Born of the Earth

A large shadow looming over the desert slowly disappeared as a basilisk fell to the ground. Jura was breathing heavily because of exhaustion, but the twins more so. "Are we there yet?" Solis asked. Jura looked to the east, at the colossal stone spire stretching into the sky, serving as the only landmark in the vast desert. "Just a little more." He said. "From now on, let's just jump through the desert to avoid contact with the ground." Said Nox, who struggled to form words because of exhaustion. "I agree." Said Solis.

"Water, please." Nox requested, and then he and Solis gripped hands and both of their marks glowed, and then water sprung from Nox's hands, which he put to his mouth and drank. "I thought you guys didn't need water?" Asked Jura. "It's because of the heat, I'm affected less so." Solis answered. "Well, I suggest you don't use any more of your powers, we'll need it for the path ahead." Said Jura, looking at their ever-looming destination.

As sand rapidly blasted at Felkin, they coalesced at his hands and legs, and then pulled him into the ground, his head only exposed above ground. "In an instant, you would be naught but sand itself. However, I only desire for someone to 'see' our plight." The creature responded. Felkin continued to struggle as a force tried to push him back down info the ground. "You are alike a trapped wild beast, struggling. Lashing out despite risk or danger." She leaned in and said something quietly: "Be aware that if you continue to struggle any further, you shall die." With this, Felkin went still. He uttered no words, only a scorned expression to the one before him. "Now, see." The one before him remarked.

A dome of sand then formed over him, and the sigils on the god's scales appeared in its ceiling. A round object, a cracked sphere, a shape with wings and fangs, curved lines representing water, and jagged lines like bolts of lightning. With each one he saw the sand turned into vivid color, a mishmash of shapes and hues and with every one that he read, they began to form into an image, a landscape of solid brown rock. Not like the light color of the desert sand, but of ancient earth. Although empty, the view was vast and grand, Felkin's eyes widened at the sight.

The view was desolate, except for the sun and the night sky that circled the sphere. The view descended into the ground, where a creature breathed as it slumbered. With this, Felkin could see it more clearly. He remembered it from days ago, though it seemed like ages past. It heavily resembled the gigantic "Dragon" that they encountered in the icy fields. But instead of greyish white scales, it had brown colored ones, matching the earth. He remembered it as the carcass embedded into the spire and the cavern where he was within. It was smaller in size and had half-formed wings. "On a sphere of cooled earth, our god lay slumbering, for eons, inside the womb of the earth." Her voice could be heard even inside the dome.

Then the vision changed, the dragon opened its eyes, uttered a fierce roar, cracking open a fissure above it. It crawled upwards and into the surface, where it was barren and dark. The creature had four legs, two hind ones that pushed it out of the ground, and it opened its mouth filled with rows of sharp bright teeth and clamped down upon one of its front legs. Felkin had a look of confusion and intrigue in his face, he leaned in with his head to get a closer look. Out of its wound gushed out a black liquid, it flooded the surrounding areas and eventually spilt and flowed across the vast barren landscape of the sphere. It uttered another mighty roar, Felkin reeled back because of its force.

From the 'ocean', clouds rose from the liquid and thunder struck wildly. "Our god is primal, a beastly creature but one with the nature of the earth. It had a sense of knowledge too vast for us to understand, it had the will to create, a reason that defies the need for a reason. Only a mere instinct, but far more advanced than another mind could know." She continued. The waves of the ocean crashed together and pulled apart; clear water could be momentarily seen as the waves parted.

As the waters moved, black stone sediments settled above the ocean, the solid powder that made the color of the liquid accumulated into land above clear waves. For a moment, Felkin was so entranced and intrigued by the sight that he lost his tension and was relaxed despite being partway trapped beneath the sand. After the seas were clear, the storms stopped and the dragon once again slipped back into the earth. He was so focused so much so, the storyteller's voice startled him and he tried to grasp a sword that was not there. She did not seem to take any notice as another set of runes flashed before Felkin and the scenery changed.

