Beneath a cluster of trees, an elderly gentleman elegantly occupies a bench, appearing to be harmoniously entwined with the animated roots.
'I suppose it's time.'
As the man stands up from his seat, the forest comes alive.
Chirp
Chirrup
The birds flock around him in a song.
"You all are awfully cheerful today."
A man strolls along a weather-beaten brown marble pathway, its stones wearing the scars of time, as if they have braved the elements for years, enduring the relentless force of wind and rain.
At the end of the path, the old man halts. There, where the trees conclude, lies an expanse of open water that stretches out as far as the eye can see.
'How many years has it been.'
The man rubs his temple.
'It seems I'm getting old.'
He delves into his robe, extracting a grimy brown book.
He opens the book.
When the man opens the book, a tangible change fills the air, as if an enchantment is casting a growing aura of intensity around him.
With his staff firmly grasped in his right hand and a book held in his left, he taps the ground and opens his mouth as if to speak. However, instead of coherent speech, what emerges is more akin to an authoritative command, rather than understandable language.
As he forcefully closes the book, the ground quakes and the trees begin to sway in the wind. Suddenly, the earth starts to vibrate and in front of the man, the ground shifts, revealing a staircase leading downwards.
The man walks down the stairs, as he does, the entrance closes behind him.
With a snap of his fingers, the dim, odorous path instantly brightens as lanterns along the walls illuminate in perfect, parallel symmetry.
He finally reaches the bottom of the stairs.
Before him lay an empty hallway, appearing entirely devoid of furniture.
'Home sweet home.'
He takes a few steps forward before abruptly halting, whistling in a deliberate manner that hints at an intention to hit specific notes.
A table materializes as if from thin air, but this is no ordinary kitchen table. It resembles an altar crafted from exquisite marble, adorned with a sizable gemstone at its center, large enough to accommodate a human hand.
'Lets see.'
The man reaches under the table, searching for something. After a moment, he ceases and retrieves a key from his robe, using it where his hand had been before.
As the man takes a step back, the gemstone on the table begins to emit a radiant glow. However, it appears that its brilliance is not yet at its full potential, for it pulsates with a captivating energy, as if longing for something more to fulfill its purpose.
He puts his hand on the gemstone and closes his eyes. When he opens them the glowing red oval gemstone's light is now constant but more concentrated, before the entire surface area of the gemstone was glowing but now just a smaller oval in the middle of the stone is, and above it a screen seemingly projected from the stone. Floats and in the top left corner of the screen is a picture of the man along with some descriptions.
Name: Agis.
Title: The Unending Mind.
Title description: bestowed upon him by the god of ashen light, he has an almost absolute intellect, he also remembers everything he's ever seen.
Age: 999 earth years.
'Ah, I turn 1000 years old this year.'
The man strokes his beard.
'That means it's been 800 years since I left the capitol.'
He looks up.
'I wonder how everything is.'
He waves his hand and the screen disappears along with the table.
'That's enough of that.'
He walks back up the stairs and when he gets to the top the ceiling opens just as it had when he went in. he stops at the top, his eyes still settling from the sudden introduction of light.
'I'm growing bored.'
The man starts to walk back towards the bench.
'You can only tend crops for so long when you are the only one to enjoy the fruits that they bear.'
the man aimlessly wanders for a bit, he's been alone for quite some time now but there's something different about today, like he's missing something he's had even all these years alone, his purpose, after all these years he's finally lost his sense of purpose, all this time of the same routine over and over again for all these years he wishes it could all end he finally needs something to do someone to be with.
'Anything would be better than this.'
The man looks far into the distance from this mountain top, miles and miles away, to a blur in the distance.
'The capitol.'
He brushes off his clothes.
'I should go there.'
But before he could finish that thought a sound echoed through the forest, a sound that sent a shiver down the old man's spine, even after all these years alone he couldn't forget the sound of a woman screaming. He rushes towards the sound of the woman. Down the hill, through bushes and trees across rivers and ponds, despite his age and physical appearance it took him no time to cover this distance and before him a girl is on the ground no older than her early 20s and above her a grizzly fanged beast with drool dripping down its face on to the ground next to the young girl.
