Chapter 2: Ominous Tidings

A sparse number of crows flew above the charred and smoldering landscape of Alriiea, or what had been Alriiea, before the Dark One's forces had ravaged it. The Galarian Union, formed from the paltry factions of Humans, Elves, Syllithe, Ceree and Aespectriill, had pushed the Dark One back to Alriiea.

Salkethe surveyed the blood-soaked sand of the shore. The war had stretched far and wide, too quickly had the Union found themselves locked in combat over multiple fronts. The Dark One's forces had been strong, numerous and relentless. Although both sides had suffered massive losses, the Union would have been long annihilated if it had not been for the intervention of Shara'hsbin. The power that being a La'Fayetti, a creature chosen by the Fayett to ascend, brought was immense and it allowed him to summon beings from another dimension.

Hsbin has been quiet for some time, noted Salkethe, probably weakened by the exertion. The La'fayetti must have also began the search for Kaldreiia, and Amteth's souls. Kaldreiia having vanished after a raid on the Ceree encampment and Amteth having sacrificed his corporal body to bring down the black vortices that the Dark One used to bring forth the strangest abominations from the deepest reaches of Haien'Echti, better known as the Plane of Seven Spheres, the very plane where Sylfe resides.

Hsbin had explained to the Ancestors the truth about the planes and there had been a shocked silence, no one being able to imagine the true vastness of Shah'Haien.

Noundele was still missing, probably trapped in the body of that Ceree that had accompanied Radu's small party. Maldia was unheard of, Kalyphe and Alanaiya similarly missing in action. Some small part of Salkethe doubted that Maldia was still asleep, but if she were awake, the vastness of her power would aid in the war, although he doubted that she would help. As for Kalyphe, the love of his life, he wished that she were still asleep so as to save her from a second death that the war would only bring.

He hadn't got around to wondering about the refugees in the westlands when he was brought back to reality by the sound of a war horn. The sound resonated clearly and eerily over the battlefield. Almost immediately, he was aware of every soldier in his vicinity. At the top of his lungs, he barked orders and commandeered them into formations. When he was done, a single shout rose from the ranks "For General Salkethe! For Sylfe!"
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It had been at least a week of seemingly aimless wandering through the desert. The days had been searing hot, the nights bone-chillingly cold. The wind that blew in the morning did nothing to alleviate the punishing heat of the sun, the least it did was get sand in their eyes.

Cael had grown up in the forest and two months in the desert was not enough to get him acclimated. He hated it. He was fed up with the constant look for shade in the morning and then the frantic scrambling to get some firewood in the evening so that Radu could bring it alight. The poor Ceree once tried breathing fire straight into the night but faltered after five minutes.

Maetesk, on the other hand, was the one that set the relentless pace, moving ever so slowly, ever so surely in the direction of the next world gate. It was the same direction that a strange tug took Cael.

During the night, as Radu and Cael slept, the monolithic monstrosity bore on, ever so slowly, ever so surely, that by morning, Radu had to fly, buffeted by increasingly harsh winds to find him. Once they had caught up, Maetesk would trudge on faster, without a single word.

Most of the days went by like that after the first few days, but eventually, their water skins began to dry. During the first three days, they had oases plenty to go to, but as they fanned out from the grove, the desert grew increasingly harsher, oases few and far in between.

In the panicked search for water, Cael forgot all about the tug in his being, barely following Maetesk, barely comprehending the conversation Radu tried to strike up. By the tenth day of the arduous journey, Cael was ready to give up. His throat was like parchment and his mouth tasted like sand. He already missed the taste of mud.

However, that was the day, rising upon a sand dune, they saw it. It was the biggest oasis they had seen so far, complete with a glittering spring and shady palms. Cael all but rolled down the dune in excitement. He plunged his face in the water, only remembering to drink only small amounts at a time, lest he become sick.

Only the rasp of Maetesk's armor alerted him to the same thought that Maetesk spoke. "We're here..."

the last few days had been hard on Radu, Harder still on Cael. he couldn't really complain, it was a desert after all. it was meant to be harsh and unforgiving. it was on the tenth day when everything had seemed to be coming to a climax. Radu and Cael nearly passing out from thirst and exhaustion... that was when they saw the Oasis.
Radu couldn't help but give a small leap for joy, sliding down the sandy dune to the oasis and the water that filled it. he plunged right in, his large body throwing a fair amount of water of Cael... who probably enjoyed that cool water. as Radu resurfaced, having taking a few gulps while he was down there, he blinked as Maetesk spoke...
"wow... perfect placement. the gate and we get a refresher." he chuckled a bit and crawled out of the water. he shook himself violently for a moment, throwing the water off. he was left with puffed up fur for a minute, which was a comical sight. Radu the legendary purple ceree... a purple fluffball.
"soo... how exactly do we tell where the gate is in the Oasis?"

