Meanwhile, at that very same time, in a city called Knightdom in the western region of Vanadias—territory controlled by House Quintrel—a handsome twenty-two-year-old man was fast asleep in a brothel specifically for knights. Lying there naked, he began to dream.
In his vision, he saw a beautiful redhead clad in knight's armor, wielding a sword larger than herself. She was locked in a desperate battle against the combined forces of House Baranger and House Clark. Bloodied and bruised, she eventually managed to retreat toward the border.
Suddenly, the dream shifted. He found himself standing on a palace balcony beside the same red-haired woman. Before them stood a king and two queens—triplets with dark hair—delivering a speech to a massive sea of soldiers ready for war.
He looked to the right of the three leaders and saw a girl in a nun's habit clutching a staff. Beside the nun stood a handsome young man with silver hair, then a silver-haired girl with short hair and long, pointed ears, and finally a blonde girl in a wheelchair.
He glanced to his own right. A stunning, bronze-skinned woman stood directly beside the king. She wore leather hunting armor and carried an exquisite bow, her face painted with red war stripes. He looked back toward the redhead and noticed a massive, muscular giant of a man.
The man was bald, clad in pitch-black armor with a matching cloak, and stood with his eyes closed and his arms crossed over his chest. There were a few others whose faces were blurred, but there were ten of them in total, including himself.
The king and the two queens raised their weapons—a blue trident, a massive lightning sword, and twin axes of green and gold. Every soldier below, and he himself, let out a deafening roar of approval. The scene changed once more. He was on a battlefield alongside the king, the queens, the silver-haired boy, the elf girl wielding dual swords, the bald man in black armor, the redhead, the archer and the assassin.
They all charged at the enemy—a nightmare legion of the living dead and skeletons. His own army followed close behind. He felt himself leaping through the air, piercing enemies with his spear, over and over again, until a flying axe sailed directly toward his face.
"Aaaaaah!" he screamed.
The young man jerked awake, sitting bolt upright in bed. He frantically felt his head, only to find a pair of wolf ears. He glanced back and saw a tail sprouting from his lower back.
"Shit," he muttered.
He quickly threw on a bracelet shaped like a tree branch. In an instant, the ears and tail vanished. He let out a long breath of relief, though he was still drenched in cold sweat and gasping for air.
"Ugh... what's wrong, honey?" asked a woman sleeping beside him.
"I had a dream... a dream that felt way too real," the young man replied, covering his face with his hands.
The naked woman sat up and crawled toward him, running her hands over his body and teasing him.
"Wow, you're sweating. I guess you're still thinking about what we just did, huh?" she joked.
"Hahaha, maybe... it was pretty incredible. I guess waiting in line and paying a premium to be with Elis was worth it," he played along.
"Oh, stop it. We still have time. Want to go again?" Elis asked.
"Of course... let's get right to it. It's still hot in here, isn't it?" he replied, moving into position.
"Yesss... do it. Satisfy me, Master Hugo," Elis said.
Without another word, Hugo went back to work. But the dream he'd just had was burned into his mind, leaving him only half-focused on the woman in his arms.
***
The next morning, Hugo headed downstairs wearing red armor and carrying a red spear with a blade shaped like a serpent. He said goodbye to the owner of the bar and brothel.
"Good morning, Master Hugo Quintrel. I hope you have a great day and come back soon," the owner greeted.
"Definitely. I want to see Elis again. But please, don't use my last name. Just call me Hugo," Hugo said.
"Ah, right. My apologies. See you later, Master Hugo," the owner replied.
As soon as Hugo stepped outside and closed the door, the owner sneered, a cynical smile crossing his face as he wiped down a table.
"The bastard finally knows his place," he thought to himself.
Outside, Hugo walked through the city, carrying his gear and his spear. He passed the massive circular arena used for gladiatorial combat and kept walking until he reached the slums at the bottom of the city—a dangerous pit where laborers, prostitutes, and sickly slaves who couldn't be sold were left to rot. Most citizens feared this place, but not Hugo. He walked down the crumbling stairs, past rows of shacks that barely qualified as homes.
