The Achernar, it was the greatest structure in known history.
Having survived the ancient civilizations and greatest disasters it was still standing proudly in the oldest desert in the world.
For the people of Idaris and Navarre, it was a waymarker of antediluvian times. To guide them through the harsh elements and show them where the centre of the world was.
A true sign of safety for every wary traveller.
“Run for your lives!”
Though it didn’t help with the magical beasts that frequently roamed in its vast proximity.
“Jump over the ditch, the sun is almost up!” yelled Kiur and tackled Cylia out of the way before she got mauled by one of the beasts. They quickly stood up again and ran.
When they jumped to the other side of the depression where an old river was once passing through they thought they lost Xander until he conjured a whip out of water.
He did not know how to use one but it served the point when he wielded it once and unleashed a sound like a thunderbolt before it snapped off in half. Thankfully the magical beasts backed off from the sound—and not from his poor display.
“What in Hel’s name are those?” exclaimed Cylia, aiming with her short crossbow at the one beast that targeted her repeatedly—although her crossbow was not loaded and she had missed her last shot.
“Uridimmu,” answered Kiur although he received nothing but confused looks. “Mad Dogs, also called Hell Hounds.”
What stood on the other side of the depression was a pack of half a dozen large greyhound dogs. Their black-furred bodies glinted in the starlit night sky and their furry long red tails snapped in the wind.
They barred their sharp fangs at Kiur and his friends with golden manes rustling in the winds underneath their long snouts. They had to avoid looking into their eyes—imagine staring into a sea of burning madness that could maul you—that’s what they saw.
“Hell Hounds…. seriously!?” Xander cried and whipped at one of the mad dogs that tried to jump over. Thankfully the night was cold enough to let his weapon hold together despite how tired Xander grew. “I am fed up with this place and want a bath!”
“It can’t get any worse, can it?” Cylia asked nervously.
“Well, at least they are not led by their pack leader, the Ugallu. Daybreak demons are a moody bunch and–”
“Stop explaining it, I don’t want to know!”
Just as when Xander stopped yelling the first rays of the sun rose from behind their backs. The Achernar absorbed the rays and quickly illuminated their surroundings in a layer of purplish light even when the stars were still high up in the sky.
Basked in the Acherna’s light the Uridimmu Mad Dogs lost their corporal forms and turned see-through until they disappeared into the shadows.
The group breathed out a heavy sigh of relief as the danger finally passed them.
“The Uridimmu dislike sunlight and hunt at night. The closer we get to the Achernar the safer we are.” Kiur pointed to the depression and then followed with his finger along the lines towards the Achernar in the far distance. “We need to follow the dried river trail. Somewhere we will find an outlet with fresh water.”
They smacked their parched lips at the sound of some water.
Working as the official guide of the group Kiur gave them directions for every single detail or decision about which routes they should take or what to watch out for.
Mostly though on how to avoid the unnaturally increasing amount of magical beasts.
The closer they got to the Achernar the more dangers they were exposed to unless they followed the dried rivers or Kiur’s advice.
This had been going on for days ever since they reached the outer rim of the Achernar that marked their journey to be half done—though it was still very far away.
“Keep your arms relaxed and shoulders low. Don’t be stiff.” Kiur guided Cylia as she steadied her short crossbow and had one knee on the coarse ground. She was aiming at one of the more docile animals of the desert—which wouldn’t kill them—most likely. “Aim for the body, not the head and breathe out right before you shoot.”
Cylia did as she was instructed. She never went hunting in her life nor did Kiur but the way he instructed her was more than professional. So much so that she started to trust his words blindly the more time they spent together.
Pulling the trigger with her ash-covered finger the stone bolt of the crossbow was let loose and pierced the body of the Horned Cottontail Rabbit.
“I did it!” Cylia exclaimed and the rest of the rabbits bolted away but Cylia had shot her first game and secured them some fresh food after almost a week of fasting. “Awesome, just, wow! Where did you learn all that?”
