I jolted to awareness, sitting up rapidly in the predawn light, breath heaving. I’d had terrible dreams, fading from my mind already. I remembered… violence. Pain. An all encompassing hunger, a void that had nearly swallowed my soul, just before I’d woken. I ran a hand through my hair, damp with sweat though the morning air was chilly. I took a few calming breaths, whispering to myself “Just a dream…” With a long exhalation, I looked around.

  I was laying near the smoldering remains of the campfire, smoke curling from the ashes. I cracked my neck, glancing over at Vera, leaning up against her own pack across the fire. One hazel eye cracked open, peering at me before she sat up, rousing herself with a shake. “Morning. Bad dreams?”

  I blinked, yawning. “Indeed, and fairly intense. How’d you know?”

  Vera grunted as she clambered to her feet, stretching. “You were tossing and turning, mumbling in your sleep. Don’t worry, nothing embarrassing,” she chuckled quietly.

  I only nodded in response, trying to recall more of the strange dreams, but they were only fleeting wisps to my mind. Instead, I focused on the previous evening’s events. I’d eaten until I could stomach no more, and we had briefly discussed a watch plan for the night before I’d passed out. Vera had set up some enchanted alarm line around the clearing, which would warn us of anything approaching in advance this time. She’d not had a chance to set it out earlier, and she’d sheepishly admitted to forgetting about it. The rest of the night had passed in blessed quiet. But I was more concerned about how the fight with the strider’s had gone, and how my powers seemed to be manifesting.

  “You ever fought shade striders before?” I asked, glancing up at Vera as she spooled up the alarm wire.

  She shook her head ruefully. “No, but I’ve heard of ‘em. Nasty things, and quick too. Even managed to scratch me, no mean feat.” She held up a forearm, indicating a series of bright pink scratches marking her magenta skin.

  I raised my brows and whistled. “Damn. No wonder it shredded my greaves.” I glanced down at the sorry remains in question, sighing. I’d never imagined how frequently I’d need to repair my armor, and the cost made my heart ache. Never mind my actual pants below the greaves, exposing a rather risque amount of skin when not covered by the armor, which I’d just have to deal with until we reached Parma, where I could attempt to patch them.

  “But I managed to harvest a single essence shard, so a damn good day’s work I’d say.” Vera fished out a tiny sparkling shard of purple crystal out of her purse, glinting in the growing light. My eyes widened, the condensed mana in the shard would go for a good price, even if it was quite small for such a powerful creature. Essence was the heart of trade, in the Brazian Triumvirate certainly, but also across the entire continent as well. It fueled glyphs, and was the key to creating a core binding, making it extremely sought after. I glanced over at the piled remains, considering.

  “During the fight… I… well I’m not sure what happened, exactly. I felt… or I’m not sure how to describe it” I fumbled for the right words to describe the strange vision, as Vera watched me, waiting patiently. “I just felt this instinct to move, and when it almost pounced, it was like everything slowed down, and I knew I would die if I didn’t kill it immediately. Does that make sense?”

  At this point Vera’s eyebrows were threatening to crawl into her hairline, and she crossed the clearing to crouch nearer to me, motioning for me to continue, saying “I think so, but keep going.” Her voice remained carefully neutral.

  “So, the strider, it was sort of… glowing, when I focused on it. And when it attacked, I just acted on instinct, and managed to dodge it. It was like I was being warned.”

  Vera stared at him for a moment, before letting out a short, sharp laugh. “Well burn my hide, that’s something.” She stood, fiddling with one of her short braids. “Can you do it again?” She suddenly asked, facing me abruptly.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  I raised my own eyebrows this time, before furrowing them in thought. “I don’t know… It just sort of happened. I don’t remember really doing anything.”

  Vera nodded, pacing now. “I suppose that would be normal for newly awakened magic… Ha! What am I talking about? I know fuck all about what’s normal for this shit. What I mean is, it’s normal to not understand how to activate your powers at first. But that’s for an ogre. We don’t have to study spell forms, or meridian paths to use our magic, but most of you squishies do. So… I guess I’m saying I don’t really know what’s going on with you. But I bet if we get in some more scraps, you’ll figure it out,” she grinned savagely.