"It is not a matter of where it is..." began Maetesk, a slow grating sound penetrating his words as he turned to survey his surroundings. he sat on his haunches, about to continue the sentence, when Cael piped up.

"Rather, where we will place it." Cael seemed stunned that it had come out of his mouth and he quickly clasped his hands over it. Maetesk had stopped moving completely and was staring only at Cael, some sort of artificial sympathy painted on his face by the reflection cast by the water.

"Indeed... The focal point of the well is the spring.." With a single, robotic motion, Maetesk drew a massive pillar of rock from the bottom of the spring. The water seemed to drain for a moment, but it quickly began to fill again. He then motioned to Cael, as though indicating that he should continue the ritual.

Cael waded through the waist-deep water and pressed the tip of the blade to the rock. The reaction was instantaneous, the rock around the blade turned white-hot and began to billow black smoke.

Radu raised an eyebrow at the events that followed. It seemed the hardest part of this whole deal was getting from placed to place. They didn't have trouble locating these places with maetesk along. After all that it just came down to picking a spot, then maetesk and Cael did their thing... Boom boom, they where done.

Radu guessed he had been forced along to protect Cael, so he doesnt overuse his sword. Radu walked away from them both an to the edge of the oasis. He was determined to be more useful than that. If he was in his dragon form he could carry them both and minimize travel time. That meant getting his wife back to him sooner. He sighed as he focused a tried to calm upon magics he hadnt dealt with in months.
He growled as he began to change. His muscles swelled, his form grew. Fur turned to scales. Wings bacame attached to his being. He roared into the desert, an unrivaled call of power. He was now a true dragon, anda large one at that.
This done he laid down to relax while Cael and Maetesk completed their task...

The sword dragged itself in a circle, and then another, and then another, creating the three circles of Destiny's emblem. A large circle, intersected in the upper right by another, and the smallest circle, passing through both larger circles comprised it. The sword compelled Cael's hand to draw three wavy lines vertically across the circles.

When Cael finally took the sword off the stone, a second of smoke billowing from the molten rock seemed to slow into a minute. After that, a blast of energy knocked him on his back as the gate began to open. "We must leave."

The strangeness of the mutuality that Cael now experienced with Maetesk was immense. First of all, being similar with a being that was in NO way similar to you is very strange. Second, how can a being dependent of emotion be similar with one devoid of it? The conundrums were filed away into the 'solve later' area of Cael's consciousness, as his feet, part bidden, part out of panic, dragged him out of the gate's immediate vicinity.

One look at the dragon that was Radu drew a snappy response from Cael. "If you're thinking you can carry both me and Maetesk, you might be wrong. Besides, I doubt Maetesk would let you get anywhere near him."

Radu just grinned, showing off and impressive row of blade like fangs. he looked at the oasis and sighed "why can't things like that be simpler? it always has to burst of energy, nearly destroys the immediate area... can't just be a crack and a fizzle? anyways..." he stood slightly, throwing his great shadow over Cael.
he had a slight smug grin on his face as he gave a long slow stretch. taking time to fully stretch out his massive form, he finally returned to a sitting position"i know Maetesk doesn't want a ride. he seems fine to walk, well he would if he had emotions. anyways, i never said i was giving you a ride. i took this form so i can fly or walk across the desert much faster and with ease. " he turned around, seeing Maetesk had already started walking... that walking rock never stopped so it seemed. since the world gate here had been opened and Radu and Cael had gotten a drink... there really was no reason to stay here.
Radu began to walk after him, he found it was true. his new size and strength made it easier to walk across even the sands of the desert. he looks back at Cael "come on elf boy, we aint got all day, i want my wife back as soon as possible. hop on" Radu allowed his tail to drag through the sand behind him. this was so Cael could run up and hop on if he wanted to

Maetesk was walking steadily in a south-easterly direction, his tail gouging a deep furrow in the sand. About a hundred yards from the edge of the oasis, Maetesk vanished in a cloud of black smoke. Cael sighed, he knew that Maetesk had jumped ahead of them, probably to prepare the place. He had the feeling in his gut that the next gates would be more difficult to open.

"Radu, we can't go on to the next gate yet... We're short on supplies" Cael said matter-of-factly. It was true, though. Cael didn't have any weapons to speak of save the sword made from the dagger and lattice. He doubted that the sword could be used for actual combat though, if it was not performing the ritual, it was nothing but a dead weight, devoid of even its luster. He needed weapons for the danger that might come.

"I suggest we go back to camp and stock up. Somehow, I doubt we'll be getting back soon once we leave."

OOC:

Radu snorted... but agreed. it would be alot better if they backtracked, grabbed food and water... then found where maetesk went off to. the dragon snorted, slamming his tail in the sand once, annoyed at the need to backtrack. walking across the desert took them 10 days. granted in this form it would take less time... 3-4 days of near constant flight should do...

