Mark of the Rising Sun

I had the dream again, but this time it was more subdued, as if I was only watching it and not living it. Hope was there too, and she protected me from the effects. I saw things in greater detail. The three others were a woman and two men, and each of them had the same mark somewhere on their bodies, that of a rising sun. I still could not make out any faces, but knew that these people must be important.

When the dream ended, I found myself lying on a bed that, I got the feeling, I had slept on before. Images flashed by of me and the woman in here, playing and getting tucked in at night. I climbed out of the bed and called out in my mind Hope, where are you?

Look in the mirror, above your right shoulder. Came a reply. I looked and sure enough, a miniature Pegasus was flying nearby. I can change my size and form to make things easier. This way I can stay with you even in buildings and won’t draw attention to myself.

I nod, relieved, and set about finding the answers I needed. Using the various images, which I guessed were pieces of my memories. The Greens were waiting in the living room, and I sat in a chair facing them. Then I waited. None of us seemed to know what to say. At last I spoke, “I need some answers, what happened to me?”

They spoke in rushed voices for a moment trying to talk over each other. Then, the woman spoke, “We don’t know how you found us, but we need to know before we can tell you anything.”

I shake my head confused, but I explained to them anyways. I told them everything I had done to find them and my frustration on not succeeding. There was the explanation of the symbol and that I had no trouble after finding it.

They looked at themselves and smile. The man spoke up, “So you are a witch after all. We sorry you had to go through this.” The two of them took turns explaining everything that had happened and why my memories had been erased. “It’s just so rare for powers to manifest after the ninth birthday. It almost never happens.”

Thinking about it, they had probably made the right call. They were playing it safe. It didn’t make things any easier though. When all was said and done, I only had one question, “What about my dreams? What can you tell me about them?”

By the looks on their faces, I could tell they knew nothing about the dreams. They must have started after the wipe. I explained it all to them, leaving out no details, including the parts with Hope. I didn’t tell them about her being a familiar yet. It would have been too much to handle. I just kept to the basics.

The end of my explanation was met with silence, and I thought they were as stumped as I was. I was half-right. “We don’t know what it means, but we know someone who can help. We’ll go see her tomorrow. In addition, we will e-mail the Wizardry Council and let them know what happened. They should be able to take care of everything with your foster parents and all that.” Then she added, “We’re glad you are home.”

Bolstered by the news that I might find out about my dreams the next day, I asked, “Can the Council restore my memories too?”

The answer was plain as day on my parents’ faces, “We’re sorry, but once a memory has been removed, there is no way to retrieve it again. We will just have to make new ones eh?”

Overcome with emotion, I excused myself and ran to my room. I flopped down on my bed and worried about the next day, the future, and many other things that were out of my control. I was happy to be home though, and pensive about the woman who might be able to help me out. I was hoping that she would be able to give me a reason for my dreams and an answer to all that Hope had told me. Eventually, I fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, I awoke with a smile, more refreshed and happy than I had in months. Things were finally turning around. I bounded down the stairs to find breakfast waiting for me. I grabbed a plate full of bacon, egg, and hash browns and began to see if I could inhale it.

My mom laughed, “My aren’t we in a good mood today. Slow down and live a little.” I smiled and slowed down a fraction and my mom continued. “We have an appointment with Madame Luxley today at two. We have also heard back from the council, and they have set everything in order. You are officially our daughter again. They apologized as well for your memories and hope the wipe didn’t harm you too much.”

` I nod, “What’s done is done. We can’t go back and change things, so we just move on.” Agreement follows that small speech. “Now to a new life that is full of possibilities.” We toasted to that with glasses of orange juice.

Afternoon couldn’t come quickly enough; the morning seemed to stretch on forever. Finally, the time came to go to Madame Luxley’s place. We piled into the car and drove to the outskirts of town. When we arrived, the place certainly wasn’t what I was expecting. The building was ramshackle; the roof looked like it leaked, several windows were boarded up, and it needed a coat of paint badly. If it wasn’t for the faded sign that said, “Madame Luxley, soothsayer” I would have thought we were in the wrong place. As it was, I was reluctant to go in.

With some trepidation, I entered. I wondered if I was just transported to another place. The inside was luxurious and much bigger than it looked from the outside. I stared in amazement, my mouth hanging open. After composing myself, we continued forward.

A female voice came out of nowhere, “Welcome to mystery mansion my friends.” As if in answer to my unasked questions, she explained, “The outside is enchanted for Norms, trying to scare them off. It doesn’t always work though. The ones who do make it in, think it is a trick done with mirrors.”

The woman appeared from behind a curtain and waved us forward. “Come, come, we have much to discuss.” We followed her into a room that had books piled everywhere. Every empty space contained books except four chairs. We sat down in the chairs and waited.

