Rythmic thumping reverberated through the sand and the entire tent began to vibrate. Moonlight trickled in through the half open flap, bathing the interior in a soft, silver glow. The rumbling grew louder; the thunderous sound of heavy boots across sand was all around him. A shout went up, surprised and afraid. The sharp clang of metal on metal. He looked around wildly, the world seeming to fall sideways as he strove to bring it into focus. A high-pitched scream pierced the clangor surrounding him. He lay upon a cramped cot, a heavy grey blanket still covering half his body. The blanket seemed to resist his attempts to push it off, and panic filled his mind as he struggled to extricate himself from the covers.
The walls of the tent swam before his eyes, falling out of focus. He blinked, and the world around him was suddenly silent. He refocused on a wall of pale white stone where the fabric of the tent had been moments before. He spun, glancing hurriedly around. Four walls of the same pale stone, an ornate glass door, azure moonlight illuminating the room through the small, stained-glass window. The same scream shook him from his reverie. Closer this time, then another voice yelled something, the tone was aggressive but he couldn’t quite make out the words. He looked down and found a vast, plush bed, white silken sheets his only defense from the crisp evening air. Struggling again to stand, he cast off the sheets and stumbled toward the door. As he approached his vision began to darken, the door seeming to fall away, barely visible at the end of a black tunnel.
The rumbling returned, the sound now clearly coming from below him, as if several people hurriedly climbed a staircase just beyond this room. It grew louder and faster as it neared, then just as it felt like a stampede was about to burst through the door, the sound seemed to pass through him, permeating the entire room. He reeled, stunned by the sudden blast of sound, his vision clouding again as he fell back toward his mattress.
He recoiled sharply as the back of his head struck hard packed sand, the din of the melee outside his tent rushing back. He fell sideways, rolling over and over as his flailing hands skittered across the sandy canvas of the tent. Finally coming to a stop, he opened his eyes and found himself back in the tent, the bedlam of battle all around him. Outside the dancing light of multiple fires cast writhing shadows over every wall. Suddenly he was standing, watching as his right hand reached out and pushed the entrance to the tent open. He stumbled forward, leaning too heavily on the flap of canvas before him and tripping slightly on the lip of the tent. He swayed, then spun and fell back as a silvery form careened past him, flailing wildly as it vainly fought to escape its flaming harness, its haunting shrieks echoing as it raced beyond another tent and out of view. Righting himself, he spun around, trying to make sense of the fiery battle raging around him.
Spectres clad head to toe in glittering crimson armor were everywhere, laying about with brilliant red swords. He stumbled back in terror, the reflections of the firelight across their armor making them appear wreathed in flame. He watched, frozen, as one reached a hand into a scintillating void above its left arm and withdrew it enveloped in flames. Unperturbed, it cast the fireball into a nearby tent. Screams of pain and horror emanated from within as the blaze quickly spread. A moment later the tent pitched sideways as several people fought to escape. The entrance tore open and a young woman leapt out, shielding her eyes from the sudden brightness as she turned, struggling to stamp out her flaming boot.
She never saw the fiery demon beside her as it raised its weapon. He tried to cry out in warning but his voice wouldn’t respond, his mouth opening soundlessly. A moment later its sword passed cleanly through the woman’s back. She froze, glancing down at the glittering red point protruding from her chest, a puzzled look on her face. Just as suddenly the sword was withdrawn, her dark red blood nearly invisible on the vermillion blade. The woman swayed, then pitched forward as her assailant kicked her into the tent opening. She fell heavily across the entrance, knocking back the person struggling to follow her out and causing the tent to collapse around her. There was a loud whoosh as the tent went up in flames, the people trapped within screaming and flailing vainly against the blaze.
He took a step forward, a blind desire to help them temporarily drowning out the pounding fear. He wobbled then fell to one knee, the obsidian sand beneath his feet shifting and undulating in the firelight. Fighting to stand, he forced his eyes back up at the crimson foe before him. It stood still, head pointed at the blazing tent at its feet. Suddenly it turned toward him, face inscrutable behind the mirrored red helmet. He felt rather than saw its gaze meet his, its emotions unfathomable as he stared into the reflected inferno around them.
A sudden gasp wracked his body and he was falling, darkness blurring his vision. He blinked, and he was back in the white room, lying again in the luxurious bed, silken covers clutched to his chest. The thundering of approaching footsteps grew louder, then the door exploded inward. Azure shards were everywhere as the stained glass shattered, the room briefly covered in scintillating reflections as each fragment caught the light now streaming through the doorway. Two women burst into the room, standing tall and imposing in their sapphire armor, their angry faces visible behind their upturned visors. The first had a hand out, the same enigmatic void he’d seen earlier above her left arm. The second followed close behind, and as she passed through the splintered doorway, he saw she was dragging a struggling third woman behind her by the hair.
The captive looked up as she stumbled into the room and he met her wild gaze. Her eyes were wide with fear, and he saw her mouth was bound shut with a rag. Something about her seemed incredibly familiar to him, but the memories he attempted to find melted away in his mind like sand through a sieve. The lead woman yelled and gestured aggressively, but the sound was distorted as if he was under water and he struggled to focus.
He started to sit up, but before he could the leader pulled something from beyond the void above her arm and cast it toward him. He felt a sharp sting as it struck him. His hands fumbled vainly across his chest, finding nothing. Consciousness was slipping away from him, his eyelids suddenly impossibly heavy. Sinking into the pillows beneath him, his eyes flickered open one last time as the leader strode toward him. The last thing he saw was their captive slump to the ground, all the fight in her suddenly gone as darkness enveloped him.
