The Sun Shines Down [Fay and Open]

[Destiny]

In the tales her mother had told her, one could boil an egg on the rocks in the desert in the south. From where she was, trudging through the sandy soil of the same desert, Drea could believe it. The sun was shining like a hot ball of fire on her, and despite her light clothing she could feel her skin burning. After the extreme cold of the Khun Mountains, this was a rather unpleasant surprise. She straightened the white cloth she had taken to wearing around her face to shield her from the direct rays of the sun.

Sensing her discomfort, Joerm was flying above her and Fay, forming something akin to a shadow over them. It was helping, if not too much, but he too was getting tired. He could not still fly for long distances, and he was the one doing most of the hunting, in the nights. The nights in the desert were yet another danger - periliously cold and full of predators that stalked in the coolness of the night. She supposed she should be grateful she had a dragon (if only half-grown) and a sorcerer with her. It had helped in the long journey getting there.

In the distance, however, she suddenly spotted something. It grew larger as she took a few steps on. It looked like an oasis, which was leading to a city. It filled her with joy, but she was careful to be weary. In the desert, there were many mirages that beguiled travelers with images of water and people. "Hey, Fay, do you think that's Exilarian?" she asked her companion, almost willing him to say yes. Joerm suddenly fell down on the ground, his long tongue out, his red scales glistening. They were burning hot to touch. She fell down on her knees beside him. "Joerm! Are you alright? Look, we're almost there."

But he did not look alright. She looked at him in concern, and then again at the oasis. Maybe she should lift him. Would she be able to? He was no longer as light as he had been before.

[Fay]

Robin sighed, trudging on and on over the shifting sands which filled his sight. The merciless heat besieged him and his companions, Drea and Joerm, as they continued to walk. His throat begged for the water which they did not have; his abused muscled longed for the rest that they could not afford to do. His eyes were weary, deep rings formed underneath them as a result of the sleepness nights that he had spent. His lips were cracked and parched, making even breathing an talking a labour. His hair was unkempt, his body unclean and smelly, his spirit struggling to go on. In spite of his hardships, he endured, for the sake of the future and for the rest of the people.

He faintly heard Drea asking him if a certain anomaly she saw was Exilarian, an oasis, but before he could look up and respond, Joerm fell down from above them with a crash, the dragon's red body glistening because of the reflection on light on his scales. Drea immediately kneeled down beside him. Robin stopped, looking forward, seeing a very welcome sight, an oasis. He tried to yell joyfully, but his throat would not respond, and his joy was dampened when he looked again at Joerm, who seemed weak with fatigue.

Immediately, strengthened by the sight of the oasis, he placed his rowan staff on his back and leaned behind Joerm. He said to Drea, "We have to carry him." His throat was dry, the voice that came out was a weary rasp. "You carry his front," he motioned to Drea, placing his hands on Joerm's legs, experimentally lifting them. They were heavy and he was exhausted, but perhaps their combined strength would be enough to carry him to the Exilarian, which wasn't far...

[Destiny]

Why did she feel like she had aged years in that short journey of hardly a week? First the cold and now the heat beseiged her, making her feel like there was nothing worth living for, nothing worth fighting for. But somehow, seeing Joerm fallen like that, tongue out, body heaving - it had made her feel that there was something worth staying alive for. He was worth staying alive for, and he was worth keeping alive, even if it meant everything. She kneeled down and then patted the small dragon, and then whispered, "Stay alive for me, Joerm." It was low, but loud enough for the dragon's strong ears. He lifted his head and then got up for a moment, but then collapsed again.

She looked at Robin, who suggested lifting Joerm. She smiled gratefully at him. She was sure he was probably as tired as her - she could see it in the lines of his face and the rasp of his voice. And yet he offered to help. Maybe this was what friendship meant. She had called people friends before, but she was not sure that they were friends. She would never have managed it alone, but perhaps together they might manage. She lifted the dragon from the front as he suggested, and then started walking as fast as she could.

"We're so close," she told Robin. She smiled dryly, her dry, chapped lips protesting. "It would never do to stop now. We're not like the people you hear about in stories, who give up in sight of their goal. It would be a shame." Could they prove their mettle? She hoped so, and a lot of life depended on hope. Or so she'd heard, but never truly believed. She struggled forward, trying to keep the blue water in sight. Was that just another hope? A futile hope?

[Fay]

Robin walked, Joerm's weight dragging his arms down as he struggled to lift the dragon across the sea of burning sand. He had grown more and more weary each step, and he was doubting if they had enough strength left in them to get to the oasis; to their reprieve.

Each and every step on the soft sand was barely audible. Their heavy gasps for air was the only real sound around them. No water or rest existed here, only the thought of a faint hope, or a hope of a hope kept them going. So, hearts pounding, muscled straining and sweat falling from their brow, they marched on.

