The Scar of Ifrit. From his vantage point on the balcony, he could see it. A massive crevice in the earth, which split the planet in two. The other side wasn’t visible, at least where he stood. It was either too far away or shrouded in a thick fog, maybe both. And when he looked down, it was impossible to see the bottom.

“Twenty-four years,” Daki sighed.

When man had reached their pinnacle of magical power, but were unaware of the consequences, this was the result. A giant, monster infested canyon that only served to keep his civilization divided.

Noone had been able to cross. It seemed that every time someone tried, something went horribly wrong. Invisible barriers often sprang up for no apparent reason and suddenly. Having no time to react, airships just crashed into them, causing fiery explosions and the remains after, vanished into the depths. Magic became unpredictable when over the gap. One moment it worked perfectly fine and the next… the warlock's face was being blown off. And though they tried to build structures such as bridges, which would help them reach the other side, it was quickly discovered that any material used, aged a thousand times quicker. In just a few days, whatever had been built, turned to dust.

Daki closed his eyes and tilted his head. He let the cool breeze wash over his face, inhaled deeply, tasting its sweet, fresh flavor. Then he exhaled. Where are you now?

“Daki!”

A promise had been made those, twenty some years ago. That was before they understood the severity of what lay before them. As far as Daki knew, it was impossible to simply cross over it, so it was understandable that they hadn’t come to find him yet.

Isn't there another way? Daki shook his head. No, there had to be another way. He couldn’t believe otherwise.

“Daki, are you up there?”

Daki let his eyes wander, gazing into the abyss and then at the cliff. He noticed the many ledges along the side, which seemed to create a path down and where those didn’t exist, there were rocky outcroppings and tunnels. Wood creaked as he clenched his fists and the cold air puffed out in a cloud of white mist as he exhaled.

His heart skipped a beat as a gigantic serpent creature emerged from the hazy depths. A dragon without wings, white and pure. The creature’s ears twitched from side to side as it listened for the noise of its prey and its amber eyes scanned the rocks. The drake moved through the air with graceful abandon. Performing a strange but beautiful dance. And as it moved, so did the white mist around it. Daki froze as their eyes met.

After an eternity of waiting, it turned away, uninterested in the two legged creature standing on a balcony. The Drake moved slowly, back down into the abyss from whence it came. Daki watched, still wide eyed and full of wonder. What else might be hidden down there? What other creatures, just waiting to be discovered?

The thought of descending into the abyss had always occurred to him. Maybe if there was no way to cross over it, they could walk across from the bottom or tunnel underneath. He knew deep down however, that it would be far from easy. The climb alone was a treacherous one with many areas where the rocks were either slippery or loose and pathways which did not appear to be stable. But then there were abyssal monsters like that drake. They owned The Scar and would challenge any human who dared to trespass.

Others had attempted to climb down already. In the city of Edge, information traveled around fast. Daki had heard about the many failed adventures. People who thought they were prepared for the horrors which awaited them, but in fact, were not. Some died due to nasty falls from the cliff face, while others had encounters with the dangerous Scar inhabitants. Most were confirmed deceased and those who weren’t, were facing heavy, life threatening injuries. Although Daki wanted to go because it seemed like the only way he might be able to one day, reunite with his brother, he was hesitant because of all the risks that were involved. Still, there were some who had been successful so far. But they were far from actually reaching the bottom.

“How far would I have to go?” he asked. “How many years might it take?”

“Daki, are you coming?”

He turned to look at where the voice had come from. The wind gusted passed him causing the red curtain to sway. It hung down from an empty door frame, shielding the interior from any prying eyes. Beyond the curtain was the room where he had spent the last twenty-two years of his life.

“Coming, Mother Margie!” he called back.

Daki pushed himself away from the railing and took two strides, one in the direction of the empty doorway and the other, through it. Inside was a world completely different from the one around and on the cliff. His room was bright with little, magical green orbs and plants with green leaves and vibrantly colored flowers. Outside was desolate. An endless, volcanic desert in a place which once teamed with life. Inside was almost like a rainforest. Beautiful and serene.

