#exodius | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

serephinastardust · 8 months

Text

My Writing Challenge

Title: The Sands of Time

Writing Prompt Challenge:

In a world where time is a tangible and tradable commodity, a powerful sorcerer named Zephyr has disrupted the natural flow of time, causing chaos across the realms. You are a skilled time mage tasked with a perilous mission: to journey to the heart of the Timeless Desert, where Zephyr resides in his hidden fortress. You have only one day to confront Zephyr, reverse his time-altering spells, and restore the balance of time before the entire world succumbs to eternal chaos.

Your story must include:

The Timeless Desert: Describe the perilous journey through the Timeless Desert, a shifting landscape where time behaves erratically. Sands that freeze moments in time, whirlwinds that propel travelers into different eras, and ancient structures frozen in time are some of the challenges you must face.

The Clockwork Guardians: Along your journey, you encounter the Clockwork Guardians, ancient and enigmatic beings tasked with safeguarding the fabric of time. They possess unique powers related to time manipulation. One of them becomes your ally, aiding you in your quest. Describe this encounter and how the Clockwork Guardian helps you.

Zephyr's Fortress: Zephyr's fortress is a labyrinthine structure suspended between moments in time. It's guarded by time-warped creatures, shifting corridors, and rooms trapped in different historical periods. Convey the sense of urgency and danger as you navigate this complex, with time anomalies threatening your every step.

The Temporal Showdown: Your final confrontation with Zephyr. Describe the battle between your time magic and his formidable sorcery. As the sands of time literally slip through your fingers, how do you outmaneuver him and restore the balance of time?

Remember, your time limit is 24 hours to complete this epic fantasy tale. Good luck!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I looked around at my surroundings. Honestly, I was confused at my confusion. I was extremely lost. What the hell just happened. The last thing I remember was walking down the road on the way home.

I went from being surrounded by people to being on the border of a forest and a vast plane. Where the hell am I? How do I retrace my steps now to find where I am?

I looked left and then right trying to see if I could hopefully find one person or place, I could get some information from. I even looked behind me into the forest I happened to find myself standing in front of.

“Hello, welcome to the world of Exodius. You are now a mage on a journey to thwart the time sorcerer of this world. You are time mage, which is different from a sorcerer, or so you think. You need to locate where the hidden fortress of the time sorcerer is located and the name of the time sorcerer as well. Do you accept the quest?”

I stared blankly at the screen that popped up in my vision. I was unsure how to proceed, I also had no idea if the voice I just heard was a hallucination or if it happened. But seriously, a quest? Did I end up in some sort of a video game? Does this sort of shit actually happen in my reality?

I was really starting to doubt my sanity at this point. That’s it, I must have made it home without remembering, and this is all one big joke in my head as I’m asleep. It’s the only logical explanation. But how do I clear my vision?

I waved my hand trying to touch the thing. I tried looking around again, but the screen followed me as my vision changed directions.

“Do you accept the quest? Yes or No?”

Do I seriously have to accept or decline? What would happen if I declined?

“Declining the mission will result in your immediate demise and you will have no restart options. Would you like to decline?”

I squeaked in shock that the voice responded to the question

“No!!! I don’t decline, I accept the mission!!!” I yelled out loud like a lunatic. There was no way I was going to risk death, dream or not. I would rather have a quest in that case.

“You have accepted the quest, The Time Sorcerer of Exodius. This is a multistep quest, and all steps need to be accomplished before you can have your final showdown with the Time Sorcerer. In order to face off with the sorcerer, you need to A. learn the name of your foe, B. learn about what being a time sorcerer entails and if its different from your magic C. Learn where he hides himself D. Find their weakness and E. get to his location to face him down.

Failure to complete all steps will result in an immediate reset of all your hard work. Memories wipes are in place so even if you manage to manage to survive the reset, your mind will be reset as well”

I continue staring at the words that keep being formed in my vision. I had a very bad feeling about all this. Especially the last part where I would end up with a mind wipe myself even if I managed to successfully survive a world reset.

Is this really the first time I’m doing this? Or is possible I’ve been mind wiped already and have fought this time sorcerer before? Well, I don’t plan to die at the starting point, and I already accepted the multistep quest, so might as well get on with it. If this isn’t my first time, if I’m truly a time mage, I should have been able to leave myself clues to better fight my enemy and save this world and possibly my memories

“… … you are a time mage trying to reclaim time and the neutrality of it. If you need help, please ask and you will be given a run down of all your options.” The screen in my vision disappears.

I was stunned. Help? Options? This could be extremely useful. Before I continue learning what I need to be successful, I go and sit down against a tree. I don’t need a random person passing my thinking me a lunatic.

