“So, we’re leading another lamb to the slaughter, huh?” Solis remarked to Nox as they watched Felkin working on retrieving the meat from the basilisk he hunted. He feebly punched her on the arm. “It's not going to be that way. I hope.” Nox answered. “He survived in the wilds, took down one of the beasts, and he wields an extraordinary weapon. If one were to make the journey, opportunity has given us him.” Nox watched on from the temple’s entrance silently. “Well, he’s already working for us. And if not him, are you going to send her?” She asked.

Felkin was waving Solis down to the beast’s carcass. “I’m going back inside; it appears you’re still needed out here.” Nox replied, patting her on the back. “We’ve gotten most of the meat you said wasn’t rotten, and the others have already gone back inside. We also removed some of the teeth as you requested.” Felkin remarked. “That’s good. Let’s get back inside, and don’t worry about cleaning that up, it’ll be gone tomorrow morning.” Solis answered. Felkin hopped off the basilisk’s back and began walking back to the temple with Solis.

“I’m curious on how you’re going to use the bones. For tools, or weapons maybe?” He asked. “We’ll first have to clean and wash them, then we can sharpen them or attach them to sticks. But it’s a process.” Solis remarked. As they walked, Felkin flicked off the blood from his sword into the sand. “We have a question. Why are you helping us out so much?” She asked. “Well, you’re the only people that could help us here, and if I help you, maybe you’ll help us. And if there’s a problem that needs solving that I can do, why shouldn’t I?” Said Felkin. Solis stopped walking momentarily, before continuing with Felkin to the inside of the temple.

“How do you eat this meat?” Kieron asked Dagran. “You… Bite it and chew, and swallow?” He confusingly responded. “Well, Felkin was wondering how you cook or eat, he said it was a surprise that we even understand each other, or are the exact same as one another in terms of arms, eyes, or legs…”He isn’t exactly normal for us…” He replied amused. “Even if we’re from different worlds we’re just the same…” Kieron mused. Dagran turned and looked at the other warriors.

“Our spears and our blades, they’re our claws.” Dagran continued. “Us in here, and the beasts out there; we’re all living creatures who need to eat. In that aspect even we’re the same right? You do have similar creatures in your land…” “Yes, but they’re not as large, or fierce.” Kieron replied. “Or desperate. They have no other food other than themselves, and us. We’re both clinging to life as desperately as possible, it makes us more similar than our appearance or nature.” “Huh.” Kieron responded. “Yes, in this condition we must be as fierce as the beasts themselves to ensure our survival.” Said Solis walking into the conversation.

'Like a beast.’ Kieron wondered, as flashes of memories came to her head. First of Felkin cutting down scores of bandits in an extraordinarily quick succession, and then her doing the very same, absorbed in the art of doling out death. “If you’d like to, the baths are in the back. We have some spare clothes for you as well.” Said Solis. “Yes. Thank you.” Kieron then went into the leftmost far room, into the individual water rooms, removed her clothes and went into the pool of water.

“Cold.” Her first response to the cool water, made much colder by the stark contrast of the outside heat. She crept into the water and had her knees up and arms crossed and her head rested on them. “Too cold.” She recalled the moment she unlocked her abilities to harness the sands to as she had evaded a shot from the crossbow and fell onto the cold, wet snow. She remembered when Isha took her back to their camp, and she huddled near the campfire. In their camp, where there were a band of merry companions, almost like family. That warmth was more soothing than that of the fire, but now she sat alone with her thoughts in a cold room.

“I better get back outside.” She splashed water onto her face and wrung her hair and washed it. She wondered if she would wash her weapon as well as it was stained with blood. She looked down on the water, it was now muddled with the blood she washed away. “Blood. I’m somehow always washing away someone else’s blood.” There were times that she wanted to fully dissolve into sand and be simply washed away down the river, but now as she realized that it would only transport her somewhere else, it was out of the picture.

