Chapter II

"This place gives burden more than it relieves," said Tal'Set, as he stood in the place where he had fallen from the sky from some otherworldly portal. The same one he'd unintentionally thrown Bruckner, the evil man who'd slain his people—the Saquin nation— into; he'd meant for him to die. When he fell, he was found by three men who (though he was in a near-death state, can recall hearing them speak of a seer) then took him to a village to be looked after. It took weeks, but he finally awoke, thanks to the powers of Tarkeen. Tarkeen wished him to be the one to end the turmoil that had gone on for centuries in this land of chaos, a land they called the Lost Lands. And, after defeating Bruckner and leaving him to the raptors, and after the battles waged against the Sleg forces, both by himself and with the help of the natives of this land, he felt he could, nay, SHOULD be this Son of Stone, Turok, that he has been told he is. Those disgusting reptiles, he thought to himself, though no one was around to hear him if he did talk. They will pay. They understand not the sanctity of humanity nor the will that drives us… They may as well be the cousins of that wretched, damned soul, Bruckner.

He looked down at where he'd hit the ground upon arrival. The mark from his war- axe that had fallen with him had been washed away by rains of days gone by. He thought of those Bruckner killed back in his home land; all his brethren slain at the hands of some ignorant man who referred to his kind as "savages". Then he thought of who he'd befriended here: Genn, Djunn, and Wise Father. They, as well as Tarkeen, cared for him and helped him greatly, though they lost many people that they had borne attachments to. He himself had seen death of many comrades in these new lands, but being not raised around them they had not such an impact on his already numb soul.

He squatted down and placed his hand where he'd first landed, as if to try to feel a connection to what he once was, before he knew this land. His old self, maybe even before Bruckner. His heart grew only heavier still, and so he stood up, realizing it that would not help in the least. "If only I knew the way back," he said out loud. "Why, of all people, must I be the liberator of these people whom I do not know? What prophecy foretold me as the Son of Stone?" Inside, he wanted to cry, but his body would not let him.

Then suddenly, he felt a gust from above. He looked up, and saw again the rift that had bought him here those many months ago. What could this mean? Fearing the worst at what could come out of it, seeing as he AND Bruckner had come through one, he ran and hid in the growth near a large tree. He sat, waited, and watched for whatever being would come from this tear in the fabric of the universe.

What came out was a vessel of unknown likeness to him. It was orange in color, and a very strange shape. He'd seen the ships used by the humans and the Slegs of the Lost Lands, but never one of this odd shape. It took the figure of an English "W" almost, or perhaps even the head of a trident.

What in the hell is that thing? I've seen nothing even close to it, he thought. It can't be something from here. It couldn't be from Earth, either. They never had anything like that there, nor any flying machine for that matter. Whatever it was, he assumed it was best to be treated with extreme caution.

It stayed in the air for a fair amount of time. It did not move an inch, which put Tal'Set even further on edge. Is it searching for life? Is it hostile? Must I be as afraid as I am? He felt much fear, and decided to try to burrow further into the bush he was in. After a few more seconds, the ship finally decided to begin lowering closer to the ground. The bushes around him began to rustle, and then blow back. Fearing he could lose cover, he got down even lower. It seemed nature had followed suit as a frog hopped past him, attempting to get away from the descending vessel.

It got lower and slower until it finally stopped, just inches above the ground in the end. This was it. Whatever it was piloting this thing, he knew he was going to find out soon enough.

A platform in the center of the belly began to lower even closer to the ground. What is THAT! This thing appeared to be strong, like some metal soldier with a human figure. This was technology not even HE'D seen in his time in the Lost Lands. He could tell just by the look of it that that armor was for combat, and decided it would be best to play it stealthily above all.

Whatever it was, human or otherwise, seemed to look around in bewilderment, confused and lost in this place. It seems the name of this forsaken place holds true for all who end up here. He was trying to consider all his options given the present situation. Do I make a move to try to make it back to the village? He decided against it. He felt it best to observe it a little more, first.

From what he could tell, he saw no eyes on the head. Or was it a helmet? Was it human? It was humanoid enough, so he felt it could be a safe enough assumption. Further, was it male or female? The breast-plate was rather pronounced (too much so for any male armor he'd seen before), and the midsection was rather…curvaceous. The movement was also rather feminine. It moved unlike any male he'd seen before He figured that it was female, if it was, at least, human.

He noticed movement other than her across the clearing in which her ship had landed—a bush rustled. Out of the vegetation came a Mesohippus, a small horse-like animal he'd seen in decent number throughout the Lost Lands. It didn't seem to take heed to the new being; no, instead it seemed to fear something else far more. It was sprinting across from where it entered the clearing. The new arrival seemed to be startled at first, and rose what he assumed was some form of weapon on her arm at it, in a stance that looked prepared for anything. She lowered soon after, realizing this (normally docile, unbeknownst to her) animal was not a threat.

However, she seemed to notice that it, too, seemed startled and appeared to be running from some sort of predator; she instead brought her arm weapon up to where the animal had come from, taking a few steps back, and readying herself into the same stance. The bushes rustled again, but this time far more than when the Mesohippus had come through. This couldn't be very good. Could it be…Slegs? He anticipated the revelation.