Mirdovia: The White Raven

Chapter 3: The Eerie Sands

Aasrena stands alone in the dry sands of Voimos, the Desert Kingdom. The sands shift and blow in the wind under leather boots. Aasrena pulls on her hood to keep the blinding sun out of her eyes, but even with eye protection her skin felt like it was on fire.

She trudged on through the sands and soon collapsed to the ground. Her skin dry, her throat burning for water. As she tries to get up she feels something crawl around her leg.

Aasrena slowly lifts her head to spot a long white snake with brown spots. Two horns rested on its head as it slowly wrapped around Aasrena's body. She struggled to move as her body was too weak and exhausted. The viper found its way around her neck and slightly tightened its hold. The viper pulls its head up to look Aasrena in the eyes. The stare into one another for half a second before the viper strikes.

The darkness consumes Aasrena once again. Floating a void where she can't see or feel. Only hearing her panicked thoughts and racing heart beat.

You have much to learn if you wish to save yourself.

Aasrena jolts awake once more from her daunting and vivid dreams. She looks around the large tent and wipes the sweat from her face. Aasrena rises to her feet and notices she's barefoot. She doesn't recall removing her boots before sleeping.

She steps outside her little room within the large tent and finds an older women sitting at a far desk. Her white hair pulled into a large bun. A grey set of robes over body and various metallic rings on her hands, but none of them shiny. Mostly bronze, tin, and silver rings. The women notices Aasrena outside of her room and quickly rises to her feet and makes her way over to Aasrena. "You should be laying down, Azzy. You were running a fever only a hour ago."

Aasrena shakes her head and takes a seat on the nearest bench. "I don't remember being sick." She says confused. "I brought Moira here and she was the one sick." Aasrena rubs her head as a small headache begins to form. "What happened, Ada?"

Ada takes a seat next to Aasrena and checks her temperature again. "You came in here with your friend twitching and mumbling. Haven't seen a person in such a state for quite some time." Ada sighs and pats Aasrena on the back. "Pale Tincture is a brutal poison. A cleric would have no problem removing such poison, but I am just a simple healer. I need the real deal. None of that magic I failed to harness."

Aasrena looks around the tent trying to figure out what room Moira is in. "Yea, I remember all that. What does she need. I'll go get it?" She rubs her head further as the headache grows and causes blurry vision. Ada walks Aasrena back to her room and lays her back down. "You will not be gathering a thing. You need your rest as well."

Before Aasrena knew it she was fast asleep again and Ada shakes her head in disbelief. "A plaque must be about." Ada heads off across the tent and checks on Moira. Blood was starting to flow out of Moira's nostrils. Ada grabbed a rag and cleaned up the fresh blood. "May the Raven Queen guide you both." She says with a slight head bow.

Aasrena falls to her knees in the desert sands. Her hands burning within the sandy surface. Her eyes watered as she felt powerless to get through the desert alive. She looks around for her tracks, but the winds must have blown them away already. She forgot which way she was going and she started to panic again. That's when she spotted the snake and she somehow knew what to do.

Aasrena held out the palm of her hand and a gust of wind shot out from her hand. The snake flies backwards when getting hit and it lays there limp in the sands. Aasrena looks to her palm confused that she just used magic. "Since when?" She tells herself and she collapses back into the dirt. The heat eating away at her body as she slowly crawls through the sand, but her body fails to move and her vision turns to black.

Aasrena jolts awake again in the bed. Her headache gone, her sweat was still there and she wiped it off again a little annoyed. She makes her way back out of the tent and sees Ada working at her desk again. "How long was I out?" Aasrena asks looking around confused. Ada jumps at the sound of Aasrena's voice.

Ada gets up and walks closer to examine Aasrena further. "Two full days already. Quite the serious sleep you took. What did you dream of?" Ada checks for a temperature again.

Aasrena takes a seat back on the bench. Her skin still feeling dry. "I died in a desert." She says softly. "Multiple times I believe."

Ada nods and tilts her head. "Explains most of it. A strange sickness took over, but it seems gone. What's not gone, however, is your friend's sickness." Ada stands up and guides Aasrena to Moira's bed side. They peer inside at the sleeping girl. "She won't recover on her on. She's fading too fast." Ada says. "Pale Tincture lasts a week at least. Sometimes longer. Depends on the healthiness of the person. Moira, here, has maybe three days left in her. She'll die two days before the usual recovery time."

Aasrena backs away from Moira and folds her arms in across her chest. "So what do I do?" She asks with a shaken tone in her voice. "I have three days to find a cure? Where do I even start?"

Ada steps up to Aasrena and gives her a small smack across the shoulder. "Toughen up, lass. You think crying around is going to save your friend."

Aasrena rubs her shoulder and takes a step back. "No. I just don't know a thing about medicine."

Ada rolls her eyes. "Obviously. That's why you came here." Ada walks over to desk and pulls up a parchment and rolls it up. "Supplies you will need to gather from the town market." She thrusts the parchment into Aasrena's chest and lets go for Aasrena to catch it. "Bring the material back tomorrow night and I can save your friend just in time."

"Hold on." Aasrena nearly crumples the papers in her grasp. "You had this list the whole time? Why didn't you leave to go them already?"

"Easy." Ada points to Moira. "She needs to keep her temperature down before she brings on something worse. You were in a bad state as well. Do you see anyone else around I could have sent? Perhaps you'd rather I left you two sickly women alone in a weakened state?"

Aasrena sighs and accepts defeat as Ada makes sense. "Fine. I'll get your materials. Ill be back tomorrow night." Aasrena grabs her supplies from her spare room. She slides on her boots and heads out the tent's entry point in the middle of the night. Her raven lands on her shoulder and Aasrena can't resist to urge to pet her bird. "Welcome back. I really to name you something." She says as she makes her way down the pathway towards town. The raven caws and flutters her wing causing Aasrena some discomfort for half a second, but the raven settles and they carry on their way back to Torakor of Mirdovia.