Kiur suppressed an uneasy smile and held back on telling her how he was once in the archery club in his past life—as a girl no less. “Go get the rabbit before a wild animal takes it away–”
This was enough to send Cylia running and for Kiur to sit down to calm his nerves, he was exhausted.
“If you’re that good at hunting why aren’t you taking that bow of hers? Can’t think it’s in good hands with her,” Xander wondered and crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back against the soft sandy wall.
“I don’t have the muscles for it anymore,” explained Kiur and craned his exhausted head. “I didn’t spend much time working out in this body than I did in my previous life. Besides,” Kiur brushed off some of the dust from the stone polearm he carried with him. “I think I will stick with this, for now, it helps to walk as well.”
Xander raised an eyebrow at Kiur.
They had spent more and more time getting to know each other but it was not enough to fully understand one another. Especially when Cylia was around.
Xander gathered that Kiur must have spent a lot of time exercising in his past time and was good at school by how smart he was but there was still something awkward that Xander couldn’t explain about Kiur.
Some kind of melancholic air surrounded Kiur. Especially the way he looked. As if remembering anything about his past brought him emotional pain.
“Whatever, as long as I don’t have to fight on the front. I don’t like dogs,” Xander winced and rubbed his leg, noticing that his pants were torn around the ankle. One of the Uridimmu had caught him by surprise when they were ambushed. “Please tell me they don’t spread any diseases when they bite you.”
“Well–”
Xander immediately stopped Kiur. “You know what, I don’t need to know. Let’s just try not to get bitten.”
—❂—
Upon Cylia’s return and a meagre breakfast of rabbit meat, the group continued on their way eastwards.
Thankfully much more peaceful with no further attacks or struggles—just the way they preferred it.
The winds brushed over their skin and the gentle rush of water was like soft music. Their path opened up at a wide but shallow depression with bushels of grass, sizeable ponds with rabbits nearby and ruins to the sides and stuck in the tall walls of sand.
“This looks promising,” commented Xander and rushed alongside Cylia to the pond, scaring the animals to the other side. “Finally some fresh water, I feel drained.”
“Isn’t your magic all about water? Why are you acting so strange about it?” wondered Cylia and splashed her face, feeling wide awake before scrubbing her hands again.
“We are in a desert. I can make my own water but it drains me more than it helps me. Imagine being a fire mage in the middle of a blizzard. The moment you find another heat source you are head over heels.”
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“Huh, makes sense, I guess.” Cylia yawned at Xander’s explanation and lay down on the grass, stretching herself for her long desired break. “Kiur, what are you doing over there?”
She noticed how Kiur was too engrossed in the ruins to pay them any attention.
“Find anything special, our most esteemed tour guide? What’s next on the agenda of our world tour, rocks?” Xander laughed and got a fistful of sand thrown at his face by Cylia. “PAH, what was that for!”
Cylia sneered at him and then went back to bickering.
“These ruins must have stood on solid ground before,” commented Kiur and touched the aged grey stone of a former house facade. “This must be a sinkhole.”
“A what?” Xander and Cylia immediately shot up from their spot and tiptoed away from the pond. “T-this won’t collapse anytime soon, will it?”
“Not sure,” replied Kiur and noticed how close Xander and Cylia crept up to him. “The animals don’t seem agitated or anxious about it. Should be fine but I would be careful. Considering the houses and the dried-up river it seems to have held a considerable amount of water back in the day.
“There could be underwater passageways where they trickled away. We should be fine… unless it starts raining.”
Kiur joked with a mischievous smile to try and ease the tension though his friends did not seem convinced—rather they started to panic and wonder when the next rainy season will be.
Right in the middle of the desert, it was very plausible, right?
Shaking his head Kiur made his way to the pond himself and sat down. He cupped his hands in the water and splashed his face. The image in the pond reflected someone with deeply tanned skin, golden hair and red eyes like gemstones.
