Sandborn - Awakening of the Frozen Sand

[Legacy is not just what we leave behind, but the echoes of our past that shape the destiny of those who come after us.]

The siblings shifted their focus to the tunnel. Khaleb pushed his sisters back, readying his stance. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, he was prepared to shoot, even though he knew the odds were stacked against him.

Kaira looked at Azar to see his reaction. He nodded with a smile, taking a deep breath of air that he slowly released between his parted lips, dropping the temperature inside the room.

"Cryo?" Khaleb murmured, dazed by Azar's ability. Cryo was an element possessed only by anomalies in the land of sand.

"Haha, they're here," said the first man arriving at the mouth of the tunnel.

He jumped inside the chamber, making way for six more people to follow.

"Well, well, well," Numdul said, pointing his Neon Reaver pistol at Khaleb's sisters. "What do we have here? I thought only ugly creatures liked to dwell below the sand. Have you become bored by the heat outside that you want to freeze to death in here?"

"Numdul, back off or we'll all die together," Khaleb threatened, pointing his gun at him.

Numdul exchanged glances with one of his men before they start laughing.

"Put that thing down, boy. I can't return empty-handed, you know that. And after forcing me to follow you here, I don't think I have enough control to take you back alive. Your head will suffice, your sisters will live," Numdul said.

"Eeee, kali kakka aher a vos," (Hehe, you treat death too easily) Azar spoke in the old Zarúnian tongue, pulling his storage ring from the pedestal with the help of his mental power.

"What did you say?" Numdul asked. "I've seen more meat on a scorpion's tail than on your bones, sadiq*." He gazed around. "You look too frail to have run with them through the desert; are you perhaps a shaman living here?"

"I am not your sadiq, but I once was indeed an existence close to what you call a shaman," Azar replied sternly.

Numdul nodded. "Then we will not bother with you if you don't interfere with us. We, Calabi, don't want to find trouble with a shaman, but we will kill you if you try to protect them. Ei, give this man sand crystals and water as an apology for disturbing him."

One of Numdul's men stepped forward, preparing to give Azar what was asked of him.

"Mmm, sand crystals and water? You, rajul al-sahraa*, are mistaking me for something I am not any longer," Azar said, getting up from the altar. "I am Azar Tora Daremon, be the almighty Void my witness. I was the bright star of the Tora, Master of Bashara Scorpions, ruler of the white sands up to the splitting lands. I bathed in the clean water of the oceans in the south, walked on green lands you people can only dream about, loved the princess of Trahos, and left this world in my twenty-first year of living. I created this sanctuary for my people to pray and connect with me, and after so much time, when another pure heart came to me, you want to take her away?"

Both the siblings and Numdul and his men looked at Azar without making a sound. What he said had a depth they could feel but not understand. However, in the end, no one could recognize what he had talked about, and the simple method of describing something they didn't understand became the usual.

"Crazy shaman," said one of Numdul's men, breaking the solemn silence.

Azar nodded, accepting the remark of the limited mind. With a thought, four flying knives came out of his storage ring, each engraved with an intricate runic pattern. The knives started spinning around him, forming a blurring wheel. Azar extended a hand, an invisible force made of pure mental power wrapping around Numdul's body, sealing his movements and pulling him through the air right into the spinning knives.

There was no strength in Azar's thin, long fingers, but the mental power was sufficient to keep Numdul's severed head suspended long enough for him to dive deep into dead man's memories of the current world. For Azar, the adventure inside Numdul's mind took a few minutes, but for the people around him, only a handful of seconds passed.

The knives stopped revolving around Azar's body right after severing Numdul's head, and immediately after the man gave his last breath, around the corpse lying on the cold floor, soaked in its own blood, two colored, rippling Loot Orbs appeared. One of these orbs contained an ability card, and as always, the smaller one, contained the Flux Points.

NOTE: Loot Orbs

When they appear:

1. Loot Orbs can be dropped after the death of an entity.

2. They can also be randomly generated around the world after a natural phenomenon that discards a massive quantity of flux such as a Void Storm, Tottal Eclipse, or a Cerulean Thunder.

