***
They say that clouds are forbidden in the desert of Iris.
No shadow shall fall on her children or Her.
As Her beauty is golden and Her children Her pride.
Lone man wander Her borders, wildly eyeing Her closely, but they dare not lay even a
finger on Her body and rightfully so. They know better than that.
Do not wander the sands without purpose! - Their fathers have taught them well.
Praise the sands and accept their gifts, but do no sully them.
Once you are old and hear the call, give back what you took.
From the sands we came and to the sands we shall return.
***
The first one caught me by surprise.
Only a handful of hours had passed since the meeting ended. I was doing my chores -
swiping the sand from the deck that the Al'ma where kicking back while stampeding in
the only direction they knew. What propelled them to move at such speed? How come
there wasn't any need to "steer" the animal in any way? Just how did my uncle manage
to subjugate these titans?
You see, there were many things I didn't know about Graham. For one, the first time we
met was but a day prior to the start of our voyage.
Till then, I only heard about him from stories my brothers told me.
Tall tales about a giant. More savage than human. He forsook his duties as the hair of
our family's title and went to wander the world in search of something.
According to what they say, old Graham was blessed with more luck than smarts and
somehow ended up in the favor of the old Emperor. Whatever he did, the Emperor
become his biggest financier. After which Graham wasn't seen for ten years. The rumors
speak about how he found a secret gold mine somewhere east in the ex-kingdom of
Maharani. Or how he stole some sacred scripture from a temple and ended up cursed
by a goddess.
Some say he even slayed a dragon.
***
My mouth was constantly dry out here but we had to ration the water we had, since
we'll be spending the next four months on the road. After we manage to get to the
other side of the desert the representatives of Vasilis will be waiting on their side of the
Ringed Forest with water and food for the last month of travel to the capital - Vasiliya.
Loosing myself in thought, imagining stepping foot on solid land again and walking in a
crowded city, made me unaware of my surroundings for a moment, but I noticed
something moving in my peripheral vision.
I moved closer to the edge of the ship, grabbing the metal handrail that burned my
palm. The shock and pain from the flashing sensation was almost forgotten instantly as I
observed the thing below us.
Whatever it was, it was big. Big and long. Matching the ship's speed almost perfectly, it
traveled just barely underneath the surface of the sand. Camouflaging itself as some
dune or wave of sand in the wind.
Its stealth ability was good and it might fool the animals but if one was to look a bit
closer, clear colors could be seen mixed with the gold of the sands. Something felt
strange while looking at it. Such a colorful animal, yet using camouflage.
Make up your mind man. Do you want to be seen or not?
I moved away slowly as to not alarm or provoke it. Maybe we wondered into its territory
and it just came to check us out. There is no way it was gonna try its chances with the
Al'ma. There were three of them and just one of it. Plus, it didn't appear that big. Maybe
half the length of the Gamma...and...on...
On the other hand, I was sure of its glory.
Maybe the Al'ma would put up a good fight for a while but...Nahhh who am I'm
kidding, they would lose and perish like the pray they are. And they seem to
understand that. They're slowing down. Yes, good Al'ma, good. Yes. We should stop.
Yes.
Yes. Ye...
"Oli get away from there!"...
"Oliiiii!!!"
"Oli get down. Don't move!"
"Boy, don't move!"
...
What are you people blabbering about?
Rejoice that his light shines on us. The horses seem to understand. Why can't you? Isn't it
nice? Yes.
...
A hand grabbed me...
...
...
..
.
"Quick before it's too late!"
...and another slapped me on the face...repeatedly.
But I didn't care, for his light protects me even in this dark place.
"For goodness sake son, snap out of it and stay still. Someone get the damn juice, I'll try
to tie him up!"
I can feel his presence. The lord is calling to me. His arrival is eminent. Let go of me you
scum, do not touch me.
"Would this help? I know it's not in juice form but maybe..."
"What? Yes, yes it should. Make him swallow it while I hold him. Rub some under his nose
as well. Thank you lad!"
It was as if a thread snapped in me.
"Hm, what?"
I opened my eyes, the tomato taste still in my mouth.
My cheeks hurt like hell.
As I came back to my senses, I noticed that Gal was practically lying on top of me.
Goodness gracious a diet won't kill you Gal. But what the hell happened to me?
"Gal, Gal do you mind?"
"Of course I mind you bloody pipsqueak! You scared the crap out of us. Now just lay
here and be silent while the men take care of this. I'm heading up to help."
"But what happened? What did I do?"
"We'll talk later, now just stay here and let us soldiers do our job."
"Wait, I want to help. If there is something I can..."
"No Oli, not this time."
"But Graham told me to toughen up, let me..."
"Please Oli, just...just stay here. You're to young for this."
"Gal..."
