The Golden Throne

Chapter 6: Ris'dra

As dawn was breaking, Hilbert gathered all the cactus pulp he could find into his water cans. The air around him was still cool and he could see dew forming at the ends of the cactus' thorns. Sleep was okay. Much better than he had expected actually. The wonderful sight he had witnessed the night before had lightened his mood. It was always good to have lifted spirits in dire situations. As for today, Hilbert wanted to cover as much ground as possible while the sun was still waking up.

He and Haxorus set off into the desert once more; crossing dunes of sand while the rising sun casted shadows across the morning desert. Some stars were still visible up above in the brightening pink sky, and all around them the desert was silent, save that the wind was barely audible- whispering the desert's secrets in a language of their own. After an hour or so Hilbert saw a speck in the distance.

"Haxorus, do you see that?" He pointed at the dot far in the landscape. He was curious as to what it was. "Let's check it out."

Nearing the speck, they realised that it looked more like a settlement. The sight immediately boosted Hilbert's morale. After twenty minutes or so, the settlement looked more like a city. Finally! A place where he could get rest, directions, or a transport home. As they finally approached it, Hilbert was taken aback by what he was looking at. This was no city- or at least it was, once upon a time. He was standing at the edge of what looked like an ancient settlement in the desert. It was more like ruins now. The walls of clay hovels were cracked and some bricks lay scattered on the ground near Haxorus' feet. It was deserted and devoid of life. Hilbert's heart sank like a stone. After biting back his tears, he decided he might as well explore the place while he was here.

After returning Haxorus back to his Pokeball, Hilbert followed an ancient road that would lead him to the center of the deserted city. Hilbert observed that the roads here were designed highly systematically. It started off from a well-preserved main road that would break out into smaller roads when it came to junctions, he saw that each junction would turn 90 degrees sharp to either left or right. The city itself was divided into two sections by a tall clay-coloured wall. Contained within the outer section were smaller less sophisticated buildings. The inner section was a virtually different setting. Taller, rectangular buildings rose from the ground. The road would lead to many cubic spaces that were dug out into the ground, a large residential structure that could house probably a few hundred people, a market place and several empty wells. A proper drainage system was also present at the sides of each road.

Whoever these ancient people were, they were remarkably sophisticated in civil engineering and urban planning. This place reminded him of Relic Castle back in Unova. The thought immediately reminded him that his friends and family must've been worried sick about him. Surely news of the S.S Supremacy's disappearance would've reached home by now. "I'll be home soon," he muttered under his breath.

Their most marvelous structure of all was an immense ziggurat located at the city's center. The pyramid-shaped building rose up to thirty meters in height. It was flat on top and that was where a smaller cubic building was nestled. Hilbert stood at the end of the road. In front of his feet was a stretch of stairs that led directly to the cubic room at the top of the ziggurat. Hilbert walked right up to it. He felt kind of special really, walking up the steps of this ancient wonder. Since there weren't any archaeologists around, he could very well be the first human to have discovered this site in centuries, or greater yet- a millennium. 

At the last step, Hilbert glanced back and marveled at the sight before him. He could see the whole city from here. With the rays of sunrise shining down into the streets, he could imagine what a day in the life was like for these people long ago. He pictured merchant caravans moving about in the streets, children playing with their Pokemon and boys and girls swimming at public baths. He imagined-