[ABANDONED] A Series of Oneshots

Desert Sands

I squinted at the horizon, straining to see anything other than sand that stretched for miles upon miles. The individual grains were a pale yellow, but deepened when brought together. Nothing lived out here, not even withered shrubs or the corpse of a long dead animal.

It would have been burning hot, had the sun even existed. A crescent moon hung aloft in the starless sky, as if someone had pinned it up and forgot about it after all the other decorations had been taken down.

I was frozen to my spot, shivering despite my red cloak. A sword hung at my side, but I didn't know where I had gotten it. I didn't even remember when I had come to this desert.

I spotted a shadow in the distance moving steadily towards me. It kicked up sand as it moved and grew larger as it approached.

It stopped in front of me. It was a large creature, larger than anything I had ever seen. The creature had bumpy green skin and a long snout with a toothy smile. Red markings were spread in a pattern not unlike arteries. It was partially buried in the sand.

The creature looked down at me with small eyes and rumbled, "who are you, lost in this forsaken desert?"

"I don't know," I said and shivered, "who are you?"

"I barely remember," the creature replied. "I may have been a God, perhaps of crocodiles. The sand riders treat me as a God, and I promised not to forget them."

"Can you take me to them? I am lost and need their help."

"I can." I climbed up the crocodile's shoulder and found various metals and minerals sticking out of its skin.

We rode through the desert until we found the sand riders' village, where the crocodile left me.