Conjurers trial

Part 1

Thump, the arrow landed on the wooden target hitting almost dead center. Two other targets stand on either side, laden with arrows jutting from the ground. Many of the shafts were broken, scattered along the orange sand. I knocked another missile and pulled back, my back muscles tightening with fatigue. My breath was ragged and sharp as if I had been running intensely. I released my arrow and it lands just to the right of the target.  Sighing in frustration I dragged my  sandy hands sharply through my wavy hair.

"Why is this so much harder than throwing a fireball." I groaned, unslinging my quiver off my shoulder.

My eyes roamed the ground where all of my arrows laid, many of them no longer usable due to my poor aim and weak arms. I slowly rummaged through the arrows checking each one to see if the tips and fetching were still intact. The broken ones I threw into my knapsack, which was  previously used to store dry grains. I turned around and looked across the horizon, as far as the eye could see was barren desert coated in a blanket of red and orange hues. Grabbing the bag with the broken shafts I slung them over my shoulder, my arm screeching in protest to the new weight. Turning towards the north I looked at the sole rock face in the far distance. My feet gently sinking into the powder with ever step that i took. The sand, though it was dusk, was still warm with heat. My hair and clothes stuck to my face and body. Sweat beaded down my semi bare chest and back, relieving some of the hot air that was wafting against me. 

I stopped instantly on high alert, sensing the sand shift from towards my left flank. A  long shadow emerged from the top of the dune. Not three hundred feet away was a brown cottontail rabbit. I could feel my eyes widen in shock and disbelief. Not many people had ever seen a rabbit in the Dark Savanna. As carefully as I could I expertly shifted across the top of the sand barely making it shift as to not  disturb the bunny, and continued to head north. Lahabiel had always told me to stay away from those kinds of creatures and not to draw their attention. Many a man had ignored the warnings to stay away from the cottontails, and many of them never returned home. 

I marched through the dunes until I came upon a building built into the side of a massive ridge. Opening the small door to the left of the main doors, I walked in and wiped myself off lightly removing all of the sand that clung to my damp clothing and skin, while throwing the bag of broken shafts down a large well like hole in the corner. I set down my quiver and bow on a hook next to a cluster of other old rusted weapons. After inspecting everything was back in its rightful place I closed the small storage room door behind me and stepped back out into the now dark open-air. Looking to my right I admired the once grand temple. The doors were hand carved some three thousand years ago by the original monks who has claimed this land. The doors were pure marble with gold and silver inlay along with jade and emeralds. All sorts of depictions of life lined the outside of the doors, such as animals and plants. In the center of the doors was a gorgeous ethereal woman who stood tall with her head held high. The full moon directly behind her, making her stand out. In each hand she held an item holy to the temple and all of its followers. In her left hand was an urn bursting with silver water, also known as the Guardian's urn. Resting in her right hand was the Omit, an amulet that the goddess always carried. I smiled and bowed before entering the holy temple like always.

The large doors creaked from the sudden shifting of their hinges. Inside the temples entrance was a large hallway lined with what was once extravagant paintings and drapes, now they were faded with age. three smaller doors lined the right hand side of the corridor. 

"Lahabiel, I'm back!" I hollered, my voice bouncing of the vaulted carved ceilings. I bounded towards the second room throwing its door open with a loud bang.

"Ah Eliadol, you're home." Lahabiel stated calmly. His focus on a book that he was graciously writing words upon. 

His quill danced across the parchment expertly. His writing graceful and refined stood out against the stark white paper.  His green cat like eyes darted between words and the ink bottle. his large paws occasionally getting stained from the lip of the container. Two small orbs of light stood over the top of his desk illuminating his work so that he could read his own writing. His red stripped fur glistened  from the glow of light.  Lahabiel gently set his quill down on a stand and scooted his chair away from the desk.  The Cetodine man stood up, readjusting his garbs. His pelt dawning the likeness of a tiger. Lahabiel wasn't a very tall individual standing only around five foot three.