Bhajat Dunes, 585 Kingdom Calendar
The searing sun beat down upon the bleached, blinding sands of the desert province. Vultures pecked at rotting carcasses, and the sky shined a deep blue, save for that cursed, white sun.
Even still, he persevered: A lone figure, sprinting across the sands. He could see it in the distance, and it completely awed him: a sprawling city, shadowed by a massive palace, just beyond. It was built into the side of a mountain, but the towers scaled above it.
Upon reaching the top of the dune, he had to stop and catch his breath. Taking a swig from his water canteen, a figure in baggy lavender pants and a dark blue waistcloth stared out over the horizon, a short sword slung across his chest. His shirtless figure was toned and somewhat tanned, but not muscular. A mess of faded light-blue hair fell in front of his face. It was short in the back, but sloppy as if he'd cut it himself.
Janus had made it to the city of Alucinatio.
"There it is," he said to himself, brushing his bangs away from his face. "Just like the wise man said. I better take a moment and cool off..."
Closing his eyes, the young man began an incantation, slowly cooling his body temperature and momentarily leaving a patch of frost on the ground.
Inside the city, people were practically running up to him trying to sell him things.
"Young man! young man!"
Janus rolled his eyes. "What."
"Have you been going through life without trying one of my fish? It's seared to perfection!"
Janus passed him. "I prefer mine black."
He didn't get far before another individual came to harass him, followed by another. It was the same with any foreigner who entered the city, and always after the same thing: Money. Truthfully, Janus had none and had little need for it. He was essentially a wandering student, and he was on his way to find a very particular individual, whom he was told lived somewhere in the city itself.
"WHAT A FINE MAN YOU ARE!" spoke a rather large burly man with a beard. "PLEASE, YOU MUST BUY ONE OF MY RINGS AND GIVE IT TO A PRETTY LADY!"
Janus gave the man a freaked-out expression and ran. Too many people, too much attention. He ducked into a back alley and collected himself, before taking note of his surroundings. It was shadier back in here, and the few individuals here didn't care one bit about him. Luckily for Janus, these back alleyways led everywhere throughout the city, and managed to avoid the main road for the most part. A skilled street-rat would probably know all the passages and shortcuts well enough to walk them in their sleep, but Janus was, at this point...
"Lost", he spoke after navigating them for awhile. "That's ok. The wise man said I would have to be."
"Whom do you seek, boy..."
Janus turned around to see an emaciated figure sitting down on the ground, under a small canopy. His skin was dark, and his eyes shaded to the point of obscurity. Unlike the loud-mouthed obnoxious merchants out in the streets, this man never smiled.
"I am seeking teachers..." Janus replied. "Masters of sorcery and combat. I was told they both lived within this city."
"Yes..." the frail figure responded. "There is... a sorcerer... The Prophet of Alucinatio. He is expecting you. Enter, Janus of Zeal."
"wait, how did you ..."
The man did not respond, and simply stood up, joints cracking. Slowly, he knocked on the wall next to him, and a door appeared. Janus was... impressed. Magic was not that common, even among fiends. The idea that a human of all people could pull it off was... needless to say, quite a feat.
Humbled, Janus stepped down into the darkness... there was a cool, dark den beneath the city, in which a few men could be seen reading, some even practicing magic out of ancient spellbooks - Janus would need to remember that later. In the center, Janus was surprised to find a humble looking fiend.
"I... am the Prophet of Alucinatio. Welcome, Janus of Zeal."
"You-you're a fiend...", Janus spoke. That was unusual, as they were not welcome in the city. However, it did make more sense. "S-sorry... I mean.. .thank you."
"Tell me... why do you seek me?"
Janus began. "Teacher, I am travelling the world, in search of knowledge - Ancient, forgotten, arcane knowledge. I am capable of casting shadow magic, but I know none of it. I have already learned an extensive amount of both fire and water in my travels. You are the next step in my journey."
