Excerpt: The Diemthe Empire

Vague, half-formed shapes shifted. Some slowly drifted off to become nothing while others sharpened, edges becoming distinct outlines of almost recognizable forms.

Illera frowned and squinted, trying to will her eyes to see better. Slowly, with a fluidity that should have been disturbing, the silhouettes began to resolve themselves. Yes, it almost looked like a group of people heading towards her. Fifteen, twenty, perhaps twenty-five people total; her mind couldn't quite keep track of numbers. The people were lined in red against a dark sky.

She leaned back and waited while they approached. Part of her was perfectly calm and expectant, not in the least worried about what these people might be bringing with them. Another part of her, a smaller nearly silent part, was screaming that she needed to get away now, before it was too late.

The group drew closer, and the quiet voice grew louder as a shiver ran down her back. There was definitely something wrong. She squinted again. There, it was the figure in the middle. Either he was very tall, or the others were children.

No, of course the others were just children. No one was that tall. Why, if she was scaling it right, the middle figure would be well over two meters tall! It was a group of young children, then, with one adult looking after them.

Something glinted brightly in the faint red light that still outlined the group. Something long and thin and... pointed? Illera felt herself stiffen involuntarily as her hand dropped to rest on her sword hilt. That one child on the left was carrying a sword! And... so was that child. And that one too.

She dropped back a pace. All the children had weapons, weapons that were already drawn and held in experienced grips. No children carried weapons! And besides that, if they were close enough for her to make out the weapons, then didn't that mean they were taller than children? But that would mean the figure in the middle...

Her eyes jumped. The tall man had a sword too, and he really must be over two meters since the others weren't children. And the red light behind them, wasn't it fire?

Illera drew her own sword. "Who are you?" she demanded. "What do you want?"

A soft, eerie chuckle rose from the group, a group that was now almost on top of her. She backed up a few more steps. "We are here for you," came a whisper. It was a multitude of voices, all speaking in harmony.

"For me?" she breathed. "Why?"

A louder chuckle this time. The middle figure stepped forward and the fire blazed in the background, highlighting his face. She couldn't make out precise features, but she could tell that he was almost as pale as she, but shaded somewhat blue, with hair that was also an unnatural hue of blue. "Līānthē," he hissed alone. "We are here for you, līānthē."

She screamed and kept screaming as she sat up in bed, panting and hugging the blankets to herself. As her sight adjusted to the soft comforting darkness around her, she tried to slow her breathing. It had just been a dream. Nothing more.

But her dreams had a tendency to come true.