Desert Wizard: The Youth Awakening the Ancient Magic

Chapter 4: Departing From the Village

Karim and Safia hurriedly made their way out of the valley and resumed traveling in the open desert. During the trek, Karim’s mood was whiny and melancholic, depending on the weather and the time of day. The combat had left him in awe of the danger posed by the "Shadow Eye," mentally preparing him for all of the responsibilities he had to take care of. Farther away they moved from the village, the more nostalgic he felt towards his hometown, family, and friends.

It appeared that Safia had Observed that Karim was down in the dumps. 'Child,' she said while extending her gaze onto him, 'You must realize that parting is always painful, however, everything you do is for a better reunion.' She spoke softly as if to coax an animal, as her expression when looking above was filled with reinforcement or hope. 'When you come back after finishing your education, you will be able to defend everything that is important to you.'

Karim took a deep breath before attempting to relax his body. He seemed to stretch out a bit as he peered toward the sand mountains at the back. These mountains were sparkling like beautiful sand ocean as the sun illuminated them with golden light. He thought about life back in the village. While everything and everyone there was boring, he was able to find joy in the simplest of things. He herded the sheep towards the lush pasture in the mornings, bathed with his buddies in the water joint, and sat under Elder Hassan's storytelling sessions where he would weave tales from the ancient times. These are just imagery stored ina memory capsule as life ahead of him was full of struggles and battles.

'Do you think I truly have what it takes to be a powerful sorcerer, defeat the ‘Shadow Eye”, and defend the village?' He comfortably asked Safia showing that he has some self-doubt.

After thoughtfully glancing into Karim’s eyes, Safia said, “Child, I am convinced you can do it. The first time you displayed the ‘Soul of the Sand’ magic, you struck me as unique. You have a very strong heart and a powerful sense of responsibility. These traits are what every great sorcerer possesses. As long as you continue to learn and train with perseverance, you are bound to achieve your objective.”

Safia's words felt like the gentle sunlight warming Karim's face and gradually melting the clouds in his heart. With fighting spirit twinkling in his eyes, he declared, “Well, I will surely put in the effort from my side.”

As the two travelers moved further, time worked wonders adjusting Karim to the exhausting travel in the desert. He figured out how to hoard energy through the heat, to navigate for water batteries amongst dunes, and how to make use of the elements in the desert to detect nearby threats. Alongside, Safia was always there teaching him different forms of magic and mystic skills, and as days passed by, Karim’s magic abilities got stronger with daily training.

Regardless of how diligently he wanted to learn and progress, his thoughts would always come back toward the village. One serene night, while the stars scattered in the sky looked like the jewels of the day, Karim and Safia rested beneath a protective sand dune. Karim shifted his gaze back to the endless, star-specked sky, and allowed himself to once again reminisce about the village. The kind face of Elder Hassan, the silhouettes of his younger companions dancing in the moonlight, and the fond soothing stillness of the village could be recalled.

"Safia, I wonder what they could be up to right about now. I do hope everything in the village is fine," Karim spoke up after a stretch of silence.

Karim's concern was palpable. “What about the people in the village?” he asked, his brows furrowing. Safia released a soft sigh, telling him, “I’m sure they are all okay. The village has plenty of kind and brave people.” By telling him this Safia wanted him to keep hope. “Now you need to focus on what is ultimately going to keep them all safe, which is becoming strong.”

Karim didn’t say anything. He had already accepted the fact that what Safia was saying was indeed true. The ache he felt in his chest was different. It was invisible yet heavy, tugging at his heart. Deep down inside himself, he closed his eyes and whispered a prayer for all of the people in the village, kissing every single one of them from the very bottom of his heart.

For the next few days Karim worked even harder, letting his longing motivate him to learn magic. He began to train more, pushing himself to get stronger and stronger. His soul had begun to transform as Safia taught him how to communicate with the creatures in the desert using the “Soul of the Sand” magic. Karim learned how to set clever magic traps using the magic terrain and how to make quick decisions and defensively assess the battles in the order from the most important to those that were not.

