Flashback Through the Sands

[Marcus Gray-Dawn]

Summer Day 34, 496AV The sun beat down upon the endless stretch of sand causing the horizion to gloss over in waves of heat. Marcus slowly trecked through the sand with his horse ,Tarlok, close behind. It had been two weeks since he put his plans in motion to leave Cyphrus and search for signs of divinity. He thought the he had made ample preparations for his journey, but as he pushed through the sand he realized his misjudegment. He startes his journey with vigor and enthusiasm, but he had now stripped off his armor and sword trying frivously to stay calm and cool in the unforgiving heat. As he wallked he thought to himself that of all the places in the world why in Caiyha's name had he chosen this desolate wasteland to travel to first. Hours passes as the day slowly drug on but the concept of time seemed to be lost in this place, for the sun never shifted from its overlording position above him. He had only been in the desert for around 5 days and he was running low on food and water. He knew that the two would be scarce but he had found no trace of either. This was an ever growing problem for he was depending on find local sources of food and water for nourishment, and the pains in his stomach became a constant reminder of his foolishness. Marcus stopped and took his waterskin from the one of saddle bags resting on Tarlok's back. "Well my friend," he said in a dry Pavi voice "I might have gotten in to more than we were ready for." He then took a quick drink then put the waterskin to the horses mouth and gave him a drink. Marcus looked into Tarlok's eyes then pressed his forehead against Tarlok's. He could tell that he wasnt the only one that was worried and hungry. Guilt crept up his throat and he knew that he not only endangered his life but also his most loyal friend's. He wiped the sweat from his brow,then turned his gaze towards the horizion searching for some means of survival. He knew he was lost, and he knew that these golden fields of sand would be his tomb if he didnt do something soon.

[Bethsyliss]

Day 34 of Summer, 496 AV. The summer sun was fully out again, and the vipers in the Dhani nest of the endless desert of Eyktol rejoiced. This time of year was a typical Dhani's favourite. Being a race sharing close psychological and physical ties with snakes, their national pastime, apart from torture, was basking in the sun. Even though the Dhani were not entirely cold-blooded reptiles, being partly human like their goddess Siku, they always enjoyed this activity. The sun's warm rays stroked their slippery scales like a mother cradling her children, and the usual Dhani reveled in that kind of natural gift of astral affection. Bethsyliss, however, did not. Seventy-four years ago, Bethsyliss was basking in the sun's spotlight during the beginning of the hot season when a small constrictor raid was mounted on her nest. To that fateful encounter, Syliss lost her father, who had been brutally captured and enslaved by her Dhani cousins from the jungles of Falyndar. Every summer since, Bethsyliss went out some ways from the other vipers' presence to isolate herself and think about her father. She did not enjoy the basking, but a mysterious force inside of her compelled her, every year, to go out in the sun in snake form and remember her youth, and recall that terrible day when her father whom she loved very dearly had been snatched away from her before her very eyes. So there she was, laying at the foot of a sand dune in the Burning Lands with her nest behind her, while the sun reheated her memory and ignited her inextinguishable thirst for retribution. She imagined a thousand ways to avenge her family. Her mind seethed with anger and spite, and the golden scale she bore above her left eye glowed as she pictured countless scenarios where she tortured constrictors and liberated her father. Buried in her bloody thoughts, she schemed. When I am old enough, I will leave the nessst, and I will rally a sssizeable force of vipers and rattlers and lead them into the ssstinking city of cursssed Zinrah. There I will slaughter a hundred constrictors until they sssurrender, and I will, in turn, make the remaining survivorsss my slaves, and I will free my father from the ssshackles of those damned creaturesss so that he gaze proudly upon the daughter that brought honor on his family and his kind. Father, you will be avenged, and mother too, for I will bring those foul sssnakes to their knees and they will sssuffer as we have sssuffered. Sssiku be my witness, and the sun also, though ssshe shall not shine any longer upon the monsters that have wrought sssuch pain and injustice on the surface of Mizahar. Lost in those dreadful fantasies of hers, Syliss dreamed of the day where justice would be served, impervious to the rolling dunes of sand all around her while the sun fueled her mindless fury.

