There’s a saying among the people of Thar, nothing in the sands could escape from the ears of the Dusty Devil. The beast that crawls in this endless stretch of yellow nothingness bowed their head to that guardian’s command. Beasts don’t refer to only monsters walking on their many legs, but also those walking on two. Those who know about Thar know this very well. Sam was also such one, born in a remote village, he escaped from the mandatory strict education of Silver Citadel Academy, and that’s why he views the world differently than most. For he hated the feeling of his village being overrun by the hoards of monsters. It was then when he got transferred to a different village that he learnt how different the world was. The beast tide that ran over his village was not one of a kind, but a periodic cycle of many as such. Every time, people across the villages and the cities prepare for it to come again. It was an enormous shock to him‌. He was foolish enough to ask, “Why are we not doing anything to this threat?” The reply was big laughs from all the adults. He soon found out why. It was only three days that the last tide was over and the attacks stopped, but the beasts didn’t leave. Instead, they did the unthinkable, helping rebuild the destroyed city. All those tens of metre-long centipede-like beasts whose sheer number makes one gone were carrying loads of medical and food supplies to the newly set up relief centres. Some even had dried red blood along with some yellow bodily fluids from the victim they had just munched on some days ago.

It was the shock that made him shut his mouth, and like that, he watched on and the strangeness of Thar became even clearer to him. The beast tide came under the order of the Dusty Devil, the same being whom everyone called their guardian, and the battle for survival was the tradition for the people. It’s their way of life. Only Oasis never got attacked by the tide, the only city with any walls in the whole of Thar. The place of rest for the valiant warriors who survived through their prime. If they could reach here, that is. A feeling of rebellion threatened to spill out from his chest and so he travelled far to search for people similar to him, but as he met more people, the feeling of revenge started to shift to that of fear. One only knows about the true extent of danger when he experiences it. The Thar was vast, and filled with beasts that outnumbered humans with one to twenty on any given day. He needed power to go against such a force, and so he joined the army. It was then that he met her, the ruler of Thar, that he learned the true meaning of the word ‘fear’. The thought of villages disappearing because of the beast tide, the name of Dusty Devil, felt all too normal to him, in fact even tamed a little. Now, he would rather choose to live his life like someone who gave up his revenge than ever face her. She lacked humanity in her, and enjoys the screams of her victims, the screams that still haunt him to this day.

‘Looks like my luck ran out today.’ The thought came to Sam as he looked at the wooden door. Behind it, was his workshop and also the being that once ruined his village. His face changed continuously as the feeling of getting oppressed and fear charged through his body. He didn’t know how Azir came to be with her, but Sam was sure he didn’t know much about her real identity. Otherwise, he would not be in such a carefree state. The suspicion only strengthened even more when he remembered the feeling of his throat being choked with sand when he tried to say the name of Dusty Devil. He’s not stupid and could tell many things from that one exchange. That’s why he didn’t run away, not like he could even if he tried. He put his hand on his chest to calm his heart. He had lived most of his life while trying to hide his true feelings; to show only what others want. The current situation demands he act normal, and so he put away his thoughts and opened the door, though it was a little slower than usual.

Inside, it all looked too same, but also different. Small room which used to give him peace, but now, a little dread. The dread increased the moment the scene of Azir singing some tunes and the face of the dog was making a sound similar to one of vomit as she sat on the top of Rayen and licked off one of the artefacts clean. His legs trembled inside his pants, but he kept his face straight and moved to his usual workbench, at the side middle of the room.

“ Boss, what took you so long?”

“ Nothing, just thinking about something.” As Sam answered Azir, he arrived at the table but thinking about the work he usually does and the guardian cleaning the aftermath while on the verge of vomiting, his life kept flashing in his eyes and so he said to Azir without turning his head. “ You can go home today.”

“ Huh?” Azir stopped cleaning the artefact in his hand and looked at Sam with some confusion. Sam didn’t need him to ask more as he continued. “ Don’t worry, I will not cut your pay.”

“ Boss, is today Aunt’s birthday?”

