Chapter 1: Steps in the Snow
"Tell me, do you believe in fate? Or destiny?"
My dad once asked me that question. I said no, I don't believe in some sort of higher force guiding our every move and action. Now that I am reflecting on all that has happened so far, would I answer the same way?
...
Hell yeah, I still don't believe. I mean, if something like that existed, it had to be the biggest douce in existence. Anyway, I should start by introducing myself properly. I am known as Sarkhan Vol, Dragonspeaker, Shaman and Planeswalker. But as you'll soon see, it wasn't always like this. Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, I was a mere mortal, an average human going by the name of Chris, or as my friends always called me...
"Damnit Sparky, what is taking ya so long? This is not the time to look pretty! We gotta go before all the weebs are clogging the entrance to the con!"
That right there was my roommate and probably best friend Josh, though on that day rather known as Garruk Wildspeaker due to his costume, trying to hammer down the door to the bathroom I was currently occupying. You see, I was always kind of a little perfectionist and I wanted to make sure I looked the way just right. My hair was long and unkempt, my beard was shaggy but not too shaggy and the fur cloak was fitting perfectly, for I went as the legendary (well, maybe if you are actually in the scene) dragon shaman Sarkhan Vol.
Anyway, with me being finally satisfied with my looks, I unlocked and opened the door right in time to see the hulking figure that was my roommate in costume raising his foot to kick it in. I wasn't shocked about it anymore, knowing him pretty well and knowing that he had the tendency to go a bit too far in certain situations.
"Hey, leg down! We don't need another accident with a door getting kicked to pieces."
With that little scene done and dealt with, we left the apartment and headed straight to his car, me not even having a license yet. It took quite a bit with all the traffic coming from and going to the convention but eventually we made it in time to get in line before the doors opened. As we walked in, many a people would make way around us, though it was mostly because of my friend over here. With almost two meters in height and a good amount of muscle, he just looked really intimidating, not even taking his costume into account that didn't do anything to put people at ease.
To say the least, the con was pretty amazing for the first day as we made our move to learn the layout of the stands and where to find the good cards for the reasonable price, both of us buying some of those older and rare ones to add to our decks. But while we were searching, I came across a guy selling stuff that looked...not sure, maybe out of place? I mean, I couldn't tell what kind of cosplay he was doing with that black-to-black outfit but I didn't really care either. I would have just passed him if he hadn't decided to pick up a talk with me.
"Ah, young planeswalker, a pleasure to see you here. I take it you are searching for some things? Please, have a look around, I am almost certain you'll find something you desire."
Deciding to humor the merchant, I stopped at his stall and looked over it. I was impressed by the fact that what he sold looked like almost perfect quality props, like what he sold was the real deal. But alas, he did not have a single thing I was looking for, you see, I was missing the spear from the card art of Sarkhan Dragonspeaker, as well as the new card that got recently released.
"While I am certain that you do have trinkets and equipment fitting for others who search, you do not have anything in your possession that interests me, merchant."
He put his hand to his chin, as if pondering my answer, before simply nodding to himself and returning his attention to me.
"I see...it is unusual that I do not have what people seek but I do understand that you might be one of those special ones. In that case, I wish you a good remainder of the day at this event."
With these words, we parted ways and after some tracking and hunting down people willing to sell/trade for the cards I needed, I managed to catch up with Josh at the end of the first day. Luckily, we both got the cards we were looking for before we headed back to our apartment. Now, we were prepared for anything in those days, at least we thought, stocking up on food and drinks days before all those visitors would vome and possible buy our local stores empty. But as snow started to fall lightly in front of the window, we noticed what would be the greatest mistake of my life.
"We forgot the booze..."
I was in the living room/three table space for computer and card games, looking through and adding the final cards to my deck, including the final Sarkhan planeswalker card I bought from the con, to my thematically fitting dragon deck.
"You sure? I thought we had some left under the sink."
"I checked, they're all empty."
I "hmm'd" in thought while looking out the window. It was early evening and while we had a 24/7 close-by, I knew none of us would really want to go out right now. As I turned around, I saw him, both of us still in our costumes, shuffling his deck, knowing exactly what he was up to. I just picked up my deck and started shuffling, setting the rules for this game.
"Best of one, loser has to go out to get stuff."
He simply nodded as we put down our decks, drew our cards and started the game that would decide my fate, even though I had no idea at that time...
"Damnit!"
