Another photo-manipulation. Sadly not as well integrated as I would have liked, but I enjoyed making it nonetheless! The character is Fierce Van Buren, a Sojourner Manx ([link]), and an arrogant prick. Short story to follow, please scroll to the bottom of the comments for links to the stock imagery.

Detail of Fierce here: [link]

****

"It's likely you will die, you know," Zaphiel pleaded. "The Hundred Year's Race, over the Mountains of Madness and across the Wailing Desert... it is nothing to take lightly. Of those hundreds who began the last race, only a mere dozen made it to the sea alive."

Fierce stretched out on his back, enjoying the warmth of the tent and the comfort of the soft silks below him. "I suppose," he purred, "that if I were a philosopher, I would fear for my soul. What horrors of desperation must one feel who dies alone in the great wastelands. What god would dare to brave those lifeless lands to save a wandering shade like me? And I suppose that if I were a visionary, I would fear for my mortal body. What pain and suffering must one endure who dies from starvation in those harsh climates. Or, can you imagine, what it would be like to be eaten by the wild beasts, belly torn open, entrails ripped out, spattering blood baking under the merciless sun."

Fierce barely suppressed his laughter as Zaphiel winced at the gory imagery, then he smiled. "But you see, I am neither of those things. I am a racer. The best that has ever lived. If I survive the Hundred Year's Race or die in the wastelands, it doesn't matter, because my name has been etched in a thousand history books. My name will live on long after my flesh and my bones have returned to dust."

"Through my name, I am immortal."

****

Stock images used:

[link] by ~neverFading-stock
[link] by ~Sylwia-stock
[link] by ~Book-of-Light-Stock
[link] by =sd-stock
[link] by ~DarkMaiden-Stock
[link] by ~dtf-stock
And my own photo for the Manx body.