‘ No, that would be a joyful occasion.’ Sam screamed inside. “ Something like that…”

Cherry, who heard this, suddenly raised her head and growled at Sam, who flinched, but Azir did as he looked at the ground where Rayen wrote something new.

My Redemption?

“ Redemption? What kind of redemption are you babbling about?” Azir just couldn’t understand half the time what was going on in Cherry’s head. It doesn’t help that Rayen also doesn’t write full sentences, which he doubts because he translated the words of a dog. Cherry didn’t take away her eyes from Sam, for she would not allow anyone to come in between her redemption. She’s still not sure if her working like this would be enough to escape from Bella’s anger or not, and this guy was stopping her. She even ran a small possibility of Sam taking this chance to even the score with her because of her earlier action. Sam, who was the target of such starters, felt the wrong in the atmosphere and hastily changed the words. “ I mean- um… just tired earlier. I feel ok now. Let’s return to our work.”

“ Boss, you are acting very strange. Are you sure age is not getting to you? You should take some rest, how about a little sleep?.”

‘If I took a rest, I would probably never wake up again.’ Sam felt if he kept talking, the hole he just dug would get even bigger and thus, with a closed mouth, started to work. Cherry took her eyes back, but not fully. Ready to move the sands if Sam tried to interfere in her redemption. Azir also started rubbing the artefacts, but his eyes focused not on the cleaning but on the work of Sam. He watched as Sam picked up a small knife with some rusted inscriptions and put it in the empty sink. Then, he picked a leather pouch from the drawer of the workbench and poured a green oil into the sink. The pouch looked small, but it had a small space of enchantment on it from which he filled the whole ten litres of sink to the brim.

Next, he brought out some strange orange dust, small pieces of black wood and dried leaves. He crushed the leaves with the dust and poured it on top of the oil. Next with the brush with golden hairs, he started to draw on the oil surface. The process was slow as he also needed to maintain a constant mana to the tip of the brush. At the end, a strange three triangle with two circles in the middle, each filled with complicated lines, appeared and then sunk into the oil. The green colour of the oil started to become black. Within a minute, there was no oil, only black, murky liquid. When Sam opened a tap, the sink got drained and the dirty artefact appeared at the bottom. He picked up the knife that still had the black oil sticking to its surface, nodded, and put it in the basket for Azir to clean.

Azir found Sam picking another artefact and so, also turned his head and whispered to Rayen. “Did you see that? One day, I will be doing that too. It would be the best of my hobbies. Remember this.”

“Woof!”

Mana where? Rayen wrote for her.

“ How do you know I lacked mana?”

“Woof!”

Bad Smell.

Azir’s eyebrows twitched at her. Now he’s hundred percent sure, this is not a dog, but a monster beast. An intelligent beast at that. ‘A nanny beast? Probably like that, but she’s not trained well.’ He thought up this and decided to ask Sam about it. “ Boss, do you know any beast out there who that is used as a nanny?”

“What?”

“ I mean, look at this dog here. Isn’t she a monster beast trained for nanny work?”

Sam paused and turned his head to see Cherry and couldn’t help but think ‘Did he look at the sun too many times that his eyes got damaged or is it ignorance?’ But Azir’s words filled the information he was missing. When he looked at the other boy, who was so silent that one might ignore him altogether. When he first met him, Sam thought something was amiss, but now he knew what it was. He could see nothing in those brown eyes. No curiosity, strangeness, or emotions, or anything. Nothing. They lacked interest in life, eyes that were similar to the ones he saw on the Great Mother. And when he remembered the entity besides Rayen, his body couldn’t help but shake at that thought. He focused on the things on his hands, to prevent his mind from digging something out that he shouldn’t.

“There are some beasts like that.”

“ So, which breed is she?”

“ I don’t know.”

“ How can you say that? You didn’t even look at her?”

“ I would be cutting your salary then.”

“ Come on, boss, how could we be talking like this when so much work needs to be done? Let’s not waste our time anymore.” Listening to him, Sam always felt that when it came to being shameless, Azir was never outdone by anyone.

