Heavy is the Head that Wears the Solemn Crown

Forty-Seven - Gilded Warriors of a Feiry Land

Techno

The Badlands' climate is drastically different compared to the lands around it. Greater is composed of snowy mountains, the Wild Lands are a forest with varying areas of the different seasons, and the Tri-Kingdom Alliance all possessed a fairly temperate weather pattern. The Badlands, in contrast, is an extremely hot and arid desert. The northeastern part of the land is a mountain with snowy peaks, but the rest of the land is golden sand and overbearing sunlight. There isn't an explicit reason for this. The people of the Badlands believe that their landscape is a direct consequence of the glorious battle between Viridis and Deus Aureus. The scholars of Kinoko are certain that the environment is a consequence of how little magic is in the air.

Techno doesn't know why the Badlands is a desert nor does he have any guesses. As he wipes the sweat off his brow, he notes that regardless of why it is, the Badlands is almost a direct opposite of the Antarctic Empire. Instead of white snow, there is golden sand. Instead of heavy clouds, there is a tropical blue sky. Instead of an overwhelming silence, there is a constant sound fading to the edges of awareness. And the heat is extremely different from the cold. Where the cold will bite into the skin, pushing into the body with the precision of a blade, the heat feels more like a blunt object, battering him down and sinking lazily into his soul. It drains his energy like slow droplets dripping out of an overturned barrel. It isn't enough to make him truly regret wearing armor, but it does annoy him more than the familiar chilliness of his homeland.

"I didn't know it was going to be this hot," Niki mutters, an arm thrown over her face to block out the sun. She discarded her armor almost as soon as they passed the border from the Wild Lands to the Badlands. Gemini, the Archmage they were escorting alongside her twin brother Fwhip, had been smart enough to make thin pieces of cloth enchanted with a soothing effect. They weren't exactly cooling, but they did ward off the harshness of the sun when they covered the body. Gemini had wrapped Niki up in one after they took their first break in the Badlands. She offered Techno one, but he didn't want his movements to be restricted. He sat on his, allowing it to soak up all his sweat.

"There is a reason this place is called the Badlands," Techno informed her. Looking around, there was no plant life to be seen. Techno was mainly navigating using a map and compass. When he needed advice, he would ask Philza to fly up to observe the world around them. Philza would descend back onto the top of the caravan, telling Techno what he wanted to know and warning Niki that he hadn't found a water source. Techno wondered what that was about. The map told him that there should be a river nearby, but Philza confirmed that he can't find it no matter where he flies.

"If it makes you feel any better, it was almost always like this. There were more plants, but the soil was the same coarse sand as it was thousands of years ago," Fool called out. She was sitting on the top of the caravan, her legs swung over the back. She claimed that she was watching out for the 'afreet'. When questioned what that meant, she renamed the creatures she was looking for as demons. Techno knew what demons were, vaguely, and Philza recalled a few run-ins with them in his lifetime. Niki, Gemini, and Fwhip didn't know what demons were. Fool told them an odd story about Viridis and Deus Aureus, the gods of the Badlands. Techno hadn't thought much about it, but the name- Deus Aureus- stuck in his mind.

"She isn't wrong. The only reason this wasteland isn't completely uninhabitable is because of the work of the afreet," Alex explains, sitting on the bench with Techno and Niki. Techno looked at Alex from the corner of his eye, wondering when she showed up. They had been traveling for days, and the Blood Gods mainly spoke to Techno in his head.

"The afreet are ingrained with the belief that they are meant to serve... Deus Aureus, whoever that is. This unknown god died protecting this land, and the afreet firmly believe that they are meant to carry on that legacy," Steve continues the explanation with disdain in his voice. Techno can't see him, but he feels his presence all around him. Niki shuffles beside him. Techno sometimes forgets that he isn't the only one who can see the Blood Gods. Niki, because she's contracted with a demonic beast, can see and hear the twins as well as Techno can. It's everyone else on this trip that can't. Fool knows when the gods are near, and Gemini explains that she gets a weird feeling when they appear, but neither of them can see or hear the gods.