[A silence emanates over the cooling dunes]
Thaerin: "Thought I might lend a hand to a familiar face."
Still dumbfounded by the situation, Sarah looks up at the man, his figure still towering over her as she lies on her back. She was certain her life was over, so she contemplated whether this was the afterlife or not.
"Are you an angel?" Sarah says, her mind still fuzzy from the shock.
"You're not too far off." He scoffed, mocking the poor young girl.
Thaerin kneels down closer to the young mage, Sarah, finally getting a good look at her savior. His face was lined with scars, markings of long-fought battles. She can tell he is a wise and mysterious soul; the wisdom of time etched onto each wrinkle. His hair, long and white, was still in pristine condition. Holding up his large sum of hair was a bun tied onto the back of his head. His beard was long and unkept, the contrast between his beard and his neat hair pissed Sarah off, if only a little.
A cold chill emanates from his body, as though being held up to a humanoid block of ice. Thaerin reaches his hand out above Sarah's head, offering it as help. Hesitant, for she was still in complete shock at the situation, she looked over to Egan, who was still passed out on the ground next to her.
Noticing her glance, Thaerin takes his long gray coat and lays it over Egan, his nude form finally being fully covered.
"Thank you…" Sarah said, her voice faint and quiet.
"You are welcome, young lady." He said, now facing her left side, hand still outstretched.
Sarah reciprocates his hand, wrapping her shaking fingers around his. In a quick motion, he pulls her up into a seating position. Sarah, a little glad at not being tossed up on her feet, once again thanks the kind old man.
She violently begins bowing, expressing her dearest gratitude towards him.
"Woah, woah… you're getting blood everywhere." He said, trying to block his face from the flailing entrails being launched in his direction.
"You already had that covered, though…" She mumbled, looking around, seeing a pool of blood, as though the red sea had found its way into the Denosins.
Thaerin: "The mess was well worth the reward."
[The sun lowers over the horizon]
[A crisp chill barrels across the desert]
Sarah shivers as the cold gust of night embraces her. Egan, unconsciously huddled up inside Thaerin's coat, bundles up a little tighter to avoid the cold.
"Why don't we get you cleaned up, don't wanna head back to town covered in blood now, do we?"
Sarah, now realizing the situation she's in, begins panicking. Rather quickly, she bolts up, running over to her cloak, which is now buried in a pile of blood and guts.
"I… I-I need to give you something… Please…" Sarah says, rushing over to her savior, who is now displaying a look of shock on his face.
"Take everything I have as payment, you didn't have to go out of your way to help us! I am forever in your debt!" She said, arms outstretched, holding the robe her mother gave her as a child, her legs shaking.
"Everything I own is in here-"
Thaerin cuts her off, his palm facing her head, as though rejecting the generous offer. Sarah, a little relieved by the rejection, wraps her arms around her robe while falling to her knees. She doesn't know what came over her. How could she offer up the last thing she has that reminds her of her mother?
"That won't be necessary." He said, palm still facing her.
Sarah continues to lie there, looking at the cloak she had almost given up to a stranger. She begins to cry, grateful for the life she was lucky enough to keep living, if only for a little while longer.
"Now, about that clean up."
"Huh?"
***
[The charging of essence coalesces in the hand of a talented mage]
In a flash, a cold stream of water gushes from the fingertips of the old man. Sarah is now drowning in a powerful stream of water. The force of the stream blows the sand around them away, along with a powerful shockwave, after all, monster guts are not something that comes out easily.
[The agitated blubbing of a helpless girl echoes throughout the quiet desert.]
As Thaerin stops the soaking, the blast now slows down into a small stream. Sarah stares blankly at him, eyes wide, and completely drenched. Despite now being freezing and her clothes practically ruined, she is grateful that he was able to clean up the mess she made on herself. Still shocked by the sudden blast of freezing water, she begins to use her robe to dry off her face.
After a long glance at the old man, she notices his hand still outstretched towards her. She looks over at Egan, who somehow still is sleeping through this whole thing, rather peacefully at that. With a quick move of his hand, the cold blast of water now has another target, Egan. After moving his coat off of him, he raises his hand. This time, though, the stream was much more intense. For he had noticed Egan was covered in stains of blood that were already fully dried. Surprisingly, this didn't affect the sleeping beauty's slumber. Sarah was thoroughly impressed.
Thaerin notices her glance and sits down next to them.
