A tale in the desert

[Dracos]

His father vanished, leaving him alone once more.  The silence seeming ever the more omnipresent....


Before the hum slowly returned, a sensation he could sense, despite not being able to hear.

This continued for a time... friends...family...strangers...each coming and taking from him...

Until he lay on his back...unable to move.  His strength gone, his body broken, blind and deaf....  Even the sensation of the cold rock floor against his back had fled, leaving him capable of feeling nothing but emptiness.

A voice spoke into his mind.  It was old.  Ancient beyond his reckoning.  It was calm and patient as it slowly murmured, audiable somehow despite his lack of ears.

"What do I see here?  A child, his body broken, his spirit ravaged...  A pity...for I was hoping for someone who could find within themselves the strength to save..."

Dracos

[Brian]

"But ... I have to give," Liao thought, no longer being able to speak in protest.  "Because it is all I can do.  There's nothing for myself ... I have to help other people."

[Dracos]

"A man who keeps nothing for himself is nothing but a child who cannot help anyone, even himself."  The voice calmly responded.

"Watch now, child of Desert Town.  Watch your future as it stands before you...as you lay, everything given away with no strength to help."

Though Liao had no eyes to see nor ears to hear, he saw it.

He watched a horrific vision, his town beset by demons.  Strange demons, for they flew in the air and came from the ground, their bodies covered in metal.  He watched his family die, one by one, his gifts turned to ashes with them.  His body, though it twitched, could not rise to lend even the slightest of aid in their hour of need.  He saw elsewhere, towns and cities of which he had never before in his short life seen, all beset by these beings.

"This...is a future as it stands, but not...as it might stand."  The voice answered, as suddenly it was darkness once more.

Dracos

[Brian]

Liao watched in horror, not trying to speak until the visions were finished.  "A ... real ... protector ... would protect people, and not destroy himself trying to help them?" he asked.  "But ... if Brother needs a leg ... do I fight for him?"

[Dracos]

"You must decide your own fate...  The future lies before you...take hold or remain a child."

A glowing star was visible above, just within reach, his body suddenly feeling whole once more...in fact, he felt as if he'd simply been lying there, staring into nothingness for hours.

Dracos

[Brian]

Liao feels foolish, but also filled with an odd, new sensation; confidence.

Standing up, Liao reaches out to grasp the star.

[Dracos]

He felt it, cool against his hands, some kind of twisted metal.  It was hard to see in the darkness, but it felt right for him to take it.

Dracos

[Brian]

Liao only hesitated a heartbeat before taking the star.  If he had to protect people, there wasn't much time to waste.

[Dracos]

Liao acquired the metal star, leaving him once again in darkness, though a feeling of peace ran through the air.

He could sense something now on the floor.  Perhaps the trap door he entered through?

Dracos

[Brian]

Liao carefully pocketed the star to examine later, and checked the floor, trying to feel for a handle or a lever to pry the door back up.1

[Dracos]

He found a place his fingers fit that gave him leverage for pulling something up.

Dracos

[Brian]

Grunting, Liao attempted to pull ... whatever ... up.  Hopefully it was the correct trap door.

[Dracos]

The trap-door opened, revealing light.

It was a bit blinding at first, but his eyes soon grew used to it.  A servant quickly brought a ladder around, putting it up so he could climb down.

Dracos

[Brian]

Liao climbed down to the floor, and then looked around, his eyes blurry with a lack of focus as he readjusted to the light.

[Dracos]

The elders regarded him as he came down, calmly analyzing him.

The eldest of the eld gestured kindly for him to come to where he was before and take a seat.  A brief glance at the servant and the room was quickly emptied of all but the three elders, the one exit door shut.

Dracos