Wings of Fire: Shattered Soul

Chapter I: The Desert Market

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. The hoofs walked along the desert floor at an average pace. The tracks stretched on for miles behind. It was hot, dry, and humid. The worst you could get. But somehow, two creatures had made it this far in the desert. Sweat rolled down the hide of the horse. Even though the other creature was not walking, rather sitting on the horse, sweat rolled down his face. He took some cloth and wiped his forehead. He noticed that his tongue was out from thirst. Grabbing his water bag, he drank the last of the few drops.

"I hope we're close. Didn't come all this way for nothing." Putting the empty bag back, he grabbed his stashed map from his back and rolled it out in front of him. The sun was at its zenith in the sky, beating the merciless heat upon the sand. It indicated midday. "And there is that."

Looking in front of him, he saw the objects he was looking for: two large columns of rock. "Don't worry, we should be there in a little while," he said as he patted his horse.
The streams of hot air blasted at his face, but up ahead he could see the outlining of a small mountain of rock and below it, unnatural structures. As he got closer, he could spot the figures of humans running about. He knew he had arrived at his destination.

The desert-town of Sans was built in and around a mountain made entirely of rock. It was only one of three towns in the continent's largest desert, and the only one with a river to sustain itself. Even though it was a desert-town, this place was known for its trade. All kinds of shops spanned across the base of one side of the mountain. These shops were mostly shabby, made of crude sandstone, but had some intriguing items.

The traveler rode up to the front and went to a well that was for people who were entering. He took a handful and gulped it down; then he tied his horse under a cover that was used for horses. The traveler walked through, looking at some children who were running and playing along the sand. Multiple voices were shouting out for "trade, a trade!" Still peering at all the shops, he glanced to his left to see an old man sitting down, with a hood on covering his head and some of his face, so as you could not see his eyes. He had a long and thick grey beard that reached to his belly. It's just another poor man, the traveler thought, and was about to look elsewhere when the old man spoke out in a loud voice:

"Would you like my mask? Would you like my mirror? You can look at yourself; you can look at each other, or you can look at the face of your god!"*

The traveler was taken aback. Was this man crazy? Did the heat get him? He walked up in front of the old man. "So are you selling a mask or a mirror, you say, old man?" The other still kept his head down but produced from his cloak the most wonderful mirror the traveler had ever seen. The man held it out for the traveler to hold. The mirror was lighter than he expected since it was a large one; it seemed to be trimmed with gold, and the glass was crystal clear. It was very mesmerizing like he was being pulled…

Someone ran past him. He snapped to attention and noticed that the people were gathering to something that was happening close by. He gave the mirror back to the old man, putting it into his lap, and went along with the crowd to see what all the commotion was about./p

"You think you can challenge me? I'm gonna do whatever I want, and you think this will stop me?"

"Well you know the rules here, and that is not allowed. You will have to face the consequence. You've been causing enough trouble, Eisen."

The traveler worked his way through the thickening crowd. What he found was something he had seen before. There was a large stone circle, about three men's length in diameter, and in it were two men. One was a tall, muscular looking fellow, and the other was slightly shorter, with cloth wrapped around his left hand, and looked twice the other's age. They both raised their hands into fighting positions.

"of course she would run to you. I just knew it. Running away like the weakling she is." The muscular one said. The traveler looked to see a man in lavish clothes with a woman, whose hair was a wreck, and she looked like she was breathing heavily. Looking back at the match, he saw the big man take a massive swing, easily avoided by the smaller.

"I'm going for the smaller one." Someone said next to him. The traveler noticed that people were pulling out their gold or whatever their trade currency was for bets. Back to the fight, the muscular one, Eisen, was getting frustrated: since every time he would attack, the other would simply avoid it and step out of the way.

"Why aren't you attacking me, you feeble old man? This is what you wanted right?" And he lunged with his arms outstretched for a tackle. But as he went at full speed, bearing down on the other man, just as he was about to get him, the other suddenly whipped out his left hand and hit the bigger man with a powerful uppercut; then stabbed him in the sternum. Eisen fell back, staggering, coughing blood onto the ground. The older man walked forward. "And this is your sentence." He brought down his elbow to smash the head.

The big man collapsed onto the ground. He was alive but barely breathing. There was a loud cheering (but there were also a few groans, for those who had lost their bets) and then the people dispersed back to where they were as if nothing had happened. But the traveler stood there and looked at the winner, who went over to the rich-looking man and the raggedy woman next to him. He said a few words and disappeared into the cave. As the traveler walked over to the pair, the woman also left and went into the market. He walked up to the man.

"It was quite a fight, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was. Do you need anything?" The man inquired.

"I'm wondering, who is the man who won the match?"

"You don't know?" tho other responded with a laugh. "You must not be from around here then. I'm the owner of Sans, by the way. My name is Heller." They both shook hands.

"Nice to meet you. Could I perhaps met the winner myself?"

"Why, you have come to the right place! I can personally escort you to him! But first, we have to get out of this blasted heat."

As they walked toward the cave, Heller asked: "So what is your business here, may I ask?"

"Oh, frankly nothing, to tell you the truth. This is just the last stop before I reach Aeneas."

The cave was massive; it was so large it could fit at least fifty dragons. They ascended a wide staircase that winded itself to the top.

"There are multiple levels that lead to rooms, where everyone lives. I mean, who would want to live out in the desert? Here, the higher your level is, the richer it means you are. And the man you're looking for, his room is on the 8th level of 10. It's probably the nicest one though."

And after a while of climbing, they finally reached the room. And in it, was a man sitting on a chair.

"Come in, I've been expecting you for quite a while, Fidius."

*From the song Marrakesh Night Market, by Loreena McKennitt