Rattling chains echoed throughout the seemingly endless dunes of sand with a titanic wave of dust steamrolling across the horizon. A lone silhouette kneeled over on the leeward side of one of the dunes, hoping that it doesn't get blown away. The nature of sand being unconfined and free-flowing meant that it too was inevitably going to flow along with the stormy winds.
Leaving a level plain of sand as it passed, the storm continued raging on for a considerable amount of time. The lone figure was now nowhere to be seen but an almost imperceptible light was glowing from beneath the sand. The light grew dimmer and dimmer and eventually completely disappeared. A head popped up from that very spot. A lean, disheveled figure drenched in sweat sloppily emerged as it rose from beneath the sand which continued to trickle down. The chains binding his feet and arms clearly being a massive nuisance to his already groggy movements. Sand entirely covering his face and exposed skin due to all of his sweating.
Sven had run from the troops a tad while ago and the storm was bound to have hindered their search for him. The dunes having disappeared though was going to mean that Sven would be forced to move earlier and quicker than he would've preferred since it would become possible to see him when he would have otherwise hidden behind the dunes.
Sven continued moving south, directly away from the city, and his promise.
Sven chose to head towards the marshy plains as opposed to remaining in this barren land. Choosing to move in any other direction would not be wise according to Sven because he did not have food or water and did not believe he could last much longer in this sweltering heat.
Sven was aware that he shouldn't leave his trail so clearly visible but he was limited in options at the moments. His mental fortitude wouldn't last much longer and neither would his energy, largely because of the immolating heat radiating from the sun and sand. Deciding to use a minimal amount of his innate force to manipulate the sand so it would slightly shift and leave his trail more inconspicuous. Trying to do any more would certainly leave Sven completely crippled. Forcing himself to continue his feet along the scorching sand was enough of a toll on his tired body.
An hour passed... then two... then three. Approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes of dragging his feet along had passed until a slight change appeared in the view of the horizon. The caramel and occasional red colors were now being intruded by a wide strip of dark green and brown. He couldn't tell if it was just a mirage or really a change.
Nevertheless, the change in the scenery slightly rejuvenated Sven and brought up his previously rock bottom motivation, but it came with a feeling of lethargy. Sven could not feel his legs at this point. The constant pain was numbing his senses but for now he was just glad that the pursuers couldn't get him. The flattening of the dunes still made the travel slightly easier for him since he didn't have to add uphill and downhill climbs into his journey.
Moving closer, the absurdness of such vastly different biomes so close to each other intrigued Sven.
"Ahhh. I-'ll think abouht iht lah-ter.", His voice sounding hoarse and gruff.
The formerly indistinguishable trees seemed to grow in size as he slowly limped forward. He could see the grass and the branches on the trees swaying back and forth gently although he couldn't sense any wind reaching him.
At the moment he dragged his right foot forward into the grass, Sven felt a cool gust of wind brush his leg. The new fresh feeling on his skin slightly eased up his worries to an extent where he felt like finally taking a rest.
"Ahh- Ah'll stohp next to wahter."
The sudden change in the environment was an unexpected and rather odd but welcomed change for Sven at the moment. Tiny little flying insects, critters, birds and many more great varieties of lifeforms seemed abundant. The sounds of birds chirping harmonizing with the sounds of nature itself created an almost encapsulating symphony which Sven wanted to stop to listen to.
He used the trees to support him while he rested for a brief moment. Still unsure whether his pursuers were still motivated to look for him, Sven then continued moving onwards. He valued his life greatly and knew that confronting them would lead to the lowest odds for survival and determined that even if he had to completely dry up his energy to hide away from them, that would carry the greatest probability of him surviving even though he'd have have to feel a fair amount of pain for the time-being.
Continuing his limp, he dragged his feet across an entirely different terrain from a minute ago. The previous silky sand had been replaced by a carpet of green with dead leaves and branches scattered about. Hearing the crunching sound of the dead leaves being stepped on was weirdly soothing to his ears.
