The hounds rushed across the desert floor across a quiet, empty night with the stars shining down on them and all that they could hear was their own strained breath as they latched on to the leads of the beasts they rode and the distant clacking of strange, tall creatures that made the hounds uneasy. Some of the stars seemed familiar, some clutters of shining spots seem as though Rahul had seen them before, but he could not remember when or where if he did. It would be useful to remember, he thought to himself. He looked around the sky for a second and caught himself losing sight of Iragur, who in the night sky was that much harder to see and all that was visible was a distant dark outline. He has been looking at the same spot since before the eye disappeared and prayed more than knew that he was going in the right direction and that the black spot they have been chasing was indeed the God of his God and not just a dark blotch in the strangely familiar sky. Rahul was surprised the hounds took to them so easy. It seemed that Asalmarat did not have them assigned to each warrior, so it was easier to just grab one and ride, although the Erystu were significantly lighter than the Zabourians. Were, he thought to himself. The Zabourians were heavier, until I, led them all to slaughter each other. Now, he supposed they could be lighter. Now that most certainly things of the desert have come to eat their flesh off the bone. Rahul imagined Feima protecting Ram’s body and being ripped to pieces by great, terrible beasts as he desperately tried to drag his officer’s body away. He wondered how long before riders would come from the rest of Asalmarat to look for the Erystu. Not yet now, he whispered to himself and felt a strange feeling of satisfaction as he bent his back and latched even more tightly onto the hounds thick, white-furred neck. It was a difficult ride and he kept trying to lock his sight on that, which he thought must have been the eye of Iragur. Might have, could have. It did not matter if it was, they had no choice but to keep going. It was a hopeful lie that they were to find Taik out here in the desert by themselves with no direction. If only I was the watcher and not him, he thought. Maybe then I could at least see you. His eyes were becoming tired and watery, he doubted he was going to be able to keep riding at full speed and keeping sight on Iragur for the whole night. And if not? What would then happen? He did not want to know. He tried not thinking about what – gasp –

  “Rahul!” He turned around and shouted. His brother tightened his grip and fixed his straddle with a concerned look and looked around the desert. Things heard Rahul and were watching. A drop of cold sweat went down Gohola’s spine. He hissed at his brother:

  “The hounds are scared Rahul, we should not go deeper into the desert, there’s too many of them!” – Gohola looked around the desert visibly frightened. Rahul opened his mouth to say something and try to protest but visions of his brother getting snatched and stung by the Imtasha dawned on him suddenly and he inhaled sharply, before looking back at the night sky and seeing he has lost the shape in the sky they were following. He pulled on the lead slightly to slow the hound down and Gohola followed and matched his stride. They both leaned forward on their hounds and as they walked slowly across the desert trying to evade the monsters that surrounded, they spoke to each other in a hushed voice

  “Well then, Gohola so be it, I will not force you to go out deeper into the desert…” He spoke and looked around the landscape. It looked like horror, disfigured shapes and things took forms of roaring or hissing or ticking shadows and in the night, he could barely discern if they were dozens of feet away or perhaps just a reach of the arm and about to snatch him of the saddled dog of Asalmarat to swallow whole and before his brother could even squeak, another monster would topple him and rip head off the torso as easy as one would pluck a hair from his head.

  “Are we lost Rahul?” – Gohola whimpered. It annoyed Rahul. His weakness. His fearfulness and doubt. How could they reach Taik if his brother could not stop jumping at the sight of his own shadow?

  “No. No we are not lost. But there are things that we would do well to avoid.” Rahul spoke through gritted teeth. Things in the desert bellowed as if in agony and he could swear he heard his own name be hissed by a terrifying voice in the distance.

  “So, what do we do?” – Rahul exhaled tiredly. In his mind he begged Gohola not to ask him that. Why was he supposed to answer? It was Gohola’s idea to stop now, so?

  “So, you tell me brother. And better do it quick.” Rahul answered angrily. He turned around to see if nothing was approaching but he could barely see a foot away. He could feel his heartbeat banging against his ribs and his eyes sharpen like an animal’s. Once again, he thought he heard something hiss to him “Rahul… Raaghhhuuul….” His nostrils now took in the razor-sharp air of the desert that now seemed to smell somewhat sour and unpleasant. He felt like they were being hunted and all that Gohola did was breathe heavily and stare at him with wide eyes as if it was him, Rahul that was going to hurt him.

  “For Eish’s sake Gohola you should at least try to keep your composure, look at yourself!” Rahul grabbed his brother’s tunic and shook him in annoyance. The hounds growled at each other and Gohola caressed his on the head to calm him down.