One day, while they were passing through a large desert barren, they got hit by a sudden small sandstorm. The powerful gust stirred up the sand, and a howl could be heard. The earth and sky turned into a faint shade of yellow. Immediately, Safia pointed out to Karim to use the magic that he had learned to resist the sandstorm. Karim quickly focused. He activated the magic he had learned and began gathering sand around them. Thus, a solid shield that was made of sand was formed around them. With Safea covered, Karim relaxed. The sandstorm battered the shield, but with much effort from Karim, it stayed intact. Due to the shield continuously trembling under the impact, Safia felt something was off.

Karim smiled as he relaxed, but it was clear on his face that he was tired. Safia gave him an approving pat on the shoulder. “Great work, Karim. Are you noticing how, with your hard work, you’re developing on your mastery of the ‘Soul of the Sand’ magic?”

Though foreboding may linger behind any production, there are always traces of somebody watching. In their case, it was indeed malicious. One other “Shadow Eye” spy followed them throughout the sandstorm, waiting to make their move.

While Karim and Safia continued to travel, a spy followed cautiously behind them. Karim and Safia were trying their best to find a new location to continue thier training, unaware of how dangerous their situation had become. The whole time, this spy remained behind the two watching their every movement.

The spy felt the time was right when Karim and Safia reached a narrow canyon. The spy launched himself from behind a boulder, revealing a dagger that was pulsing with a black light. “Look out!” Safia shouted sensing the danger that was about to ensue. In an attempt to save Karim, Safia waved her staff and shot a beam of magic towards the spy. The spy was put off balance due to the position he was put in, and avoided getting hit, but the beam revealed his location.

A determined swift emotion washed over Karim. He quickly placed his hands together, molding a sand sword that he rushed towards the spy with. The spy realized too late that he had shifted his attention from attacking Karim to provoking Safia. The dagger went spinning towards Safia, but she was quick to react raising her staff and protecting herself with a shield. The dagger collided with the shield before shattering and falling to the ground.

At this moment, Karim rushed forward to take the lead before the spy could intervene. He slashed the air with the sword made of sand and lunged forward to stab the spy with great force. The spy was very agile. He managed to masterfully avoid all of Karim’s attacks while also managing to strike back occasionally. When he attempted to grab Karim's arm, as if he was going to pour some dark energy into, he would agily tease him around as a rather sinister black energy flickered in his hands .

Safia was not one to give the opponent a break either. She used magic over and over again to ensure that the spy was always disaoriented and off balance. To keep the escape routes covered, she acquired more and more walls made out of sand, while at the same time, attacking deeper with the magic to ensure he had multiple reasons to be distracted.

While getting closer to the end of defeating the spy, Karim slowly but surely ensured that he remained relatively calm throughout the battle. Safia had previously taught him a couple of skills, and he began to think about those instead. He was watching the spy move, and noticed that the spy incurred some form of internal pre-action before every attack; his eyes noticeably narrowed. Anticipating an incoming attack from the spy, Karim made a preemptive evasive manuever. There was an opening left behind by the spy after failing his attack, and Karim didn’t let that opportunity go. He thrust the sand sword into the shoulder of the spy while he was still off balance.

The spy screamed in agony. He shoved Karim to the side in an attempt to run away but Safia had no intention of letting him get away so easily. She twirled her staff and a gold colored magical energy bound the spy tightly. Although the spy was clearly struggling, he was unable to break free from the spell.

“Do not be so confident, ‘The Shadow Eye’ will undoubtedly come for you,” the spy said with evident rage.

“Please,” Safia scoffed. “You do not frighten us. We know that you and your people are evil and we are sure that you will get what you deserve.”

Then, Safia began to chant a spell and the body of the spy began to slowly melt, leaving behind a black cloud. Karim could hardly enjoy the view as his mind was filled with angry thoughts. Even though he knew that this was another 'test' developed by the Shadow Eye, he couldn't help but think of how many enemies awaited them in the future.

“Do not stress child, every battle has its lesson. All we need to do now is find a secure spot for you to train further." Safia replied noticing her student's expression.

Karim took a deep breath and nodded. He stared at the canyon and felt totally motivated. After all, he understood that no matter what difficulties and challenges lie in front of him, there was no turning back. To protect the village and everything of importance to him, he had to stay strong and push forward. And so once again Karim and Safia began their trek. Slowly, their silhouettes disappeared into the remnants of the desert, which was teeming with new challenges and adventures.