Behind dense clouds of grim red hid the magnificent moon at its full, veiled from the lands beneath. Lightning whipped through the darkness. Its blue gleam a flicker in the miserable death reeking cubic cell where desperate cries fused with thunder's deafening cracks. Keys rattled behind the closed door. 'Why all the noise, old Albus?'

'It is coming!' cried the man in the shadows, his voice hoarse and dry.

The door squeaked open, light flooding the space. 'Come forward,' ordered the silhouette, an oil lamp in hand.

Like a wounded moth to its doom approached the skeletal figure of a man, stumbling into the light. His protruding eyes, spheres of blue glinted as they locked on the man facing him. More of a dead man than living he was. Ulcers and bruises covered his naked skin. The grey matted hair of his head and beard overtook his gaunt face, glowing silver under the light.

'This better be good, Albus. You know the outcome of a false call.'

Albus dropped to the ground, chest wheezing with rising panic, bony fingers gripping on the man's boots. 'Please, Master Ennius, this isn't a false call. I've seen it. It's coming!' he said, his hands trembling, fear glazing his eyes.

'Coming?' wondered Ennius aloud, casting Albus across to the other side with a kick.

The old man squirmed, twisting on the ground. His chapped lips pressed together, his whimpers muffled.

'What the hell have you seen this time, great seer Albus?' Ennius mocked, grabbing him by the hair, forcing him to lift his head.

'Please...Please... I'll tell you,' Albus gargled, decaying teeth bloody, tears coursing down his face.

'Tsk tsk tsk, Albus. I think you are going insane.'

'No, no master, it's real. What I've seen is real!'

'All those visions you've told were real too, yet useless.' Ennius's grip tugged harder.

A whimper escaped Albus's lips, his fingers weakly wrapping Ennius's, muttering under gritted teeth, 'Twelve years of my life I've spent aiding the lord with my visions. Never once have I lied, Master...Never,' his voice cracked. 'This one... this vision, I finally—' he coughed. Thick blood trickled down the corner of his mouth, 'I've seen it come.'

The cold wind whispered between them, a cursed song of omens and death. Ennius's dark eyes simmered with anticipation. A flicker of fear at its depths, awaiting the old man's words.

'From the sky, it came. A burning fire of green.' Albus's voice quivered. 'In a sea of blood, it fell. The lands boiled crimson and thick... Death it was and death it wanted.' Albus swallowed, a yearning gaze upon the dancing flame, 'Bright as the sun it'll shine. It is she who yields it,' He paused looking into Ennius's eyes, 'She Lord Avitus must have.'

'She...' murmured Ennius, his heart wildly beating, Albus dropped to the ground. The wide grin on his dark lips creased the sides of his hooded eyes, walking towards the door, triumphal. 'If this woman is the key to what the lord seeks, and we do find truth in what you say, Albus, ' he said, not looking behind him, 'you'll be able to see the sun again.' His hand clutched the doorknob.

'The sun, I... see... the sun?' said Albus, darkness swallowing him back into its womb. 'When...' his voice echoed against the walls. 'When will I see it? The sun!'

'Depends on the success of this quest Albus,' replied Ennius, standing behind the ajar door.

'I might not live till then...' Albus bitterly whispered, nails scratching the wet stoned floor.

'Then, it's your bloody fate to spend the remaining days of your wretched life rotting in this cell.' The door boomed closed. Ennius's limbs tingled with excitement, his chest overwhelmed, Albus's sobs in the background unheard. Never before was he this eager for morning break.

Lord Avitus, you'll be pleased.