Haru felt the sun on his back as he secured the last of his supplies to his camel, Ura. He could feel its heat sinking into his skin, into the sand, into the very air he breathed. He could feel what little moisture there was in the air disappearing by the second. Soon all that would remain would be the sun, the sand, and him.
He turned away from Ura, staring out across what used to be the Harea Sea. All that remained was the sand that seemed to be everywhere. He didn't know how people could stand to live in it their entire lives. He had barely entered the dunes, and already he was sick of the desert. He sighed, then tucked one end of his scarf into his headpiece, drawing it across the lower half of his face until he could secure it on the other side as well.
The scarf helped. It smelled like the Gozoa roses near several of his homes, one of the only flowers to thrive in the desert, with or without an oasis being nearby. It helped mask the dry, dusty smell of the ridiculous, constant sand.
Haru sighed, asking himself not for the first time why he had decided to do this. Despite his misgivings about the journey itself, the answer immediately came to the surface of his thoughts: Eguzkia, the capital city of the kingdom neighbor to the nomads' lands.
Every seven years, Eguzkia's king was put to a test by the nomads in return for a gift that was more valuable than gold: access to water. As the last of nomads, and the king, it was his duty to perform the test himself, and see if the water would be granted and the alliance renewed. This year's test was also going to be more interesting than the last one, as there was a new, untested king on the throne.
Throughout his travels, Haru had heard rumors of the prince who was now Eguzkia's king. From the stories he'd heard he had been able to figure out that the new king strictly adhered to the law, was withdrawn from his people, a fair judge when it came to crimes, and extremely protective of his family, now consisting only of his younger sister. Not much was known about the princess, except that she was seen by the people more than the king and that she was very beautiful.
A sudden gust of wind blew sand up into the air, making Haru clench his eyes shut instinctively, instantly renewing his dislike of the gritty substance. He missed the cool shade of the various oases in which he lived. He missed the colors, the greens, pinks, reds, yellows, and blues. He missed the smells, wet, and sweet, and earthy. The desert, in comparison, was barren and dull. Practically dead.
As if to prove his point, the moment Haru and Ura reached the crest of another dune, they came across the skeleton of an old sea creature, from back when the Harea Desert was the Harea Sea. Haru felt an ache in his chest at the sight, and turned his head away, trying to forget the image. He made it several paces beyond the dead animal before he stopped, head lowered.
He couldn't just abandon it to the sand, as much as he wanted to forget it was there at all. It wasn't right that a creature of water was forced to remain as a part of the earth. Haru dropped Ura's reins and spun around to face the awful sight once again. He strode back to the skeleton and dropped to his knees by the head, ignoring the burning heat from the sand below him.
Haru reached out a hand and placed it on the animal's skull, closing his eyes. He hadn't had much of a chance to practice this particular gift his people had, but over the past year he'd done it enough to know that it would work now. His breathing slowed, and he focused on the feel of the bone beneath his hand, his own unhappiness at being forced to remain in the desert, the sheer wrongness of the sea creature's bones becoming a part of the land, and felt something within him shift.
He opened his eyes again in time to see the bones be blown into dust as if by a gust of wind that wasn't there, rising several feet into the air. As he watched, the dust changed, beginning to shine and catch the light from the sun. As Haru watched, the particles became smaller and smaller, clumping together briefly before spreading out. He closed his eyes as the newly formed mist dispersed over him, leaving behind the comforting smell of salt and water.
The sensation lingered for only a moment before the heat of the desert chased it away with the smell of dry dust once again. Haru opened his eyes once more, and saw only a slight depression in the sand where the skeleton had once been. He felt a little more worn out than he would have liked, given how far he still had to go today, but decided it was worth it as he felt his spirit grow a little lighter at the thought of the sea creature no longer being trapped on land.
A soft whuffle from Ura reminded Haru of the fact that he was still kneeling in the sand, and that they needed to cover as much ground as they could today so that they would arrive at the city in a timely manner and get out of the desert that much quicker. He stood smoothly and brushed the sand from his clothing as he walked back to his camel. He took up the reins again, and continued moving in the direction of Eguzkia.
Before long, Haru's thoughts had returned to the upcoming trial. He had a vague memory of his own parents performing the previous trial, but at nine cycles old he had been more preoccupied with exploring the city's oasis, the largest he had ever encountered, than paying attention to the politics of the situation. Now he wished he'd taken more of an interest in the proceedings, or that his parents had made him pay more attention. Although, to their credit, none of them had anticipated the situation that Haru found himself in now.
