Arc One: Awakening

Chapter 4: The Long Wait

In the sandstorms of Eternity, life contended with dire odds. Cutting blasts whipped up scalding sand and unleashed torment upon any unlucky soul caught outside the static zones. It was said by those few who had by fateful miracles survived such tempests that death was the only mercy out there.

For those out in the roving cities, sandstorms meant considerable delays while their navigations systems took a hit. Satellites and antennae snapped under the intense pressure, leaving hundreds stranded for hours, sometimes days. But there were some, brave adventurers of the dunes, who took matters into their own hands. Mere wind and hot weather could not deter them from anything. They knew the sands better than anyone. Battling against cyclones, heat, and almost certain destruction, they drove on through the elements in search of riches rumoured to be buried beneath their feet and concealed in caves.

"Head right here for half a mile, and then turn north. It shouldn't be too far out from there," Asha yelled over the roar of the wind clanking through the vents. She coughed at the pungent, earthy smell trickling in and surveyed the navigation reports. The spinning hand of the compass continued to reel erratically, and she reached underneath the desk to rotate the dial herself, encouraging it to settle.

"You sure? I swear we haven't passed Wastelands Peak yet," Cayden called from the driver's seat.

"We passed it near on three miles back," Asha said. "Spotted it myself. Can't exactly miss it."

"In this mayhem, I'd miss a marching army." The vehicle lurched as he steered across the widest known ridges of Eternity, raising the wheels from the hidden dips and battling for control once they bounced down. "Storm eye up ahead. Brace!"

Asha clung to the overhead bar and gritted her teeth. As a child, she'd despised living out on the dunes. Cramped drifters and blighting warmth filled her childhood, and infection followed like a bad omen. While other children learned about their world from books and classrooms, her education came from tending to sickly siblings and protecting her family from creatures of the desert. During her teenage years, she dreamed of residing in one of the safe zones, but now she couldn't imagine a life away from the dust. It coursed through her blood, taught her everything she needed to know, and despite the perils and the threat of death lingering over every horizon, it was her home. "To the sand you were born, and to the sand you will go," her grandmother used to tell her. "That is our path."

"Through the storm surge and just about to catch the tail end," Cayden told her. "You good back there?"

Collecting the few items that had toppled from the lockers during the tumult, Asha hummed. "That was quite a run. Don't think we've had one that nasty in a while."

"Nothing I can't handle."

"I'll remind you of that the next time you flip the drifter."

"It only happened once, and that massive glass hydra was to blame."

"Only the week before, you'd been boasting about your new scanners. What was it you said? Oh, yeah. 'This thing could pick up a grain of sand on an ant'."

"I don't sound like that," Cayden grumbled. "And for your information, the scanners work fine."

"Unless it's a one-hundred foot glass hydra."

He waved aside her criticism and steered them through the last of the storm, picking up speed once on flatter land. Overhead, black dots roiled against the deep lilac expanse and sailed from side to side. A few broke off, reaching like an arm towards the mountains. "Asha! Come look at this." As his companion jostled into the co-driver's seat, he gestured to the sky. "Are they dappled eagles?"