The Great Desert of Tanvene

Rage truly blinds one, preventing them from seeing the pure visage of life; but can one in truth, really see without it?"

~~~

"RISE!" "Today we march, today we turn the favor against Pyen Tyra; today... The Wyrm Tribes will not fall!" Bellowed The Commander of The Rural Kingdom's royal infantry as they charged into The Wyrm Tribe's kingdom unknowing that the only enemy they'd face there would be the land itself.

~~~

"So many traps... why does everyone have a weird fetish with them, they absolutely suck!" Snarled Imogen while getting the wind knocked out of her by a swinging log.

"Traps make it inconceivable to even think about finding the exit, it'll take days to find my way out." Grumbled Imogen as she chopped the log in half.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: You don't need to look for a way out, the path will soon walk you across it

"... What's that supposed to mean, you can say it all you want; but it won't ever be anything more than gibberish." Insisted Imogen while a pile of sand dropped onto her head, getting into her eyes

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐨𝐦: Just be patient, and the exit will find you... in the form of sand

Then, with almost coincidental accuracy, Imogen threw her halberd into the ceiling; cracking the ancient tiles. "I get it now, and no, I'm not waiting for the roof to collapse in on me; I'm going to break it myself!"

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: No, that's not what I meant; do you really think you can survive thousands of pounds of sand!

"Sorry, but the roof is already cracking; did you really think I'd wait until the entrance 'showed itself.'" Grinned Imogen as she looked at the roof with anticipation.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭: You know you'll die right, even with your defence; the sand will crush you into a fine paste

"It's better than waiting, I hate waiting, oh; and can I do retribution damage to sand?" Inquired Imogen while the roof groaned in an uncomfortable sounding fashion.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: No, sand isn't a living creature; it never actively attacks you

"Well, what if it did attack me; would it take retribution damage then?" Questioned Imogen as she watched the roof start to fall apart, with one chunk smashing into her shoulder.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞: Yes... but if you're going to do what I think you are, just don't; it's not going to work

"You don't know that, I'll probably be fine... it won't hurt a bit." Smiled Imogen while activating Plea To The Vines, and Stance Of The Unrelenting Inanition as the sand broke through the middle of the roof.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫: The sand isn't going to attack you, do you understand that; it won't take retribution damage

"I know, I was just asking about that to pass the time; I haven't got the foggiest idea of how I'm going to survive this." Cackled Imogen as the whole roof came crashing down.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥: At least after you die, I'll be able to leave your accursed mana stream; have fun returning to the aether you dolt

With unrivaled speed, Imogen switched to her tick form just as the sand crashed down, causing her to be able to use The Stance Of The Unrelenting Inanition; and her tick form's impressive defence at the same time.

"Ahahha, I'm still alive system; I can't believe you doubted me!" Chortled Imogen while being grateful for once that she's a tick.

*𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟: Impressive, you somehow managed to block the full weight of part of The Great Desert Of Tanvene; and can survive within it without much worry because of your tick heritage

"Oh really, I actually thought I was going to suffocate; I just wanted to prove you wrong." Laughed Imogen as some sand got lodged in her throat.

"Don't tell me... there's fricking sand worms in here, what the fu-!"

~~~

"You think you can rob me... not a chance, you're going to help me get this boat off the shore whether you like it; or not!" Growled The Rebellious One while barely doging a sloppy club attack, and punching a man in the stomach.

"Ha, with those weak punches; you're better off swimming back to Nodgein kid!" Crooned the man while knocking out The Rebellious One with a quick jab to the head.

~~~

"Oh, so you're finally awake; thanks for the boat by the way kid." Snickered what seemed to be the leader of the trio of men as he looked at the waking Rebellious One.

"You should be glad we didn't have the heart to leave a young lad like yourself on that godforsaken island, we were shipwrecked there for far too many moons." Sighed the man while Offering The Rebellious One what looked to be an orange fruit.

"Oh, and the name's Craigen by the way... if you even care." Muttered the man as he left the room before The Rebellious One could even respond.

"I feel so tired, it wouldn't hurt to just go back to sleep; I haven't got as much as wink of late." Yawned The Rebellious One while shutting his eyes, and drifting right back to sleep.

~~~

"Get up kid, after much consideration; we've decided to take you in as our own." Twinkled the man whose eyes seemed to shine as he walked up to The Rebellious One.

"After a long talk, we decided you were just a young kid who had stolen a boat... because there's no way you acquired this ship legitimately." Assumed the man while patting the Rebellious One on the shoulder.

"As long as you work hard, we could be your family; and you ours." Exhorted the man as he undid The Rebellious One's bindings.

"We found some real weapons below deck, all unused for some reason; I think they might of been for decoration." Hinted the man while pulling The Rebellious One up, and off the ship's pristine floor.

"You're just going to let me have a weapon, are you not afraid that I'll try to kill you; or slit your throats during the night." Asked The Rebellious One as he bit into the orange fruit besides him.

"No, we are all that's left of The Rural Kindoms royal navy, funding was cut after The Seaman's Treaty was signed." Answered the man while laughing to The Rebellious One's face contorting from the sourness of the orange fruit.

"So no, we are not afraid as we are trained professionals in the ways of the blade; and bow." Stated the man as he watched The Rebellious One throw up all over the floor.

"I find that hard to believe, you uh... seemed to suck at holding a club." Admitted The Rebellious One while wiping the barf off his face.

"We were trained in ways of many different weapons, clubs wasn't one of them; most of our time was directed to learning how to efficiently pilot a ship." Claimed the man as he scratched his head.

"So are you ready to meet the others, I mean you've met them before; but not properly." Offered the man while holding out his hand, and smiling.

"Yeah, I think I am; you seem way nicer than I thought you'd be." Agreed The Rebellious One as he took the man's calloused hand, and smiled back."

The man gestured to the doorway, suggesting they walk through it. "Good, I think you'll do well with us; well as long as you work hard that is."

~~~

"Let's face it... a four on one was never going to turn out in your favor, and it seems you'll take a while to be revived; since I'm throwing you into the bottom of the ocean." Sneered The Crimson Of Dawn while pinning the last Ancient Scourge to the floor.

"So where's The Chosen One, I have to admit; you really outdid yourself this time." Interrogated The Crimson Of Dusk as he stared into the Ancient Scourge's golden eyes.

"I told you, he fucking stole your ship you idiot; can't you see that it's missing." Coughed the Ancient Scourge while failing to claw at The Crimson Of Dawn's face.

"Oh come now, the ship's only gone since The Crimson Of Twilight took the wheel to knock you off balance." Reasoned The Crimson Of Dusk as the Ancient Scourge seemed to sigh in pain.

"Just kill me already, I can't take your stupidity for a second longer; I'd much rather lay at the bottom of the sea." Pleaded the Ancient Scourge while hearing a matching suspire, and feeling his head get cut off.

"Did you get any Information out of him 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘖𝘧 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯, or did you fail because you're not fit for your new position." Spat the new Crimson Of Twilight as he looked down at the Ancient Scourge's corpse.

"He kept on insisting that The Chosen One escaped on our boat, but it got far too tiring; and I killed him." Growled The Crimson Of Dawn while matching The Crimson Of Twilight's glare.

"That sounds like... you're not fit for your new position, let's see who wins the fight this time!" Fumed The Crimson Of Twilight as he punched The Crimson Of Dawn in the face.

"Come on, not this again; how many times are you going to fight before this quarrel is over!" Yelled The Crimson Of Dusk while watching the two Crimson Ones trade blows.

"Not enough!" Both Crimson Ones shouted as the fight officially began.