-Der’venn’ya Desert-

[A massive desert, covering the majority of the Southern

End of the Demon Realm, named for its platinum-white sands.

There are countless rumors about its history.]

After finishing purchasing food and supplies, the party reconvened at the West gate of Al’din. Having only risen about an hour and a half prior, the sun was still low, and the air was cool. A gentle breeze flowed through the city streets, which were starting to be filled with people. A handful of Aeth’mobiles departed from the city towards Tsumi’din, and several others departed out the other gates.

I was sitting next to Jarou and Nadred on a bench next to the city’s wall, making small talk while we waited for preparations to be finished. Oroske parted from Raen and Vai’ra with a wave, and approached us.

“You three all set to go?” He asked, stopping a couple feet in front of us, hands on his hips, his usual smile plastered on his face.

“Yep, believe so,” Nadred said before standing up and stretching. Jarou and I simply nodded.

“I don’t know how you can be so energetic, Oroske,” Jarou yawned, “Especially since Kuro told me you two were up before anyone else.”

“I enjoy waking up early,” Oroske replied with a shrug, before turning towards me. “Kuro, I was thinking we’d shuffle around our members today. Would you mind traveling with Nadred and Jarou, and being in the rear of the party today?”

I gave a quick nod, “Yeah, I’d be cool with that. Why, though?” In all honesty, I was looking for the opportunity to chat with them on the road.

“I think it’d be good to mix things up a bit. Tomorrow I’ll probably have you in the front or center with Ranfa and Fyr. And the day after we’d probably switch things up even more.” He paused as Raen called his name. “Well, we’re probably leaving soon. I’ll be in the middle of the group, if anything comes up.”

We continued chatting, mostly about the previous day, until we got the signal from Kared that we were leaving. We fell into our spot at the very back of the party, keeping the same formation we had the previous day.

Upon exiting the West gate, the sights immediately opened up to a large expanse of fields, with a tall hill looming straight ahead. The fields had a large variety of crops, and there were even a few sections with animals. Some fields already had people tending to them and working, and several people were exiting the city to begin their day’s work.

In the distance to the South, I could see the road go up a small hill, and it disappeared into a forest with dark, blue-green leaves. The color made me question if my eyes were playing tricks on me. That was as far as I could see from there, however, as the hill looped around and was part of the tall hill in front of us. It also extended Northward, obscuring our vision of everything over that way, and placing us in a small valley.

We marched mostly in silence towards the hill. Jarou and I simply took in the sights. It felt much wider and more open than the small corner of the Human Realm I had seen, and being on foot allowed me more time to appreciate it than if I had simply rode an aeth’mobile through it.

The path gradually got steeper as we neared the foot of the hill, where it got significantly steeper. While it would only take aeth’mobiles ten or so minutes to get from Al’din to the base of the hill, it had taken us a couple hours. The sun was getting closer and closer to its peak, though it wouldn’t reach it for another hour or two, and it had steadily become much hotter throughout the day.

We stopped for a short break once we reached the hill, and Oroske had Ranfa coordinate between the three groups. She came to us last, lifting her hand in a casual greeting. “Hello boys,” her deep voice called out, “Oroske and Raen want us to push to the top of the hill,” she pointed uphill with her thumb, “and we’ll take a break for lunch once we’re up there. That cool with you all?”

After we nodded in confirmation, she turned to the humans in our care and got confirmation from them.

“Great, we’ll start going again soon.” She turned and went back to Oroske and Raen with a wave.

“I’ve known her for all these years and I still don’t know how she wears that thick cloak, even during the summer,” Nadred sighed.

“Yeah, she’s gotta be cooking alive under there,” I responded. Her cloak not only had a thick wool lining, but it’s very thick and heavy, as though it were designed for use exclusively during Winter.

“I wonder how she stays warm during the Winter,” Jarou thought out loud.

“She doesn’t,” Nadred said, half in jest, “I’m convinced she just doesn’t feel any sort of temperature.”

As Nadred finished, the vanguard of the group began moving again. The hill wasn’t that steep, but it was noticeably harder to climb than the road leading up to it. The trek was made quite a bit easier thanks to the road curving around the hill, allowing for us to take a less steep path. I was grateful for the easier climb it provided, but Nadred complained that while it’s easier, it takes a lot longer than if we were to simply climb in a straight line.

After thirty minutes or so, we were well above the Southern extension of the hill, and could see past it. There, next to the forest - which still appeared to be a blue-green to me - was a large expanse of blinding white land, stretching further than I could see. I had to squint as my eyes adjusted to the light.

Jarou must have noticed, as he let out a chuckle then asked, “This is your first time seeing the desert, huh?”

As my eyes continued to adjust, I responded. “That’s a desert? Not just a giant blob of light?”

Nadred laughed as well, “Yes, sir. That there is the Der’venn’ya Desert.”

