by Brandon Chen
“Don’t be an idiot. What are you going to do with that toothpick of yours?” Tetsu grumbled and turned to Yuu. “Hey, coward! You need to get up; we’ve got to get out of here before more guards come.”
“W-Where are we going to go?” Yuu whimpered, rocking forward and backward with his knees drawn close to his chest. He was squeezing his skull and his face was so red that it looked like his head was going to pop like a balloon. “I-I … I don’t want to die!”
Tetsu stormed over to Yuu and smacked the table over, grabbing the coward by the collar of his shirt, yanking him to his feet. “Open your eyes, already! If you stay here then you will die!” He turned, and his eyes locked onto a dead librarian wearing a long, white robe, slain in the battle. “Plenty of innocent people are getting caught up in this craziness, I’m sure. I’ll get the two of you somewhere safe. We need to check on the king first, though.” He released Yuu and began to step over the dead Persians as he rushed to the exit of the library.
Darien shuddered as he hesitantly stepped over the bodies. He had never seen a dead person before and he’d never witnessed murder. The images of Tetsu slashing his sword relentlessly across a human’s flesh flashed before his eyes. He knew that he wouldn’t forget such a horrific sight. Turning, he saw that Yuu was closing his eyes as he inched his way over the corpses in a slow attempt to follow Tetsu and Darien.
“Hurry up!” Tetsu called impatiently from the hallway of the castle. “Reinforcements are going to be here soon.”
Within several minutes, the trio was sprinting through the empty, silent hallways of Persepolis’s castle. Darien bit his lower lip as he ran with his two friends, his mind elsewhere. Someone had tried to assassinate him? He would surely have been dead if Tetsu had not been there to save him. What was going on? Who wanted him dead? Could it really be Cambyses, his beloved uncle?
Darien found himself stumbling into the throne room behind Tetsu and Yuu and saw that the king and queen were sitting upon their thrones. Squads of guards that had been standing around the perimeter of the room were now advancing forward, brandishing their scimitars at the sight of the falsely accused traitor, Tetsu.
“It has come to my attention, Tetsu, that you have been plotting against me. You wish to have me executed, when I bring hope, prosperity, and peace to Persia?” The king raised his eyebrows as he thrummed his fingers on the golden arm of his throne. The lord waved his hand to his guards, giving them the signal that they could strike freely. “Just don’t harm my son.”
Darien pulled out his dagger and held it with the blade pointing downward, gripping the small weapon in front of him. The guards halted, unsure of what to do. They definitely didn’t want to battle the prince. If they accidently killed Darien they would surely suffer the king’s wrath. However, they knew that they had to eliminate the threat, Tetsu. So the guards stood there with their weapons brandished freely, puzzled by their conflicted situation.
Tetsu shattered the confusion by impatiently rushing forward with his long sword gripped tightly in his hands. Whipping the blade in a sideways slash, the boy ripped a Persian’s torso practically in half with a single blow. Blood spurted like a fountain into the air and poured onto the ground as Tetsu continued onward to the rest of his opponents. Tetsu was a perfected warrior, able to read the movements and actions of every oncoming soldier that rushed at him. He easily dispatched seven soldiers with seven fluent strikes, all of which tore the men apart with ease. However, in the chaos, one man approached Tetsu from behind, swinging his curved scimitar in a downwards swing at the boy’s blind-spot.
Yuu suddenly leapt in between Tetsu and the man, shielding his friend from harm’s way. The blade tore across the young noble’s back, and the boy screamed in agony as his clothes were soaked with his gushing blood. He collapsed forward, his face smacking hard against the ground. His eyes were closed and he lay unmoving, his face blanching.
Darien’s eyes widened as Yuu collapsed. His hands began to tingle, tightening his hold on the hilt of his dagger. How dare you…? Bloodlust usurped his mind, causing him to sprint forward and jam his sharpened dagger into the side of the assaulter’s throat. Crimson-red liquid hemorrhaged from the fatal wound but Darien kept stabbing, driving the tiny blade into the man over and over again. For some reason that Darien couldn’t describe, it felt good. All of the burning rage that he felt boiling inside of him was being released in the action of stabbing. Tears were flowing freely from his eyes as he pushed the man onto his back and continued ripping him full of holes, blood now spraying onto his expensive clothing.