“So, what do you think of the two?” Nox consulted both Dagran and Solis. Solis started first: “They’re good fighters but they’re young, willing to help but readily accepted our proposal to take them in without suspicion. They’re either foolish or confident.” “But they’re tough, only the three of us here have a chance of killing an adult serpent, well anymore at least.” Dagran replied.

“So, how long will they stay here until we send them out?” Solis asked. Nox replied with a stern glare. “I’m joking. Besides, if my suspicions are correct those two may hold a solution for us without ever going out there.” She replied. “What do you mean?” Dagran asked. “If those two come from somewhere, somewhere where the curse doesn’t touch, it could be our escape and safe haven from it.” She replied. “I’d like us to find a different answer to our problem, one that doesn’t involve leaving this place behind and to somewhere the curse does not reach.” Nox answered. “We better find an answer fast, or else there’ll be none of us left here.” Solis remarked. “Hey, brighten up you two. I remember last time when two extraordinary and young strangers appeared before us and helped us through times of need.” Dagran optimistically stated.

“It felt like so long ago…,” said Nox. “Dagran, you said that we were somewhat like the beasts outside, because we’re desperate. In a situation like this, desperate we were. We needed to be. Right?” Said Solis. There was silence. “I pity them. We’re born from the same earth, and yet we can do nothing as the creatures wander mindless and ferocious. There’s nothing we can do now anyway.” Said Nox. “We have you, and them. We’ve made much progress since we got you two.” Dagran stated.

Nox remembered the day he emerged into the world. The first thing he saw was a blurred view, like he was submerged in liquid, the sounds he heard were muffled. His first instinct was to feebly pound against the surface of from where he was, he looked around and he was enclosed in a tight space. A young girl’s voice could be heard just outside, when he heard it, he immediately stopped moving. “I see moving! Is ready now?” It was then followed by another voice saying: “Yep. Stand back, this could be a little dangerous. But I’m going to be as careful as possible.” The one who was speaking sounded to be an old man, but Nox could already determine this despite just acquiring awareness.

He backed away as he saw a shape moving quickly into the surface in front of him, followed with a shatter and rays of sunlight shining into his eyes as the liquid drained from the crystal, he was in. He held his hands out to shield his eyes from the light and only saw a hand outstretched reaching out to him. He grabbed it and was pulled out by it, but he tripped over and fell face down towards the wet sand of the outside. He coughed and spat out the water-like liquid from where he was encased in, he looked up and saw the hand of the one who pulled him out, a small hand with a yellow marking on their arm. He took it and he was helped up to stand.

“Are you alright kid?” A tall man armored man was standing over them, he was wearing a hat and a cloak over tarnished metal armor. He put the tool he used to break the crystal open on his back and crouched down to both. Compared to his height they were tiny and only a fraction of his size, he handed him a large piece of cloth that was enough to cover his entire body. “Wh-Who? Wh-What?” “Just got out and talking already, huh. This really is a special case. Well, it’s been a few hours and she already had an entire vocabulary.” The man surveyed the area where he was in. It was an underground cavern, with a small hole in the top that leads to the surface. The hole radiated light from the sky up above, earlier with sunlight, now with the full moon’s bright light.

There was one crystal already shattered that lie beneath the opening to the outside, and the other one lie in the far corner of the small underground room, the light of the moon reflecting off from the other crystal onto it. “Umm… Hello! I think we’re related to each other. We came from here, the same place.” The girl greeted him. ‘Hmm… This much awareness this quickly, observation and access to speech… Comprehension of events too…’ Jura then hopped up and peeked outside and saw one of the small white flowers rooted atop from where they were currently. The old man hopped back down the hole and rubbed his chin, or where it was as it was behind face plate armor.

