Chapter 1 : 'Painful For Me Too.'
My mother left stories in her wake. Not all of them were grand adventures, but some kind tales she loved to tell. Some were lucky enough to meet her here and some faraway lands. But my clan and I were not so lucky. She joined the clan of Darim as an outcast from what I could gather.The clan I have known all my life. Father doesn't really talk about my mother, he probably tries to dampen the burden of her departure with silence. She vanished into the night before the dunes were riddled with bandits. Except one night, when we sat next to our moving fortress bathed in moonlight. He spoke of her yet again, holding back tears of his own. Vincent and I sat contently of closure as much as another tale of her could mean closure for us. On that dusty night when we had pure black sand under our sandals, he spoke.
" You two's mother… Oh my dear Lyra. If only she could see her two beautiful sons. Vinn is turning 9 soon, and you Nara are almost 18. I owe you two this tale. Tale of what a fighter your mother was. We were sailing amidst a dry thunderstorm. Lightning bolted around us showing the path we were looking for. In the thunderclouds, a singular ray of light hit the top of an ancient structure. When we arrived at the structure it was almost picked clean. We ventured in the chamber when we saw her for the first time. Ragged clothing and a mask made of fiber wrapped around her head. Her eyes were mad and resolute. She opened a secret hatch that drove her to the outside. We followed. She Eyed my crew… My clan… My family. She pulled a makeshift gun and drew a blade from her pocket. We didn't want to fight. Neither did she. She shot at the air with the gun, that was followed with seconds of silence and a blood curdling screech of a massive Wurm. At that point I could see fear and defeat in her eyes. She was lonely and alone, but never timid or freezing. She stepped backwards, dropping into the deep caves of the ancient structure. She threw the bag of valuables onto a small hoverbike and she left the area. That was the first time I met you two's mother. And that was the same day I fell in love with her. Within weeks we saw her numerous times. Eventually she needed aid and I offered her to join us. After giving birth to you, Nara, she scurried away for another adventure alone. We tried to stop her, all of us did. Of course we knew it was a bad idea, we held her back as much as we could. She was lighting in a bottle. Inevitably she got away. She left as soon as you were born too, Vinn. She has not returned since…"
I got used to sleeping bags. The Hovercraft already had its engine running below me. So I got up, folded the sleeping bag into the backpack. The backpack I received from my father. I had some tools in it as well. That backpack saved my life once, so I swore that I'll never leave it behind. With that, I picked it up, and hurried into the main room from the barracks. I saw Aunty Sena frantinkly leaving the storage room through the main room leaving for the deck with a small crate. I was almost frightened by how hurried she was. But her big smile calmed me down. I just sat at the table in the main room. This is where we were planning our daily routine, travel paths, scavenge runs and treasure hunts. While waiting for the others to wake up, I took out the only thing my father brought me the night I lost my mother. Her luck charm. It was a necklace that had a wooden tiger carved on it with its eyes painted blue. I started pondering on how she may have acquired it. Maybe she got it from her mother, or found it in a scavenging party. Or tore it off of a skeleton. Its weird how the dark but greenish brown wood didn't show any sign of ageing. As i deeply gazed into its deep cyan eye, Aunty Sena entered again.
"Oh you! Come here Nara!"
Aunty Sena hugged me tight. Like this was the last time she'll see me.
"I'm not dying, I'll just going on my trial"
I understood what she thought. She knew that I was talented and lucky, but even she barely made it through with her trial. Her trial was to bring back the gift our clan would present to the Prime Clan on the Desert Festival. I really hoped lady luck wouldn't do that to me. If the Prime Clan wouldn't accept the gift we brought to the festival, our clan would be banished from the homelands for years to come. I couldn't live with that. Our Hovercraft is only meant for this terrain. Sand until the eyes can see. We are so close to sand and its fauna.
"Your father is on the deck. He is waiting for you"
She smiled at me again. Her warm and loving presence made me forget about the trials for just a moment. Then she started preparing the feast for the clan.In the meantime i closed the wooden box the amulet was kept in. I felt confident in myself at that moment. Worthy for my mother's necklace. She left it when i was born. I put on the tiger carved necklace then reached the deck of the ship. I felt a lot of emotions while I strolled through the ship I knew all my life. I was next to the steering wheel of our hovercraft. I was happy that I could finally prove to myself and everybody else that I'm worthy to be a part of my clan. I was scared as well, who wouldn't be? There is still a chance that I will get banished and will never be able to return.
"Finally Nara. You are up atlast. It's about time"- He said, then took out a pocket clock.
"11 in the morning, just like every other day. Don't forget that your trial starts today."
