Etmere stood at the gate that served as the main entrance and exit to the capital city of the Imperium. It was large and grandiose, befitting of an empire that was built upon the many wars it had started and endured. Almost as if to show off that it was here to stay for a very long time. As much as the Imperium had hurt him and his people, Etmere did feel a strange feeling of security from it. Because, as bad as it was for his people, he knew it could be worse, especially if they were enemies of the Imperium. The Imperium was one of the largest nations on the continent, and it was certainly the one with the strongest military. Strong enough that all those that neighbored it were in some kind of alliance with other nations in case the Imperium ever attacked them, not that it had stopped the Imperium in the past.

Though if this mission that Etmere had been assigned from the magic tower was of any note, it did explain why the Imperium was in a period of peace right now. Void deserts as they were known by, deserts that were so inhospitable that life and even the energy of life, mana, were rare or non-existent. They had existed for as long as time could remember. Ever existing, never moving, natural disasters locked in one spot that people often avoided. That was until recently, when they started to expand. Foot by foot, day by day, ever increasing and unable to be stopped, leaving destruction in their wake. It was this that caused the Imperial family to put out a high-level request to the mage tower. They were to select a capable mage to investigate the deadly void desert with one of their protoknights, a squire being tested to become a knight, to see if the origin of the expanding deserts could be found.

Etmere had serious doubts as to being the expert, capable mage the tower tried to make him look like. He was more than sure that he was actually selected because he was seen as an expendable thorn in their side that they were looking to offload. He had often faced discrimination at the hands of others since he wasn't human. Even more so in the mage tower, since unlike other mages, he preferred to be a research or support mage, over the more popular role of a combat mage. He had no problem with fighting, but he always felt as if he had become a fighter; it would have ended badly for him. Not to mention, he didn't want to give anyone a reason to go after his people back at their village. So when the tower informed him that he would be selected and sent out, he agreed, thinking it better to risk death than risk the ire of the tower and other mages.

Which was how he found himself at this gate, waiting to meet this soon-to-be knight. His hands lay in front of him as his fingers twiddled together to pass the time. He didn't have much on him, only his white cloak that covered his body, the clothes he wore, and a small magical storage bag that held essentials like food, water, some extra clothing, barely any money, and a bedroll. It seemed almost like nothing, but that was because he used magic for almost everything else. For now, he waited for his partner for the mission to find him at the gate, figuring the human would have an easier time finding him than he finding them.

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