Sven had stopped using his innate force for a while after entering the marshy plains. He believed that he was a considerable distance away from the border and could now finally let his energy replenish. The ground under his feet had now transformed into wet mud and he guessed that this would turn into a marsh as continued moving forwards deeper and deeper into the heart of the plains.
Retaining his foothold on the slippery surface turned out to be too much for the exhausted Sven and he landed into the shallow water face-first. Struggling to breath with his face in the water clogged mud, Sven pushed his shackles around to allow him to shuffle sideways and make himself face upwards. Gasping for breath, Sven lost all his semblance of composure and let himself look like an idiot for the sake of refilling his tank to an extent. His face slightly clearer now that the stationary water had touched his skin to reveal tanned skin and a face not too different to the hue of the sand with immensely handsome features.
*Crack* *Crunch* *Crunch*
Raising his guard, Sven immediately turned his head towards the source of the sound. Expecting something dangerous, he quickly got onto his feet and grasped a stick as though he'd be able to fend it off with it.
To his surprise, a short human child-like creature came forward, with eerie looking dull white pupils, which looked relatively skinny yet lean. A shocked expression visible on the supposed human's face.
Assuming that he was human, Sven came to the conclusion that he was possibly one of his pursuers and proceeded to take caution and took a stance. After regaining his energy, Sven was relatively capable of either throwing off his pursuer or taking him in combat given that the opponent was weaker than him. Neither the latter, or the former would guarantee his safety since he was unaware of the capabilities of his opponent but he felt slightly reassured since if the human was more able, he wouldn't have exposed his position to him. Either that, or he was simply that confident in his abilities.
Sven chose to gamble on his chances and proceeded to rush his enemy. Quickly closing the distance, Sven thrusted the twig despite the shackles as he reinforced it with his innate energy. The reinforced twig dug a few centimeters into his skin before snapping.
-" A-UGH.... W-hat??"
The supposed human cried out as he cowered in fear with some blood dripping from his belly where the stick was impaled.
'He's got tough skin... I wonder why he--'
-"I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW I GOT HERE AND THE FIRST THING THAT HAPPENS IS A MANIAC IMPALING ME WITH A STICK!"
'He's got tough skin.... I wond-'
-"YOU KNOW WHAT? I'LL ADD YOU TO MY TORTU-!"
"Shut... the.... HELL UP AND LET ME THINK THINGS OUT!
'He should be capable judging from his durability... So why didn't he attack me immediately afterwards?'
The short kid winced in pain as he pulled out the remnants of the branch inside him. However, a gory display of flesh convulsing as it's fibers reconnected was visible to Sven. Feeling disgusted to the point he felt like puking, Sven felt disheartened
"You should speak right now if you want to keep your life."
-"Alright alright. I never had any intention of attacking you before. Please let me go and I won't bother you. Just please don't attack me again. *I just wanted to walk around a bit.*"
Reluctant to trust those words, Sven had a few options to choose from but he preferred to keep a close watch on him. He was sure that if he tried to chase away from him, the 'kid' would be entirely capable of catching up to him.
Betting on so many things in such a short span of time was leaving him having to question his mental health but he was forced to choose once again. One option appearing slightly more appealing to his lazy nature even faced with such a situation.
Observing the kid for a few hours led him to feel like that kid was genuinely lost. From the curious look he possessed to the surprised expressions he made whenever he saw something appealing. Still not entirely sure about his assumption, he continued stalking his target from behind a bush. The kid seemed to posses a considerable amount of wariness but the curiosity of his age shone at certain points.
Sven felt an odd sensation emanating from the kid. He felt a weird sense of familiarity now that he wasn't in a state of panic. Still, the kid was anything but normal, his physical ability and that ability of his were anything but normal.
Sven hid behind a bush and used his energy to create a transparent bubble around the kid which he used to communicate into his mind directly without exposing himself in an attempt to coax out information from him. Sven was still not sure if this would turn out much worse but he did it anyways to appease his own curiosity.
"For what purpose have you come here and what is your identity?"
The kid became alerted at the immediate sound he heard in his head. He looked startled and uttered with a tinge of confusion:
-"Uhh- I don't know why I'm here myself or what this place is but you can call me Tear."