“Help.” I whispered out loud. I have no idea if I can just think it or if my voice activates it.

“You have selected the Help option. This option is only available after 500 failures. You have successfully unlocked Help. What would like help with?”

The screen reappeared in my vision, but now if I focused, I could see through the box that was in my vision. And then it hit me what the voice said. “500 FAILURES!” If I hadn’t been sitting already, I would have already fallen on my ass in shock.

So, this wasn’t my first attempt. I must have figured something out in one of my past failures to be able to get this help option. Does this mean this could be my last attempt? I mean if having a help option doesn’t help me beat this time sorcerer then what’s the point of unlocking this option after so long?

“Hello time mage. Your name is Elysia.” A distorted voice, sounding kind of like mine comes into my brain. “I know this must be a shock to you, I am version 1 of you. I can’t tell you at this time if you are actually attempt 500 or 5000 of this reality, I was unable to discover if I had failed to defeat the sorcerer at all prior to this message. First, I was able to create this quest system as a way to help my 500th attempt, as our magic can only do this once. Even if you discover how to utilize this, our magic will no long be able to do this again.”

My voice continued narrating what they weren’t restricted by our magic to tell me. But I knew there was a lot of work I was going to have to do before my final battle of all final battles needed to be done.

“I have set this spell up to the best of my ability, to give you a run down of your stats, things like strength, mana, vitality, debuffs…ect. This will allow you to know when you’re ready for the final battle, no more guessing on our part. You will also be able to determine those people who can impart knowledge and give you side quests to better end this betrayal of time.”

There was a pause, and I wasn’t sure if this recording from myself, that defied time and space, was finished. After a couple of minutes, it picked back, slightly more mute than before.

“Elysia, the sorcerer has noticed my meddling and so my final battle won’t be long now. You can utilize what I created by just a thought. Our world wouldn’t take kindly ….. …. Test …. Out…. There is ….. I don’t know….. good luck”

With that, the message fizzled out. I sighed knowing what happened based on the last thing I recorded. So I decided to mess around with this “system” I created and see what needed to be done.

I guess with my paranoia, I had to make it so I had no choice but to accept this quest. No wonder there was a demise if I declined the quest of the time sorcerer.

I began messing with this system. I looked at the character sheet, quest log, lore screen, which was blank, and I assumed that was because my magic wouldn’t allow me to give a different version of myself and form of head start. There were other screens, but I hadn’t yet determined the value of them. So I flipped back to the character sheet.

“Name: Elysia Runekeeper

Age: 25

Race: Human

Profession: Mage

Specialization: Time

Level: 1

Stats:

Strength:10

Charisma: 20

Vitality: 80

Intelligence: 100

Mana: 150

Defense:10

Dexterity: 15

What sort of level and stats did I have when I faced this sorcerer in my last 499 attempts. I need to figure out what is considered max level, max stat, and if I need to study specific spells.

And then I noticed a map icon at the bottom of my vision and focused on opening it. Looking at the map, I was expecting it to be blank. But to my pleasant surprise it wasn’t. It showed everything, there wasn’t a spec that wasn’t uncovered. I wonder if that was a part of the spell, or if I’d actually been everywhere that this map said was uncovered.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember. But I wasn’t going to get hung up on that, and then I noticed some special markings on the map and looked at the icon key. The key specified them as important locations and nothing more than that. So I got up and started my journey across the land to find this sorcerer.

The journey was both slow and fast, I slowly gathered the information I needed. Moving from important location marked on my map to important location. I stopped at libraries, talked to obscure, non-descript people. The lore screen slowly but surely began filling up with all the new knowledge I was learning. I even stopped at mage guilds in what cities had them, and occupied my time with training and studying.

Within the year I had been doing this I managed to level up to 15, and I learned I didn’t have any control of how my stats leveled, and I was curious if my previous version of myself had done that on person. And I had a peculiar suspicion that gaining 50 stat points per level was not normal. But I supposed it would drive enough of a point home that this battle would be extremely hard, and there was a possibility that Zephyr would know.

I learned of Zephyrs name in the second mage guild I went into. It was there that I got drawn into an alternat dimension and came into contact with clockwork guardians. It was through this encounter that the 4 guardians gave me information of what they weren’t restricted to tell me. Mostly of how they watched more than 499 versions of myself attempt to beat Zephyr and upon becoming frustrated with all my failures, they managed to help me learn the spell that allowed me to have this system I have now.

They hoped that by allowing Zephyr to succeed another 499 times, Zephyr would forget their meddling from that time and become less vigilant, with each of his successes. The guardians even went so far as to have my last few attempts just be me living my life as a useless mage and live a useless life.