3. They can naturally spawn in caves, mines, ruins, on sacred mountains, oasis, or in any place that accumulates a certain amount of flux.

What they contain:

From weapons, plants, Wish Coins, flux points, potions, blueprints, beast eggs, Core Element Origin, and ability cards, they can have almost anything.

Categories:

White orbs contain only items, no matter the rank.

Blue orbs contain only ability cards, no matter the rank.

Gold, Flux Orbs contain; 1, 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000 Flux Points, depending on the level of the deceased or the phenomenon that created them.

"Numdul!" shouted one of the startled men after witnessing the tragic death of their leader.

"Kill him!" shouted another, pointing his scimitar at Azar.

Knowing that trying to escape through the narrow tunnel was futile, Numdul's people decided to bravely fight for their lives. Readying his flying knives, Azar felt one more presence inside the room, one originating from the altar he had just rose from.

"ARAUMIR, AWAKEN!" Azar ordered, and under everyone's gazes, the altar he had sat on for thousands of years trembled, cracked, and then shattered into pieces, revealing a tall, dark skinned man with a pair of black eyes resembling two black holes.

"May Shallim bless me, what on the eagle's claws is that?" another of Numdul's men asked, stepping back as the dark skinned man rose to its forgotten glory.

Azar made a rising motion with his hand, consciously controlling his flying knives once more, piercing the bodies of the six remaining people. With the element of surprise, the attack was successful, managing to heavily injure half of them. Azar was weaker than them in body and cultivation level, but they seemed to be less proficient in combat and flux control.

"Never get distracted in front of the enemy," Azar advised Khaleb, who, like the others, was distracted by the apparition of the man named Araumir.

Without a word, one of the still-standing enemies dashed in a last struggle to kill Azar. By no means could Azar defend himself in a close combat situation, but it wasn't necessary as his most loyal servant had fully awakened.

"Araumir," Azar said, and the man appeared before him, blocking the furious advance of the enemy. "Leave none alive."

Receiving his order, Araumir showed no mercy, sending a punch that disregarded the man's scimitar, digging deep into his chest before sending him crashing into the wall. Blood splattered on the stone surface, and the corpse remained attached to the wall for a few moments before dropping down with a muffled sound.

Kaira covered her little sister's eyes to protect her from witnessing such a gruesome scene, but she and her brother continued to watch the events unfolding before their eyes.

Seeing another of their own painting the wall with his blood and ending as a meat carpet after a single exchange, Numdul's men dropped to their knees, placing their scimitars on the ground, begging for their lives. Azar sent a mental command for Araumir to stop before his arm danced through the air, directing the flying knives at the men's throats, ending their lives without making a mess of their bodies.

With the threat gone, Araumir knelt before Azar, bowing his head in a respectful manner. "We have descended once again into the physical world, master. And as before, for as long as you decide to stay here, I will accompany you, serving as your right hand as I did from the moment we met."

"I didn't expect you to follow me here, old friend, but I am grateful you did." Azar smiled, patting Araumir on the shoulder. "Place all their useful things into my ring," he said, giving Araumir the ring. "Have you not killed before,boy?" Azar asked Khaleb.

Khaleb shook his head. "Not people."

"If you're not ready to kill, don't carry a weapon," Azar advised. "Forgive me, but I'll have to recuperate," he said to the sisters.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Azar began to absorb and refine the flux around him to improve his condition. During this time, the siblings remained sitting in a corner, not daring to leave without permission, while Araumir diligently stored all the orbs and items remaining on the dead bodies in the storage ring of his master.

After a little more than ten minutes, as he didn't want to postpone the matter with the siblings' father, Azar opened his eyes, ready to leave his sanctuary. Immediately after he got up, Araumir presented him with the ring containing all the loot. Feeling its smooth texture, Azar remembered the good events of his time.