A rock, a blooming tree, different sets of lines showing simplified animals, both quadrupedal and serpent-like. The landscape rapidly changed as greenery sprouted from the earth, giving it color. Day and night passed, as the sun rose and then set to a growing world, as trees of brown color and green leaf overtook the landscape. "Even as our god receded, our world grew teeming with life. As its blood gave the land its life and molded as it dreamt beneath the ground." The view lowered to the ground, showing a multitude of beasts and creatures, familiar but different in some way to Felkin.

Quadrupedal reptiles, amphibians and scaly fish dwelt in the forests, although they were similar, there was a variety of creature both predator and prey and life continued to emerge as neither side died out and continued to multiply. "A young world, with countless possibilities, and a grand future ahead of it." Only three other runes flashed, a stick figure with a weapon, a boat with a sail and then a sphere in flames. The vision showed ships appearing and crashing into land. The sky ceased its rapid movement as the view focused on the people who arrived on the uninhabited land.

"I ceased the rapid movements of time in this vision, for if it continued at this pace, you would see the disappearance of life, and the degradation of land rapidly. Life blooms and surges, but it died out at a speed tenfold." She whispered. The people on the ships looked tired and wistful, the boats they rode on looked damaged and worn. The hull of the boats was made of a certain metal, Felkin could barely make out what appeared to be a symbol engraved, now faded. Their clothes were similar to the desert garb worn by the warriors at present but had less layers of clothing and had their faces uncovered with cloth. They brought along with them swords, shields, and armors; an excess of weapons worn down with use.

As they made landfall, they began to put down wooden structures, tents and as the animals looked on curiously and fearfully in the forest, groups of them began to journey into the forest, carrying bows and weapons to hunt for food. "Now the land is desolate, with not enough prey to the predators and they turn on themselves… But this is not a natural occurrence, rather it is a defilement of the natural order. A meddling of a slowly cultivated cycle…" Her voice was whisper-like but sharp and spiteful. "They arrived from a desolate, destroyed world. But they brought their destruction along with them."

The people brought tools like axes as they cleared a large grove of trees in the forest and gathered the logs. The people worked hard, building a rudimentary wooden structure, all as they hunted scores to feed their population. They came down to the river, driving off the animals as they gathered water and camped there to utilize it as a resource. The workers did not celebrate much and spoke little but focused on only eating their fill and working to the fullest. Their leader, a young man, expressed great joy in expression alone, he appeared to have vision, leading the people to follow him, and instructing them in the rebuilding of their new kingdom.

Their leader had grey hair, but Felkin could not determine if it was because of age or natural coloring. He recognized the glint in his eye, an expression of great excitement and an insight into things. He recalled the old man as he pointed eastward, but their appearance was drastically different as the leader was of times long past. Workers took shovels and tools to dig under the ground, and pickaxes to chip away at the stone. Felkin recognized their tools and saw a faint symbol on them but his train of thought was interrupted by the storyteller's continuing words. "They dug and broke through the earth, and they reaped the world of its gifts. Our gifts, but they took more than it could give." Suddenly the projection stopped, much to the dismay of Felkin.

"Forgive me, but I do not wish to again see the slow death of this world. I shall merely show its results." Runes appeared, a tall palace, cracked earth and a roaring dragon. The view changed, it was the same place, but it showed the location entirely changed entirely. The small wooden houses and tents have transformed into a large stone palace, towering over the nearby trees. The clearing was much larger now, bare land was adorned by a few trees on empty ground around the palace.

A small-town bustling with people and their houses was located near the palace. They celebrated and made merry, hunting more prey than usual. There was a huge, roaring bonfire, surrounded with cooked carcasses of the meat they hunted. The town was made up of both stone and wooden houses in architecture, where as the palace was made from stone. It was a tall structure, small compared to the towering rocks but had one tall steeple pointing upwards. Within the tall stone palace, the old ruler sat on his throne surrounded by his attendants. Now the man looked frail and close to death, Felkin saw his face as alike to the one he knew.

His attendants carried him on a litter, his small body weak and emaciated from old age. Multiple men carried him, servants, and workers, out of his palace and into the cave they started digging through ages ago. They carried him through a wide tunnel, lit by torches. On the sides, workers were still mining away, through the rock but bowed and showed reverence to him as he passed by. As they carried him further, he lay almost unmoving as they passed through deeper, until they reached it a place where workers were still trying to dig and mine into a section of the earth. The old man's eyes that were almost fully closed shot wide open and he rapidly leaned forward, prompting some of his men to hold him back. The large head of the slumbering dragon was visible poking in through the farthest they dug into the tunnel.

