Dmitry's Secondary Magic Training (Private)

After this revelation was both made and stated before the spirit, it gave him the 'mural' he had come there to see, only it was a simple piece of parchment. The cave disappeared soon after, leaving Dmitry outside on the lower cliffs to examine his prize. In it were images that supposedly pertained to his goal, as well as his future: himself walking among the spirits, a group of four unknown people whom he presumed were other mages surrounding him, a women that he would reach out to, the symbol of of his guild Lamia scale, and an ominous looking black dragon.

Unfortunately, he couldn't make any sense of the mural whatsoever, leaving him to speculate and wait for them to come and greet him in the future. On top of this, the people on the mural aside from him were somewhat blurry, making it hard to tell if he had already met them or not. The dragon however, seemed eerily familiar, making him think he might have heard of it before somewhere or maybe even seen a picture. The fact that it was next to his guild's emblem made him a bit worried, finding the positioning a bit foreboding to say the least.

Still, it didn't help to speculate on this now any more than it did when he first saw the mural. He would have no way of knowing what it all meant until it came, and that wasn't happening today in any event. For now, he had to focus on getting stronger, so that he could protect whatever it was that he came to care about. He couldn't do anything when his tribe fell, after all, he was only eight. But he wasn't a child anymore; this time, he wasn't going to lose anyone he loved. The trouble was figuring out who exactly that was, as his previous lifestyle didn't leave a lot of room for those kind of feelings.

Dmitry's eyes began to slowly shut, making him thankful that it was such a cloudy day. Without his hat, he was at the sun's mercy when it came to sleep. There wasn't a single reason he could think of to start worrying about all of that sort of stuff right now, considering how long it would likely be before any of it ever came to pass. For now, he personally believed he had earned himself a nice, long nap. Dmitry fully shut his eyes and drifted off to what he thought would be a soothing, peaceful rest for his tired body. How mistaken the young man truly was...

Walking...he was walking...walking...walking......... 


He looks to the right...then to the left.........


On all sides...the ones he has always walked with.........


Those who are a reflection...a reflection of the world...of order...without control.........


Of Nature.........


Spirits.........




He stands among them...those he protects...who protect him.........


Those who give him meaning...give him purpose...give him life.........


They are all he is...all he intends to be...all he needs to be.........


They are his power...his wisdom...his strength...his heart..........


All lost...all found...all together.........


One soul.........




He falls...he is falling...he has fallen...he shall fall.........


Consumed...drowning...engulfed...swallowed.........


Too much for him...him alone...too much...too much.........


She reaches out...he reaches back...they reach through the void...the abyss.........


Across fate...across time...across nature...across salvation.........


Hope among despair.........




Band of friends...band of heroes...band of devils...band of mortals.........


Guarded by one...guarded by many...guarded by none...guarded by all.........


Symbol of righteous fury...of divine wrath...of destructive chaos...of beautiful horror.........


Born of honor...born of tragedy...born of love...born of fear.........


Sad...happy...proud...ashamed...human.........


A home.........




The black dragon...the death bringer...the forlorn prophecy...the deity...the lie.........


Shrouded in mystery...in chaos...in carnage...in terror...in sadness.........


Power incarnate...jaws of Hell...center of devotion...servant of the epilogue.........


Exodus of souls...avatar of doom...wrath of the gods...messenger of time's march.........


Indomitable...unending...undaunted...eternal..........


End of all things.........

Dmitry shot up with a gasp, waking from the disturbing dream. 

Was that...the future? he asked himself. There was no mistaking that what he saw in that dream resembled what he saw in the mural, but far more vivid, more real. While he could make out what he saw far more easily that before, it seemed to bring up more questions than answers.

"You alright, Dmitry?" Dante asked, surprised by the sudden awakening. "You look like someone just walked over your grave." 

"Yeah...I just, uh..." Dmitry stammered, still wide eyed and panting, a cold sweat on his brow. Just what the Hell did all of that mean? Who was that woman? Where was he when she was reaching out to him? What was or would be her significance to him? He got a better look at her this time, so he would at least know who it was when he met her, although that might not be such a good thing.

There was also the matter of the people he was surrounded by, some of them familiar. Perhaps they would be making a stand in some coming battle, something that would effect his future. If so, it stood to reason that they or at least some of them would be members of Lamia Scale. But was that really all? They had to have some kind of significance in his life, seeing as these images appeared as though they came straight out of that mural. If it was the battle that was significant, then wouldn't he simply see the fighting itself or perhaps his part in it.

While Dmitry intended not to think about this too much, this dream or vision or whatever it was definitely made that harder. After seeing all of that, in such detail, putting this out of his mind was going to be next to impossible.

"Dmitry!" Dante shouted, grabbing Dmitry's attention. 

"Yeah, sorry," the mage said with an unusually reserved tone. "I'm fine, just a bad dream is all."

Dante gave him a skeptical look, not entirely believing him, but decided to let it go for now. Dmitry put a hand to his head, failing to resist the urge to ponder the vision he had against his better judgement. 

'Hey, old man,' he called to the spirit, initiating the conversation for once. 

'What is it, boy?' The wolf asked.

'You know what that thing was don't you, the dragon?' Hati was quiet for a while before responding, a behavior that Dmitry rarely observed from the normally sharp-tongued and quick-witted spirit.

'I'm not entirely sure what it was before,' he finally answered, having seen the vision through his bond with Dmitry. 'I didn't bear witness to that. What I do know is that it is called Acnologia. There are many theories surrounding it's birth, but I'm certain that it wasn't always a dragon.' Hati paused for a moment. 'It's power is...indescribable. I have seen it wipe out an army of  2,000 strong in a single breath. It is destruction incarnate. Whatever you do boy, never, ever try to fight that thing.' 

Dmitry was honestly surprised with the spirit that taught him how to fight. He had never heard the spirit speak so fearfully about anything. Of course, he was more likely fearing for Dmitry, seeing as a spirit had little to fear from death. Still, the wolf usually relished in having Dmitry go up against strong opponents, seeing it as not only a means for his protege to become stronger, but as a convenient excuse for Hati to get involved in the fight himself. For him to be so wary of the spirit mage coming into contact with this dragon spoke volumes.

Acnologia.

Dmitry had heard the name before, typically whispered by voices full of dread. It had apparently made itself known in the city of era several years ago, brandishing power unheard of by even the strongest mages. Truly, if it could shake the Great Wolf, it was something to be feared. 

But before he saw that dreaded black beast, he saw what was clearly his guild. Was there a connection? Was Lamia Scale somehow linked with the future of Acnologia? If that were true, then he was liable to face that creature anyway. It didn't matter how powerful it was or how doomed he would be upon facing it. If it came to threaten his guild, he would fight it. That was all there was too it. 

'You truly are a fool,' Hati chimed, picking up on the mage's musings. 'Aren't you boy?'

'I'm not losing the people I care about,' Dmitry responded. 'It's as simple as that.'

'It may not be up to you. But then, that never really stopped you before, did it?'

Dmitry smirked. 'I'll just have to get stronger then, won't I old man?' He said to his surrogate father, before standing up and looking to the now setting sun. There was still a lot left for him to do before he could say his goal was accomplished. While he had several people to protect now, Dmitry still required the full power to actually protect them.

"All right, padre," Dmitry said to his partner. "Let's go home." He began walking in the direction of Hargeon, ready to end his day. "Fine by me," Dante responded. "I could use some shut-eye."

And so, Dmitry Kazakov walked forward as he always had, prepared to face whatever destiny, or destinies, that awaited him in the path ahead. In the years to come, he would fight, he would laugh, and he would even cry.

He would realize who he was.