My eyes finally finished adjusting, but even then I could barely figure out any details. The most I could discern was the road that cut through it, and what looked like stone pillars that dotted the landscape. I couldn’t tell if my eyes were playing tricks on me again, or if the light bouncing off of the sand was so bright that it looked like that, but some points on the pillars appeared almost transparent.

“Der’venn’ya, huh?” I asked.

“Aye,” Nadred began one of his lectures as we continued up the hill, “The Der’venn’ya Desert, sometimes also referred to as the White Desert, Platinum Desert, or sometimes the Silver Desert. Of the three, Platinum is the actual translation of the name. People with an elementary understanding of Alten see the ‘venn’ in the name, and translate only that part. The ‘der’’ and ‘’ya’ parts of the name are what make it platinum. ‘Der’’ used as a prefix means large, or great, or a handful of other things depending on where it’s being used. And ‘’ya’ as a prefix can mean a large variety of things, but in this case, and for words like dyn’ya, it means metal, or metallic.”

“So it translates to ‘big silver metal’?” I asked, quizzing myself to see if I’m understanding his lesson correctly.

“Literally, yes. ‘Great silver metal,’ or ‘great metallic silver,’ or any variation of those would also work for literal translations.” He explained further, “And you can see for yourself why it was named that, right?”

I nodded and said “yes.” The name made sense, seeing as the sand was a bright white, and not quite silver in color.

“Good. The desert itself has quite an interesting history, or rather, a theorized history, if you’d like to hear about that.”

“Really? I’d love to learn more,” Jarou spoke up as the road’s curve hid the desert from sight. “All I’ve really learned about it so far is that an important battle was fought there during the Grand War.”

“Not just any battle,” Nadred lifted his finger, “The Der’venn’ya Desert was the site of the final, decisive battle of the War. You can’t see it from here, the desert was the doorstep for the former capital of the Demon Empire. Once we reach the top, remind me to point out the capital’s ruins.

“That’s all we really know for sure about the desert, as there aren’t many documents that confirm its history before then. The rest I’m about to tell you is commonly accepted as fact, but is merely rumor and legend. According to legend, before the battle occurred, the desert was a lush forest with blue leaves. There are some historical records that back this, as old records from the Empire describe a massive Azureleaf Tree being in that area, poking up from a forest of similar trees.”

“What happened to the forest, then?” I asked, doubtful such a large forest could disappear just like that.

“The battle is recorded to be the most destructive battle ever fought, even if there’s only an estimated five deaths,” he answered, “Though, there’s also estimated to have only been roughly twenty people participating. On the side of the Human Kingdom, you had the crown prince at the time, his strongest generals, and all eight Guardians backing him. And on the side of the Empire, the fourth and fifth emperors, or Shadows as they were called, and their toughest soldiers. And finally, you had the first Danfis of our Clan, fighting in the Guardians’ service. Between the Danfis and the Guardians’ firepower alone, it’s not unbelievable that such destruction could happen.

“Another popular legend is that the old capital extended all the way across the desert, making some sort of mega-city, though that one holds a lot less merit.” Nadred spoke, hand on his chin as he thought of more legends about the area.

“What about the forest that’s already down that way, near the Realm Rift?” After hearing about this blue-leaved forest, I wondered if my eyes weren’t deceiving me, and the leaves really were that blue-green color.

“Oh, that? It’s said to be the last remaining part of the great forest, though over the past five hundred years the leaves have become a lot greener.”

As he finished speaking, we reached the top of the hill. We reached it faster than I had expected, or so I thought. Looking up at the sky, the sun was almost directly overhead, and was actually going a little past. I was once again grateful for the conversation to pass the time.

As we all sat down on the tall grass on the roadside, Oroske slipped his supply bag off his shoulders. It landed on the ground with a thud, followed by some of the contents inside rattling and clattering. He pulled out a portable grill, and began preparing lunch for the party, taking ingredients and from Raen’s supply bag.

I hadn’t realized until I sat down how sore my legs were. I don’t think I’ve ever been on my feet for so long, I thought to myself. I saw Jarou lean back, propping himself up on his hands, and he closed his eyes. Curious, I copied him. A cool breeze liberated us from the heat. I was tempted to take off my cloak and let the wind run across my bare skin, but I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to do that.

Suddenly, I heard Oroske shout my name. My eyes flew open and I quickly looked towards him, and saw him beckoning me. I stood up and walked over, my legs still sore.

“What’s up?” I asked as I approached.

“Look over there,” he brought me over to the South edge of the hill, and pointed down.

I did as he asked, and saw a large Sigil roaming around, its grossly disproportionate body lumbering.

“What should we do?” He asked me.

“Should we take care of it before it becomes an issue?” I answered with a question of my own.

“Correct. Let’s go then.”

He drew a sword from his Demon Sheath and began running towards it, and I followed suit. Oroske signaled for me to take the first turn once we were close enough.

