In the Desert
"Thousands? Probably millions. I stopped counting after a hundred.” ~the Letterman
”Wait here.”
Lynera didn’t expect Tristan to stop their travel so soon after entering the Desolate Lands. It had barely been an hour since they left the Vyndival Kingdom territory, and had begun their adventure in earnest.
They were afforded a sandglider, a mechanical boat powered by meiyal that was capable of moving quickly through the sands. The way it moved through the sands, with the wings it used to navigate, gave it the impression of gliding, thus the name.
This one was old, ancient even. Most of what they had, had been destroyed in the Battle of the Vanguard—a name that had reached even their borders—and the rest that they were able to salvage were on standby south of Vyndival Kingdom, in case the Nightmare Lands decided to move and consume their territory.
That left them with the old model. While it no longer performed as well as during its peak, hopefully it would still survive the journey. Lynera—and she assumed Tristan as well—could travel the desert without issue, but she worried for Dylan. At the very least, the vehicle traveled smoothly, up until the half-orc decided to stop.
Fortunately, they were given the enclosed model, which was equipped with a fortified glass to protect them from the harsh, sandy winds. It provided enough room for eight passengers, spacious enough for a company of three. Tristan dismounted the pilot’s seat to look around the area, so Lynera spent the time sharing a meal with Dylan in the meantime.
“Didn’t expect for Jena to agree with you leaving the Kingdom,” she started while biting on a rice roll. The egg inside was well cooked and seasoned, but that was about it in terms of content. It wasn’t as filling as fish or any other meat, but they were given plenty of seconds.
The young half-elf was in a daze. It was his first time in the desert and first time outside of the Kingdom by the looks of it. His eyes were glued on the dunes and steppes and the scarce flora and fauna that surrounded them. A kid lost in wonder was a treasure to behold.
“She said I shouldn’t let her worries be in the way of my duties.”
That immediately made Lynera feel responsible for the boy. Doubt quickly surrounded her, but she stayed calm, not allowing her hesitations to surface.
Combat wasn’t her forte. Void Mothers did not train primarily for fighting unlike the Void Lords and Ladies. She specialized in subduing the Nightmare influence, like a walking oasis amidst the constant chaos of the world. If a Nightmare were to appear before them right now, she could assure the others that they would not succumb to any of its mind games or illusions. But there was nothing she could do against the brute force that came with those monsters.
As a native of the Western Sanctum, her meiyal system did not adapt to Meiyal Arts or Meiyal Armaments. She only possessed her meiyal cores, one that of a human, and another that of a vork. Regardless of how academics deemed them to possess halved cores, Lynera firmly believed that felintines and canintines possessed two wholes instead. She would not believe otherwise.
Worst case, I’ll need to rely on the vork.
The thought wasn’t pleasant. She could barely recall from her recently restored memories when the last time she had unleashed her vork side was. She only knew she couldn’t rely on it properly. Too many instincts involved. It would be a gamble at best, and not one she would particularly see falling to her favor.
“Do you think they will help us?” Dylan asked, pulling Lynera out of her stupor. “The Iristans, I mean. I don’t know much about politics or war, but I know we started a fight with them, right? Why would they help those that tried to invade them?”
Smart kid.
Lynera wondered the same. She didn’t particularly have a clear answer on whether Irista Nation would provide help, but she could assure the kid of his unvoiced question.
“We’ll be alright, Dylan,” she began. “I’m still technically part of the Order of the Void. As long as they honor the treaties made by Evanclad, they won’t harm us. As for whether they’ll help us or not, that depends on how good I will be at my job.”
“I didn’t know you were…” Dylan’s voice trailed off. Lynera could read the guilt on his face.
“That important?” she finished for him, giggling a little. “You might be right. I didn’t finish my training after all. But since we haven’t heard from the Western or Southern Sanctum, we can safely assume the same thing is happening over there. If that’s the case, I can leverage my position.”
“But if you haven’t finished your training, wouldn’t that mean you don’t have the proper authority of a Void Mother?” Dylan tilted his head as he wondered. “My aunt said they were the most respectable people in the entire world, the Void Mothers and Fathers, I mean. They could cleanse entire areas of Nightmare and even revert the turned ones back to normal!”
Lynera frowned at the last part of that statement. It was true that Void Mothers and Fathers were essential parts of maintaining cleansed areas within the Nightmare Lands, but there was nothing about them removing the Nightmare from those that had fallen or turned. Nightmarification was the one thing they had desperately wanted to solve. It was also the farthest away for a solution in terms of their research results.
