The School of the Desert Moon is quite barren, at least when compared to the lush nature of Arikar. Much of the ground, particularly at the higher altitudes further into the School’s territory, is stony and they rely on soil imported from other powers to grow much of their food.

Excerpt from the introduction to ‘Power Geography – Salor Takana’

Sammath grinned to himself as he finished calling out after Erin. Sammath had made sure to keep yelling out even after she’d disappeared into the distance, knowing that her hearing was far better than his. Teasing her was quite fun, especially now that he knew she was actually human and not some sort of extremely skilled, magically powerful golem-creature. Plus, having seen her actually laugh, Sammath now had a new short-term goal; he would make her laugh. Eventually, at least. Perhaps it was more of a long-term goal, after all.

Either way, Sammath flopped back down onto the bed in the medical ward and closed his eyes, resolving to just take a quick nap. Sammath was still feeling nauseous and had a mild headache, so the rest would do him good; especially if, as he was determined to do, he was going to begin trying to figure out his new powers later in the day.

Staring into darkness and resting his head on the supremely comfortable pillows on the bed, Sammath let his mind still and fell asleep. Nightmares plagued Sammath’s somnolence, indistinct figures flashing with dark lightning and both Ashe and Sammath dying in front of him over and over, Sammath too helpless; too weak; to save them. Others died as well, after Sammath’s friends; murdered by flashing darkness and people too strong for Sammath to even touch.

“No!” Sammath jolted awake, sweat dripping off his forehead as he yelled out. Sitting up, his clothes drenched in cold sweat, Sammath looked around the room. Outside of the window, the sun was setting and long, orange rays were cast through the window of the medical bay. Where Sammath had been sleeping, a large patch of sweat had soaked into the sheets and he grimaced slightly; he didn’t want to make more work for the cleaning staff because it already felt unnatural enough that people were cleaning up after him. One of the servants, however, had told him that he shouldn’t clean up after himself. If he did that, then he’d be doing the servants’ jobs for them. If he did their jobs, then if they had nothing to do, they’d lose their jobs and Sammath didn’t want to be the cause of people losing their livelihoods and their ability to provide for themselves and their families.

Sammath’s heart was racing, each beat pounding itself into his head and he gripped the edge of the bed, his hands shaking. A face peeked into the room; a nurse, lines scrunched into her forehead and her mouth parted slightly, “Are you alright?”

Sammath looked at her and gave her a tight-lipped smile, “Yeah. Don’t worry. It was just a bad dream.” The nurse frowned but didn’t say anything, just shaking her head and turning away to close the door, “Wait!” Sammath called out and the nurse paused, looking back into the room expectantly. Sammath lifted his arm from the bed, his damp sleeve sticking to itself as he did so, “I need to take a bath. Do you think that you can point me somewhere I can clean up?”

The nurse nodded, “I’ll have one of the servants come fetch you and lead you to the baths. If you need anything else, just let them know.” Sammath nodded his acknowledgement and the nurse closed the door lightly. Sammath closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, expelling the air in a long, shaky exhale to try and calm his heart. Repeating the breathing slowly calmed Sammath’s racing heart and he eventually opened his eyes, looking down at the palms of his hands.

Sammath clenched his hands tightly, turning them into fists and trying to stop them from shaking. Behind Sammath, the door opened and he quickly, and hopefully subtly, placed his hands on the bed as the servant came in, “I was told you needed help finding a place to bathe.”

Sammath turned around, taking in the servant as he did so. Neat, brown hair topped a youthful face and bright, innocent, brown eyes, making the servant seem a little bit younger than he probably was. The servant was built like a standard Arikaran; quite lean and in good shape but not heavily muscled. “Yes, I do.” Sammath lifted his sleeve, dark with sweat, “I got a little bit hot while sleeping.”

With a small smile, the servant nodded, “Please, follow me to some baths.” Sammath stood up from the bed and followed the servant through the door and down a number of halls that he immediately forgot. Eventually, though, the servant stopped outside a large doorway, bereft of an actual door, that was an exact mirror of the door on the other side of the hallway. “This is the male bathhouse. Please be courteous to anyone else using the baths, even if most other guests tend to use the newer plumbing systems in their rooms.” Sammath nodded, “Do not attempt to access the female bathhouse. There are guards in front of the bathhouse in the back of the changing rooms that will stop you and you will be severely punished. The same rules apply to females attempting to access the male bathhouse.”

Sammath shrugged, “I have no interest in the female bathhouse so it won’t be an issue.”