The leader gestured for them to lower him down, and as the litter lowered, he feebly tried to stand up, being helped by another man. Felkin watched intently, realizing that this might be the origin of the curse caused by the old god. The man who held his hand and led him to its body appeared similar to him, he also had grey hair and Felkin's eyes widened as he surmised that he was his son, whispering in his ear in a delicate manner. He slowly led him to the sleeping creature and then the old man lightly put his hand which seemed tiny in comparison to the beast's head. "What comes next is always difficult to watch." She continued. The continuous vision stopped and she sped along the projection, thus only flashes and snapshots of the events could be seen by Felkin, who strenuously focused to see them all.

The sand that surrounded the dome rapidly flowed through as it showed the events of what came after. The dragon bursting out of the ground and causing cracks and fissures as an army of armored warriors let by the young king approached it. They wore their old rusty armor and their weapons all possessed the same symbol. The next flash showed the dragon rampaging through the town in flames, though it had spears and arrows stuck to its skin. The man was wounded, a scar on his face through his eyes, and a bandaged arm, he led stern-faced battle-hardened troops, what was left of them, into another skirmish against the beast.

The view quickly sped past, until it abruptly stopped. The view was grainy and fading, as parts of the sand dome were slowly crumbling and falling apart. It showed, workers and warriors in a makeshift troupe pushing the corpse of the dragon down the tunnel where it originally slumbered. It was wrapped in countless chains as a mob of men including the king pressed their force down upon it. As they pushed downwards, the tunnel began to fill with the creature's black liquid. As it filled the tunnel, it rose above their ankles and hampered their movement as if they were stepping through mud. The king with his last remaining eye and only an arm to push it through, struggled to drive it backwards.

The beast was filled with even more weapons and armaments, as if every weapon in their collection was driven deep into it, it was covered in chains and had harpoon like objects sticking out of the top of its body. Its mass was more than halved, most of its body was sliced or hacked off, leaving only thin wings and a frail body. Suddenly the creature let out a howl, the various weapons stuck to it began to be pushed back, some even sliding out as the creature struggled and stalled as it tried to stop the mob's advance.

Felkin was reminded of the liquid that he awoke to in the abyss, and this combined with the beast's disturbed howls and the mob's brutality took him aback. The people in front including the king, had spears and swords they stuck into the dragon as they pushed it back and as it forced their weapons out, they tried harder and harder to push the beast further into the tunnel. They reached a fissure in the ground where the beast first emerged and pushed it back down, into the deep chasm's depths. The king then raised his weapon and then struck the raised weapon of another of his compatriots and then the tunnel's roof began to crumble. The carnage was almost primal, and it triggered an instinctual sense of aggression and a heightening of the senses, like an animal reacting to a threat.

The dome of sand collapsed and Felkin had a look at the scaly storyteller. She had her arms outstretched and palms facing upwards, she spoke no words and Felkin could see the faintest sparkle of tears beneath her exceedingly long hair. Seeing her preoccupied, Felkin acted in a split second. He used a burst of energy to burst out of the ground and as he jumped into the air. He focused on his sword and envisioned it moving and as he did, it shot out of the sand as well. He caught his sword and tried to bring it down on the weeping storyteller but was quickly grasped from the air by a gigantic hand made from the sand below and brought him down to the ground.

The sand pushed down on him like a mass with a life of its own. He was now face to face with her, he could see that her face though obscured had partially scaly features up until the eyes. The sand reacted as he struggled, putting weight and pressure on him as he tried to move. "I had hoped that you would understand." She said wistfully. "You raise your sword on me like a threatened beast, but now you must know that I will not be the target of your wrath." The dome once again formed above him and he saw another set of symbols. An infant in swaddling cloth, a cracked palace, and figures marching. The sands shifted and showed him another fragment of the past.