Under Margie’s tutelage, he had been able to learn some basic forms of magic. How to create light, how to start a fire or fill up a spring. Daki had learned how to cause the wind to shift and how to help a flower bloom.

According to her, those were all the things necessary for a warlock to learn before they could branch off and create their own, unique magic. Some chose a more destructive path, while others such as Daki, chose to create and help give way to new life or help rebuild what was lost. He eyed his plants and the literal bed made of flowers and soft leaves he had created. He glanced at the miniature waterfall in one corner of the room and smiled.

This will do, Daki thought before picking his hat off a nearby tree branch. He placed it atop his scruffy matt of brown hair and began his descent down the too narrow staircase.

As he approached the bottom, Daki eyed Mother Margie who was frowning up at him. She crossed her arms and began to tap her foot. "You were staring into it again," she said.

Daki shrugged.

"Why?"

“I don’t know,” he said. “I guess… I just think there is more I could be doing.”

“Did you see anything?”

“A dragon.”

Mother Margie’s eyes went wide as she continued to stare. Her gaze was fearful, but also amazed. Dragons were rare to be seen, especially near the surface and even a small one would have enough power to take on a thousand of the most skillful warlocks.

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She cleared her throat and shook her head. “There is something you could be doing,” she said. Margie extended a hand towards him and in it, was a small piece of folded paper. “Here.”

Daki took it from her, but when he went to open it, she put a hand up to stop him. He raised an eyebrow.

“Not yet,” she said. “I want you to take this to the guild first.”

“The guild?” Daki shook his head. “I don’t understand.” What possible reason could she have, to send him to the guild?

“You will understand,” she said. “When you hand them that piece of paper. Now go.”

There was a hint of pain in her voice and as the two of them locked their gazes, Daki thought he could see the twinkle of a tiny teardrop. He looked down at the piece of paper in his hand. What could she have to be sad about? This is just an errand.

“Go,” Margie reiterated.

Daki nodded and walked through the doorway behind her. He made his way through the kitchen, placed a hand on the only actual door in the house and pushed it open. Stagnant air greeted him as he stepped out and Daki was forced to cover his mouth to prevent himself from gagging. “I’ll never get used to this smell.”

Air smelling of decay and death was a common theme around The Scar. With all the terrifying monsters in that canyon killing and the humans also killing, it was no surprise that soon everything would be overpowered by the scent of rotting corpses. Was that truly the reason though? He didn’t think so.

From the moment that fissure opened up, Daki could remember a distinct odor evacuating from it. Though not as strong as it was now, the scent was almost identical. If we somehow repaired Ifrit, would that smell disappear? It was a question he had to ask himself. Would it go away if they somehow repaired the damage they had done? Could they repair that damage? The answer was something that only time would be able to tell.

Daki took the last good breath he was able, before lowering the arm from his face. The building he was traveling to, was on the other side of the city and with the sky beginning to darken, there wasn’t much time before the monsters came out to play.

“I hope this is worth it,” he said absently as he began to jog. In just a few minutes, the streets would become a very different place.

As the sun became a mere sliver on the horizon and dark clouds began to overpower the light, Daki quickened his pace. Shadows began to envelop the city and he became more aware of what lurked within them. Small critters pitter pattered between buildings, trying to find their shelter before predators emerged from the abyss.

Sounds from deep within The Scar permeated the air. Strange howls, yips and claws scraping stone. A violent growl, a whimper. He ran from it all, trying to keep his ears closed and his mind focussed. Mud splashed as he ran through it.

“N-no-no…. aaaaaAAAHHHHHHH!”

Though the terrified scream of someone being eaten sent chills down his spine, Daki did his best to ignore it. He leaped to the side as the maw of a large reptile almost had him for dinner. Daki dived to the ground and rolled. He came back to his feet, just as an enormous, furred snake struck the spot he had just been in.

“T-that was close,” he panted. His voice was hoarse as he attempted to suck in air.

Those creatures were dangerous, but they were also only the tip of the iceberg. There were many more. Daki picked his pace up again, running around, under and over buildings. He dove when he needed to dive and leaped to escape whatever horrors were following him from behind. It would never come to an end. He was doomed to keep running and dodging. To run out of air and gasp. A blob fell from the roof of a building, blocking his path.