Despite his wide, innocent eyes, the servant somehow managed to give Sammath an extremely flat look, at which Sammath could only shrug again. It didn’t really matter if the servant believed him, only that it was true.

“There is fresh clothing inside the changing room. Please place your dirty clothing in the provided basket and it will be cleaned and returned to you.”

Sammath scratched the back of his head, scuffing his feet on the ground, “I can clean my own clothes. You really don’t need to do it for me.”

Looking Sammath in the eyes, the servant spoke once more, “I believe you have already been told not to do so. It is our job as the servants of the royal family to take care of such tasks and, if you clean your own clothes, you leave someone without a job. Please leave such tasks to us.”

Sammath sighed, “Alright. I’ll put my clothes in the basket.”

“Thank you. Now, if there will be nothing else, I have other tasks to attend to.” The servant bowed and, before Sammath could protest, straightened up and strode off. Sammath sighed and entered the doorway. Around a bend, a relatively small room with a number of small, wooden lockers lining the wall to the left. A large, empty wicker basket sat in the corner of the room and Sammath figured that he was meant to put his clothes in there. A series of robes hung on pegs along the wall to Sammath’s right and the wall at the close end of the room, behind Sammath as he entered, had a number of soft, folded towels that were clearly for bathers. Finally, on the far end of the room, flanking the door to the baths, was a pair of guards who sat on chairs.

Weapons sat across their laps as they rested easily, eyeing Sammath as he walked in. When they saw that he, like them, was male, their shoulders lost a slight bit of tension and they smiled gently at Sammath. Nodding in greeting, Sammath grabbed both a robe and a towel, placing them on the ground by his feet, and began working off his top clothing. Sweaty and sticky, it took a little bit of tugging to pull it off but, once Sammath had his shirt off, he chucked it easily in the basket. Glancing back at the guards, who’d already tactfully looked away, and facing into the wall, Sammath whipped his pants off and donned the robe really quickly; not wanting to dirty the robe with the pants but not wanting to spend a lot of time exposed in the changing room.

Pants off and in the basket, Sammath grabbed his towel and slung it over his shoulder before entering the baths. A short hallway led to the right from the guarded doorway, ending with a door on the left side. Sammath pushed open the doors, large, simple, and made from lightly-textured, grey stone, and was immediately greeted by a wave of hot, humid air and a burst of steam. Grinning slightly and blinking, Sammath hurried into the room and closed the doors behind him. Turning around, Sammath found himself in what could only be described as a beautiful grotto. Small streams trickled out of the walls, some pouring steam into the room, and others seeming to be colder.

A small slope had the water streaming down the room into tiered pools, swirling in lazy currents, and trickling over the edges of the pools before running down into more and, finally, flowing out of the room. Lush foliage lined the walls and surrounded the pools, giving bathers some privacy and producing a natural barrier for sound, and a number of gravel paths meandered around between the flora. Above Sammath, the roof seemed to look directly into the sky, stars twinkling brightly above and the moon shining down on him, but he assumed that was an enchantment as steam seemed to pool on vaulted arches before making its way out of the room through hidden, well-placed vents.

Some of the plants in the room glowed, providing a soft light that illumined the room just enough for Sammath to navigate around. Sammath couldn’t help but smile slightly at the sight of the room as his eyes widened to take it all in.

Glancing around, Sammath saw no other bathers so he just whipped his robe off and made his way to the nearest pool, dipping his toes in to test the water. “Oooh,” Sammath pulled his toe back, the water feeling simultaneously hot and yet searingly cold. Placing his robe and towel on the side of the pool, on the remarkably clean, slightly slick from steam, stone floor. Using his hands for support, Sammath slid his feet into the pool and waited for them to acclimate to the temperature before sliding the rest of his legs in. Sammath’s feet found purchase on a well-shaped ledge underneath the water, which he guessed was a seat for bathers, and he stood out of the water as he waited for his legs to adjust. Finally, he achieved the largest step by sliding his entire torso into the water, nearly gasping as the water touched particularly sensitive areas.

Sammath sat down on the ledge, letting his feet drift out into the slightly swirling water, and pulled his towel closer to the edge of the pool so that he could rest his head on it. While he wasn’t exactly bathing properly, and with soap, he couldn’t resist just relaxing so proper washing would come later.

Sammath’s skin slowly wrinkled, as though he was being turned into a dried fruit, and it was only after nearly half an hour that Sammath opened his eyes and exit the peaceful, empty state he’d drifted into, that Sammath looked around the room for some soap and a proper tool to scrub himself.