The victorious king battered with injury but returning home to his palace. Each strained step of his echoed in the spacious location, with only a few torches illuminating his home at nighttime. He climbed up the stairs slowly, as he was eagerly awaiting to go back to his family with his old father confined to the bedside and his wife who was expecting child. Outside there was a quiet merriment, his men and people were recuperating and trying to rebuild as best they could after the conflict and worked earnestly and quietly like their predecessors. As he walked, he passed by his son's room, and was relieved to find him soundly asleep. But as he proceeded further, he was met with the old midwife who quickly ran up to him and was anxiously waiting for his return.

She frantically whispered something in his ear, and Felkin tried to lean in to hear it but he could not ascertain what he had said. The king ran to the room upstairs where he saw his old father lying on the floor in the room. The midwife caught up to him and tried to explain something, but in his panic, he tried to help up the old man and ignored all else. But he suddenly noticed something in the corner of the room. Amidst his yelling he did not hear but now he fell silent as in the bed in the room's corner sat his crying wife cradling a child. Speechless, he slowly walked towards her and tried to see what was wrong. The infant she carried was silent, and had both of its eyes open, staring into the world.

The midwife explained something to him, Felkin observed and listened to them carefully. Apparently, this had only just recently occurred and as the old man came in to greet his grandchild he was struck down by weakness as he saw the newborn child. The king distraught and silent went to pick up the child and the mother freely let him to do so. The sight shocked him as the features of the infant were scaly, reminding him of the god he felled. It shared the color of his hair so it was undoubtedly his child but he looked out the window thinking about his people.

The view flashed by and changed once more. People were gathered outside his palace, the town had more or less had been rebuilt, but the palace doors were firmly shut and appeared to be for a long time. Townspeople and former soldiers gathered every day outside his palace but they did not find any sight or trace of him. At a pulley which was used to deliver resources and goods up to its higher floors the people delivered food and supplies to him and after they left it was received every time.

The king's reclusiveness sparked rumor amongst the people as the account of the midwife was that the king's second child was strange in appearance and in manner of birth and after the king's wife and father were buried, he secluded himself never to be seen again. Some people partook in the wild rumors, gossiping about how the king went mad and the child being some sort of accursed creature. As the midwife passed on, the people cared not on rumors but delivered food to the castle regularly as usual. The command was passed onto his general, a serious and burly man who some thought was better relegated as a man of battle and not as a leader of the people. The king's young son was not kept by the king but was taken in by the general. Felkin noted the uncanny similarity between the general and Dagran, just in the short time he had met him.

The view changed from outside into the inside of the castle, showing the king who now appeared disheveled and tired, brushing the exceedingly long hair of the child who had grown slightly in the few years that had passed. He held her up high happily as the light in his eyes only gleamed for her. He looked out of the window and saw that the people still regularly visited him and the busy bustling streets. The child curiously walked over to the window, but the king quickly closed it before she got any closer. He pulled up the pulley to the top of the tower they resided on, took the food and supplies, and then sent it back down.

In the years since he stepped down as ruler, the general finally adopted a more reliable way of getting food, keeping cattle, and raising crops. The king started every day with the collection and preparation of food and spent all day caring for and spending time playing with his daughter.

"Oh father, even as graven as the sin you committed, you were a most caring man. But I suppose it is the instinct of a creature to care for its young. That is why their actions were unforgivable, all creatures in this world were the offspring of a god and their actions were a slight against it. Of all the humans born on this earth, they were all birthed as strangers to the earth below. I am the only creature that was born both of man and by the god of the earth, and the last gift taken by man from this world." The storyteller remarked.

The sand then shifted and showed the next view. Ordinary folk were gathered around the entrance of the mining tunnel as soldiers were crowded around it, blocking their sight and their passage of what was inside. On a nearby hill stood the general standing tall and issuing orders to the soldiers and trying to dissuade the people from entering. Beside him was the king's adolescent son, watching from behind him, the general spoke to him and appeared to be teaching him lessons and had planned for him to take after himself as the next leader. Amongst the crowd, there was a hooded man that tried to get in front and was pushing past the people until he reached the blockade of soldiers. As he reached the line of men, he tried to push through but was pushed back.