  “Let us return back the way we came Rahul, not long ago there was still a moon, at least there we will be able to see. Perhaps we can find people and let the hound’s drink. Somebody must know where Taik is. We will not find him by blindly riding around the desert.” Gohola finally spoke and Rahul exhaled with relief. His brother was right. And for once he actually had a plan. Rahul’s hound barked into the night and took a step back. The Erystu tried to grab him by the mouth but it just shook off the man’s hand and whimpered and growled into the empty black space. Gohola strained his eyes. There was something. Something gigantic. Bigger even than both of them on their hounds and it was slithering… sliding across the sand towards the Erystu and hissing angrily:

  “Eissssssh… Raaghuuuul… Ggghoohooooolaaa…” before the brothers could even see the monster in the dark the hounds jumped sideways and looking back only once sprinted as fast as possible so that Rahul nearly did not manage to hold on to his lead and slid down the creatures back and he could feel himself about to fall off until a hand grabbed his tunic by the sleeve and pulled him up strongly. Rahul fixed himself on the saddle and tried to look back into the night behind them, but they were already far away from where the dark called out their names. He looked at his brother before leaning forwards on his saddle and grabbing onto the fur of the dog’s neck. The ride towards the light seemed shorter than into the desert’s depth at least twofold and soon they could see the moon again as it shined down upon the sprawling sand and they could see the many dunes, desert flowers and wild, strange beasts that roamed the landscape ahead of them. The landscape was captivating, almost hallucinogenic to them, as wild blotches of flora and fauna appeared out of the night from the dead, cold sand. There were cacti tall as towers armed to the teeth with long, prickly needles pointing in all directions and some shorter ones with beautiful, open, pink tepals that grew so dense they seemed as if one organism. Vultures flew over their heads cawing menacingly but for some reason Rahul could not help but smile. This part of the desert seemed so pleasant and beaming with life, completely unlike the origin place of the Erystu where the sand was barren and life futile. Here, despite the wildlife seemingly hostile it seemed they could belong truly. Perhaps they would have done better to take their life here than the Great Green North. Perhaps he would tell his brothers about this place after they all meet back, he though as he watched a lonely, sole, great camel bite into a cactus and could not help but giggle. He turned around and saw Gohola smiling too. He exhaled. The wildlife meant they were moving towards the edge of the desert and the moon now hanged low in the horizon and illuminated their path forward. He could now see clearly the various beasts that walked the desert, the great scorpions that glowed green in the dark and marched down dunes slowly as their thin legs shook the sand loose and brought down, that which to them must have seemed like blizzards flowing down to playfully knock them over only for the scorpions to get back to walking again. Just like me, he thought. Just like me. Above their head’s vultures flew every now and then and circled around and around them again to nausea. They must have been waiting for them to finally give in and fall dead in the desert. Rahul looked at Gohola and saw that he was sleeping, leaned forward in his seat and face burrowed in the hound’s fluff. Good. Let him lay to rest. They went over a dune and for a second Rahul lost sight of his brother and gasped slightly but soon saw him slightly off route with the hound leading him across a flatter surface as if it knew that walking up the rise would disturb the sleeping rider. Rahul thought it was strange, since it was impossible for the dog to have ever had a Zabourian sleep on its back. Must have been instinctual. He pulled on the lead gently to let his hound rest slightly and the other followed suit to match his stride. Rahul knew they would not be able to ride for much longer anyway, the dogs were exhausted and his wriggled in frustration every now and again, forcing the Erystu to keep caressing and comforting him. They could not stop here. The wildlife of the desert now was becoming scarcer and slowly gave place to a flat, dried country that seemed even more destroyed, barren and empty than the place of their birth. Iragur was no more, no familiar soil and no sense of direction. He could feel his own eyelids become heavier and heavier, but he had to keep on going. Had to look out for whatever was out there. Once the sun came up Gohola awoke and they kept on riding quietly in the stony country where the land was cracked open revealing thin fissures from which a cool breeze once flowed gently and sometimes whistled angrily like hissing of some strange ancient God coming from below. After a while the hounds could walk no more without rest. Rahul guided Gohola to step down and in the evening, they sat in the cold and Gohola and the hounds slept but Rahul only laid on his back looking up at the sky with distant, tiny lights wondering what there could be if he could only fly and go up there to see them from up close. It constituted as rest to a degree, enough for him to be able to keep walking, certainly satisfactory for Gohola, although every now and again he seemed to unfocus his eyes for a little while only to give his brother a concerned look. Rahul was more worried about the hounds. After they stopped the next evening to let them rest, they luckily found some mice running from the fissures and the hounds pounced on them greedily and shook their little bodies until their necks broke and then ate their flesh and bones spitting out only the tails and then drank their blood. The bones crunched horribly and when the dogs lapped the blood the Erystu shuddered in disgust. They had to let them eat, it’s what kept them going. Either way Rahul could not close his eyes for longer than a while in the night in fear that the dogs would grow hungry for something more than desert rodents and one night might just decide on grabbing him and his brothers up by the neck and shaking them like they did the mice until their own necks break. Five days. Five days they walked the plains until they found green land. For a second Gohola rejoiced thinking they have reached the Great Green North, but Rahul doubted it. Even if they did, it was great for a reason. They could still not be able to find their brothers. They rode calmer now, however and kept their eyes open for any potential peoples that may help them reach their, now seemingly a reverie of a destination. After half a day of riding only halting to let the dogs drink from a nearby river, they saw smoke rising to the sky in the distance and considering their lack of alternatives but to trust it, silently agreed to come nearer. As they approached, they could hear shouting and laughter mixed with the clanking of metal and excited whistles and they discerned that to be a good sign and continued to walk closer. The road led slightly upwards and then the horizon showed nothing but the sky and so they concluded the people must be at a decline and as they came to the top of the rise, they looked from their hounds down at what appeared to be a camp with dozens of tents set out in the field and possibly up to a hundred men walking in and out of them either cursing, yelling or spitting to the side, all dressed in metal and bearing long swords by their waists. Gohola looked at Rahul but he avoided him, knowing it was not a look or assurance. They stood there to let their presence be known and awaited to see what fate they were to see know. Soon enough they heard whistles, yelling and a few men pointing in their direction, followed by scattered running from tent to tent. They started to descend slowly to show they meant no harm and watched as a company of half a dozen men left one of the tents in a hurry with only two of them devoid of armor. One was an older man with longer, grey hair who looked at his boots frowning but smiled when lifted his chin to gaze upon the Erystu. Rahul had no time to think about the other man before the first one roared with his arms wide open:

  “Greetings riders, I am General Waden of the Dermag and these are my soldiers.” Rahul winced at the term general as the man opened the palm of his hand and with a stiff arm waved across the tents stood behind him without breaking eye contact with Rahul.

  “Can I ask who you might be and what brings you to our camp?” He asked, craning his neck forward and tilting his head as if the answer might come to him in a whisper.

  “It is a pleasure to meet you General Waden and your people as well.” Gohola spoke unexpectedly and lifted his open palm up with an earnest smile. Rahul turned around to look at him before he even had the chance to think about how uncharacteristic it must have seemed to the strangers and when he twisted his torso back to the general, he did so with an awkward smile.

  “We are looking for somebody.” Gohola added, squinting from the sun.

  “Ah, yes… what was it?” The general snapped his fingers and turned around to the man next to him.

  “Absalom, general Waden.” The other man spoke nervously and without looking at the man as if shame or fear overtook him.

  “Absalom, indeed. We have not seen him. We told your friends already. They were here not much longer than a week ago. Although, no offense, they looked stranger than you. Quite uncouth for a man that size.” The general said and put one of palms across his chest smiling slightly.

  “Those, general Waden were our friends under Arr-Kleos. We are Zabourians, I am Wissimar and this here is Otne.” Rahul spoke now with his chest, causing visible confusion on Waden’s face which he tried to conceal by coughing suddenly. Rahul gave him an askance look involuntarily, which the general luckily did not notice.

  “Our friends of the Kleosi have their own endeavors, which we do not indulge in. We are looking for somebody else.” Rahul talked slowly, unsure of how to approach the subject that would raise the least suspicion from the general, who nodded impatiently.

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  “We are looking for a man of the desert. Far out into the sands there is a creature, who calls himself Taik the Watcher. He has something we need. It is him that we have ventured out to look for.” Rahul spoke slowly and carefully.

  “My friend Wissimar, what could it possibly be that you are looking for from this creature?” The general asked. Rahul exhaled and opened his mouth but Gohola spoke first.

  “Information.” He spoke firmly.

  “Information? That is indeed surprising. Again, I hope you take no offense in me saying this, but it seems like Asalmarat has had quite a number of nuisances lately.” Waden said and smiled gently at the men. Rahul kissed his teeth, but neither said a word.