Silence filled the room and Tetsu stared at Darien with shock as he mercilessly defiled the Persian soldier’s corpse. After several moments, the prince lowered his bloodied dagger to his side and allowed the weapon to clank loudly to the ground. He was breathing hard and was exhausted. The prince stared at the lifeless corpse beneath him, his stomach churning and heaving, and he leaned forward, retching all over the floor beside the man he had murdered.
He had killed someone. The man’s blank gaze penetrated his soul with its powerful, unwavering stare. And the blood. Darien was covered in it; the unforgettable miasma of the corpse filled his nostrils, making him want to vomit again.
“Yuu! Are you alright?” Tetsu was kneeling at the noble’s side and Darien turned to find that Yuu’s entire back had been practically torn open by the vicious slash of the scimitar. He had thrown himself in front of Tetsu to save the boy’s life. Tetsu was trembling, unable to believe that his friend was dying. He touched Yuu’s pulse, feeling that it was weak, but existent. “Hey man, I’m sorry for everything. For making fun of you, for wrestling you, and for this,” he whispered, lifting Yuu’s unconscious body into his arms. “Darien! We need to get Yuu help. Let’s get out of here….”
But Darien was stagnant, his body completely paralyzed. His eyes had wandered to his parents and suddenly his mouth dropped open in shock. The king and queen had both been slain, their royal robes drenched with their own blood. Their eyes were still wide open, for their assassination occurred in a swift moment. “F-Father! Mother!” Darien screamed, rushing forward towards his parents. He halted at the foot of the thrones, an electrifying sensation stopping his body from getting any closer to his dying parents. Tears began to stream freely down his cheeks as he collapsed to his knees, his head bowing to the ground. How was this possible? Tetsu and I didn’t get remotely close to the throne! Someone else must’ve done this! But who? None of the soldiers were even near my parents!
“Mage….” Darien’s head shot up when his father wheezed out a few words, sputtering blood all over his cloak. “Betrayed … Darien … live … on….” His head went limp, his eyes fixated on the floor with a final word dying upon his rosy-red lips. Run.
Cambyses and several other soldiers burst into the room from behind Darien and Tetsu. The uncle stared at his brother’s corpse, clamping his hand over his mouth with disbelief. “D-Darien, what have you done?”
Darien spun around to face his uncle. “It wasn’t me! I swear that it wasn’t….” He couldn’t have murdered his parents. I didn’t do this…!
“You two are the only ones alive in this room and you’re both covered in blood,” Cambyses said, clenching his teeth. “Magus!” he bellowed.
A mysterious man in a black cloak sauntered past Cambyses into the throne room, his eyes coruscating a flashing violet color. His cloak was unbuttoned, revealing a fine white cloth shirt underneath. In his hand he gripped a golden scepter that radiated a brilliant light from a shining ruby at the scepter’s tip. “Yes, yes. I’m on it,” the Magus said casually as he raised his scepter to Tetsu and Darien. “Forgive me, little prince. But you must be punished for your sins.”
A red shockwave of magical energy pulsed outwards from the Magus’s scepter, filling the room with a wave of mystical power that knocked Darien and Tetsu clean off of their feet. Yuu’s body flew from Tetsu’s arms and slammed heavily against the marble floor, rolling uncontrollably. Darien
and Tetsu were launched backwards into the back wall of the throne room. The breath left Darien’s lungs as his vision became unfocused. He collapsed forward, landing harshly on his cheek. His head was pounding and his ears were ringing. He weakly reached up, pressing his palm against the cold, hard floor. The muscles in his right arm cried out in agony, obviously too weak to support his body. Nevertheless, he tried to push himself up. Stop this! It wasn’t me!
“Huh? We’ve got a fighter over here!” The Magus cackled as he sauntered across the room and pointed the tip of his scepter at Darien’s struggling body. “Your uncle told me that you didn’t believe in magic and gods. Little boy, you have to open your eyes to the world around you. After all, the existence of magic and gods has been right under your nose the entire time. Take your nose out of those books of yours and start being more curious, child. Cambyses, I must advise that you banish these two pampered boys.”