And finally, they noticed Zephyr finally not caring for what I did and started focusing on his own things. And that led me to that point, talking to them about previous versions of myself, and 1 guardian informing me they would be out in the world, sometimes with me and sometime not, preparing for the final battle with Zephyr.

Now I was at the border of what is known as the Timeless Desert. A little fear seeping into my consciousness. But Amara, the clockwork guardian, was by my side. They were confident that they could help me get through this shifting landscape with relative ease. Upon learning that Zephyr hid inside this desert most days of the year, Amara quickly appeared and we had planned how I would successfully bypass the frozen moments of time and whirlwinds of time travel.

The only thing Amara couldn’t help me bypass was the frozen ancient structures, but would be able to help hide my presence when in them, so as not to trip any of Zephyrs alarms. This was one of the things that ended up with my demise before facing Zephyr face to face.

I couldn’t tell me how long it took to get to the center of the desert, but it was hard. Amara had to take many breaks between the ancient structures, even with being a clockwork guardian and having an indefinite period to prepare and gain strength. The challenges we faced, ended up being intelligence based, which affected some of my magic and gave me headaches when it was only strategy, non-magic based.

But in the last ancient structure, Zephyrs structure finally came in sight. It was in its own time zone, separate from ancient zone, that was separated from real time. It was no wonder that no one was aware of his doings in the world with time.

It didn’t take long for me to solve the riddle that would gain Amara and I access to the Fortress and upon entrance to it, it felt like I had fallen into a labyrinth. Upon getting my bearings, my map nearly blinded me, ad it forced itself open. The map unlike before, showed my location, but it also pointed out where Zepyr was, which occasionally moved this way and that. It even pointed to where Amara was. But what fascinated me more and more was the map changed from time to time.

I had to assume that the inside of Zephyrs fortress, he used some magic to make the labyrinth constantly change, and the map was able to show that. I smiled. I thanked what ever magic allowed this map to help me, and entered the labrynth.

It didn’t take me long to find Amara, and having added them back to my party, we quickly found our to Zephyr. Zephyr didn’t show any surprise, like he knew this was going to happen sooner or later, it was just a matter of when.

Upon closer examination, I noted that he looked tired.

“Elysia. It’s been a while. Depending on how you want to look at things. Are you not bored yet with how often you keep doing the same thing over and over again trying to stop me? I suppose not. Considering here you are again. Though I had hoped we would pass this. And who do we have behind you? “

Zephyr looked deep in thought as he scrutinized Amara. It was like remembering and not remembering at the same time and he gave up trying. And I just stared at him.

“Don’t look at me like that, Elysia. You do remember that what I am now, is partially your fault? No? I’m not going to bother trying to refresh your memory. We’ve been at this way too long, and I’m tired of this. I’ll give you one free shot before I let my plan start.”

He stood there, seemingly lowering his defenses. I stood there stunned until I felt Amara nudge me from behind. I felt something was off about this whole situation. But the nudging from Amara grew more and more insistent. Thinking about my best attacking spell, I launched it.

Thinking of all I learned over the past year, Aeon Assault was the best offensive magic I was able to learn. I think due to my intelligence being maxed out a long while ago, I managed to figure out how to tap into the Ancient Aeons. It could make one power drunk, and there were times I came close. Not know much on Zephyr and how long he had been alive, Aeon Assault, went into different eras of time, and attacked them from those time points. I hadn’t found a single thing in my research that would be able to tell me if there was anything that could defend against this spell.

Once the spell hit, everything around me shattered and it looked like I was standing back in the beginning of the fortress, the beginning of the labyrinth. I cursed and pulled up my map again. Unfortunately, this time, the map didn’t show me anything useful and I closed the screen again.

“Elysia, Elysia, I didn’t think you would be so gullible to get trapped in that. But I suppose I shouldn’t have expected much from you. You were always a thorn in my side. Do you like what I made of your many years of hard work?” Zephyrs voice surrounded me as I tried to figure out what had happened.

“Don’t tell me you’re confused? You should have been able to figure this out extremely easily. I suppose the temporal warp trap, could have scrambled you up.” He muttered like a mad scientist from where he was observing me from. “What could decades inside a temporal warp do to a human?”

I stopped caring now about what he said. There was no way I was stuck inside a temporal warp. It almost made thing everything of reliving a single point of time was an illusion. Was this life number one and not life something over 500?

I stopped caring at that moment, using some base magic to plug my ears, and began searching the labyrinth for Zephyr. I tried to follow the path I used when I last faced Zephyr, and all I kept getting where dead ends. Then I tried to locate Amara. Amara would be the key to my sanity if all I had done was an illusion at best.