Radu turned around and walked back to cael. he grinned down at the elf... then used his teeth to grab the now protesting elf. he lifted Cael with ease and plopped him down on his back. "i'd suggest you hold on nice and tight" Radu then ran forward and leaped into the air. his wide wings opened like sails on a great ship, casting shadows on the dessert below...
it was going to be a long flight

Once on Radu's back, sailing through the air with relative ease, Cael became more painfully aware of the sand particles in the wind. High up, they were making their way into his breeches and getting stuck in extremely uncomfortable areas. Fight as he might, he was unable to stop fidgeting around on his seat on Radu's back. The powerful beat of the large purple Ceree's wings did little to alleviate Cael's discomfort.

Another thing bothered Cael. It was something that could not be ignored lest they die in the middle of the desert. "Radu, I have less than a half day's worth of water in this skin," said Cael, holding up a slightly disheveled leather skin to Radu's face. It almost looked like it was gonna evaporate if kept in the sun longer. "We'll have to land at an oasis soon. It might not be a problem to you. But do remember that I can hold less water in my body than you," explained Cael. Deep inside, though, he felt as though something was going to happen that would make them grateful that they landed.

Radu sighed, he didn't want to stop... But he needed to stop as well. He hadn't drank enough water for the entire trip and he was going to need to sleep for the night. After all he couldn't fly all night. He nodded his great head, agreeing to the request to land. Radu looked down... Oasises where few and far between. And to find a large one was harder...

After another hour of flight he found a decent one with plenty of shade and enough water. He landed outside the oasis and left Cael off. He quickly ran to the water and took a few gulps. "ahh... Fill up your water skin. We can rest here for awhile" he laid down under a nearby tree, having returned to ceree form

"I doubt we'll be here for just a little while" said Cael. His eyes were gazing far off into the distance, his eyebrows creased with worry. "It's a good thing we landed just in time, that thing's bound to catch us in an hour" continued Cael, still staring dejectedly at the dark wall of roiling sand in the distance. "Sandstorm."

The elf fussed about the oasis, satiating his need on the spring water, as well as washing himself in it. He drove the sword point first into the sand by the spring and went about making camp. He gathered a few dried coconut fronds and stacked them for a fire, although that would have to be lit when the sandstorm passed. He climbed up a coconut tree and twisted free the green seeds, cracking one open when it hit a rock embedded in the sand. He took a few coconut fronds and tied the coconuts with it. He grabbed the halves, drank the juices and ate the meat off of one and placed the other just in front of Radu. He then proceeded to fill the skin with water.

After that, he just sat by the sword, gently caressing it, willing it to shield them from the storm. The sword did as it was asked, the sandstorm passed around them, but they were unaffected. Minutes rolled into hours, Cael sat there, pondering things that had happened, covered by the absolute darkness brought by the sandstorm. After what seemed an eternity, the sandstorm broke and all that could be seen in the sky was the brilliance of the stars. For once, Cael was thankful for the tough tufts of grass on the ground, they helped lull him to sleep, not even noticing that the campfire had been lit.

Supplies:

Radu sighed as he had just started to relax... A sandstorm? Seriously, the fates must hate him. That thing could go on for hours! Oh well, atleast they where protected from it. He had to admit he felt bad for letting Cael fuss about on his own to make the camp... But Radu was to tried from flying to stand at the moment. He wouldn't admit it, but he was just that tired. Besides Cael did a good enough job on his own.

Radu sighed, looking into his coconut. It wasn't his favorite food, but it had to do. He stuck his muzzle in, licking off the remains off the sweet milk from the inside. Once done he ate the 'meat' out of it. He swallowed it down quickly. He sighed... He might get another later...

Unlike Cael he couldn't get to sleep as fast. The storm of sand didn't help much. He was thinking about Liara. He hoped she was okay. After about a half-hour, exhaustion took him and he fell asleep to a troubled dream land

When he woke, Cael became painfully aware that whatever refuge the sandstorm had provided from the relentless heat of the sun was now gone. He opened his eyes to painful sunlight and blinking gave no relief. He trudged over to the spring and plunged his face into it, drinking some water for good measure. They had to make do with whatever water they could drink while they were at the oasis, god knows when they would find another one before they made it back to Yahmyn territory.

The sand in certain parts of his body that he would rather not mention was getting so uncomfortable, he divested himself of his clothing and stood there in the sun, completely naked. He hung his clothes on a low-lying palm frond and gently prodded them with the stalk of a frond. That should take care of most of the sand. It was awkward doing it in front of Radu, but the purple Ceree was fast asleep.

