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Lucius dreamt on the shores of the Alabaster Sea, having fallen asleep there while working on his nets. It was a warm, calm afternoon, the sort of day perfect for sleeping by the sea rather than working. Though Lucius was, in general, a hard-working young man, he had been unable to resist stretching out for a bit in the shade among the blue agapanthia blossoms that the breeze had scattered across the warm white sands.

He woke as the sun was setting, the sky a spectacular display of gold, tangerine, and fire that was reflected on the shimmering waves. He sat up, frowning. Once again he had dreamt about the city—and it was another bad dream.

“Lucius!” his grandfather called, walking toward him. “Come to dinner!”

The young man smiled, jumping up and brushing the sand from his tunic before gathering his nets and hurrying off toward the old man.

“Did you finish your net today?” his grandfather asked, his eyes sparkling with love and teasing.

“No, grandfather,” Lucius replied. “I’m afraid I fell asleep this afternoon.”

“Hmmm. I wondered why you were lying so still for so long.”

“Grandfather! You might have woken me up!” Lucius laughed.

“Why would I wake a young man who is dreaming? That would be a sin, indeed.”

“I’m sorry I fell asleep. It was such a beautiful afternoon.”

“So beautiful that you slept through it,” the old man teased.

“You know what I mean! The ocean…is so calming.”

“It is, that,” the man agreed. “That is why I’ve stayed beside it my entire life. There’s nothing quite like falling asleep to the sound of the waves rolling in.”

“I’ll work on the net more tonight, grandfather.”

“I know you will. You’re a good boy, Lucius.” The old man looked at him with warm, pale blue eyes. “Or perhaps I should say you’re a good young man. You’ve grown so much these past few months. That tunic has gotten too short for you.”

“I suppose I have grown a bit,” Lucius admitted, glad that his grandfather had noticed his tunic without his having to point it out. It was the longest of all his tunics. But he was concerned about it; it meant he needed new clothes, and where would they get the money for them?

“We’ll have to make a trip to the tailor this week. It’s time you had a new wardrobe.”

“But grandfather, that will cost so much,” Lucius answered, worried.

The old man smiled kindly at him. “Never you mind about that. I’ll stay out longer and catch more fish; that will make up the difference.”

“I’ll work especially hard on the nets this week,” Lucius promised, as he followed his grandfather into their small house.

“Hurry up and sit down, Lucius!” Laertes barked grumpily from the table.

“That’s right! We’ve been out all day working! What have you been up to?” Theron demanded.

“I was working on my nets,” Lucius said softly, putting them aside to wash his hands in the bowl of water that his sister had readied for him.

“I wish I could lie around all day working on nets,” Theron complained. “That’s not work!”

“It’s not fair that Lucius doesn’t have to go out with us,” Laertes agreed.

“We’ve been over this a thousand times,” the old man sighed. “We need nets, and Lucius is good at making them. If we had to go out with one of your nets, Theron, we’d never catch another fish.”

Lucius tried to keep from laughing, shooting his grandfather a grateful look.

“I could learn to make better nets if I had all day to sit around doing nothing else,” Theron said defensively.

“Fortunately, you don’t need to do that, because Lucius is already the best net-maker we could possibly have.”

“It’s not fair, grandfather,” Laertes pressed. “You know the real reason you don’t make him go out is that he feels sorry for the fish! If it were up to him, he’d let them all go!”

“That’s not entirely true,” the man argued. “If he really wanted the fish to get away, he wouldn’t make such good nets.”

The brothers fell silent at this, though they both continued to glare at Lucius.

Lucius avoided their stares, accustomed to their views on the matter. It was true that he detested fishing. He couldn’t stand to see the fish, still alive at the bottom of the boat, flopping and struggling desperately. When he was younger he had cried every time they had gone out to sea until finally his grandfather had compassion on him and taught him how to make nets. He had put his heart and soul into learning the craft, in order to please his grandfather, but his brothers had deeply resented the fact that he did not go out to sea with them each day.

“If Lucius doesn’t help us catch the fish, he shouldn’t be allowed to eat them,” Theron said.

The old man sat up straight in his chair, a stern look in his eye. “Lucius does help catch the fish, with his nets, as you know perfectly well, Theron. He is entitled to everything on this table, same as either of you. This discussion is now over. You boys aren’t so old that I still can’t take my rod to you, if you push me far enough. Now, we’re going to ask for our blessing on this meal, and we are not going to talk about the matter again.”

Lucius bowed his head as his grandfather prayed, grateful once again to the old man for his kindness. He knew that few other men would have put up with his sensitive heart. He would have been forced to fish, whether he liked it or not. But Theron’s remark that he shouldn’t be allowed to eat the fish stuck with him, and he found himself deliberately avoiding the baked salmon, despite the fact that it was his favorite dish.

“Aren’t you going to try the fish, Lucius?” Alysa asked softly.

Lucius avoided her look, not wanting to offend her but feeling self-conscious about eating the fish after what his brothers had said.

