In the deepest of his slumber, he had seen what he could never forget, he was in a field of ashes, a land burnt to the ground, sand turned to glass and homes turned to dust, a red chaotic sky which rumbled upon every thunder clap, what filled his nostrils was a sickening smell of flesh melted against bone, around him and almost everywhere, bodies upon bodies, all victim to the great fire that consumed this once great land, and he was chained to that land, his hands and legs both bound to the ground with iron.

  Ahead of him he saw two men, one looked the same as the other, onyx skin, braided long hair to their waists, feline eyes the same as his tribe, though they were different in the color of their eyes, one was amethyst, the other had an eye patch on his right eye but his remaining eye was copper, and in their hands they carried weapons he seen before, his sword was with the half blind man, his brother's sword was with the other man, and beneath them sat a man who shared their skin and nothing else, before the king could glimpse his face, the amethyst eyed man swung his sword and severed the man's head, and as his body alongside his head dropped without a drop of blood, the one eyed copper pupils man began making his way towards Roegan and above them hovered a boy, he could not see his face, hair or shape, but his skin was pale and he had many eyes, all which were blind and yet observed down on what had been occurring.

  Yet Roegan was not afraid, he felt familiar, he felt safe, he felt home, even when the one eyed man rose the sword that once belonged to Roegan and stabbed it into the king's chest, Roegan felt nothing, he did not bleed, he did not ache and he watched as the sun turned into an eclipse and what came about was an Inferno from the horizon that ended the world, then he waked.

  Roegan was soaking in his own sweat, his breath was heavy and so was his body, he clung into his own chest and coughed up his saliva, he saw a nightmare or a dream, a rare occurance for those with his blood, his ears were still ringing and he could not recall what he had seen, only that it was an omen and a bad one at that.

  "Father! " His daughter shouted as she wrapped her arms around him, her nails slightly dug into his skin as she clenched tightly into him. "Gods, I prayed and prayed for as long as I could, I thought you would not wake, that I lost you and it would have been my fault. "

  "I am fine, youngling, even if something did happen to me, I was there on my own merits. " He explained to her as he pushed her back then placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, she wiped away her tears and he asked. "What happened while I was asleep tonight? "

  "Tonight? " She said shockingly. "Father it have been four days, since we killed the beast you have been asleep, the Shaman sewed back your ear and casted your arm... I thought I lost you... I... I—"

  He set his uninjured hand on her shoulders and gently smiled towards him, he could see the dark blue circles under her eyes and her ruffled hair which was always kept tidy, thus he exclaimed warmly. "You lost no one... But I am proud of you for not breaking at your first challenge, there will be more to come, and I truly know it in my heart that same as this time, you will keep your heart and mind strong for others and yourself. "

  Malynn was silent briefly and studied his face thoughtfully, she sighed and uttered. "Thank you... But do be more careful now, though I assume our venture ended quicker than I had thought, we go back home? "

  "No. " He replied as he looked around, they were in a small hut and he had been laying on a pelt of a canine, next to him where burning herbs that cleansed the room from the scent of his blood which had scarred the floor under them.

  "What? " Her eyes widened as she replied in shock. "You are injured, badly, you cannot heal until at least a month or two, that if you do not lose your arm! Gods, it was bent backwards when I dragged you back into the town and the Shaman did all he could to put you back together. "

  "The princess speaks the truth. " Said the shaman as he walked past the doorway curtains, covered in green paint and feathers in his hair, he limped ahead with his cane and stood besides Roegan as he added. "When she brought you here, you barely had any breath your highness, we are most fortunate that you still live. "

  They could not understand, they will not understand, his nature was not of the common man who was easily breakable and rarely salvageable, his was the blood of the nameless men, but many had forgotten what that truly meant, and only a few had came to the knowledge to know the secrets of certain bloods, he was one of those who knew, and one of those affected by it, yet he knew what the spread of those secrets could do to his seedlings, thus he will not speak of it at the moment, nevertheless his quest did not end.

