[center][h1]One Month Previously...[/h1][/center]

Damon's grey eyes snapped open, his dirty blonde hair stuck to the sweat beading on his forehead and his heart pounding beneath his chest. He let out a small breath of relief, realizing he was free from the nightmare he had been reliving for the past week every night. Sitting up in his plush king sized bed, he ran a hand through his hair and glanced out of the window next to the door leading out onto a balcony that overlooked the entire kingdom of Eredel. Judging by the dim light peaking out over the horizon, he guessed it had to be nearing 6am. 

Beside him, a soft groan broke his concentration. "[b][color=F08080]My Lord? Are you alright?[/color][/b]"

He looked down at the petite blonde next to him, her naked body sinking into his bed of soft pillows and silk sheets. He smiled faintly, though it was more like a smirk, and pushed a strand of stray hair away from her face. "[b][color=008080]Shhh...[/color][/b]" He whispered, leaning down close and pressing a kiss onto her lips before she had a chance to utter another word. She melted against him, yearning for more as he pulled away. 

"[b][color=F08080]My love-[/color][/b]"

"[b][color=008080]Leave me.[/color][/b]" His voice was devoid of emotion then, the pet name she had just called him sending chills through his spine. 

"[b][color=F08080]Sir?[/color][/b]" She was confused, clearly. 

Damon was at the door in a split second, something he had still been trying to get used to. "[b][color=008080]Get.Out.[/color][/b]"

The woman, a commoner who had practically flung herself at him, sat up abruptly and stared at him in awe. It was a spectacle to see a human move so quickly, but he was in no mood for questions. He didn't even have the answers. He only knew that he needed her to leave, and he needed to do something that he had been putting off for nearly two weeks. 

"[b][color=008080]Now.[/color][/b]" He was talking through his teeth now, trying to keep his voice quiet so as not to wake the entire castle. When she didn't move, Damon had the thought to gather up her clothes, shove them into her hands and push her out the door himself. Before he even finished the thought he had done just that, and the woman was too shocked to do much more than allow herself to be moved around like a doll. This new ability of his was becoming annoyingly impulsive. 

"[b][color=F08080]Prince![/color][/b]" He slammed the door on her as soon as she was past the door line. 

Sighing, he turned and looked up at the ceiling, imagining the Gods above. "[b][color=008080]I'm doing it, you bastard.[/color][/b]" He spoke aloud, hoping that the Gods could hear him. Something about it felt right. 

For the past two weeks he had been having sporadic visions of the God Hermes, telling him vague things about a message he was supposed to deliver. It's been perplexing, especially considering he was never one to be truly devoted to the Gods. Almost simultaneously he had become quicker than the average person. Over these two weeks, he had run into closed doors at least a dozen times. Twice, he ended up in a village in the middle of the forest. The latter was a shocking experience, and he couldn't figure out how to get himself back to the castle just as quickly. Those days he was late to all of his training and nearly missed dinner, but he was unable to explain his reason to his teacher and family. His father assumed he had run off with some girl, so Damon allowed them all to believe that. How could he possibly explain that he had been trying to make his way back from the village of Tavaru when it would have normally taken him a day to get there and a day to come back? 

When the visions didn't seem to work for Hermes, Damon was afflicted with vivid nightmares. This left him exceptionally tired, which seemed to make his new skill even more unpredictable. The nightmare started off normal; he was sparring with one of this sword-masters, just like any typical day. Until sparring became increasingly aggressive and the sword-master eventually bested him and shoved the blade deep into his abdomen. As Damon gasped for air, the sword-master drove the weapon deeper into his body and leaned in close to whisper, "[b][color=808080]The letters.[/color][/b]"

Occasionally the sword-master would give him a name, which the Prince would promptly write down upon waking. No matter what the sword-master said, however, Damon always awoke with a searing pain in his abdomen, as if he had truly been stabbed there. Tonight was the same, but this time Damon had had enough. He could no longer ignore these dreams and waking visions. They were a plague, truly. He'd finally given in, hoping that this one task would end whatever it was that the Gods must have wanted with him. 

"[i]I'm going insane.[/i]" He thought as he grabbed a pile of paper splayed out over a desk in one corner of his room. Most of the pieces of paper had the name of a stranger he had never even heard of on them, aside from a select few. Sitting down, Damon went through each name and began writing the same letter to each one of them, something that came clearly in his mind which he assumed Hermes was feeding to him. 

[b][i]Dear [first name of your character][/i],[/b]

[b][i]You have been chosen. I know that you have been in considerable pain, and probably some measure of shock.[/i][/b]

[b][i]If you wish for answers and for the pain to leave, please meet me at the Silver Crow Tavern in exactly one month; the fifteenth of May. It is near the border of Eredel and Haventis. [/i][/b]

[b][i]You risk your own life should you not arrive.[/i][/b]

Damon left the letter anonymous, as he felt compelled to do. He nearly shuddered at the thought of going to the Silver Crow Tavern, located in one of the few poor areas of Eredel, but nonetheless he knew in his heart that he had written the correct location. When he finished writing the letters, he sent each one of them out with a raven to deliver them. By the will of Hermes, each raven would find its way to the correct person.