Stepping out of the portal, Noah stumbled forward, his head spinning. He sat down on the sandy ground, eyes closed. Placing a hand on his forehead he battled the urge to bend over and puke. Smelling the sulphur in the air, the urge did not calm at all, only worsened. Feeling a hand on his back, Noah slowly opened his eyes, taking in the absolute darkness around him.
"Why is it so dark?" He mumbled out to no one.
"Nearest star is light years away," Mark answered from behind. Suddenly, the darkness got pushed away, Mark stepping up besides him, a lantern is his hand. "Due to my powers, I can see very good in the dark, but you can't, yet." He said, before continuing onward, beckoning with his hand for Noah to follow. "Dizziness is normal for a first timer's teleportation, when I did it, I puked. So congrats, you're better than me," he chuckled.
Rising from his seated position, Noah staggered forward, the spinning calming considerably. With a slow pace he became used to the situation, shaking his head a few times to clear the fog lingering in his mind. Slowly walking faster until catching up with Mark, he joined in beside him, a question intercepting the encroaching silence:
"Where are we?"
"On the barren planet I told you about," Mark answered, his steps sinking into the sand beneath them.
"Where am I going to get my Blessing?" Noah continued, the sulphur persistently trying to make him puke.
"At the statue where I got mine," His guide said, the lantern dangling from his stretched out hand, the light their only shield against the deep darkness.
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Beneath a statue, so majestically carved an aura of royalty lingered in the pitch black darkness around it, a deer lay. With horns rising far above its head, the Deer's aura clashed with that of the statue, neither one of them willing to give an inch. A smell of summer fresh forests drifted through the air, a cool breeze flowing down over the decorated chest-plate of the statue and between the Deer's giant antlers. Blowing up a patch of sand, the breeze continued out into the darkness, a cloud of particles following suit.
At the sound of shifting sand the Deer's head rose from its crossed forelegs, eyes previously closed opened to reveal beautiful, brown irises, specked with glowing gold. Before it, unbeknownst for anyone except itself, a faint dot of light danced up and down, growing marginally larger with every passing second. As the Deer stood to its full height; a bright yellow disk of light manifested like a Gloria around a Saints' head and shot into the darkness, moving towards the approaching shine.
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Noah's legs ached. Having walked for who knows how long with their goal nowhere in sight, his legs hurt, badly. Stretching forwards he tapped Mark's elbow, coming to a stop and sitting down. With ragged breaths he gulped down the small sandwich handed to him by a string of darkness, woven from the blackness itself, controlled by Mark. He looked up from the meal as his benefactor put a hand into the shadows beneath his cloak, the muscles in his forearm tensing as he took a hold of something; the movement evident on his pale arm, visible due to the rolled up sleeve.
Retracting his arm, a waterskin now in his hand, he rose the skin to his lips, taking a quiet sip before bending down to hand it to the resting Noah. The child received it with a low thanks, his eyes locked on the magical coat draped over Mark's wide shoulders.
"What is so special with that cloak?" He asked. Head tilted.
"It's a gift from my master," Mark answered, attention fixed at something in the darkness, Noah unable to notice. "Just like the thing arriving right about now," he continued as a flash of light brightly illuminated the area.
Covering his eyes with one arm, Noah waited for the brightness to subside. Uncovering them, he gasped in surprise at the levitating disk of pure light, hanging suspended in the air before him. Getting up on his knees, he crawled forwards, eyeing the disk closely.
"Don't get too close, it might make you blind." Mark laughed, his arm stretching forwards and taking a hold of the disk, pulling it towards himself and further from Noah's astonished gaze. "It's the Disk of Guiding Light, we need it to navigate the innermost region of the statue's influence." He explained, the disk nudging in his hand, pointing them further into the darkness.
Waiting for Noah to settle himself and prepare for the last stretch of wandering, Mark played around with the Disk of Guiding Light. As he spun it around his wrist, the shadows beneath the sleeve dashed forwards, seemingly attacking the harmless light. In response, tendrils of light shot out from the Disk, clashing with the oncoming blackness.
Quenching the rampaging shadows, Mark began moving forwards after stuffing the waterskin Noah finished into the darkness of his cloak; Noah close behind, the disk guiding them through the thick darkness.
After an amount of time, unknown to all but the distant stars, the smell of fresh summer forests marked the duos entrance to the statue's area of control.
The disk's nudging came to a stop as the towering figure of the statue entered Mark and Noah's field of view.
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For eons on end, the statue had been standing on the pole of the barren planet, alone and waiting. Its imposing height reached towards the dark heavens, as if bridging the gap between mortal realms and the ethereal unknown. The monument of artistry and mystique a testament to the convergence of darkness and enchantment.
Crafted from an otherworldly, obsidian-hued stone, the statue emanates an aura of pure darkness, melting into the surrounding night. Its surface smooth yet textured, a canvas that absorbs the faint illumination of passing meteorites, giving the figure an almost elusive presence.
Adorned by the statue an armor reminiscent of an ancient age lay meticulously sculpted. It wraps the figure in an intricate embrace, like a guardian's shield against the tides of time. The armor's design is both resplendent and functional, adorned with swirling patterns that dance like arcane sigils etched by a master enchanter of long-lost days. Embedded gemstones, polished to a lustrous shine, are scattered throughout the armor, each one pulsating softly with a subtle, enchanting glow.
Suspended from a belt of interwoven leather and chainmail, twin daggers hang at the statue's waist. The daggers' hilts masterpieces of artistry in their own right, each intricately carved with symbols of ancient power. The blades themselves gleam with a faint iridescence, as if they possess a life force of their own, carefully preserved over time.
But perhaps the most captivating aspect of the statue is its crown—a majestic arrangement of deer antlers, their curved branches rising like nature's own regal tiara. Each antler is adorned with delicate traceries of silver, forming intricate patterns that mirror the enchanted armor. The crown exudes an aura of primal mysticism, as if it was bestowed upon the figure by the very spirits of an ancient forest.
As one gaze upon this enigmatic masterpiece, it is impossible to ignore the sense of a story left untold, a history woven with threads of magic and shadow. The statue stands as a sentinel, a sentinel of an age long past yet ever present, a guardian of secrets and a tribute to the timeless artistry of those who harnessed both darkness and enchantment.
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Meeting the two in a slow, proud walk, the Deer rose tall over the humans before it. Coming to a stop, Mark eased into a bow, motioning for Noah to do the same. With a curious glance in the edge of his eyes, Noah complied.
"Master," Mark said in greetings, his bow ending with a snort from the Deer. "I have brought the child here for testings, as you wished."
The Deer approached Noah, its brown-golden eyes gauging the small child. Without opening its maw, a delicate voice resounded in the air, the noise bringing forward thoughts of life and light, its melody rejuvenating any who feel tired.
"Come, child, follow me to the statue and receive thy Blessing."