Cambyses looked at Darien pitifully. “I agree.”
“Then it’s settled!” The Magus grinned widely, a wicked smile that stretched from ear to ear. “To the Lost Sands you go.” There was a flash of red light and Darien felt himself falling backwards into an endless, dark abyss.
Find Yourself
Darien grunted, his body striking the hot, sandy ground of the desert. He stuck out his tongue, spitting bits of sand from his mouth as he turned to find that several men on horses had dropped him off in a random location in the arid desert. Tied up on the back of one of the steeds was Tetsu, who was still unconscious. The prince touched his temple with his palm, feeling a throbbing headache pounding inside his skull.
“We’ll be leaving you here in the mouth of the Lost Sands. You are to travel east,” a Persian soldier stated, pointing to the far-off distance where there were only endless mountains of sand. “If we see that you are coming back towards Persepolis you will be executed immediately. Do you understand?”
Darien squinted through the beating sun’s powerful glare. “What about Tetsu?”
“He will be given the same treatment as you. A chance at life through trial in the Lost Sands. If you come out on the other side alive then you’ve made it to freedom. But there is no chance of that.” The Persian soldiers laughed. “We will split the two of you up. But who knows, perhaps you’ll meet each other once again in the desert. By then, both of you will have lost your minds so don’t look forward to your reunion, prince.” The Persian tossed a canteen of water through the air towards Darien and grinned. “Take it, boy. You’ll need it more than me.”
Darien caught the canteen and frowned, realizing that it was empty. He heard the Persians laugh hysterically as they began to gallop off into the distance, hauling Tetsu along with them. The prince gritted his teeth in frustration, hurling the canteen at the ground as he screamed into the sky.
Walking into the Lost Sands began with few obstacles. Besides the dunes of sand that seemed to stretch out in every direction and the scorching sun, there were no monsters to leap out and swallow Darien, as the rumors claimed. Not yet, at least. Hours of endless walking seemed to drag by and Darien wasn’t sure if he was making any progress through the wasteland. In fact, his sense of direction was completely off. He didn’t even know which way he was traveling because everything looked the same.
Darien smacked his chapped lips, hoping that at some point he would come across some mystical river that appeared out of nowhere. He raised his head to the skies and exhaled, perspiration streaking down his face. The prince now understood why it was that people believed in gods. To believe in the gods was to believe in miracles. It allowed humans to grasp onto hope even when there was none. He clenched his teeth as tears began to trickle down his cheeks. Why is this happening to me? All I wanted to do was help my friend. Now Yuu’s probably dead, and Tetsu and I are going to perish out here in this barren wasteland. Is this what I get for not believing in the gods? Is this my punishment?
The existence of magic and gods has been right under your nose the entire time.
More hours seemed to flash by and Darien had taken off his shirt, wrapping it around his head as the sun’s unbearable heat burned on his back, roasting him alive. He felt like he was Hussan’s meat, tossed brusquely onto a frying pan to cook. Darien staggered, his arms drooping lethargically at his side as his eyes fought to stay open. He tried to wet his parched, cracked lips but soon realized that even his tongue was as dry as sandpaper. He felt like a desiccated zombie, alive with no reason to continue onward besides purposeless existence. He had no destination, he had no plan, he had nothing. As he gazed blankly at the desert, Darien realized that he was not getting anywhere. He might as well have been walking in place because the never-ending dunes of sand still stretched on in all directions.
Darien fell to his knees, his eyes squinted from the crusty sand that was covering his face. The blustering breeze that blew through the desert did not comfort him and merely sliced his skin with the whipping sand. The bottoms of his feet were red, raw, and blistered from walking for hours on the scorching sand. Giddiness overwhelmed him and he collapsed onto his back, submitting to his ultimate fate. Staring up at the cerulean skies, his father’s face suddenly appeared in his view and he blinked. He had witnessed his father’s demise. Was he hallucinating?
“I am disappointed in you, son,” the king said. “A boy born of royal blood, pampered with the best resources available, and the first time you’ve stepped outside of the empire you’re giving up already. Is hope that far out of reach?”
