The air was dry. It made Jet crave water almost immediately. The sun was bright and scorching. There was no shade to be seen anywhere for miles. Jet had given up struggling after the first hour. The heat and struggling didn't mix well. It exhausted him. It didn't help that the further they went, the day seemed to get longer.

Jet was now across the back of a horse. The general had tied him up and threw him on it not far into the desert from the wall. The wall was out of sight now. The general had taken him away from the traveling pack of Spirit Elementalists. He felt like the general didn't want to show Jet to them for some reason.

"Glad to see you finally calmed down," the general said. Jet wasn't going to reply to him. "Don't know how you managed to escape the caravans, but I'll be sure the Emperor will know to have someone executed for it."

Jet wasn't sure what he thought about that. He decided to remain quiet. He wondered how far the checkpoint was. A part of him wondered if he had the strength to escape into the Spirit Plane. He wasn't sure how long he would have in the plane. The heat continued to make Jet feel exhausted and out of energy.

Eventually, Jet managed to shut everything else out so he didn't focus on the pain of heat searing his skin, or his yearning for water. The time flew by after that. Next thing Jet opened his eyes to, the general was pouring water on him. Jet mumbled and gasp for air as the shock of cold water covered him.

"We're here, boy." The general spoke with little enthusiasm. Jet wiped his eyes and looked around. It was a village. The buildings were all tan and round dome-like huts. They were made of a smooth stone material that Jet had never seen before. Other Spirit Elementalists watched the general pull Jet to his feet. Jet could sense they all had the Element he thought was so unique.

"You'll be here until the next pick up comes through. Don't get lost this time. The Empire needs all the volunteers they can get."

Volunteers? Jet thought the general couldn't be serious. He looked to the others. None of the other Elementalists took the general as a threat. They simply seemed more intrigued with Jet than the Soul Elementalist.

"If you do leave again, be aware that I will find you. I have to get back to commandant the construction site."

Jet wished he could be telling Coria all this. The general began to ride his horse away, not considering the thoughts racing through Jet's head that showed on his face. What was the Emperor building? That's when it struck him. The machine on the night that he and Dustan went to the tower. It was powered by Spirit Element. Could the Emperor be building another one? Perhaps a more massive scale one to require hundreds of Spirit Elementalists. That would mean that the Emperor discovered the flaw in the first design, which overall was a bad sign for any other land.

The Emperor was just after Spirit Elementalists in general, not specifically Jet. It was a bit of relief to know he wasn't being hunted specifically, but only for his Element.

As the thoughts circled Jet's head, another Spirit Elementalist approached him with something in their hand. Jet's train of thought was broken as he watched the desert dweller extend out a waterskin. "You look dehydrated. You'll need this," the girl told him.

Jet examined the waterskin carefully. Dustan had told him they were strange little things that could carry water without dripping or spilling, which were perfect for his desert family. He took the round object. It felt strange to touch, but he was afraid to ask what it might be made out of. Instead, he took a swig of water.

"Thank you," Jet managed to say after gasping for air. He had almost emptied the waterskin of its contents.

"Easy there. There's plenty more water in the well. You don't need to drink it as if it was your last." Her accent was strange. Jet wondered if Dustan had a similar one until the Calbar Empire one took over.

"Sorry. I'm not used to this climate, I guess."

"You would have fooled me. You look like an Ahrurian to me."

"A what?"

"Ahrurian? The people of Ahrura?"

"Is that what the desert is called?"

The girl looked surprised by his response. "You must not be from here then."

Jet nodded in agreement. "I'm not. I suppose I was originally born here, but I was really young when we left. I've lived in Calbar most of my life."

The mention of the Empire's capital city seemed to light up the girl's eyes. "You've been to the capital?! Oh I can't wait to go!"

"Really? Why?"

"Haven't you heard? The Emperor needs Spirit Elementalists to volunteer for a huge project. He said he couldn't do it without us and we would be doing the lands a huge favor by helping."

Jet felt his stomach turn. The Emperor was lying to the people of Ahrura. Suddenly his mouth became dry again so he took another drink from the waterskin.

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"What's your name, anyways?" the girl asked.

Jet broke his concentration to actually look at her. Her eyes were brown. It made Jet almost chuckle out loud. He wanted Rujar to know that his theory on Elements affected appearance was probably not true, at least not for Spirit Elementalists. "My name is Jet."

"A peculiar name. Do you know why you were named that?"

Jet shook his head. He wasn't sure if he should feel offended. As if she sensed it, the girl's eyes widened. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you! I just...I don't know. Sometimes I just talk, you know?"

Jet couldn't help but smile at the girl. He wasn't exactly the most social person either, so he could understand accidently saying something bad unintentionally. "You didn't give me yours," he replied.

"Oh! Yes. My name is Nadreen." The brown eyed girl also had short brown hair that flared a bit at the ends. She wore a white shirt that was loose fitting around the arms and hips. The pants she wore had the same loose fit towards the bottom of her legs and were a light gray. Her feet were covered by thin leather shoes.

"Nice to meet you Nadreen," Jet replied with a smile.