[Marcus Gray-Dawn]

Marcus splashed some water on his head as he continued his exhalted march to nowhere. In the back of his mind he knew that he should turn back to the Sea of Grass and regain his bearings before reattempting this journey, but as looked around him he realized he didnt know exactly which way Cyphrus was. In the distance he saw a perticular dune of sand that rose higher than the others. He hoped that he could atleast gain some insight on his imediate surrounds from its top. As he approached he saw that he misjudged its size for it was more than just slightly higher than the surrounds mounds of sand, not one to turn back he proceede to scale it anyway. The climb seemed endless and by the time he reached the top Marcus felt as if he had ran across Cyphrus. He rose from his knee after catching his breath and squinted his eyes and took in all he could see. Unfortuanately for him all he could see was more dessert, or so he thought. On the ground at the bottom of the dune he spotted a fleck of something reflecting a shadow. He raised his hand over his as to block the sun and gain a better view, then he knew what he was looking at. Resting at the bottom od the sandyhill was a snake, granted it was a large strange looking snake, but it was a snake none the less. Marcus almost couldnt believe his luck. There at his most desperate hour, in the middle of nowhere, Caiyha had provided him substance. By eating the snake he and Tarlok would have the energy to make it back to the Sea of Grass. The excitement was almost unbearable and he crept towards the snake basking in the sun. Marcus had taken a blanet from his saddlebag and he planned on throwing it over the snake to keep it from bitting him. He couldnt identify the snake so he knew not of the snake was poisonous so he planned to take all the nessasary precautions. As he neared the snake his heart rate sped up making him nervous in a way. He was on a few feet away now when he stummbled kicking sand in the process. Fearing the snake was alerted to his presence he threw the blanket hoping it would land on the snake so he couls hold it down.

[Bethsyliss]

Syliss was in the middle of one of her unhealthy fantasies when, all of a sudden, all went dark. A blanket had landed on her head. She made a startled jump, but the weight of the blanket pinned her down to the hot sand on which she rested. It smelled of an animal unbeknownst to her. What was going on? A few sun rays filtered through the fabric of the reeking blanket, making the situation all the more distressing because it struck her awareness that there was an outside that she couldn't perceive. Something was going on very near to her that she was unable to identify. It was absolutely mortifying. In a split second, the meaning of all this struck her terrifyingly. Somebody was out there and he doubtless wanted to capture her, using this stinking blanket as a net. No, this couldn't be happening. Her father had already been captured seventy-four years ago. Why her now? Was another raid of constrictor Dhani on the way to the viper nest to repeat the crimes that had been perpetrated so long ago? Were they going to enslave her, as they had mercilessly enslaved her beloved father? In any case, Syliss was now stronger than she had ever been, peaking on her eightieth year. Means of defense that had not been present at the time of the abduction were now at her disposal. She wasn't going to let whoever it was that was assaulting her get away without putting up a good fight. Fleeing was out of the question. Seeing that she was unable to free herself from the makeshift net that limited her movement, she decided to go the only way she could: down. Under the blanket, the aggressors wouldn't even notice it. She burrowed into the soft sand by making as little racket as she could but did it as fast as possible in case her enemies were close. By then all five feet of her serpentine body were entirely buried under a thin layer of sand. When the attackers would try to pick her up in the bundle, all they would get is some sand and a moment of confusion. She waited, listening for any sounds she could detect.

[Marcus Gray-Dawn]

Marcus let lut a gasp of relief as he quickly ran over to the blanket and used his weight to pin down the edges. His stomach began to churn at the images of this snake roasting over a fire and he would have began to slober of his mouth was so dry. He let out the best whistle he could and Tarlok quickly trotted over to his side. Marcus then rose, ever so carefully to grab a string from the saddlebag. After he found one he hurriedly fell back on the blanket. Then with a swift grab he brought the blanket up upon itself and tied the string. "Yes!" he cheered in Pavi "We're eating tonight!" It was then when he noticed something strange. For as big as that snake was the blanket was awfuly light. He quickly grabbed and patted the blanket. "Damn!, how foolish could i be?! The bag was empty. He knew that he should hae checked it before pulling up the blanket, but he was so hungry and it seemed like a sure catch. He now had two problems, he was still hungry and there was a very large and pissed off snake out there somewhere. Marcus glanced around trying to spot the beast, but it was nowhere to be seen. Being a cautious man Marcus still began to slowly creep over to Tarlok. Once he reached him he drew his sword from his pack and surveyed the area once more. He slowly approached the area where he thought he trapped the snake. The sand was stired up and it looked as if somone had rolled around making it impossible to spot any tracks that the snake might have left. He knelt down by the turned up sand to see if he could find out what happened by taking a closer look.

