Called Upon

Chapter 8

         Fifty years later
      A boiling heat scorched upon the forest and drank up all the waters that sustained life. Hiatus, drooling with thirst decided to abandon the forest in search of water. He found in the forest a pot which he took with him in search of a drink.

At last Hiatus, the banished god of illusion, thirstily made his way to an oasis in search of water, Chaos had stripped away his powers, leaving behind only a mere mortal. The oasis seemed like a welcoming refuge, promising relief from his parched throat and weariness.

As he approached the oasis, its sparkling waters beckoned to him, a mirage of hope amidst the lands. He dipped his trembling hands into the cool liquid, collecting it in a pottery vessel he had found nearby, and eagerly quenched his thirst. But as he turned around to make his way back to the forest he had called home, a sense of disagreement settled within him.

To his astonishment, his eyes beheld a vast expanse of lifeless sand, stretching far and wide beyond the horizon. The once comforting forest had vanished, leaving behind a realm of desolation. He turned forward and to his much disappointment, the oasis that represented hope endured the same fate. Confusion seized Hiatus as he struggled to comprehend the unexpected transformation that had occurred.

With uncertainty gripping his heart, He began his journey across the unforgiving desert, aimlessly walking in a direction unknown. The scorching sun beat down mercilessly upon him, stealing away his strength and vitality as he plodded forward relentlessly.

As fatigue consumed his weary body, his legs grew heavy and his pace slowed. The desperate search for shelter proved futile, with no refuge in sight amidst the barren wasteland. Panting, he dropped to his knees, vulnerable and defeated.

Above him, circling in the periphery of his vision, dark shadows cast by birds of prey appeared like foreboding omens. Their beady eyes fixated on the weakened Hiatus, ready to seize the opportunity for an easy meal.

In a final act of exhaustion, Hiatus collapsed onto the boiling sand, his weakened palms releasing their grasp on the fragile pottery vessel. The brittle pot shattered upon impact, scattering its contents of sand across the desert floor.

As the grains of sand dispersed, they danced through the air, carried aloft by the hot desert wind. They floated weightlessly for a moment, a manifestation of fleeting freedom, before eventually succumbing to gravity and joining the multitude of sands below.

Hiatus laid motionless against the backdrop of a desolate landscape, his banished existence mocking him in this unforgiving realm. The sands that escaped from the shattered pot symbolized his lost illusory powers, a painful reminder of his diminished divine nature.

In this moment of defeat and surrender, Hiatus's fate appeared sealed, his illusions shattered and his powers forever out of reach. The desert stretched out before him, a somber reminder of the consequences that chaos had wrought upon him, leaving only a mortal trapped in a god's form. With his last breath he managed to let out his last words.

      "Birds of prey endanger my sight. Let death redeem my plight," he said as he shattered his remaining sight.