Xoris

Chapter Thirty Four

The first thing he noticed was the mountains rustling a bit in the harsh wind, the tops shifting and rattling together a bit in the breeze. The second, was the intense amount of magik they held, wild and barely constrained in the stone. His blood ran hot in his ears as his own body fought against its power. Even with them being hundreds of thousands of strides away, his senses remained alert against their presence.

It had been several turns since he'd left Kraim behind, passed out on the ground. Even so, he couldn't help the rise of panic in him as he stopped to take a break, taking a seat on the dirt. I'm exhausted. Thirst bit at his throat, anger resting tight in his shoulders as hunger crawled inside him. The bitter, darker part of him thought of how Kraim would have solved all three issues, had he killed him, but there was nothing he could do about that now.

"Ugh, what is wrong with me?" With a start he tossed his sword, watching it plunge into the ground. "Is something wrong with me?" He was shouting to no one in particular, the land around him completely empty, unable to offer up an answer of its own. Worry crept into his mind as he thought of the slaughter raids. The surety the Beasts had in their actions. Did they not find it wrong at all? 

The silence around him was suffocating, his thoughts spinning around enlessly in his head, demanding release. It was odd, talking to himself. Kaezhia. Insane. But the tap of his metal shoes in the wet dirt, now much more white than brown, wasn't enough to push off the panicked worries filling him. He let them escape. "What if I get to their country, and they simply kill for fun?" The sound pulled out of his side, rattling around his armour. It pushed away at the quiet emptiness of the landscape. It was... comforting. Less lonesome. "What if I don't have a choice?" The words drew out of his hand. Xoris frowned with the mouth on his face, trying to think. "There has to be another way, right?"

He stared out at the mountains before him again, with Kaezhia Peak towering above all the rest as it reached into the sky. If he could just find a valley between them, it was maybe two days' travel at most. Xoris reached into his satchel, pulling out his waterclock as the red water slowly trickled through, counting the drips. It was close to midday. With a sigh, he pushed himself up off the ground. He didn't need sleep. He didn't have time for it. I have to find that girl.

Even as the sky began to close, much sooner than usual with him being so close to the edge of the world, he could still make out the ever-changing landscape as he trudged on. The ground had begun to soften with the presence of large puddles of water every few steps, leaking horrible-smelling yellow ooze, and the white, slime-like bits the dirt always held had become much larger, flesh-like piles spread out across the scenery. He cursed to himself as the brownish crust of the dried up water broke under his weight, his right leg sinking up to his knee. His other calf burned in agony as he braced himself against it to tug his foot out, the water releasing it with a relaxed, wet sound.

"There we are," he muttered to himself before continuing. The place was dreadfully silent, and with no one else to talk to, Xoris began to hum to himself. It was the same wordless tune he'd played anytime he'd gotten his hands on an instrument, or tapped a quill against paper, deep in thought. And yet, no matter how much he tried to think on where he'd heard it, all that came to mind was the soft touch of a blanket, and darkness. Maybe it was a dream, but it helped to pass the time and not feel so... alone.

Despite the landscape fighting against him, Xoris couldn't help but enjoy the serenity of it. The way the magik of the world supported his tired body was comforting, especially given the consistent ache that had settled into him ever since he'd opened his eyes. It feels like the cave here. It took his entire will to keep going, to not pass out where he stood. He closed his eyes for a moment, and it took several drips for him to peel them open again. As a dizziness seized his head, the world seemed to tilt as his body fell to one side.