Like such, half a day passed and Azir stretched his body while he stood up and came to Sam to take his daily wage. Sam was quick too, for he too was waiting for the day to end and send these guys away. Azir counted the number of copper coins and found them more than normal. He wanted to ask, but Sam seemed to be even faster than him. “ They are a bonus. Keep them and buy something good.”

“ Boss, why don’t we celebrate Aunt's birthday every day?”

Sam wanted to punch this shameless guy but was helpless, and thus quickly pushed him out. He doesn't want to talk anymore or he doesn’t doubt Azir’s ability to extort more money from him. It was his luck that Rayen and Cherry had already gone outside and didn’t hear even a little of Azir’s words, and closed the door behind him. He then put his ear on the door, and only when he felt Azir and others going away did he release a sign of relief. ‘My life keeps getting short. She won’t be coming tomorrow too, Eh?’ The moment he asked himself such a question, the power left his body, and he leaned on the door.

‘Just how did that rascal meet such an entity?’ He dared not to say it out loud, but the question kept bugging him. His mind just calmed down, he could think more about it. What are the chances of any given day for one to meet the guardian of Thar? And the teenager beside him, too, was a different breed. Sam believed if his conjunctions were right, there was no way that boy was poor inside those dirty clothes. He’s a big shot, and he suddenly met Azir in such a conspicuous way? Sam would never believe that. So the only thing that was the variable left was Azir. Sam furrowed his eyes when he thought about Azir. It’s not like Azir was a normal person himself. Those who graduate from the Academy are hardly a normal person, especially more so for the top rankers like Azir. Thinking up to this point, Sam clapped his cheeks with both hands and murmured. “ Forget it. Let’s just live like always. Not like I can change anything.”

****

“ Look at this Rayen, it's three hundred copper coins. That is three silver coins.” Azir kept throwing the pouch into the air before catching it again. When the sounds of coins reached his ears, his smile grew even wider. “ Though, Boss Sam is a little stingy with bonuses.”

“Woof!” Cherry stopped his wider grin as he turned to her, he wanted to ignore but she was too smart for him to ignore. They stopped in some desolate alley. It was much faster to move around here than on the main road. Besides, he doesn’t want the incident with Rayen to be repeated. Rayen then bowed down and wrote something again.

My portion?

“ What do you mean by your portion? You are a dog.” Azir put the pouch into his pockets which made Cherry bark at him.

“ Alright, alright. Man, Oasis is getting more and more strange these days.” Azir's heart bleed as he pulled three copper coins from it and handed it to Cherry. Cherry looked at the three coins on the grounds then at the pouch and then again‌ at the coins before she snapped and barked even louder.

“ Hey, hey, back down with the teeth. I am being fair. I didn’t cheat.” Azir found Cherry listening to him and explained even more. “ I just cut the expenses from it. You know, the rent for your stay, the food expenses, the door you broke.”

Cherry’s ears dropped when she listened to this, but Azir not done yet as he kept listing out the expenses one by one. “...then there are colony maintenance charges, then their income taxes and there was welfare for monster charges. See, you are lucky I am the one with the connection or else you would be paying charges for paying taxes too.”

Cherry stared long, baffled at the sheer number of charges. It was her first time working a job and thus she felt the pain of Azir. “ Woof!” She felt it was not right for her to take this money from someone already taxed to the bring and so pushed the coins back to Azir, who quickly denied her actions with a righteous face, as he said. “ No, no, no, how could I take your share? The times are difficult for me too, but my heart doesn’t allow it.”

“Woof!”

“ Well, since you are also a kind soul, I would kindly accept it. Don’t worry, I will make sure to use them for the good of mankind.”

“Woof!”

“ Ya, monsters too.”

Rayen tilted his head at the exchange between them, but couldn't tell what was strange. Azir’s orb inside his heart was so small that even if he looked for a long time, he couldn't say with certainty if he was lying or not. There was a little light that took his attention away. Just a small distance away, sunlight got reflected from an open stack atop the garbage. He could see through the torn corner that something spilled from the inside, which looked the same as the thing which Cherry was arguing with Azir for. It was a small pouch filled with gold coins that was thrown by someone into the dustbin. For those at the end of their lives, money is hardly a thing that interests them and for most people that can reach Oasis, most had more than enough money on them. So they just throw it away when their last day draws near.