  “Well, apologies but it seems you have wasted your time. We have no knowledge of this creature you seek. In fact, we have little to no knowledge about what is going on in the desert. Besides your country, the desert is a wretched wasteland, and we want nothing to do with its remnants.” They should have known, Rahul thought to himself clenching his teeth. They should have never stopped riding towards Iragur. They should have never gone here. They should have never gone out to the Great Green North. They should have all together returned for Gohola. Eish should have known. Eish should have never left them behind. Rahul should have never lied to Ram; he should have told him the truth at Asalmarat. He should have begged Arr-Zabou to let them return. Rahul realized he had closed his eyes in anger and when he opened them Waden was looking straight at him. Rahul felt embarrassed but the general nodded his head in understanding.

  “Thank you for your help general. Can we ask what you are doing here?” Gohola almost stuttered. He did not mean what they were doing in the hills, he meant why were they camped outside Dermag, why were they in full armor, what were they doing? The general smiled now, as wide as the Erystu have ever seen a man smile, much to their surprise.

  “Come and see.” He said mysteriously and beckoned them forward with his hand as the men in his company scurried down the road towards their camp. Rahul and Gohola got off their hounds and slowly followed the soldiers while looking around at their camp. Rahul felt uneasy. He did not know why Gohola felt the need to inquire in the private affairs of a foreign people. Let them be as they wish to be, after all they had bigger problems to solve. He closed his eyes again tiredly. What were they going to do now? He looked out into the sky as if hoping to see Iragur. No more is the God of my God, he thought to himself. No more are my brothers. We are lost, forever. He opened his eyes to see Gohola looking at him worryingly, but Rahul rubbed his neck as if to suggest his exhaustion was from pain and not a loss of faith. They walked through the camp and the Dermags looked at them with distrust, some laughed, some pointed. Mostly they just seemed like brutes and half-wits, belching loudly, pushing each other, cursing and roaring in the camps. Rahul now wished they would have taken the axes from the Zabourians. It was a fleeting thought followed by stern self-critique of the notion that they would have had any hopes of defending themselves against an entire army of the Dermags. Or that they would be able to take the axes off the corpses of Zabourians without Feima slashing through their bodies like a finger dragged against the current of the river. There was no chance of winning. Suddenly they came to a halt near where a small cliff hanged over a valley. The soldiers separated to reveal general Waden, squatting with an almost child-like smile and pointing downwards into the valley. Rahul and Gohola came closer and saw that what he was pointing to was a village in the valley in the far distance, barely discernable of size and seemingly empty.

  “It is a village.” Gohola surmised.

  “It is a siege, my friend Otne.” The general corrected him excitedly.

  “A siege?” Gohola asked.

  “A reclaiming of land, my friend. You see, that there, shit pile of a village?” The general waved his finger angrily. “That is the Lower Pyrs. The Lower Pyrs, just like the Tall Pyrs have been a part of the Dermag Kingdom for centuries until around a hundred years ago some maledict, dirty savages came to settle here.” The general spoke with hatred so putrid it made the air heavy.

  “Well do your men not have place to live in Dermag?” Rahul asked looking down at the village. Both the general and his brother looked at him.

  “That, my friend Otne, is not the point. The point is that they are heretics. If they only refused to acknowledge the authority of Dermag, we would not condemn them. It is in their belief that they reveal their rotten ways and ideals. They decided that the grace of the only God is to them worth naught. They would rather serve the God of bones and worms. Since they chose to die rather than leave.” The general spoke with elation while gesticulating frantically and Rahul could see in his eyes there was a fire that was a love of hatred. Gohola seemed more intrigued than frightened.

  “The only god? Who would that be?” He inquired further.

  “The all-encompassing Bastumil of course.” The general crossed his chest with the thumb of his right hand and so did the soldiers behind them. He sighed and looked awkwardly at the ground beneath them. “I acknowledge you have your own king whom you follow but from what I have come to understand is he denounced his claim of divinity. You follow no God.”

  “We follow the Arr-Zabou, entrusting ourselves fully in his wisdom as a celibate-God.” Gohola responded calmly.

  “Seems like a celibate-God is closer to man than God. Perhaps the Arr was a man of great power at a time, but undoubtedly the one true God remains with us. If you ever see yourself wanting to leave Asalmarat know there is a place for good people in Dermag. And then perhaps one day we will see to serve under one God you and I.” The general spoke looking at Rahul.

  “Never.” Gohola said suddenly but luckily without anger although still a cold sweat ran down Rahul’s back.

