I sensed sweat drip down my forehead as we witnessed the fruits of Yana's merciless command. A sole royal sentry decorated in all-black military garments made his way silently into the scalding white dunes. Far ahead, a squirming burlap sack dragged a crimson smear toward the dunes fringing the decimated capital.

The sun had finally begun making its red-strewn dance to sleep. The rusty vast canyon of our desolated home glowed violently as we sat there, ash-strewn deeply into the sands. How long had this land laid bare? One soul river connecting the frigid steppes of Svetlan to the fertile rainforests south of the Doigans...Yet no rainfall bathed our lands. I wished they had not kept me so cut off from true studies in order to keep me as an 'unbiased' judge...yet I knew the sins of the past like the back of my hand.

As I surveyed the devastated remnants of the once-glorious capital, a flood of reflections on my family's burdened legacy arose unbidden. The Vascans descend from a centuries-long monarchic line, whose dominion once spanned numerous prosperous territories beyond this now-barren sand-scoured realm. We Persisted through eras of slavery, rebellion and reluctant autonomy under Svetlan's yoke before finally claiming tenuous leadership over a newly-minted Buriti 250 years prior.

My great-great-grandfather seized power by aligning with native Buriti tribal elders during their country's slavery, promising them false authority in exchange for their public allegiance against Svetlan. In truth, he dictated unrestrained for decades under the Svet's backing, siring dozens of now-exiled children to bolster his clan's influence while they still held actual control. My deposed grandfather carried on similar machinations masquerading as the people's "Holy Popa" while wielding the full might of the throne, he was said to have been so depraved that the Old Vascans had to annihilate all 34 of his illegitimate children in order to rectify the now muddied family line.

In contrast, my recently deceased father, took a more laissez-faire approach, preferring to profit from covert trade alliances that ultimately armed the Svets, Diogans, and any other nation willing to profit off of cheap labor and oil. I still smelled the sharp sting of sulfur on the windswept dunes, echoes of my progenitor's explosive downfall.

I was not yet seven when I first met that old piece of shit...He looked at me with such disdain--My dark black hair, unlike his crimson, light brown skin not even close to his almost jet-black facade. The disappointment as my mother carted me off for the next few months for redying and primping. Every moment I spent changing myself for approval I became more conscious of my own unwanted existence, later furthered by my cousins coming from distant lands and becoming instantly loved by him. It didn't matter now Dennis, My Father, Kyler, Mother, and even sweet free-spirited Kasiha now lay to rest among the dunes.

I shut my eyes against the memories, their voices yelling together loud as the carrion-fattened hyenas before me fighting over Vadim's remains. Here unlike the cool stone cells of the capital palace, justice was meted out under the baking indifferent sun. The bloody spectacle attracted more hungry beasts than any human crowd, I noted with grim irony.

Let them feast, those ancient sentinels of the dunes. On the execution-stained sands, morality and nobility seemed distant, fragile notions I must somehow embody if any kingdom were ever to arise from this wasteland again. My mind cleared of the screams plaguing them as my eyes focused back on the carnage before me...It helped to see the true consequences of nature.

Hyena whoops and frenzied barking erupted where Vadim now lay. The laughing arbiters of death attacked swiftly as they tore into the bloodstained bag. Luckily the resolute guard had already begun quickly making his way back to our armored vehicle, the vicious sand wolves almost mocking his fear with their loud screeches that mirror joy. I smiled as the bad ripped open along with Vadim's insides...the beating we had given him rendered him unable to even attempt escape, his flensed face shreds staring toward the sky like a discarded mask.

I turned, my tongue clicking. "Seems like you were right Yana...Why waste valuable ammunition on such nice little treats for Buriti sand wolves." I grinned coldly, crossing my arms. I had changed into some stuffy maroon robe declared to have been sported by every Vascan monarch since our exodus to Buriti, yet. my father and grandfather's actual attire I knew lay atomized by the bombs.

Yana stood rigid as her green eyes didn't meet mine, breath strained. "Sure Huck....can I be real with you since it's just us three?" Her Buriti accent came through heavily now. I'm guessing she played a less native facade that she finally let falter. "I mean seriously....Aiko is a royal dog of war, and you're just an exile turn absolute monarch." My fist clenched, she dared speak to me like that after what I've done?!

I spun snappily, furrowing my brow. " Oh wow, I didn't realize I had nominated such razor-sharp jabs along with you." Aiko seemed to be simply listening intently, merely watching Vadim Unhurriedly being eaten by the spotted laughing hyenas. Her freckled face was unwavering against the tides of the dunes, crimson sentry shoulder pads a steely resting place for her large soft brown hair. The comment didn't seem to bother her as I noticed she pulled at the black gove covering her scarred hand, eyes staring through the scene of violence with no sympathy only cruel approval.