This ring was one of the few objects he couldn't part with back then. However, the storage space inside it held just a trace of the treasures it once contained. Most of the valuable things inside had been gifted by Azar to his friends and subordinates. After all, they served better to be used than to spend an eternity inside a relic on a pedestal.

"Master, i see all of them to wear this." Araumir gazed in the siblings direction, presenting Azar a forearm guard with a small interface on it.

Azar examined it for a little before proceeding to ask the siblings, "Can you share with me what this is?"

"Its a piece of armor with a fluxolit in it," Kara responded.

"What's a fluxolit?" Azar asked.

"A closed terminal. Something like a portable computer," Kaira replied. "It is used mainly in communication and displaying the profile of a person, and is also connected with the Void System itself, allowing you to receive missions."

"The profile of a person?" Azar asked back. "Why would someone want their profile to be displayed?"

"Because it contains the identification of a person?" Khaleb explained. "Without showing your identification/profile, you can't enter a city, sometimes even a tribe. And without having a profile, you can't manage your techniques or keep track of your Soul Points."

"So, with this fluxolit, i can communicate on long distances, receive missions and keep track of my progress?" Azar asked.

"Basically, yes," Kaira replied.

"I didn't have such thing in my time," Azar said for himself, his interest picked. "But won't those who made it have access to my personal information?"

Khaleb exchanged glances with Kaira. "No, it's a closed terminal, it doesn't share data with another device unless you share it yourself."

"Are you sure?" Araumir asked skeptically.

They had their problems with such technologies on other planets, Azar might not remember, but Araumir did.

"We're sure," Kaira said, showing her own fluxolit.

"We'll run a diagnose later, when we have enough knowledge to do it," Azar told Araumir before turning to the siblings. "How long does it take to create a profile?"

"...less then five minutes?" Khaleb said.

"Are you asking me?" Azar questioned.

"No," Khaleb replied, extending his hand to receive the forearm guard. "I was telling."

"Then tell, not ask. Speak with more confidence, like a man, not a child," Azar advised, giving Khaleb the piece of armor to work on the fluxolit. "When i was your age, i was already commanding troops in battle. I guess times had changed."

"What is this armor made of?" Araumir asked.

"The most common and cheapest alloy, doser," Kaira replied.

"Are you poor people?" Araumir asked again, making even Khaleb who was working to erase the data of the previous user from the fluxolit give him a meaningful gaze.

"Let say we are not amongst the wealthiest people," Kaira answered.

"Is done," Khaleb said. "Kaira, help him insert his flux in it."

"Reset this one for Araumir as well," Azar handed another forearm guard to Khaleb. He still had another five of them in his storage ring, all collected by Araumir from the dead men's bodies.

Flux sample required for creating the profile!

A notification appeared on the holographic display. Guided by Kaira, Azar stimulated his flux, inserting a small portion into the fluxolit. Enough for the device to analyze the signature information and create a profile.

PROFILE INITIALIZATION:

System: Accessing the Void System's data...

Database: Accessing Profile...

Search: Finding Individual...

Signature: Comparing flux signatures...

Profile Found: Downloading Data...

Profile Completed!

"Now, you press here," Kaira said, pressing a button.

Name: Azar Tora Daremon

Age: 21

Race: Human

Flux Points: 363

Special Class: Psychomancer

Cultivation Rank: 3 Star Mit'chalel

Height: 1.81 m

Weight: 53 kg

Hair: copper

Eyes: blue

Skin: olive

Affiliation: Tora Clan

Main Occupation: potion-maker, herbalist

Bloodline: dissipated

Elements: Pyro, Cryo

Contracted Beast: none

Flux Method: Thousand Breathing Spirits

Flux Techniques:

Anima:

Spiritual Perception - World Seeing Eye****

Soul Enslavement Ritual****

Psycho:

Psychomancy***

Mirage Creation** (unable to use, insufficient mind power, low cultivation)

Mind Reading****

Telepathy***

Elemental:

Cryo Art:

Ice Wall**** (unable to use, low cultivation)

Cold Breath***

Ice Shards*** (unable to use, low cultivation)

Ice Spikes* (unable to use, low cultivation)

Pyro Art:

Flame Manipulation***** (unable to use, flame required)

Fire Breath***

Phoenix Devastation**

Flux:

Energy Blade**

Void Step**** (unable to use, low cultivation)

Physical:

Tiger's Bite*** (unable to use, poor body condition)

I'm pretty weak, Azar concluded after seeing his stats.

