Ambush!
As the illusion of heat falls upon me so does stupidity.
Shadows swept in the sand blind me from the truth.
Only confusion controls my mind.
I hate those who stated ignorance is bliss, only because they were right…
As I made my way to Azad I could only think of how I had once destroyed it by unleashing the sands upon the kingdom. But knowing that Farah had sealed the dagger away eased my heart greatly. Yet something still kept bothering me about the dagger. I thought to myself about how I could have the dagger of time and still be destined to obtain one that was locked away in the Maharajah palace. These questions rammed through my mind as the sun's heat began to pour down from the barren sky.
The intense heat was beginning to drive me insane as I began to see mirages. At one point I began to see Farah waving gourds of water around while a nice oasis lay slightly behind her. At another point I saw my father and his sand creature counter-part taunting me with water. This site really disturbed me and I was drawn to grab my canteen, which was strapped to my waist next to two empty canteens. I had began to regret not taking the caravan my father tried to push off on me. But I didn't want anyone to interfere with my quest. He even tried to get one of his personal doctors to keep tabs on my health. I believed he was worried about me because of my farfetched story, even though my trickery couldn't be helped.
When I finally had Azad's city in my sight I dropped the now empty canteen to my side. The city sat in the background of the blaring sun and as happiness grew to my dry throat so did the sands which twirled around picking up from the desert floor. The sand started to grow in rage as my sight became disoriented. When I pulled down my visor and wrapped a scarf around my face I noticed figures roaming in the sands. Though I hesitated before stopping I drew my sword and got off of my horse. I figured that it was either weak bandits or my eyes playing tricks on me again. Then again it could have been wondering nomads searching for Azad but being thrown off by the sudden storm. I decided not to take any chances and readied my weapon. The figures seemed to flow in and out of the sand as they twirled around in a weird but precise fashion. I looked blindly in the sands as their movements quickly annoyed me. The thought of Azad being so close made me grow more irritated and impatient. I grew tired of waiting and decided to make the first move, nomad or illusion I would stop this deception. I rushed towards my left and brought down my sword in a large slashing motion to where a shadow lay hidden in the sand. When my sword sat still in the ground I realized I had made a grave mistake. Suddenly a huge weight came down on my lower back then another struck my legs, which tossed me to my knees. A last strike came upon my neck and the harsh jolt of it tossed me into the ground, where I blacked out.
"Pick him up and toss him on the horse."
"Funny, I was expecting more of a challenge from what Viron said."
"This is a nice sword. Persian I think. Marion will like this one."
"Lets head back! Viron is waiting for us."
I awoke in a dark decrypted cell that seemed like one of Azad's design. It reminded me of Azad's prison, minus the torture devices. Yet this area seemed to be isolated from the rest of the construction. I assumed it was used rarely used, which made me somewhat honored. But all jokes aside I was truly terrified. As I wondered about where I was and who had brought me here someone suddenly barged in.
"So you're finally awoke, good. Now we can finally get down to business." And there he stood, a man who would prove to be a great adversity on my quest. He was a strongly built man, with a muscular body. He had a dark tan to him but he didn't seem Indian in the least. His dark brown hair was set in a ponytail behind his back, except the lock of hair pulled out in front across his left eye. One of the strangest things about him was his outfit. Though his pants were more loosened they were much similar to my own, but the leather vest he wore was a dirty orange as if someone had beat it in the desert sands. What struck me as odd was the giant white cloth that was wrapped around his neck like a scarf, it was slung over the entire left side of his body. I believe it was to hide the sword hidden in his sheave even though he had an unusual scimitar on his back. I got the feeling he was a strong warrior as he stared at me with his slackened brown eyes. As he came closer to unlock me from my prison I noticed that he had a small gash across the right edge of his lip. I had wondered how someone like him could even be touched by a blade, but it didn't matter now since I had to face him without one.