Near the entrance, Sammath spied a small, unobtrusive drawer that he’d missed on his initial scan of the room. Sighing, Sammath pushed himself out of the nice, hot water and shivered as his shrivelled, red, bare skin touched the air. Steam wafted around behind Sammath as he pushed through it, making for the drawers, and after what seemed like frigid eternity, he finally reached the small storage. Pulling open a draw, Sammath found some neatly stacked soap, piled next to some light, porous, rough stone that he presumed was for scrubbing at his skin. Sammath made to grab both things, when he heard someone’s footsteps. Reacting immediately and instinctively, Sammath stepped behind the drawers, grabbing a stone in one hand and a bar of soap in the other, and activated his Motion Sight. Sammath was washed in nausea as the world separated into near identical layers as future possibilities floated over each other, constantly moving in contradictory directions and fading away as potential futures coalesced into the present even as new possibilities spawned in.

Sammath was forced to immediately drop his Motion Sight, unless he wanted to disable himself before he could even defend against a potential threat, and so it was with bated breath, arms raised with his makeshift blunt-force weapons of soap and a light stone, and his most sensitive, vulnerable body parts hidden behind a set of drawers that Sammath greeted Prince Kaiden Bloodletter.

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Kaiden entered the room, glancing around himself and immediately doing a double-take as he saw Sammath, naked and slightly crouched behind the drawers, looking for all the world remarkably reminiscent of a bald, tan gremlin. Kaiden blinked owlishly and rubbed at his eyes, going to say something but all his mouth did was move around mechanically, as though he was chewing at the steam in the baths.

Finally, Kaiden seemed to find his words, “Uhhh. I can leave if, uhhh… if you need.”

Straightening up, feeling heat flood across his cheeks, and lowering his arms, Sammath shook his head and cleared his throat, “No. No. This is your house. I’m not going to ask you to leave your own shared bathing house.” Sammath glanced to the left, looking at the pool he’d left, and the prince’s gaze followed him, “That being said… do you think you could turn around for a few seconds?”

The prince responded by turning around and covering his eyes, allowing Sammath to make a shameful, headlong dash for the pool, the slapping of his feet echoing through the room. With a yelp, Sammath practically dove into the pool and hoped he didn’t hit his head on the floor beneath the water.

Surfacing with a splutter and shaking the water off his bald head, he saw the prince turn around and begin heading over. Sammath moved over to the seat, finding where he’d been sitting and leaning against his towel, and resuming his place. When the prince came over to Sammath, though, the Volkarian was surprised. Looming above Sammath in his robe and forcing Sammath to turn around to look at him, Kaiden gestured next to Sammath on the bench, “Mind if I join you?”

“Go for it.” With Sammath’s permission, the prince began slipping off his robe and Sammath turned back around. While the prince’s spiky black hair, crimson red eyes, pale skin, strong nose, blindingly white smile, flawless skin, strong cheekbones, and well-defined jaw mixed well with the small glimpse that Sammath got of a well-muscled, but not overly bulky physique to make him extremely attractive, if a little different to what Sammath was used to, Sammath still didn’t feel like seeing the prince naked.

Kaiden slipped into the water next to Sammath easily, giving no indication of the water’s temperature, and let out a small sigh. A mildly awkward silence descended over the pair for a few minutes before Sammath felt like it was growing unbearable, “So… what brings you here? I was told that pretty much no-one uses these baths anymore.”

Kaiden smiled slightly, “Whoever told you that was right. As far as I’m aware, I’m the only one that uses these baths, and it’s not like I use them every day either. I came here, though, to just relax. You were there when Erin sent me to go sleep and, after I woke up, when I tried to get back to work, my mum forced me to stop and told me to go relax. This just happens to be one of the most relaxing places I know.”

Sammath allowed his head to loll back so that he could stare at the ceiling, “Tell me about it. I don’t really understand money, still. I mean, why would you give something to someone with the promise of getting something later? A promise that is fulfilled by someone other than the person who got the item from you. Either directly trading something or just giving it to someone is a far better option, in my opinion. But… If money could get me something like this bathhouse, then I wouldn’t object to having it. I would definitely share it, though.”

Kaiden nodded, “I’d expect no less from a Volkarian. Sharing is what your entire culture is based on, after all.”

“Well thank you, Mr fancy-title for telling me about my own people and culture that I grew up around.” At that, Kaiden had the good grace to look a little embarrassed and he scratched his head as his cheeks flushed slightly.

“Sorry. I’m not used to speaking with people my own age. Adults tend to try and explain stuff to me, stuff that’s either obvious or something I already know from my schooling, and I guess I’ve picked up that habit.”