No one spoke for a few cooling moments until Aiko intercepted the breezy air with a tone nearly as light. "The plucky half-albino has a point. We three stand apart from true Buritian souls in some way. Can foreign hands cultivate native roots? The idea of Aygu pivoting the tides of the people is worrying...." Oh, now when it's only I do they say such things!? I will not have my authority questioned to frequently any longer...I may have accidently inherited my birthright but I would die before giving it up--Native or not!

I collided my fist along the searing car hood. "Does our shared vision not transcend bloodlines? We will fertilize along destiny's current no matter the waters' origin! I did not abide my time and hold my tongue to be told I need the people's approval of my actions." My voice came out harsh though I meant to foster hope, my hand pulsated with pain but I paid it no mind. Aiko smiled as Yana easily riled me...it must have reminded her of the time she spent terrorizing my psyche with global reptilian conspiracies. My tongue clicked showing my disdain for the current conversation in simple Buriti fashion.

Yana stepped forward, green eyes smoldering yet vulnerable. "See you're just as angry as your shitty dad...You maybe aren't a fan of history Huck but just because you are in charge doesn't mean you should be." Her black attire matched her outlook, Yana recrossed her slender arms. I could easily have her burlapped as well yet she spoke to me so informally it reminded me of my sister Kash. The breeze quelled my ideas of rage and allowed me to take in her meaning.

Aiko seemed rigid, gazing away from us to face the consequences creeping toward us across blood-soaked sand. "Yana you have been in this makeshift cabinet for less than 2 hours and already question my loyalties?" She turned pulling her firearm off her shoulder. "I will make this clear, I will kill you just as swiftly as anyone else who wishes to force us to any ruination." her face remained as civil as she began cleaning dirt from the barrel of her rifle.

Yana's face was inactive, Her black hair swayed in the breeze as the sun finally began setting into stunning purple and violet shades. "You can threaten me all you want Aiko...You two know just as much as I do Kash would want us to dissolve the throne or hold any type of election." She almost appeared to burst now but kept her body solid against the evening's heat.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

My teeth clenched the corner of my cheek. FUCK I had forgotten Yana had been a fervent member of my sister's short-lived political party. This has been a slight overstep on my part employing her so quickly yet....the exhilaration of what's to come makes my heart pound in my chest. "We must focus on bringing people back to the capital, rebuild mandatory functions. You will take me to the Svetlan Capital to introduce ourselves to our friends up to the north." I flagged my right hand, sweeping sand from my eyes.

Aiko was now using her gun to rest on as she rubbed the middle of her eyebrows tensely. Her curly brown hair bounced as her head shook gently. "He intends on bragging about all his success...You might as well ask them to invade us instead." A harsh sardonic laugh left her plump lips. A flexed jawline was my only response.

Yana finally turned to me again this time appearing to size me up, Aiko must have lit another fire in her reminding them both that I, as a Vascan, shared zero blood with them and the people. My oversized maroon robe dragging gaudishly in the soil did not help my cause. "I think it may prevent that in fact...Svets care more about titles than anything--If we can convince em' that my dad just died of some desert-born sickness, and that Huck isn't some unhinged drunk; We should come out of this unharmed." She rubbed her chin for a moment, gaze still darting up to mine.

Knowing that they were not actually going to betray me for now I spoke sardonicly"I do not appreciate all this slander on your humble king's name--You two should be happy I'm not a woman-hating dick head like my father." I instantly regretted my mockery as they both eyed me furiously. I stared back, smiling wide, eyes squinted.

Aiko was first to let her disdain fly. "You are LUCKY you are not like him, you sniveling grub. Maybe you can fly to Svet and have them relocate your shoulder blade..." She took a step toward me, Yana then laughed as the idea of the king meeting his end for minor jokes must have tickled her greatly. I did not find the joke as funny yet the moment of honesty felt grounding with everything else happening. Aiko was here, I was no longer an exile but king, and a growing cabinet of highly intelligent members...unfortunately including Aygu.

I clicked my tongue, pointing toward the sand. "If you hurt me Aiko I'll just bring it up all the time--Not worth YOUR time right, considering you are my Shadow now...right?" I put my hands up defensively, My foot must have caught the end of the stupid robe and I tumbled into a soft pile of sand. My face found its gritty heat unpleasing as I spat furiously. "Fuck"

Aiko helped me up before dusting my robe off. "I think we can work with this silly idea, yet I am wildly concerned with who will watch the country while we leave...." Her voice was gruff yet soft in a way, I wonder if she had not been on so many tours of duty would it return to what it was before? She was correct though so simply staying silent was the key to Yana's words.

"We? Unless you want a serious problem here--You shouldn't stay Aiko, Huck did make you the fancy pantsy 'Minister' of internal affairs if you do not show face we look disconnected and weak." Yana's voice was an unnaturally upbeat tone now...I did not like the way she was able to convince me to go alone to Svetlan so quickly.

