Thunder and lightning. Leather heels on marble--dozens of them. Shouts in Khatanese, Halcían, and Dragonborn. Shaking walls. Flaming arrows. Destroyed defenses. Tortured screams. 

Death.

Knock, knock.

Throwing on my healer robes over my nightgown, I wrenched open the door to find Dahlroth standing at my door. He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me back inside my bedroom as Khatanese and Dragonborn soldiers stormed the hallways Castle Eismark in a never-ending flood. 

"What's happening?" I breathed. 

With a flick of his wrist, Dahlroth slammed and locked the door. He turned to me, calm urgency lacing his voice, "Listen to me. There's no time."

Shocked into silence, I nodded. 

"Rebels!" he shouted. "The Khatán Empire have teamed up with Halcían and Dragonborn rebels to confiscate Castle Eismark."

"Oh, my gods!" I cried. "We have to tell Lord Darius."

"Lord Darius has vanished, and I can no longer hear his thoughts." 

"They took him?"

His eyes burned with an icy ferocity I'd never seen. "All I know is that the Khatanese are planning a coup against the Gatál king, and we're their first target."

My eyes widened. "What will happen to the trainees when the rebels storm the castle?"

"The Khatanese are brutal occupiers. Some of them are even worse than the Gatál." Dahlroth gripped my shoulders. "If they take control, we could all die."

"We have to protect the others!"  

Dahlroth gazed at me with an icy intensity. "Lord Darius can't save us now. It's up to you now, Helena. Follow Axa. Hide with her, and the first chance you get ..." 

Dahlroth's chest began to heave. Either his magic required great effort, or the rebels were torturing him. His voice faded as he squeezed his eyes shut and roared in agony. 

I grabbed his arm, supporting him as he sank to his knees. "What? Dahlroth, what should I do?" 

Perspiration beaded on his forehead and trickled down his cheeks as his head sunk into his chest. "Come back, Dahlroth!" I shouted. "Tell me!"

With great effort, Dahlroth opened his eyes and he supported his weight by leaning against my shoulder. His breath came in heaving gasps as his eyes rolled into the back of his sockets. 

"Wake me, Kh-r-y-y-y-s-s-s-a-a-a-kh."

I bolted upright in bed to the sound of a rattling door handle and a persistent wrapping on the door. With a sigh of relief, I heard no signs of the rebel bombardment.

Yet. 

"Open up!" Axa growled in a frantic whisper. "Let me in, Helena. It's urgent."

I'd never heard those words fall from her lips before. Not even bothering with the dressing gown, I opened the door, and Axa stormed through it. 

"Get dressed, Helena. Gather your magic items. We're leaving."

"What?" I exclaimed in a hushed whisper. "Was my dream real?"

"Now!" she hissed. "There's no time!"

Axa grabbed my leather satchel and threw it on the bed. She stuffed an emergency kit into the bag as I hurriedly dressed in leather armor. When I snatched my emerald robe, Axa grasped my arm and shook her head. 

"Don't worry about the healer attire," she grumbled under her breath. "You'll need freedom of movement in case we get into hand-to-hand combat."

"What about the other trainees and the castle staff?" I cried. "If the rebels are storming the castle, we can't leave them behind."

She halted and whipped her head towards me. "How the fuck do you know about that?"

"Dahlroth told me in a dream."

"You had that vision, too?" she asked, incredulous. "At first I didn't believe Dahlroth, but he knew things about me that only Lord Darius knew. Even our secret language."

"I don't know how or why, but they're different aspects of the same person."

Axa nodded. "Dahlroth is hidden in a secret chamber, and we need to wake him now."

"There are so many powerful wizards and sorcerers. Surely, one of them--"

I can't be responsible for the deaths of dozens of Halcíans!

"Dahlroth told me that everyone who tries to wake him dies." Axa grabbed my shoulders, her reptilian pupils dilated in fear. "His curse allows only one person to touch him. All of the others freeze within seconds and perish."

Good gods! What kind of magic causes that? 

"You think I'm the one who can touch him?" I asked, incredulous. 

"That's what Dahlroth said."

"I know nothing about curses, much less a frost curse," I said with a sigh. "I might have some raw magic skill, but I have no training and can hardly control it."

"That's why I'm coming with you," Axa said with a grunt as she continued to help me pack. "If you fall ill, I can pull you back from the brink."

"Tell me the truth, Axa," I said, my voice trembling. "Could this spell kill me?" 

Axa stopped fussing and gave me her full attention. At first, she didn't answer, her eyes darting back and forth as though she were debating with herself and wondering what she should say. 

"Dahlroth's curse wouldn't kill you, but the magic power required to wake him might overload your system," she conceded.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked. "What if I fail? We might not get another chance."

