciting spells in my head and trying to think of ways to combine them. I was wondering what would happen if you froze half a man’s blood and boiled the other half when Seer Gallan woke up. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he stared at me with an astonished expression.
“Uh, Seer Gallan? Are you alright?” He nodded slowly and cleared his throat.
“I am fine. Disturbed, but fine.” Disturbed. The seer looked into my future and he was disturbed. That could not be good.