I scooped up my carda, put them back into the box and stuffed said box into the inside of my coat before grabbing my wallet and headed out. To be fair, the snow wasn't too bad yet and even though it came to mind rather late that I was still wearing my outfit when walking out the door, I didn't really mind. I mean, first of all, the con just started, it was to be expected to see weird costumed people out and going, so no one would give me a second glance upon passing. Second, that coat (made of faux fur, mind you) was keeping me pretty warm. Third, the 24/7 wasn't too far away from the apartment, though it would have been easier if we just went with Josh's car, in hindsight everything is better.
As I stepped into the store, the snow outside picked up in intensity. Deciding to make my shopping trip quick, I picked the first bottle I could grab, a decent liquor, before heading straight to the counter. But before I looked up at the cashier, I heard a familiar voice calling out.
"Ah, young planeswalker, what a surprise to see you again..."
On the other side of the counter was a middle-aged man. I don't really remember much about his face or anything but I do remember his voice and the way he spoke.
"I never guessed you working at a store like this."
He simply chuckled before scanning the bottle. As I was up to pay, I noticed that I had little to no money in my wallet.
"Sorry, I just noticed I don't have any on me. I'll just put the bottle back."
But right before I could grab the bottle, he took it himself and offered it to me.
"Listen, I might not have had anything for you at the con, which I find unforgiving on my part, so I can make you a little deal here. I am going to pay for that bottle myself if you manage to perform a little task for me."
I gave him a neutral look while thinking over what he said. On one hand, he might be the store owner and can do stuff like that. On the other, he might just be genuine with this. Also, I doubt that task would be too much.
"Alright, I agree. What do I have to do?"
He grinned before putting the bottle into one of the pockets on the inside of my fur coat.
"Excellent, follow me."
With that, we went through the back of the shop, walking around to the parking lot, a single car parked there.
"Because of this weather, I'm going to close early since I doubt anyone is going to come this late. I just would be glad if you could free the way out onto the street."
As I turned around to him, he held one of those large shovels used to clear entrances and walkways from snow out to me. Knowing that I agreed to it, I took the shovel and started clearing while he went into the car and drove back ever so slightly for every few steps I freed of the snow. It took a little bit, the weather not helping in the slightest, but I managed to get him out on the street. He simply waved and shouted something along the lines of "Keep the shovel" before driving off into the dark.
While that whole ordeal was awkward, I was satisfied that I got the stuff I came for and turned around to walk back home. But as I started walking, it seemed like the snow fall got worse with each moment, almost turning into a outright blizzard. I could barely see the hands in front of my face and since the snow got higher and higher, I resorted to using the shovel to support my steps through the snow.
I didn't know how much time has passed, though I was certain that it was more than enough that I should have been able to see my home or anything that was not snow and darkness. I didn't really paid much mind to the fact that I was not freezing, rather I was simply looking for a place to stay and wait out until the storm ended. As I managed to get to the top of what seemed like a snow-covered hill, I managed to spot a shining point in the distance. Fairly certain that I passed my home by now by a mile or five, I decided that I should go towards that point in the distance since light like that usually meant civilization and people who could offer shelter to me.
While I was closing in on what I assumed to be a save haven, I felt like I was being followed at some point. True enough, as I turned around, I could see...things. By all means, they were blue-ish horse spirits. That is the most fitting description, then again, they had a look that was reserved for predators or monsters from TV and cinema, so I doubt they had a lot in common with regular horses.
They started to close in on me while I made some slow steps backwards, towards the point of civilization. My hands were shaking and I was probably sweating bullets, as suddenly one of the dashed forward. To be fair, people always talk about the 'fight-or-flight instinct' though in my case, all I could manage to do, was to swing with what I assumed to be the shovel I was given by the merchant/store owner as two things happened. First, and foremost, the spirit dispersed before reappearing next to his kin, second I came to realize that the shovel was no shovel anymore but a spear I knew rather well.
That moment of realization was only short as the horse ghosts started to close in on me again. Back in the situation we were in before I was already saying my prayers as I made out a shade in the darkness, don't ask me how that works, but as I blinked, it disappeared. A moment later, I 'heard' someone speak to me, not really hearing and more feeling.
So you are supposed to be the mighty Sarkhan...If you were, you could fight those creatures made of ice and snow!
A deep, booming voice that almost made me stumble backwards and lose my footing spoke to me. But while I wasn't really in the mindset to question it, I was capable of answering it.
How am I supposed to defeat things that don't even have a solid form? I only have my spear, nothing else.