Robin looked up, his whole body feeling leaden. Even with his sand covered eyes, he could make out the oasis, or perhaps a mirage. Again, a simple thing gave him more hope, gave him the strength to carry on. He heard Drea speak, narrating to him about them, of their remarkable tale across the desert, and how could they fail, or let themselves fail now that they were nearly there. Just hearing her speak, just remembering that he was not alone gave him courage.

Robin breathed in deeply, still walking forward, his muscles crying for rest. He will not let himself perish here, "We cannot fail." He said in a barely audible rasp, his throat struggling just to remember how they worked, but even though the voice that said it was weak, he was sure that anybody who heard would know just how hard they would work, how much they would give up, just to accomplish their goal.

Surely, they cannot fail.

[Destiny]

The oasis in the distance did not seem to move away, and they painstakingly crossed the desert, coming a step closer each time. But each step cost them one more bit of energy, till she was not sure if she had any left, till she was not sure if it was possible to go on even one more step. But she concentrated on just putting one foot in front of the other, so that she could reach her destination. A hot burst of wind hit her face, but by then she was too tired to care.

"Gods of Arysia," she murmured. "Save us." It was an old prayer that most Arysians knew, but perhaps even that was futile in the desert...it was said that in the southern wastelands, not even the Gods dwelt. She sighed, then once again put a foot in front of the other, going with a definite motion so that she could just reach that city. More than once she imagined it was a trick of light, but the city was definitely getting bigger and bigger, till she could see the city gates.

"We're here!" she said joyfully to her companions. Joerm raised his snaked head, and looked up at the city. She stopped at the gates, and Joerm hopped down from their hands, and wobbled a few steps ahead. He did not look so tired anymore, but somehow seeing him walking was making her more and more tired, till she could not remember how to keep one foot in front of the other anymore. A muscled guard came up, and she thought she heard him say, "Who goes there? Friend or foe?" But before she could force a reply she had collapsed on the ground, utterly exhausted.

[Fay]

Robin could not believe it. The city, which seemed so far away just a few moments ago, now just lay in front of them as they hurried along. They reached the city gates, and Robin felt a great excitement in him, despite the fatigue which besieged his body. He heard Drea announce that they had arrived. His leaden arms were still carrying Joerm, and the dragon now seemed to be recovering. He smiled, despite the heat and their obvious weariness.

We made it!

A guard then arrived, asking if they intended to harm the city. Of course we wouldn't! Do we look like we have any strength left to attack you? Robin wanted to shout at the guard, but his throat, due to the lack of water, was not able to produce any sound, leaving his mouth open with nothing coming out. He looked at Drea, hoping that she could explain their desperate situation to the guard, but suddenly, she collapsed, landing on the sand with a thud. No! She dropped Joerm's head, and Robin felt most of the dragon's immense weight on his arms, bringing him crashing to the floor as well. He hit his head on the dragon's tail, luckily avoiding all of the lethal spikes that covered it.

He looked up, seeing the surprised guard watching as they collapsed. "Friend!" he was able to whisper, hoping that the guard would understand and help them. His consciousness was fading away into the darkness, his body giving way to the wave of tiredness which he thought had sealed inside him. As his mind closed itself to the surroundings and as his body felt immense relief now that he was lying down, he thought he heard the thuds of feet against the sand, and a few yells for help...

[Destiny]

When she got up, she could here the sound of Joerm's growling. Had he recovered, then? She had a vague recollection of some gates, but right now she was not sleeping on sand but something soft. The growling continued, slow and continuous. "Joerm, stop!" she said, in a voice as loud as she could manage, which was not very loud, to be sure. It was not Joerm who replied, then, but someone else, a woman. "Hello, you're awake. I want to give you a healing potion but your dragon won't let me." The voice sounded sweet, but she was tired. "Joerm. Let her give it to me. If they wanted to kill us they would have done so already, it can't have been too hard, considering our conditions."

Joerm must have stepped aside, because the woman came with a skin of something and tipped it into Drea's mouth. She drank gratefully. A little while later, she started realising that the liquid was herbed water. It was refreshing. By the time she had finished the skin-full, she was feeling almost refreshed. She got up and surveyed her sorroundings. The woman, her healer, was looking at her curiously. "So, can I ask what you're doing here? We don't get many like you here. You're clearly no nomad, and I doubt you're a noble." She grinned. "We can't tell about your friend though. Is he a noble? Or a nomad? It's hard to say, with him."

She was back to attention. Her friend? Where was Robin? What had happened after she had fainted? "Where is he...my friend?" The woman looked at her, and then pointed to the left. She followed the direction indicated, and then looked around. "Robin?" Her voice was louder now, as if the weariness had left it. They had reached! "Robin? Are you there?"

