POV Narrator:

Time does not stop for any being, it doesn’t matter how mighty they are. An age passes like the changing of a season. The new becomes the old and the old becomes the new once again. Mighty heroes fall to the decay of time and new heroes rise to take their place. The age of Goliaths has come to an end, but one still remains.

A new age has dawned, the 13th age. An age of men. The lands have changed. Continents broke and formed anew, yet one place remains the same. A lonely mountain piercing the heavens. Forming the heart of a new supercontinent, dominating half of the world’s surface. A lonely mountain surrounded with golden light. A barrier stopping any challenge to its might.

A new power hums in the air. The age of swords and magic has come again. Islands fly up to fill the sky, a new and wondrous world has truly arrived. The age of goliaths has truly come to an end, the age of man has started in their stead.

POV Dawkin Rosepeak

Strength is the only path towards freedom. I was blinded with kindness in my childhood, but now I finally see this world’s true nature. Freedom must be fought for and earned, no one’s willing to just hand it to you. I still shudder at the thought of my precious village’s situation. The fear of this world’s dangers entraps them in their dark homes, despair clinging to their every thought.

Dangerous and malicious creatures wander this world and roaming hordes of barbarous humans follow in their wake. Only seeking to destroy and pillage. My village is the last bastion of kindness and civilization, I won’t let it fall to this world’s cruelty. The only path towards this ideal is through great personal strength. Powerful enough to defend my village and the values that it harbours.

This is my first time truly alone, away from home, but I don’t feel alone. The hopes of my people keep me company. There’s a legend in my village, it tells of a lonely mountain piercing through the sky, unyielding in its majesty. This is my destination. The legend states that up in the dangerous norths from my village, where innumerable dangers lie, the mountain can be found.

It’s there, at this legendary mountain, where I’ll find my strength. This path that I’ve chosen is not a path that any man can casually walk. Five people have tried to find this lonely mountain and five people have failed. The last attempt claimed the life of my father and I will succeed where he has failed. I do not fear death, only the notion of failing in my journey and abandoning my village to the cruel fate that this world has condemned it to.

I’ve been travelling for three weeks, but I don’t feel lost. It feels as if fate is leading me, keeping me away from the wandering path. Wild creatures and savage beasts plague the landscape, but I will not submit. When I’m surrounded by a pack of wolves, I dare not falter in my actions. I strike at the wolves with my sword, hacking and slashing everything in sight. The thoughts of my people provide me with strength. I will not fail… I cannot fail.

With dreary eyes and a sword dripping with blood, I stare at the massacre around me. The same phrase echoes throughout my whole being, “Only strength can guarantee freedom in this cruel world”. I do not enjoy killing, but life isn’t made for the weak. Everything has a purpose, even the death of these vicious wolves. Their pelts will make excellent clothes to help me fight the cold nights, those that chills me to the bone.

It doesn’t take long to skin the wolves and clean their pelts. I must work fast and efficiently, I don’t have the luxury of rest or comfort, so I can’t spend a great deal of time to make proper clothes. The bare minimum will do. The cold nights will still be cold, but at least not as unbearable as before. The night will arrive in a few hours and I must prepare.

The cold wind howls in my ear as I quickly dig a small hole to take shelter in for the night, the sun setting in the background as I work. As darkness covers the night, I crawl into my small hole and cover myself with the wolf pelts, insulating myself from the dangers of the world. A small amount of comfort fills me on this chilly night, where the cries of wild beasts fill the night sky.

On my fourth week of travelling, I finally spot a tall mountain protruding out of the horizon. A tall, lonely mountain, just as the legend stated. A tear drips from my eye and a small sense of relief washes over me. My thought drifts back to my village and I exclaim in my heart that their trust wasn’t misplaced. I will succeed where everyone else has failed.

Even if I’ve found the mountain, it doesn’t mean that all the dangers are gone. Even if I’m the most capable person in my village, I should still be cautious. It takes another day to reach the mountain's base and I’m in awe of its majesty. How can such a tall mountain exist, it’s at least double the size of any mountain that I’ve previously seen.

The sun is setting over the horizon, giving me little time to keep pondering over this matter. Digging another small hole to crawl into, I take my rest for the night. The howls of wild beasts feel like old friends at this point and with the mountain at my back, I sleep peacefully for the first time in over four weeks.