“It is,” Darien murmured. “There is nowhere for me to go. This is as far as I dare travel and I doubt I’ve even made twenty miles into the desert yet. I’ve lost my home, my birthright, my friends, everything! All in a single hour.”
“A boy destined to be king….”
“Is that all you ever talk about, father?” Darien attempted to shout, his voice coming out as a raspy gasp. “How I’m supposed to succeed you and do a perfect job overlooking this rich country at the age of fifteen? Oh, but now you won’t have to worry about it. You won’t have to stress out in the afterlife about whether or not I’m fulfilling your legacy because all of that is gone now. I am forsaken and betrayed. Someone murdered you and mother, but I do not know who.”
“What if it was your friend?”
“Tetsu? He wouldn’t do such a thing,” Darien said and then frowned. Would he? It was possible that Tetsu could’ve felt so angry about the announcement of his betrayal that he felt obligated to murder the king and queen. There had been no one else in the room. But the Tetsu that Darien knew never would’ve committed such an atrocity.
“Facts, facts, facts. Are you letting your beliefs cloud your judgment again, Darien?” Yuu’s voice echoed in his mind and Darien turned to find his noble friend standing there beside him as well. “Think about the facts. Who should you blame for your misfortune? You must find out. After all, how are you going to get revenge if you are just sitting here baking alive in the sand?”
“I do not intend to get revenge,” Darien murmured.
“But aren’t you curious to find out who betrayed you?” Yuu asked. “Look at who the facts point to.”
“Why would I have any reason to kill the rulers of Persia?” Tetsu had appeared out of nowhere as well to defend himself in the argument. “Killing them would not have solved anything. Besides, they had provided for and protected me for many years. I am grateful to them.”
“But I betrayed you!” the king shouted.
“And is that your fault?” Tetsu retorted.
Silence. Darien found that he was once again alone with the howling wind smacking against his reddened cheeks. Hallucinations? Dreams? Had he been asleep or was he just losing his mind? The boy ran a hand through his sandy hair. But the manifestations that his mind had created of Yuu, Tetsu, and his father were absolutely correct. He wanted to find out who had murdered his parents, and he did want revenge.
Newfound energy surged through his veins, and the prince forced himself onto his feet wit
h great fervor, swaying slightly as sand rained off of his body. He turned and suddenly saw that there was a stranger standing there beside him.
It was a young girl with gleaming blonde hair that blazed as brightly as the sun. She had a white cloak wrapped tightly around her body and an orange scarf that came around her neck, to protect her from the pounding heat of the sun. Small beads of sweat rolled down her tanned cheeks. Her glistening blue eyes reflected the same color as the infinite skies of this sweltering-hot day. Strapped to her back was a long, gigantic orange shield, with a symbol of the sun engraved into the front of it. A broadsword was sheathed at her side, and she stood staring at Darien. She smiled at him. “So, you’ve finally come to. You look like you’ve still got some energy, huh?” She reached to her belt and pulled out a canteen of water, thrusting it out towards Darien. “Go on, drink. You look thirsty.”
Darien blinked, frowning at the girl. How on earth had she just appeared beside him out of nowhere? And why was she being so kind to a complete stranger? What was even more puzzling was that this girl was out in the Lost Sands. Was she another hallucination?
The boy frowned, hesitating, before taking the canteen without saying anything. He trickled water into his mouth, which didn’t seem to satisfy his unquenchable thirst. He lowered the canteen, thankful that it hadn’t been empty. Darien handed it back to the girl and exhaled. “Thank you.”
“So what’s a prince doing out here in the middle of nowhere?” the girl asked, putting the canteen back on her belt.
Darien knitted his eyebrows. “You know who I am?”
“Who doesn’t? You’re the prince of one of the greatest nations in all of Dastia.” The girl giggled. “Well, it’s no use to stand around here all day. I suggest we move; being stagnant in the Lost Sands in unwise. We can talk as we go, yes?”
Darien told the girl of his life in the empire and how he had eventually been betrayed as they walked. He told her of how he didn’t know who murdered his parents but he was determined to find out. The girl seemed interested in his story. He found out that her name was Ra, and he felt that he had heard that name somewhere before, though he couldn’t quite place where.