Gift Of Justice #NaNoWriMo2k18

Chapter 8

The journey from Horizon Valley to Cascenda was very, very different to the first one.

Heat blasted through the windows as Niel found himself using his copy of North Star as an emergency fan, instead of reading it. Instead of large forests and green plains, they were greeted with large, dry stretches of barren dirt and sand, akin to a savanna. The burning sun siphoned nearly all of the moisture from the air, and he found himself constantly rubbing his eyes. Akira was fanning herself as well, and he could tell she was utterly exhausted from the way her feathers were puffed out.

"Uh... Akira? Did you pack any water or anything?"

"I've got a bottle, but I saved it for Beaver..."

He winced a little, shifted his weight so that he could lean forwards and raised his voice. "Er, driver? Do you know approximately how long it'll take to arrive at Cascenda?"

"Most likely another three hours, two if we're lucky. Sorry kid, you should've planned better for this trip. The deserts are harsh at this time of the year."

He sighed, leaning against his chair. Akira was busy splashing some water on Beaver to help him tolerate the intense heat, and he found hismelf wishing he could grab the bottle and just drink the whole thing in one gulp.

Which was a very bad idea.

Thora's breaths were coming out in short, sharp pants, getting more and more frantic by the minute, and he was getting worried that she might pass out. "Akira, can I use some of that water for Thora?"

"Sure."

He took out a small cup and filled it, before poking Thora to wake her up. Upon seeing the water though, she went on a frenzy, flying into the air and splashing into it, dousing them all in small flying droplets. She kicked at the surface, splashing the seats and herself with water.

"Thora! Calm down!"

She flew back onto the seat, drippign water all over it as she shook herself out, now soaking wet. Niel sighed.

"Well, I'm not drinking this. You want it back?"

Akira made a face as she took the cup and gave it to Beaver. "It sucks how we can't actually drink any of this since I kind of reserved it for keeping Beaver alright."

"If you knew there was a desert here though, why didn't you tell me?"

"It's not usually like this... the desert is strangely dry and hot today. Maybe it's just because it's summer."

"It's nearing autumn though, these are like, mid heat seaon extremes."

"I don't know. But we're goign to ahve to try and conserve as much as possible."

As he stared out the window at the neverending landscape, he suddenly got an idea. "Akira, who don't you just summon some water instead?"

However, she just turned around and stared at him. "You don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

"Arcani summoned elements won't persist long in the world without concentration unless it has a fuel source to live off. Like for instance, an Arcani fire that contacts a bush will stay to burn off it, or a summoned tornado that has sucked in enough wind to persist spinning. Any water I summon will just disappear before we even ahve a chance to drink it."

He groaned. "Can you just summon some temporarily just so that I can stop feeling like I'm sufforcating in sand?"

She frowned, before snapping her fingers as a single, small block of ice appeared, hovering midair. Upon contact with the intense heat it almost immedietly started melting "Here. Just use this for now, but I'm not going to keep it alive for long. Just let it melt I guess."