Arash was mere moments from giving himself to the sand, but before his bare and blistered foot touched the scorching, black sand he felt himself flying through the air toward the river. His breath rushed from his lungs as he hit the hard-packed sand. After taking a second to regain his breath he stood to examine what had thrown him.
There was nothing there.
Having regained his sanity after the brief moment of losing it, his curiosity drowned out the voices. He gazed up and down the bank of the river but once again saw nothing.
"Hello?" He called out, "Is anyone out there!?"
A giggle came from behind him," of course silly, otherwise, you would be one with the sand by now."
He swung around to see a woman. Her irises were a deep crimson and she was wearing a dark black set of armor. Her black hair fluttered in the wind.
"Who are you?" Arash asked in as confident a tone ask he could muster.
The woman smiled, she had unusually long canines and her skin was as pale as death. The sign of a half-born. Though some called them vampires and rumored that they burned in the sun. But it was just a rumor, and Arash considered it heresy.
Arash immediately fell to his knees, "Please forgive me, daughter of the gods! I thank you for your service of saving my worthless life!!"
Her smile fell into a frown that resembled a grimace, "I do not wish for praise Arash. Please stand"
He did as he was asked. The half-borns were known to be the children of the gods and he felt his life depended on not angering her.
"Do you know why I'm here mortal?" She inquired.
Arash's mind danced upon that question for a moment but he could find no conclusion.
"No, I do not." He said, "Why are you here and why did you save me?"
Her smile quickly returned, "my father, the God of tricks has made a deal with my dear auntie." She said as Her smile grew ever larger, "He saw your peril and heard your plea, so he saved you. And bet auntie that you could save this world from its demise at her hands"
Arash's heart skipped a beat, "The gods heard my plea then." He said, "And the one who bestowed his blessings on me was Karesh, the trickster God?"
"That is what you call him, yes" she stated, "And in return for assisting you in this quest I was promised a place among the gods, I am to take a throne alongside my father if I complete this task"
Then the true weight of the situation hit Arash like an asteroid cascading down into the earth. He was chosen as a champion and his task as such... Was to save the world alongside the half-born of his new patron God.
"Why me?" He asked, "I'm nothing special, I couldn't even protect my own family! So why would the gods themselves trust me with such a monumental task?"
"All in due time Arash." She looked downriver and her brown hair blew in the wind, "For now we must head to sand city before we succumb to elements. And call me Zara, I dislike being held at such high standards."