Love, Time, and the Broken Land

Chapter 1

All things considered, my day started off pretty well.

Of course, that day did involve saving a spirit, leaving my home, and taking on a responsibility I never asked for. But that's how all hero stories start, isn't it? Can't be anything special if you've never faced any hardships, I guess.

And don't get me wrong, this is a story of heroes and monsters. Of friendship. Love. All the things you'd expect. I can't promise there'll be anything particularly interesting about it, as you've likely heard it all before. It would mean a lot for someone to hear it, though. For anyone to hear it.

I guess you could say I'm scared to fade into nothingness. I'm scared that eventually, no one will even remember my name. That's why I'm writing this all down now. I hope it reaches you somehow. I'm counting on it.

On that day, I met with Tikka outside his house at about nine in the morning, like we always did. And also like always, I carried a bow, a quiver of arrows, and a hunting knife. We both wore loose, colorful clothing that was typical of all Toreans. There was no need for us to talk right then, we'd probably said everything there was to say over our eight years of friendship.

Vale was built right on top of the sand, like everything else in Sheo Tora, the wretched place that it was. The buildings were low, made of brick and hardened clay, and seemed to bake in the sun. It was the only landmark for miles, and the closest thing that could be seen nearby was a pond, fed by a small creek that branched off from the much larger Golden River. The water glittered slightly, painted blue by the sky overhead.

We wandered out of the village, shuffling through sand and small rocks. The air was hot and heavy, weighing down on my back like a blanket.

Things would've been much easier if Tikka and I looked like siblings. But instead, he had the look typical of Toreans- black hair, dark skin, brown eyes. A square, symmetrical face with defined features. I, on the other hand, had blonde hair, blue eyes, and while my skin was tanned from being out in the sun, it was nowhere near Tikka's shade. My face was heart-shaped, I think.

We were the only two able-bodied teenagers that everyone knew in the village, and we were of the opposite sex. That meant we were the talk of the town most of the time, and despite us both making it very clear that we weren't interested in each other, there was no convincing the adults.

I glanced at him. His eyes were steely, peering through the brush. It's not that he wasn't attractive. Or even that I didn't like him. It's just that... It'd be weird to date someone you grew up with. We stripped naked and jumped in the mud as kids. We were trained together. I'd spent too much time with him at this point.

That's not to say we'd never....

Well.

We were teenagers in more ways than one, I guess.

But that's not important right now. It didn't take long before we came across our first animal of the day- a massive, nasty-looking postosuchus, lying on the edge of the pond, halfway into the water. It was about as long from nose to tail as Tikka and I put together, but it was only as tall as my waist. It stood on two legs, but it was hunched over so far that its forearms almost touched the ground. Its snout was long and wide, and even from where we were I could see the wickedly sharp teeth.

We crouched next to each other on a sand dune nearby, hopefully out of sight.

"You wanna try and fight that thing?" I whispered to him, watching the beast's every move like a hawk. I'm sure he was, too.

"We won't stand a chance," Tikka replied, crouching lower. "But this is the best source of still water for miles. We need something to come wandering up to it, and we can't do that if he's here."