Rayen felt that’s what Cherry was searching for and he should give that to her. He moved to the pouch and picked the pouch when Azir noticed him. “ Hey, what are you doing here?”

Azir noticed the pouch of gold in Rayen’s hands and his face became serious with narrowed eyes that didn’t his demeanour. “ Rayen.” He said as he gazed deep into Rayen’s. “ Throw that thing away?”

Seeing him tilting his head, Azir’s face changed a bit, and he again insisted on his words. “ We are the sons of Thar, children of the Great Mother. We never, EVER pick the money that is thrown at us. Remember, it's better to die of hunger than to disappoint the Great Mother.” There was no scope of argument for these words. For Azir, anything other than this was the words of fallacy. Rayen stayed silent, and Azir kept his eyes straight. Azir doesn’t know whether Rayen understood him, but he, in the end, released the bag from the grips of his hand and it fell to the ground.

“ Now, now, just tell me what you want. I will buy it for you … well, probably.” The moment Rayen did so, Azir put away his serious face and returned to normal. He grabbed his hands and started walking. Cherry on the side looked at the dropped pouch of gold and licked her teeth. She came close to it and kicked it away and followed after them.

***

That night, Bardar sat on the sofa in the City Lord’s mansion and finished reading another letter while Cellia beside him took a slip of tea. On the other side, Bladurus was sitting on a custom-made extra-large sofa that could at last bear his weight, with a tray of fried rice in his hands. “What does the letter say?” Cellia asked as she found Bardar rubbing his temples.

“ Cherry says she found a little stupid but brave pup outside.”

“ Wait, you mean there's another child in Oasis?” Cellia had a surprise flash across her face. Bardar felt she was showing such a face for a long time now. He nodded his head and looked at his uncle, who was busy taking a big mouthful of rice. He noticed the slight change in his hands, which slowed when he mentioned the child. “ Uncle, do you know about him?”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“ As the Lord Guardian says, he is a little brave child blessed by Oasis.” Bladurus was the acting city lord till Badar came to take charge. There is no way he couldn’t know about the anomaly of the Oasis. “ Too bad his parents died in a battle.”

“ And you allowed him to stay?” Cellia asked with a raised eyebrow. Oasis had special rules and though it sounds like a dead-brainer, the rules don't specify any laws for orphanages. One could say they didn’t need special rules to establish one, but authorities rarely ever break their own rules to maintain deterrence.

“ We thought about shifting him to another city but you know the rules too. Once in Oasis, we can’t throw anyone out until there are some serious charges or their own will.” He put the plate down on the table and wiped his mouth. Bardar waited till he finished speaking before asking more. “ So, what’s the workaround?”

“ We just had some people take him in, but alas.” As he shook his head, the sofa made a creaking sound, but both Bardar and Cellia ignored it. “ The people who took him were too old and also died when he was five. He's been alone since then.”

“ Alone?!” Baladurus doesn’t mind Cellia’s sudden interruption and continues unabated.

“ Don’t underestimate him. He’s got the will of Thar in him.”

“ What did you guys do to him?” Bardar had a deep frown on. Cellia was a little confused, but Bardar knew about his uncle very well. If he is praising someone, the chances of something being wrong with the person in question are very high.

“ I did nothing. It’s just that he passed with ninety-eight percent from the academy.” There was a momentary silence in the room after his words. Even Cellia knew about the significance of this. The academy had a unique purpose. In the now removed quotes from the academy’s head professor, “Getting their world view right.” With such a goal, the top ones too mostly stayed in the eighties. That’s because the last ten percent of total marks were judged based on loyalty rather than academia, coupled with the internal philosophical way of the student. There was no way a normal person with a normal ideology could ever pass with such high marks. Those are the kind of people especially nurtured to take the top positions on Thar. That’s why, he asked.“ You.. are you nurturing him as a protégé?”

