It had been a good night’s sleep, one of the best in memory, and when morning came SEB and Bez sprang into action. Equipping their gear and thanking the barman for his hospitality, they set off back into the desert sun.
To the brothers’ surprise, they found a pair of Lesser Greymanes hitched to a wooden post, licking scraps of food from an overturned crate. These four-legged creatures tended to avoid the Desert of Amia, and outside of the desert they were only useful for short journeys and transporting light goods – the regular Greymanes, also four-legged beasts used for transportation, were far better suited for long journeys and had much sturdier backbones. If this was the old man’s doing, it implied the journey ahead was longer than a quick walk away.
Bez understood the Lesser Greymanes’ purpose immediately and hopped onto the back of one. Seb was far more hesitant, but climbed onto the creature when he found no other option. It was better to be carried on the back of this beast than to potentially walk for the whole day, after all.
“Hey Bez, didn’t that weird old man say he’d tell us what to do?” he asked. “Where is he? I’m guessing the job is miles away if he’s given us a pair of–”
With a brilliant flash, a bolt of lightning flared over the shifting desert dunes, followed by a crash of thunder. It came from the north, near where the Desert of Amia bordered the Noble Forest.
“T-That was just a coincidence,” he remarked, lacking conviction in his words. “It’ll take more than that to–”
Another bolt of lightning. In exactly the same place.
Bez smirked. “Well, I guess that answers it.”
He flicked the reins of his Lesser Greymane and it began trudging onwards towards the source of the lightning strike. Seb wasn’t as convinced. This was quite a journey ahead by the looks of it, and his shoulder gashes from the previous day’s battle had barely healed, but Bez’s unwavering confidence put his mind at ease. Wherever his brother went, he followed. Taking a deep breath, he too pulled on the reins of his beast, urging it into action.
A gruelling hour passed of riding through the bumpy, trembling dunes, and they were now incredibly close to where the lightning had impacted. The booms and shakes of the crystal mining rigs were far behind them. The Lesser Greymanes were noticeably struggling to carry them over such a distance – whatever that strange old man’s priorities were, these animals’ wellbeing clearly wasn’t one of them. Was the old man not expecting them to make the return journey?
The Noble Forest was just up ahead now, except it wasn’t nearly as verdant and pleasant as Seb remembered. This particular area felt cold and barren, almost as if the desert itself had infected this part of the forest. The rivers ran dry, the rocks were draped with dead vegetation, and the typically green canopy was instead replaced by a dreary orange mess.
Something’s not right.
A trickle of rocks up ahead made the brothers jump off their rides and reach for their weapons. They activated their plasma blades, adding a depth of purple sorely needed in the mundane colour palette. There! Just up ahead, beyond the ditch of a dried-up river, a faint hissing sound tingled the hairs on the back of Seb’s neck.
“I could recognise that hissing sound anywhere,” Bez whispered, “That’s a Sandskin, alright.”
“Is that it? Did that old man throw us all the way out here to kill a soddin’ Sandskin again?”
“I … don’t know.” Bez didn’t sound as confident as before, with a few cracks creeping into his voice. “This one sounds different somehow.”
A set of sharp claws was the first thing to emerge from behind a decayed tree, followed by the rest of its yellowy hand. As its scaly head and body revealed itself, the brothers’ fears came true.
This was no ordinary Sandskin. Its scales had what appeared to be green veins flowing in between – tiny, diseased rivers. As the Sandskin skulked around, the scales on its body shifted, squeezing the vile tendrils until they burst. A disgusting pus oozed from these gaping wounds, and when the Sandskin opened its eyes a similar goop seeped from its now blood-red eye cavities.
It looked like it had been infected with some terrible, abhorrent disease; the mere sight of this horrific creature made Seb’s skin crawl. Both brothers found themselves taking steps back as this creature crawled towards them, its legs and arms moving unnaturally as it slowly crept across the rocks. The Lesser Greymanes neighed and moaned, frightened to death but too exhausted to flee.