We were still a little ways uphill from the Sigil when I jumped at it, augmenting my speed and the power of my jump with wind magic. I managed to jump a little higher than it was tall, and as I started falling I positioned my sword so it would pierce it as soon as it could.

Upon impact, two things happened in quick succession. First, the sword pierced the Sigil’s tough skin smoothly, causing its ashy blood to spurt out. Second, the Sigil released a blood-curdling howl, thrashing around in pain. Its movements quickly dislodged the sword and sent me flying, quickly falling to the ground. I twisted my body around in mid-air so I would land on my feet, but I forgot we were fighting on a hillside. I landed square on my heels, causing me to slip, falling on my back, and sliding down the hill just a bit.

Groaning, I sat back up just in time to see Oroske launch his own attack. He didn’t jump up like I did, he merely wrapped his sword in dense, high-pressure water magic, and slashed at the Sigil’s legs with impressive speed. I had become accustomed to his speed, and had no difficulty following him. If he used Acceleration, though, the thought suddenly came to mind, I probably wouldn’t stand a chance. His water magic extended the reach of his blade by a significant margin, and with it he was able to easily blow chunks of the Sigil’s body off.

I finally decided I couldn’t just sit there, and got up to rejoin the battle. I figured that Oroske could keep its attention towards the ground, and so long as I went unnoticed I could deal some good damage to its upper half. I jumped back up, giving more focus to height when boosting myself, in order to properly analyze my target’s body, and identify potential weak spots. I took note that the Sigils’ namesake was nowhere to be found on its back and upper portions, and figured it was likely on its belly, or on the face where I couldn’t see it. After looking over it, I decided I would target its neck. It seemed thinner than the rest of the body, and a quick decapitation would surely kill the monster.

I gave myself another boost with wind magic, sending myself higher, and closer to my target. Once I was almost directly above the monster’s neck, I charged and released a powerful slice of sentem. The wind blade broke its pale white skin, but didn’t dig deeper than the first couple layers. I managed to send another sen’ari before making contact with the body myself, which carved only a tiny bit more into the Sigil’s flesh. As I made contact I made sure to pierce my sword into the pre-existing cut.

Oroske was still going at it below, causing the beast to stagger and shake, making it very difficult to balance on its back. That’s when I got an idea to help me stay on. I took my left hand off of my sword, hanging on with just my right, and summoned my scythe from my Demon Sheath. It took a lot of effort, but I managed to get into a half-standing position, and while fighting to retain my balance I thrust my scythe into the side of the neck, giving me two anchor spots to hold on to. I still had to manage my balance, but it was much easier. I took a moment and thought about my next move.

Just as I made my decision, the Sigil suddenly collapsed forward with a pained howl. I looked down and saw Oroske breathing heavily next to the Sigil’s left foreleg, which he had severed crudely. It looked like it had been blown off by means of an explosion. He looked up at me and shouted “Finish it!”

I nodded with a mischievous smile, and began my final attack. As the Sigil was stumbling, trying to recover from its crippling wound, I sent out the first part of my attack. I sent a massive shock of selr through my sword, and into its body, thoroughly stunning my opponent. I then started leaning off the right side of the monster’s back, pulling my sword and scythe with me. I found my scythe caught in the tough flesh, and began the final step of the attack. While ensuring my opponent remained stunned by means of sending out the occasional waves of selr, I sent a mixture of foluk and fyrun into my scythe’s blade, letting the magic run rampant within the Sigil’s flesh. The fiery magic allowed my scythe to cut through the neck smoothly, and I continued sliding off the beast’s back. I fell off, pulling my sword out of the flesh, while keeping my scythe in. As soon as I landed, I jumped across the underside of the neck, continuing to pull my scythe along. I swung with my scythe as it carried me higher up. The scythe blade came loose as I flew into the air, and the head of the Sigil fell to the ground, and I landed shortly after.

“Nicely done!” Oroske praised me. Behind him, at the top of the hill, our party was cheering us on. When we rejoined the party, both of us received several compliments on our performance, primarily from the Humans in our care. Raen and Terib took over the cooking after Oroske went to fight, and offered us our portion of the meal.

“Sigils have been appearing a lot more frequently in recent times,” Raen commented gravely between bites of his food.

“Indeed,” Vai’ra agreed, “We’re seeing an upward trend in sighting reports. It’s quite worrying. I’m glad we have the Clans to assist us in exterminating them.”

“We’re protecting our homes as well,” Kared said flatly, “Besides, we help you just as much as you help us.”

“A good point,” Vai’ra said, “Still, I’m grateful.”

“I just hope it’s not a bad omen,” Nadred said after finishing his food, “Last thing we need right now is the Calamities waking up.”

Everyone agreed silently, and we all finished our food in relative silence. After finishing, we resumed our journey towards Fyrun.