chapter 2 part 1

Arin Jaha continued to wander along aimlessly under the raging heat of the desert. Underneath his clothes every inch of his body was thoroughly soaked in sweat.

In his head he cursed the desert guide that fled in the middle of the night leaving him halfway through his journey. Without any directions how could he dare to venture into the desert alone. His thoughts inadvertently wandered back to time he spent in the comforts of his mansion.

No ! once again Arin berated himself for being so weak willed to even forget his original goals. The vow that he swore in front of his older brother was still fresh in his memory.

Growing up Arin had heard stories from merchants travelling through the desert capital. They would describe the tremendous power that the sorcerers and mages wielded within the neighboring kingdoms. Their magical spells that could instantly decimate entire armies.

Eventually the stories had struck awe and respect in his young self causing him to aspire to one day join their ranks. However no one in the desert regions had ever seen neither the use of magic nor a sorcerer before, and most of them regarded it as a mere folklore. His family ran a very successful trade in which they sold goods purchased from the merchants to the desert nomads.His father constantly persuaded him to take part in the family trade.

But a Arin had a stubborn heart and refused to change his views and dreams.He continuously begged his father to send him to the neighboring kingdoms to learn the art of magic. This angered his father leading him to make the decision to confine Arin in his home.

It was only when he heard the tale of a wanderer that claimed to have seen a group of mages travelling toward the south, Arin was instantly filled with hope. His conviction led him to secretly leave the desert capital in hopes of apprenticing himself to a mage. The only person he had informed was his younger brother through the means of a letter.

It had been almost a month since he had left the desert capital. Almost all the time he had spent was like pure torment, making him realize how growing up lived a life of luxury. But despite all that, he had managed to sharpen himself and pick up a few survival instincts.

Currently his mouth felt parched as the strength in his body slowly drained away. Arin reached for the leather pouch that dangled on the side of his waist alongside his sword. He quickly took a short sip from it before putting it back, its weight suggested it would not be long before he would run out of water.

With that thought in mind, Arin started to search for the presence of desert vegetation. Hopefully by following their vague trail he could end reaching a water source. In the vast and treacherous clutches of the desert, these unkillable organisms still found a countless ways to thrive.

After walking in the general direction in which the desert plants were growing, Arin started to feel the strain that was exerting pressure on his body. Tired, he sat on the ground to recover his strength.

Subconsciously his hand reached for the baggage on his back. During the course of his journey, he was mocked more than once by other travelers and nomads. Due to this being the first time Arin had journeyed beyond the desert capital , The amount of possessions he had taken with him were not few. This action was viewed by others as pure naivety.

Travelling in the desert was no laughing matter, thus even experienced desert nomads often lived the simplest of lives. The rule was simple, take only what you need as the anything else could kill you.

Resignedly Arin placed his baggage in front of him and intended to open it. Just as Arin was preparing to lessen his baggage, a severe headache overcame him. It felt as if it was the noise of a screeching sound of an eagle combined with fierce howl of a beast echoed in the chambers of his mind.

Both his hand clutched his head as severe pain coursed through his head. When the pain reached its peak and Arin thought it would split his head apart, it stopped.

Come.... A voice echoed slowly echoed in his head. The voice held supreme authority and its orders were like chains that bound Arin's will. Every other thought left him and his sole purpose was to obey.