  “If you have the power to foresee perhaps you are a God yourself Otne. I understand your skepticism. Even more your piety. But if you would see the things that I have seen I believe you would denounce your God and fall onto your knees before mine. Hope you do not find that offensive.”

  “I do.” Gohola was testing the general’s patience. Rahul closed his fist and clenched his teeth but the general responded dispassionately:

  “I understand that also.”

  “And they worship bad gods?” Rahul asked himself.

  “Worse.” The general spat. “They worship Jehir himself. The sneering monster hiding under false names. But we recognize the falsehood. We see them in the night cower, like shadows of evil to perform their rituals and chant prayers in his name. They already let their best warriors be taken into his army of the undead. It sickens me to think about it. We will bring justice to the lower Pyrs and liberate the land that was once ours.” The general said and stood up again crossing his chest with his thumb and again the others followed.

  “How do you plan on executing your justice general Waden?” Rahul asked. The general pointed to the camp.

  “A hundred and seventy-five men with great swords is how I plan on executing justice my friend Wissimar.” They looked at the soldiers, all dressed in hardened skin and some with elements of bronze or steel, who smiled and nodded menacingly while caressing the hilt of their swords. They seemed delighted to be pointed out as the chosen weapon of destruction for their God.

  “And if I may ask general, where are those dissenters who you plan to destroy? It seems from here the village is empty. Perhaps your men need not their swords even. Just their eyes.” Rahul spoke. He already saw they were not going to kill them. They must have stumbled upon the riders from Asalmarat many of times. Apparently, they held them in respect. Rahul did not like the way the general was speaking about the people. Everything he said seemed engrained into the back of his head. He either heard it being said from somebody else before or he himself was piping with rage that was so engulfing that not once did he stop to question what he presumed to be obvious. Rahul thought the least he could do is try to provoke him. Make him give out information. To the surprise of the Erystu the general was not offended yet again but rather smiled.

  “If that is what you think Wissimar, be so kind as to turn your own eyes towards those, as you said dissenters.” He uttered before turning back towards the camp and pointing inwards.

  “BRING OUT THE TREBUCHET!” He yelled suddenly, startling not only the Erystu but also the soldiers that stood near them. The camp suddenly came alive and men rushed to their feet to move their armor and equipment from the middle of the road, scrambling and sighing lazily as yells of others echoed throughout the tents. Then a group of a dozen men emerged suddenly in between the tents and while rhythmically groaning, began pulling ropes tied to a strange, wooden machine, slightly taller than themselves as men by the sides cleared the path in front and watched them turn sharply behind the trees and into a clearing. The soldiers sweated heavily and looked at each other, as with great strain they pushed the machine to face towards the edge of the cliff. Rahul craned his neck to get a better view of what was happening as the general watched his and Gohola’s confusion with excitement. The men let go of the ropes of the machine and went around it. Two of them grabbed the handles of a thick rug onto which a pile of rocks was scattered evenly and the other hand they had free they gave to the two men standing before them and the four pulled the rug towards the machine.

  “Watch my friend.” The general whispered suddenly to Rahul while pointing to the town down in the valley. The men threw the rocks onto the machine as Rahul and Gohola looked at each other nervously. The general looked at the machine men and nodded silently. They heard a sudden whistle in the air and Gohola ducked with his hands over his head in fright. The soldiers roared with laughter at the Erystu as Rahul watched the stones suddenly fall over the town and with a terrible thud that made him wince, shattered the stone walls of the buildings within. General Waden looked down with satisfaction. Somehow Rahul though this to be utterly reprehensible. He considered his disgust strange as just a couple of days ago he witnessed what without a doubt was a massacre of an entire people and it bothered him deeply of course but this? For this he felt in his stomach a special hatred for the Dermags and Waden. The look on his face and the clatter of stone destroying stone. He shuddered. The general looked at him.

  “Do not wince, my friend. You asked to see the heathens. Watch and see.” He pointed to the valley again, which seemed unchanged. He felt the man’s hand on his shoulder and never before has he felt such a tingling, burning need to attack, bite, kick, slash a man’s throat before quite as much as he did right now. He started breathing heavily when suddenly in the great distance he could see some doors open in the town, and black dots of men running across its streets.

  “You see? It is not unlike with animals. You want to hear a horse neigh? A strong hand of the whip is your best bet.” The general continued relentlessly. Rahul inhaled sharply watching the valley below. His heart was beating so fast he could barely formulate any thought and he felt the sharp stinging of Waden’s sight on his neck. Gohola nodded awkwardly at the general with visible nervousness.

