The Unknown

Golden rubbed her massive body against Al'therin. Her wolf like body stood half as tall as him. The rubbing was meant to be a consoling gesture. She hadn't realized how much the sun had weakened him. She was also suffering--the pads of her paws were still blistered and raw and her tongue remained dry despite the small bit of water she had been able to uncover. Able to see better in the growing darkness she surveyed the dead landscape.

Al'therin was leaning against a wall. Its stones were black and crumbling. About 200 yards ahead, opposite of the setting sun the tower stood. Spindly legged creatures seemed to guard the tower. Much closer to the, the brothers were arguing in that language that Golden struggled to understand. She had a much easier time reading the mens body language. Goldens stomach rumbled.

She wondered if the things near the tower could serve as her next meal. As the darkness grew however she realized they were actually more like the shiny metal that she had seen Al'therin holding. They would be hard and not at all suitable to eat. Golden huffed, and sniffed the air for a more likely prey.

She jumped up onto the crumbling wall. The black stones radiated with more heat than the sand around them. It irritated her paws and she was quick to jumpback down but a new smell had caught her attention. She swivelled her ears from side to side, growling low in her throat when she heard rocks tumble down from a crevis in part of the wall. She went to stand under Zarah's perch, hoping it was something to eat hiding there.

Zarah


Zarah had been perched up in an opening in the old black ruined wall of the city. She was curious to know what was going on between the sick man and those other two dark skinned men. She was more concerened for the sick man, with her being a healer and all. She had noticed the golden cat thing as well. It had strolled over to where she was hiding and Zarah, being an animal lover with what little animals were left on Homdale, couldn't resist to say hello.

"Hello there, friend!" Zarah said to the golden furred wolf cat. "Do not worry furry creature, I am a friend! Are you with the two dark skinned fellows fighting over there? Or are you with the sick man?" Zarah asked the wolf cat, thing.

Roman was feeling a sense of fear that was growing as he approached the tower and the creatures. He heard his brother, louder now, it was strange. He felt his legs give under him, and in that moment the draw seemed to retract back into the tower. He realized that it was his brother that had tackled him and that he had been walking to what very well may have been his death.

"You see those ruins over there. we'll rest over there for the night and tackle the spire when we all have our strength, you said you saw something.... do you really think you can take whatever it was you saw in your condition?" said Vas as the fog of the spire lifted from Roman's mind.

"No...I don't know..." he shook his head ,"Let's go back and set up camp. It'll be cold soon and I don't want to freeze to death." he finished as he brushed himself off and stood to his feet.

He couldn't bring himself to be annoyed by his brother for tackling him, this universe was playing tricks on him and he had enough trouble keeping his thoughts straight. Roman took the water his brother had handed to him and drank it. It felt like he was downing the essence of life itself. That small bit of water had done wonders for him, and with his spirit now a bit stronger, he was focused enough to make use of his skills.

Once he made it back to the group, he put his powers to work. Sticking his hands in the sand he drastically lowered it's density, sinking the group an inch into it before drastically increasing the mass making a holding ground. Next he created a strong gravitational field above their heads, shifting the low density sand into a dome above their heads.

Golden stood on the sand beneath the woman, disappointed that she had not found food. Merely another being that looked much like the others and spouted more nonsensical noise at her. Although Golden thought she was beginning to understand what the speech. Or perhaps she was just growing more adept at reading their body language.

In response to what the woman said Golden projected the image of her home world into her mind. Accompanied by her pack which consisted of five others like herself. Meanwhile the brothers had returned to where Al'therin rested. One of them was making a shelter of sand. The strange ability to change the very substance of something still scared Golden but it did seem more useful that harmful.

She was getting the impression that everyone intended to settle down for the night--which made no sense to Golden. Night time seemed like the best time to travel. She sent an image of everyone sleeping during the day into Romans mind. Then an image of everyone walking at night. After looking at Al'therin again though it did seem like everyone needed a rest for this night at least.

Zarah felt like she was hit in the head by something. She had a...vision? This was not normal for her. Her eyes were closed, she could see lots of wolf cats in a heavily wooded area. A group of five, one of them running off. The wolf cat that was running away looked identical to this furred one.