I stood fully with the sunset on my back. "I will meet with Aygu tonight and see what kind of aircraft they pilfered from us during the raids. I'm sure three few days the people can manage alone right?" Aiko's face flashed with what I recognized as apprehension, possibly due to her not fully accepting the choice of leaving the small borders of our country unless to fight.

Her brown eyes were like small pools of fig pudding swirling with emotion. "....I will arrange a meeting with him at the Safe House--You do realize that is where you live now? I will just tell anyone who is too nosy that you are down there and not to be disturbed." She sarcastically saluted me as the guard finally made his way back to the vehicle we had been standing around. It was a mixed feeling to understand they mainly respected me for show alone, yet they seemed to not plan on any coops as of now.

"Thank you for your service....I believe my two Cabinet members have some details to iron out, lets take a short walk before the desert night overtakes us." As Aiko and Yana continued debating logistics, I decided to take a walk to clear my head. The robes made it hard to move freely through the deep sand dunes as the iron-faced royal guard followed my steps.

Suddenly, the chalky cracked red ground gave way beneath me. I plunged down a sandy sinkhole, maroon silky robes billowing, into an underground cavern. I heard a short yelp from the guard before the sound of a thud rang into my ears. Every scream I tried was muffled by sand engulfing my esophagus.

A hard landing on cobblestone knocked the wind out of me. I weezingly pulled out my cigar lighter, small flames casting shadows on crystalline smooth rock walls around me. The cave stretched into infinite dark tunnels in four directions. Bones of small surface animals littered the rocky mud floor. This place seemed long undisturbed - and I had a creeping feeling not fully uninhabited due to the smell of rotting feces.

In the waning firelight, doubts that plagued me surfaced like ghosts though I tried to shake them vehemently. Was I even fit to rebuild our nation from ashes or had I been simply pushed into my birthright? Had this crown just fallen to me by tragic fortune alone or was I fated to become king only to die lonesomly? My head throbbed as my father's deep voice echoed from cavern walls: "You'll lead us all to ruin, boy! I've told you never to wander the dunes....."

I strayed deeper seeking escape, but wraiths of the departed hunted me. Kash's sweet innocent face pleading for me to help her become queen. the commoners; Their famine-sunken eyes judging and condemning my quest for power. I stumbled into a glowing grotto with strange yellow fungal blooms. Bioluminescent purple vines revealed crude ancient handmade paintings of what I assumed was a mythical horned cave demon.

The caked and hurried brush strokes conveyed the author's urgency to sprawl this on the cave wall. Each stroke had seemed so deliberate that I couldn't help but marvel at its intricate design. I had never seen such vivid art in my life...It was as if even though it was a fictitious rendering the artist had successfully made the hair on my neck prickle before the raw animalism of the depicted being. Small voices tickled my ear telling me to press on, I would have feared them but my spine relaxed as the vibrations crest my ear. My eyes were almost forced to follow the horridly beautiful art.

They were splashed with rust-colored smears, figures contorted in screams, and symbols full of sinister intent. Small and large, Thin and thick, they were all consumed by the beast or torn to shreds. What had happened here? A ritual? Slaughter? Or warning for things to come? I watched as the cave wall dimmed with my finishing of its mural, I would have turned on my own but suddenly the voices screamed for me to stop.

My heart slammed against my ribs as a roar blasted the cave walls. Deep claw marks gouged the granite stones around me almost suddenly, white bones crushed and gnawed marrow bare materialized. What ancient primal force of destruction slumbered in these forgotten caverns...I had never heard of any beasts that could make any sound like that even the nocturnal Sarchus standing at the apex of the dunes didn't make such guttural roars and hoots. Fear of the unknown hollowed my core. In the darkness, a presence circled, toying with me. I couldn't tell if it was psychosomatic until--

From shadows, a hulking form stirred on sinewy limbs, claws catching lighter firelight. Malevolent eyes fixed on me, reflecting my blood-drained face. It inhaled sharply, smelling something that whipped it into a frenzy. My human presence was being rejected by everything here! With a bone-rattling shriek, it charged sending rocks flying in all directions.

The beast's scarred ears twitched erratically, following sounds only it and god could hear. Its bizarre deep whooping calls echoed unanswered down the musky tunnels. Was it the last of its kind? It moved like a man but carried itself on burly elongated forelimbs. Again it sniffed the damp cave air, seeking my enemy scent that had provoked such fury. Its blank white eyes betrayed no answers as I silently unclasped a ceremonial Vascan Knife.

The cold obsidian blade felt wrong for such a powerful beast but I had run out of options. I stepped slowly backward as it blankly charged at a cave wall. Its eyes seemed to be as useless as my nearly collapsing legs. Every charge and loud call it made I inched my way backward out of the direction I came.

My mind shifted to Aiko, I hope she was okay. I hadn't even checked if she had been swallowed up along with me. Hopefully, she is able to forgive my stupid decision to 'clear my head'. This beast surely would have a fun time clearing it of all its contents...Literally.