Desert Wizard: The Youth Awakening the Ancient Magic

Chapter 3: The Call of Fate

Karim and Safia were dashing across the desert. The sun beat down unrelentingly, relentlessly cooking the landscape. The sand below their feet was blisteringly hot, and every single step was a grueling test of willpower. Karim felt on edge and kept glancing back. He only saw endless sand mountains and the drifting sand particles. But he could feel Safia’s anxiousness, and that only worsened his anxiety.

“Safia, will they catch up?” Karim did not hold back and asked, his tone slightly shaking.

Safia fixed her gaze at a point set in the distance and rushed forward saying, “I hope that is not the case. The spies of the ‘Shadow Eye’ are always crafty, and their tracking skills are nothing to scoff at. We need to get to the valley as quickly as we can. The land form there is intricate and it is easy to hide.”

The two trudged forth into the desert. Time seemed to pass slowly, wrapped around tension and anxiety. Eventually, what seemed like an eternity to them – a series of mountains became visible far off. They were distinct against the rest of the belt of sand. Safia pointed to a narrow gap between the mountains and uttered, “That is the valley we are looking for.”

With them finally stepping into the valley, Karim felt his tense nerves relax a little. The sun rays pouring down into the valley were partially blocked by the steep and towering cliffs on both sides of the valley. The region was beautifully cool. The sun's rays were blocked by the steep and towering cliffs encircling the valley, keeping the area relatively cool.

Safia went with Karim deeper into the valley until she reached an overlooked depression in the cliffside. "This is a good resting point; I can create barriers that will keep us safe from being found.” With her words, Safia cast barriers while waving her staff. The gem on the staff glowed, and runes ejected from the device and retreated into thin air.

Karim attentively listened as magic barriers were being set up. Even in danger, his intrigue towards magic had not disappeared. "What do these runes do, Safia?"

While setting up the magic barriers, Safia replied, “These runes will also warn us early enough so that we can prepare in advance. They also interfere with the perception of trackers so that we are not easily found.”

After placing the magic barriers, Safia sat on the floor and guided Karim to sit with her. “Child, you did very well not long ago. The way you controlled the sand means that you are indeed gifted with the 'Soul of the Sand' magic. But the next training will be even more difficult. You need to learn more,” Safia explained still smiling, “You really have to deal with the threat of the 'Shadow Eye' soon.”

“Eager to learn, are you? With how challenging it might be, I will try my best to learn everything,” Karim replied determinedly.

Safia began to chuckle and nodded. After that, she removed a pouch from her belt and grabbed a crystal ball, setting it between them.

The crystal ball’s surface shimmered with a soft light, reflecting the surrounding landscape. “This crystal can assist you in comprehending the magic power's flow more deeply. Gaze at it, focus your mind, and sense the magic currents within the crystal.“

Karim brought his head close to the crystal ball, concentrating his gaze on it. Slowly, he began to notice an energy stream, like an invisible river, flowing inside the crystal ball and shimmering with various colours. He attempted to assimilate his thoughts with this energy's flow. A moment later, waves of information rushed into his thoughts. He began to see captivating magical scenes like flames raging in the void, shards of water dancing midair, and huge rocks floating above the ground.

"Ah!" Suddenly Karim exclaimed, driven by the strange yet fascinating images. Stunned and bewildered, the experiences were simply too captivating.

Safia added from the side: “This is a world of magic, child. Each type of magic possesses its own flow of energy. For the magic of ‘Soul of the Sand’, you have to learn to feel the energy of sand in a desert and then blend it with your spirit.”

Karim shut his eyes, trying to make an effort to “feel” the flow of magical power he had just seen in the cinematic magic ball while attempting to sense the magical energy in the sand around him. Initially, all he felt was a chaotic sensation. However, after a certain point, he noticed there was a rhythm in the chaos and began to feel the vibrant power of the sand as well.

“Very good, child. Keep it up. Now, try to guide this power and make it condense according to your will,” he heard Safia guide, which was almost like a beacon illuminating the darkness.

Karim concentrated and visualised the sand in front of him forming a sword. As he focused, the sand in the area began to move slowly, and little by little, a sword made of sand was formed. The blade of the sand sword gleamed smooth and cold, while the handle had some mysterious patterns carved into it.

"Karim, this is very impressive!" Safia praised him with genuine excitement. "This is not simply condensation: it's sophisticated magic. Now, you just have to learn how to apply it in practice for combat."

Safia raised her staff, stood up, and shot a beam of magical energy towards the valley. A huge boulder that had been sitting in the valley for years was blasted to pieces. Safia’s magic had torn the rock apart. "What I need you to do is imagine the sand sword you’re wielding in your hand has the same destructive power and attack, and that you can strike the rock."

Taking a deep breath, honing his focus, Karim charged at the boulder. As he got closer, he took a deep breath, hoping to strike the boulder with the sword. Beneath the sword he wielded lay sand, and blasting forth from it was Karim’s will; shields made from sand obliterating the boulders while dust filled the air. A c***k formed deep within the boulder, but unlike Safia, Karim could not yield the explosion.

"You don’t need to worry. This is simply the first attempt," Safia said encouragingly. After all, consistency is key. The power could break free with a little more time.

Karim took a few steps back and breathed. This time, he retraced his thoughts to his village, Elder Hassan, the kind villagers, and the impending danger that the ‘Shadow Eye’ posed. A strong feeling of anger mixed with an overwhelming sense of purpose began surging within him. He dashed towards the boulder once again. And this time, he directed all of his energy into the sand sword. When he swung the sand sword, a more powerful sand blade roared out and hit the boulder. With a thundering explosion, the boulder was reduced to a sandstorm of fragments.

