A really bad day.

"Huff","huff","huff" Darius gasped for breath as he staggered toward the village in sight. The harsh heat from the sun caused him to sweat profusely, truly the desert was a merciless environment. His stomach growled constantly and his lips were chapped from thirst. He had walked several kilometres with no destination in mind as he was escaping from certain death. His parents had sacrificed their lives just so he could escape.

However, that was a story for another time. For now though, his only thought was to get to the village in sight. His chances of making it to the village though slim didn't discourage him. The closer he made it to the village, the more likely he was to be found by the locals increasing his chances of survival.

A child is approaching the village! A spotter informed the village guards below the watchtower. A bomber? One of the guards asked. "It doesn't seem so", the spotter answered. He looks stranded, like a runaway more than anything else.

Do you think he escaped from a raid? Another guard asked. "Probably" the spotter answered. An essence user? Another guard asked. " No, he doesn't seem old enough" the spotter answered with a flat tone. He was beginning to get annoyed with the constant questions. "Should we bring him in?" One of the guards suggested. "Yeah go bring him in" the captain of the guards ordered.

Outside the village, Darius continued to stagger step by step toward the village, suddenly, he saw a man rushing towards him from the village gate. A glimmer of hope could be seen in his eyes as he tried to lengthen his stride. Unfortunately for him, the tripped and stumbled to the ground, causing him to pass out.

A few hours later, he woke up, he tried to get up but his body felt sore all over. So he laid back down and decided to observe his surroundings. He noticed that the room was very small and it looked like a cell and everything was made out of hardened sand. There was only a bed and a place of convenience on the other side of the room. Looking around, he noticed some food and milk on a small table by his bed. He leapt towards it with new found vigor.

He hadn't eaten in days and this was the first time he had laid eyes on food in the past few days. He sat on the side of the bed and began to dine. His hands were in a seemingly perpetual motion as he grabbed food from the plate and drank milk right after.

Once he was done, he began to mull over his current situation. He was a fugitive, he was what was known to the inhabitants of this world as an outworlder.

Outworlders were beings both feared and despised in this world. He was discovered because of the unique phenomenon that occurred once an outworlder was born in this world. The child would be born with a pair of interlinked iris and pupils in each eye. Outworlders are unable to control this ability until they awakened, till then , it randomly activates during periods of extreme emotions.

Right now, Darius was feeling anxious and there was a slight outline of a second iris in each of his eyes. He tried to calm down as he continued to mull over his situation. He decided to try to blend in with the locals of this village until he awakened. Just then, he heard the door to his room unlocking. A brawny looking guard had brought him a change of clothes. "Here, take this and get changed, the chief wants to meet you." The guard handed him the clothes and left the room.

After changing, Darius walked out of the room. He was quite the suave youth in his opinion. He was a thirteen year old brown skinned youth. He had bright blue eyes that could enchant any he desired to woo. He had jet black thick dreads paired with a set of thick and angled eyebrows. If there was a flaw in his appearance, it was his weight, he appeared far too slender. Nevertheless it didn't take away from his overall appearance as it had a strange charm to it.

Out in the village, Darius noticed that all the houses were made out of sand. The structure of the village was quite primitive when compared to the northern continent where he came from. Although when compared to the technological advancement of his previous world, everything in this world was quite archaic. One thing that pissed off Darius the most was the lack of proper toilet facilities in this world. The lack of technology was also quite disappointing but Darius could manage that.

Soon, they reached the center of the village. He then realized that the village was built around an oasis which was probably their source of water. The brawny looking guard stopped in front of a house slightly larger than the others. To call this a palace was a bit of a stretch, Darius thought to himself as they were invited to enter this so called "palace".

The internal structure of the palace met the standard except everything was made of sand. Soon, they arrived in front of the throne room awaiting summons. Darius expected it to be filled with elders along with the chief causing him to panic a bit. As they were invited in, Darius saw that the chief was the only one in the throne room.

He was a man who appeared to be in his thirties. Darius was not surprised by this as in this world, the more powerful one was, the harder it was to tell how old they were. He knew this because his parents looked like they were in their early twenties while he was thirteen.

In Front of the throne, the brawny guard bowed to the chief, Darius also tried to copy his movement to pay his respect. He wanted to leave a good impression as he had decided to take shelter in this village for a while.

The chief nodded in acknowledgement then the brawny guard bowed once again an excused himself.

“What's your name?” The chief asked after the guard exited the room. “Cyrus Wyll” , Darius lied without hesitation. In his previous life, Darius worked a part time job class known as the “internet troll”. He could lie and talk about stuff he had no clue about. He had cooked up a story to feed whoever asked for it. Cyrus Wyll? the chief mumbled to himself before asking once again “ how did you get here?” “I got separated from my parents during a sandstorm while we were traveling.” Darius’ voice turned hoarse towards the end of the sentence in a false display of sorrow. Although, there was some guilt attached to it.

The chief's gaze softened considerably. What a pitiful child he thought to himself before asking “ do you wish to stay in this village?” “Yes, if you would allow it,” Darius answered. “ I can certainly allow it , but you would have to obey the rules of the village.” The chief answered. Darius agreed and was allowed to leave.

Outside the palace, Darius sighed with relief as he stood waiting for the brawny looking guard.

Northern continent, border between the Eastern desert and the Northern continent. In an abandoned fort, two prisoners were being interrogated.

Kayden, Myla I'll ask you one last time. “Where is your son?” Barthon, a tall and lanky man asked the two prisoners. “You think we know? And do you think we would tell you if we did?”. Darius' mum who seemed to be the hot headed one in the family replied.

“Alright take them away” he ordered as two guards entered the room to secure the prisoners and take them away. Barthon was already fed up with this woman's attitude. On their way out of the room, Barthon said “you know we'll find him eventually”. The couple looked each other in the eye, a hint of worry flashing past their eyes. They knew what he said was true.

This was because, the organization Barthon worked for, was known as the imperial court and was the overlord that governed this world. They who were the most powerful force in this world would certainly not struggle to find a thirteen year old boy.

The couple were naturally the parents of said thirteen year old boy. The reason why they were not tortured for answers was because they were tier 3 essence users, on the same rank as Barthon and had served the imperial palace of the Northern continent as generals of the army loyally until this event.

They would be taken to the imperial court where they would be further interrogated. They would most likely be killed after several interrogations even if they complied, as sheltering an outworlder was a crime that was punished with death in this world. Their only hope was that Darius would not be captured.