As the first rays of sunlight pierce the night sky, I wake up full of energy. Staring up at the enormous cliff in front of me, a sense of dread strikes me. Am I capable of climbing this mountain? A feeling of inferiority washes over me and my confidence begins to waver. The faces of everyone in my village flashes in my mind and the feeling of dread and inferiority fades away, as quickly as it arrived.

I haven’t come this far to just give up, I would rather die than give up. With a new form of determination filling every part of my body, I steel my resolve. The mountain's first hundred meters is at a steep incline, but the real challenge comes after that. After the first hundred meters, the slope changes to a sheer cliff stretching out, into the clouds.

After contemplating the situation, I make a harsh decision. I dump every piece of unneeded equipment, including my sword and most of my food. The only things that I keep are enough food for three days and warm clothes. With the bare minimum equipment and feeling lighter than ever, I begin my ascent. The hike of a hundred meter didn’t faze me at all, but the cliff is another challenge in its own right.

The smooth surface of the cliff face has corroded with time, leaving decent handholds. With my climbing route decided, I begin my ascent. The progress is slow at first, but I speed up as I gain more experience with climbing. After 2 hours of climbing, my muscles begin to quiver under the continues strain from climbing. Just as my strength was nearing its end, I reach a hollow in the cliff face easily twenty meters in diameter and thirty meters deep.

Barely pulling myself into the hollow, I lay flat on the ground, completely drained of energy. After taking ten minutes to recover, I finally take a proper look at the hollow. The hollow looks completely unnatural as if a small meteor crashed into the mountain’s side and formed it. I can’t ponder too long on this conundrum. This climb is much more difficult than I previously assumed and I need a new plan of action.

After calming my mind, I carefully lean over the hollow’s side and observe the climbing route that I must follow. As I observe the cliff face, I spot another hollow a hundred meters up and it’s almost the same size by my rough estimate. After deciding on my next destination, I start climbing again. I reach the second hollow with relative ease, only needing a five-minute rest to recover.

After observing the route again, I spot another hollow and it’s also a hundred meters up. How can this be a coincidence? Maybe it’s destiny helping me in this impossible task. If there's a hollow every hundred meters, until the peak of this mountain, then this task might just be possible. A small smile creeps on my face and I’m again refilled with confidence.

I continue my climb, determination pulsing within me with every meter that I ascend. Climbing from one hollow to another and resting, has allowed me to keep an unreasonable pace in my ascent of this mountain. When the sun was about to set, I reach an abnormally large hollow, easily big enough to fit a small hill. Without enough time to contemplate further, I find a warm corner and barricade myself from the wind, with a wall of loose stone.

I wake up at the break of dawn and my stomach starts to rumble with hunger. Taking out the small amount of food that I brought, I eat the bare minimum. Hoping to stretch out my supply for as long as possible. With the climbing experience that I had gained from the previous day’s climb, I double my previous pace. At the end of the second day, I’m already over four kilometres into the ascent.

I continue this pace for the next day. As the sun sets over the horizon, I finally reach the eight-kilometre mark. I crawl, into the hollow, with my last bit of energy and I barely manage to make a shelter before sleep claims me. On the morning of the fourth day, I wake up feeling broken and bruised. My hand's filled with blisters and my stomach is rumbling with hunger.

Taking out my last scraps of food, I eat carefully, making sure not to waste even a crumb. I stand up and my body aches in protest. If I don’t reach the peak today, then I’m not going to make it in this life. Steeling my determination for a final time, I begin my last ascent. From one handhold to another, I climb like a monotonous machine with only one purpose.

As the day is nearing its end, I reach the last hollow, a mere hundred meters away from the mountain’s peak. I can barely move my body at this point and my whole body feels weak. My energy reserve is completely dry. Tears fill my face as I lie on the hollow’s ground. My body is screaming in pain, making me unable to think straight.

In this delusional state, my mind drifts back to my happy childhood days. The longing I feel for home clouds my mind. On the verge of completely giving up, a memory surfaces in my mind. I see the smiling faces of everyone in my village and the tears of my mother, as they see me off. They’ve rested all their hopes on me and I’ve failed.

As my tears roll on the ground, I hear my mother’s voice, “You would have made your father proud.”. I scream out of frustration and my very last bit of energy fills my body. Pushing myself off the ground with shaky arms, I drag myself towards the hollow’s entrance. In a state of almost complete insanity, I start climbing again. Meter by meter, dragging myself up the cliff face. With my last bit of energy and one final scream, I pull myself over the cliff’s edge and onto the mountain’s peak. As I roll onto the peak, I’m able to barely spot a patch of grass just as I pass out for the final time.