"HELP."
The young woman screams.
Agis concentrates on his staff and the orb on the top of it starts to glow, this introduction of light gets the attention of the beast, the beast rushes towards the old man, covering the distance in no time at all but still not fast enough.
In the time it took for the beast to reach the man, Agis had conjured up a gigantic ball of flames almost the size of the beast head d toward it and before the dire wolf could even react it was turned to dust.
Agis walks towards the young woman.
"are you hurt."
she stands up, brushing off her dress, and shakes her head at the man to gesture that she is not hurt.
"You got here just in time."
The old man strokes his beard.
"What are you doing so deep in the forest?"
The woman sighs.
"Before I answer that, I have a question for you."
The man nods.
"Are you human?"
The man gives a confused look.
"Well no, I'm an elf."
The woman laughs.
"Let me reword my question, are you a monster?"
The man looks even more confused.
"Have I gotten so old that my features look monstrous."
the woman chuckles.
"No, not at all, it's just that the power that you displayed shouldn't be possible unless you were a monster."
the man takes a book out of his robe.
"Have you never seen magic before."
The woman nods.
" No I have, but not to that scale, there hasn't been a person capable of such a thing in at least a few hundred years."
The man gasps.
"What could have happened for such a thing to be true?"
The woman frowns.
Nearly a thousand years ago, during the war against the demons, the majority of the magic texts owned by humans were destroyed. As a result, the necessity for powerful individuals diminished over time, and technique now outweighs pure magical ability in battles.
In a dramatic pause, she halted momentarily before swiftly drawing a gleaming sword from its scabbard at her waist.
"In today's era, mages harness their magical prowess to imbue weapons, forging formidable armaments for the heat of battle. The enchanting techniques you employ represent an ancient artistry that has long faded into oblivion amid the chaotic mists of conflicts past."
The man's face contorts into a deep frown.
"That is quite bad indeed."
The man's gaze drifts.
"Excuse my impoliteness for I haven't interacted with another person in several hundred years, but what is your name."
The woman nods.
"My name is Lafa Gilthorne, and I am the heir to the kingdom of thalwort."
Agis gasps.
"That would make you a princess, would it not?"
She nods once again.
"It certainly would."
The man composes himself.
"then I will once again ask what you are doing so far into the forest, this place is quite dangerous."
the woman puts her sword back in the sheath.
"I was hunting, no one has been this deep into this land for quite some time we from the capitol deemed this place a hindrance to the people. It is known by all citizens of the capitol that this is a very dangerous place teeming with monsters but with it being so close to the city, eventually it had to be dealt with to expand the city's influence."
Agis nods.
"I see, but even then, why are you alone."
She laughs.
"I'll have you know that I am no pushover, that beast just happened to catch me off guard."
'There might be some truth to that.'
The man thought, for starters, she was carrying a weapon with her so she at least knew she would come in contact with a creature that couldn't be dealt with human hands. Not to mention, her build was quite athletic.
"even so, I think you should leave now and perhaps come back another day with more people."
the woman turns away.
"I will leave, but only on one condition."
The man nods.
"what are your terms?"
she smiles.
"That you come with me."
The old man stops to think before coming up with a suitable response.
"Why must I do that?"
She responds in no time at all.
"Because the knowledge you possess could make our people much stronger."
The man nods.
"Should I assume this isn't a request?"
Lafa smiles.
"No, this is an order by the royal family."
the man smiles.
"And if I decline?"
her smile disappears.
"Then I shall take you by force, even if it costs my life."
the man steps back.
"Fine, I was just joking, I have no wishes to harm a young girl."
He puts the book he had been holding back into his robe.
"Just give me a moment to gather some things, I was planning on going to the city soon anyway."
He stops and turns back towards Lafa.
"Do you happen to know what day it is."
She nods.
"Today is Thursday, as well as the first day of spring."
He nods.
"I will meet you back in this spot in 10 minutes."
She nods.
Agis walks away.