Was it Fate?

[_Black_Drag0n_ 781]

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS4pI30Obkw

 

The art used is generated by AI, which I know is not looked favourably upon, but I didn't have the means to create my own art.

 

Time... If only he was on time... Or was it... Fate?

 

 

For hours the Kha'tigrasi of Redmont toiled in the smithy, working on what might've been his Magnum Opus, when Fate struck. Flames roared up as the blacksmith leaned forwards, burning the furr off the face of the Kharajyr Seeker.

 

All Do'Nemihueca could feel was pain.

All Do'Nemihueca could see was darkness.

Or was it darkness?

 

 

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Beyond the realm where eyes their vigil keep,

A deeper seeing stirs from slumber deep.

No vibrant hues, no shapes in sharp array,

But inner contours that the soul Survey.

A symphony of senses, keen and bright,

Where textures sing and shadows birth a light.

The spirit's vision, boundless and serene,

Unveils a world, vibrant and unseen.

 

---

 

 

Those words, unspoken yet impossibly loud bounced around through the head of the Eternal Seeker as he scrambled away from the heat, his hands reaching up to his face, carefully touching it, but pulling away just as quickly. He'd reach for his staff, the steel left for what it was in the crucible, forgotten through the pain and horror of what had just occured. In his panic, the Kharajyr left the smithy, tapping with his staff around until he made his way up the stairs to the temple of Fate. The atmosphere in the room as serene as always, though Do'Nemihueca didn't notice. 

 

 

"Muuna, is it my time yet?" The tiger cried out, his voice quivering as he kneeled down in the chamber, unknowingly staring straight at a shrine dedicated to the Lord of Fate.  "Muuna, why has this happened to me, was it my time to lose my sight?" The plea continued, the warrior speaking softly to the one he saw as his true Mother. "Why did you take my sight, after my search for you? What have I done to wrong you in my eternal search for you?" He questioned, his tone uncertain, though his voice was getting more steady as he continued to speak.

 

Tears had started streaming down the burnt face of the Kharajyr hours ago, carving two channels through the soot that now caked the face of the tigerlike creature as it sat in front of the shrine, praying for his mother to answer his pleas. Suddenly, after what seemed like an eternity, he stood up, kneeling back down on his other knees, his voice raspier than before "Father, was this my fate? Was this your answer to my ask, my plea for safety and  guidance?" The tiger spoke, pulling a dagger from his belt, placing it in front of him "Father, Mother, I will live on, show my Conviction, that my Time hasn't come yet." He spoke, his voice echoing through the empty, silent halls, as darkness crept over him, his eyes falling shut as he fell into a deep, restless slumber.

 

Spoiler

 

As soon as he had spoken these words, he felt something... A presence, impossibly large, impossible to comprehend, yet comforting. A single crow cawed, and the warrior stood up, his blade appearing in his hand in a flash of silver through the darkness.

 

 

"My son, your time has not come yet." The answer came, the voice changing between that of a male and female being, an elegant hand reaching forth from the darkness, the faceless being inviting the tiger to follow it.

"Who are you?" He asked, hesitant of following the being into the unknown. A hearty laugh answered that question "My dead Tezcatlipoca, Do'Nemihueca, you know who I am" The voice followed up, indicating once more that the Kharajyr Elder was supposed to follow it.

 

Suddenly, Do'Nemihueca could see, he could see through the darkness, looking down upon the mountain he was praying in, looking down upon his own body, sitting on both knees, hands clasped together, a soft glow surrounding him "You are at a crossroad... Make your choise wisely, for Fate awaits, and your Time will come, no matter that which you choose." The voices spoke, as on either side of the Tiger Warrior a hallway opened up, carving straight through the mountain, one ending even deeper in the mountain, the other letting sunlight shine through. "NOW.... CHOOSE"

 

 

 

With those words, Do'Nemihuela woke up, his vision granted, yet his questions unanswered. He looked around, the light hunting his eyes, the tunnels having disappeared as if they were never there. He felt up, his hands touching his face, his fingers feeling nothing but empty sockets where his eyes once were... Yet he could see...

 

His hands reached out for something, anything to cover his eyes with, and stop that horrible empty feeling. There, that was it, a piece of rough cloth. He bound it around his face, covering his eyes with it before standing up. This power, he would keep for himself.