Sammath frowned lightly, a grin tugging at the edges of his mouth, “It’s alright… as long as you give me a bathhouse, I’ll forgive you.” Kaiden cracked a light smile back at Sammath and the Volkarian felt his stomach seem to drop out of his body and butterflies shift around. Sammath pushed his nails into his palm as his frown deepened. Playing it off as an expression of confusion, he spoke up again, “But you know you’re an adult now as well, right. At least I’m guessing you are. You’re remarkably well-developed for an early-teen, if that’s what you are.”

Kaiden groaned and leant forward, “Don’t remind me. Every time I remember that I’m legally considered an adult, I feel so old. I’m not even out of my teen years yet, either, so I can only imagine how I’ll feel in ten or twenty years time.”

“Probably younger and spryer than the rest of us.” Sammath gave the other boy an easy smile, which was returned with a nod.

“I’m going to be honest, I’ve never really considered that before. Nearly everyone that I interact with is Arikaran and, well, we live for hundreds of years. The others that I talk to, nobles and high ranking people from the other powers, never really bring it up. I don’t exactly… chat with them. It’s always just politics, posturing, or both.”

“Well, that’s just sad. Philosophical ponderings and depressing hypotheticals are some of the greatest joys in life.” Kaiden frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but Sammath drove on, “Especially when you fuck with someone by giving them either a philosophical pondering or depressing hypothetical.”

Both young men grinned at that, “Well, you’re right though. When I’m getting old and weary of the world, I’ll still have the body of a twenty or thirty year old and you’ll be a doddering, old, senile, fool. You’ve already got one of those things ticked off already.”

“Better to be a fool than senile.” Sammath winked at the prince, “Especially if that senile person leads people.”

Kaiden chuckled lightly and leant back with a smile, “You know, you have me there. And if you’re a fool, all you’ve got to do is mock me.

The pair leant back, settling into a comfortable silence, but Sammath had been enjoying the conversation and didn’t want it to end yet, “You’re wrong, you know.”

“Hmmm.” Kaiden tilted his head at Sammath.

“You have one person your own age that you speak to. You’ve got Erin. And, from what little I’ve seen, you two interact like a pretty normal set of teenagers. At least for fancy title people.”

“Maybe… but Erin is just…” Kaiden waved his hands around in the air, clearly trying to articulate something but it was ultimately futile. Sammath had no idea what he was trying to say. “Erin is just… well, she’s Erin.”

Sammath gasped, putting his hands to his cheeks and opening his mouth wide, “Erin is Erin? What? No?! I never even knew that.” Sammath looked down at the water, shaking his head, widening his eyes, leaving his mouth hanging open and bringing his hands up to his temples, “This is just… incomprehensible.”

Kaiden gave a light chuckle and shook his head, “Alright. I get it. But there isn’t really much to say. Erin and I grew up together. We’ve known each other since before we were even able to walk. I half believe that her father had a child only so that I would have a companion growing up. Talking with Erin is just easy. I don’t need to think about what to say. She just gets me, and everything just… flows. She’s basically a sister to me except less annoying.”

Kaiden reached for a drink that had been hidden in the crumpled pile of his robe and Sammath was suddenly aware of just how thirsty he was. The dryness in his throat, however, was not enough to stop him from causing a little chaos, “So you’re into your family, then? That’s disgusting!” Sammath grinned as the prince spat water from his mouth, spraying it into the pool, as his face turned red. Immediately, the prince started coughing and Sammath continued, “The fact that you’re into someone you just proclaimed as a sister is quite heinous. Though, considering what Erin said about Arikar’s tendence towards incest for ‘purity’,” Sammath quoted the word with his fingers, “I’m not entirely surprised.”

Sputtering and putting his drink back on the side of the pool, coughing into his arm. Sammath leant back, eyeing the prince as it seemed like he was dying. When, eventually, Kaiden gained control over his diaphragm again, and his cheeks burned from both embarrassment and the coughing fit he’d just had, “I’m not into Erin. She’s a really good friend but, like I said, she’s practically my sister.”

Sammath placed his arms behind his head, letting it touch the ground outside the pool as he looked up at the ceiling, “Could’ve fooled me. I mean, really, you listen to her when she tells you to get rest and not your mum. You rushed into her room and started fussing over her immediately, telling her to lie down and rest more when both of us know Erin is completely capable of diagnosing and prescribing herself a recovery routine. Plus, you get super embarrassed whenever I make any jokes about the two of you being together. I mean, can you get any more overt.”

