Draconic Sands

Another day had passed in Aellecion after Lady Deimos' unannounced arrival. I'd never seen such obvious animosity towards a noble before. When the gates had closed after their departure, the servants and guards alike cheered.

Innes had locked himself inside his room and refused to eat, causing his aunts to vent their frustrations to me. Much as I wanted to talk to him, I knew I couldn't. He and Lady Deimos had a past together. It must've hurt him to refuse her.

"Chin up," Jhilza chuckled as she walked by the dining table, where I'd been sitting since breakfast. "You're quite the woman if the dear captain chose you over House Deimos."

"A marriage proposal," I mumbled to myself as I stared at a plate of food that had been sitting untouched in front of me for hours. "I heard her voice. She said she needed Innes to save her."

Jhilza took the seat across me and threw her braid over her shoulder. "By Caledonian nobility rules, only men are allowed to preside over the military clans due to the mandatory service. House Deimos is the strongest of the three clans. If Unikila didn't marry, she would have to fork over control of her House and its servants to the second strongest."

I looked up at her. "What are the other two houses in the faction?"

Jhilza grinned as she leaned back against her chair. "House Absolin and House Solterica."

I followed her response with absolute silence. There was a pit in my stomach as I realized what fate Innes and I had relegated to Lady Deimos. She came to Aellecion, seeking Innes' help in saving her from a loveless marriage with General Bacchus.

I could feel my stomach begin to turn. I couldn't imagine being forced to marry that man. He couldn't love any the way he loved and craved power.

"While the two of you were moping yesterday, I decided to ask the winds for their help in gathering some information." The assassin reached for the empty glass in front of me and poured herself some water. She reached into the small leather pack that rested at her hip and tossed a wrapped parcel on the table.

"What information?" I asked.

I pushed my cold plate to the side to inspect the package. When I untied the ribbon and paper wrapping, I picked up a piece of fabric and dangled it over the floor. It was a black and blue hooded veil that was adorned with golden embellishments similar to lace.

"Your mother's location," she replied.

"What? You've found her?" I almost jumped out of my seat.

Jhilza downed the contents of her glass and slammed it on the table. "She's in Sharsir. And not far from here."

I frowned. Sharsir was a large place full of nothing but sand. And if I'd learned anything from Jhilza's constant grumbling during our travel to Aellecion, the heat would kill me before I'd get the chance to even cry. Maybe that's why Jhilza had bought me a thin travel cape.

"Go," a voice said from the stairs.

I turned my head and noticed Innes coming up from the stairs. He was still dressed in the clothes he'd worn yesterday. He looked worse for wear judging by how downcast his eyes seemed, their sky blue looking dimmer today than I'd ever seen.

"The sooner you find your mother, the faster you can leave Caledonia." He turned around and began heading back downstairs.

Jhilza and I exchanged looks, both confused with Innes' sullen demeanor.

I hurried out of the manor, chasing after him. When I exited the house, I was greeted with a large group of soldiers hurrying from one end of the property to the other.

It seemed as though Aellecion had suddenly come to life. The groundskeepers were rearranging the items and crates scattered around the orchards, tucking most of it away into nearby sheds. Builders were busy hoisting ballistas onto the watchtowers around the estate as the archers themselves began practicing on on nearby target ranges.

I rushed to catch up to Innes, his long strides taking him further away from me. I finally managed to catch him just as he neared a large building that was surrounded by dorms full of soldiers.

"Innes, what's going on?" I asked trying to meet his eyes when he finally turned to me.

He glanced at me in between talks with his guards. He nodded to them and waited for their figures to disappear behind the doors to the armory before speaking.

"Bacchus is going to mount an assault against Aellecion," he began as he took a step towards me. "This place is all I have left. I must defend it."

And without as much as another look or further explanation, he rushed off towards the armory. Without so much as a goodbye or good luck, I stood on the road like some lovesick idiot.

Jhilza tapped me on the shoulder and nodded in the direction of the estate's gates. "Your mother isn't going to free herself," she joked.