He went to the wall nearest the area below where the flower was planted. He gently touched the stone wall and raised his pickaxe to strike a spot on it. "Related? Born here?" The young boy asked. "Who?" Nox pointed to Jura who was striking away at the wall. "Old man. He is 'old' and 'man' but his name I don't know." Jura shattered the wall to pieces but stopped striking as he saw long roots reaching to the underground. He bent down to where the roots reached down even under the cave they were in. He removed the shovel from his back and started digging. "He's scary." The boy remarked towards Jura. Something about this statement was extremely humorous to the young girl and she laughed loudly.

'This is why I don't like kids.' Jura thought. He momentarily turned around while he was still shoveling. The two were laughing amongst themselves and speaking in half-developed fragmented speech. 'They terrify me. I'd like to see them happy anyhow.' He turned back to the wall and finally dug into the depth of the roots. He found that the roots were feeding off a black liquid. He knelt down and inspected it, it was a small trail that seemed to lead far into the further underground. He used his shovel to dip into the liquid and brought it up to him, he reached for it with his hand but felt a sort of heat radiating from it and stopped short. He flicked it, removing the liquid from the tool and walked back to the two children. "You two doing okay?" He asked. "Yes." The girl responded excitedly. "Yes." The boy responded quietly. "Um... Thank you, for letting us out." The boy quietly thanked him. "Yes, me too." The girl followed up. Jura bent down and patted both of their heads gently.

"Metal hand!" She expressed excitement whilst looking at his hands. The boy then looked at his hands and his own skin. Then he looked at the girl. He looked up to Jura and said: "Our color... Is different..." "Hmm..." Jura remarked. He looked at the crystal under the opening and the nearby crystal within the cave. "She's from under there, exposed to the sun. You're here, the light's only reflected to you." Jura explained. "Light, hot, dark color. Here, cold, white color." He surmised. "Smart kid." Jura replied. He noticed the mark on the boy's hand, similar to the girl's only that it resembled a moon rather than her sun. The girl was looking at her skin as well and looked up to the boy smiling.

"What do I call you?" Jura remarked. "Yes, me too." "Old man, do no we have, name?" "Hmm... To spring this onto me right now..." He rubbed his chin again. He met their eager and excited looks and looked at them. He looked at the marks that were present on their arms, and he suddenly thought of something. Outside in the desert the three of them stood. Jura retrieved the flower and looked at it. It had already wilted, he then pocketed it. They walked from the underground pit and Jura looked far into the distance, barely seeing a structure in sight. The two were chatting and excitedly talked and called each other with their names. She looked at the large cloth wrapped around herself, and back at Jura. "Clothes." She pointed at him. 'Interesting... Naturally attained knowledge...' He thought. “Sorry kid, all I had was some spare cloth, you’re going to have to make do until we reach that.” He pointed at the distant location.

“I want it too.” Nox stated. Solis looked at him and back at the cloth she was wearing. She concentrated hard, and then the color of the cloth slowly turned into a golden color. It wrapped around her, forming a small snug shirt, pants, and cloth wrappings for her feet as well. Nox concentrated as well, but nothing occurred. Jura watched as Solis slowly waddled towards Nox, and the cloth turned into a white color and wrapped around him as well. The two began smiling happily despite the heat of the desert sun. “If we’re going to get there fast, I have to carry you two, is that okay with the both of you?” Jura asked. “Yes, lift!” “Please carry!” He picked both up, as they were small enough to fit sitting atop of both of his forearms. “I’m going to run fast now so brace yourselves.” He warned. “Yes!” “Go, fast go!” The two of them excitedly cheered him off.

“Hmph.” He arched his knees and sprinted fast, kicking up sand from behind him. He travelled far with each step, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. The two had their faces covered from the sand and wind by his cloak, as Jura travelled across the desert ground. “D-dizzy, B-bumpy…” Nox remarked. Solis reached out and held the hand of her brother to comfort him. She gripped tightly, and Nox’s expression became less nervous. Jura stopped in his tracks and his legs were slightly buried in the sand and created clouds of dust in the air. “Are we there?” said Nox. “Is it over?” asked Solis. They both peeked from behind his cloak.

