He found himself in the desert. Looking around, he saw nothing but sand, and a few measly plants. An overwhelming feeling of dread washed over him like the waves on a beach. No water anywhere in sight, and only a loin cloth to hide him from the unrelenting Sun overhead. By the look of the Sun's position, it seemed like 11:00, or Noon. Great, just great. He had an entire day of traveling to do. But where to go, wherever he looked, he saw nothing. Nothing anywhere. His eye was caught to the East by a group of mountains, and he felt an odd pull to go there. He saw no real reason to go, but didn't see a reason why not.
He began making his way towards the mountains. They were easily 10 miles away, how was he going to make it under this Sun? Only a few skins wrapped about his feet made for any sort of protection against the burning sand, but his loin cloth didn't do any good in protecting his back and neck against the Sun's rays, and in the matter of an hour he was already nice and red. He kept trying to move his hair over his back to help protect it, his hair long enough to reach his shoulders, but that did little good. His vision was begining to blur as his need for water rose with every passing minute. He was sweating profusly, and wondering when he would get there, and why he was even going, but everytime he would wonder about why he was going, the thought would be pushed from his mind, and he would continue to be urged there. Maybe it was some sort of instinct taking over.
As he continued his apparently doomed trek across the desert, he tried to think of how he even got here in the first place. The answer he came up was....nothing. He couldn't remember. Then he realized he couldn't remember anything. He didn't know who he was, where he was, or even WHEN he was. He had no idea how he had gotten here, or where he came from, but something was pushing him towards those mountains, and he took some sort of comfort in that. At least he had a destination.
Hours passed, and the mountains continued to grow larger and larger the closer he came, but his energy and will-power diminished with each step. His back had broken out into blisters, and he had been sweating so much that he became dehydrated twice as fast. What was he doing wearing only a LOIN-CLOTH in a desert?! If only he could remember...but he couldn't, so he just tried to concentrate on the mountains.
More time passed, and he was becoming quite sure that he was going to die. Then, as he squinted his green eyes in disbelief, he was there. He had reached the mountains. A certain pride at the accomplishment came over him, giving him just that much more energy and will, but then another question rose in his mind that quickly washed all of those good emotions from him. This question escaped his lips in an exhausted whisper, "Now what?"
The pushing and urging he had been experiancing the entire walk to these mountains had left him, and he was now siting in the middle of a desert, alone, almost dead. Then, he almost didn't believe it, but just as he had asked that question, that reassuring emotion of hope swept over him as he took notice of something that could prove life-saving. As if in answer to his question, his eyes caught hold of the mouth of a cave, and the most beautiful sound could be heard within. The sound of dripping water.
He mustered all of the power within him and charged into that cave, not caring what was inside. He didn't get 20 feet before he fell into a luscious pool of cool clear water. It was like something out of a dream. He soaked his entire aching burning body in the pool as he drank belly fulls of it. Then, he heard something. It was behind him. Someone, or something, was in here with him.
He lifted his head from the 4 foot deep pool of water and looked about him, then locked his green eyes with two faintly glowing blue eyes. The eyes were large, at least an inch or two in diameter, and they were tall, reaching what must have been 15 feet up. Whatever this creature was, it was big. The young man crouched down in the water, trying to be silent, for some reason thinking that maybe if he stayed low and quiet, it wouldn't notice him. The fact that the two glowing eyes were locked on his escaped his mental grasp. Must have been the heat.
After a moment that seemed like ages, a voice spoke from the dark. Deep, mysterious, and dark. It was enough to echo loudly throughout the cave. It said one word, which the young man somehow recognized right off, "Dubrean." The young man's eyes widened and his interest in this beast increased greatly.
The voice continued. "You are Tibon Dubrean."
Again, somehow the young man knew that this creature was right. He WAS Tibon Dubrean. That was his name. Why hadn't he remembered that in the first place? And how did this being know it? In response, the young man now known as Tibon nodded his head in agreement.
After having seen this, the voice continued. "The time has come Tibon Dubrean. We are in need of your help."
Help? This thing needed HIS help? He tried to speak, but his voice was so sore that it burned and ached with every letter. "M-me? What do y-you want from me?"
The eyes could be seen narrowing, it had a very disturbing effect on Tibon. "We are being wiped out Tibon Dubrean. Systematically hunted to extinction. You are the next in your life-line. You must be the one to help us."
Tibon couldn't believe it. This thing, whatever it was, needed HIS help? What could he do that this beast couldn't? Well, only one way to find out. "W-what...do you want me to do?" The effort of speaking was becoming a tad easier, but it wore on his throat terribly.
The voice took a moment until Tibon returned his attention from his throat onto the eyes. "You must travel to the land of Kurish, and retreave the Egg of Evortion. With the Egg, we will be able to reproduce our numbers, and take back what is rightfully ours: Our lives."
So that is what this was all about. Revenge. Classic reason for this type of thing. Well, he didn't remember anything, but something inside told him not to do it. He didn't have any experience that he knew of to refuse his gut instinct, so he just shook his head, struggling to speak. "No way. I'm not the man you want. I can't help you."
The eyes narrowed even further until they appeared as slits in the ever-present dark of the cave. The deep dark voice took on an urgent tone, but also one of...understanding? "Tibon Dubrean, you are the man we have been looking for. You have escaped us many times. Slipped through our grasp. They are crafty, and have successfully shrouded your existance from us. You have blended in among them perfectly for a long time. But you are different. You are special. You are the one that can help us. The only one that can help us."
Tibon sighed. He was trapped. How could he not want to help after hearing that? This being's kind was in trouble, whoever they are, and they needed his help. Now where was that gut instinct when he needed it? Chased out, that's where. Now he felt a deep guilt and sorrow for these beings. They had a right to live just as much as he did, and if he could help in that, then so be it. Tibon nodded and stood up straight, although it hurt extremely to do so. Having been crouching in the cool water, his muscles solidified him in that position, causing him to ache terribly as he stood. His muscles cramping in their rebuttal. But, dispite his body's refusal to cooperate, he stood and nodded once more. "Very well then. I will help you. But I am going to need supplies. Clothes, weapons, food, the usual."
The glowing eyes widened slightly, and curved upwards, almost as if the eyes themselves were smiling. "No child. I shall give you a gift, and it will be the only thing you will need throughout your trip. The rest will be provided by you."
The confusion didn't have time to set in. Two rather large hands had come out of the darkness and clutched his skull. The grip was oddly gentle, but still firm. The brown leathery hands were easily twice as big as his own, and had large claws on them. Suddenly, Tibon's eyes widened with a flood of sudden realization...and woke up.
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