  ?We of course do not aim at the destruction of human life. That is why we are waiting and why we have not decided on a full assault yet.” The general claimed nonchalantly.

  ?Very impressive showing general.” Rahul spoke before turning around on his heel. He inhaled deeply before bowing slightly to the general which the man welcomed with a surprised half-smile. Rahul fixed his tunic and looked around the camp.

  “Come on Otne. We would do wise to visit them before nightfall.” Rahul spoke as he started walking slowly back towards the camp.

  ?Visit them?” The general suddenly shrieked causing Rahul to stop in his way and turn towards him with his brows raised.

  “I must have overheard. My apologies if I assumed incorrectly. I must have imagined you said that you were to visit them.” Waden emphasized the last word of his sentence with a mix of fear and disgust, yet he smiled politely and raised his eyebrows nervously.

  ?No, general Waden your assumption was indeed correct. In actuality I am surprised at your confusion.” Rahul looked at Gohola and then back at the general. He spoke calmly, even slightly too casually, as if he was talking to somebody below him in rank.

  “I was assured you would insist on us going but decided against it due to courtesy. We will of course go either way. Surely the Lower Pyrs can be taken over without the further destruction of the walls you soon plan on inhabiting no?” Rahul inquired as Gohola nodded eagerly. The general looked at the ground frowning, as if he was calculating something and he muttered something unintelligible to himself before speaking finally.

  ?Surely… we would think so. Very well then Wissimar. If that is your decision, I must respect it. There are Dermag men in the town who will make sure you are not hurt during your visit. I will send soldiers to escort you. I would do so myself but my duties as general supersede those as host.” The man smiled again before whistling towards the camp, which disturbed the only other man in the camp bereft of armor. The general pulled him closer and spoke into his ear as the smaller man nodded frantically. Rahul and Gohola put their hands behind their backs and stood there quietly awaiting their escort. The general’s assumed servant went towards the camp and got into one of the tents crouching. Two men got out of the tent proudly with their chests out and chin’s high looking around and squinting at the sun. The general led the Erystu the same way they came, through the middle of the camp and the two men followed quietly after them.

  They reached the end of the camp where Rahul was surprised to see their hounds leashed and tied to a wooden post. They picked up the leads and the Dermags brought in two horses, next to which they Erystu seemed like children.

  “I recommend you not to stay in the Pyrs long my friends of Asalmarat. We plan on striking on the full moon. That is of course, only if you fail to convince the inhabitants to leave peacefully.” The general grinned through clenched teeth and Rahul responded with a cold smile as he climbed onto his mount and the soldiers onto their steeds. The Erystu let the soldiers pass them and lead the way, Rahul nodded silently to the general and followed after their escort making sure Gohola is riding safely next to him. The road led around the hill through the hard, sandy floor of the plains and downwards towards the valley where some of the barren ground gave way to trees that leaned and grew out sideways. They rode in silence as Rahul wanted to avoid raising suspicion, or even worse mistakenly refer to his brother by his real name. They rode downwards towards the town and Rahul could see now from closer the cracked walls that were the sole defense of the townsfolk from the Dermag men and their horrifying machinery. He also saw the camp from down below and again felt a dull pain in his stomach, almost as if nausea and he surmised that must have been hate that

  brewed in his gut towards the ever-grinning general that probably now stood in that very camp watching from above. He exhaled tiredly. What was he doing trying to go to the Pyrs? He felt lost in his blind, foolish endeavor to try and… And what exactly? Save the people of the Pyrs? He did not care that much about their fate. Prove that he was able of saving lives and not just leading to their destruction? In truth he could not discern if he felt guilty about the massacre in the desert and even if he did his ultimate quest of returning to Eish and his brothers took priority over his conscience. So why then? If it brough them in no way closer to Taik? He could have asked for direction to the great green north, but was there any point? It would be the same as asking direction to the river because you want to find a single drop of water. No. He had to find Taik. He thought to himself as such and yet he shook the leads on his hound to rush him to get to the town faster. Right now, he felt the most curious of satisfactions as the cool air breezed through his hair and hunched over, he rode towards the gates of the town. There were these moments, fleeting but still significant, in which Rahul felt as if he could turn off all else and simply escape into his own mind and rest, away from all the sweat and labored breathing and the eternal journey that life seemed to be. Rest.

  But rest did not come. In its place the only thing Rahul had was this endless wandering and so far, it seemed that the Arr’s curse was coming true indeed and all that lied ahead was the unknown.