"He has a long road ahead of him," Thaerin says, gaze now joined with hers.
"This whole world is new to the young man, and ever since he's arrived, he's only experienced hardship."
"Arrived? What, is he from another world or something? " Sarah remarks, confused by the words Thaerin just used
Thaerin: "Or something," he says, letting out a slight laugh
"I have been watching him for some time now, ever since the shift in essence occurred."
[A dust of sand is kicked up from beside you]
Sarah, eyes wide, looks directly at Thaerin, who is now confused at the sudden enthusiasm. She looks incredibly excited, like a little kid right before Christmas.
"So, you felt it too!" She said, now only inches in front of the old man's face.
"Yes… I did." He said, pushing her face back with his hand
"A lot of people did, in fact, too many people did."
"I knew it! That stupid biologist had me thinking I was crazy. The next time I see him I'm gonna kick his cowardly ass!" She said, fist clenched, and arm raised.
Thaerin looks up towards the night sky, contemplating whether or not to reveal something to her. He decides against it.
"You should stay away from that man," he said, now intensely staring at the young mage.
"Why-"
Sarah already knew the answer; Thaerin's eyes told her everything she needed to know. His cold gaze now emanates toward her with not just the fierce will to fight, but also the essence of someone who had a good reason to say what he did.
***
"By the way…" Sarah said, quickly changing the subject to something a little less uncomfortable.
"What did you mean by too many?" She added, curious.
[A harsh wind blows from beyond the horizon]
"The world's balance has finally tipped overboard." He said, a scared sigh escaping his lips, "For a long time now, centuries even, the world has been in complete chaos. Power struggles battle out between nations all over the supercontinent, which I'm sure you're well aware of."
"I am…" She says, now frightened by the tone Thaerins uses, "I read about it in my town's library."
"Can you tell me what you think is going on?" Thaerin added, curious about what she's about to say.
With a deep breath, Sarah begins recounting the tales she's read about.
"After the war of the gods 1000 years ago, the world catalyst was shattered into 10 distinct fragments. Those fragments began to form life around them, leaking out and combining with their environment to form the elementals. Divine beings with supreme power over their territory. Now lying dormant, the people of the new age began to form civilizations around the remains of these elementals. And so formed the modern age!" She said, giving a little bow at the end of that long speech.
"I didn't ask for a history lesson," he said, giggling at the girl's enthusiasm, a little surprised by how little she knows, "But you're somewhat correct."
"The elementals are not divine beings, their puppets. Controlled by the true divine beings that lie beyond the stars. Your new friend has a fragment of one of those divine beings. A true soul. He is what's known as a "Soul bearer" to the very few who know the truth. And because of how strong the essence inside him is, it caused a ripple effect all through the world. What you felt was an effect of that ripple."
"So, what you're saying is that Egan is very, very important." She says, trying to confirm what Thaerins is explaining.
"All the divine beings of this world have long abandoned the world of Terranova. So, his being here is a flaw, and a massive one at that…The world knows he's here and has awakened countless beasts and supreme beings to try and hunt for his soul. Though the world has accepted him, those who reside in it want to harness the power that the young man possesses. But he isn't what caused the world to become unbalanced, no, he is only a small fraction of what horrors lie in waiting. All manner of living and non-living things are threatening the balance of our world. And I want you two to help me correct it."
"I'm sorry, my reason for rescuing you wasn't solely a pure-hearted one," he said, an awkward smirk cracking along his wrinkled face.
"That young man over there is still oblivious to the impact he's had on our world since arriving here. The atmosphere has changed, so will you stand tall and grow powerful to face the impending threat? Or will you become lambs led to the slaughter like so many others before you?"
Sarah: "..."
Sarah was in complete shock. How in the world could she process all of this? The small, frail, nude young man in front of her has shaken the world to its very core. And yet still, he sleeps ever so soundly through this earth-shattering news.
"Why me?" Sarah muttered, wondering if all of the stuff she heard was the truth or not.
"You are special…" He said, his hand now resting upon her head, reassuringly.
A strange sense of comfort emanates from his hands. As though all the words spoken just now, we're out of concern for her. She felt like she could trust the man in front of her, if only just a little.
Sarah: "How-"
He cuts her off, his other palm now facing towards her.
Thaerin: "In due time," he says, taking his hand off her head and beginning to stand up.
"Armageddon is upon us, Sarah Chatsworth."
"So now I ask you. Though my reasoning may be selfish."
"Will you help me?"