All of a sudden, Zarah had a strange feeling in her stomach. An up feeling...? She couldn't explain it. Her heart started to race, faster and faster as well. She opened her eyes and yes, she was falling. Backwards, actually. She could see the stars and the "Citadel". She crashed into the sand below. She had knocked the wind out of herself, but managed to get back on her feet. "What was that i saw in my head?" Zarah thought to herself. When she managed that, she noticed the three men were staring straight at her and it looked like they had questions...

Vas waited as his brother formed a dome of sand then he placed his hand on the loose sand structure the group would use for shelter and solidified all the sand that formed it together so his brother could release his gravitational hold on it without it coming down on top of them. next he walked over to where the wolf cat creature was.

"What have you found there .... um boy...girl" Vas was confused on the gender and didn't want to look for conformation but now stood beside the creature with his hand petting its golden coat and hovered over its find. He took a moment as the realization of finding another human being sunk in.

"Who are you" Vas said with a harsh russian accent as he extended his hand down to the woman laying in the sand.
"Are you lost like the rest of us?"

Zarah

"Who are you" the man said to Zarah in a strange accent. She could understand him though. "Lost?" Zarah ask questioningly. "W-why would i be lost. And how are you lost. Have you any idea of where you are standing? What city lays beyond this ruined wall?" Zarah asked the dark skinned man.

"Lost?" the women asked "W-why would I be lost. And how are you lost. Have you any idea of where you are standing? What city lays beyond this ruined wall?"

Vas stood dumbfounded "Y-your actually from this desolate planet?" he asked after some hesitation still petting the wolf cat creature

"Im sorry for my rudeness My name is Vas, come to our camp we all have many questions, and as of right now your the only person we've met who can answer them." Vas bowed his head in apology and started to lead the way back to the group camp.

She accepted the offer and followed this man named, Vas, to his camp. She was prepared if he would try anything on her. She had a knife, hidden well...

It only took but a minute for them to reach the camp. Vas, the cat dog, the other dark skin and the man that looked sick, but seemed to be doing a little better, were all there. The sick one stared at her with his mouth ajar. She gave him a quick glance back, nothing special. No smiles or smirks. She awaited introduction.

The moonlit night sky illuminated the desert camp site, and the cold was starting to sink in.

"Well look what the wolf cat found...our new guide" Vas said looking back at the woman with a smirk "She's here to tell us all where or more exactly when we are, or if you'd all like we could just feed her to Goldie-locks here." Vas pointed towards the wolf cat with a small chuckle trying to lighten the mood.

He wasn't very good around people but given the current situation they appeared to be the only living creatures left on the planet so he figured why not try to be social.

"I-Im just joking by the way" he looked back at the woman.

Picking up to handfuls of sand Vas first combined the molecules to form two solid sandstone spheres. "Now lets think we need fire or were all gonna freeze over night....what burns... magnesium no thats too blinding.. hmm coal!" Vas dropped his two spheres to the ground and pulled his legal pad out of his satchel "c-c-c ah there we go calcium, carbon, copper... wait coal is mostly carbon" using his finger as a guide Vas skimmed through his notes on carbon until he got to his bullet point on coal "Hmm mostly carbon with a mix of sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen, hmm why not put a little magnesium in there too just to make it pretty" Vas laughed in his head as he placed his legal pad back in his bag and picked up his two sandstone spheres.

"Ok focus Vas Coal, sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen and magnesium." This was the first time Vas had tried to turn a simple molecule like sand into several different elements at the same time while still holding molecular integrity. His hands began to tremble as he seemed to meditated while holding the spheres. Vas opened his eyes as tears began to roll out of them due to the massive head ache he was now experiencing.

To his success Vas was now holding two ebony rocks with traces of silver magnesium veins. 'Time for my last trick of the night" He said out loud. Focusing the last of his strength Vas vibrated the atoms in the two stones until they burst into bright orange and yellow flames. Wasting no time Vas threw the stones into the sand and sat down next to the them to enjoy the warmth, before finally falling unconscious from exhaustion and hunger.

A spark of light ignited out of the corner of Roman's eye. Vas had successfully started a fire! The light flash across the camp grounds in a way that struck a deep chord with Roman.

He realized that until entering this dimension that he had always been the provider and protector for his brother. Now he had no set of skills to do so. He had never been camping or in the wild. In fact, he felt as if the roles had now shifted, and his position as the later guardian for his sibling had been shattered by the harsh reality of his survival limits.

He had never felt as helpless as he did now.

