I Dream

It was heavy.

Heavy and warm and cold and black as Dark. Like the bottom of the ocean, but...there was no water. I didn't hear it. I didn't see it. But...I felt it.

There was no light. But I could see the definition of a dark, stone cave, it's stone as black as Night.

Oddly, it seemed to gleam in some of it's harsher edges when I looked at it. The gleam made me shiver despite the warmth I felt.

"This is what we face now. A foe unto all wounds of mortals and all dreams of tyrants and oppressors are born to and from. A foe from the Dark whom makes His own Night."

"You remember, don't you?"

"Do you remember?"

"Do you remember?"

"You must remember?"

"Remember the Mark."

"Remember the Mark?"

"Remember the Silence."

"Remember Him."

"Remember Them."

"Remember."

"Remember?"

Voices. So many voices at once it made me shake and shiver with warmth and cold and fright at once. I saw little blue flames dancing in the dark- no, not dancing, standing, solitary, alone but not alone, together in unison distance, whole as one even apart.

It scared me, but my chest felt light with warmth at the sight. Like it was right. Wrong. A wrong made right.

I didn't understand.

Remember? Remember what? Where am I? What is this?

"Remember?"

"He does not remember."

"He must. We must. For him."

"A motion carried. But we cannot carry it."

"We must move it."

"As they will."

"Gods? Gods' will? Pah!"

"You know Our disdain. You know our refrain."

"But we cannot refrain."

"We must contain."

"We must remain."

"We must restrain."

"We must obtain."

"The dream we share."

"The dream we shared."

"The dream our souls shared."

"The dream we are."

"To fight. To live. To die."

"To be children."

"The Oldest Dream of Children Born."

"Is to be a Hero, Reborn."

"When glass anew, takes a stew, to make anew, a friendly dew, in summers rays, in lightning's heat, find your storm, repents repeat."

What? I don't understand! I don't want to be a hero! I just want to help! To provide! To support! Encourage! I don't want fame! I don't want to be a hero!

I just want to see them smile!

The flames changed. Smiles. So many smiles. Small, big, differing from owner to owner. A woman dressed like some kind of thief. A man in heavy, silver armor that looked like a bat's head and face. A man with a scarf and a single knife. A dagger? A man with a pickaxe, wrapped in bandages. A woman with an antique gun. A man with a massive bow. Another with an axe. Another with several axes.

Many more lit the field of black, dark stone. All smiling, one way or another.

As one, they put their countless hands on my shoulders.

"Follow the Path as they will, and you will be fine. As will they."

An image. A flicker. Home. Friends. Friends?

Mom? Dad? Sis? Kev?

A flash. A burn. A laugh. A tear. A crackle, a shaking I never knew before, rocking me to my core.

I felt my face hit warm, hard, wet stone with a crack, and I knew no more.