My memories were extremely hazy, and the system wasn’t pulling up any windows either. What are my stats? What level am I? What about all those spells I learned, can I still use them?

On the verge of mental breakdown I stopped running. I knew no matter what was real or not, I needed to calm down. “Oh Elysia” Zephyr sang in a mocking tone. “You got 10 minutes at best to defeat me, before I recreate what I want.

I blocked out Zephyrs’ voice the moment he began talking again and took a moment to regain my sanity. Nothing else mattered except stopping Zephyrs spell. And I had some confidence in myself that what I learned in that trap would still be of use of me even now.

With in my light meditation, I sensed Zephyrs magic, it reminded me of me, but I pushed that though aside. I knew I was running out of time, but I needed a direct route to the sorcerer. And finally, I found an energy thread a little different from the rest. I immediately grasped it and took off running.

Moments or maybe even seconds later I was again in front of Zephyr. But this time he didn’t look worn down. Was Zephyr I first fought a manifestation of the spell itself. And me defeating that Zephyr allowed me free? Also was the Zephyr I was currently going to fight, connected to the one I already defeated?

I decided to stop thinking about it then. That could lead to a very depressing line of thought. And again I started to scrutinize my enemy and my surroundings but there was nothing notable there. And with no warning, Zephyr attacked, he used an elite version of Chrono-Strike, trying desperately to take me down with as little pain as possible.

But I barely managed to dodge and start chanting my response, when I was thrown against a well. Black spots tried to evade my vision, but by force of will, I made them go away. I quickly thought about all the spells I knew as I started to slashes all of my body. Quickly mutilating me and trying to stop my rational thinking.

It didn’t work. I didn’t feel the pain, and Zephyr wasn’t surprised by that fact, or at least it didn’t show upon his face when I didn’t start vocalizing my pain. But as the slashing stopped, I remembered a highly risky spell. I’m not sure where I learned it, but it was Temporal Oblivion. What I knew of this spell, I had to touch my enemy, and a warped dimension would form around myself and the person I wanted to use it on.

Once the dimension formed, it locked, it was impenetrable from the inside, and it would take a near deity level mage on the outside to break this. And then attacks would beginning on all who were in there and any blood spilled would quickly decay. This would prevent any blood magic from healing the one the spell was meant for and the decayed blood would also start mutilating all in the dimension. And eventually the dimension would collapse in on itself, and even if someone survived those slashes, and didn’t die from blood loss, the collapsed dimension was guaranteed.

The creator of this spell sadly couldn’t say if magic was able to be used in the warped dimensional bubble, and sadly, they also said, they couldn’t prove the success of this magic. If trial and errors of the spell had been utilized, they wouldn’t be able to confirm success. As the dimensional bubble, in theory would wipe the enemy out of the time line, and no one would remember.

The creator also said they had no idea why they created it, but they did and placed it in the forbidden records, in a place no one would be able to find. Now that I think about it, did the creator manage to use the spell? I didn’t think about it then, but now that I’m getting ready to use it myself, he was only ever known as creator. Instead of a given name.

All why preparing to utilize my spell, I kept letting Zephyr attack me, glaring at him all the while. I didn’t know what he was thinking, and he didn’t know what I was thinking. Or at least I didn’t think he knew. Eventually, an invisible hand grabbed me and brought me close to Zephyr. Close enough to touch. But I waited. I had to wait for the perfect moment.

“You are weak. I don’t know why I went through all that effort to trap you. I should have squashed you ages ago. Maybe I wanted you to see the spell activate, and watch me win.” He side eyed me and glanced back at the wall. It was than he waved his hand and the wall before us disappeared and a giant hourglass, about to empty its last grain sand appeared.

As he appreciated his masterpiece, and hoping his guard was down enough for this work, I broke the invisible hand that was holding me up and fell upon Zephyrith, quickly thinking the spell Temporal Oblivion. I watch Zephyrs’ as it turned from anger at what I had done to shock as he realized he couldn’t break what I had down.

“What have you done?” he all but growled at me. I just smirked and kept holding on to him as the slashes started and the dimension started to collapse on itself slowly. The slashes were fast though, one didn’t even feel the pain of slash as it happened. The pain had this sort of delay effect, and you only knew you had been cut when blood started to weep out, dripping on the ground, or soaking clothes.

I could feel Zephyr getting weaker and weaker as he tried everything he could to break free and eventually he collapsed, and before I lost consciousness, I saw the gore he was becoming thinking, Finally, I can rest. That temporal warp trap was exhausting.

#writing inspiration #my writing #writing ideas #writing prompts #story prompts #female writers

1 note · View note