While in his momentary mental zone he had realized that his brother had passed out beside the fire. A common problem that they both experienced when normal use of their powers turned to abuse. In fact the momentary gravitational field Roman had set to build the camp had drawn his ability to full concentrate away and he was now barely able to stay awake.

He tried mental exercises to help himself focus, starting with his common analysis of his surroundings.
Sand is transported by wind and water and deposited in the form of beaches, dunes, sand spits, sand bars and related features. In environments such as gravel-bed rivers and glacial moraines it often occurs as one of the many grain sizes that are represented. Sand-bed rivers have sandy beds largely because there is no larger source material that they can transport. Dunes, a distinctive geographical feature of desert environments, are on the other hand sandy because larger material is generally immobile in wind. Sand is a component of soil which is a qualitative classification tool used in both the field and laboratory to determine classes for agricultural soils based on their physical texture. The classes are distinguished in the field by the 'textural feel' which can be further clarified by separating the relative proportions of sand, silt and clay using grading sieves: The Particle Size Distribution. The class is then used to determine crop suitability and to approximate the soils responses to environmental and management conditions such as drought or calcium, lime, requirements. In areas of high pore water pressure sand and salt water can form quicksand, which is a colloid hydrogel that behaves like a liquid. Quicksand produces a considerable barrier to escape for creatures caught within, who often die from exposure (not from submersion) as a result.....we may die.....

He ran through these thoughts repetitively until finally drifting into total blackness.

The two dark skinned men had fallen asleep. Al'therin lay perched up against the ruined wall, the golden cat dog laying by his side. It was strange, having this animal of a sort with him made him feel safe. He liked the warmth of the animal pressed up to his side. Al continuously petted its head, slowly until it had fallen asleep. Still with no food in his belly, he felt sick. The strange powers that the two dark skinned brothers, Roman and Vas posses, came in handy though. The ability to conjure water from sand blew Al'therins mind. He tilted his head upward, towards the heavens and the constellations he had never seen before in his life. Then again... He still doesn't even remember his past like.

The fire was warm and the breeze was cool. The first night it felt as if he was sleeping in a winter storm. The small hut the brothers we're asleep in that Vas had made from sand felt like a relaxing home feeling. Though he did not know much about these new found friends, he felt safe with them all. After all, one would not stop to help the sick if their hearts were not pure. Al'therin again found himself petting the feline dog. Comforting...

The mysterious woman walked to the fire from around the corner. She was eyeing Al'therin with a smile on her face. He found that his jaw was hanging wide open, once again. He felt like a fool, but her beauty was so pure. "Hello there." she called out to Al. "What is your name? I was only able to get the one, who calls himself Vasi. The other dark skinned man is asleep." Al'therin took a deep breath and stood. His head was pounding with pain, but he did not feel as wobbly. He walked over to her, nervous of her beauty. For some reason he still clutched the beautiful curved sword with his name inscribed on it. She looked at him, he looked at her. He sat down, turned his head toward her and asked one question.

"Where are we."

Zarah raised an eyebrow in question. She knew not of what this man was talking about. He and his group of friends looked like they were from here. Where else could they be from?

"What do you mean? Have you know idea where this is?" She asked the man. It would appear that the man did not want to reveal himself so easily as the other Dark Skinned man did.

"Myself and these other two dark skinned men awoke not but two days ago in the middle this desert. There names are Vas and Roman. About this golden creature here," he points to the Wold Cat, "I haven't the slightest clue. But it seems lost as well. Most likely far from home and family like all of-" Al'therin stopped mid-way in conversation. (That's right.) Al thought to himself. (I have no memory of past, no family or friends to remember.) He looked at the blade he clutched in his hand. He needed to remember, or it would drive him to the edge of madness.
"I include the beast as part of our group. Us four have no idea where we are. But you look like you know the answer to that." I looked into the woman's eyes. Her light green eyes were beautiful and hypnotizing.

"My name is Al'therin. I have no memory of where i come from." He told her. Al then turned to Roman and Vas who were still sleeping. "But those two men are brother, meaning they are from the same place." He said. "I would think it wise to wait until morning so that you may explain to us all about where we are."

The woman nodded in agreement. "No problem." She said in a calm voice. Al turned back around slowly, trying to ignore the horrible ache in his head. He stumbled a little bit. He sat back down slowly, against the ruined wall. He stroked the wolf cats head until he was asleep.