But after a few minutes his grandfather picked up one of the fillets and put it on his plate. “Eat, Lucius,” he commanded, giving him a look that said, No arguments.

Lucius smiled at him, digging into the perfectly-seasoned salmon and closing his eyes as he enjoyed the interesting herbs and spices that his sister had prepared it with.

“Alysa, this is one of your best meals ever,” he announced, opening his eyes and giving his sister a heartfelt grin.

Alysa blushed, bowing her head, though she was pleased with the praise, especially from Lucius. After all, she had made it especially for him, knowing salmon was his favorite fish.

“It is good,” Laertes admitted.

“But why are we always having salmon?” Theron grumbled. “We bring in a thousand kinds of fish, and it’s always salmon.”

Lucius continued to look lovingly at his sister, knowing the answer to that question.

The old man knew, too. “That’s enough of your mouth for tonight, Theron, or I will get out that rod I promised you,” he warned.

They all ate in silence for a few moments.

“The king posted a notice today,” Alysa remarked finally.

This announcement got everyone’s attention.

“A notice? What about?” Laertes demanded.

“He’s looking for someone to interpret his dream. He had a dream, but his oracle couldn’t tell him what it means. He’s offering a chest of gold to the one who can interpret it for him.”

“A chest of gold!” Theron exclaimed. “Perhaps I’ll make a try at it.”

“You’d better be sure you can do it,” Alysa replied, smiling. “Anyone who tries to interpret it but is unsuccessful will be locked up in the south tower.”

Theron frowned. “Oh.” Then he glared at Lucius. “What are you smiling about?”

Lucius shook his head, trying to keep from laughing. The image of Theron trying to interpret the king’s dream struck him as extraordinarily funny. Theron was the most unimaginative, practical person he knew. Unless the king’s dream was about fish, Theron was going to have some difficulty coming up with a good interpretation. His grandfather shot him a warning look and Lucius did his best to put on a straight face.

“No one wants to be locked up in the south tower. My guess is the king isn’t going to get many takers for his offer,” Laertes remarked.

That night Lucius lay awake, unable to fall asleep. Finally he got up and went outside, heading toward the beach to work on his net. It was late—or rather, early in the morning—and the moon was hovering over the sea, its golden light reflecting on the silver waves. The air smelled of salt and wetness, the sound of the waves soothing to his troubled mind.

As he worked, he wondered about the king’s dream. Was King Itep having the same sort of dreams he had been having? Surely not—for then he would need no interpretation. Lucius had been dreaming about Kamyrr’ah for weeks, and they were not good dreams. In his dreams he saw the city destroyed, falling inside Mt. Venuvi as if the mountain were consuming it. He had dreamed the same dream that very afternoon, and now he couldn’t sleep.

He had told no one about his dreams, not even his grandfather. But now he began to wonder if there was a reason he was having the dreams. What if they were a message? What if they were…some sort of warning?

Lucius gazed up the hill that led to the palace at the center of the city, marveling over how beautiful Kamyrr’ah looked at night. There were torches on every street, climbing round and round all the way to the very top of the city, like a gleaming golden snake. The boldly painted domes and rooftops, so bright and colorful in the daytime, took on an otherworldly glow at night, offering mere glimpses of red, blue, and green here and there and suggesting the sort of fantastic architecture that only shadows and imagination can produce.

The moon was red. Only a moment before, it had been full and golden, and now—when Lucius turned to watch it dip closer to the sea—it seemed to grow enormous, turning from a deep yellow orb to a mysterious crimson ball of fire. A ringlet of gold surrounded it in a halo of delicate light.

Lucius shivered. Something about the moon was ominous. He feared something bad was about to happen, and he didn’t know what to do about it.

“Lucius? Is that you?”

Lucius turned to find his grandfather hobbling toward him. “Yes, grandfather. I couldn’t sleep.”

“I suppose it’s no wonder, since you did your sleeping yesterday afternoon.”

“Yes, grandfather.”

“Something is troubling you,” the old man said, eyeing him with concern as he approached.

“Look at this moon, grandfather,” Lucius replied, pointing to the sky.

“Ah, beautiful. I always love such a moon.”

“Do you? I have a bad feeling about it.”

“What sort of feeling, Lucius?” the man said gently. “Explain what you mean.”

“I’m not sure exactly. As if something bad is about to happen. And I’ve been having…these dreams, grandfather. Very bad dreams. I had one yesterday, before you woke me up.”

“I see.” The old man stood silently, staring at the moon as if deep in thought.

“I’m worried, grandfather.”

“We cannot stand in the way of destiny, Lucius. What the world brings us is beyond our ability to control. What matters is what we do with what we are given.”

“But I feel strange inside. I wish you would stay home today, and not go out to sea.”

“You know perfectly well I must go out today, same as any other day. Otherwise how will we live? And how will we be able to get you some new clothes?” he replied, his eyes shining with love. “If that tunic gets much shorter, people are going to start mistaking your profession. They’ll say you’re an actor, or perhaps something worse. We can’t have that, now can we?”