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  "I will be the judge of my own limits, Shaman, I thank you for your assistance but I do not seek your advice. " The king's words were cold and direct as he stood from where he laid, dizzy but firm in his movements. "What happened to my equipment? Where is the body of the beast? "

  "I... As you wish your kingship, I shall show you to your things. " The shaman replied and Malynn was not too pleased with her father even if she did not protest much.

  The shaman led the king and his daughter out of the hut and into the center of the village, where the women, elders and children who formerly hid in their homes were gathered together around what seemed to be an altar, upon seeing him, they chanted his name as they presented him with what belonged to him, his bone molded armor, painted with runes from their blood, each spared a sum, and each rune was written in the tongue of the old Tatar, each protecting him from a Zator king, each protecting him from a different beast, or so they believed, his helmet was fixed, yet his left arm piece from hand to shoulder was shattered into pieces, as he had expected from the injury he suffered, and behind the pieces of armor laid the body of the beast him and his daughter slain, the sword was still deep inside its chest as the princess claimed she could not pull the sword out of the body, nonetheless they began putting the armor back on his body, mindful of his bandaged head, leg and casted arm, once he was in his full set he walked up to the body and with one hand he pulled out the great sword from the rotten flesh as it turned into ashes and left with the current of the wind, besides the head which remained uncorrupted and in one piece.

  His sword had the color of bone no longer, it was a deep shade of red, deeply imprinted into the sword, he wondered if it was the mold that came from cold blood but it would not scrap off no matter how hard he tried, his sword changed, and truth be told, it felt alive with its own heartbeat and that he did not appreciate.

  Afterwards he ordered them to leave him two mounts then gathered the villagers in the outskirts of the town, he would not leave them there knowing that they lost all who could protect them and with barely anything to eat, he whistled and called on the centipede and it arrived much quickly leaving behind an illusion of sandstorms, then he told them to mount it and promised them shelter at his city, at first they were afraid and cautious of the tame celestial beast, they had only heard that the king mounted it in his endeavors but soon enough they grew their courage and climbed into its back then took the head of Egor.

  Roegan told the shaman to deliver a message to the Queen, to tell them that they are well and had slain Egor, to show proof of it and to warn her about the disruption of letters on birds or crawlers, and to only use messengers.

  Once the centipede took off in the far distances, Malynn turned to her father and argued. "This was a mistake, you cannot ride a camel in the state that you are, father I know it is hard for you to accept it but we should have went with the centipede home, it is not too late to call it back. "

  "We do not need to delay the quest. " He replied. "We have no reason, we will continue our path and see this journey done, three more monsters await. "

  "You are injured! " She shouted.

  "I am not. " He answered.

  At first she glared into his eyes, but seeing that he did not budge or mock, her eyes widened as she muttered. "... What ? "

  "It happened at death valley, and all who witnessed it live no longer, save for Xao who did not speak of what he seen. " he explained as he stood by the hut near the mounts. "I do not fully understand it, only what I read in scattered tapestries in our land... But you need to know, and I will show you in our way what I can of this phenomenon. "

  "Father, what phenomenon? what are you talking about? " She asked in haste as he had expected her to do.

  After all it was not a thing to be understood by mortals, he himself was a mortal, while he carried this gift or curse he could not understand well neither, no warden or shore guard or scholar had answers for what he had been through, except for the old tapestries which spoke of it and very little, he was silent and he did not know what to say, thus he decided to show her, and with his casted injured left arm he smashed it into the hut, the casting shattered and the hut was harmless for a long second until a crack surfaced and it broke into pieces from his sheer strength, his once broken arm which had very little hope to not be amputated was healed without scars, he took out his bandages and his ear was healed all the same as the surgery strings fell off.

  He glanced down towards his daughter and her jaw was dropped in shock, she mumbled for a bit and all she could express was her shock and disbelief. "... Impossible... How, even if you were able to heal without a scratch, how did you heal in four days? How? "

  "I under went what our tribe calls the awakening, decades ago in death valley. " He revealed. "ever since then, no man can kill me by any normal means, so long my head is not severed, and the limbs I lose are put back to where they belong, I can heal from almost anything, I can shatter walls, cut through steel... And many other things, I am the inevitable, I am immortal, I was awakened. "