  I smiled distractedly in return. This was a lot to think about, and elation warred with burgeoning disappointment tinged with apprehension within me. I’d always dreamed of crafting spells, of calling on mana to work wonders, like the legends of the mages of the Divine War, or even like the Trinity. Though attaining those heights of power… it was said only a god could elevate a mortal to the power the Trinity wielded, which is why they ruled. But even now, I could feel no flow of mana within me, and none of the exercises for mages were working. I’d tried again the night before, just as I had without pause all day previous.

  Vera was watching me, a glint in her eyes as she grabbed me by the shoulders and lifted me to my feet. “Do you even know what this means?!”

  I only managed to answer with an “Uh…” before she shook me, grinning fiercely.

  “Bram, my friend, your wounds heal incredibly quickly, and you have some sort of battle… precognition or sense or something! I’ve only heard of that in stories, from back in the age of the gods. You have been given an incredible gift. You, my friend, are going to become one of the greatest warriors of our time!”

  I took a moment to think on it. That word, precognition, had a great deal of meaning behind it. Consequences, too. Many a grifter or would-be prophet had claimed some sort of future sight powers over the decades, and each ended the same way. Disgraced, reviled, and often executed. But the more I thought about it, the more certain I was that it wasn't the case. I just was getting a feeling of danger. But that could be a power to rival anything from the stories. And it was real, true power. My face slowly split in a wide grin, matching Vera’s. “You’re right… That it’s good, I mean. I don’t think it’s precognition, just a sense of danger. Whatever, though. I might not ever be an archmage, but I can work with this.”

  Vera’s laugh shook me viscerally. “Hells yeah you can! You and me, we’re going to kick some ass.” She clapped my shoulders once more, and after a moment, my gaze turned solemn as I realized something important.

  “Vera, thank you. I was going to be stuck at that desk for years, if not the rest of my life. But thanks to you, I’m a real adventurer now, and I’ve finally got access to… well, some kind of power. And I’ve already had an adventure. Can’t wait for more.” My gaze was deadly serious, and Vera blushed slightly before her smile resurfaced.

  “I’m just a real good judge. And I did almost get you killed… so we’re even, far as I ken. Now, let’s get out of here, those birds are probably going to attract some scavengers,” she said, jerking her thumb to where we’d left the partially butchered strider corpses.

  “Hells, that’s right! We need to get those feathers.” I grabbed my satchel and hit my knees beside the birds, plucking the delicate, void black feathers one at a time, and placing them in a small pile. “The feathers are where they store their shadow magic, and they go for a good bit of coin. Come on, help me pluck all the intact ones, and then we’ll go.”

  Vera rolled her eyes, but pulled the more intact bird aside, plucking it quickly. “How much coin are we talking?”

  “Depends on how many we get, but if there are enough, a tailor will buy the lot. I’ll have to check with Ezel on the going rate once we’re back in town, but it’ll be worth it.”

  Half an hour later, we set off, having dragged the two birds off the path and deep into the tall grasses. Hopefully far enough that other travelers wouldn’t have any issue with scavengers. I crunched on an apple as we walked, hoping to ward off any more hunger pangs. The sun was now fully up and to our backs as we headed west, dispelling the chill of the morning with its warming light. As we walked, the road wound closer to the coast, as seabirds called overhead, riding the mild breeze blowing in from the sea.

  “So, where does your mom live?” Vera asked, breaking up the monotony of the long walk.

  “At the edge of the village, farther from the shore. Luckily, this side of town though, so we can head straight there.”

  Vera raised an eyebrow. “Luckily? Looking to avoid the village?”

  I waived dismissively. “Not really, but we’ll probably be swarmed by the villagers if we head in. Not very much traffic comes out here, so they love to gossip. And, uh, they’ve definitely never seen an ogre before, so… they may be a little forward.” I finished sheepishly.

  Vera laughed, the sound mixing with the calls of the birds overhead in a joyous cacophony. “Not the first time for me. I’ll be alright, but I’m fine if we just head to your mom’s place first. It’ll be nice to set our gear down.” I had to agree; my pack wasn’t overly burdensome, in fact it was quite light on my shoulders, but the rough leather rubbed noisily against my armor, and it was beginning to grate on my good mood.

  We lapsed back into a comfortable silence as they strode along the wide, rutted road. The sun was nearing its zenith when we crested a low hill, the village and surrounding fields spreading before us. And to the north, atop a small rise sat a familiar cottage, smoke rising from the stone chimney, and I imagined I could smell bread baking even from here.

  I took in a long breath, smiling as I stepped off down the hill. “Come on. I haven’t been home in ages, I don’t want to waste any time.”