The conundrum now was whether to tell Dylan the truth or not. She had had this exact expectation ripped away from her when she was young, and if her memories were correct, it was quite devastating. Maybe easing the kid into the truth would save him from such disappointment.
Before she could say anything, however, Tristan returned. There was urgency in his steps, and he quickly activated the sandglider’s engine.
“What’s wrong?” Lynera asked.
“Dune Queen,” the half-orc replied. His calm tone belied the nervousness of his actions. Maybe the man was simply incapable of expressing his emotions? Regardless, a Dune Queen was bad news.
“Is it slumbering?” she asked.
“Yes. We’ll go around.”
Lynera agreed and sighed in relief. This was the best they could hope for in this troublesome situation. But she couldn’t complain. At least, they would be alive.
A Dune Queen’s average territory went as wide as a twenty-kilometer radius. To be on the safe side, they would need to go around for thirty kilometers to completely avoid the big ones. Depending on weather conditions, that might take them the entire morning and even a portion of the afternoon. The sandglider wasn’t exactly meant for speed. The only bright side here was that she and Tristan could provide the vehicle’s fuel needs indefinitely if they alternated the responsibility.
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It was more of an inconvenience, and Lynera hoped it would stay that way.
As soon as Tristan held the steering wheel, an explosion sent entire clouds of sand into the air. The Dune Queen emerged not far away from them. Lynera saw the horns first. They were the size of trees with sinister curves that had adapted to the color of the sands. The pair moved outward, a mechanism uncommon to most beasts, but it allowed the Dune Queen to shovel away sands as it dug through underneath.
Next, she saw the pincers. They were a size larger than the sandglider, capable of crushing rock like they were made of powder. Chitinous exoskeleton armored its skull, with a translucent membrane covering its entire lengthwise face from any external forces including the sands.
Spikes protruded along its spine, running the entire length down to its large tail. Lynera could see sparks of electricity travelling from one spike to the other. It stood on four legs, totaling to six limbs if counting the pincers on its forearms. Sand drifted down the chitinous beast, showing colors of white, gray, and brown on various parts of its scales.
The protective membrane on its face opened from the middle, moving as if a spring was released from its tension. Inside were three pairs of eyes and a beak that looked too large for its head. It pushed outward, the entire head, like a turtle’s neck extending out of its shell.
If Lynera didn’t know any better, she’d assume this creature was a Deep Nightmare. But since it wasn’t, she knew right away there would be nothing she could offer to fend off the monster.
“You said it was asleep?” she asked the pilot.
“Yes. The explosion woke her up.”
Lynera went behind the pilot’s seat and reached for the generator beside Tristan’s seat. She began feeding it her meiyal.
“Use as much as you need,” she began. “Let me handle the supply first. If we need to go by foot, we’ll be depending on you to protect us.”
Lynera’s meiyal was the same as any other practitioner of any other discipline. It was combined with Brymeia’s meiyal. The only difference was the terminology. Meiyal Arts had Milled meiyal, Meiyal Armaments had Smelted meiyal, Meiyal Weaving had Woven meiyal. But for someone like her who didn’t study any discipline, she had to make do with the generic Combined meiyal.
Tristan agreed with Lynera’s strategy and accelerated the sandglider as much as he could. The felintine lost her balance, but she bounced off the chair provided for the co-pilot’s seat. She didn’t relent with her meiyal, glancing back quickly to make sure Dylan was alright.
The half-elf was well secured on his seat, but his face was glued on the glass, staring at the Dune Queen behind them.
The giant creature screeched, but not towards their sandglider.
“Hold on,” Lynera began, her eyes stuck at a silhouette amidst the chaos caused by the Dune Queen. “Someone’s there.”
Tristan glanced in disbelief and eventually stopped their vehicle when he confirmed for himself.
The sands had brewed into a storm, courtesy of the Dune Queen’s natural electrical field. Its head had returned inside its armor while the sands whirled around it, creating a protective barrier. Lightning struck all around it as the creature began to walk.
And amidst all this chaos was a person, standing tall and proud. Lynera had no distinction of the stranger’s gender, and the dark meiyal made it difficult to see any other physical feature that would provide her a description. So she simply assumed it was a man. For all the felintine knew, he could very well be a woman.
Lynera was so busy indulging in her curiosity that the fact that this stranger stood in front of a Dune Queen almost went over her head. She had an immediate reaction to help him, but was stopped by the sands and lightning completely ignoring his space.
Like he didn’t exist.