He pulled down his hood and held his hand out palm-facing to the soldiers. The ones that first saw him were in shock. He was almost unrecognizable; he had grown out hair and beard but the same glint in his eye was instantly familiar to them from before. The soldiers were taken aback, and stepped backward, letting the man walk straight through. The general and the king's son recognized him even from a distance away and the boy quickly ran down and through the silent crowd and the soldiers had let him pass as well. The general gave chase, running through the crowd and reprimanding the soldiers for letting them through.

He caught up to the boy and grabbed him by the shoulder. He pleaded him not to go further in the cave, the boy was serious and expressed his emotions and intentions clearly. The general let go of the boy, standing still in the cave as he ran further on. The view then changed into further into the cave with the king. Felkin watched eagerly, entranced, and not wanting to take an eye off from it, but also fearfully expecting what was to come. The king ran up to the furthest part of the tunnel to the sealed off wall and saw miners and soldiers surrounding a figure seated in the middle of the path. As soon as he got closer, his eyes widened and he ran in and quickly hugged his daughter in his arms.

The men were still pointing their weapons at the girl, they pleaded for him to get away, and that it was dangerous to be here. The girl had her hands to the ground and appeared to be communicating with something beneath the earth. The king looked around and saw piles of sand were formed all around the tunnel and his surroundings. She was covered with wounds, and the king was panicked trying to calm her down and calling to his men for aid. But they would not move, still pointing their weapons, now at him as well. One of the warriors ran up and raised their spear, intending to bring it down on the girl regardless of the king. The girl looked up and saw the spear out of the corner of her eye. The king waited for the impact and clutched her tightly. But he slowly raised his head and looked all around him.

The soldier as well as the other miners had disappeared, leaving only their weapons and mounds of sand in their place. He stood up and for the first time he stepped backwards in fear of his daughter. He looked at the sealed wall and back at the girl who had scales all along her arms and body and he picked up a nearby sword and kept his distance. He knew it all along, he had an uneasy and pained look in his face as he met the teary-eyed gaze of his daughter. He looked around as the tunnel began shaking, but he heard footsteps rapidly approaching. His son ran in, and his first instinct was to push him back. The boy saw the girl, the shaking tunnel, the piles of sand, and his frantic father, weapon in his hand. He was bright enough to realize something was gravely wrong, but not enough to know the extent of the situation.

Felkin was getting flashes of memories of his own, a man pushing him away with concern with a looming threat or darkness, he couldn't remember it clearly but shook it away as he wanted to see what came next. He had a burning curiosity, and a feeling that this might be one of the pieces of the puzzle he needed. As the boy fell backwards, he stood up and understood from the desperate look in his father's eyes. He quickly ran backwards towards the entrance, where he met the general and quickly told him about the situation. The general quickly ordered the people to clear out and run, while he and the soldiers stayed behind.

In the tunnel, the king slowly approached the girl, spear in hand. Tears were streaming down his face, his daughter looked up at him, but did not pose any retaliation. The general was still waving his hand around as the crowd rapidly dispersed, the shaking from the tunnel rapidly increased and the soldiers pointed their weapon at the entrance ready for whatever will exit. The general was standing far away, still instructing the people to go back when a strong shockwave knocked him off his feet. As he stood back up, he saw his men now gone, only sand left from the spots where they stood. Seeing this he quickly ran to the people and met back with the king's son who was helping clear them away as well. In the cave, sobbing could be heard. The king had a spear firmly planted in his chest by his own hand.

The girl could only wail and sent another wave through the earth, making the king and the spear dissolve and return to the earth as sand. The projection stopped, and then Felkin was looking at bare sand once more. Only a deep sigh could be heard from the storyteller and then the sand moved once more, showing a new scene. The boy and the general, leading a caravan of people watching on at the edge of their old town. Where buildings and towers were, only a sandy plain was left of their old home. The towering palace, only its highest peak was poking from the ground. The people had one last view, until they began their march.