“Wait, just be quiet for a moment.” Jura remarked. He looked around and waited for a few seconds. With both of them still on his upper arm, he bent down and grabbed a small stone from the ground. He threw it far eastward and waited until it impacted the ground. Waiting for a few seconds, he listened intently. “Nothing. Weird.” He remarked to himself. He looked down at them and they looked at him quietly with a serious expression. “Is there something out there?” Solis silently whispered. “There’s nothing kid, at least not yet.” He then continued running, across the hot desert until Jura stopped once more.

He stopped nearby a sand dune and then gently lowered the two of them down in its shade. “Wait here.” Jura peeked over the sand dune. “It’s so hot…” Solis remarked. Nox was so affected by the heat he could not answer. Suddenly he got an idea. Icicles began forming out of the ground, slowly melting, and wetting the nearby sand. “Better.” She answered. “Hmm?” Jura looked back at the ice and momentarily marveled but turned back around. Solis and Nox were having handfuls of the water from the melting icicle but Nox noticed and heard something. “This is bad.” Jura stated.

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He was looking at a nearby scene, a medium sized basilisk was thrashing about, whilst humans were trying to escape and trying to contest with its wrath. They were living in a broken-down ruin, some of the walls were intact but the ceiling was partway crumbled off, tents and some wooden structures were inside. Outside, hunters were trying to bring down the beast with bows and spears in vain, but as the beast thrashed, they mostly escaped from serious harm with redirection and distraction efforts from all sides.

Nox crawled to the side of the dune and saw a clear view of the event. ‘I… need to help them!’ He thought to himself. Solis followed and crawled too behind him, “Oh no…” She remarked, with a surprised and nervous expression. “Hey, we need to get out of here.” Jura said to them. ‘Don’t want to leave them behind but…’ He thought. “Please…” Nox slowly stood up and put both hands on his leg to plead. “No. We’re going somewhere else.” Jura responded. Suddenly, icicles froze Jura’s legs in place, firmly rooting him to the ground. “Hey!” Jura could only pat on Nox’s back, before the boy ran ahead of the dune and into the fray. Solis stood up to follow, but Jura grabbed her hand. “Hey kid, don’t tell them about me.” His serious and stern look met hers and she nodded before he let her go and she ran as well.

The serpent lunged, narrowly missing one of the warriors and being slashed across the eye by another one. “Take that!” It thrashed its head at him, he dodged out of the way but it struck one of the pillars near the ruin. “Dagran, be careful!” A man with bushy greying hair, exclaimed to a younger Dagran, one with semblance of hair left. The old man shot an arrow at the basilisk, diverting its attention. Nox ran as fast as his small legs could take him and put his hands to the ground, straining.

The basilisk turned around to face the direction from where the arrow came from, only to see Nox on its path. “Hey, who’s that?” “Is that a kid?” The warriors saw the small child in the path of the rampaging beast. “Move out of the way!” The old man yelled. Dagran heard this and began rapidly running to shove Nox out of the way. Massive shards of ice shot up from the ground, and erected large crystal-like icicles that trapped the giant basilisk in its tracks. Nox tiredly sat down on the ground, seemingly having lost strength.

“Whoa…” “What happened?” “Did that kid do that?” The warriors muttered. The old man and Dagran only watched silently in awe. Solis ran in after him, she raised her hands and focused as well. In the air above the basilisk, a small golden ball of heat appeared. It radiated energy like a second sun, blinding the other hunters. The ice slowly began to melt and the unaffected basilisk began to struggle harder, as it began to loosen from its capture. “It’s escaping!” One of them remarked. Solis raised her hands higher, and then the ball of light disappeared. But the creature was slowly escaping, the ice around it cracking allowing its body to move more and more, towards its inevitable escape. She looked around trying to see if she could do anything else and saw Nox tired on the ground.