The infected Sandskin regarded the two lumbering creatures and immediately slashed at both of them with its claws. The Lesser Greymanes fell immediately; their moaning stopped. Instead of feasting on the two dead animals, the Sandskin snapped its head towards the two brothers. It wasn’t interested in feasting – it was determined to kill.
“Uh, B-Bez?” Seb faltered. “What do we do?”
“What do we do? We kill it, that’s what!”
Bez ran up to the creature with a furious charge, crying out in unbridled rage, and struck the side of its head with a ferocious blow from his plasma blade.
CLANG!
He grunted as his weapon rebounded off the impenetrable scale. He backed away in horror, gripping the plasma sword in both hands with a strangling tightness.
“W-What? How …”
The Sandskin rose up on its two hind legs, stretching out to flaunt its full size. This one was twice as big as the creatures from before, and it quite easily towered over the two brothers. It looked up to the rotten canopy above and hissed at the sunlight before snapping its head back down, sending a fresh splatter of slime from its eyes onto the ground. Letting out a colossal shriek, loud enough to make Seb cover his ears in pain, it charged towards Bez.
Its claws plunged downwards at terrifying pace, far quicker than any creature Seb had ever seen. Even with Bez’s years of experience and combat training, he barely managed to evade the deadly blades by rolling to one side.
Seizing the opportunity, Seb charged forwards. The creature’s attention was completely affixed to Bez … or so it seemed. Whirling around before Seb could even think of defending himself, the Sandskin’s powerful tail smashed into his side, taking him by surprise and flinging him towards the jagged rocks twenty feet away. He landed with a painful thud, and it was the wound in his shoulder which bore the brunt of the damage; he cried out in desperate agony, clutching the freshly opened wound on his arm.
The horrifying creature was now locked in battle with Bez, who could scarcely hold his own against the formidable beast. Each swing of his plasma sword seemed redundant, but occasionally a well-placed attack would pierce one of the many veiny seams on the Sandskin’s scaly armour and do some damage. A weakness! This didn’t seem to deter it, however, and for every bit of damage received the Sandskin grew more and more aggressive.
Bez could only go toe-to-toe with the creature for so long. The Sandskin flicked its tail into his arm, shattering his metal wrist guard and flinging his plasma sword through the air; it tumbled to the ground with a clang. He was now completely unarmed and at the creature’s mercy.
Seb regained some of his composure and aimed his plasma pistol at the back of the Sandskin’s armoured skull. He let off a plasma bolt, grunting in pain as he squeezed the trigger, and watched as the harmless bolt pinged off a scale with a pathetic sizzle. With both a snarl and a snicker, the Sandskin turned slowly to face this new threat; it crept towards him with menacing thuds as its powerful hind legs smashed into the cracked rocks.
A familiar dread surged up through Seb’s stomach, and a dull ache spread through his brain as the unstoppable death marched his way. In sheer desperation he fired another bolt in the creature’s direction; by incredible luck, the bolt burrowed deep into the Sandskin’s left eye, cascading showers of blood and pus down its wincing face. It let out an almighty roar, the first real sign of anger Seb had seen it emote.
It has a weakness. That means we can win this.
What it did next was unlike anything Seb had ever seen before, and any confidence he had built up within himself was washed away in an instant. The infected Sandskin clawed at its gaping eye socket, plunging its fingers deep into its own skull, revelling in the pain as fresh, thick blood flooded onto the rocks below. It was the stuff of nightmares.
Seb froze. He stared at the masochistic beast, mortified. What kind of sick creature aimed to hurt itself, let alone enjoy it? The Sandskin was now smiling – a feat Seb didn’t think was possible from such a base creature. With a final, definitive tail swipe to the side of his head, Seb’s consciousness was all but knocked out of him.
Bez cried out in anguish; he leapt through the air in a vengeful rage, landing straight onto the Sandskin’s back. The creature shrieked in startlement and couldn’t react before Bez hacked away at its neck with a blunt dagger. His eyes were bloodshot, enraged and frenzied, and even though his dagger wasn’t doing any meaningful damage he still kept thrashing nonetheless.
