Some ways through the tranquil plains of the region led to a pass between lands separated by a canyon left in the world. It looked unnatural, as if a chunk of the world had been carved out, only connected by a stone bridge that stretched a league ahead.
At the start of the passage, he peered over, seeing miles deep into the open gash of the world, only finding an abyss below, not even parted by the sunlight above, "Woah."
It was the kind of sight that made his stomach drop and his palms coat with the lightest layer of sweat.
"Oh, you've never seen Hero's Pass?" Astrid asked curiously, standing by his right arm.
"No," Noah answered. "Hero's Pass? Guess it has a cool story with a name like that."
Otto laughed, leaning his elbow against the old, yet intact stone of the bridge, "You're the definition of a country bumpkin, aren't you?"
"Can't dispute that," Noah mumbled in acceptance.
"This whole canyon–it was made by the Great Hero, Julius," Otto excitedly explained.
"Gotta say, not seeing how making a canyon is very hero-like," Noah said, putting his hand over his brow as a wind trailed by.
"It happened decades ago, during the Obsidian War. To defeat the Abyssal Leviathan, Julius shot its head off here—resulting in this canyon. I'm surprised you live this close to it and have never heard about it," Otto explained.
The idea of such a grand passage cut into the region made it all seem larger somehow. It had to stretch on for several miles, passing into a distant mountain.
"You seem to know a lot about it, though," Noah remarked.
"'Course I do. He's an inspiration to aspiring archers like me. Julius was the Saint of Bows—he was the best in the world," Otto answered, looking towards the canyon with a smile.
Crossing the bridge was an ethereal experience in itself with the vast emptiness felt just beneath the stone tiles. It wasn't that he had a fear of heights, only that the sheer sense of scale was a bit too apparent.
Crossing the bridge was a hike in itself, taking some time to get halfway as he found another person there. He squinted, watching an old man on his knees, gently brushing a cloth against the old, gray stone.
"There's someone over there?" Astrid said, peeking around him.
"Yeah, looks like it," Noah confirmed.
Even as he approached, the elder didn't lose his focus on scrubbing the aged material, as though it required immense concentration.
"Hey there," Noah greeted.
"Oh, good evening. A party of adventurers, I take it?" The old man looked up in surprise with a smile.
"Those two are—" Noah began to say.
Otto slung his arm around his shoulder with a cheeky grin, "Yup, the three of us are adventurers. I'm Otto, by the way."
"Astrid," the golden-haired girl introduced with a smile.
"Noah."
"Oh, to be young and full of spark," the wizened man chuckled, sitting himself up.
Just judging by the wrinkles and the shrunken stature of the white-haired man, Noah ventured to guess he was nearing a century in age. Even more so, it was surprising someone of such a long tenure on this world was committing to labor.
"I'm Gervin," the old man introduced himself, letting out a groan as he cracked his back with a small lean. "Notice any damage to the bridge? Perhaps any stains?"
"Damage? No, not that I noticed," Otto tapped his chin.
"It looked immaculate, from what I saw," Astrid remarked, glancing down at the spotless tiles.
Noah stared at the aged soul, "It's due to your hard work out here, isn't it?"
"It's the least I can do," Gervin admitted, fiddling with his wooly beard. "Julius saved my life, after all."
"He did?" Otto asked curiously.
By the way the elven archer leaned forward with eyes twinkling with anticipation, it was like a child wishing to hear a bedtime story.
The old man obliged, "It was when I was just a boy, but I still remember it, clear as the falcon river."
Reeling in time from decades passed, the region was unscarred with a land left intact, yet a horrible presence loomed over.
A creature crawled over the mountains, standing above their summits with scales darker than night.
["The Abyssal Leviathan, a creation of the Void God…A living disaster that left disease and miasma wherever it slithered. During the Obsidian War, it's said that it swallowed entire villages whole, resulting in thousands of deaths."]
At the foot of towering cliffs where the quiet village persisted, a young boy looked up. It was day time just minutes prior, yet it was no different from dusk with the colossus slithering in the sky above.
Panicked cries came from the villagers, who scattered to find safety, though it all felt futile. The boy stood there with a trembling lip, unable to move an inch as the sky-faring serpent unhinged its jaws.
A void of nothingness; the maw of the leviathan stretched to such lengths that would allow it to simply consume the village itself.
["There was nothing that could be done but watch. It was simply too large, and staring into its mouth–it absorbed your fixation completely."]
Silence, then light–
A twinkle cut through the darkness, rippling across the sky like a shooting star. A path was carved through the abyss, as the mass of light pierced through the serpent's head. It happened in the matter of a moment; one second the leviathan hissed, and the other, its form was cast away.
The boy looked on, having to blink after the radiance had left his eyes sore.
His ears were left ringing after the sky was pierced, only looking back as the vague cheers poured in. There was no sight of the one that had saved the village, yet no one failed to recognize the sole person capable of such a feat.
["A single shot, one release of that bow—all of our lives were saved by that miraculous act. I didn't know it at the time, but it's reported Julius was across the country, yet his bow held true, all that way."]
With the story recounted, there was almost a childlike spark to the old soul's smile.
Otto had the senior beat, though, as he excitedly pumped his fist in the air, "Amazing! That's Julius, alright! Handling that leviathan with one arrow—he's the greatest of all time!"
"So, that's why you're tending to the bridge?" Astrid asked.
Gervin wiped his brow with a nod, "Everybody in the village helped build it after what happened. From that time, well, I'm the only one left. When I'm gone, I hope the kids will help take care of the bridge–it's our only way to thank that great hero."
Amidst the elder's wishes, raindrops began descending on the bridge, starting with a small few, then growing into a dense shower.
"Oh, it's raining," Noah remarked, looking up at the clouded sky.
"Ah…" Astrid tucked a hood over her head.
Gervin laughed, "These aren't any conditions for travelers to march through. Come, my home is just down this way."