“ Well…” Bladurus then put the strength to his legs and stood up. “ Have you a teenager who can choose to live in a sad excuse of a house, and go hungry for nights? Just to save a little more for buying a mana awakening potion on his own? I just respect his will. As for his final destination? Who am I to judge about it? Besides, you already know, even if I nurture him, that guarantees nothing for him, just that his life would be a little easier.”

Bladurus moved his body out of the room and left the duo on their own. Bardar sighed as he slumped down on the sofa. While Cellia also followed the same and only after some time did she ask him. “ Would you be doing something for him?”

“ No.” He rejected it with some hesitation. “ The best age for drinking mana awakening was around fifteen years. He’s already close to it. The best I can do is respect his will and provide the best quality mana awakening portion, but I guess Uncle already prepared something like that.”

Cellia didn’t argue much. As Bardar said, the boy already went through such. They don’t feel the need to interfere at this point. “ You shouldn’t worry too much about him.” She thought he was feeling sad as Bardar leaned back, but his answer differed from what she expected.

“Actually, I am not worried too much about the boy. It’s more about the second part of the letter.” He made another sigh when he mentioned the last part. Cellia found it strange and took the letter from the table and her eyes, too, twitched at the content. “ See, I bet the uncle read the letter from above and that’s why he left in a hurry. Lest I discuss it with him.”

Cellia kept reading the letter again and again but still didn't understand the reason behind it. “ What does she mean to stop the oppression towards the working class and cut the taxes to half?”

“ The hell I know.” Bardar decided to just ignore this part altogether. And he also remembered some incident from the day and couldn’t help but ask her. “ I heard you berated someone in the afternoon?”

“ Well, something like this has happened.”

“ Did they do something bad?”

She shook her head and, seeing his worried look, decided to elaborate. “ They didn’t do anything, but that doesn't mean I can’t find the fault on my own. Just a little magic and a broken vase here and there. After all, who told them to ignore my direct commands?”

“ So…how did it go?”

“ At the very least, there was no outward opposition anymore.” She didn’t choose her target at random, but found the servant with the most outspoken attitude towards her. Once she got the high ground, she almost made him lose his job today. She still had much more stored for them, it’s just she needed more time observation before moving again.

“Any loose ends?” Her methods did not surprise him. Everyone who met a wizard even once knew this very well. Kind heart? Wizards don't have them. It’s just a matter of when, and to whom, they show their fangs to.

“Hey,” she put her head to his shoulders and said in a light tone. “ If they could also find the traces of my magic, then I might as well go farming.”

“Hmm…”

“ By the way, how was your plan coming? You still haven’t told me anything about it.”

“ Well, you will know in a week?”

“ If you say so…”

***

On another side, Azir finished feeding Rayen and was prepared to sleep, but Cherry had another plan for today. She moved to the hay sack, and kicked at it, throwing the threads away. “ Oi! What the hell are you doing to our bed?”

“Woof!” In a panicked move, Azir moved fast and pulled her back, but the difference in strength was too big, and Cherry hardly moved an inch. “ Rayaann!! Say something to her.” His cry got wasted as the silent boy just looked on as every hay got thrown out by Cherry while she dragged Azir with her.

“Woof!” Azir was on the verge of exploding and released Cherry. Then, before Azir could fire his salvo of words at her, she shook her body and in front of Azir’s wide eyes, her size tripled. Her body occupied half the room. She then sat on the hay sac and woofed again. Rayen looked at her before moving closer and then lying on her stomach. She then looked at Azir, who was still staring at her. He stared for a long time before uttering his sincere words. “ Just what kind of beast are you?” There was a book about general monster beasts in the academy, but he never read anything about such a beast as the one in front of him.

With a glance, almost half of Rayen being sunk into the hairs of Cherry came into his view and a thought came into his mind. ‘It looks comfy.’ With this thought, he moved closer to her, and under the eyes of Rayen and the impatient Cherry, he laid his body on her stomach.

“Wow..” It was an unforgettable feeling that he felt for the first time. The hay was like a bland staple in front of the Royal cuisine. Most of all, it was warm and soft. When he grabbed the hairs, his fingers would just sink into the soft fur. “ Hundred percent a nanny beast.”