The Prophet of Alucinatio stroked his beard. "I am the keeper of ancient wisdom, as ancient as your own origins... as ancient as the sealed temple outside which you found that blade. Yes... I know many things about you, young prince. *I*... can see into your *mind*... but, NOT, with my *eyes*... Janus Zeal, in order for you to embrace the elements of light and dark, you must begin to see things with your *mind*'s *eye*..."
"Prophet..." Janus shook his head. "I don't understand."
The Prophet looked in two directions and called out in native tongue, as one fiend produced a chair for Janus to sit, and another brought out a bowl of red dust, setting it before him.
"What the hell is this?" Janus asked, before suddenly the Prophet took a deep breath, and blew the dust in his face.
Janus coughed and rubbed it out of his eyes. "What the hell was that for!?"
"See, with your mind Janus."
Janus stared at the Prophet. "See with my mind's eye..."
Looking more closely, he spotted a third eye on the Prophet's forehead. Was that it?
The prince followed its gaze towards the direction he came from... at least he swore that was where he entered. Gathering his things, he got up from his chair and stepped into the doorway again.
"...wait, I don't remember this..."
The hallway led somewhere else now, and with each direction he didn't look towards, history seemed to change. If the corridor turned to one direction, he'd continue on and look back to find the corridor came from some other direction. Then he'd face forward and find a dead end before him. Then he'd turn around again, the corridor would be completely straight. Seeing a multitude of doors before him, Janus eventually just picked one and entered.
He was in a corridor of red paper walls and ceilings, held together by wooden frames. Sunlight was hitting the paper and illuminating the walls a deep cadmium red. There did not appear to be any alternate paths, nor did the path seem to change all around him anymore. Instead, there was only forward and back, which Janus casually walked.
"See what the mind's eye perceives.. mind's eye... mind's eye..."
Janus stopped. "The mind's eye. What is that? Is that the answer to all this?"
He sat down, feeling like he needed to meditate. After getting comfortable, he closed his eyes and cleared his mind. "My mind... my eyes... my two eyes are the only ones I have, though... How does one see even with them closed?"
Janus began forming a mental picture of the room. He could see the calm but passionate red of the interiors, eventually fading to yellow. Then to white. Bright white. Like a heavenly church.
"...As there is a trick behind any mysterious magic" a muffled voice spoke, with increasing clarity, "there is no such thing as an impregnable fortress in this world! A toast! To my coming victory!"
Janus opened his eyes to find himself face to face with an enigmatic man in an elaborate white suitcoat and pants, with a mask over part of his face. The paper walls were gone, leaving only the floor and frames. They appeared to be high in the sky.
"...Who are you", Janus asked. The man only responded by producing a small rod and shrinking it between his palms into nonexistence. With a flick of his wrist, it came bursting out of Janus's chest.
AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! Janus screamed at the sudden jolt... but it didn't hurt. He fell to his knees, but it didn't hurt. Why didn't it hurt?
The figure again flicked his wrist, and the rods became as swords, stabbing into him. Janus didn't even bother to block this time, thinking his end would soon be upon him.
...The swords were gone. There were no wounds.
"Well this is interesting", the figure noted. "You're not dead or anything are you? Were you called back from the great beyond?"
Janus looked at his chest in the light of the sun. Here, he could see the truth, past the illusion of shadow.
"N-no", he replied. "I'm fine. I-I always was..."
"Well then," the enigmatic man continued, "You just might be the key to the destruction of the entire world. I can't say for sure... ...but fate seems to have a great task for you. Therefore, I will yield."
Then, suddenly, the figure before Janus transformed into a white ball. When Janus put his hands on it, everything went blindingly white.
"That is correct of you, Janus. Now, be careful, boy. ...we will meet again. . ."
When Janus's vision returned, the sky was gone, replaced with a cloudy night sky, cobblestone, and street lamps...
Janus was clearly on quite the journey.