Kori
Earth, Reformed
In a land far from our own, the traveler stood at a precipice. Before them rose a shimmering portal; it’s rough-hewn mouth silently gaping. Doubt clutched the traveler’s mind like so many grasping hands. Eyes wide, their legs seemed suddenly limp; rooted in place by a force unknown.
Shadowy shapes and forms moved unknown beyond the veil, shrouded as if seen through a dream. The traveler seemed drawn toward a sense of something greater; a life beyond that to which they had become accustomed.
Without warning, a sense of resolve washed over them; strength returning to their legs. Lights swirled and sounds tumbled in protest of their advance, but the promise of a new world stayed their resolve as they stepped forth and over the mantle.
Subsets
Caught between the fading hours
In the heart of the swirling portal, shimmering visions fleeted and danced. Suddenly panicked, the traveler threw out their hands, grasping to pull themselves forwards and out of the portal. As though alarmed at this intrusion, they twisted away into the shadow beyond, vanishing as quickly as they had appeared.
In their place, silence.
The traveler steadied themself, recalling a lesson from their past – the most potent warriors were not those who chased the illusions of time, but those who embraced the present with patience.
With newfound clarity, the traveler let go of the pursuit, and allowed time to flow as it wished.
A smile graced their lips as they emerged on the other side of the portal. No longer burdened by the stress of an uncertain future, they felt emboldened by a new resolve.