He halted, both eyes on the strange blue substance in his way. It moved around like jelly, all wobbly and jiggly. “W-what are you?”

“You’ve never seen a slime before?”

Daki abruptly turned. He hadn’t been expecting to hear another voice outside, in the dark. But there was the person standing behind him who had spoken. Not human… he was something else. A bipedal hare. His ears were tied together like a woman might tie her hair back to create a pony tail and he wore a loose shirt, trousers and carried a backpack.

Too out of breath to make his own reply, Daki shook his head.

The hare dropped his pack and drew two daggers from a belt at his waist. With one mighty hop, he was standing between Daki and the strange goo. “I’m surprised you haven’t seen one yet,” he said. “They’re really common in our streets.” he glanced toward The Scar. “Really common down there too.”

“I… I’m never out this… late,” Daki said in between gasps of air. Due to the known danger on their streets at night, he had never ventured beyond Margie’s walls after dark, once she had taken him in.

The hare puffed out his cheeks, almost like he was about to laugh. “Are you serious?” he said. “What are you, like five?”

Daki furrowed his brow, he didn’t like being made fun of. “No.”

“Of course you aren’t,” the hare said. “Call me Taeo.” he turned to the slime and scraped his blades across each other, creating an almost ear splitting noise. “Let me show you how to take care of one of these.”

"It can't be that tough," Daki said.

"And let those be your famous last words!" Taeo turned his head toward the slime. He narrowed his eyes, watching. With one of his back paws, the hare drew a semi circle in the mud, preparing for his attack.

Intrigued, Daki watched the hare closely. In all his time near The Scar, he had never seen anyone quite like his new friend. Though Taeo was humanoid, he wasn’t exactly ‘human’. It was a detail which made him interesting and in Daki’s eyes, a subject to be studied. His eyes never left the hare as he leaped toward the bright, blue blob in front of them.

Taeo lifted his daggers to the side, ready to strike it. As his hop carried him over the creature, he brought both weapons down. The slime jiggled and the daggers began sinking into it.

“Oh no,” Taeo said and with his back paws, he pushed against the blob. He heaved with a tight grip on both daggers, but neither came free.

“Need help?” Daki asked.

“I… I forgot,” the hare said. “These things are better taken out with… magic.” his daggers came free and Taeo immediately went flying backwards.

The blue slime jiggled.

“W-watch out!” Daki jumped backwards and leaped to the side, slamming into Taeo in the process and they met with the muddy ground. He scrambled off the not too impressed Taeo, moments later and looked back at the blob which was still sitting there, menacingly.

Taeo stood and looked down at himself. “I… I almost had him!”

“Did you?” Daki asked.

“I did!”

Daki smiled at the amusing hare as he placed a hand on a pocket in his jacket. Inside was the piece of paper Margie had asked him to take to The Guild. He looked up at the blue blob of goo that currently stood in his way.

“Hey,” Taeo said. “Are you not a… warlock or something?”

“I am,” Daki said. “But I can only create.” using his magic to attack another creature, was simply impossible.

Taeo spit to the side. “Useless,” he said.

“Useless?”

“Do you have any weapons on you at least?”

Daki shook his head.

Taeo sighed. “Here,” he reached over with a dagger in hand and flipped it expertly so that the hilt was pointed towards Daki. “Take it.”

With caution, he took the dagger. “You said a weapon like this one can’t defeat a slime. Only magic can.”

“I did,” Taeo said. “But who said you weren’t going to use magic?” he smirked. “Follow my lead kid and I’ll show you the ropes!” he turned to face the creature, confidence showing in the way he stood and in the expression on his face.

Though he wasn’t completely confident in whatever plan Taeo had in mind, there didn’t seem to be any other choice but to trust him. Daki turned to face the goo. He furrowed his brow and as he stared at the blue blob in front of them, felt a smile gradually take over. He was outside in the dark, facing down his very first foe.

“Let’s go!” he shouted and charged.