Of course, I couldn't forget it even if I wanted to. Everyone reminded me every chance they got. It was surreal. I pictured them giving me a hoverbike, a few Carbon Composite Cubes and telling me to go away and never come back. The nightmares of imagination didn't let me rest, not one bit. That would break me. I leaned on the edge railing of our hovercraft. The windy breeze in my face makes me feel like I'm weightless. weightless… wait. Weights. I forgot to do my last job last night. I was supposed to look at our stored weights. If we have too much loot, carbon composite or scrap on our ship, we would vibrate the sand and wake them Wurms. I flew past Aunty Sena and Koi right to the storage room. The storage room looked like ever before. Big steel reinforced shelves, bags and food. Everything looked in order. I took a big deep breath, then had this weird feeling. Like I knew I forgot something. So I started looking around. Searching for what I moved before. Then I remembered. About two weeks ago I stashed a spyglass. That one eyed binocular could help me, so I swiftly put it in my backpack. I also pocketed 3 gas bombs. The type that disorientates and blinds a person temporarily. That could come handy. I entertained the idea of taking my mother's makeshift flare gun, but in the end I decided against it. As I left the storage room, Aunty Sena gave me a lunch bag. I thanked her and put it in my backpack. I couldn't eat a bite because of the emotions brewing and bubbling in me. Even if the emotions didn't cloud my judgement, any food just tastes off in the morning. The main room had a clock in it. I didn't pay any attention to it, until now. It was 12am. 12:20 to be exact. Still, it took me half an hour to find my spyglass. I had 40 minutes until the start of my trial. I felt alone. I walked to the deck again, sitting below the railing, hanging my legs above the sand. That 40 minutes passed by both slow and fast. It took an eternity until the time was 12:50, but the last 10 minutes went by with a snap. I could hear my father, aunty, uncle and the rest of the clan gather on the deck. I knew it was because of my trial. I could hear them, but I was lost gazing into the infinite reddish yellow fields of the sand. It was almost like a mirage. The long stretch of sand ahead. Like it wanted to pull you in, and keep you looking at its beauty forever. Thankfully snapping out of this trance my father sat besides me below the railing.
"You know, Nara. I believe in you. My beloved son. Even if something goes wrong, you are strong. You can achieve anything that you put your mind to."- He hugged me. Not like before. He had a bear's grip on me. I know that he didn't want me to fail. But we had rules, and the rules must be followed. It pained us both to accept that… He was about to say something after the hug. He seemed hesitant. In the end, he remained silent, and I broke this short silence. Air and the smell of sand filled my nostrils, as the ship hit a smaller rock. The sand around us transitioned slowly into the sand-dunes of the east. The sun, barely glowing, still tried its best to keep us warm. Not only my father, but the entire clan had gathered in a circle. They all looked at me with a mix of pride and apprehension. Nobody wanted me to fail, but it was still an option. The trials were never meant to be easy, testing strength,courage, and everything in between. It was this point when my father let his voice be heard. Everyone braced on, even held their breath.
“I, Sora of Clan Darim shall now commence the trials of Nara.
In front of you, there is a box which contains 6 scrolls.
Endurance, Strength, Skill, Leadership, Knowledge and Courage.
These are the trials. Pull one out, and finish what is written on it, you’ll have to complete two of these. Only then may we consider you to be one from us again, Nara of the Darim Clan. Until then, you shall be considered a visitor. No longer one of us."
I could feel every word hit deeper and deeper within me. Breath got shallow, hands shaky. I slowly leaned towards the box. Slowly pulling out a scroll I sensed everyone looking at me. Opening the scroll I sighed deeply with closed eyes.
Only a singular word could be read from the scroll. The smell of ink forced my eyes open.
"Leadership” - I gasped. Shaking my head, collecting every single thought I could.
The trial detailed a reinforcement effort for another clan. This entailed being a currier. Some resources for them to build proper defences. The Tridom Clan has always wasted materials and bickered amongst themselves. With three Clan Chiefs this was expectable. My mind ran through the choices who to bring with myself. Ideally a delivery like this was a one person job.
"Rog. We can take care of this right?" - I smiled hopefully, raising the scroll in the air towards him. He smiled and went to the storage rooms. Probably gearing up and gathering resources. Everyone was silent but me. I knew my way around bandits. They haven't been so threatening. Some barely had any weapons. Of course, I was overconfident. This could have turned out really badly. After the clan separated, and everyone went back to their jobs, I was still on the deck, leaning over the railings looking below. That was until Rog appeared.
"Everything is ready. Food and water packaged, Some Carbon Composite too, and of course, two hoverbikes are waiting for us down in the docking bay."
"Great. When are we supposed to start?"
"In about an hour or two. How do you feel about it?” - Asked Rog nicely, while cleaning his cinder goggles.
“I’ve read the briefing. This delivery run has been planned for a good while, So Im confident. Shouldn’t I be?”
“Confidence is good” - He paused longingly, looking down at the dunes with me, leaning on the railing -”But It’s just like oil or salt, sometimes more doesn’t mean better”. Wise words from a mechanic. But it wasn’t said at the right time. I realized what he said and nodded in approval, but I didn't truly understand it. Kneeling over the railing, we waited. Silently enjoying each other's presence. Until he grabbed the compass from his belt and turned it over, revealing its other side which was a ticking clock face.
“It's about time” - He said while pulling himself up. I raced to the ladder and in my excitement I only said two words.
“Sure is.” - I slid down the stairs, and checked the cargo of the hoverbikes. Rog pulled on the chains of the docking bay. Amidst the noises of the opening bay, I started the engine with a loud roar. It spewed gray smoke for a second, then the engine caught on, and we were on our way. Just barely leaving home, we got out our compasses. Our leave should have been a peaceful one. But knowing me, we found ourselves in some burrows. Unnatural sand hills. Rog closed in on me, waiting for any resemblance of leadership.
"It could be Wurms. Ready yourself for the worst." - I said, striding along the burrows. The ear piercing puffs and thuds of crunching fire in the engine accompanied the scorching hot sun. Thankfully, the vast emptiness of the burrows aided us instead of being a hindrance. Minutes felt like hours of never changing landscapes and the smell of ash and sand until nightfall. We slowed down when the sun fell below.
