The Throne I Left

He hit the wet ground hard and for a long moment he just laid there, waiting for the blow, breaths coming out in short pants and heart beating like it was trying to escape from his chest.

But nothing happened.

Carefully he opened his eyes but instead of a dark battlefield, all he saw was a flickering red light. For a second he didn’t recognize it, the weird shape curling and spluttering in front of him.

“Johan!”

Oh, it was their campfire.

Johan swallowed, still shaking, and looked around. He was lying on his side, facing the fire. Wide, green eyes stared at him from behind the flames.

Carefully he started to push himself up and someone grabbed around him, pulling him into a seated position.

“Johan?” A worried voice asked and Johan looked up to see Note crouched beside him with strands of grass in his hair.

Oh right, Note had been leaning on him, he must have fallen when Johan did.

Finally the adrenalin was starting to wear off and his heart calmed down from the loud thumping in his ears. He dragged in a deep breath and patted the hand on his shoulder comfortingly, then looked past the fire to see Signe watching them cautiously, hand on the stolen axe-blade and looking ready to fight at any second.

They must have thought he was attacked.

“I’m fine.” Johan quickly said. “Just a vision.”

Because it was another vision. He hadn’t gotten any in the first four years of having his powers and suddenly he had two in less than a year. What was up with that?

“Are- really?” Note asked. A warm feeling filled Johan at his concern, and he quickly reassured him with a nod.

“A vision?” Signe asked tensely. “That happens when you have a vision?”

“Well, yeah. I think. It’s only the second time I’ve had one.” Johan groaned, head coming down to rest in his hands. “Ah, we were just about to go back home today.”

He hadn’t planned on getting a vision when he left for Heaven. Well, not that he had thought much at all before leaving for Heaven.

Maybe if he just ignored the vision-

No. He didn’t know what would happen if he did, but it was nothing good. Never ignore a vision. That was one of the most important lessons his dad had taught him. You never knew what the results would be, but whatever it was, it was usually not worth it.

He sighed. The villagers would get worried if they just disappeared.

“Are you ready for another adventure?” Johan asked, trying and failing to sound cheerful.

Signe raised her eyebrows, then with a last look around, she let herself plop back down on the ground. Note slowly sat down next to Johan, arm still on his shoulder.

“Tell us everything.”

And Johan did. He told them everything that happened in the vision, being careful to keep the details accurate.

He ended with a sigh. He didn’t know why a bunch of humans were picking fights with a horde of giants, but was it too much to ask that people have the common sense to not do that? Giants were powerful monsters afterall.

“A big, open cave?” Signe asked, her eyebrows creasing.

“Yeah, do you know anything?” Johan asked hopefully, he had absolutely no ideas.

She crossed her arms thoughtfully, staring into the fire.

Johan shared a cautious look with Note cautiously as her expression went from scrunched up to completely unreadable in the blink of an eye. The corners of her lips turned down and for a moment Johan thought she wouldn’t say anything, but then she looked back up, a crazed look in her eyes as she glared into the fire. She hissed quietly for a second before gathering herself, letting out a slow exhale.

“The day we died I had just come back from a mission, right?” She started, looking up at them. Johan nodded, it was the first time he had seen her in days.

“Me and Wrath,”

Oh. Johan grimaced.

Her face twisted at the name, but she quickly continued before she could get angry.

“We went to check out a burial mound for a vengeful draug that went around killing its old relatives. He had been buried in a huge cave, far away from civilization… It sounds like it could be the same cave, at least from the way you described it. It's far-fetched, but it’s what I immediately thought of. It could be worth checking out.”

Johan nodded. “Where is it?”