"And so, they began to march eternally. Forced to leave their home, their land. Hounded by a terrible curse that replaced the hopeful greeting of the morning sun to the spreading unseen death that crawled through the land. But from our perspective, they are only returning what they have taken back into the earth. Their lives, fostered by the gifts of the earth shall be taken as recompense. Their homes, made from the stone and the trees that spawned into existence by the god's hand. They were homes of creatures on their own, and the world itself is alike an extension of its body. We simply rightfully claimed what they took and claimed for themselves for years. But…"

The view flashed multiple scenes once more, the people marched and marched. The forests and the mountains disappearing, the whole region turning into a desolate wasteland. The boy became wise as a leader and inherited the spark that kept the people moving, Felkin was quickly reminded of Dagran and the twins. The view was of a bird's eye and scanned the landscape. The general grew old, and soon the boy did as well. As they wandered and journeyed, they split off into groups and so the people still spread all throughout, going far away from the curse's epicenter. Time moved quickly as the sun and moon rose and set, with the people being one step ahead of the spreading curse.

"Every piece of ground they walked on, they used and tainted. So, it all had to disappear, all to crumble into sand." She sounded unsure about this statement, and Felkin took notice and had a puzzled look on his face. The view showed stone temples being erected by some of the people who broke away from the main group, they believed and worshipped the god beneath and sought atonement from its wrath. "They built temples in honor of our god, but using the stone they mined, what they took from the earth." She paused. "I saw their repentance, and I… Abated the curse. So, it would be slowed but they would have to move once more. A lessening of the punishment, but not its removal." She sounded more unsure than before.

The projection began to waver and shake. It fixed itself and continued, showing the boy growing old, and the continuance of his kin. The next generation marched on, as most of the land was now converted to seas of sand. Their clothes were now reminiscent of the desert warriors at present, layered garb and covered faces to block from the hot sun and the desert winds. "The ground they tread was already tainted, if not, I should already be able to return the earth to its proper form. The land renewed, back to its form of stone and water. But I could only create sand, the world's form incomplete. I have awaited for a solution, and rebirth will begin after everything has been reduced to dust, and the human scourge has disappeared. It will rise again." "So, you caused the curse that turned everything into sand?" Felkin spoke after a long time of being silent. He spoke with a dry hoarse voice, but full of fire.

"Talkative are you not?" She responded. He grumbled. "Yes, it was indeed done by my hand." "And the creatures outside, the ones that crawl and the ones that fly; you made those too?" Felkin asked. "Once they were majestic beasts that thrived in these lands. These were all I managed to conjure up… But with their help…" "The cycle and order now, its different. They're only predators and all their prey are themselves. Wait, who's 'they'?" Felkin asked. "I too was searching for an answer… But the order will be remade. And for 'they', I'd like you to see a bit more." She gleefully answered him and the sand formed once again. Symbols flashed: curved lines for liquid, sand, a crystal and two human figures, preceded by a sun and moon for them each. Felkin saw the familiar desert landscape, the sea of sand and the moon brightly gleaming in the night sky above.

"Years after the march began, I began remaking the creatures that once lived, the original creatures that were born in this world. I sat an eternity on the place where our god lay, and where the capital was. So, I raised these new formations, towering pillars of stone marking the capital of our new era. I had difficulty with the creation of pure stone, so I made the creatures that were born to be capable of producing it by themselves." It showed massive stone pillars rising from the earth and stretching out into the sky. Crawling and flying creatures emerged from them and from under the sands and began moving outwards towards all directions. "As for the prey, there were still plenty of humans available and wandering…"

Then time passed, the sun rapidly rising and setting over a seemingly unchanging desert. Then it showed a slow flowing liquid, seeping through the sands and flowing through the underside of the desert. The flow and current were slow and thin, even as day and night rapidly cycled. "Our god's divine blood still coursed through the land; with it I created the beasts. Though it was tainted when the arms of man pierced through its flesh, it was still of divinity." She remarked with anger.

Then it stopped at another night, seemingly the same from all that came before it. "I was watching… Over the desolate desert at night. When I saw something strange, a single seed came fluttering down from the sky and onto the ground. When it touched the sand, it sprouted forth roots that dug into the ground. As it touched the liquid the seed opened and a small bud emerged." Indeed, it did show what she described, a small white seed falling from the heavens and rooting itself into the earth, a green bud emerging from it. "At first, I was enraged. What was this thing doing feeding upon the blood of the earth? And then, I thought that finally there was a creation from the god, new life was beginning to spring in the sand. So, I watched, and waited."