The woman spoke again, “I know why you have come. The young one has had a terrible dream, and would like it analyzed.” I agree. “Very well, please explain your dream, and leave nothing out.”

So, I explained the dream to her, giving all the details I could remember. When I explained that the dream had changed from time to time she gasped, but did not interrupt. I concluded with the final time, the evening before, and explained about the mark. She seemed to expect this and nodded her head.

There was a silence following my monologue as they all digested my story. The woman got up, went to a pile of books, and started sifting through them. Then, she grabbed one and placed the rest back. She held up the book and asked, “Is this the mark you saw?” I gave the book a glance, and to my astonishment, it was. I bobbed my head. She groaned, “I thought so, can you read this?”

She handed me the book and I opened it. Picking a page at random, I tried to read it. The words were in no language that I had ever seen, but as soon as I concentrated, the translation became clear. “Yes mam, I can.”

A sliver of fear showed on her face, but it vanished again almost as quickly. She spoke in a hushed voice. “You might want to get comfortable, it is a long story.” Luckily, the chairs were comfortable and we were determined to hear the soothsayer out until the end, no matter what it may cost us.

“The story goes back millions of years, long before humans ever walked the earth. There were two races, one, a force of light and goodness, the other a force of evil and darkness. For a long time, they clashed together, fighting for control of the planet. Neither side could gain an upper hand as both were evenly matched. Their fighting changed the form of the planet and desolated it.”

“At some point, the two forces agreed to a ceasefire, when they saw what their war was doing to the land. With the decision made, both sides faded into the background and watched as the planet rebuilt itself, grew strong, thrived. Soon it was as lush and beautiful as ever before.”

“Humans came and became the next dominant power on the earth. Both sides watched silently as humanity grew and strengthened. When it became clear that the human would be powerful, the light side tried to recruit some.” I opened my mouth to speak, but my answer came immediately. “Before you ask, that is where magic came from. The darkness, seeing that the truce was over, began the battle anew, attacking the humans and light side relentlessly.”

“Seeing as the war would spin out of control again at any time and destroy the world, the two sides met. It was decided immediately that both sides would choose four powerful warriors and have them fight for the freedom of the world. Whichever side won, would have control of the earth for a thousand years. The others would go into hiding until the time had elapsed. The demons selected four of their best, and the light took four of theirs. The light side found a loophole and bound four human spell casters to the warriors of light.”

She took a moment to pause before continuing. “The human wizards, or witches, all bore the same mark so they could distinguish one another, and so their foes could as well. No one else can be harmed in the fighting. The mark is called the mark of the rising sun, and looks like that.” She said, pointing to the book in my hands. “You will find the same mark somewhere on your body if you have not already. When linked to a human, the warrior of light is called a familiar, and they are linked until they die.”

She looked at me, “From the looks of it, you have already come in contact with your familiar, that is good. The longer you have together, the stronger you will become. Each familiar embodies one of the four elements: fire, earth, wind, or water. Normally the witch or wizard has better control of one of these elements, but the leader can use all four easily.”

“How do you know who is meant to lead? When can I expect to be attacked? How will I find the others?” I had so many questions.

“Most you will need to find out for yourself. As for when you may expect an attack, it could be at any time. Some of your fellows might have already engaged the enemy, but I doubt it. The fighting doesn’t usually start until the leaders are uncovered, and all are somewhat trained. Do not expect to remain untouched until you finish school though, remain vigilant and steadfast.”

“What about the dreams though?” I asked, “You still haven’t explained those.”

“Those are a possible future, what will happen if you fail your mission. The dark forces are relentless and unforgiving. It will be a horrible 1000 years, and you will witness it all if you lose.”

The room became eerily quiet for a time as that sunk in. She continued talking about the subject for a long time, only pausing to drink tea. When she finished, I was left with a giant knot in my stomach. This was too much for me, people were counting on me. I wouldn’t let them down though. Of the countless battles over the ages, the light had lost a handful, and it always nearly led to the extinction of the human race.

With grim determination, I made my decision. I would do my duty and fight. I would not let my future happen. As we turned to go, I tried to hand the book back to Luxley, but she refused. “It may be of some use to you in the days ahead. Guard it well. Only those with the mark can read it, but it is one of a kind. Good luck to you and your allies. Don’t let the world down kid.”

We left for home, and I was carrying a heavy burden. I’m not talking just about the book either. The fate of the world rested on my shoulders. Sensing my feelings, my parents left me alone to my thoughts. I went to bed wondering how in the hell I was going to get through the ordeal, and what I would be like when the battle was won, one way or another.