[Bethsyliss]

Syliss waited, her snake heart pounding nervously against the mass of hot sand she was concealed under. She could only rely on her sense of hearing now, so she listened intently at the noises the ground conducted. She heard a faint swooshing sound, and then a muffled voice came to her through the thin layer of sand covering her body. Immediately after, strong thuds resounded in her ears as if the very ground had been struck by thunder. What on Mizahar could make such noise with mere footsteps? Syliss shuddered inwardly at the thought of the amount of raw force required to produce such earthshaking thuds, the warm sand pressing all around her. After a couple of seconds, the muffled voice spoke again -- or maybe it was the voice of another. She had a hard time identifying all these mixed sounds from above, and couldn't make out the situation without getting a clear visual. She was painfully aware that a hostile encounter was impending, because she couldn't run away still concealed in the sand since the grains would impede her movement, and she might not have the time to flee once she surfaced at the feet of the attackers above. Not a moment later, she heard footsteps that were clearly intended to remain silent. Her position made it easier to catch sounds close to the ground. She heard the scarcely audible shifting of the sands under these slow footsteps. Then they stopped. Syliss guessed then that her attacker was right above her hiding spot, probably examining the mess that she had done with the sand when she had burrowed. Now was the time to strike. She carefully coiled herself up in a spring, paying attention not to stir the sand above her head so as not to alert her enemy of her presence if he had not figured it out yet. She wanted all the odds to be on her side, and that included keeping the element of surprise. It was something that she had learned seventy-four years ago -- the hard way. She braced herself, tensing all of the tiny muscles that made up her five-foot serpentine body. Sssiku help me, she prayed in her mind, appealing to the favor of her goddess. Then she pushed herself as hard as she could out of the sand to gain as much momentum as possible and launched herself upwards. There was no time to aim. She had to take a chance. So she swung her head in a forward arc, hoping to strike the person she caught a brief glance of as the light of the summer sun shone brightly in her golden eyes.

[Marcus Gray-Dawn]

As Marcus examined the ground closely he saw it, but by the time he realized what had took place it was too late. The massive serphant shot from the ground with incredible force and speed, Marcus was caught completely off guard. He knew that he had been careless and this was surely his punishment for being over confident. As the serphant lashed itself towards him he did the only thing he could, in a last ditch effort he pushed his feet off the ground in the direction opposite of the snake. The force from the push sent him backwards and knocked his breath out of him on impact. It took him a moment to regain his composure all the while he knew that the snake was possibly preparing anothet attack. As his senses returned he noticed something that sent chills down his spin, his sword was not in his hand. As he looked he saw it laying back towards the snake, and he knew that retrieving it would be no small feat. However he also knew that he had to get it back, for it was his only means of pritection. Marcus now stood a mere ten feet from the serphant as he stared into its haunting golden eyes. Fear, anger, and confusion met in his head and knew not what to do, he simply uttered a simple prayer. "Caiyha help me."

[Bethsyliss]