It took a pitiful exertion of effort for the Sandskin to brush Bez off, sending him rolling towards a decayed tree. He impacted the tree with a crunch, groaning and holding his ribcage.
Now both brothers were incapacitated and defenceless.
“Oh, very good! I’m most impressed!”
The familiar voice echoed through the hollow trees, stopping the Sandskin before it could provide the killing blow.
As his eyes eked open, the afternoon sunlight stung Seb’s vision. He slumped up, as did Bez, and the two of them looked beyond the Sandskin to the figure who had emerged from the forest, to the man who had uttered those words.
“You’re both still alive, which is quite commendable in itself. Bravo, Bez! Quite a show you put on!”
It was the old man from the tavern, except he was far livelier and his posture was far straighter than Seb recalled. He was holding his wooden cane in his palms; with a subtle swipe of the hand, the wood peeled back to reveal a concealed, glimmering plasma blade.
The Sandskin was furious at this new contender. It bolted towards the man. A vile slither of blood and pus stained the rocks and dirt as it darted towards him.
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The old man was quicker.
In the blink of an eye his weapon skewered the creature’s eye socket, the tip of the blade poking out the back of the beast’s head. The creature spasmed for a moment before toppling over backwards. Unbelievably, the Sandskin’s corpse erupted into flame once it stopped moving, instantly disintegrating the remains into ash and cinder. The brothers looked on in bewilderment as the once impossible foe was reduced to burnt nothing – the only evidence of its existence being the green stain on the rock floor where it once stood.
This old man … he’s the most powerful fighter I’ve ever seen!
“Bah, a real shame … I would have liked to keep a cadaver for myself.” The old man sighed, before calling out to the forest. “You can show yourselves now, boys!”
A group of men clothed in a similarly rugged attire to the brothers emerged from behind dead trees and rocks, swivelling small daggers and hefty plasma blades in their hands as they approached the man who issued the order.
Bez clambered back to his feet, then helped Seb up as well. The both of them limped over to the old man and his posse, who swiftly surrounded them. Seb felt their unfamiliar, hostile glare hitting him from all directions.
Bez spat out a glob of blood and wiped the residue from his chin. “So, who’s gonna tell me what the hell that was?”
“Quite a specimen wasn’t it?” The old man wiped the Sandskin’s ashy remains from his sword, smirking as he did. “That was a Sandskin – I’m sure top mercenaries such as yourselves discerned as much – but a slightly more … bestial version of it, wouldn’t you agree?”
Bez tried edging forwards, but the gang of men drew their weapons as he approached the old man. He took the hint not to get any closer.
“It looked … infected. Like it had been left to rot and fester … But it was so much stronger than anything I’ve ever seen! Explain yourself, old man! What was the point of this?”
The old man waved a hand at his gang. They promptly lowered their weapons.
“That, Bez Teneki, was a test. And you passed. Congratulations!”
The brothers stared at each other, utterly perplexed.
“A test … of what?” Bez demanded. “To see if we could slay a soddin’ unkillable beast?”
“Unkillable, ha!” The old man kicked a pile of Sandskin dust by his feet. “Maybe to an untrained hand, but my organisation is known to exceed expectations. How much would you sacrifice for this power, I wonder? The power to best your impossible foes? The power to change the tide of any battle in your favour?”
Bez seemed lost for words for a moment. After careful deliberation, cycling his focus between Seb, the old man and the creature’s remains, he made up his mind.
“Anything. I would sacrifice anything for that kind of power. I would be honoured to learn from you, if you’d let me.”
“Good.” The old man’s cold gaze fell on Seb. “Because your brother did not pass the trial.”
A heavy silence filled the air. The brothers looked at each other, horror in their eyes, while the crowd of onlookers smirked and cackled.
This old man is clearly insane. Does he think an empty promise like that could drive a wedge between us? Between two brothers?
Seb snorted at the mere idea, but Bez didn’t react whatsoever. In fact, he hardly seemed troubled at all.
“Are you asking me to … sever all ties with him?” Bez asked. “Forever? Is that what it would take to learn of your unstoppable power?”
