Disturbed Rest The Archmagister of Sentinel turned fitfully in his bed. His bed! It wasn't his bed, but one in the Mages' Guild where an eye could be kept on him. He coughed softly. The sheets lay tangle about his chin. His feet were uncovered. The dream came to him again, but this time, it felt terribly real. He was in a barren land, earth black and pumous-strewn. The sky was broiling with low cloud, lit red underneath. It was like Morrowwind, but no place he had ever visited. A dark wind thrashed against him, its high keening stinging his ears with bitter cold. A figure, robed and tall, stood many hundreds of yards distant on a precipice overlooking a shrouded canyon. The Archmagister tried to call out, but could not open his mouth. His lips were sealed and his voice stilled. The black figure looked out across the canyon, then turned to him as it had thrice before. Its burning red eyes bored into him, and he could see every feature in that cowled robe despite the distance, if as looking at the fatal figure through the wrong end of a spyglass. His features were noble, fierce, but now they were different. They held a strained sadness, though a hot rage flickered behind those eyes. The man was imposing, but the Archmagister of Sentinel was rooted to the spot and could not move or look away. He knew the figure did not bend his anger at himself, but still, he cowered. But this was not what made the dream terrible. Now the man's features changed subtly, the nose becoming more hooked, the eyes turning a milky gold, and the anger burning in them leapt outward, stabbing the archmage to the quick. The skin paled to a paper white, and in one upraised hand there was a great ruby giving forth a fiery light. The dream would end soon. The white man would give way to the black and the terrible image would fade. The white man stood there! He raised his other hand and pointed a damning finger at Sentinel's heart. The mist in the canyon boiled and seethed to the very lip of rock on which the archmage and terror- figure stood. The archmage struggled to close his eyes, but could only stare fixedly at the Master. The word came into his head and he knew who the white figure was. He grew cold. The dream had changed. The figure was again replaced by the black image; the dark elf. The ruby was reduced to a bright ring, a red becon held high. But the dark man's features were worn and old. Pain was etched in his cheeks and forehead. The mist enshrouding the canyon seethed, boiling to its very lip. The fatal figure burst into flame and sagged under some terrible weight. Below the mists parted and a terrible will came forth. The archmage's eyes were drawn to the abyss and beheld a great Eye, a perfect red orb set in midnight flesh. Its gaze fell upon both men. The archmage felt himself shrivel up. *** His eyes flew open. The sheets entangled his limbs and he fought desperately to free himself. The door opened quietly and an apprentice poked his head into the room. On seeing his master's state, he rushed in. "Archmagister! You were dreaming again. You are in the hospital room. You are all right." The older man could not stop wheezing. The herbalist, the best and most expensive in the province, had only been able to partially preserve his damaged lungs. The healing spells uttered by his fellow mages were able to save most of his eyesight, but the boiling quicksilver had done much evil. He would never run again, and even a climb up a flight of stairs winded him. Most caught in that deadly room were similarly affected. Three had died shortly after. Now he was struggling for breath. The apprentice brought over the prescribed smelling herbs and after some minutes, the archmage could speak. "No, I am not all right!" he rasped. "The dream was different this time. Great peril! Do not dismiss me boy! The poison has not clouded my mind as much as you believe." He lapsed into silence so deep, the boy, uncertain of his master, turned to leave. "Yes, go!" the archmage shouted. "The dream is foretelling. Hope lies between fire and abyss." The door was softly shut. <><><><><><><><><> Alduin dor Lammoth