“This is our chance, take it down!” The old man exclaimed as he shot another arrow at the beast, striking it through its nose. Some of the other warriors threw their spears and shot arrows into the basilisk, a few of them striking through small gaps in its scales. “Keep going!” Yelled Dagran, throwing his spear and joining the other warriors in retrieving more spears in their camp. The ice then shattered; the basilisk raised itself high into the air ready to pounce. It was extremely displeased with all the weaponry sticking out of it and hissed loudly.

Solis observed intently, watching the warriors fighting, the movements of the basilisk, and was furiously thinking about what she could do. It then lunged at the old man who was firing arrow after arrow into its face, trying to sink them into an exposed spot. It had its mouth wide open, its jaws waiting to swallow him whole. Dagran rushed in and shoved him out of the way, pointing the spear up, prepared to give one final strike against the beast. A golden bolt of light then sped through the air and struck the basilisk on the roof of its mouth. Solis stood firm, holding a bow of golden light, having created one only using the sand on the ground, and mere observation.

It swiftly turned and changed course, more furious than ever. Solis was flustered at the sudden oncoming serpent, her golden bow lacking any further arrows. She looked to the side and saw Nox still on the ground sweating and straining, with both hands on the sands but only small puffs of ice emerged from the ground, melting almost instantly. ‘Don’t worry, just focus.’ She heard a voice that was distinctly her brother’s but instead of wondering further, she looked straight ahead at the target before her. She tried to focus as hard as possible despite the looming threat, closing her eyes and imagining the wooden body of the arrow, then the sharp arrowhead, and then onto the feathers on its end. She focused on the feeling of the arrow in her fingertips and tried to form it directly onto her hands as she pulled the bowstring back.

Sand was gathering from the ground and into her hand, but her focus was interrupted by the sounds of parting earth and the hiss of a gigantic creature. As the creature raised its body higher into the sky, its body was directly under the light of the sun, its head was obscured by the blinding rays. As the serpent struck downwards, Solis had no choice but to loose a half-formed arrow, its golden color made it so it could not be seen if it struck the basilisk or not. The giant basilisk fell backward, struck by a powerful force. Solis lowered her bow and looked at the creature’s body. The top of its head was cracked and shattered, but her arrow was not lodged into it.

“She got it?” Dagran asked. “I think she got it!” A warrior yelled. Despite the heat and their fatigue, they cheered loudly. They wiped the sweat off their brows as they walked towards the two, picking up spears and arrows off the ground along the way. Solis saw something out of the corner off her eye, Jura walking away in the far distance, flicking blood off from his pickaxe and then she looked back cautious at the people approaching them.

The other warriors came back to their stone home nearby, a ruin that looked to be what remained of an old marketplace, stone steps up into a raised central platform, it had a roof which was supported by pillars but a portion of it was already broken off and stray pillars supporting nothing lie all around the area. Half a dozen of the warriors walked, four of them went to the basilisk’s carcass and the remaining two went to the nearest child, Nox. Despite the effort she exerted, Solis ran in front of Nox as Dagran and the old man approached. “Hello there, uh… We’re not going to hurt you, we’d just like to introduce ourselves, and maybe we can help you kids find your way home.” The old man had his hand out, palm facing in a reassuring manner. Dagran stood behind him, one hand holding a spear on his side. He was cautious and silent; he observed the two keenly.

“Now, your names?” The old man continued. The two looked at each other nervously, Solis nodded first and Nox did the same. “I am Solis. This is my brother, Nox.” “Hmm…” The old man’s gaze narrowed. Dagran squinted for a moment. “I see…” The old man rubbed his stubbly chin. “Well, you two must be thirsty and hungry being this long outside, let’s continue talking back inside. Come, follow me.” The old man then turned around and began walking. The two looked at each other once more, nodded at the same time, held hands, and began walking together. Dagran waited until they passed him, and then slowly began walking behind them.