Seb shoved his brother in disgust, hands trembling in fear.
“Are you actually listening to this guy? Look at him! He’s an old man – what kind of ‘power’ could he possibly teach you? C’mon Bez, let’s get out of here.”
He tried grabbing Bez’s hand but his brother swatted it away. He was staring at Seb with that same expression from the tavern – the mixture of regret and sadness that made his heart sink.
He couldn’t … could he? He can’t seriously be considering …
Bez closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. The decision was set in stone.
“Bez … no!” Seb cried out in panic. “Don’t listen to his lies! You can’t leave me … We’re brothers! You promised our parents that you’d protect me!”
Without taking a second glance back at his brother, Bez walked over to the old man, rooting himself firmly by his side.
“I’m sorry, Seb – war is war. I promised our parents that I’d finish what they started. That promise is more important to me than you’ll ever be. I’ve made my choice.”
“What?” Seb pointed an accusatory finger at the old man. “He’s done something to you, Bez – he’s bewitched you! He’s corrupted you! The Bez I know, the brother I know, would never pull a stunt like this–”
“I was never your brother.”
The words stung Seb to his very core, breaking his heart in two. It took a flustered moment to muster any sort of response.
“W-What? You don’t actually mean that … right?”
“I’ve never wanted you as a brother, Seb,” Bez reaffirmed. “Father made me swear to protect you … but you’re not a child anymore. You’ve been nothing but a dead weight since his death. I need to start looking out for myself, before your idiocy drags me to an early grave. That’s what our parents would have truly wanted for me.”
He crossed his arms. “Goodbye, Seb. Don’t try to follow me.”
Seb sank to his knees, a well of tears gathering under his eyes. He slumped down, clutching at the jagged rocks beneath his fingertips, whimpering and shaking uncontrollably.
How could you do this, brother? How could you choose to abandon me so easily?
The tears fell. Snot plugged his nose, now stuffy and sniffling.
How will I survive without you?
Bez whispered something into the old man’s ear, glancing back to Seb as he did.
“Your brother thinks I should spare you,” the old man said in a disappointed tone, turning back to Seb and leaning over him. “Since he has impressed me so much, I’ll give him the courtesy of letting you live. But know this – should our paths ever cross again, I will not hesitate to kill you.” He turned to leave, and beckoned towards his gang of men. “Come. Leave this pathetic boy to wallow in his tears.”
They all turned their backs on Seb, leaving him kneeling in a pile of wet ash. As the old man walked away, his tattered robe flailing behind him, Seb suddenly felt overwhelmed by a bitter hatred. A desire for revenge. Engulfed in an explosive rage, he clutched the plasma sword on the ground by his side – the one Bez dropped during the conflict – and activated it. With a furious swing, channeling all of the anger in his body into his arm, he aimed for the back of the old man’s head.
As quick as any beast he had fought, the old man swivelled around and met his plasma blade with his own. Except, it was no longer the old man who had enticed his brother away – it was a young, stern looking man with a trimmed beard and a chiselled face.
“Wh … What? What trickery is this?”
“Failed again.” The handsome man grinned, letting the lips of his true form curl up his young cheeks and almost touch his yellow eyes. “No wonder your own brother disowns you.”
Seb was too distraught to notice the yellow aura gathering at the man’s free hand. In a flash, the man unleashed a powerful burst of lightning into Seb’s torso, knocking the wind out of his lungs and pushing him backwards. This man had been a Mage all along – a fabled Electric Mage! Rolling around on the ground, Seb let out short, spluttered groans as a chorus of laughter echoed around him.
“Hmmm …” The Electric Mage scratched his bearded chin in contemplation. “What do you think, Bez? How should we deal with such a treacherous act?”
Bez met Seb’s eyes. He clenched his jaw. “Deal with him however you see fit. It’s about time he learned his actions have consequences.”
The Electric Mage chuckled; he patted Bez on the back like a proud father. “Oh, I can tell you’ll fit right in with us! Very well – have at him, boys!”