“ Woof!” Cherry huffed with pride. If someone said her fur is not the best, then she would eat them first, then ask again. But Azir was too tired to look at the proud face of the dog-bed. The warmth slowly pulled him into slumber. Rayen had long closed his eyes. With no one to talk to, Cherry moved her long tail and covered both of them. She placed her head in front of them and also closed her eyes. After all, she too had work tomorrow.

***

“ Rayen, do you see those things?” Time never stayed still and in an instant, a week passed for them. Nothing out of the ordinary for Azir, other than taking Rayen and his nanny to work, spending the whole day there, and then him ‘trying’ to refuse the portion of Cherry. Now even he felt bad for making a fool of her and decided to buy her some food, which was nothing but chocolate. And so, they came near the marketplace, and in the alley, he pointed to the side of the wall. The time had it, that Rayen now didn’t ignore him, and looked at the place he pointed. A somewhat raised wall of cracked walls, about half his size, ran along the length of the walls. Through trash and dust filled the gap between walls.

“ I heard that those were part of the water canal system that once ran through every part of the city.” He remembered the content of the history book. “ With the power to self-clean, the city lacked people who would ever get thirsty.” Nowadays, he needed to get to the middle of the city every two days to get the water. “ Too bad it got destroyed some fifty years ago, along with much of the city.”

“ Woof!” When he mentioned that, even Cherry woofed along with higher than usual pitch.

“ I know, right? Those bas- Ahem.” Seeing him almost cursed in front of Rayen, he corrected himself. “ What are they called again? Something sun-like? Whatever, those guys ruined this beautiful city. They would not have a good end, I tell you.”

It was then, Cherry’s paused and her ears perked up. “Woof!” She said after listening to some and not only once, like something urgent. Azir looked at Rayen, who kneeled and wrote. Leave fast. At once.

“What happened? You heard something?” Azir asked but Cherry seemed disinterested in answering. Instead, she tugged with her teeth and pulled at Rayen. Rayen obliged her and Azir hastily followed. They returned to the workshop, much to the dismay of Sam, who felt every day was closer to death for the past week. He wants to scream at the boy, who cheerfully said. “ Boss, how’s the evening?” He felt that if he had the hairs on his head, they would have gone white. Just having Cherry for the day is straining enough, now they come in the dark too. Seeing them entering the workshop like nothing, Sam took a deep breath and asked.

“ Why are you here? Your work for today is done.”

“Actually, I don’t know. But did something happen in the city?” Azir pointed to Cherry, who was pulling Rayen away from the basket of artefacts. “ She suddenly asked us to leave, and so we did.”

Sam paused. Every action of the guardian carries some meaning, so he dismissed it outright. But he was in the shop all the time, and thus, didn’t know about anything that could have happened outside. “ You wait here, I will check.”

Azir also wants to go, few things could happen in Oasis. For most of the time, the city was static, like frozen in time. If there was a change, he didn’t want to miss it. World might have heard his feelings, that a loud sound of bells entered his ears. “What’s that?” He asked in surprise.

The city bell. Sam had his complexions changed. He listened more, and the bell rang exactly five times. “ You all stay inside. The city had declared a martial law.” He told Azir, who made a confused look.

“ I never heard something like that?”

“ You haven't lived long enough.” Sam’s words had more meaning to them as he gave a side glance to Cherry. But it was for a brief moment. He turned his body and said before leaving. “ I would go meet with your aunt. You guys stay here.” He didn’t give a chance for Azir to say anything before disappearing.

“ Now, what do I do?” Azir looked at the duo beside him and scratched his head.

***

“Well, how is it?” Bardar stood at the balcony of the city lord’s mansion, and in the blanket of darkness, he looked at the city down the mountain slope. Some had the lights coming out from some houses and shops near the market, but most of the city was cloaked in darkness. Nothing like what he remembered from his childhood.

“ The patrol teams have returned. All civilians are told to stay inside. There is no soul on the streets anymore.” Cellia, who was just behind him, said as she too took a glance at the city. “ What would you be doing now?” She asked. She remembered that for some days, Bardar had been working with the layouts of the city. Yesterday, he even opened the godown of the city took out most of the things, and piled them beside the mansion, into many small mountains, some even five stories tall.

