The Sage's Vow

13.1 || Tzanach

THE FIRST SENSE that returned was hearing. Water fell somewhere in the distance, its unending drip a drill straight into Cale's skull. Touch and smell came back almost together. A stale, wet mustiness permeated the air and left his nose itching. Something heavy weighed down the right side of his chest while the hard, damp surface holding him up dug into his skin.

Where was he? Forcing his breathing to remain even, he stretched out his senses, trying to pick up anything else while he fought to put these puzzle pieces together into a comprehensive picture. A fog settled over his mind and made the process harder than he thought it should be—

Like a wind had gusted through the cloudy air, the memories became suddenly clear and rushed forward. Despite his best efforts, his breathing hitched before he could catch it. The Plane had collapsed on itself. He vaguely recalled falling through nothingness before losing consciousness, though he didn't know what had caused the loss.

He also had no idea where he was now or if it was friendly. Ignoring his growing uncertainty, Cale turned his focus to someone who he hoped could provide some information before he risked revealing his awakened state.

Ezraim, do you—

His question cut off from the violent drop in his gut. He scrabbled with mental fingers at his core, but he couldn't find the brush of another consciousness or the pure awareness of another's existence. The bond wasn't gone; the magic Cale could still feel flowing through his being was proof of that. Something dammed the bond, though, refusing to give him access.

The occurrence triggered the brush of a memory, and with a bit of digging, Cale realized what. Josh. Cale had eventually heard an account of the night of Xander's kidnapping, and Josh had experienced a time in which he was bonded with Boomer but couldn't reach him. Could this be the same thing?

During the entirety of his self-examination, he didn't notice any new presences. Bracing himself to act quickly if he ended up being wrong, Cale opened his eyes, hoping his surroundings would offer some answers.

He was in a cave. Even from the first small glimpse, he could tell it wasn't the same one he'd tracked the wild man into. This one yawned open like a massive maw made of white stone. Light streamed in from a fifteen-or-so meter wide hole in the cave ceiling, illuminating the space and glinting off gem-encrusted stalactites.

A chunk of rock lay atop his right arm, taking up most of his chest and shoulder as well. It was no taller than his knee, but his body still throbbed slightly from its weight. Unlike the rest of the surrounding stone, the rock was a dark brown. A quick glance around revealed other chunks of dark earth that looked out of place compared to the pristine coloring of this cave.

A possible sequence of events pieced itself together. The Plane had imploded, spitting bits of anything in it out into one of the bordering realms. The theory was simple enough and one that he should have come to much earlier. Remnants of the earlier fog still clouded his thoughts, but an intense worry waved away what was left.

He did not know what realm he was in. He also had no idea what else had been deposited in this cave. In his few-minute observation, though, he didn't hear anything nearby. Deeming it safe enough, he reached over, shoved the rock away from his body, and then sat up.

The first thing he saw turned his blood cold. Mara lay five meters away, unmoving, her back to him. Where had she been before the Plane broke apart? She'd been in front of him, unbelievably pale, horror-stricken gaze over his head. He'd not had the chance to turn and see why. Was it anything that could have hurt her?

His thoughts didn't stop spinning until he was at her side, one hand going to the pulse at her neck, the other hovering under her nose. With every steady beat and slow exhale that he felt, his own heart and breath began to match. She was alive and—his eyes swept over her—uninjured. Her energy levels were low, though. If he could trust his sensing ability, that was, but if so, she likely just needed time to recover.