...you are oblivious to your powers. You are the mighty Dragonspeaker and planeswalker, Sarkhan Vol! You simply need fuel, to re-ignite your Spark!
With that, I was left alone in my head once again. I didn't know whether or not that voice was assuming that I was actually Sarkhan Vol, but it wouldn't do to simply ignore it in this surreal situation. It was talking about fuel to re-ignite the Spark, I knew what he was referring to with the Spark but I couldn't imagine what fuel he was talking about. All I had with me were my clothing, my shovel-turned-spear and the bottle of liquor I bought...right as it dawned on me, 'Fuel to ignite'.
Pulling out the bottle, I opened it before giving the horse spirits a "Cheers!" before downing it in one. Soon after I felt a comfortable warmth spreading throughout the body, though said warmth slowly turned into a strong heat as I felt a power coursing through me. I took a deep breath before breathing a bright flame in the direction of the horse spirits, many of them able to dodge though some were caught and completely evaporated into steam. I simply grinned as more of the spirits gathered in front of me.
"Guess we can now play on equal level. Come at me!"
Meanwhile, at the outskirts of the Crystal Empire, 1058 years before The Vanishing
While now-known-as Planeswalker Sarkhan Vol was having the fight for his life, unbeknownst to him, two crystal ponies were watching him in the distance, two guards to be precise who were stationed at the outskirts of the Crystal Empire to keep watch for eventual creatures trying to come in or maybe someone wandering out there, though they certainly weren't expecting something like this.
"You sent word to the king about this?", came the question from Guard 1.
"I did, but he already noticed that. Told us to be careful but inviting whatever that thing out there is in if it sentient in any way.", came the reply from Guard 2.
"What do you think that is?"
"Either a pony knowing fire spells or a dragon I guess. Might also be something entirely different."
"Well...whoever that is might be glad to find entry here."
Turning around, both guards straightened as they heard the voice of their ruler, King Sombra from behind them. Mentioned king simply stared out into the distance, paying no more attention to the guards in front of him but rather the pillars of flame erupting every once in a while from the newcomer in the snow and, soon enough, a pillar of flame erupted right before what seemed to be the shade of a dragon rose from the snow-covered ground up into the sky, engulfed in flames, and hovered there for a moment, as if it was pondering what to do. However, that moment was short as the flaming dragon divebombed right into the ground, a sphere of fire and flames covering a massive area, wide enough that the resulting heat wave could be felt from the empire's borders.
As the guards shielded themselves with a hoof from the heat wave, Sombra simply gazed out in astonishment as the flames died down and a lone figure was spotted slowly approaching the empire, no trace left of the windigoes, even the weather seemed to calm for the moment. However, whatever concern he had for what might have been a threat vanished the moment he saw the stranger, walking on two legs unlike on four as the ponies do, was supporting himself with a wooden stick, which upon closer inspection turned out to be a spear, clearly a sign of struggling to stay upright.
"You two, I'm going to send a medical cart here. Offer him assistance, food and water. If he passes out on the way here, get him at least within the dome, lest he freezes to death out there."
A simple salut right as Sombra teleported away, leaving the guards a bit uneasy at those strange requests. Nonetheless, they wouldn't ignore their king's orders, so they waited to see if the stranger would make his way to the empire's magical dome or not.
Back to the Planeswalker
I was exhausted beyong belief. I didn't doubt the deep voice in my head when he said that I could do all those things, to be fair I didn't have the room to be debating those things when I was able to breathe fire and fight against horse ghosts made of ice and snow just a moment ago. Though I wasn't expecting to be quite this level of powerless after this fight. At least the ghosts turned tail and ran off into the darkness after seeing/experiencing that.
Well done, Vol. Though you seem to be quite out of touch with your own Spark and the powers you possess. I suggest you find a place to stay and rest. You'll need a lot of training to return back to the level of strength you once had...
I still don't understand why the deep voice assumed me to be the actual Sarkhan but I really wasn't in the condition or mindset to tell him that I was someone else, all I wanted right now was to find a place where I would not be covered in snow after five minutes of laying down. And while my vision started to blur, the light I saw in the distance grew bigger, meaning that I couldn't be all too far away from it.
And all at once, it stopped. I could tell that I was on solid ground, the snow stopped falling on my head and shoulders from one moment to another and I could finally feel the sun kissing my cheeks. And after taking so many steps in the snow, I could allow myself a break and just drop down onto the ground...
