Asunam grunted as he dropped down exhausted from the long ride and rubbed his bearded face in weariness. The shade of the palm tree was a welcome feeling in the heat of this gods cursed part of the Sulvanc. Some men were born in the fertile plains and others on the shores of the great lakes of salt teeming with life. However, he grumbled at his luck to be born in this never ending world of sand and dirt. Glancing nearby at his so called comrades, who were also busy finding shade and a resting spot, he also cursed his luck at ending up as a sand thief. Though, it was a better life than grubbing in the dirt as a tenant farmer, like his parents.

  Biting into malpa fruit, he savored the sweet but tangy taste, wondering what it would be like to one of those wealthy land owners with acres of orchards and farm land on the banks of the Felim River. That was the safest and maybe the most comfortable of lives. Chewing slowly, he considered his own accumulated wealth so far after a decade as a sand thief. It was considerable, and unlike the rest of the drunks and whoremongers among the Skull Blades, he had it safely stashed away with a money lender in Kashan. A few more years, and there was a chance he could buy enough land.

  What more, the boss had promised wealth beyond their imagination with the mana crystal vein that had been found. Asunam had not seen the insides of the new mine himself, but he had been told by some of the others that each man's share of the wealth would be enough to be considered well off even in the Gateway to the West, Halasun. However, all of it depended on getting the crystals mined quickly before some nosy merchant or noble found out or before the wandering clans got wind of things.

  Looking at the new slaves being driven into a huddle nearby, Asunam wondered how long these pathetic dogs would last in the mine. They had been bought in Kashan from a slave dealer, and the odious rat had sworn that they were a hardy bunch with many being former tenant farmers, who had failed to pay their taxes or their rents on time. However, the long march out here to the fringe of the forbidden wastes had left them weakened. Finishing off the malpa fruit, he spit out the pit, muttering, “Be lucky if half of 'em lived...”

  “Get up you lazy bastards!”

  The annoying, wheezing shout grated on Asunam, but he didn't dare say anything back. The wretched son of a dog, who was walking over, was the brother of the leader of the Skull Blades. Standing up slowly along with the others nearby, Asunam stayed silent as Binhar arrived.

  “You lowly dung eaters were tol' to scout the oasis and take a look to see if we were being followed! But what do I see? Sitting in the shade like a bunch of women!”

  Asunam was tempted to tell the flat faced bastard to go suck on a camel's dick, considering the fact that the Binhar had been sitting under a parasol affixed to his horse's saddle this entire journey. In fact, it had been this bastard, who had slowed the journey down, only choosing to travel during broad daylight, when the desert was on fire. Still, Asunam kept his mouth shut like the others, listening to their leader's brother rant on.

  In the end, it led to him being chosen as one of the scouts sent out to check oasis surroundings. Mounting his horse, he tried to keep his annoyance in check, but he knew it leaked out with how hard he whipped Jazin, as she trembled slightly below him before taking off in a gallop. Once out of the oasis, he began looking around at the dry flat land all around, with the only other landmark being a long line of hills in the far distance, beyond which lay the Forbidden Wastes.

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  Asunam shivered a little, remembering his one and only trip to that hellish place. Sand covered everything as far as the eye could see, but that was not the truly terrifying thing. Great magical beasts and beings thrived in the wastes. Sand worms, that were an uncommon sighting in the rest of Sulvanc, were nothing more than insects in the wastes, and rare sand elementals roamed the wastes, proclaiming their territories by how many dead they left in their wake. There were other terrifying stories that Asunam had heard from explorers, other thieves, and even adventurers, but he preferred not knowing if they were true or not.

  Lazily observing the surroundings while lost in his thoughts, he suddenly felt like something was off. His decade of wandering the desert left him with enough common sense to trust his feelings. His mind becoming alert, he realized his surroundings felt different, almost cooler than before. That wasn't all, as he felt a slight breeze of cool air, when everything before had been nothing more than gusts of heat. Worse yet, the cold air was coming from behind him.

  Reacting immediately, he began twisting around, raising his spear from where he had it laying before him. However, before he could even manage to see what was behind him, he was yanked out of his saddle. “Ahhhhhhh!” The sudden jolt ripped the reins out of his hands and made him drop his spear, and by the time he finally realized what was happening, he found himself hanging midair. Something had him by the back of his tunic and armor, and the sudden constriction of the armor on his body left him gasping as he flailed around, trying to get free. However, all he felt was his chest and armpits hurting as the weight of his body was unevenly distributed.

  “Let me down!” Yelling while trying to stay conscious, he felt fear coursing through him as his breathing became more uneven. Stories of monsters and existences of terror from his childhood ran through his mind. However, he couldn't accept such a thing was happening to him of all people.

  His heart beat faster when he saw a metal ball of some kind be tossed to the ground below. He couldn't believe that a monster would have made such a thing. But, there was only one way to know. So, with a final grunt, he tried to twist around to grab at whatever was holding him up.

  While he didn't succeed, he was still turned around, but Asunam didn't know what was before him. That there was something before him was obvious, as a vague outline could be seen. However, it was like looking at the desert, where there should have been someone or something there. Not thinking clearly, he reached out instinctively and felt the rough, scaly surface and jagged protrusions on the thing before him. Asunam felt his stomach roiling in terror as his mind finally processed that realization.

  Then, the 'thing' became visible. What he saw was two, hollow eyes burning with black flames set in a formless face on a scaly head that was covered in a crown of jagged horns. The dark eyes glared at him, almost as though they were savoring him. Then, Asunam's eyes rolled back and a wet feeling covered his thighs, as his vision went dark.

  He regained his senses, as sharp pain rippled through his right arm. It felt as though something was trying to rip it off. “Gahhhh!” The almost instinctive yell finally roused him from the nightmare he had been having, and he looked up, thankful that the pain had stopped. His thoughts still felt fuzzy as he tried to remember where he was and what he had been doing, and just as the memories came back, his eyes finally adjusted to the dim light and saw what was before him.

  On a massive, partially melted throne of gold and gems sat a skeletal figure with a white and black fire burning in its chest. Covered in a torn, black robe and with a short spear plunged through its chest, the creature sucked the light out of its surroundings as it sat glaring his way with baleful eyes burning with the same dark fire as from his memory. Asunam felt a deep horror beyond anything he had felt before. It assailed at his very core, telling him that the being before him was the true embodiment of death come for him. Desperation filling him, he screamed as his thoughts spiraled into oblivion. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”