After a few moments, I found myself in the hull of the ship. Inside my quarters I could still
hear the clapping of heavy iron plated boots above my head. The screaming of orders,
men fighting, strange growling and something cutting the air with great speed.
My curiosity got the better of me. I needed to know what was happening outside. While
getting up from my bunk I caught a glimpse of something passing by the window. Might
just be my imagination but it looked like a rainbow-colored rope or a bunch of flags
tied together. The thick window drapes were obscuring the view so all I got was a short
flash of color.
As I hurried out the door a hand stopped me from reaching for the handle. A skeleton
like bony hand grabbed me by the wrist. There was not much strength to it. It felt more
like a handkerchief wrapped itself around me.
"Please Oli, don't. Gal said to stay here."
"Colin, where did you come from?"
"I...I hid in the corner after we snapped you out of the state you were in. You were
rambling about some sort of light and pray and stuff. I think that thing might have
poisoned you somehow. Gal yelled to the others to get tomato juice but we couldn't
find it, so we improvised."
"What, why tomato juice?....Also, wait. Did that thing sting me somewhere. Colin quick,
check if there is like a needle or bite mark on me!"
I started spinning around unbuttoning my shirt.
"No, no...please no. I don't like that. Please no."
Colin yelled like a madman, with the look of sheer terror in his eyes, reverting back to
crouching in the corner.
"Oh, I see...alright, calm down man. I stopped. No need to panic. Are you alright?"I tried to lend him a hand but he just pulled away more like an animal cornered by its
predator.
At that moment I realized what I did, but didn't want to push the situation further. I'm
sorry Colin. You can have half of my rations for the rest of the trip. But now I need to
help Gal and the others somehow.
"Colin I...I'm going to help the others, you stay here."
Before I could turn around to the door, a booming voice echoed above.
"MUSKETS! STEADY! AIM! FIRE!"
"DON'T LET IT EXPAND!"
There was a barrage of gunshots one by one, followed by a deep growl.
The ship shook like an ocean wave hit us, and a few moments later I was knocked
besides Colin into the corner.
For the first time since our caravan started, we stopped.
The Al'ma stopped.
And it seems the ships inertia slammed us into the Al'mas back legs.
"Ohh crap."
"Colin, I don't know what is happening but I'm going up. Try to cover your head just in
case and stay here."
I tried to get up, but the motion sickness got me good this time.
Having been in constant speed for the past few weeks made in nigh impossible to
move now that we slowed down this much. My legs just didn't want to stop shaking.
Nevertheless, I pushed on. Griping the side of my bed and the shelf next to it to jiggle
myself up like a newborn calf.
Slowly but steady I made my way up, until I got to the staircase leading to the hatch.
Unsure what awaited me outside made my heart beat like never before. Was this the
way my uncle always felt on his adventures? I can feel the fear in me, but also a sort of
wonder. I NEED to know what's on the other side of these wooden planks.
Before I knew it, I was standing on the deck. Upright. My eyes, not yet accustomed to
the light, were already fixated on the visage some hundred meters behind us.
Its form was unworldly. Tentacles, or were they vines were swirling around the creature's
main trunk. It looked like the dance of an angle, yet somehow twisted, converted,
grotesque but engulfing. It formed symmetries and discarded them almost instantly,
trying to position itself more perfectly. A symphony of movement with the unfathomable
crescendo yet to come.
It held in its scales all the colors of the world.
Its size swelled with each passing moment, reaching higher and higher, now just short of
the Alphas crown.
Holding it in my sight I thought I would weep.
How? How can something this beautiful exist?
It called to me. And I answered. Step by shaky step, I wondered forth.
Until, once again a hand grabbed me.
"Get in the hull this instant boy!"
"Gal, what is tha..."
A large hand smacked me right across the cheek.
"Olly. Inside. Now!"
Anger, frustration and fear. His words came out sharp and quick.
"We will not make the same mistake again, do you hear me? I will not stand
accountable in front of Graham."
He slammed the stock of his musket on the ground.
"Get inside boy."
He let that last sentence out through his teeth.
Without notice, the till now still Al'ma started to move again. Slowly diverting their
original course.
They started to circle back.
Everyone was speechless until panic arose.
"The Al'ma are turning! We are changing course! All men on station. All men on station!"
"Captain, what do we do? Do we abandon ship?" A soldier standing behind Gal asked,
but he never got to hear the reply.
In an instant, all three beasts got to stampeding with all their might again, straight to
their target, the swirling monstrosity ready to embrace them.
Their immense speed pushed us back with no warning.
I tried to grab hold of something but was thrown back into the open hatch I just came
from.
Falling down the stairs, my head hit one of the boards.
I told you this place will be the death of me.
The last thing I remember is the feeling of something warm dripping from my forehead,
before darkness took me.