After the fight with the Devourer, Sebastian was exhausted. His body gave way, his strength draining faster than he could understand. He clutched Isiah in his arms, the boy still asleep but safe for now, and stumbled through the sands. Blood covered his armor, and his vision was starting to fade as he heard the whispers of the people of the dunes drawing near.
He collapsed onto the ground just as the heat of the day reached its peak. His breath became shallow, every muscle in his body demanding rest.
Before Sebastian passed out, he heard the faint sound of a forgotten language. The people of the dunes were speaking, their voices soft yet carrying a weight that sank deep into the sand.
"We are the shadows that remain when all falls," they whispered in a tongue Sebastian couldn't understand.
When Sebastian woke, his body felt heavy, pinned down. His mind swam as his vision slowly returned, blurry at first, before the surroundings started to form into something tangible. He was lying on a stone-like table, and when he tried to move, pain shot through him. His limbs were as though made of lead.
Through his blurred vision, he saw a woman. She was sitting cross-legged, crushing something between her hands, the fragrant herbs filling the air. The delicate motions of her hands were almost hypnotic, despite the stark heat of Dead Man's Land.
Her long brown curly hair cascaded around her face, her features soft, serene. Even in the sweltering heat, she wore a simple vest, and her hands, despite the task at hand, moved with a purpose. Despite being from the dunes, she had an ethereal, calming beauty.
Sebastian tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come. His throat was dry—painfully so.
The woman, still focused on her task, suddenly stopped. Her head turned slightly, catching the fact that he had regained consciousness. Without haste, she looked at him, eyes soft but calculating.
She spoke to him in the same forgotten tongue, her voice a strange melody on her lips.
Sebastian blinked, struggling to comprehend the words.
She saw his confusion and shifted, speaking in broken English, her accent heavy. "You're awake." She paused, waiting as if she expected him to say something, but Sebastian could barely respond.
He tried again, this time more raspingly, "Isiah... Where is my son, Isiah?"
The woman paused, the moment hanging in the air. Then, her voice came softly, as if meant to soothe. "The child is safe."
"Bring my son to me," Sebastian demanded, though his voice cracked, weakened by the toll his body had suffered.
The woman nodded, standing gracefully. "Yes, my guardian," she said with a small bow before moving to another part of the room. Her calm obedience unsettled him slightly.
A few moments passed before she returned with Isiah—wrapped in a soft blanket, placed gently in a small basket. She set him beside Sebastian, and though his heart swelled at seeing his son, Sebastian could barely muster the strength to sit up.
He tried to lift himself up to get a better look, but his body refused to cooperate. A sharp pain shot through him, and he collapsed back onto the stone table.
The woman, seeing his struggle, gently placed her hands on him, pushing him back down. She looked at him, and despite her tranquil appearance, there was firmness in her eyes. "You are injured," she said calmly. "I can fix you."
Sebastian opened his mouth to protest, to object, but she worked quickly, lifting his shirt and applying a paste—something made from the herbs she had been crushing—onto his wounds. It burned, but there was a sense of relief, like a cooling balm to his scorched body.
Sebastian, barely able to sit still, asked her weakly, "Where am I? And who are you people?"
She finished her work and sat back, seeming to deliberate her response. "You are in the temple of the dunes," she said. "A sanctuary. We hide from the heat, from the beasts of Dead Man's Land. And right now, you are in my chambers."
Sebastian frowned. "Why did you save me?"
The woman's lips parted, her expression serious. "Because you are the Guardian of Heaven."
Sebastian blinked at her, his mind reeling. "What?"
The woman nodded softly, as though confirming an ancient truth. "That child you carry... he is the one of the prophecy. The one who will bring light. And you, Guardian... you are his protector."
Sebastian, still hazy from the blood loss and confusion, struggled to absorb the words. Prophecy? Guardian? Light? None of it made sense.
"Come," she urged, helping him sit up carefully. "There is much you must understand."
She helped him move through the halls of the temple, steadying him with each step. As he walked, he couldn't help but notice the walls—carved with strange engravings. Symbols he didn't understand. His fingers brushed against them as he passed, an instinct, but the more he looked, the more fragmented his thoughts felt.
She stopped in front of a large door, standing before it for a moment. When it opened, it revealed what seemed like an endless hall. Sebastian froze.
He was standing before a crowd. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people from the dunes, their eyes locked on him. All of them staring. Waiting. There was something reverent, even worshipful in their gaze.
Sebastian felt a lump in his throat.
"What is this?" he asked, his voice hoarse and uncertain.
The woman who had been guiding him said nothing, but the crowd knelt, all of them bowing deeply. It wasn't just one or two—it was every single person, bending before him.
Sebastian's heart skipped. "Why are they bowing?"
"Because you have bested the Kharthus. You have killed the Devourer of lands and kingdoms," the woman explained softly, her voice steady. "You may not see it yet, but the battles you fought were to pave the way for a much greater war to come. You are the one who walks the line between darkness and light. You, the Guardian."
Sebastian staggered, barely holding onto the words. "I'm no... god, no king. I'm just trying to protect my son."
"You are a king," she replied softly, her gaze intense. "You have the strength within you that only a Guardian can possess."
Her words hit him like a storm, his body trembling, but before he could protest, the people in the room continued bowing, murmuring something Sebastian couldn't understand. She called for them to rise, but something in the air shifted.
The ground beneath their feet rumbled—a massive quake began. The sound was deafening as something else stirred, darker, heavier than before.
The woman turned, her eyes filled with a strange intensity as the skies outside darkened, something creeping from the horizon like a shadow of doom.
"This is just the beginning," she said with a solemn tone. "There are far worse things coming. But together with the prophecy fulfilled, you will face them, Guardian."
As the sands of Dead Man's Land whipped through the temple's doors, Sebastian realized that the battles weren't over yet. He still had to uncover the truth, not just of himself but of the prophecy—the light in Isiah—and the other star.
End of Act 11.