“ Showing them my presence,” Bardar said, as his body started to float in the air. His height kept climbing as soon as he was more than a hundred metres away from the tip of the mountain on which the city was built. He spread his arms wide and began. Cellia, still on the balcony, felt strong gusts of wind sweep over her short hair. With the winds came an overwhelming presence of mana that descended into the city, and she could feel her body being pressed by an unknown force. But that’s not the only thing, as the wind carried another thing with it, sand. A huge salvo of sands got picked up by the winds and then filled into every corner of the city. Soon enough, all lights were suppressed by the sandstorm that swallowed the city as a whole. Strangely enough, she could see the sand sticking to the walls of the mansion, but they entered the inside of it. She only had thought about such a situation. ‘Ai, his habit of going big has changed.’

Under the cover of sand, the pile of materials too got lifted and flew mid-air. Then, like being put into a blast furnace, the metals started to melt and changed into a gigantic ball of molten metals, which continuously got mixed into each other. The rest of the things like dark wood, dry leaves and green herbs too, were not left alone as they either got crushed into powder or cut into tiny pieces before being thrown into the molten metals. Just this took a little over thirty minutes when Bardar pointed his finger downwards, the molten hot well-mixed metal sphere, descended towards the city.

***

“ Hey, nanny dog, what is happening?” Through the gaps in the windows, Azir could see the sandstorm raging outside and couldn't help but worry. But his luck had it, Sam still had not returned and he didn’t want to go outside in this situation. He had no choice but to ask Cherry beside him.

“Woof!”

Renovation.

“Huh?” Azir had no time to understand the words, as in front of his naked eyes, the walls of the workshop started to glow orange. “ Stay away from them!” Azir said to Rayen and pulled him to the centre of the room. He couldn’t help it, as the walls gave him the strong winds of hot air. “ Shit, the sand is not enough for it.” He said while looking at the stone floor. In case of fire, he was thinking of using sand to put it out. Contrary to his sweaty face, Cherry was carefree, in fact, she even yawned a little, which eased some of Azir’s worry. But then, he looked sideways and Rayen was staring at his face, which made him feel that he was the strange one here.

He didn’t have to think too much about it, as another change took away his attention. Strange, complex intervened symbols appeared on the walls, and just looking at them, made Azir’s head spin. He forcefully looked away and also covered Rayen’s eyes, to prevent him from looking at them. To his relief, the symbols lasted only for a moment as they disappeared into walls. When he looked back through the gaps in his eyelids, he found the strangeness from earlier returned to normal. “Huh?” He released a confused sound. “ Just… what happened just now?” It looked like nothing changed at all. No explosion, no shaking of walls, no fire from the glowing walls. He looked at the calmness of Cherry and Rayen, and it almost looked as if he had a misconception till now. Only, when he looked closely, he found the walls to be a little different. Earlier they looked like some stone walls aged without anyone’s care. Now, they look freshly carved out. That’s true for every piece of structure, from the floor to the ceiling and the window, even the webs disappeared.

“What’s that sound?”

“Woof!?” It looked as if he was not the only one in such a situation, from outside, acclaimed voices of the crowd came into the workshop. Cherry jumped into the door, urging him to go outside.

“Stop jumping, the door was locked by Boss Sam.” Seeing Azir not helping, Cherry woofed again towards Rayen, which made Azir shake his head. He decided to show her the door was locked. But how could he know that Cherry used the sand to open it from outside and thus, when Azir tried to open it, the door just opened. Azir’s face twitched as he refused to look at the proud face of the dog. Cherry then ran past him. Azir was going to follow, but he remembered something and returned. He then grabbed the hand of silent Rayen and pulled him along with him. “ Come on Rayen, let’s see what’s out there.”

