The scorching rays of the sun beamed down on him.
He staggered across the dunes, and with each step he sank into the burning sands of the desert. His throat was dry, and his mind was empty. No name, no past - only the desperate instinct to survive gnawing at his consciousness.
A visceral sound cut through the silence around him. He heard a low growl, guttural and wrong. Instinct commanded him to turn around, and from the ridge above, a beast descended. Its body is malformed, eyes beaming with a crimson fire. The Nightscourge had claimed it.
Fear consumed him, and his body froze. His limbs went numb, any thought of fleeing was futile.
The creature lunged. Still, his body would not move, his heart hammering. There was nothing he could do. Its claws gleamed, its breath was foul, the smell so pungent he almost vomited his insides. He finally managed to raise his arms in a vain attempt to defend himself -
And the world exploded in light.
A figure dropped between him and the beast, cloak swaying with the desert wind like a banner. He unsheathed a strange black curved blade, then it ignited in blue flame. Mana. The air itself seemed to bend around him.
"It would be wise to stay down," the stranger said, his voice filled with steel.
The beast roared, claws slashing forward. The stranger did not run, but chose to meet it head on. His fist crashed into its skull, the bones gave a cracking sound. Just like the blade, his fist radiated the same blue flame. The monster reeled, shrieking, yet the stranger persisted forward, his movements a blur. Each and every strike seemed to carry the weight of more than a mere mortal should be capable of. It was mana, that tempered his flesh, turning him into something more.
The young man watched, frozen, as the stranger drove his blade through the beast's chest. Violet light sputtered, then it died. The monster collapsed, sand enveloped its body.
The stranger turned his eyes to the young man, a piercing gaze beneath the hood. "The gods are with you. That thing would have torn you to pieces."
"I..." The young man's voice cracked. "I do not know who I am."
The stranger studied him for a brief moment, then sighed. "You best remember quickly. The Waste has no place for weakness." He extended a hand. "Come. Terradin's near. The scourge has no reach within the dome."
The young man was hesitant. He did not know this stranger, but what choice did he have other than to accept his aid. He took the hand, it was calloused, strong and firm.
The young man swallowed hard. "What are you? The way you move.."
He glanced at him. "I am a Wastewalker. Born with a core. The same mana that flows through all of nature, goes through me too. That is why I could face the beast, it is how we survive the Waste."
The young man nodded in understanding. As they walked, the stranger spoke, clearly with kindness. "Terradin is one of the last city states. Protected by Mana-Tech and the dome. Within you are guarded from the Scourge. Outside..." He gestured to the endless dunes. "Outside, everything and everyone wants to take your life."
The young man's chest tightened.
"You will need to form a mana-core. Without one, you will not live long."
He did not know his name, his past, or why he had awakened in the Waste. But as he stared into the horizon, he felt the weight of something new - possibility.
And an unyielding certainty that this was only the beginning.