As they climbed the stone steps, the residents of the area all looked at them, from behind tents and stone pillars. “Help the others with collecting the meat.” The old man ordered the other warriors outside to help gather meat from the dead basilisk. Mutterings and whispers could be heard throughout, Nox and Solis looked around at the people, there were men and women, of varying ages, most of them were doing work like cooking or cleaning but were still glancing at the two strangers. The old man had a smile on his face but as he reached the center of the area, he heard the gossiping and frowned.

“Ehem!” The old man exclaimed loudly. “Folks, you know that we were just attacked by one of the cursed beasts. But now it is dead. And we have these two to thank for it.” The mutterings and talking became louder and more apparent concerning the two but the old man continued. “Quiet! From this day on, we will accept these two as our own. Is that understood? If anyone has an issue with that you are free to raise this concern with me, as leader.” There was silence. “Now, back to work.” He then walked to a central stone chair and sat on it and sighed.

“Dagran, get these two some food and drink.” Dagran paused for a moment, and then walked off. “Where are you from kids?” The man asked curiously. The two looked at each other once more. “The desert.” Solis answered. “Everywhere is the desert.” Said the old man chuckling. “I mean your home, where other people you know are, where your parents may be living?” The old man continued. “The sand. Under the sand.” Nox stated. “So, you two say you come from under the sand…” said the old man rubbing his chin. “That’s not that surprising considering what happened earlier… Did you meet anyone or know anyone, or is it just you two?” Nox began to speak but was gently elbowed by Solis. “No. Its just us.” She recalled Jura pulling her out of the cramped and suffocating crystal, and his assistance in defeating the basilisk and kept silent about him. “I see…” He answered.

Dagran came in with two cups of water, and two pieces of bread. “Here you go.” The old man reached over and gave them the food and drink and waited to see how they would react. The two immediately happily gobbled down the food and gulped through the waters. ‘They’re awfully trusting. They are little kids after all… Still, there’s something about them.’ Dagran thought to himself. “Your brother’s skin… Its light in color.” Dagran stated. “It looks like the color of the nightly shining moon. The light that guides us through the long and dark nights, its unique to say the least.” The old man responded. “Th-thank you.” Nox bowed. “Ahaha, its no problem.” Said the old man.

Dagran stood still with his arms crossed watching them. The old man turned to him and said: “Its fine Dagran, you can continue with your other duties.” Dagran nodded and walked off, keeping an eye on the two. Another person from the sanctuary approached the old man. “Ah, any news?” The old man asked. “No. The scouts have spotted no trace of them, they searched even until sunrise, but still nothing.” “How long has it been, three days, before they were supposed to go back here?” “Yes.” “Tsk. Hopefully they found a place to stay and are just camping out in the meantime.” The old man worriedly stated. “Why don’t they go back? Does something happen at morning?” Nox asked. The old man lowered his head down to their level while he sat and answered: “So you walked all the way here from out there, but you don’t know what happens after sunrise.” The old man leaned backwards to his normal sitting position.

“That’s okay, make the scouts rest today and we’ll try again tomorrow.” He said to the man who bowed and then walked off. He then leaned and talked quietly to the two. “If you two are alone, and you haven’t witnessed the curse, how long have you been out there?” “Just this morning?” Solis answered. “I knew it!” He leaned backwards again, almost tipping the chair he was on. “You two may just be the answer to my prayers. I knew there was still hope for us!” He exclaimed. Dagran walked over to the sleeping tents and the rest of the camp, accepting waves and greetings from the various people there, and compliments from the children and the other warriors for his recent accomplishment.

“Did you see those two? How was that even possible?” A boy asked Dagran. “Yeah. It’s extraordinary.” Dagran said flatly, looking at the old man happily chatting along with the two. “Well… Are you considering me joining yet?” The boy asked. “Raln, we’ve talked about this before. You’re not ready. At least not yet.” Dagran answered him. “But I’ve trained more. I’ve asked the other warriors, and they’ve been training me.” “Not again. I’ve told them to stop doing it. Who was it who agreed to it?” Dagran asked with his palm on his forehead.