It showed the view below ground. The room was being cleared and sand dissolved by an unknown means. The bud continued to grow and its roots reached far below the ground. The sand cleared to form a small cavern underground. From the wall, two crystals formed with roots attached to them. The crystals slowly grew larger and they were soon filled with murky liquid, making unable to see what was inside. Soon, shadows were formed and figures could be seen within them. The moon's fading light reflected off the first crystal and onto the second. The sun then began to rise and its rays directly touched the first crystal.

"As the sun rose, I felt new life was springing onto this land. Forces that felt powerful and similar to me. So, I halted the curse, just for that area alone for a moment." It then showed the entire desert shaking, except the small area which was unaffected. Then it showed a man appearing out of thin air, someone who Felkin immediately recognized. He felt as if he saw the old man before, remembering briefly seeing someone like him earlier in his battle against the bandit leader. He watched even more closely than before.

Then something was moving inside the first crystal, pounding against the glass. The old man in armor took a pickaxe from his back and broke it open and the girl inside hopped onto him. He gently put her down and took out a cloth from his pack and wrapped it around her, she seemed very happy. Felkin recognized her as Solis but the sand suddenly receded and he was face to face with the storyteller who had a furious expression. He instinctually tried to jump backwards but realized he was stuck.

"They were born out of the blood of the old god; they were my kin and they were taken away from me by man yet again! The sigil on that man's tools, it is of the weapons they used to strike down our god, I thought I had crumbled to dust every last one of them. But they have taken something from the earth once more, something we rightfully deserve." The sand raised once more and the view showed Solis and Nox with a younger Raln and Dagran, and the old man who had the same glint in his eyes. He saw the camp teeming with people and activity, and Felkin felt a sense of sadness he could not explain.

"I wanted to make that entire camp disappear beneath the dunes, but alas, I already used my power to spread the curse's influence for that day and with the strength I expended to 'protect' them, I was out of power." Then it shifted the view to just before sunrise, with Solis and Nox at the camp's stone steps. The ground began to rumble and the twins used their power to stop the rising of the sand. "That next morning, I focused all of my strength into destroying that camp. Since all of the men were returned to the earth or fled elsewhere, there was nothing else except these stragglers." She spoke differently from her indifferent and quiet tone to a louder more drained manner of speaking. Felkin took notice of the escape of the men she mentioned and kept silent. "But they stopped me. The abilities granted to them by our god they used against me! And from that point forward, I considered them my enemy."

The sand receded and whilst Felkin was exposed to that last vision, she had already etched the next set of symbols onto the beast's scales. A figure holding a sword. An extremely long squiggly line, made from broken line segments. Then more curved lines, with small eyes marked onto them. And finally, tall stone spires. "Our tale engraved in divine stone continues now." She pointed at him. "With you." Felkin was surprised and his eyes grew slightly wider with shock. "By the sudden appearance of you and the girl in this world, my suspicions were confirmed. That there is another world somewhere else from this one. Filled with humans, invaders that could never leave this world alone. I could only crush those in my grasp, and so I left those who escaped this world alone. But with you and the girl, I realized that pests could come from other worlds, unknown threats, that can do harm to this world and to our still slumbering god." "What do I have to do with this?" Felkin asked, he talked calmly but spoke aggressively.

"I sense that you are something different. Human, but also of another power. Divine power, but of a different world." She answered as she held out her hand in his direction. "You are like me." "Hmph." Felkin remarked. "The girl is the key to access the other world. I need to be prepared to extinguish every other threat after I've dealt with all in this realm. You will act on my behalf, destroy the remaining humans, and bring her to me. My curse can't touch the two protecting them, so you will deal with them as well." Felkin was angry but silent. "Well? Your other option is to die here, in the sand." "My answer is still no." He responded. "Fine then, can I ask you why throw away your life?" The figure asked. "It's just you, isn't it?" Felkin asked.

"Hmm?" The storyteller exclaimed. "That thing, it's been dead a long time. The curse, the sand, the creatures outside, it looks like you are the only one doing it, not some god." Said Felkin. "All that I do is for the service of this land, and the god who created it." "From what I've seen, you don't mention it talking to you or giving you orders. I've observed that everything you do is on its behalf." Felkin remarked.

