There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on every beach. To imagine such abundance might be inconceivable. But to him, it was clear, for it was as if he had awoken upon an infinite bed of gleaming suns. 

His strained eyes were overwhelmed by the gold vastness before him. There was a muffled sound of waves dancing back and forth against his feet. Fully conscious, realising he was alive. He coughed out the remaining water from his lungs. His face was partially submerged, nostrils aflame, lips dry and bleeding, clothes saturated and heavy upon his weak frame. Finding enough strength in his arms, he pushed up, spluttered and rolled around into a sitting position. The movement made him aware of an injury to his head.

Aldber was perplexed, looking out at the sprawling ocean. For a while, he sat there, staring listlessly and unmoving as he gradually digested the circumstances. 

Sudden flashes of memory eclipsed his mind.

Aldber was instructed to travel to the Dakbah Mountains a moon-cycle prior. The objective was to gather vital information for the escalating war effort. It was the final part of his training.

He had sought passage upon a ship bound across the Great Ocean for the East Lands. The crew let him join them in exchange for an extra hand on deck. Whilst he had no untoward business, he felt it necessary to disguise his identity and distract the attention of the unsavoury kind. Instead, he told them his tribe of origin had been massacred and hoped that the sensitivity of the subject matter would dissuade them from asking any more questions. 

When they arrived on the shores of the East Lands, Aldber spent the following week hiking through the dense woodland and hills of the Nemotep Forest. He bathed in cool streams, hunted prey, risked making fires, and had short rests in the undergrowth, often disturbed by unfamiliar noises.

The woodlands disappeared. Grasses steadily gave way to sand. Because of the intense heat, he removed his long jacket and stored it in his rucksack, covered his head with a scarf, and put on goggles to shield his eyes.

Aldber scaled the Zanviki Dunes for a few cycles until the landscape opened onto a plateau. It stretched as far as the eye could behold. He sat there for a while, digesting the view of the Saboontai Desert. Ancient ruins, aircraft debris, and small abandoned settlements peppered the horizon. The heat rippled like a translucent wave upon the sand. He squinted to make out a cluster of vast stone buttes far away in the distance.

The lone traveller continued onwards. The only sign of life was odd, small creatures scuttling by. He had to bear the burning heat. Swirling winds in the sunlight. Coldness at night.

He came across the encampment of a small tribe. Once he explained himself, they were welcoming. Later in the cycle, once adequately rested and hydrated, the leader showed him around the camp. Like the tribes of the West Lands, those who resided here were insular and hostile to outsiders. Everyone shared the same second name to identify with their tribe. Seldom disturbed by the enemy, the tribe enjoyed the luxury of lighting powered by a salvaged rickety generator. That evening, he joined the tribe for a feast. There was a ritual dance before singing around a large fire. The whole tribe was enraptured in unison, praising their sun god. It was the first time Aldber had met a tribe that didn’t follow the Supreme One, the god he believed in. At first, he was indifferent, but he soon became curious and began to respect their way of life.

Within a few cycles, he passed under the shadow of the great stone buttes that pierced the blue sky. As the terrain began to incline into barren mountains, there was no vegetation, birds soared above, and the heat was exhausting. 

The sun ascended to its highest point in the sky. Aldber took refuge in a small cave entrance in the valley to rest. He was not aware that the sound he was making, amplified by the acoustics of the walls, would disturb a four-legged, scaled creature, which people of this part of the world call a lizados. Inconveniently awoken by the commotion, the beast was intrigued by this new scent. Upon inspection, seeing this large prey lying motionless, it edged closer, licking its scaly lips.

Aldber was startled, seeing the lizados running towards him, its tongue frantically extended, diving at him, but he rolled out of the way. Getting to his feet, he ran out of the entrance, cursing for not checking the cave. 

The ravenous creature lunged after him. Aldber pulled the gun from his holster, turned, and fired a shot, hitting the lizados. It barely made a difference, only enraging the creature more so. The beast took a few moments to regain its focus before pouncing at him again, now locking its fangs onto the weapon. Aldber lost his grip. The creature spat the pistol aside before jumping at him. 

It bit into his hand, crunching down savagely. 

Aldber despaired, overwhelmed with searing pain, smacking the creature hard in the side of the head. Dislodging his wounded hand, he rolled out of the way, picking up the pistol, regaining his footing with blood pouring everywhere. 

The lizados scuttled towards him, pouncing. 