Forlorn, I drew my eyes back to the building Innes had disappeared into before following Jhilza to the gates. Passing through the Chantenney orchard with her in the lead frightened me. For all the serenity and peaceful ambiance the trees provided, she was a force to be reckoned with, like a double edged sword. Just because she hasn't tried to kill and kidnap me, doesn't mean she won't try again.

"Aren't you tired of chasing after emotionally-absent knights?" Jhilza asked as she stood in front of the wooden gates, waiting for the helmsmen in the towers to pry them open. "I'll show you a good time in Carcallac. There's more to this world than love and magic, Myst." She glanced at me over her shoulder with a small glimmer at the corner of her hazel eyes.

"I don't need a wanted killer to tell me what I should enjoy in life," I snorted.

Jhilza burst out in laughter, cradling her stomach. "Is it me or has the constant threat on your life soured that delicate demeanor of yours?" Once done with her cackling, she walked through the opening gap in the middle of the gates.

Just as I followed Jhilza out the gates, I could hear the sound of someone running towards me. I quickly turned around and spotted Innes making a beeline to me.

"Innes, you could've just called my name," I chuckled, trying to lighten his mood to no avail.

"Before you go," he panted as he reached for my arm. "Take this." He slipped a silver bracelet around my wrist. "So long as the sun shines, it will protect you."

It was a dainty little thing made of pure silver save for the faded golden petals that were etched into its glossy body.

He exhaled as our eyes met. "Be careful."

I looked up at him and smiled as I rubbed a finger against the etching. "I will."

The captain cupped the side of my face with a hand and pulled me against his chest. "Return to me, understand? The thought of you going where I can't follow...I—" he began to stammer as his hold tightened. "Just be safe."

I glanced over my shoulder and noticed Jhilza growing smaller in the distance. "I have to go."

I pulled away from him and waved goodbye before sprinting after Jhilza.

Time was no longer on my side. I had to hurry. I wanted more than ever to leave Caledonia, but I wanted to do so with the two people I cared about: my mother and Innes.

I refused to lose either of them to whatever sinister forces were toying with our lives. I had to return to Aellecion with mother.

The dunes of Sharsir were unforgiving. Although there were no crystalline monsters or shadow soldiers, the desert was more dangerous than Luster City ever was. Sandstorms raged endlessly and randomly. Winds stronger than any I'd ever felt would blow from whatever blasted direction it wanted to, forcing us on our knees. I buried my face under the hooded veil Jhilza had given me, holding tightly as my body endured against the storm's constant push and pull. When the sandstorm subsided, the sun would return with its blazing light.

"Jhilza, we can't keep doing this," I panted as I threw the hood down and freed my hair. "Do you even know where you're going?"

The assassin was a few steps in front of me. Jhilza still donned her leather armor and gear. I don't know how she didn't just die from the heat and dryness of this place. I figured it might've been because of her training with the Dawn. As much as she complained about the heat, she was sturdier than she let on.

"No, I have no clue where I'm going. The sands always shift. The reason there is no map of Sharsir is because the dunes are never the same after every storm. For all we know, we could've been walking in circles." Jhilza glanced over at me from under her hood.

I threw my hands up in the air and sighed. "Great."

"There used to be a village in Sharsir that the Dawn had operated from. We were planning an insurgent uprising with those who were unhappy with Caledonian rule," Jhilza said as she waited for me to catch up to her. "But we had to abandon it weeks ago after your general's frequent inquisitions forced us out."

"Inquisitions? What would Bacchus want from here?" I asked as I wiped the sweat from my neck and chest.

Jhilza shrugged. "We never found out. At first we thought he was after us, but after intercepting his messengers I realized that he was searching for something in the dunes."

Something in the dunes, I mentally noted. Innes did say the seraph dragon used to live in the desert. Could he have left something here?

