3rd of Cylus 716
A world covered in a brownish red, it was as if the entire land was covered in a rust. Clouds of the surface moved across the land in great plumes. The world looked to be a hot hellscape, but it was cold the light seemed to leave as quickly as it came. Despite the brightness of the day, it never seemed to warm the ground. A set of prints were pasted upon the land, though it slowly blew away with the wind. Leaving a short trail to whatever left them behind.
A solitary figure walked across the land, heading to the horizon. The trail the figure blazed, disappearing behind him. The man had a head of dirty blonde hair, his body covered in thick padding. I long beard seemed to flow from his face, he was unkempt and filthy. His eyes seemed to have lost their soul, an empty ocean of blue surrounded by dark rings. His lips were cracked, his skin burned by exposure. His legs seemed to shake under his own weight, even so he continued forward. Nothing behind him, nothing ahead.
Wald walked for what seemed like trials forward, he did not stop. Life did not seem to be anywhere near him. The land was barren not even a drop of water could be seen around him. What was the man looking for in such a place, the red wasteland that he found himself in.
A soft jingle from his hip caught his attention, as Wald reached the top of a red hill. Slowly a hand reached down, he lifted an object in his thick gloves. It was an ornate clam of gold, leaves and flowers engraved on both sides. Pressing a button on the top, the two sides opened wide like a book. A picture was placed on both sides, one of two people, the other a single one. The faces seemed blurred out, it took some time for his eyes to adjust to what he was looking at. There was a man, his hair in a similar style to Wald's just a dark color. Next to him was a woman with golden wheat like hair. The picture of the one alone, it could not be understood by Wald, she looked to be a woman, but most of the picture was degraded by the dust storm.
There was a soft click, as Wald closed the clam looking off into the sky. It was a brownish haze, not the blue sky he was use to as a child. His gloved hand wiped across his face, as he began to think. "How long..." He turned to look behind him, the prints in the dusty ground already gone. There was nothing left to go back to, nothing to follow. His boots soon lifted, as he continued down the hill.
His legs did not seem to be doing well, as Wald's foot got stuck into a rock, that was unseen under the thin layer of red dust. He began to fall, his motions seemed in slow, his body bouncing on the surface. After a couple collisions with the ground, he began to slide in the rusty ground, kicking up a large plume of it. He began coughing loudly, as red particles stuck to his glove. Slowly he wiped his lips, before checking his body over.
His hand reached to the back of his head, as Wald pulled it back to see, there was a large amount of dark red liquid. It was the same color he coughed up just a moment ago, it did not help that he was feeling much more dizzy.
Laying back, Wald's breath became shallow. It was getting harder for him to breath properly. His hand gripped into his chest, pulling the golden clam up with it. He would slowly move his hands together, undoing the gloves on them. Thin skeletal fingers, they looked to want to break any moment. He moved them to unbutton his thick padding, trying to make it easier for him to breath. A thin body was slowly exposed, as if he was death itself.
Breathing did not get easier, as the ground he laid on got moist. Looking to the golden object, then to the brown sky above he wondered. "Do they remember me?" His mind slowly blurred, his eyes failing him.
His eyes closed slowly, as visions entered his mind.
The woman and man who were in the first picture could be seen. They were standing towering above Wald. They were looking into a large clear crystal that showed images of light. There was a grand ship being shown off, its wooden structure seemed to be almost impossibly large. It was said to be going to a far away place, by someone who remained unseen. The smaller Wald pointed at the ship, looking up to the larger two smiling.
It seemed that sometime had passed, the two adults seemed to have grown smaller. Wald was sitting at a desk, writing things down on some paper. The letters though did not make words, and were mixed with numbers. He could feel the struggle of trying to figure them out, but soon he wrote down some things, what were they? He just remembers the feeling of relief from finishing it.
The scene faded, as he was faced with the second woman. Her face still obscured, though this time with a vale. He was standing beside her, several other people watching them. He could remember how scared he was, it was as if he was going to die. After some words were said by a small man, the two embraced.
A large ship, similar to the one that was in the crystal. He could see it in front of him now. Its grand woodwork, the large sails, it seemed to be almost impossible. But even then he knew it was real, as he walked across a gangplank to get atop its deck. He looked back off the edge of the ship, the three people were sitting there waving. He would wave back, before walking to the rear of the ship.
He made his way to the back of the ship, Wald moved towards a door there. He entered and saw a single chair, it was where he was to sit. The wheel of the ship was just in front of the chair. Slowly he sat down, taking the wheel in both hands. The carved wood smooth on his palms. A nervousness entered him, he was scared of failing what he was to do next. He felt a great speed come over him, as he pulled the wooden wheel to the left.
The pressure of moving caught his breath in his chest. Though he knew where he was going, he continued to turn the wheel into some direction he could not remember. Before he could relax though, he felt a jolt enter into the ship. He hit something, or did something hit him? The wooden vessel began to spin out of control, before the feeling of an impact was felt.
Wald's eyes opened quickly, his breathing still heavy. He sat up weakly, as he saw something in front of him. A tree? Water? Yes it had to be, he had to have found something in this vast wasteland finally. His body crawled to its feet, as he stumbled down to where he saw the oasis. He left the heavy padding behind, which made the journey a little easier, though the dust started to pelt his body.
He tripped up one more time, before reaching the puddle of water that Wald was going towards. Reaching his hands into the surface of the water, he felt a shape pain. He winced, causing his eyes to close. When he opened them, the water was gone. His hands were buried into pieces of shattered wood. It was part of the ship he was on, slowly he would pull his hands free of the wood. They were covered in dark liquid, he looked slowly around. It was just a small piece, there were no supplies to be seen.
His bleeding was getting bad, Wald was past panic. He already accepted his fate, even though he continued to try and fight it. Standing up one more time, he walked passed the wreck. A new trail moving with his prints. A small wet drop continued to fall to the dusty soil, getting soaked into the wasteland. This one lasted only a little longer, but it was taken all the same.
Step by step, Wald continued to move forward. Losing the strength to lift his arms, before losing the will to walk. His body crumpling to its knees, before the rest of it followed moving onto the ground. His flesh would be the only thing the wasteland did not wipe away so easily. He would lay there until the bones were bleached by the light, only being moved when another wooden ship came and discovered him once again.
