221 Recovery

As Arran opened his eyes, his awareness of his body returned in an instant, and the feeling was anything but pleasant.

He launched into a coughing fit, his throat dry like the sands of a desert. At once, he produced a bottle of water from his void ring and thirstily guzzled it down. That was nowhere near enough to sate his thirst, and a second bottle followed quickly.

When the second bottle was empty the parched feeling slowly abated, and with his mind no longer overwhelmed by thirst, he took some moments to gather his wits.

He quickly realized that more time had passed than he expected. The lower half of his face was covered in a thick and itchy beard, and his body felt frighteningly weak — the result of not eating for weeks or even months, he suspected.

While he wondered just how long he had been senseless, he decided there would be time to worry about that later. Right now, his body was desperate for nourishment, and he would have to see to that first.