Waves of heat radiated from the ground as a black mass scraped a jagged line in the smooth sands.

Heavy boots crunched on sand as the army of troops shuffled onward into the seemingly never ending desert. What had started as a small army in organized ranks moving with purpose and speed had slowly been turned into a shambling blob of men as the sun over head sapped at there strength.

The lieutenant leading the mass of men forced himself to concentrate on his surroundings. The copious amounts of sweat soaking his uniform and the fact his vision was starting to blur let him know just how bad he was doing. Looking back over the men he could see they were in an even worse sate.

They had been tracking the assailant that was responsible for the massacre at Kael. He had hoped to pick up the trail again after it disappeared just after morning but it didn't look like that would be the case. Sighing he called to the other two lieutenants and they agreed to make an early camp then start back towards Kael in the morning.

He jumped off his mount and led it over to one of the troughs the troops had set up to water the beasts. The large muscular reptilian sank onto its four legs while it grasped the trough with its fore paws. Leaving the beast to drink, the lieutenant went to set up his own sleep roll for the night.

The waning light from the sunset cast long shadows that played with those cast by the camps fires. The smell of food started to permeate the camp as the night air brought with it a cooling breeze.

The sweltering overbearing atmosphere that had plagued the army gave way to something lighter. Troops relaxed as they sat amongst the fires, laughing jovially at the stories told by many about the desert they currently resided in. Some about a hidden cult of women that worshiped Levielle, the goddess of lust and passion. Another that there was a ancient weapon that could destroy cities buried at the heart of the desert.

The tension all these men had had felt slowly washed away over the hours as the world grew darker. But before the night was over these men would meet a true secret of the desert.

The lieutenant had just finished lay down to sleep when the first shouts were heard. raising from his sleeping roll he saw a large commotion coming from the west side of the camp. Grumbling under his breath, he reluctantly starting head over to see what the incident was.

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He hadn't taken more than three steps before a strange noise came from his left. Looking over his shoulder his noticed a slight blur out the corner of his vision before his eyes came to rest on one of his fellow lieutenants. Before he could say anything the other lieutenants body seem to simple lose cohesion.

The multiple parts of his body fell to the ground as blood spread across the sand. Hearing another sound behind him, he turned in time to see a pair of large yellow pools staring at him before sixteen scythe like arms flashed forward.

******

Draviur stared at the young man bound before him. He cast a weary gaze over him, his hand never quite leaving the pommel of his sword. Twice already this boy had woken and twice he had almost escaped, injuring multiple warriors each time.

His scouts had come across the boy two day ago and had chosen to stalk him until he let his guard down. By all accounts it was a wise choice as the first night they had followed him the boy had made camp in basilisk territory. What was strange was that the beasts seemed to actively avoid him, never approaching within 200 paces the entire time.

Seeing the boy start to stir he composed himself and had the guards prepare themselves. As the boys eyes opened Draviur felt a shock run through his flesh and blood, settling into his bones. The boys eyes were the color of blood and seemed to swirl in a slow circle around his pupils.

"What is you name?" despite the circumstances, Draviur still managed to deliver the question without any trace of the fear that had flushed through his body a moment before. The boy just stared at him, Draviur fear giving way to anger as this captive refused to give him the answer he required.

"...Dr'kael"

The word was so quiet Draviur almost missed it. Staring back up into his eyes the boy spoke again with a hint of finality in his voice.

"My name is Dr'kael."

*******

Short chapter again today. sorry guys.

will try to start making to following chapter around the same length as the first.

If you guys have anything you want to add or topics about the story let me know, i currently have a rough script to what will happen in this story but its still fluid.