The Traveler: First Light

Prologue: Meeting at the mountain

Sometimes everything looks just a little bit better when you're in a great mood. Lance had been travelling for a long time before reaching this place, this mountain in the sands. The warmth of the desert around him seemed inviting despite his exhaustion from the journey, the yellow dunes glistened beautifully in the sun. A soft wind moved the sand to cover Lance's footsteps behind, but he never looked back to see it.
Finally the gate appeared within his sight, a massive wall of stone surrounding the mountain. A huge gate stood closed at the center, with a large stone statue standing next to it. The slightly more orange color of the at least 3 meter tall statue stood out from the golden landscape surrounding it.
The eyes of the large statue began to glow as Lance approached, it quietly observed him while only moving very slightly to shake of the sand that gathered on it. Lance acknowledged the golem coming to life, just as he expected, and stopped to face it with ten meters between them.
"What do you seek?" The calm voice of the golem asked, Lance smiled in response before sitting down and replying:
"A gemstone from the mountain, to speak with the titan Eros."
The golem didn't have a mouth, but still spoke louder than Lance: "Why do you seek Eros?"
"I'm a traveler, a new one. After leaving to see the world, the first thing I wanted to do was to meet a titan. A being of such wisdom, intellect, and power, it must be something else entirely. Eros seemed like the best way to go about that, I was told he was the kindest titan, and that he lived among his people," Lance explained to the still golem.
"Interesting, I hope Eros lives up to your expectations," the golem responded: "But you of the gemstones, so I assume you know what comes next?"
Lance chuckled softly before speaking: "Indeed, I must prove my worth to the golem that Eros set to guard the mountain, that's you." He pulled out a flask of water from his backpack before continuing: "Can that wait? I haven't rested in a long time."
"Of course," the golem said: "Take as long as you wish, I will stand ready." It took one step forward and raised its heavy arms to prepare for combat.
Lance took a sip of water: "In the meantime, can you tell me about yourself and Eros? I've never spoken to one of his golems before, I'm curious."
"Eros is the titan of earth, as I'm sure you're well aware. He loves the earth and all the creatures that live on it. He only wishes good for others, and considers all in his actions. Even when creating me, he made sure I would enjoy the calm of this place so that my post would be a pleasure." Lance listened patiently, slowly drinking the last of his water. The golem continued: "He only settled down in the desert after finding out that humanity had made a grand civilization in the desert. People had conquered even the harshest and most desolate land that he knew, and he wanted to help those people as well as learn from them. That's how Camairo became the flourishing civilization that it is today."
Despite the golem keeping a perfectly still voice through the explanation, Lance could still feel the slight pride it took over retelling the story behind Camairo. He would make sure to pass through there as soon as he'd acquired a gemstone.

Suddenly excited, Lance stood up and placed the flask back in his backpack. He took his plain wooden staff off his back and said: "I'm ready," before focusing the air to hover slightly over the ground. Sand circled around him in the air, his robe was pulled slightly by the strong winds, and his focused expression made him appear powerful. The golem stood, not even appearing phased.
Lance quickly burst forward through the air, covering the distance between him and the golem within a second. He used his speed as well as technique to deliver a powerful blow with the staff, the blow manages to only slightly push the golem as it quickly retaliates with a simple jab. The pure brute force of the golem is enough to knock Lance back to the ground, but he ignores the damage and proceeds to swing his staff several times in counterattack, each generating a strong blast of sand and air.
It only serves to slow the golem down as it approaches Lance for another blow, this time stronger. It hits his chest with a hand large enough for most his body to feel it as he's sent flying several meters away, landing on the sand with heavy thud. Lance tries to stand up again, but quickly realizes that the golem was too strong. He tries again but only manages to sit up while blood starts dripping.

The golem exits the fighting stance and approaches Lance while speaking: "You're not strong enough to enter. I'll help you get back on your feet." Lance recognizes that the golem is right while still cursing his loss. He knew that he was never in danger, but hated feeling weak nonetheless. Suddenly the pain from his injuries sank in as he dropped back down on his stomach.
A light appeared in the hands of Eros' golem as it got close to Lance, it extended its arms close to him as the glow started spreading around his body. He quickly felt the pain fade as the healing magic flowed through his veins, the golem undoing what it had just done. After a few moments it was gone and Lance could stand up again, despite still feeling quite sore and exhausted.
"What is your name?" The golem asks.
"Lance Hammond," he replied while still showing the disappointment in his voice.
"Lance, you're a kind person. I want to see you succeed, and I feel that Eros will enjoy meeting you." The golem's voice sounded slightly more pleasant: "Back in Camairo, there is a man named Eren Rockwell. Find him and I'm certain that he'll train you."
Lance pushed aside the negative feelings of loss, making sure to speak with the same happiness in his voice that he had before: "Sounds like a good plan, hope you won't get too disappointed when I beat you next time."
The golem nodded in response before continuing: "Good luck, traveler."

Lance turned away from the mountain and started heading back into the desert. He quickly disappeared into the dunes in the distance while the golem returned to its slumber.

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