"You should meet the elders. They'll want to hear from a foreigner Spirit Elementalist!" Nadreen exclaimed. She grabbed Jet's hand and pulled him further into the village. The other villagers watched the two as Jet barely managed to keep his balance with the speed and strength of Nadreen. The sand beneath his feet also didn't help.

"Nadreen, what are you doing with that boy?" an older man yelled from the well she was dragging Jet too.

"He says he is from Calbar, elder."

"Eh, Calbar? A Spirit Elementalist from the Empire?"

The mention of the Empire brought a lot of attention to Jet and the elder. Jet felt his face grow red. The elder simply smiled at the curiosity of his people.

"Tell me, boy, do you know your parents name?"

"Cafl," Jet replied.

"Ah, of course. Your parents were from a village on the southern part of the desert. That village was always more interested what was beyond the wall than exploring the worlds our Element has provided."

"Does that village still exist?"

The elder's almost white eyes seemed to roll back in thought. After a few seconds he nodded. "I do believe the people of the village became more nomadic over the years. Back when the border was less of a challenge to get through. Spirit Elementalists used to be all over the lands, but now we are kept in the desert."

Jet swallowed some more water. His throat went dry at the thought that his parents might have made it back and were traveling the desert. He wondered how much time he had to look for them before the next wave of soldiers came.

"Why are you letting your people get captured by the Empire?" Jet asked roughly. The word capture seemed to cause everyone watching to whisper and mummer to each other. The elder began to chuckle a little bit.

"Capture? No, we wouldn't allow that," Nadreen spoke in.

"She's right, boy. The Emperor has simply given us the opportunity to leave our homeland once again and help the lands," the elder explained.

Jet wanted to sigh, but he knew it wouldn't do any good to upset his people. They were obviously set that the Emperor could do no harm. He did have several more months to maybe change their minds depending when the soldiers arrived. Instead, Jet nodded to the elder and shot Nadreen an unenthused smile.

"So what brought you here foreigner?" the elder asked.

"I wanted to see the people who share my Element. My homeland."

"Well you've come to the right village boy. I sense that you want to know more about your Element too?"

"I'd love to. I really don't know how to use it. The few times I have..." Jet hesitated to mention the Spirit Plane. They shared his Element, but did they all go to the Spirit Plane too? "I've managed to use it successfully a few times on accident. The powers usually came to me when I needed them."

Nadreen smiled widely and pointed to the elder, "Well he's one of the best Spirit Elementalists in all of Ahrura."

The elder smiled weakly. "It is an Element that comes easier with age."

Jet returned a smile to the old man. His bald head had pale green paint in designs. His white beard covered most of his face to not allow more paint. He was wearing similar clothes to Nadreen, but more in robe fashion than a shirt and pants.

"Come my boy, I shall tell you the story of our people in our sacred hall."

"Can I come too? I do love to hear the story!" Nadreen asked the elder. He chuckled dryly and nodded to her.

"Of course my dear, you can come along too."

She turned to Jet. "You're going to love the sacred hall."

Jet couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. He hoped the sacred hall would show him more about his Element. He followed the elder as the old man slowly worked his way up the sand-covered paths. Jet looked around and noticed that rocky outcrops sprouted up behind the houses and shops of the village the further they went up the hill.

The village seemed to be on a mountain or plateau slope. The base, where Jet was dropped off by the general, seemed to be filled with shops. They all had stands inside and out that carried goods. Beyond that, the village simply opened to the desert. Houses occupied closer to the plateau, getting more shade cast on them.

The air was filled with a mix of smoke and sand. Some of the villagers had fires going inside their houses for cooking. Jet could smell only a hint of what he thought was meat cooking. He wondered how cold it got at night. Fires would almost be required from the stories Dustan told him.

As the plateau rose high enough to block the sun, Jet began to feel more at ease. The shade was welcoming. The sand beneath his feet was now cool and inviting.

"You know, Jet, it is nice to see you still wearing Ahrurian clothes," the elder spoke.

Jet looked down to his vest and pants. He had almost forgotten that he had them on. He had always worn them, so it became normal to him. Now Jet was around others who wore the same material. It was cotton, Jet knew. The material that the other lands tended to use was wool because the colder climate.

"I've always had these. Along with a scarf..." Jet muttered.

"A scarf? Was it green? Your family came from a village that loved the color green."

"It was green." Jet replied excited that the elder knew.

"Ah yes. Green to Spirit Elementalists is our color of knowledge. We learn and grow, like the plants of the oasis. It isn't a system we use much anymore, but in our early desert days, the Spirit Elementalists used different color dyes for many aspects."

Jet nodded to the old man. He had already noticed the dye on the top of the elder's head. He could tell he was a fan of tradition.

The three eventually reached the peak of the village. It was a rather large stone temple that went into the plateau. Large tan columns jutted out in front of the doorway. "This way," the elder said as he passed the columns.

Jet and Nadreen followed him. Nadreen was eagerly behind the elder. Jet felt overwhelmed to follow. He could feel something special about temple. His Element had come to life along his hands.