There was a loud cling as Syliss's entire body crashed into the attacker's. The force of the blow knocked her in the opposite direction. She landed on the hot sand in a puff of dust. She shook her head to regain her senses. When she did, there was a sword next to her. The golden glint the sun reflected off its shiny surface was enough to send shivers down the length of Syliss's serpentine body at the thought of how sharp it must have been. She pictured it running through her head to tail. Had it not been for her being in snake form, she would have shrieked from the horror she imagined. Instead she gave out an ungracious choking sound, unable to produce any other noises because of the lack of vocal chords in her reptilian form. At the same time, she also realized that if the sword lay next to her on the sand, then it wasn't in her opponent's hostile hands. She scanned him to confirm what she had computed, and, indeed, he did not yield a weapon. He was now defenseless. Syliss knew that this was her only chance to get a successful blow in without the threat of a blade's retaliation strike. Once she launched herself towards him, there was no going back, and, if she did not hit him, then he would scurry forward to retrieve his sword, and she would have a real threat on her hands. She braced herself, concentrating on her aggressor. He was only ten feet away from her. He appeared to be a human, quite tall by her standards. After all, the only humans she had seen were not real humans, they were merely viper Dhani in human form, and those tended to be quite short and had a rather slender build. This man seemed to be tougher. He had scars all over his skin, obviously from the battles he had fought -- survived, apparently, and presumably won. She peered into his deep blue eyes, and saw that he had lived long enough to see many things in his time. This was an adversary to be reckoned with. If only Syliss was in her Dhani form, she was sure that she could easily overcome him, or at least prove to be a challenging match. In her snake form, the only advantage she had was that he was not in possession of his deadly bastard sword. She had to strike now. She hissed, her tongue flickering threateningly towards the long-haired man in an attempt to intimidate him and cause his confidence to waver. Then she coiled herself up on the sand in the shape of a spring, clenched all her muscles, and released herself with maximum force, the adrenalin in her body helping her to confront the imminent danger. She launched herself forward in the direction of the human in an attempt to knock him off. Her success depended on her aim.

[Marcus Gray-Dawn]

The victor of a fight or battle is decided by many factors. You take the obvious things like strength or number of allies which is what most people believe decides a battle, however; there are many other factors at play. Marcus knew this and as he stood there he thought of his condition. He was tired, thirsty, hungry, he had been caught off guard, and he lost his weapon, his situation was bad and turning hopeless. However Marcus was a warrior, he hand fended off raids of maruadrers and flocks of glassbeaks, how could he let this snake get the best of him. He refused to be bested by an animal so he divised a plan. There was a good ten feet between them, it was not enough to run but he it was enough for one strike. So he sat and waited as his adversasry slithered around by his sword, the whole time Marcus fixed his gaze at the eyes of the beast. The serphant began to curl itself into a coil so Marcus knew it wouldnt be long before it launched towards him. Sweat dripped for his forehead as he watched and waited, then it happened. The snake sprang forward closing the gap between them faster than Marcus had anticipated but he still had enough time to enact his plan. Marcus kicked sand in the direction of the snake attempting to temporaily blind it. Not waiting to see if the sand had hit iys mark or not Marcus sprinted towards his sword knowing it was his only salvation at this point. He didnt know if the snake was dazed, or effected at all, but he hoped the sand had created a large enough window for him to regain his weapon.

[Bethsyliss]

Syliss had launched herself towards her opponent when he kicked sand forwards in a rash attempt to blind her. Tiny grains thrust into her black face while she was airborne. Thankfully, being in snake form meant that her transparent eyelids were permanently closed, and hence the sand simply bounced off them, having no effect whatsoever on her eyesight aside from startling her momentarily. She crashed into the man who had started running towards his sword to retrieve it, surely knocking him off. But there was no time to confirm, and, besides, Syliss was way too panicked to think about making sure her opponent was incapacitated before she tried anything else. She landed on the sand where he had stood before trying to make a run for the weapon, and, without looking back, initiated her shapeshift. Now, while he was, at least supposedly, on the ground scrambling for balance -- and, if he wasn't, she wouldn't get any other opportunity anyway --, she absolutely had to take a chance. And so, as she had practiced countless times in the viper nest, she initiated shapeshifting. Her danger instincts enhancing the change because of the urgency of the situation, Syliss morphed into Dhani form on the spot, forcing her muscles and skin and bones to rearrange as fast as possible so that she could stand a chance against this experienced warrior. Syliss's scales shimmered into a tighter epidermis, a cross between human and reptile envelope, while her entire body grew in size from the five-foot serpent that she had been into an eight-foot humanoid with a long snake's tail, woman's torso full with arms, and deadly poisonous fangs. She shrieked in triumph when the transformation was complete, and turned around to face the man that had dared hunt her. "Sssurprisssed?" she hissed, the golden streak on her left eyebrow glowing with adrenalin.