Had things gone according to plan, this would have been his first official trial, and he would have been a mere observer as his parents handled the situation. He was supposed to have had years of observation, private discussions, and instruction from his parents to fall back on. Instead, he was going to be figuring it out on his own, using only his fuzzy, incomplete memories as a reference, and his personal instinct to figure out what to do.
He wasn't prepared for this, Haru reluctantly admitted to himself, but he would have to make do with what he had. He had no other choice. He had to fulfill his duty, not only to himself, but also to his parents and his people, even if they were no longer there to see it. The old, familiar ache formed within him at the influx of emotions that surfaced, and he rubbed at his chest absentmindedly before forcing his thoughts elsewhere as he continued walking across a neverending sea of sand.
They walked for hours, until the shadows of the dunes lengthened and the sky became dusky instead of clear. The air was finally cool again, though it was still missing the smells that Haru was used to, as well as the sounds of the wildlife that made their homes among the oases. He decided to make camp at the base of a dune, where they would have at least an extra hour of shade come morning.
Haru fed Ura and removed the packs from her back so she could sleep. As he settled back against the solid weight of his belongings, he removed a bag of dried garratz for his own dinner, untucking his scarf so that he could eat. He slowly chewed the slightly sour fruit as he stared up at the sky, watching in silence as the stars slowly began to illuminate the night.
It was times like this when he missed them the most, the times when the world went quiet and he was the only living being around for miles. It was times like this when the memories of what had been surfaced too easily, and he could hear the echoes of roaring laughter, crackling flames, and age-worn voices telling the stories of his people.
Instead of the sounds of his family, he had the lonely silence of the desert. Instead of the smell of spices, roasting meat, wine, and his mother's perfume he had the smell of dust, garratz, and camel. Instead of the sight of familiar faces surrounding him from every side, he had only Ura and a wide expanse of nothingness.
Haru sighed, tightening the cord on the bag of fruit, and replaced it in his packs. He glanced at Ura once more, then turned onto his side, his head resting on the soft cloth protecting his belongings. He lay there, listening to the unfamiliar silence and distant callings of the wind until the rest of the world finally drifted away into darkness.
The next morning he awoke to the glaring sun and a gritty feeling in his mouth. Haru opened his eyes and lay where he was for a moment, the previous day's irritation rearing its head once more at the reminder of his current location. However, there was nothing he could do about the nature of the desert, and he was getting tired of being constantly frustrated with it, so he figured the best he could do was to try and put up with it for the remaining time that he would be traveling through it. He sighed, sitting up and scanning the area for his camel.
She had wandered several paces away, to where the creeping shade still lingered, though not for much longer. Haru stood, and a small shower of sand accompanied the movement. The early morning air was already beginning to warm again, and he readied himself for another scorching day of travel. He called Ura over with a short, piercing whistle, and loaded the packs onto her back once more.
Based on how long they had walked the previous day, as well as the position of the stars last night, Haru estimated that they should reach Eguzkia within the day. He felt a brief flutter of anxiety before he pushed it away as he reattached his scarf and took hold of Ura's reins, beginning the day's trek towards the city.
Time seemed almost non-existent as they walked, the landscape appearing unchanged as they continued on hour after hour. Partway through the day, Haru removed a waterskin from Ura's back and let her drink her fill until the bag was empty. He wasn't terribly concerned, as water was never very hard to come by for any of the nomad tribes. He returned it to its spot again, and they began moving once again.
Haru had long since settled into the monotony of the journey when he noticed a slight shift in the air. He loosened his scarf in curiosity, deeply breathing in for several moments once the cloth was out of the way. The air smelled different, slightly stale with a hint of spices and stone. Haru found his heart beating a little faster as he and Ura began to approach the top of the dune they were on. As they came over the edge, his eyes widened in surprise.
Before him lay a beautiful city carved from white stone and brown brick. It stretched out before him for miles, and Haru could hardly imagine the number of people living within its walls. In the very center of the city he could see a building that towered above the rest, whose roof appeared to be covered in gold. It could only be the palace, and at the sight of it, a vague sense of familiarity came to Haru, and he almost thought that he recognized some of what he could see.
He took a deep breath, glancing at Ura, before he began leading her down the dune towards the city gates. They had reached Eguzkia.