Kiur knew this face, why wouldn’t he? After all, it was his own. The one he was born with but it was also that of a stranger.
Then the image changed and showed the image of a deeply wistful woman. That one he knew, it was his past self and he couldn’t help but feel awful.
The way her eyes looked was too much for him to bear. For over three years he had to look at his new face but couldn’t help himself but feel dejected about it.
“I am not a man, I’m a woman. Yet, I am also him.” Kiur’s fists shook and his head throbbed. “No, this is not the time to figure this out. I have endured it for three years, I can postpone it some more.”
“The longer you postpone things from happening, the worse the outcome will be.”
Kiur heard a voice coming from the pond, changing to a third person. At first, he couldn’t put his finger on it who it was but then it clicked in his head.
“Gilgamesh, the hero-king,” Kiur somehow recognised him but didn’t know from where or why. The sad image of that man was nothing like the myths or stories Kiur absorbed in his past time as Lotte. “What do you want from me?”
“And why am I not surprised?” was Kiur’s immediate thought as if he expected to see that man somehow.
“You are neglecting your mental state. Don’t forget that it also affects your physical self. The mind is like a fortress. The slightest crack can break the mightiest warrior.” Gilgamesh’s eyes looked down—or as far down as Kiur could see from the image. “As your judge, I will advise you. Be careful how well you protect your fortress and how much you neglect your inner being–”
Kiur’s face contorted in anger and threw a fist at the image. Why was he so angry all of a sudden? Why did his memories fail him to recall that man and who was he to talk to Kiur like that?
His heart skipped a beat and Kiur immediately felt like a blazing iron rod was pressed against his chest. He grabbed the hem of his shawl and tried to steady his breathing.
“It’s so hot, why am I burning all of a sudden?”
“Kiur, are you alright?” Cylia called from behind and tried to peer over his shoulder. “Did something happen? Your face is red.”
“N-no, I’m fine. Just overheating a bit.” Kiur averted his gaze and splashed his face with some water. It immediately evaporated from his face and he was left breathless.
The image of Gilgamesh vanished but his voice still lingered behind.
“The moment you break, you will not be able to stand back up again. Be steadfast on your path east but don’t be blind. Look inwards. Anger and repression are not the answers you want.”
“You don’t look so well. Maybe you should ask Xander to check your temperature?” asked Cylia, feeling sick herself on mentioning Xander for help. “Or I can do that… if you want me to.”
Cylia fidgeted and tugged on the dirty hem of her clothes and jacket, feeling more conscious than ever about her wild and messy appearance. With her dust and sand-covered hands, she tried to straighten her hair but it couldn’t help the crow’s nest of her hair.
She never had the chance to take proper care of her appearance and it showed but in the past few weeks ever since their escape, she tried her best to not appear like a vagabond.
Even if it didn’t always work—like with her hands.
Kiur couldn’t help but give her a sad smile. “You shouldn’t overthink how you look Cylia, it’s alright, we all have seen better days.”
Removing the hairpins in her bun Kiur released her hair and combed through them with his clean fingers carefully.
“I-I know but–” Cylia flubbed in her words and drummed nervously with her hands against her new and favourite bracers. “I feel like changing. We are so close to reaching the centre. It feels like something new is coming.”
“No, it is not,” Kiur furrowed his eyebrows. He feared what was coming. To him, it wasn’t new but old. “The more I start to remember, the more I fear to know what I have forgotten.”
Cylia’s hair suddenly turned brown and when she turned around she had glasses on the bridge of her nose. Just like Liara did.
“Are you sure you are ok?” Cylia’s voice changed as well and Kiur’s breathing became unsteady. His eyes glowed and his heart burned.
“It’s not her. It’s not her. Just look!”
Cylia’s face returned to normal. Everything did and Kiur gave her his practised acting smile as he finished fixing her hair and patted her shoulders.