"If there were anyone else who could do this, I would tell Dahlroth to fuck off," Axa said, brimming with anger. "You're like a sister to me."

I gave her a weak smile. 

"But you're our only chance, damn it!" 

She gave me a gruff hug, and I melted into her arms, glad of the comfort. "I wish I could take your place, but I can't this time. I know you'll be fighting against your own people."

My heart clenched at her words. 

"Can you be brave?" she asked, taking her hands in mine. "We can debate the ins and outs of politics later. Right now, we have to protect our friends against their onslaught."

Giving her a gentle squeeze, I tried to ignore the twisting in my gut. I drew a tremulous breath.

"It's your choice, Helena," Axa said, patting my back. "I understand if you can't fight the Halcían rebels. If you can't protect us, run. Don't join the rebellion and force me to fight you, please."  

My knees wobbled at the thought of killing people I'd known since childhood, but I refused to sacrifice my friends. Even though I hated the Gatál leaders, now was not the time to rebel. If the rebels truly wanted me to join their cause, they shouldn't have threatened the people I loved.

"Take me to him."

Axa smiled and cupped my cheek in her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You're one of the bravest women I know, Helena." She handed my satchel to me. "Come with me. I'll guide you."

In total silence, we scurried along dark corridors and circuitous hallways. I couldn't see a foot in front of me, so I had to rely on Axa's night vision to lead us. 

Finally, we made our way to the castle entrance. The warrior peered through a gap in the black-out curtains and gave me a curt nod. 

The wooden doors opened with a creak that made me cringe, and I prayed to the gods that no one would hear us. Each breath we took sounded like a gale-force wind in the eerie silence. 

"We're in the clear," Axa whispered under her breath. "Go! Crouch down just in case the rebels are here." 

The full moon shone in the cloudless sky, shrouding the castle gardens in its magnificent light. Mist rose from the manicured lawns, shrouding us in a dusty cloud. To my profound relief, no one had breached the walls yet. 

We still had hope. 

"Do you feel anything?" Axa asked, her voice laced with concern. "Dahlroth told me you would."

Closing my eyes, I felt a nudge towards the hedgerow maze like a magnetic pull my father had shown me in one of his experiments. When I ignored the sensation, the pull grew more insistent.

"I'm not sure," I said as my eyelids flew open. "I think I feel something near the maze."

"The magic gardens," she whispered. "Come on, let's go!"

As we drew nearer, a disembodied voice floated across the plain. A powerful gale blew across the parkland, pushing me closer to the hedgerows. 

He-le-na-a-a-a!

"Did you hear that?" I asked, my heart pulsing in my throat. 

"Hear what?" Axa asked. 

A disembodied murmur, tortured and desperate, filled the air. Although I couldn't explain it, Dahlroth's presence curled and twisted like invisible fingers through my hair, caressing my cheeks and sending chills down my spine. 

Kh-kh-kh-r-r-r-y-y-y-s-s-s-a-a-a-kh-kh-kh!

"Tell me you heard that at least!" I cried out to Axa in a frantic whisper. 

"Helena, he's calling to you," Axa said, her eyes wide with shock. "But I can't hear him."

Standing in front of the maze, Dahlroth's magic force drew me in. Unlike Lord Hesse's dark energy on the day of my parents' death, Dahlroth's presence engendered hope, not despair. 

"He's here," I said. "I can feel it." 

Axa exhaled a deep breath. "He said you had to meditate and enter one of your dreams. Do you know what that means?"

"Yes, I do."

"Go through the maze and find him with your magic," she said. "Like most dreams, you might not remember why you're there at first. The good news is that dreams travel faster than real time, so we might have a chance."

My heart pounded like a snare drum as I lay down on the grass at the start of the maze. Axa knelt beside me and brushed my hair out of my eyes. "I'll be right here beside you. Be careful, sister."

"I'll find him," I said. "Trust me."

Dahlroth's frantic voice called out to me. Khrysakh, hurry! They're coming. We don't have much time.

"May the gods bless you, Helena," Axa said. "May they bring you both back to us, safe and healthy."

She clasped my hand as I closed my eyes and entered my dreams. 

I'm coming. Stay strong, Dahlroth.  

___

A/N: Thank you so much for reading. Why not support Helena in her quest to find the real Dahlroth and give her a vote? :) If you enjoyed the chapter or have any tips for how I can improve the text, please feel free to comment. 

Please bear in mind that this is a raw, skeleton draft. Therefore, it will probably require substantial revision and is subject to substantial changes. I threw my ideas down on paper, and I will go through and edit/refine my work afterward. Thanks for your patience.