“Please stay home, grandfather, just for today. I fear a storm is coming.”

“The sea is calm,” the old man argued gently. “It looks like a good day for fishing.”

Lucius tried to persuade his grandfather not to go out but was unsuccessful, and so, at length, he followed him back inside the house.

Before dawn his brothers were up and they ate breakfast in silence, eyeing Lucius with obvious irritation.

“Look who’s up before the sun, for once,” Theron remarked. “Are you coming with us today, brother?”

“I finished this net,” Lucius answered, laying the new net on the table.

“It’s a fine net,” his grandfather said, nodding as he examined the knots. “We’ll have a good catch today.”

“Please, grandfather. Don’t go out today,” Lucius pleaded.

“That’s enough, Lucius,” the old man replied firmly.

“What’s he going on about?” Laertes demanded.

“I don’t want you to go out today. I have a bad feeling about it,” Lucius explained, turning to his brothers.

Laertes and Theron both found this highly amusing.

“Oh, Lucius has a bad feeling,” Theron laughed. “By all means, we should stay home today!”

“Yes, let’s stay home! Hopefully he’ll have a bad feeling for the rest of the week, and we can just lay around on the beach like he does!”

“That’s enough, boys.” The old man rose, giving them both a stern look before he left the table. “Let’s get to work.”

“Goodbye, Lucius,” Theron whispered in the young man’s ear. “I’m touched you’re so worried about us.”

“Yes, dear brother, when our ship sinks we’ll remember your little prophecy this morning,” Laertes whispered in the other ear, kissing him on the cheek in jest.

Lucius frowned after them as they left, turning to his sister, who was watching him with worried eyes.

“Do you really have a bad feeling, Lucius?” she asked, her lip trembling.

“Don’t worry, sister,” Lucius answered, putting his arm around her. “It is probably nothing.”

But later that day a terrible storm came out of nowhere, turning the sky dark as the night, with a strange greenish light seeming to hover over the sea. Lucius and Alysa watched the ocean anxiously for signs of their boat, but hour after hour passed and it did not return.

Finally late in the day another boat came to shore. When Lucius saw his grandfather and brothers getting out of the boat, he rushed to them, relieved. But as soon as he saw their faces, he knew something terrible had happened.

“We lost the boat,” his grandfather said. “We were lucky these men saw us and came to our rescue.”

Lucius turned to the men in the boat, nodding his thanks to them.

“We lost everything,” Laertes said, his face pale. “Everything.”

“We still have our lives,” the old man said firmly. “And we still have our home.”

“How long will we have that, without a boat to catch fish?” Laertes demanded.

Theron only stared at Lucius strangely. “You put a curse on us,” he accused.

“I tried to stop you from going out,” Lucius protested.

“You have some sort of…evil spirit in you, that shows you such things,” Laertes pressed.

“I tried to help you!”

“He’s a sorcerer, grandfather,” Theron whispered.

“Enough! I’ll not hear one more word of this!” the old man said loudly. “Now, let’s go inside, out of the rain and talk about what to do next in a sensible fashion. But I’m warning you all, I’ll hear no more nonsense!”

The family went inside and tried to warm up by the fire. Alysa brought them dry clothes and warm cider to drink, and then set out some bread and cheese on the table. They all ate in silence for several moments.

“We do have a problem, now that we don’t have a boat,” the old man said finally.

“Don’t worry, grandfather,” Theron said. “I’ll go to the palace tomorrow and join the Guard. They pay well and soon you’ll have a new boat.”

“I’ll join too,” Laertes said. “Then you’ll have a new boat even sooner.”

“Surely there must be some other way,” the old man said sadly. “Must I lose two of my grandsons? King Itep will send you out east on one of his campaigns. It’s so dangerous.”

“I’ll join too, grandfather,” Lucius offered.

“No, Lucius,” the old man said sharply. “You will not. You’re too young.”

“But I want to help,” Lucius begged.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said no.”

Lucius fell silent at his grandfather’s sharp tone of voice, which he so rarely heard.

The old man rose, shaking his head. “I must lay down for awhile. Please don’t disturb me; I am going to pray about this.”

The brothers nodded as their grandfather left them and then began to whisper together about joining the Guards. Although it was clear neither Theron nor Laertes wanted to join the Guards, they were both determined to do it, to help the family. Lucius couldn’t help but respect his brothers for that, wishing he were in a position to do something, too.

Then something occurred to him. He remembered the king’s decree. Why shouldn’t he be the one to interpret the king’s dream? After all, he had been having dreams, too. Maybe he would be able to understand the meaning of the king’s dream! Then he would be awarded a chest of gold—enough for 100 new boats, let alone one!

Of course! That’s what he could do!

Lucius waited until Alysa seemed occupied with dinner preparations and then slipped outside, making for the winding stairs that led to the palace at the top of the city. He tried not to think about the possibility of being locked in the south tower. No, he would not let that happen. He would interpret the king’s dream correctly.

He simply had to.

~~*
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