[Fay]

Robin stirred as he heard vague voices calling out to him. He wasn't sure where he was and he couldn't remember anything concrete from the past month or so; he took a hard fall and his mind was a bit blurred and disoriented. Was he alive? An enemy captive, or did he die? Did he reach the Exilarian? Did he dare open his eyes? Of course, he had no choice; he certainly wasn't a coward, and he would later admit that there was a unique mix of tension and excitement when one would wake after a deep slumber.

His eyes snapped open quickly, and momentarily blinded by the bright walls surrounding him, they snapped shut. A few moments past, and he was sure that he was alive now, as he heard footsteps and voices from where he lay. Tentatively, he opened his eyes and looked around. Robin realized that Drea had been trying to wake him up, and if they had both survived, that certainly meant that they had reached their destination.

In his waking moments, he did not feel anything. But now, as his mind opened itself again, he felt the full exhaustion which besieged his body throughout the whole journey. He groaned involuntarily, feeling more soreness and a burning throat which longed for water. He rasped, "Water," hoping that he would be heard, and he closed his eyes again, trying to escape from his discomfort.

[Destiny]

She spotted him suddenly. He was lying in one of the rooms. He had not been in the best of conditions when she had fainted, but he had not collapsed like this. She wondered what had happened. Had the guards at the gate attacked or something? Had something gone wrong? It would explain why Joerm had been so protective when that woman had come to heal her. Well, it was quite evident that they were out of any danger that they had been in. She called out to Joerm, with her mind. "Joerm, where are you? Come on here and tell me what happened." He did not reply, but presently he flew in. He seemed almost recovered. She looked at Fay and tried to wake him.

"Water," he said.

She was glad he was awake, and alive and all that. But she had no idea how to fulfil his request. She looked around futilely, and then at Joerm, who went to some other room and got a skin of what she presumed was water. He flew up slightly and she saw that he had not recovered yet. It was clear to her that he was still in a condition of fatigue. Well, they all were, and she was grateful for the fact that Joerm was better.

She took the skin of water and tried to make Robin drink it, though admittedly she dropped a lot more on him that she was able to make him drink. Abruptly, she realized from her shaking hands and her twitching muscles how tired she still was. "Robin? You alright?" She hoped he would wake up, more than anything else she was anxious to know if he was fine and to know what he knew. The answers would be good. Joerm flew up a little bit, to look at Robin, and then flew down again, panting heavily. "Rest, Joerm," she told him.

[Fay]

Robin dreamt in his light sleep about swimming in one of the pools of clear water in his home forest. He could almost feel the blissful feeling of dipping into the refreshing water after a day of hard mental preparation. The back of his mind knew that was as far from those pools as he could be. He was in a desert city, unconscious, and waiting for a jolt to wake him up. But his mind did not want to wake up just yet, he wanted to feel cool, wet and relaxed.

He sighed again in his sleep, feeling content. But them his dream soured, as he felt more water being forced into his mouth, making him cough and gag, with extreme wetness in his neck, face and chest. He also heard vague voices. But it felt too real. He opened his eyes still coughing, and again saw the bright walls that he had seen earlier. He sat up this time, the water soaking the upper part of his torso. He looked to the side, seeing Drea and Joerm, both looking extremely tired. Just seeing the two made him happy, and now he was really back to consciousness.

"So, I'm thinking we made it..." He began, smiling at Drea. "Can I have more water?" he asked, holding out his hand to reach for the skin. "Anyway, why am I wet? Did you try to drown me?" he asked, grinning, arm still outstretched.

[Destiny]

She laughed as Robin regained consciousness, glad that he was finally awake. She had no clear idea of the time that had passed since they had stood near the gates, wanting to be let in. She wondered if he did. "Something like that," she said with a grin, handing him the skin. He really did look like she had tried to drown him, but then that was the first time she'd ever tried to make someone drink water. Definitely not as easy as it looked when someone else did it. Joerm appeared to be thirsty too, because he gently tried to tug on the waterskin with his big teeth, causing a hole in it, from where water spurted out. Joerm licked it up.

She waited for a few minutes, just happy that they were all alright. She had begun to suspect that they might not reach, especially when Joerm had collapsed at the last moment. More so when she had collapsed near the gates. She looked around at the simple room. It was not a permanent house, more like an oversized tent. She wondered who had been good enough to give them shelter. Then, she noticed that there were many people being brought in and out, and realised that it was something along the lines of a shelter or hospital.

She turned back to Robin. "So, what's our plan of action?" she asked him. "Do we try to meet the Prince now, or what? How do we go about it?" She couldn't believe she hadn't thought about all this before, but there had been so much to do. "No, forget it, before that, tell me what happened...how did we get here? All I remember is one minute I was really tired and I fell or something and then it's all blank. I think I heard some shouts in the background, but that's all." She thought it would have been a good idea to ask Joerm, but she had forgotten and mental conversation was a little taxing, so she was now asking Robin.