“The days before I discovered my role in the world were much the same. Because my mother had passed years before and I’d never known my father, I had very little going on in my life. I earned my keep as a mapmaker, and occasionally spent time with my friends, Sera and James. Thomas, the old innkeeper of the village, looked after me on those nights when my belly grew too empty or the nights too cold. My mother had worked for him all my life, and he saw it as his job to look after me in her absence. Thomas always said that I’d make a name for myself, but I don’t think even he knew just how right he’d turn out to be in the end.”

Excerpt from Tome of the Body by Samuel Bragg

Much of the world had forgotten its origins. The people of Ahya knew not where they came from, how they were created, or the hands that guided them, fought for them, and protected them from their extinction. The history of the world was lost, save for pieces held close to a few ancient souls, who guarded the information against Oblivion. And yet, the people still grew. They forged cities, expanded their understanding, and created legacies, all while forgetting their origin.

The answer was not as far as some might think, though it may also have been on the edge of the world, waiting for the one that would come and collect it. Lost not only to the memories of mortals but also the creators, he waits alone, biding his time, at the end of his life.

It is nearly time.

He had sought for centuries, millennia, to find one who could bring him life anew. A Champion, a divine servant to save him, and serve as his representative in the world. To lift him from this prison of his own creation, and allow him to resume his rightful place in the world. To catalogue the world’s knowledge, and in doing so, change the world forever more. Many times it had attempted, many times it had failed. There was but one more chance.

It is nearly time. I can feel his mind awakening.

It could tell that he was near, though it could not tell where. All sense was gone from the world, even the enclosure in which it now sat, without body or soul. A mind, pure and undefended. A mind could not exist alone for long. It needed a body and soul to accompany it, or else it would vanish with the years. Without a body to share the burden of its thoughts, it would cease to exist.

My time has nearly come.

It retreated into its slumber once again, content to wait. He would come, to prove salvation or destruction. He would come. Once again, the world faded around the prison, shrouding it in darkness. Yes, it would wait. There was nothing to do but wait. In time, he would arrive.

He is coming.