We continued walking in silence, saving our breaths for any conversation that either of us deemed important enough to dry out our bodies for. Conversation aside, my thoughts were a mess. A few hours in the desert and I'd begun to think about everything that happened after leaving Orzon. Caledonia was only one corner of the world; I couldn't imagine how much more of the world there was to see and how my life would change if I made it to Maignane. Truth be told, I was just relieved to hear Jhilza mention that there was a village somewhere in this dry sea. The thought of shade and water was all that willed me to move.

"Myst!" Jhilza called ahead of me.

When I looked up, she was nowhere to be seen. There were no prints in the sand or remnants of her. All that was there were the echoes of her calling my name.

"Jhilza?" I spun around, searching for her.

Suddenly the wind began to pick up. My ears prickled as I caught the sound of a deep bellowing racing to me from behind. Prepping myself for another storm, I pulled the hood over my head and clipped the veil around my mouth and nose. The roaring neared me and I glanced over my shoulder, steeling myself for whatever this sandstorm might bring.

To my surprise, there was no sandstorm. Just a lone figure walking towards me. It was a tall man in clouded silver armor. Floating in the wind behind him was a blood red cape fastened onto his left shoulder. The closer he moved to me the stronger the winds grew, kicking up swaths of dust around until I was trapped in a cyclone of sand.

"I know you," I mumbled, staring into his eyes.

When he was a few steps away from me, his features became clear despite the sand that flitted around between us. His hair was as gold and light as the sun. A natural companion to those sky blue eyes. He reminded me of Innes, but different.

"Kaiser Solterica." I remembered his name from my time at the Observatory with Innes. "Lord of the Sun and traitor of Caledonia."

His eyes locked with mine before they moved to look at something behind me. When I turned to follow his gaze, the tornado intensified and the world around me darkened. I took a step back unable to withstand its force. Grains of sand pelted against my veil, but the pain didn't sting and soon enough, it disappeared altogether.

"Look at me, child of the sun," a deep voice beckoned.

My heart began to tremble. What was happening? The voice that called to me was familiar.

I lowered my arms and found myself still encircled by the sandstorm, but Kaiser's phantom was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the wall of sand in front of me began to amass into clouds as golden sparks fizzled within its center. The sand and the clouds began to form something hard and crested, something that resembled armor.

Suddenly, the gale blew upwards, ripping my veil off and pushing my hood backwards. The creature before me materialized as sunlight pierced through from the top of the sandstorm. I could see it in all of its majestic and fearsome glory.

It was a dragon. Its two eyes were gray, there were no irises, just a clouded white. A third eye lay closed at the center, surrounded by red and orange symbols that glowed like the sunset.The horns on its head curved backwards with little spikes pointed upwards, forming a halo—no, a crown. Its pointed maw was larger and longer than the bridge at Luster Palace. It had not just one, but two jaws, the bottom being the largest as it opened to roar.

His bellow caused the storm around me to darken and the only light within was from his golden scales.

"Belveus," I smiled as I cupped my mouth with a hand.

A tear slid down my face. Seeing him felt like I'd finally discovered a part of myself I'd always longed to understand. When I closed my eyes, I could feel his magic and his warmth, which was intense but gentle. I opened my eyes, letting loose a waterfall of tears.

"I am the Lord of the Sun," his voice growled as his top jaw slightly opened. "No matter where you go, so long as the sun shines on you, my powers are the Gifts that you may use to defend yourself. Remember that you are a child of the light. Forge your own dawn."

Before I could respond, my eyes were drawn to the mass of dark shadows that began to amass beneath Belveus. Petals blacker than night swirled about, joining the sand that danced around me. Within the blink of an eye, a sword rose from the shadows and cut the dragon's chest open.

"No!" I screamed as I reached a hand out.

Suddenly the bracelet on my hand began to pulse wildly. A golden light shone from within and its glow swallowed everything around me. Its power was so overwhelming that I could feel my own consciousness drift away.

I tried to open my eyes, but the light burned my vision and I had no choice but to succumb to its power.