“Yeah! You got it right! You did it, Karim! Look, as long as you firm up your belief, you can unleash the powerful magic of the ‘Soul of the Sand’,” Safia encouraged him.

“For the first time in my life,” Karim thought, gazing with joy and pride at the shattered boulder. He started to come to grips with the raw power that was his very own, further reinforcing the desire to shatter the ‘Shadow Eye’ into pieces.

But, at that instant, the magical runes set by Safia earlier began to flicker, and the environment around them seemed to shift. Safia looked flustered and said, "This is problematic. Something has set off the alert runes. We might have been discovered after all."

With a swift motion, Karim unsheathed the sand sword and cautiously observed his surroundings. A peculiar figure in a black robe was visible in the distance, walking towards the valley. He noticed that the figure was shrouded in a black cloak, with most of their features hidden. The only distinguishing features were a pair of eyes that shone with an unusual red hue.

"Incredible! These robes mark them as one of the ‘Shadow Eye’ scouts,” Safia concluded in a whisper while her grip on the staff became very firm.

Not far from them, the man in a black robe stopped and chuckled darkly. “Safia, I never figured that you would still be here. And this child, he is the successor of the ‘Soul of the Sand’, right? Just give him to me and maybe I will spare your life.”

Scoffing, Safia responded, “Who do you think you are? You think I will just hand him over to you vile creatures? You fools have come at the perfect time. So long as I am in this world, you dare not lay a finger on Karim.”

The black-robed man’s eyes flashed with red light as he waved his hands. Energy beams shot towards Safia and Karim. Safia, with swift movement, raised her staff and created a white shield in front of them to protect against the bolts of black energy. The violent shudders caused by the clash of the energies sent dust and debris flying throughout the valley.

“Karim, breathe slowly and steadily. Focus and attack his lower body using the power you just learned. I will distract him,” Safia commanded while trying to maintain the shield.

Karim focused and controlled the sand sword in his hand. The sand sword immediately broke down into numerous fine grains of sand that struck at the black-robed man’s legs like sand bullets. Having detected the incoming peril, the black-robed man tried to escape. However, Safia’s magical onslaught rendered him unable to concentrate on evasion. The grains of sand struck his legs. Though not life-threatening, he staggered in sheer annoyance.

“Bud, you’re smarter than I thought. But that’s nowhere near enough!” The black-robed man screeched. He blustered while sealing the magical imprints with hand gestures in front of him. Numerous black vines sprouted from the ground and started to wrap around Safia and Karim.

Storming the scene, Safia pointed her staff forward, which sent flames gushing from its tip, directed at the black vines. These, however, appeared unfazed by the blaze and continued their menacing approach towards them.

Karim was nervous as he watched the black vines close in. He remembered the magical water flow he saw in the crystal ball. While he didn't know any water magic, he tried to mimic it using ‘Soul of the Sand’ magic. He focused on controlling the sand, and made it flow like water, sculpting it into a wall of sand that would stave off the black vines.

“Hmph, a last-ditch effort,” the black-robed man said, willing his magic to overwhelm her. The black vines constricting the man became more powerful, and he increased the cracks forming in the sand wall suffocating him.

Safia understood that this was not going to last long. In an attempt to take matters into her own hands, she posited a devastating offensive spell. She slammed the butt of her staff into the ground. Reciting incantations, her will manifested at once as stone and sand in the valley started to tremble violently. A gigantic pillar of sand emerged from the earth, barreling down towards the black-robed man.

As he absorbed the endless blows of the sand pillar, the man in the black robe had no choice but to relinquish control over the black vines. He shoved his palms outward and created a black energy force field in front of him. The black energy force field was no match for the sand pillar, and with an enormous crash, it was utterly shattered.

Karim condensed the sand sword once more and charged towards the man in the black robe. While the latter was distracted, he leapt towards him and activated the sword’s ability which brought down a tremendous amount of force from above onto the back of the man in the black robe.

Feeling the attack coming from behind meant knowing he was already too late to dodge. The sand sword stabbed mercilessly into his back. A pained whimper escaped the mouth of the man in the black robe as he stumbled forward. Safia hastily took back the now-defenceless sand pillar and began chanting magical words; with every magical stroke of the staff, powerful blasts of magic were launched towards the man in the black robe. He shielded himself with erratic uncontrolled motions, but was still struck by the second blast. It sent him hurtling backwards only for him to crash brutally onto the ground.

Karim and Safia approached the figure in the black robe with caution. They noted how he seemed to struggle to rise before collapsing once more. Ultimately, he crumbled into a dark mist and vanished.

“Phew, it’s finally over,” Karim breathed out slowly. “But this was only a marionette set up by the Shadow Eye. Bigger disasters are still to come.”

A softer gaze aligned Safia’s look directed towards Karim. “Child, you did outstanding today. I cannot stress enough how different it is to see you learn, and in real-time no less.”

“W-What? You can’t actually believe he would—”

Karim withdrew, bringing his palm in front of his face while hiding his emotions.

“We really shouldn’t stick around for too long. The moment the Shadow Eye realises something is out of place with the spy, reinforcements will euhemerize out of nowhere. We will have to keep traversing until we locate an area suitable for training in safety.”

“Understood.”

“Very well then. You were exemplary, but don’t get too ahead of yourself.”

He kept his silence now; there was no sense in fuelling the fire anymore.

“It’s no secret, after all. What I embark on is riddled with walls, particularly in terms of obstacles. But I cannot, or rather, will not back down in fighting the Shadow Eye and protecting the village.”

With that, the two began to load their essentials and set off into the great unknown once more.