“Done, what did you want to say?”
“Ahh…” Cylia looked down and went with one hand over her hair. The sun coloured her face red but it quickly disappeared between the specks of dust. “It’s nothing, you seem to be fine.
“I am,” Kiur lied and peered his eyes away from Cylia to find Xander, snoring away in the ruins. “We are close to the Achernar. Do you want the honour to wake him up?”
Cylia gave Kiur an evil glint. “With pleasure.”
—❂—
Cylia had flipped Xander over to the bed of sand and they continued their walk eastwards.
The Achernar drew closer and closer, looming over them ominously like a guardian or a reminder they will die if they still see it when the Solstice arrived.
They were walking for a month now to reach the Achernar. Time was running short on them.
They still had daylight to kill because the Achernar was reflecting the rays of the setting sun. How it did so no one knew but it helped them cross the desert in relative peace.
It was a bit too quiet, though.
“I will regret asking this but why are we diverting from our path?” asked Xander and stared back at the Achernar that was leaving their view. “Not that I am doubting your navigation skills but this doesn’t seem correct.”
“Lay off,” Cylia hissed. “He knows what he does, right?”
Kiur didn’t say anything even though he should have elaborated on their change of direction. Their path was clear and they found another trail to follow—yet Kiur decided to divert from the dried-up river and go south.
He made a step and the sand underneath his feet sent out a jolt through his spine.
There was something hidden in the sand that felt familiar. Somewhere not far from here. Then a cacophony of metal and yells entered their ears the further Kiur led them.
Against their better judgement, they followed those sounds and climbed a dune. Looming over the fields below the trio kept their heads hidden.
The clashing of metal against metal and the sound of arrows hissing through the air accompanied the cries and yelling of battle.
They saw blood getting spilt into the sand and pincers shredding shields to pieces. Volleys of arrows were released and sand riled up from the rapid movement of bandaged and hodden individuals.
“Aqrabuamelu,” Kiur held a hand over his mouth. “They are fighting Reiszer.”
A dozen Reiszer were driven into a site of ruins and held up their shields in a desperate move to protect themselves while regaining their strength. The Scorpion People drove them into a corner and encircled them, running as fast as they could on their lower scorpion bodies to disorientate the Reiszer.
“What are they still doing here?” Xander peered closer in wonder. “Shouldn’t they have long since retreated?”
“Must be a lost group”, concluded Cylia, her face darkening at the sight of the Reiszer. “Back at camp, I heard rumours of other raids. It looks like they were ambushed by those monsters and unable to retreat.”
Ambushed and lost in the desert.
They felt sympathetic for the Reiszer over their predicament since they were also lost in the desert. However, in their opinion, the Reiszer deserved as much after what they put them through.
“Hold linjen! Tving dem tilbake!” Even from up here, they could hear a woman shouting among the Reiszer and bashing her shield against a scorpion–man to drive the rest back. “Dø, skjold opp, volley!”
Following the command of the woman, the Reiszer held up their shields on the upcoming rain of arrows and went back to pushing back another charging group of scorpion people.
“I have trouble understanding what she is saying, what about you?” Xander turned to Kiur who was pondering about it as well.
“That’s a northern dialect,” answered Cylia. “She is telling them to hold the line and–” Cylia paused and heard more shouting from the woman. “And calling them something–something.”
“We better walk around it, any objections?”
Kiur and Cylia agreed to Xander’s suggestion and crouched away but just then something behind their backs exploded and they tumbled down the dune.
They unearthed themselves and saw a dune bloating up into a mountain with steam rising into the sky, covering it.
The Achernar couldn’t reflect the light of the sun anymore and the light sky turned to night. The monster’s six eyes stared down at the trio and its jaw parted, releasing a gust of cold steam while pushing itself up with its massive arms.
Kiur and his friends had only one thought at that moment, run.