My mouth was dry, but the cavern in my chest was drier. I planted my palms under my body in an attempt to push myself up off the ground only to have my arms slip from under me. My chin slammed down on the sand and a few grains found their way into my nose.

"Ugh," I spat them out as tried to sit up again. Once I was up, I shook my head and patted my hair into place.

The strange visions of a dragon and a warrior still lingered in my mind. I longed to go back to it for my heart called out to that dragon, but I could feel the magic no longer. Was it a dream or a mirage caused by the mystical sands of Sharsir?

Once my eyes were clear of sand, I looked around, trying to get a grasp of where in this forsaken desert I was at. Some distance ahead was a large pointed rock jutting sideways out of a large dune. Sitting at the edge of the cliff was a small collection of box-shaped structures.

"Houses," I gasped before coughing.

I scanned the area around me, remembering that I had a traveling companion whom I'd lost just before the mirage came.

Jhilza's collapsed body was a few inches from me, her head completely buried in the sand, making her look like some headless corpse.

I walked over towards her and patted her back. "Jhilza! Get up."

I kept slapping her back and when she wouldn't wake, I added more force and began punching her. Like clockwork, her head burst out of the sand, coughing as she went.

"Fucking sand! I hate Caledonia," she cursed. Jhilza flicked her braid over her shoulder before climbing onto her feet.

I took a few steps back, alarmed by her violent awakening. "There's a village over by that cliff." I pointed. "Is that what you were talking about?"

Her eyes squinted as she straightened her back. "The village I spoke of was a small oasis, not a collection of shacks mounted atop some random rock."

I turned my head towards the distant village and began walking. Every step seared the bottom of my foot and it took all I had to not fall down. The sweat water-falling from the back of my neck down to the lining of my skirt annoyed me, but it was small compared to the never-ending whining that came pouring out of Jhilza.

"If I could have my way, I would cast all of this blasted sand into the bottom of the Ether Sea. Let the void monsters fill their bellies with this shit."

Somewhere between an hour or two, I had learned how to focus my hearing to the direction of the village and away from Jhilza's complaints. It was like traveling with a petulant child who constantly cried for attention.

I, on the other hand, had a different problem. Left with nothing to listen to but the howling of the wind, I began to bury myself into my thoughts.

"I don't know if it was real, but I saw Belveus," I began, trying to whisk my attention away from the dark of my mind. "You disappeared and suddenly a sandstorm had trapped me in it. I'm sure it was magic, but it felt so real."

"Whether people know it or not, the sands are alive. And I think that the magic Belveus left here longs to be reunited with him. Part of him lives within you and I. That's probably why the sands showed us both visions of him," she explained.

"You saw the visions, too?" I gasped as I hurried to catch up to her long strides.

She shook her head. "Not the same as yours, but I did see the seraph dragon. I could feel my heart move to the rhythm of his wingbeats. No matter what form he takes, the god of magic always manages to inspire awe."

She was right. I didn't fear his form nor his roar. I wouldn't say it was awe, more like I was staring into a mirror; a mirror that showed me the power and greatness I could achieve because he gave me this Gift.

I smiled softly at her words. "That's incredible. I didn't realize magic could do something like this. Is there something like this in Maignane?"

Jhilza trudged through the sand and took the lead from me. "There's a whole world out there, Myst. Did you honestly think that all that the millions who exist in it cared about were fancy parties and magical flowers? Were I not born a Gifted, I'd probably be too poor to afford to think about the woes of the rich and powerful."

Now that I thought about it, Luster City seemed so small. The petty squabbles between merchants as well as the glittering parties were nothing compared to the legends of the old gods that were becoming real before my very eyes. For who in Luster City could say they've seen, albeit a mirage, of the seraph dragon?

Apologies for how long this chapter was. I was just so excited to get to Sharsir that I couldn't help but show off all the magical creatures as well as the crazy environment.

Also, thanks to Jhilza opening Myst's mind to the wonders and magic of the world. Here's the full map of the region of Belvegarde that the story takes place in.