Hot winds blew across a rippling dune, whipping the white sand into the air before letting the grains fall gently onto the pale earth once more. Loose fabric draped over gaunt, spindly limbs flapped in the wind, only barely concealing the frame of a hunched over figure. It would not be difficult to make out the long, leathery wings fluttering in the wind, nor the sun-bleached brown fur that coated the creature’s body, even under the tattered remains of a cloak. She dug her claws deep into the sand beneath her feet with no care for the blowing grains around her. Her arms pulled out handfuls of sand as she clawed at the ground, again and again, sticking her digits deep into the earth like a hound pawing at the dirt. Piles of sand began to grow around her as she dug and dug and dug some more, the bright white sun above her never moving an inch, never wavering, never melting. It would never melt again. They had taken that from her.

In the midst of her ruminating and pawing, she felt..something scratch against her claws, finally, and she paused. Carefully, she reached a single claw down deep and pressed it against the warm stone trapped beneath the sand..she had not been imagining it, after all. A small smile stretched across her maw as she began to gently grip the stone and pull it towards the surface. Sustenance for the day, at last. But the process was interrupted by the sound of distant footsteps, and her ears twitched and tilted to get a better angle as she froze in her tracks.

Could they see her? The footsteps were in her direction, there was little else out here, surely they were here for her, and if they were here for her there could only be one reason. What reason besides stealing her nectarstones could they have for bothering a ripan, after all. Was there even more than one? She shifted, slowly, cautiously, as the sound drew nearer. Her ears twitched again as she began to stand more upright, hesitantly loosening her grip on the nectarstone and letting her free hand move closer to the sword at her waist…just in case. No, there was only one, only one rhythm of boots digging into the sand. As they stepped closer, they were just barely able to get the shortest bit of vocalization out before..

“Hel-”

She whipped around suddenly, feet spraying sand into the air as she drew her blade and pointed it towards the would-be offender, waving it around wildly. “BEGONE WITH YOU! A POX UPON YOU, A PLAGUE UPON YOU AND ALL YOUR KIN,” She shouted violently, maw open wide and beady eyes never straying from the man standing in front of her. He was a relatively young man from what his looks told, the olive skin of his face beaded with sweat and partially covered by long strands of black hair that whipped all around from the harsh winds of the desert. He stood at a rather average height, dressed in a ragged cloak that bore some traces of faded and fanciful designs within its fabric, and only barely concealed the sword sheathed and bound to his belt. Even as he lifted his empty hands up near to his head and took a step back, the blade at his side was the only thing she could see.

The wide eyes and stressed words made it clear this was not the reaction he was expecting. “Moons, I was just-”

He could only barely get a few words out before she was shrieking again. “YOU SPEAK THEIR NAMES AS YOU COME TO KILL SEESHA FOR HER AMBER, FOR HER PRECIOUS ICHOR? HOW DARE YOU, SUNSCOURGE FILTH, GOD-USURPING VERMIN!”

Another few steps back away from her, though she matched his pace in return as she let her sword point at him now, accusingly. “No, no, I’m not here to kill you, I’m just-”

“THEN TOSS YOUR WEAPON ASIDE, GIVE IT TO SEESHA!”

The man gave a plainly concerned look before slowly reaching a hand down to his waist to pull the blade and sheath free from his belt. A quick toss and the weapon was laid bare across the sand between them, and the man lifted both his open hands up in a universal sign of being unarmed with no intent to harm.

The ripan’s head twitched and tilted erratically, eyes darting back and forth between the sword on the ground and the man who had given it freely, the man who seemed to have honest intentions. Maybe he had a dagger hidden away somewhere, in his sleeve, maybe, or in his boot. In the blink of an eye, she had stepped forward and pulled the sword close with all the grace and deliberation of a starving seagull. 

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“See?” The man’s worried look had shifted to a reassuring smile. “No harm intended. I just wanted to talk.”

Seesha paid little mind to the man’s words, though her gaze never left him for more than a moment. What did hold her interest was the man’s sword. The sheath was worn, wooden frame bleached by the harsh gaze of the sun and clearly battered by sand and dust. But beneath all that grime there was something far more interesting. Almost every inch of its form was covered in carvings and engravings, partially fading and hidden from its wear, but clear all the same if one were to look. Pulling the sword from its container revealed similar decorations with the same amount of intricacy to them. Reliefs of noble knights and figures, symbols of the moons and the sun(the latter in lesser amounts, albeit), all inlaid with varying surviving precious metals that had not yet been shorn from their steel vessel. She let out a scoff as she finished surveying the thing. Moon-worshipping barbarians put those things on damn near everything, bah.

The man shifted in place, smile growing dimmer as he moved to stand taller and surer. “So, can we..talk now, or..?”

“..Seesha does not want your filthy heretical garbage.” With a quick throw, the blade was tossed aside, like any other rubbish, left upon the white sands between the two. Her own sword was promptly sheathed at her side. “Now begone, Seesha has no desire to talk with sunscourge filth.” She drew her lips back in a snarl as the word ‘talk’ was clearly stressed in a mocking tone, complete with an exaggerated mimicking of the man’s accent. The sharp teeth that lined her mouth, frontal teeth stretching like sharpened daggers, were clear as day. 

“Wait, please!” The prince took a few quick steps forward to get closer as Seesha turned and began to move away from the man and his sword. She was quick to turn back and take an aggressive stance, teeth bared and body hunched, and he was equally quick to stop in his tracks with his hands clearly raised and empty. He had made no moves for his weapon. His focus seemed to be entirely on her. 

“I said BEGONE!”

His voice was hushed as he spoke again. “I..I need your help. I’m a prince, of the royal family, and I’ve been..searching for a way to restore the sun.”

Seesha’s ears perked up, flitting in interest, eyes settling on the man’s face instead of darting everywhere to search his every inch. The man smiled, just a bit, at the sight. She snarled, and it made him return to a frown. “..That is the worst possible combination of words you could have ever spoken to me. “

“Okay, I know that sounds bad, but..Seesha-your name is Seesha, right?”

She gave only the barest of movements that could be recognized as a nod. Her eyes did not leave his own, intense and bright like the hot rays of the faded sun. His own visage, though painted with a frown at the moment, was full of clear determination. It was those eyes, those dark, brown eyes full of..something. Something equal in brightness and intensity to her own tired gaze . Something worth holding onto. Maybe. “Ah, so you can listen, human? Then leave.”

Despite her words, nothing had changed between the two, no movements had been made. Their focus both remained on eachother.

“I can help, I can help you, I just..don’t know how.” 

She moved her mouth as if to speak but stopped halfway to remain silent and listening.

“There are so few of your kind left, so few I’ve even seen, and none of them knew how to help. None knew of a solution.” He slowly reached one arm out to point towards a shape on the horizon. The fading sun stood at the edge of the sky, darkened and dying like the last embers of a doused fire. The towers and sky-high monuments that surrounded it and the city below it were visible even this far out into the desert. “None knew of a single way to restore the sun to its former glory, glowing and dripping its ichor to feed all who surround it. Please..tell me you know a way.”

Seesha smiled a joyless, dreadful smile as she took a step closer to the Prince, never letting her eyes leave him for a single moment. Her voice was creeping and low as she finally gave her own response.

“I do.”