Kaiden tried to respond but Sammath just barrelled onward, not letting him get a word in, “I get it, though. If she was my type, I’d totally be into her. I mean she’s strong, attractive, intelligent. She does have a few daddy issues, but let’s be honest here, which good dating prospect doesn’t have at least some daddy issues. About the only thing I think she doesn’t have is a sense of humour but that doesn’t seem like an issue with you. You definitely have a better chance than anyone else I’ve seen her around.”

“Really?” Kaiden questioned, and Sammath just grinned.

“You know, if you don’t want people knowing you’re into Erin, you probably shouldn’t be so eager when I suggest you have a better chance at a relationship with her than anyone else I’ve seen.” Kaiden coughed into his hand, “But… yes, really. I’ve never seen her do anything beyond smile very lightly. At anything. Then the first time I see her with you, she laughs. I didn’t even know she could do that. Plus, you’re a prince. Her dad isn’t going to object if you decide to court her and you follow Arikaran customs. I think courting is what you Arikaran fancy people call dating, at least.”

“I really don’t think that it’s that simple. First, I’d need my parents’ approval-”

“Which probably won’t be an issue, given it’s Erin.”

“I’d need her father’s permission-”

“Which I already told you he’d probably give.”

“And her mother’s.”

“Surely that can’t be worse than Erin’s father, right. That guy seems seriously hard to impress.”

Kaiden stopped to stare flatly at Sammath, “Her mother is an experienced assassin and is the sister to the head of the most prominent spy and assassin clan in Arikar. Erin’s father may be hard to impress, but he’s as straightforward and predictable as King Stages come. Erin’s mother, on the other hand, is far more nuanced and complex. I may not go to sleep and never wake up, because my mother would execute her for high treason, but if I piss her off or hurt her daughter, I may just wake up in extreme physical distress for the next few months and no one would be any the wiser.”

“Tricky but I don’t think it’s an issue. You’re a likeable enough chap and I think that last thing you want to do is hurt Erin so there shouldn’t be any trouble.”

“Now, I then have to actually make sure that Erin likes me. I don’t want her to just say yes because that’s what she thinks is what’s best for her family or because her father told her too. I don’t want her to be stuck in some loveless relationship or marriage for the rest of her life.”

“Now, I don’t know the woman but, to me, that sounds like some pretty powerful assassin mother approval gaining stuff right there.”

Kaiden grinned and shook his head ruefully, “It all just sounds too complicated. I don’t have enough time in the day to sort it out. It’s a nice dream, though.”

All of a sudden, Sammath’s face went flat, “So you’re saying that Erin’s not worth the effort?”

“What? I never-”

“You just did. So let me ask you, Kaiden.” Sammath leant in, looking into Kaiden’s blood-red eyes and making sure the other man met his gaze, “Is Erin worth the effort?”

“Well yes, but-”

“No buts, Kaiden. It’s a yes or a no question. Is. Erin. Worth. The effort.”

Kaiden sighed, “Yes.”

“Then what’s stopping you? Because if Erin’s worth the effort, it’s clearly not any of the bullshit you just gave me.”

All of a sudden, a scowl came across Kaiden’s face and he stood up, spraying water all over Sammath and making the Sammath jump back so the Volkarian wasn’t hit by Kaiden, “I’m afraid, alright?!” Kaiden yelled, “I’m afraid of losing what there is – the friendship we already have – and I’m not willing to compromise that and lose Erin’s friendship on the minute chance that she might reciprocate my feelings.”

Sammath sat back, a satisfied smile on his face as Kaiden panted above him, “And do you really think Erin would just drop your friendship because you liked her, and she didn’t feel the same about you?”

Kaiden deflated, “No. No I don’t.”

“Good.” Sammath stood up, his waist staying just below the surface of the steaming water so nothing could be seen, like Kaiden’s was at the moment, and patted the prince’s arms. “Then, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and scrub myself down. I didn’t get a chance before I was interrupted.”

Kaiden gave a rueful chuckle, remembering how he’d found Sammath when he entered the room, “Feel free. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

With that, Sammath moved off, deeper into the pool, carrying the soap and scrubbing stone. Water swirled around behind him as the prince faded into a dark blob in the steam and, when Sammath reached the far side of the pool, he began to scrub himself down properly. Only when Sammath’s skin was raw and he felt like he’d scraped at least two layers of skin from himself did he finish up washing and head back to the seat, which was no longer occupied by the prince, to grab his towel and robe and find somewhere in the castle to get some food and then proper sleep.