Mirage (Kage Manako)

Everything was a blur for a long moment after that until, at length, his eyes readjusted, and he coughed at what felt like a searing blast of sand in his lungs. It took him a bit longer to realize that the air itself was dryer, and it was not the bright sunlight outside the dark room where he found himself that burned his eyes.

Standing before him was a feminine figure in an exotic dress; her head was that of a jackal. Undoubtedly, she was a member of that ancient race known as the Anubians he had once heard about in passing.



"The warrior has arrived, just as the prophecy fortold," she smiled with a confident amusement.

Kage looks around, wondering where the mysterious stranger went to. Kage thinks to himself. ' OK, this is odd, I just had this conversation a while ago.'

"Excuse me," the woman looked to him with a quizzical expression, "Are you alright?"

Kage, realizing there must be some reason for this deja vu thinks to himself, 'well, I'd better go along with this.'

Kage says, "yes, I'm fine, just a little concerned about my missing weapon."


Kage thinks to himself, ' Now, if this does work, I know I'm not crazy.'

"Ah, yes; a hero must have his weapon," the woman snapped her fingers, and an Anubian soldier that must have been eight-foot-tall walked in with a serious look on his face.



"So this is the Chosen One," the soldier muttered in his bronze voice, then knelt down and made a few quick gestures with his hands. Before Kage's eyes, the sand scattered across the floor pulled together, and in a flash of blinding white light, a perfect replica of the swordsman's prized blade lay on the ground before him.

"Take it with this warning," the woman advised, "That which the Desert Gods give, they can also take away."

'So, I was right, something is very odd.' Kage thinks as he picks up his weapon and, just like last time, feels exactly like his own blade.

Kage smiles to himself a bit and thinks, 'well, if my hunch is right, this should cut to the chase.'


Kage says, "Arami, I know who's been blowing up the temples for the parts of Osiris, it's a man called Dol."

"He already knows my name and his mission," Arami smiled with clear reverence, "Truly, you are the Chosen One. Duhkari, you will send out an order to every guard in the city to be on the lookout for a criminal by the name of Dol."



"Aye, Priestess Arami," Duhkari made a bow, "If I may be so bold, Chosen One, is the one you speak of Lenitnes Dol?"

He looks to Duhkari, and says, "Yes, it is, how do you know?"

"Dr. Dol is a notorious blasphemer who has long held a criminal record in this city," Dukahri explained in a matter-of-fact tone.

Kage looks to Duhkari and says, "Well, with this & what he was doing in Phoenix City, it's not suprising."


Kage thinks to himself, if everything is following in order...then he should be there as well."


Kage says, " I know someone who could be of assistance, he is the captain of the Sunset Arrow, a ship that should be docking soon. Captain Zeaken, I believe"

"Ah, yes, Captain Zeaken," Arami nodded, "He should be returning from his inspection of the Temple of the Eye today, if I'm not mistaken."



"Might I escort the Chosen One to him then?," Dukahri requested.

"You have my leave," Arami nodded, "God speed."

"Please Sir," Dukahri looked to Kage, his eyes forever in a glower and his genuine attempt at reverence coming out barked and terse, "Follow me."

Kage says, "Lead the way Dukahri." As he follows him out, he looks back to Arami and winks at her.

Kage thinks, 'Let's hope this time I'll get the drop on him.'

The marketplace outside was just as he remembered it, although no one was stopping to stare at him as he had walked out the front door escorted by a royal guard. Additionally, try as he might, he caught no sign of that girl or her siblings among the crowd.

'Hmm, so there are some diiferences then.' Kage thought to himself, though
still wondering as to the location of the one who brought him here.

The docks were exactly as Kage remembered them from that day, sans the presence of Ami, and upon the deck of the ship, Zeaken was standing with his arms crossed, supervising a couple of burly men carrying barrels up a staircase.



"Keep 'em coming...," Zeaken nodded, "We want all those things on board by sundown."

Suddenly seeing Dukahri and Kage, he looked up, "Ah, Dukahri. Bringing information about my target I hope."



"Decidedly so," Dukahri let a small smile lift his jowls, which somehow still looked threatening, "To my right is the Chosen One. With his infinite knowledge of our enemy, you should be able to capture that infidel in only a few days."

"Really now?," Zeaken rubbed his chin with an amused smile, looking to Kage.

"Well, Zeaken, I know that Dol will be going for the temple of the Heart."

Kage said, while wondering when the person who brought him here will appear, since it was about
this time when he appeared.

"Climb aboard," Zeaken nodded, then looked to Dukahri, "Sent out a word to the guards yet?"



"It will be done," the Anubian guard nodded with a bow, then took off to complete his mission.

As Kage climbs aboard, he thinks to himself, 'Well, this'll be interesting.'

"Chosen One eh?," Zeaken looked to Kage incredulously as the ship took off, "You're certainly of the world you're trying to save. I like that in a hero. I'd better go brief the men downstairs. I'll see you in a bit."

With that, he went below deck.

Kage walks over to the railing and looks out at the city, thinking to himself,

'I'm not sure why I'm doing this all over again, but something tells me it'll help out in the long run.'

"Every little bit helps, I'm told," a familiar voice that Kage had been simultaneously anticipating and dreading since their last meeting mused behind him, and he turned to see the young man from before, "Hello Kage."

Kage turned around and says, " Wow, if it was that easy to find you, I would of tried that some time ago."

Kage then says, " Joking aside, might I ask who you are and why I'm reliving this again?"

"Some call me Ro Tar R'an," the young man smiled almost innocently, "As for your predicament, perhaps the question you should ask yourself is why you went through this in the first place?"

Kage says, " Well, I've got pulled here to stop Dol and this graverobber from getting the parts of Osiris."

Kage raises his eyebrow, almost curiously and says, "This isn't the same place I was at when you first appeared, almost like it wasn't the same time."

"People have this funny theory about time," Ro Tar grinned somewhat childishly, "They seem to think it only goes forward, like the bullet from a musket. I find that time is more like a river in a storm. It flows all ways at once, and often diverts to the side for a time before returning to its source again."