A Desiertan Night's Story

Born in the nation of Desierto, Amir was not destined for an easy life safely hidden behind the walls of one of the grand cities of the sultans of Desierto. Nonetheless his infant years passed by without much of interest happening to him or the tribe he had been born into. At the age of six years, he was old enough and able to walk, talk and pay attention to the even younger ones, so he was sometimes told to take care of his younger siblings. Around that time, he also heard the first tales of old, stories of mystery, magic and wonder taking place in a time so long ago he could not even believe it had existed.

He was trained to live at a strange rhythm, with the tribe traveling at night and during the early hours of the day, and resting in their tents when the sun would burn hot in the sky, making activity almost too painful to even think about.

While most of the elders did not really care much about the young ones, being entangled too much in their games of politics, there was one – the eldest of the tribe – a man named Hadi. He was soon to become the grandfather figure for Amir and a few others. He was also a mage and had been one of the defenders of the tribe for the longest time. From time to time, he would lead some of the children out into the dunes to show them 'one of the great wonders of the desert' as he called it. In the early hours of the day, he would tell them stories passed down from his grandfather to him, leading up to the sun rising and ending the story just as the sun crested the ridges of the greater dunes on the horizon. The stories were usually about the deeds of an old mage, born and living in Desierto who put arrogant people in their place through wit alone, even the sultans on occasion. To Amir, these stories, the image of the rising, golden sun, would begin to shape his outlook on the world and instill a thirst for all things new and wondrous in the boy.

During these excursions, Amir also made friends with another boy, named Faris, who is the legitimate grandson of Hadi. The two became nigh inseparable and would pester the old man about his magic and showing them what he could do. Keeping it to cantrips and small tricks, Hadi gave them an idea of magic and, at the same time, taught them about principles that could guide ones life. Faris quickly showed signs of following his grandfather's path when it was discovered he had a talent for magic. While at first happy for his friend, Amir, over time, began to feel that they were separating. Nonetheless, Hadi apparently enjoyed the young one being around, as he often allowed Amir to accompany the two as they went to train Faris' magic talent.

Those days were serene and Amir wished for them to never end. He still remembers those days with happiness.

Around the time of Amir's 13th birthday, his life took a new, unexpected turn. So far, he had not known of the dangers of a life outside the walls of the sultans' cities. On that day, reality reminded the tribe of what the dangers were when raiders attacked the tribe. A band of bandits, living somewhere on the outskirts of the desert had a need for slaves to sell and the tribe, isolated and alone, was a great opportunity to them.

They came in the heat of the noon-day sun when only few people were up and awake. The few guards were overwhelmed, although they managed to alert the others. The ensuing battle cost the raiders many men and in the end, the tribe was able to repel the attack. Some tribesmen were dead, others wounded, Hadi and Faris among them. Mortified by the events unfolding around him, Amir had been unable to do anything and his friend got injured due to his inability to act. To this day, the guilt from that moment gnaws on Amir's conscience, although nothing grave came of it. For the next few months, he was dwelling on self-doubt and drifting into depression, before Faris literally dragged his friend out into the desert. What happened there remained between the two, but Amir was slowly recovering back to his old self after this event.

Hadi did not recover from his wounds and would remain bedridden for several days before finally succumbing to the chest wound inflicted by one of the raiders running the old man through with a blade. Amir and Faris accompanied the old man on his final journey, as requested, when he used his last strength to wander out into the dunes one early morning, just to see the sun rise one last time.

The old man died moments before the sun crested the large dunes on the horizon, closing his eyes and ceasing to be.

Both friends believe to this day the rising sun on that morning was the most beautiful sunrise they had ever witnessed and attributed this to the old man, who had ascended to heaven and was smiling onto the tribe.

About a year passed after that event, when the tribe was camping by an oasis in a part of Desierto Amir had not been to yet. Since the events last year, the tribe had changed its paths and thus was following old maps in their possession. Something was odd about this place, though. Amir could not point out what was bothering him, but there was a feeling … something was about to happen.

It was in the morning hours when the young mage felt drawn out into the desert. It was as if someone in the distance was saying his name, but Amir could not make out who it was. The voice seemed familiar, yet unrecognizable. While he did not realize it, the teen had wandered out of the camp without water or some form of cover for the head. He just walked forward. Having lost all sense of time, Amir followed a path only his unconscious could perceive until he had found another, smaller oasis, a forgotten place in a part of Desierto that had seemingly been forgotten for a long time.

By the oasis was a rather large dune and much to Amir's amazement, there was something like an entrance, half covered by sand, yet visible that led into and beneath the sand. Without a second thought, he ventured into the darkness below, an actually cool breeze stroking his face.

Stepping down what once might have been accurately cut stone steps, there was more than one section that was so sanded that it had become slippery. Other parts had broken off, chipped away by the erosion of what could potentially be centuries since mankind walked down those steps. Suddenly, there was a faint glow down the stairs. Suddenly, the stairway opened into a large square room, several feet on each side. Amazingly, the room was lit by several lacrima, fixed to the walls like torches. There was sand covering large swathes of ground, but what was visible showed cut stone. This place clearly had been constructed once and most likely had been used for something.

On the walls, in between the lacrima lights, some of which damaged and others only providing dim lighting, remnants of constructions could be made out that had been formed out of sandstone. Amir couldn't say what they could have been used for, but going by the shape and look, those might have contained books once. In the very middle of the room stood a small pillar of stone, two by two by four feet, the face of the stone sanded until it had taken on a very smooth surface. As Amir approached that construction, he stepped onto something. Reaching down to pick it up, he felt it was a ring, oddly formed and a single gem set into it. It did remind him of an eye, somewhat.

Ring (Holder Item):

He tried to fit the ring onto his finger and as weird as it was to Amir, he could put the ring onto the ring finger of his right hand. Not thinking much of it, he kept it on and explored further, but there was no other doorway to be found. Seemingly, this room was the only place in this ancient ruin. Turning around to leave this place, Amir found the stairway to have vanished. In its stead, there was a passage, leading further into the darkness of this place. A passage that had not been there before.

While he did not wish to get lost in this place, there was apparently no other way to go, so Amir sallied forth into the new passage.

At first, the hallway was dark, but devoid of barricades. Then, there was that dim glow again and there was the occasional lacrima shedding its light onto the sandstone walls and floor. Without a clue how long he was going for already, Amir just walked forward, with the feeling that he was going ever deeper under the desert. From this point on, the young mage's memory becomes a little hazy and he has problems remembering what transpired exactly. Then, suddenly, his memories blank and he remembers only a female voice, but not what that voice was saying.