A crunch sounded from nearby. Eldwin's ear twitched as he felt a gentle kiss of snow on his nose. His eyes fluttered open and were created by a tree-top-covered sky with snow clouds blocking the sun. He allowed his body to stretch, no longer tied to anything but felt a wet substance under his body. Edlwin jolted upright and swung his head around. He lay in a snow mound surrounded by trees, with no clear way of how he had even gotten there.

Eldwin examined the clothes that he was wearing and was surprised to see a sleeveless tunic with pants and boots. It was snowing, that much he knew, but he didn't feel cold for some reason. Rising to his feet, he brushed off what snow had accumulated on his body. Something was wrong. He had no recollection of how he had even gotten here. The last he remembered, he was lying in bed. Indeed, this wasn't Kirk's prank. Eldwin laughed; that's probably all it was.

Rustling from a nearby bush pulled his attention to it. He held his hand out, allowing a dagger to appear. Eldwin grabbed a hold of it and stalked closer. Laughter echoed around him, stopping him in his tracks. He swung his head upwards, where the sound came from, and watched as two red eyes appeared above him. He gritted his teeth and watched as they disappeared; the wind picked up around them. Eldwin held his hand up, blocking the snow from his eyes as he watched a figure take shape. From the broad shoulders, he could tell it was a man. The figure opened its eyes, revealing the red glow from the sky.

"Who are you?" Eldwin called out.

The figure didn't answer; it just stood there staring. "Who knows who I am." A low voice grumbled, " You know why you must die." The figure charged forward; Eldwin swallowed a lump in his throat and threw the dagger at the creature. It supported into many flakes before conjuring again. Eldwin spun on his feet and ran. He didn't know what had come over him. He was not the type to stand up and fight; that was obvious from his school days.

"Heka," a voice echoed within his mind, "leave Eldwin alone." Eldwin slid to a stop and glanced around; that was the teacher's voice.

"Why should I? You never cared for me while I was alive; now you must deal with your failure." As these words were spoken, Eldwin felt a surge of energy within his body. The figure had grabbed him. Eldwin fell to the ground with the figure on top of him. They rustled in the snow, and Eldwin kicked the figure and watched as it flew off him. Eldwin rose to his feet and continued into the trees.

"Heka, I will not let you harm him!" A man's voice shouted. This time, it was deeper, yet he felt he knew it somehow like a voice long lost to the past. He shook his head as he jumped over a fallen branch. He couldn't make the same mistake again. He had to find a way out of the forest and go back home to his mom, and... his thoughts tailed as he stopped. The deeper voice belonged to his father.

Tears welled up in his eyes. He had to go back. A crash sounded close by. He turned and watched as a creature with blue skin, wearing several different animal hides, ran up to him with a club raised. Eldwin turned his shoulders to run, but his feet refused. Eldwin smirked as he raised his arms above his head. The club came down as a shield in the form of a snowflake appeared above his head. He turned his body to the right as the creature rolled from the momentum it had built up.

A scream echoed through the air. He felt the air turn from cold to thick. He laughed as he let out a breath. There was no heat; his body was the right temperature for this climate. Eldwin turned his head, ready to take off toward the sound, when the figure came out of the woods again; this time, he had a dragon following close behind. Eldwin stepped back and watched as the dragon bobbed its head down in front of him. He pulled his hand back, ready to slam a dagger into one of its beady eyes with golden irises.

"Eldwin," it grumbled, "hear the words of Malchrome. Your mind and body are fighting for dominance right now. You must win before you become consumed."

Eldwin stared into its eyes. It radiated comfort and warmth. Without a thought, his body stepped to the side and ducked before rising again. Shots erupted all around him. The dragon pulled its head away as he slammed his foot into the ground and raised a thick layer of ice, blocking the attack. Movement from behind caused him to whirl around on his heels. A rod appeared in his hands as a second figure slammed down with his arms.

"Eldwin, we can help you. You have to stand down." The voice that spoke this time sounded like the teacher. Eldwin gritted his teeth as he stared at the figure barring down on his arm. He gritted his teeth and used his force to throw him to the side. 

"Kolleeza!" He heard the voice call. A blinding light flashed from his right. He raised his arm to look at the figure. He watched as his dark, shadow-like complexion flashed and became a pillar for sheer golden energy.

Blinking, Eldwin took a step back. It strolled toward him, melting everything around it. The grass appeared under its feet as it grew closer. It threw its hand, allowing what appeared to be a war hammer in its hand. "It's over," it growled. The wind howled around him as it picked up and wrapped around him.

"It will never be over." Eldwin hissed.

The figure came to a halt and nodded. "I was afraid it would come to this!" Eldwin watched as the figure disappeared before appearing above him. Eldwin dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way; in the process, he placed a hand on the ground that sent an ice shard shooting from the ground into what he assumed was the figure's midsection. Eldwin smirked. He didn't know what gave him these new abilities, but he wasn't hating it. 

A shrill whirling came from behind him. Edlwin smirked as he held up his fingers and cocked his head to the left. A dagger hit the space between his fingers. He turned toward the other dark figure and watched it disappear behind a tree. Eldwin glanced at the dagger he now had in his hand. There was no way he was that skilled to catch such a thing. The hilt looked more like a pocket knife than a dagger, and the letters K.A. were inscribed in gold. He jerked his head upward and whirled around, searching for the dark figure. He noticed the gold figure was gone as well. 

The snow crunched as Eldwin spun around, looking for either figure. Energy surged within him. He threw out his hands, sending glowing shards in every direction. The ice hit trees and immediately froze them, turning them into sculptures. The black figure came into focus; he spun around and shot an icicle into its abdomen. It stumbled backward before collapsing to the ground and disappearing.

A firm grip grabbed his shoulder from behind. He whirled and met the golden figure; they were the same as the dragon. He raised his hand, ready to strike, but the golden figure placed a string on his right arm. The string sprung to life, and a phoenix appeared, letting out a majestic caw. The warmth flooded from the bracelet up his arm and into his soul. He trusted his arm out, and nothing happened. The golden figure stayed close beside him. He shot spike after spike, but the golden figure dodged it.

"I'm sorry, Son." The voice spoke. Eldwin paused for a second, taking in the words—a second string wrapped around his other arm, adding to the heat. Then, as the heat became too much to bear, Eldwin screamed.