“Wow..” That’s the only word that came from his mouth as soon as he looked on. Everything looks new, whether it is the buildings or otherwise. The ground below was completely paved, with engraved images of five beasts, Centipede, beetle, cat, wasp and lastly, a symbol that was not seen in Oasis for a long time, a scorpion. But the renovated road was not the thing that drew one’s attention, it was the soft blue light that was coming from the ground. The road glowed and the light got reflected onto the new walls, which made an illusion of a shiny surface on the rocks. A strange sound came into his ears. To the left side, the before-destroyed water canal now looked anew, and a stream of water ran through it.

“Rayen, come here. Look at this.” He pulled Rayen with excitement. Near the canal, which too was lit below the water. He then pulled some dirt from the ground and dropped them into the stream. It disappeared the moment it entered the water. “Self-purification canals. Rayen, look at this, this…”

“ Why are you so excited about it?” Sam’s voice came from the back.

Azir turned back, wanting to ask where he was all this time, but stopped at the end, seeing another person beside him. “Aunt Senorita, how is the evening?”

She was Sam’s wife and looked around his age. With slight loose skin and few strands of white hairs. Dressed in plain maroon clothes and smiled towards Azir when he asked her. “ It’s all good. A blessing from a great mother. Don’t feel down due to my husband’s words. It's your age to be excited about.”

“ You spoil him too much,” Sam grumbled about this. But it was always like this. At last, seeing Azir, putting sand into Rayen’s hand to drop them into the canal, said. “ Stop doing such useless things. Come, Let’s tour the city.”

“Wait, Rayen, let’s wash our faces first.”

“Wait, I happened to have some clothes on you guys too.” Senorita, too, seemed excited despite her age and left to fetch some clothes which she once bought for Azir but the guy refused to take them. Now she had a good opportunity to give them to him. Only Sam remained silent. He looked at the symbol of the scorpion on the ground. A symbol which was almost erased from the Oasis over time. ‘Is it an olive branch or a warning before a storm?’ He thinks as the eyes draw to the top of the mountain. Azir was still young, and couldn’t think much but Sam was different. He knew about things. To make such citywide magic, and that too, in such a short amount of time. There is only one person in the whole of Thar, no, perhaps the only one in the world who can do it. ‘ Bardar, the Arc Wizard of Creation.’ The arc wizards, the pinnacle of ranks of wizards. And that too, is a titled one. Only those who did something extraordinary get a title. For Bardar, he redefined the way mana is taken and with it, the way of making artefacts as well as golems. No enchanter in the world didn’t know his name or read his theory of mana. ‘Alas, he is here, in this cursed land.’ With that scorpion on the ground, Sam could feel the drums of war on the horizon. After all, Thar would never get ruled by a kind person.

***

“Hu…how was it? You like it?” A little out of breath, Bardar landed back on the balcony. Cellia came forth right away and supported him. He didn’t need it, but there was no reason to refuse. Both turned to look at the city. It was a difference of worlds. Everything was lit from the grounds, their good eyes could see many black dots moving through the glowing streets. And lights dim as well as brighten with a breathing motion. Cellia stared for a long at such a marvellous view, before she could say anything. “I never knew a city could be this beautiful.”

“Well. It's the heaven of Thar, after all.”

Cellia leaned on to him and his free arm across her. Both were lost while looking at the city and didn’t notice Shasta, at the back, who silently closed the door without disturbing them. Just like the door, she made sure to keep her steps quiet throughout the hallways. She knocked on the door of the first floor.

“Come in.” Bladurus’ lazy voice came from inside. Shasta entered and found him standing near the open window and gazing at the city. “ It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” He asked her, without turning his back.

“ It is.”

“ If Mother were to see this, she too would be happy.” Shasta lowered her head at his words. He might have felt it, but he didn’t mind. “ After a long time, Oasis had returned to its glory. Let it be a memorable day for everyone.”

“ Should I?”

“ Yes. They have sullied our holy city for far too long.” Shasta could feel the coldness from his words. “ Those followers of the Church…make sure they don’t sully our holy city again.” It had been five decades since the Divine army reached the gates of Oasis, and perished. With their defeat, the prisoners got paraded through the city every day, since then. Most had already died, but now, Bladurus wants each of them gone.

“ As you wish.”

“Leave then.” Shasta bowed her head. Bladurus left look, kept looking at the city, lost in thoughts.

***