Lord of Fire, Son of Darkness: Chapter One - Heat

This is a small series (maybe five episodes) that will introduce one of the epic characters that will appear in The Frontier: Surtur, a very powerful guardian and the “boogeyman” of The Knights of Dawn. He’s a man with a very particular set of skills, but he's not Liam Neeson. Ok, I'm just making shamelessly bad jokes, I need to start the chapter before I keep it up. Enjoy! - The Ghost flew across the desert. It’s small red shell was scathingly hot, the tiny body pitted and scratched by the stinging sands flying on the winds. It scanned wearily for any sign of what it was searching for into the wee hours of the night, until it came across a small pod with the dried husk of a long-expired corpse sprawled on the sands next to it. “Finally.” The ghost said in relief. It’s small frame expanded, the white segments pushing out into a kind of orb, and a blue beam of light shot out from it’s one eye, contacting the center mass and charging it with a blue, bright energy that pushed out to the rest of the body. Immediately the corpse gained features - its dry, mummified skin became a dark complexion of a native of the Dark Continent. It's insides filled out, and from the surface it’s stomach expanded to accommodate the digestive system and the other organs. The air became warmer and dryer as water was extracted from it to provide the organs the wetness that they needed to function. The soft organs such as the lips, tongue, and eyes went from little dry pieces of flesh to full, functional organs. The teeth moved back into place in the jaw after centuries of falling out of place, and the gums became strong enough to support them. The ears and nose pushed out slowly, until they too had functional organs and were at the proper proportions, as determined by the DNA. The head, skin clinging tightly to the dome of the skull, seemed to grow until a shiny brown dome was in its place, hair follicles and sweat glands taking their places on the scalp. Other, sensitive areas such as the [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] became working again, growing and functional after centuries of disuse. The hands, toes and the nails at the tips of them grew softer, the skin went back into place, joints repaired, tendons restrung, nails once again healthy looking. Throughout the body, bacteria multiplied and began to thrive once more, and muscles, fat, ligaments, and cartilage grew and expanded to what they would be for a strong, living, healthy man. Joints were lubricated and the bones and their marrow became moist and healthy. After all of the essentials to movement arose, then came those to living. The twin lungs began to draw oxygen through the tubes that went from the nose and the mouth, and after that the meat sack that was the heart began to pump oxygen rich blood throughout the body. Then came the most delicate part: the brain. The Ghost carefully reconstructed all of the different segments and functions of the noodle, right down to the neurons and their connections, and painstakingly gave each part of the brain the ability . The body was functional. And all that remained was life. Suddenly, the body heaved in a huge gasp of air and sat bolt upright on the hot sand. It was no longer a body, actually - it was a man. The man looked at his hands, and then blinked in disbelief at the tiny orb floating in front of it. “Hello! Thank the traveler, you made it!” The Ghost said. “What are you?” The newborn Guardian croaked - their first words as a being of the Light, vocal cords still adjusting. “I am a Ghost. Yours now, actually.” The Ghost said. “Why am I naked?” The man asked, looking down at himself. “Well, you’re clothes have probably been torn away over time, or scavengers took them. Because… you’ve been dead for quite a long time.” The Ghost explained. The man looked him in the eye. “What did I miss?” He said casually, but his voice had strain in it. “Around three centuries. And I will not lie to you, you have missed a lot. You don't remember any of it, I presume, but a long time ago and ancient celestial being called The Traveler entered our solar system and began to terraform it’s planets. Once it reached Earth…” Ghost continued explaining for around another hour, even the simple things like what he was and why he was currently alive. The newborn Guardian didn't quite get it, but he understood the gist of it. “Any other questions Guardian?” Asked the Ghost. “No, -what do I call you?” The man asked. “Well, you can call me Ghost, or you can name me if you want. Giving me a name is less confusing if we meet other Guardians with ghosts, but I have no particular preference.” “I… I’ll think of a name later.” The Guardian said. It was then that Ghost realized how… enormous his guardian was. He must be at least 2 Old Metric Units tall, he thought. Maybe even more! “Well don't ponder it right now. I need to get you something to cover your body. Otherwise the sand with tear into your skin.” Ghost warned, and then he concentrated his focus on the pod his guardian still stood beside. Ghost was right, the Guardian’s skin was already stinging from the flying sand particles being kicked up by the wind. Then the Guardian felt a strange sensation settle just over his skin - and he felt a tingling sensation as something touched his skin, that wasn't the sand. “Ah!” He recoiled, trying to brush off whatever was touching him. “Hold still!” His Ghost yelled. “I'm trying to give you armor!” The Guardian stopped moving, but he didn't concede. “You could have told me first!” He retorted. “No, I - oh. You are right. Sorry about that, I am not used to working with people. Or Exos. Or Awoken. Or anyone, for that manner. But stay still. I'm doing something called transmatting, which means that I’m taking molecules from you- from that old craft and repurposing them into armor for you.” “What are… molecules?” Asked the Guardian. Ghost looked disappointed. “You don't know what molecules are? Oh right, newborn Guardian. Well, they are tiny little things that make up everything, including you, and probably me too.” The Guardian decided to stay still, and also not to ask any more questions unless they were meaningful ones. He didn't want to seem helplessly lost and confused, even if he was. The tingling of contact on his skin continued, until it stopped. He looked at himself. “Thank you. The design is very well made.” The Ghost gave a nod. “A pleasure, mi’lord.” He said with a slight accent. “But it’s time to move. And I need to find you water and food, or else you’ll starve.” The Guardian nodded, and kept nodding. “Actually, if you can hover, you should go up and check for anything!” He suggested. “Good idea! I will see you shortly.” The Ghost said, and then he rose up, into the air, above the hot dunes of the desert. CONTINUED IN THE COMMENTS. CHARACTER LIMIT STRIKES AGAIN!