He decided to clean himself as there was a still a lot of sand wedged in certain places. He slowly waded into the spring which, unfortunately for him, was crystal clear. It was chest deep and had a gradual slope to it. He splashed around for a moment, and sat down in the water near the shore of the small lake, in the shade of a palm tree. He was still submerged from the hip down, eventually he began to feel sleepy, the coolness of the shade and the water working together to relax him. They would have to start flying again, but only as the sun began to dip below the horizon. He wouldn't risk depleting their meager supplies by flying in broad daylight.

With that, he dozed off, still submerged in the pool.

a minute later Radu stirred, rolling on his back and kicking at the air slightly. well actually it didn't seem to be kicking. more like angry clawing, trying to rid himself of some unseen force. then he gave a gasp and awoke suddenly. breathing deeply he laid there on his back... then he noticed something. Cael's clothes, hanging from a low lying palm frond... he pointed a claw that way and counted the peices of clothing... yeah Cael was in the nude.

Radu flipped onto his stomach, shaking his fur free of most of the sand. he would need to bathe, he looked to the spring, then jerked his head away. so that where his nude elf had gone off to. Radu really just wanted to go back to sleep, but syruin seemed to be sleeeping in the water... often a bad idea. closing his eyes tight, radu made his way over to the water. once he was close enough, his paw found syruin's head... then he smacked the elf in the head to wake him up "come on, other people would like to bathe to... and put some clothes on. the annoyed ceree stated, now holding a paw over his own eyes

"Ahh!" was Cael's strangled cry. "Look away!!" He yelled at Radu. Knowing the Ceree, it wouldn't miss the chance to peek just to get Cael all riled up. His face was beet red and he nearly tripped in the sand. He allowed himself to dry off for a moment in the sun and then got into his clothes.

They were loose and smelled of sweat. It wasn't the best thing he had worn, but it would have to do. He sighed and sat down by a palm tree, the shade was a little bit welcome, but it did little to alleviate the harshness of the sun's rays. A soft breeze blew across the dunes but it did little to comfort his battered self, the most it did was get sand in his eyes.

He sighed, they would have to sleep by day and travel by night. The heat of the sun would do them no good if they were flying up high, without any cloud cover.

Radu laughed at Cael's surprise, but contrary to the elf's thoughts Radu had no intention of peaking. That was something he never wanted to see. The nightmares where not worth a quick joke. Radu sighed, keeping his paw over his eyes. He waited until he was completely sure Cael was dressed.

He gave a breath of releif as the elf was clothed and Radu could look again. The purple Ceree wasted no time in getting in the cool water. He enjoyed the crystal clean clean water running over his fur. Sinking down nice and deep he relaxed. In a way he looked comical, like a crocodile... After all only his ears , eyes and nose stayyed above the water. He spent some time in the water, just relaxing

He now floated on his back staring at the sky... "so now we travel by night huh? Fair enough... Hey toss Me one of those coconuts!" he asked

Cael carefully undid the knot holding the stocked coconuts together, subtracting at least a quarter day's supply of coconuts and throwing them to Radu. He could have climbed up and collected them himself, but he was not in the mood to do so. Though the Ceree asked for just one, he knew it wouldn't be enough to satisfy him, besides, there was an abundance of coconuts in the oasis, and the need wasn't that dire. They could collect more just before they left.

"I wonder what would happen to us after all this..." he said, not really wanting Radu to hear it, but knowing the Ceree, he was pretty sure he heard it. He didn't wait for a reply. He leaned back in the shade of his palm. The bark was rough against his back, but being an elf, sleeping against a tree was pretty much his thing. He dozed off, praying that soon, the relentless heat of the desert would just... give up.

Radu caught the first coconut... but was hit by the next few. he yelped, stumbling back into the water. he rose his head out and looked around and the coconuts he was 'swimming' with "when i say one... i mean one, i'm not that hungry you moron" he grumbled. he then set about putting the coconuts back into the bad, save one. he walked over to Cael, shaking out his fur. he laiod down and cracked open the coconut...

as he was easting on the sweet flesh of the coconut, his ear flicked as he heard Cael's comment. he pulled his face out and paused, licking his lips... he looked down at the sleeping elf "he... i dunno about you... but if i live... i'm quitting the hero biz. i nice little farm, with a house far away from the city. perfect place to start a family. with just me, liara, and the little one" he smiled at the thought.... but some part of it seemed to good to be true. he sighed, then went back to his coconut

"You're never going to get back to your so-called 'normal' life. You've been far too entangled in this mess of things that you're never going to get back out" said Cael matter-of-factly. Even he himself knew that. There was no going back to calm things. Wherever they were, whatever was happening elsewhere in the world would find them and call them back to where things were happening.

"The days of being a normal being are over Radu. Sylfe needs us now and that's a calling we cannot turn our backs on" said Cael sadly.