“With all of the attacks and the expeditions, the warriors are running low, I need to join them.” Exclaimed Raln. “No, not yet.” Dagran responded. The old man on his throne continued speaking: “I’m going to formally announce you two to the rest of the camp tonight! Right after we prepare the meat we got from the beast and have ourselves a feast. It’s a shame we can’t save the meat for later, so we must eat as much of it as soon as possible!” Nox raised his hand. “Um… I might be able to do something about that?” The old man’s eyes lit up. “Oh… You really are a life saver.” He remarked as workers moved basilisk to a cellar underneath some stone steps in the ruin.

Nox raised icicles all around the room, the meat now being kept fresh because of it. As Nox walked back up he was met by Solis, they looked all around as they were led by the leader. There were more mutterings than ever, and then the old man stepped up with one leg on the throne and cleared his throat. “As nightfall approaches, we should not fear, but celebrate! As we receive our newest meal, we also receive two new gifts along with it.” The twins were uneasy, Nox’s expression showed this more than Solis’. “This is Nox and Solis. They emerged from the desert, as beings that rose from the sands. They will be a part of our sanctuary, and we will accept them as one of our own.” Nox waved with his other hand as Solis bowed.

After the festivities ended, most of the people were asleep, they were curious and cautious of the two at first, but eventually made merry and forgotten all about it. Solis and Nox had their fill of food, but they were still awake as they sat down on the stone steps leading to the rest of the desert. The sun was beginning to peek over the horizon and the sky’s color was transitioning from blue to orange. Both were unsure and lie awake trying to process the situation. “Still awake?” The old man questioned. “Well, you better stay on the steps because its not safe out there.” He continued. “The curse?” Solis asked. “Mhmhm.” He replied.

Dagran was still awake as well, but he watched the three out of sight. “We’re going to send another group of warriors and explorers, to a new direction, in search of another place to stay.” The old man remarked. “But why not search for the others you sent? Why not stay here?” Nox asked, but it came from both of them. The ground suddenly emitted a low rumble, and it began to shake. They both climbed the steps up to the platform above, fearful of the phenomena. “You’ll get used to it. It happens for a few minutes at night then it stops.” Then, the sand slowly began to rise. Or more accurately, the stone began to sink into the earth. “This is the reason we need to be desperate. We need to find a new home. Soon, this place will sink into the sands, leaving nothing behind.” The old man exclaimed.

The two looked at the rumbling sand, and both looked at each other, Solis had a sudden feeling or instinct in response. She gripped Nox’s hand tightly and they walked down the steps. Dagran stepped forward, to see what would happen and the old man walked down to stop them but was halted by his curiosity. As they walked down, the mark on Solis’ arm began to glow. She suddenly experienced pain, with a grimace on her face. The rise of the sand overtaking the structure began to slow, but as Solis was suffering, Nox strained his hand forcibly, making the mark on his arm alight. Then, after a few seconds, the shaking stopped and the sand receded, leaving half crumbled stone left of its effects.

The two then fell to the ground fatigued, and overexerted. Dagran ran in from hiding to check up on them, but the old man stared ahead bewildered. Dagran was checking on them, putting the back of his hand to check on their foreheads, and carrying them up into safety. “Finally, a solution. I’ve been so tired all these years, but now…” He smiled widely, tears in his eyes as Dagran walked back to the camp’s tents. Although fatigued Solis was looking at her brother’s back. She could see white sprouts of a plant had been attached to his clothes. She recalled the attempt Jura made to grab Nox and she realized that this was his last gift to them. And so they remembered the mysterious stranger, the face that they first saw, he remained unnamed but remained significant throughout the years to them, a fleeting but well remembered figure in their lives.