Kaira wanted to take a look as well, but she lacked the courage to do that. A profile was personal information after all.

"What about you, Araumir?" Azar asked. "What rank are you at?"

Without even thinking of hiding, Araumir allowed Azar to watch his information while he took a look at Azar's.

Name: Araumir

Age: ???

Race: Abyss Demon

Flux Points: 638,175

Special Class: Umbramancer

Cultivation Rank: 6 Star Magister Magnus

Height: 1.87 m

Weight: 81 kg

Hair: black

Eyes: black

Skin: dark

Affiliation: Tora Clan

Main Occupation: Warden

Bloodline: Abyss Eater

Elements: Umbra, Toxo, Abyss, Electro

Contracted Beast: none

Flux Method: Dark Infinity Weaving

Flux Techniques:

Anima:

Ghost Vision*****

Wrathful Heart Detection**

Psycho:

Telepathy ****

Elemental:

Abyssal Art:

Nowhere to be found***

Abyss World****

Into my pocket***

Void Calling*****

Toxo Art - Fantasmic Mushroom Origin Core:

Toxin Bomb****

Poison Breath***

Venomous Veil****

Poisonous Lance***

Umbra Art:

Umbramancy*****

Shadow Travel****

Umbral Clone****

Shadow Land**

Horripilation****

Electro Art:

Lightning Ray****

Flux:

Energy Blade***

Energy Drinker*****

Enchanted Terror Flux Wings****

Ghost Purger****

Mirror Pyramid****

Flame Manipulation***** - Soul Purger Flame

Physical:

Hand Blade***

Body Defier****

Gold Nemesis**

Archturis Body****

"Are we allowed to go, now?" Khaleb asked.

Azar gestured for the exit. "We'll be right behind you."

Khaleb nodded, motioning for Kaira to lead the way as he followed behind Faira, sheltering his sisters of Azar's presence. Passing by the corpse of the man punched by Araumir, Kaira felt the urge to throw up, yet she managed to control herself and not start a chain reaction.

"Forgive me, I don't have the ability to burn blood and corpses at the moment," Azar apologized to the siblings for the inconvenience.

"N-not a problem," Khaleb said, pushing his sisters to advance.

"This place has changed over the years," Azar remarked, helped by Araumir to walk through the tunnel. "Back when I created the sanctuary, it was in a cave just a few meters below the searing heat of the desert. Now, it seems swallowed by a mountain."

No one replied to his words, and Azar let himself analyze the information he had learned from Khaleb and Numdul's minds. The world he knew, has changed, and the clan he had worked across two lifetimes to build was gone without a trace. This deeply affected Azar, frustrating and angering him. But he knew just a few things at the moment; a detailed research needed to be done to at least have a vague idea about what happened.

"What is the name of your clan?" Azar probed the siblings, knowing the answer from Khaleb's memories.

"We come from a tribe called Mirha," Kaira replied. "Once again, thank you for saving us; we were in a desperate situation."

"We still are in a desperate situation. We don't know what happened to our father or what awaits us outside. That's why we won't be able to return the favor for the time being, but we promise to give you a considerable reward if we manage to return to the tribe," Khaleb explained to Azar.

"...Tribe," Azar murmured for himself. "What year is this?" He asked, not being able to learn everything he needed from the people's memories as he was too weak.

"Two hundred forty-seven," Kaira replied.

"What caused the new count? At what year did the old calendar stop?" Azar inquired.

"I don't know why we started a new count; that's what the Kings of the Sand had decided. And the old calendar stopped at four thousand ninety-six years," Kaira answered.

"So I walked on this land two thousand one hundred sixty-one years ago," Azar realized.