At the end of the road, he reached a ruined, ugly Esvana monastery. He stepped inside, walked behind the altar, and pressed a hidden button. "Greeek." The altar slid aside to reveal a staircase. Hugo headed down the long underground tunnel until he reached a door. Inside was a massive ward filled with beds—it looked like a slave dormitory. A nurse greeted him.
"Welcome, Master Hugo," said the nurse, who was dressed like a nun.
"Is my mother awake?" Hugo asked.
"Lady Johana is awake. Go right in, Master Hugo," the nurse replied.
Hugo walked past the rows of beds. This place was a hidden hospital for sick and abandoned slaves. He opened a door to find a middle-aged woman sitting up with her eyes closed. She had wolf ears and a tail. Hugo sat beside her, took her hand, and stroked her forehead.
"How are you, Mama?" Hugo asked.
"Ah, Hugo... how are you, my boy? I'm doing just fine," she said, her eyes remaining closed.
They shared a long hug. Hugo held her hands in his and began telling her stories about the outside world. Johana was blind, but not by birth. She had been a slave used as a prostitute—popular because she was a beautiful Beastman, a race thought to be nearly extinct in Estoria. When Lord Jasper Quintrel heard of her, he took her to his castle, but he kept her locked in a dungeon for his own pleasure. Hugo was the result of that cruelty.
The birth had been difficult and cost Johana her sight. Lord Jasper took Hugo to be raised under the family name but threw Johana away when her vision failed completely. Hugo only learned the truth when he was fifteen. Consumed by hatred for his father, he left home to find her. He eventually rescued her from a bandit camp—killing every last bandit there—and brought her back to the city, where he converted the old monastery into a sanctuary for slaves.
"Mama, I had a dream last night... it felt so real," Hugo said.
Johana's expression changed instantly. She gripped his hands tight. "Tell me everything," she urged.
Hugo described the whole dream, from the red-haired knight with the massive sword to the flying axe that ended the vision. When he finished, Johana covered her mouth with her hands.
"Just like the Saint said," she whispered.
"Wait... what do you mean, Mama?" Hugo asked, confused.
Johana explained that a long time ago, a girl had visited her at the monastery and tried to heal her eyes. She wore a nun's habit and carried a staff, accompanied by a female knight from the monastery. They were traveling to a port city in the south. The girl had told Johana about a vision: she was searching for triplets, the reincarnations of a king and two queens from a thousand years ago who would unite the legendary kingdoms into one.
Hugo stood up, sweat pouring down his face. The king and two queens in his dream were clearly triplets with black hair, and the girl in the habit was right there beside them.
"What does this mean, Mama?" Hugo asked.
"You have to leave tonight. You saw that red-haired woman at the northern border, didn't you?" Johana said.
"How can you be so sure? Who was this person who visited you?"
"She only said she was a Saint serving the three gods of the eastern monastery. I didn't ask her name, but she was real, Hugo. You know what happened to me at the bandit camp before you found me. She healed the wounds that were rotting away, even if she couldn't fix my eyes," Johana explained.
Hugo realized she was right. His mother had been in a horrific state when he rescued her, yet now she had almost no scars.
"Was my dream a sign of what's coming?" Hugo asked.
"That's what I'm trying to tell you. Now, go and get ready. You have a border to reach," Johana said, stroking Hugo's head as he removed his helmet.
"I understand, Mama. I'm leaving now. If I go now, I'll be at the border by late afternoon," Hugo said, hugging her.
"Go... save the world," Johana whispered.
"No, Mama. I'm doing this to save you. I don't care about the world," Hugo replied.
"I know... now go."
Hugo stood up and headed for the door. Once it closed, Johana leaned back against the wall, her face turned toward the ceiling. She clasped her hands over her chest.
"Gods, please protect and guide my son, Hugo. May he return in victory. Thank you... Amen," she prayed, tears of joy rolling down her cheeks.