Serenath had been tormented by the same kind of occurring dream for at least seven nights, possibly even longer, he couldn't tell as his sense of time was broken. He had been dreaming of this one specific place, a village long forgotten by the common folk. But something had taken residence in there and it had been calling Serenath, night after night. It wasn't malicious towards him, he assumed, it was like it was wanting to become his comrade, something Serenath had never had. Perhaps that is why he was feeling dreadful, or at least this is how he was feeling about it at first. His fearful emotions faded away, however, as the nights and dreams passed by. He became very curious instead and wanted to find this place and see it by himself what was calling him. Red eyes were everything he knew about the entity. In the end, in his mind, it was like a great adventure and he began to dedicate his days in finding the village.
What Serenath didn't know was that the being calling him through his dreams was sending these messages about the village throughout the region like a beacon, trying to lure in people with broken minds. But Serenath was the first one to answer that call and so the entity dedicated its time in guiding him.
The man walked great distances in search of the place in his dreams. He was like a living dead, mindlessly pushing forward, barely eating, drinking or sleeping while following the call. Those who saw him thought that he was possessed, and that wasn't far away from the truth. He had never cared about the opinions of other people, in fact, he had barely even acknowledged their very existence. Serenath had unique mind; it was broken, for sure, perhaps even fragile. He was a madman in the eyes of regular people. Insanity had taken root inside his head at a very young age, but he himself didn't see that as a negative trait. He was content with the state he was in even if that was hard to believe by outsiders.
But this was the reason why the red-eyed entity had taken interest in him and so it had continued to guide him, singing with a sweet voice in his dreams whenever he would allow himself to rest.
It took Serenath many days – and nights – to find the forgotten village. But eventually he reached the last part of his lonely journey and came to a dark forest that was rumored to be haunted and generally people would get lost, never to be seen again. Up until this point he had traveled through places where regular people would be able to stride as well, but now he had entered a realm of shadows and spirits where ordinary mortals weren't welcome. Anyone's heart would be filled with fear if they tried to tread in this place, but Serenath wasn't afraid for he was invited and so he would get through the forest with ease.
For years he had perceived the world in an exceptional way. What looked like a dark forest to common folk was bright in Serenath's eyes. The sky above him was white like a ghost, the sun being hidden behind the clouds with golden linings. He could see faint swirls in the air, a manifestation of a weak breeze that was blowing through the air, rattling the leaves of the trees. The foliage was white as well and dark matter was oozing from the leaves and it would go upwards as if some invisible force was sucking it, only to disappear completely from sight. All the tree trunks were black like void, looking like they could pull in anything that dared to stare at them for too long, never to be able to return. In addition to his strange surroundings, Serenath could also see beings all around him. They were dark, mostly blending in to the black tree trunks, but they were visible whenever they moved and opened their eyes in order to watch him walk through the forest. They were a mixture of nature spirits and ghosts of people who had got lost and usually they would cause trouble to travelers, but they were curious about Serenath, and they were also aware that he had been invited, so they settled for just following him and keeping him company.
He could hear singing in his head, even when he was wide awake. He could feel it in his heart, he was getting close. His footprints were leaving black spots on the dark green grass as he hastened his pace while making his way through the forest. At some point he saw a dark mass of something huge appearing as if it had just raised from the depths of the ground and it seemed like the trees were stepping aside from his path so he could access the dark figure. It was a large blackish rock and it had golden eyes all over it, wiggling around in an unnerving way, until they spotted the lone man and all the eyes fixed their gaze on him. Serenath noticed that there was a gaping hole in the rock, like a gateway to another world. There was mist lingering in the tunnel, giving it an eerie look, but it was nothing to worry about in Serenath's eyes. Without a single drop of fear in his heart, he entered the rock tunnel and disappeared from the sight of spirits and ghosts.
Cries from the past were echoing in the tunnel. Serenath could see quick shadows skittering around, but he wasn't sure if they were the ones making the spine-chilling sounds. Perhaps the ones weeping were residents of the forgotten village, trapped in a state where they could experience the misery of the time of their demise. What they were saying was completely incoherent, like they had partly lost their ability to speak. But Serenath didn't care about them. He continued to press on through the darkness and mist of the cave, hearing the singing more loudly in his head now. He started to see crystals sticking out from the ground, walls and ceiling and at first, they seemed quite ordinary. But one closer look was all it took to notice that there were small shadowy beings trapped inside them. Mouths opening and closing, as if screaming for help but nothing could be heard. They were slamming their fists against their prisons, and maybe someone more compassionate would have felt sorry for their cruel fate. But Serenath didn't care, he didn't show a single bit of empathy.
