Chapter Text
The Jackal appeared seemingly overnight, tracking down criminals deep in the inhospitable desert and administering Justice. Some claim He's a demon, others that He's possessed by one. His Judgement of people using a scale gave him the moniker of the Judge of souls.
At first, the Akademia sent matras after Him, thinking Him a simple vengeful spirit. Some of those matras would face His Judgement, until the Akademia declared the desert His territory, forbidding matras from pursuing criminals there and letting Him administer Justice as He so chose.
And He chose accordingly. Thieves would return stripped of their belongings, those who abused their power would lose it, either surrendering it themselves, or being unable to physically keep it, abusers were returned with wounds as large as the ones they themselves caused and murderers wouldn't return at all, never to be seen again.
But there are also the tales of honest people who lost themselves in the desert, who would end up being guided back to the road by a shadow, or those in need waking up to food and medicine. It is said that those with a pure soul are free to cross the desert at will, but should you not be pure, you're doing so at your own risk.
𓍊𓋼 𓍝 𓋼𓍊
"An unknown mushroom you say?" Tighnari asked after listening to the mission report of the man in front of him, who was still dehydrated from his extended stay in the desert.
"Well it wasn't something I recognized at least." the forest ranger replied. "It looked edible, but it made my hand numb when I touched it." He seemed to regret his words as the Chief Officer next to him sighed.
"First of all, you're not going back on missions until you learn not to eat random mushrooms." The Valuka Shuna chastised the other, who was now sheepishly watching the floor. "But I'd also like to know where you found those mushrooms, if they truly are a new species they may have some medicinal uses."
The forest ranger bowed his head. "Yes sir." He searched his bag and pulled out his map, watched it for a while, thinking deeply. He carefully retraced his path through the desert with his finger, eventually stopping on a seemingly empty area far from his original path and circling it with a pen.
"It was somewhere around here, I got lost and wandered a bit before being picked up by some travelers going to Caravan Ribat. Apparently this zone is too dangerous to explore. It's the Jackal's territory." He explained, his tone worried and still a bit shaky.
Tighnari shook his head gently and held the other's shoulder. "You got lucky this time, but I don't want anyone going back to the desert for now." The other man nodded and opened his mouth to speak, before deciding against it and leaving in silence.
He waited until he couldn't hear the man anymore before turning to where he knew Collei was hiding. "Eavesdropping isn't very polite you know?"
He waited until she had stepped out of her hiding spot and taken a seat, before letting himself fall back in his seat with a huff and gently taking the marked map in his hands. The fox quickly studied it before looking up and exchanging a look with his apprentice. He took a deep breath and spoke again. "I'm going there, if this mushroom can help-"
"No!" She cut him off with a cry that made him jump up from his chair. "You heard what he said, it's dangerous! W-what if there's a storm or-"
"Collei!" He exclaimed, shocked at her outburst. "Calm down, what's wrong?" He stood next to her and rubbed her back as she took deep breaths to calm herself.
"I'm scared you'll be hurt Master Tighnari. He said the Jackal lived there, and there's all those storms too. I'm- You- I can't lose you!" And oh, how hard it was to remember how young she truly was sometimes, he thought as she spoke slowly.
"Collei, if there's a chance this mushroom could help you, then I have to at least try." He waited a bit then nudged her shoulder and laughed softly. "Besides, you know me, I wouldn't be the Chief Officer of the forest rangers if I wasn't careful. I know what to do if there's a storm. And my ears can track anyone who comes near, so if that Jackal comes close I'll leave as fast as I can."
She smiled softly at her lap before it fell again, and her eyes lifted to study him. "You promise you'll come back?" He promised, and she stood up and hugged him, before she excused herself to let him prepare.
'It's just the desert, I've been there a dozen times at least' He hummed as he gathered what he needed, told a few rangers where he was going and why, and started on his way to leave Gandharva Ville. 'The mushrooms are in an oasis anyway, I'll be fine.'
𓍊𓋼 𓍝 𓋼𓍊
'I'm not fine' He gritted his teeth as the sand flying through the air buffeted his ears. He was nearly swept off his feet when the storm started, twisting his ankle painfully to keep from slipping down a sandy slope.
He had kept going forward, hoping that the strong winds hadn't blown him off course, and that he would find a shelter soon to wait out the storm, but it was becoming painfully obvious to him that he was hopelessly lost in the middle of the desert, in a zone never travelled by anyone because of its danger.
His trip was only supposed to take two days at most, and while he had the foresight to pack slightly more in case he needed it, the heat and burning sand had forced him to take so many breaks that he had been running low on resources before even reaching the oasis.
Dejectedly, he decided to abandon the trip for now and turn around, choosing to retrace his previous steps instead of rejoining a well traveled road leading to Caravan Ribat that would only make his trip longer. 'It'll be faster this way, and I already know the road.' He had thought at the time.
He wasn't even halfway back when he felt the winds pick up, and sand start to fly around him.
A sandstorm, the second leading cause of death for those lost in the desert, after heat stroke, he remembered reading from a book. He had looked around for a shelter, but upon finding nothing took the decision to keep walking in what he hoped was the right direction.
Now, after hours of wandering aimlessly, he felt more hopeless than ever. He had finished the last of his water, and was starting to feel dizzy from the heat.
'I can't fall down, falling down means death' He remembered giving those lessons to his rangers before they left for the desert, and that promise he made to Collei. So he pushed on through the storm and the heat.
Each step felt like walking on hot coals, the hot sand and his exhaustion making him stumble multiple times. He had already abandoned some of his less important belongings to lift some of the weight on his back, but even still it felt like he was dragging a boulder behind him.
He couldn't hear much other than the wind with his ears folded tightly on his head, and attempting to lift them up only allowed more sand to make its way inside and irritate the soft fur.
He took a step, then another, before feeling the sand beneath him start to give way. He tried jumping back, but with his head spinning from the heat he slipped and fell down a slope with a cry, lying down on the hot sand below. 'I'm so tired... sorry Collei, but I don't think I'll be back...'
He used his remaining energy to shift and lay on his back, where he closed his eyes and whimpered, he was too dehydrated to shed any tears. Then he heard it.
'Is that... footsteps? Did someone find me?' With difficulty he turned his head towards the sound, and saw a shadow approaching from the storm. It paused a few meters away from him, but Tighnari didn't recognize what it was.
A humanoid maybe, with ears somewhat like his but... 'It's so hard to think...' It seemed to have huge claws, or maybe wings. 'I'm losing my mind.'
It held something in its... 'claws, they're claws' Watching it for a few seconds before advancing again and reaching him with only a few quick steps, and the last thing Tighnari saw was a purple mask watching him from above.
'Oh.' He thought before it all went black and he thought no more.
𓍊𓋼 𓍝 𓋼𓍊