Her manner of speech became shakier, angrier. "I hear it calling, in my dreams and when I'm unsure of what to do." "When did it last talk to you?" Felkin asked. "This is blasphemy, you know nothing of the will of our god, it'll show itself when it wakes from its slumber." "Slumber? So, you've been here hundreds of years, without any contact from the thing you worship, destroying everything else its created while proclaiming it's tainted, and creating your own creatures to inhabit this wasteland. The beast is a simple creature, it created. The only will you're imposing is your own, no sleeping god, just you." "No! I heard it, I did! That day, in that tunnel. I heard a hum, it was a feeling, an emotion from it. Wrath." Felkin did not expect this response and listened intently to her next words.

"It's an instinct. It's telling me what to do, I'm sure that its not just me." "Hmm." Felkin responded, seemingly familiar with this statement. "We are similar, shackled by some god." He remarked. "You're making a grave assumption, one that'll end up with you dead." She replied. "Instinct. To protect your home. My world, it's just my instinct to protect it as well." Felkin responded. "I suppose deep down, we're all driven by instinct." She continued. "I don't want to do this." Said Felkin. "Do what? You're trapped." The storyteller confidently exclaimed. "Because it hurts my eyes." With that statement, his eyes changed color to a deep red.

Solis, Nox and Jura were running past the trees that were nearby in the spire's shadow. Jura carried Nox who looked up at the agitated flocks of birds flying overhead. Suddenly, birds burst out of the leaves and came face to face with them. Quickly, Solis loosed three arrows that struck all three of them down immediately. 'What a mess I've been dragged into…' Jura thought as they quickly ran towards the spire's base. Suddenly, a bright red glow emanated from the entrance of the cave underneath the tall rock pillars.

The three of them stopped in their tracks. "What's that?" Nox questioned, suddenly feeling a chill of dread. "I know its something dangerous." Solis remarked pointing her bow at the entrance. Nox pointed his arm at it as well but had one hand reaching for an object he had on his person. "I know what it is, it's 'him'." Jura remarked. "You mean Felkin?" Solis asked. "You're right, its going to be dangerous from here on out so be ready." Jura stated.

Suddenly, basilisks burst out of the ground at the same time around the giant structure. They pounced at the direction of the central spire as a slash of a sword cut through the circumference of the narrow spire. "Hide." Jura and Solis crouched behind a nearby tree. The pillar began to tilt backwards and then fell across the desert, sending a shockwave and disrupting the sand in the region. As the shockwave blasted by, Jura and the twins reeled back as the trees barely managed to hold on and some were uprooted. "That was… extreme." Said Nox, drained.

Jura slowly peeked and saw the basilisks had moved away from the structure when it fell and were now slithering towards it and hissing aggressively. One of them struck towards where the spire once stood, into an area that was obscured by the dust of the impact. A long-segmented blade shot out from the cloud of dust and struck one of the basilisks in its underside. The impact sent it backwards and collapsed belly up on the ground, and it lay there unmoving.

Out of the smoke, Felkin stepped out with his glowing eyes visible from far away. "That's him, should we help?" Solis asked. "Let's stay." Jura responded, Solis looked back at him and Felkin simply nodded and then she looked back at the fighting. As the dust cleared, the other basilisks lunged at Felkin, He jumped up as they all lunged, and landed on a basilisk's head and brought his sword down in its eye and extended it to skewer the beast further in its head.

He hopped towards another basilisk and sent out its sword into the roof of its open mouth, going upwards until a crack could be heard in the scales on the top of its head. Out of the sand nearby, the ground rumbled until it erupted and sent sand flying in all directions. An inhuman wailing blasted from that spot and stopped even the basilisks from attacking. As Felkin landed on the ground, he looked at a figure rising in the distance.

Solis and Nox had their hands covering their ears as they looked at where the sound was coming from. Her hair was long but was raised to the air no longer covering her face, grey scales covered her up to her neck and green eyes glaring like a ferocious serpent's. She was in the air, atop the gigantic basilisk and had her hands raised to the skies in an expression of fury. Sensing something, Felkin hopped high in the air like a threatened cat and Solis and Nox held out their hands and their marks brightly glowed as a wave of energy passed through the sands. The three were noticed by both 'her' and Felkin. Solis and Nox looked at each other and then at Jura. "Here we go." Jura remarked.