A pack of four men broke away from the gang, circling the helpless Seb while the others retreated into the forest and out of sight. The pitter patter of the retreating party, Bez and the Electric Mage included, soon faded. Seb was now completely alone with the men.
The biggest of the pack, a real brute of a man, hoisted Seb to his feet before shoving him away for the fun of it. He chucked the plasma blade to Seb’s feet and beckoned towards it with his own weapon.
“Come on, give us a fight at least!” the brute jeered.
Seb fumbled at his feet for the weapon, his injured shoulder still heaving with every inch of movement. The sweat stung his eyes as he tried to activate the sword; it took a few failed attempts until it flickered into life. He held it in front of him, using the last of his strength just to stay on his feet.
The first attacker seemed to put barely any effort into his swing at all, aiming loosely for the head. It took a gargantuan effort, but Seb rolled to one side and avoided getting decapitated.
He cried out in pain when a plasma bolt slammed into the left side of his abdomen – a faraway attacker had opted to keep his distance and shoot from afar while the other three attacked up close. Seb cupped a hand on his wound. It was bleeding slightly, the wound already cauterized, and yet his hand still turned bright red. It wasn’t the first time he had been hit by a plasma bolt but it still hurt like hell. He would walk it off, since it missed any vital organs, but only if he could walk away from this battle in the first place.
Another plasma sword swipe soon followed – Seb almost didn’t react in time to the blade striking down towards him. He ducked, raising his own blade to block the strike. While their weapons were locked, he kicked out towards his attacker, his boot impacting right where he knew it would hurt most.
The gang member stumbled backwards, grunting and groaning as his legs gave way. He toppled over onto the harsh rock surface, landing painfully. The other three looked at Seb, a new malicious intent in their eyes.
They were just toying with me before. Now I’ve made them angry.
The faraway attacker pulled out a strange pink crystal from his side pocket – far more alluring than their colourless counterparts Seb was familiar with. It glowed with radiant power, entrancing Seb with the mere sight of its beauty. This glow seemed to spread into the attacker’s pistol once he placed it onto its shaft. Now imbued with a new energy, the plasma pistol fired a pink bolt out of the chamber.
Straight into Seb’s chest.
He tried to cry out but couldn’t make a sound. The enhanced plasma bolt hit him directly. With a normal plasma bolt there might have been a slim chance of survival, but this one felt different. It stung far worse, more devastating than any plasma bolt he had ever been hit by. The deep, pervasive magic coursed through his body, travelling through every vein under his skin before meandering its way into his heart. He felt his heart skip a beat, then another, before it started pounding in his chest at an unfathomable rate. Then … nothing.
His heart stopped beating. Shut down by the overwhelming magic infesting it.
He didn’t notice the brutish leader of the pack approaching him from behind. With no resistance, the brute hoisted the limp body above his head, shaking the plasma blade out of its hand for good measure. Seb lost the strength and the will to fight back. He just lay limp, accepting his end.
The brute tossed him through the air, crashing him into the dead trunk of a nearby tree. He felt his ribs crack, his lungs collapse. His heart felt like stone – cold and lifeless. He laid on the ground, unmoving.
All Seb could do was stare directly upwards at the lifeless canopy up above, forcing his mind to stay conscious as the four attackers surrounded him. He could hardly feel their boots kick into his side and head. The only lingering feeling was a sense of emptiness.
Bez … How could you do this to me? How could you let your own brother die?
This betrayal would be the last thought that crossed his mind. The world moved in slow motion as his consciousness abandoned him, leaving him behind just as his own brother had done.
Is that … a red butterfly?
It seemed so carefree, fluttering above like a crimson kite in the wind. It was gone as fast as it came … yet another deserter at his deathbed. Perhaps his dying brain had just imagined it.
The air above him erupted into a sea of fire and flame, and blood-curdling screams of anguish faded into obscurity as his consciousness darkened. Beneath this blanket of orange, an unknown figure leant over him, their shadowy outline providing the perfect portrait to the fiery canvas beyond. With that final image, Seb’s whole world turned black.