The stranger held out a hand and snapped his fingers. A great force pushed everything away. The Dune Queen, the sands, the rocks, plants, animals, everything. What was left was the ground, free of dunes and dust. From far away, the sandstorm summoning creature screeched. But when the stranger held out a hand once more, it backed away, scampering into the safety of the desert.
A moment later, the stranger turned and headed their way. Lynera was frozen into place. Tristan as well. Dylan was too absorbed to do anything.
In the end, the half-orc found his courage and went out of the sandglider. He Donned his Armor and Weapon. They were standard issued gear for a High Sentry, a position just a rank lower to the Lord Knights of Vyndival Kingdom. Lynera had no way of knowing what Embellishments Tristan had, but she knew enough about meiyal to know he stood no chance against the stranger.
Vyndivalians were simply all about duty, and dying for trying so it seemed.
“I mean you no harm, Tristan and company,” the stranger said, his voice laced with echoes of multiple people, masking his true voice. Female? Male? Felintine? Human? Elf? Lynera had no clue. “I’m here to assist you.”
“I appreciate the help,” Tristan said, lowering his sword, but keeping a firm grip around it. “But forgive me for asking your name and your reason.”
“Please call me, the Letterman. Providing you with my real name will cause too much disruption upon Destiny.”
“Destiny?”
“It’s alright, Tristan,” Lynera said. “I will speak with him.”
The felintine alighted the sandglider, the layers of her clothes fluttered on the sandy winds. She asked the High Sentry to guard the vehicle and Dylan. And while Tristan was hesitant, he didn’t dare disobey his orders.
“You know most people don’t speak about such things,” Lynera started, speaking towards the Letterman. “You’ll make him ask the wrong questions.”
“Apologies. It’s the fastest way to gain your trust.”
“My attention, yes. Not my trust. Not yet.”
“You want to know if I’m involved with the destruction of the Western Sanctum?”
Lynera nodded. “Enlighten me.”
“I am not.”
“Then what do you want?”
“I’m Blessed with Death’s Wish, Mother Lynera. If you’re here, and if you know about Destiny, then I’m right to assume that you’ve recovered your memories, yes?”
Death’s Wish. It was more of a curse, than a blessing. Lynera couldn’t believe such a person would claim to have such a thing. And maybe, just because of that, it made sense for the Letterman to be this strong.
“How many?” she asked.
“Too many to count, I’m afraid.”
“Alright. Show me proof then.”
The Letterman paused. While the darkness of meiyal enveloping him kept any distinguishing details hidden, his body language was still apparent enough for Lynera’s keen eyes.
Too feminine. His poise, the way he stood, the way he kept casually swaying his balance on either side, it was too dynamic, too bouncy for it to be from a man with such straightforward words. The only masculine thing going for him was the name Letterman.
“What do you wish to know?” he asked.
“Will Irista Nation help us?”
“If you make it in time, yes. I’m here to specifically make that happen. There are two more Dune Queens surrounding this current territory. I’m afraid, if you choose to go around, it would take you more than a few days to get to Irista Nation. It will be too late by then.”
Was that enough proof? Lynera didn’t think so. She needed something more concrete.
“Your sister is alive, Lynera,” the Letterman said, as if to skip straight to the point. “Lynera Lunasensia, that is your full name, remember? Your sister, Selfiya, is currently held captive by the Cult of the Fallen Dragon and the forces hiding behind Destiny.
“Don’t worry,” he added. “If things are going as I’ve predicted them, she will be alright. You will meet her soon.”
“How can I—?”
“This will be as far as I can provide in terms of proof, Lynera. If this does not convince you, then you no longer need me here.” Just then, his stance became firm, his poise straight and rigid. Too manly for a woman. “What will it be?”
“You’ll help us cross the desert?” she asked.
“Yes. It’s imperative for you to arrive by nightfall. This way, you’ll be able to immediately meet with Midan Goldes, the current governor of Minaveil Province, and inform him of your need. A nice inn will also be provided for you, courtesy of Bennie.”
“And if I said no?” Lynera almost failed to give voice to the question. She was already of the mind to accept the Letterman’s assistance, but her curiosity wouldn’t let her go.
“Then I will ask the next Lynera.”
“It’s that important?”
“You didn’t think you were that important, did you?”
With Lynera’s decision, the travel through the Desolate Lands became smooth gliding. The Letterman gave them strict directions that cut through their travel time significantly. He even provided all the meiyal the sandglider would ever need to travel at top speed. He was right. They would make it before nightfall.
And throughout the entire trip, Lynera still contemplated how important her role actually was.
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