Eventually he could see light at the end of tunnel. The mist was getting out of his way as he was getting close to the end, and then he stepped into the brighter world again. Serenath had to raise his hand to cover his face a little bit since the brightness was too much for his eyes that had got used to the darkness. But after a while his eyes could tolerate the light enough so he could continue his journey. The singing voice in his head had gone silent, so he was sure that he was almost there.
And he was right.
He could see buildings that had been consumed by raging fire, leaving them in a sad state of decay. Miserable moans of the past filled his ears as he was walking forward, but he didn't see any figures; maybe the ones who died here had also forgotten what they looked like and had no form anymore, existing only as disembodied voices. The sky was still white in Serenath's eyes and in the air something dark was falling from the heaven, like black snow. He reached the first buildings soon enough and walked among the homes that were nothing but burned corpses now. Only sorrow and hatred lived here now, and somehow, Serenath could feel it in his heart that whatever remains of the forgotten still lingered in the area, they seemed like they were upset by something, like there was residing something they wanted to get rid of. For a brief moment the man wondered was it his presence that made them feel that way, but then he came in contact with the being that had been calling him.
Laying on the partly collapsed roof of the largest building in the village – maybe it had been used as a gathering place for the people to have a space where to discuss various matters concerning the whole village – was a dragon. The scales were mostly dark brown and it had really sharp features. It had the red eyes which Serenath had seen in his dreams and its gaze was fixed on the man, it gave an impression that it could see right at his soul. The dragon wasn't very large, but it was still quite magnificent sight. Leisurely it was whipping its thin tail and it looked like it was smiling at Serenath.
“Welcome”, the dragon spoke with a beautifully resonant voice. “I have been waiting for your arrival.”
“You have been in my dreams, but why?” Serenath inquired immediately.
The dragon's smile got wider but also gentler. “Because I have seen that you are special, Serenath. You are unique man and I have seen your worth. This is why I have been calling you, to come to me, so we can discuss a certain matter face to face.”
The man looked stern. “Who even are you?”
“Ah, of course I should have introduced myself first”, the dragon said, chuckling a little bit. “Knaergiri is my name. Now, will you listen to me for a little bit?”
“I suppose so”, Serenath replied. “Otherwise, my whole journey would have been for nothing. I'm curious to hear the words you have reserved for me.”
Knaergiri nodded in approvement. “The matter is simple. I have been in search for an apprentice. Oh, how I have searched and searched… Sitting here, meditating, my spirit found your extraordinary mind. I could see immediately that you would make a perfect apprentice for me. Your mind is unique and I firmly believe that together we could achieve greatness. Would you be interested?”
“What do I gain?” Serenath asked.
“You will get power that your fellow humans would get envious of. I will teach you so you can become magnificent, like no one else. You only have to take me as your master and be willing to invite madness to your very soul.”
This intrigued the man greatly. He knew he had a strong soul; he would be able to control madness unlike all those weak men he had encountered. Just like the dragon had said, he was special. He had a taste for power and it seemed like his destiny to greatness had finally begun. He was determined and looked at the dragon with fiery eyes.
Knaergiri understood the look, but still asked: “Will you join me and become my apprentice?”
“I will.” Two words which the dragon was pleased to hear.
“Excellent.” Knaergiri blew out a wisp of black fire. Slowly it made its way through the air and close to the ground, seeking out Serenath. It sticked to his face and he got startled for a brief moment by the strange sensation it caused. It didn't burn him, but he felt a rush in his veins, giving him a feeling of empower and a deeper understanding of the world around him. The fire left a mark on his face where it spread to his neck and from there, to his chest. His surroundings were changing, the sky became red and was filled with polluted clouds. The black snow he had been seeing disappeared. There were shadow people dancing around him, chanting, welcoming him into the world of insanity.
And Serenath felt thrilled, embracing this new reality.
“Good, surrender yourself to madness”, Knaergiri chirped.
He looked at Serenath, his new toy, with a wide grin on his face while following his descend into madness, though the man hadn't been that sane to begin with. But people falling into the darkest depths of their own mind was always a pleasure to witness. And Serenath, he truly had a unique mind, Knaergiri had spoken the truth.
He was excited to see what he could accomplish together with this man.
