Chapter 31: The Dream
Emptiness, a dark and empty place is where he found himself. His body felt ethereal, as if he was not actually there or as if he was in a dream.
In the darkness I find a single light, the Moon deer waiting and staring at him, "Where… where am I?"
He received no answer, it merely continued to stand there. Darius tried to take a step and find that there was something solid under his feet. Gingerly he made his way towards the deer. As Darius got close, the deer began to glow violently, nearly blinding him.
While his eyes were closed, Jhandis's words came back to him. "Darius come on, focus… wait Darius?" Inwardly he began to think, Looks like I've been using that name for too long, I'm starting to forget my own. While thinking, the light began to fade, and Darius could open his eyes again.
A familiar house, full of many beds left in disarray, a small and disorganized library in a corner; it looks just like a place Darius lived in for a few years of his young life.
After a moment, Darius chose to run outside to the front of the house. The front face revealed a small sign that read, Ms. Marie's House for the Misfortunate.
"This is the orphanage, but why am I here? Where's the griffin?" It had been years since Darius had even thought of the place, yet there it was in front of him, clear as day.
It was during his time of extreme confusion, that Darius saw them. A man of average height but stocky build, with light brown skin was walking along with a short woman with dark tan skin, and a sharp piercing glare that he could never forget.
"Darius… Kiley?" It had been years since he'd seen them, around the same time he had last seen the orphanage, but what were they doing back there? They were extremely close and saying something, but Darius couldn't hear them. He tried touching them, but he merely went through them. Just like a ghost, he could see but could neither touch nor hear them, let alone speak to them.
Darius wanted to explore some more, see if any of his other friends were in the area, but the moon deer appeared beside him. It started to light up violently, clueing Darius in that his time was up.
"Wait! Wait! Just a few more minutes, please!" A flash of light forced Darius to close his eyes. When Darius opened them up again, he's back with Kristina and Jhandis. A feeling of longing and excitement, enveloping his body.
"That was a rush, Kristina was it the same for you?!" It was Darius first experience with magic that hadn't left him dazed, confused, or unconscious, so it got bonus points for that.
"It was nothing like I've ever experienced before, I can say that. At least we found out where the griffin is." Darius had completely forgotten the point of their journey here. It must have shown on his face because Kristina looked at him with a smile. "You lost your focus didn't you? Mr. clear mind couldn't keep his from getting distracted?"
Darius knew he shouldn't be mad but couldn't help getting a little red in the face, "Don't start!"
Kristina, through fits of laughter, eventually managed to say, "Jhandis, thank you for the help, and I'd also like to apologize. There are multiple sides to every story, and I really don't know enough about yours to cast judgement. While I don't think we'll ever really see eye to eye, I can at least understand that the man you are now, regardless of whoever you may have been before, may actually be a good man."
"Am I?" Jhandis asked, reaching to hold onto his medallion. "If you can call me a good man, maybe you are a worse judge of character than I thought."
Kristina was going to respond, but a shoulder touch from Darius stopped her. "We'll be taking our leave, goodbye Jhandis, I hope we can meet again." Darius then held out his hand to shake Jhandis's.
"And may our next meeting bring fortune to us both," Jhandis said, returning the gesture.