He aimed. A gunshot—it reverberated into the valley.

The corpse flew, knocking Aldber from his feet and impaling him to the ground. The pistol fell to one side. He lay tightly clasping its snout, expecting the creature to attack. But it was lifeless, heavy, and emitted a gut-wrenching odour. 

Birds skulked patiently overhead.

Suddenly, human hands appeared on either side of him, pulling the large carcass away. Aldber took a deep breath, looking around to see a dozen armed, cloaked figures surrounding him. Uncertain who these people were, Aldber swallowed hard, estimating the likelihood of escaping from this situation—It was not in his favour. 

One of the new arrivals extended a hand. Aldber accepted the gesture, getting to his feet. The stranger removed its hood, revealing a tanned, bearded man with tribal markings trailing down the side of his face and shoulder-length hair.  

At that moment, Aldber realised who they were: his people—the Galardros (‘guardians’ in the Ramasha language).

‘Who are you?’ the stranger questioned in the Common Tongue. ‘And what brings you here?’

‘I am Aldber, a warrior in training, sent here by request of Grand Master Vivid and the elders of the western Sanctuary.’

There was an indistinct murmur of chatter amongst those gathered. 

The stranger smirked. ‘Master Ahura has been expecting you. My name is Le’Dada. I am a member of the council.’

The surrounding warriors proceeded to lower their guns and hoods. Everyone raised one hand, placing it sideways against their foreheads, and reached into the air—this being the special salute—proclaiming the oath: ‘In the name of.’

They would apply a dressing to the wound that was bleeding. Collecting the pistol, Aldber knelt by the dead creature, closing his eyes, resting a hand on it, and whispered a blessing of respect. 

They escorted Aldber through a dried riverbed in the valley. The sun passed over the sky, casting shadows against the mountainside. They offered him water. Conversation was limited as few spoke fluently in the Common Tongue. 

The group came to a sudden halt. Le’Dada signalled for him to look up to his left—way up high was a large opening. A soldier whistled. Moments later, several ropes flew down for the arrivals. They invited Aldber to ascend. At the large cave entrance, armed guards flanked two artillery guns. Le’Dada ushered him down a passageway illuminated by a stream of electric lights winding into the caves. To either side were sleeping quarters and rooms full of supplies. The smell was stale, and the air was warm and thick. 

Aldber entered a large room. A crack in the ceiling revealed one ray of sunlight streaming down through the dimness, hitting the centre of the floor. Galardros were standing around computer terminals, deep in discussion. At the far end was a three-dimensional holographic projection of the Dakbah Mountains. At its side was a man wearing a cloak of superiority. Hearing the commotion, he turned, his expression changing as he saw the visitor. He walked forward, welcoming the traveller with a firm handshake.

‘Aldber, we weren’t sure when to expect your company. I hope you were able to find safe passage through the desert?’ The traveller explained what had happened. ‘I hope that Grand Master Vivid is in good health. How is Hecta, the devil?’ Master Ahura laughed. 

‘Both are very well,’ Aldber said.

Ahura saw the trainee marvelling at the holographic projector. ‘It was salvaged recently, predating the dark times. We have just made a connection with a functional satellite. The readings will help us to understand their movements.’

‘What is the current situation?’

‘We’ve made progress in recent moons to provide a habitable space for the tribes to thrive.’ Ahura pointed to a river slithering through the mountains and onto the Tier’cho Flats to the northeast. ‘Upon these banks, we hope to one cycle create a new settlement where life can resume. We will bring children into a free new world.’ Aldber saw an element of doubt cover his battle-hardened face. ‘Our immediate concern is Madarosa, the enemy fortress further southeast from here.’ He pressed a few buttons on the computer console. An image appeared of a grotesque metal structure protruding from the desert. The sight of it horrified Aldber. ‘This is their largest stronghold and footing in the East Lands. For many sun-cycles, we’ve fought the forces based there. In time, we will launch an offensive to take it.’ He turned to Aldber. ‘Come, I will show you around the complex.’

The master gave his guest a tour of the caves, which stretched for miles into the mountains. Aldber was astounded by their ingenuity in constructing this base; it featured an air ventilation system, a water irrigation feed, and several plantations exposed to sunlight. Ahura showed him materials excavation, the medical facility, and a forgery for producing weaponry using designs and manufacturing techniques from ancient times.

When they returned to the control room, it was time for Aldber to discuss the objective of his visit. He approached Ahura, asking: ‘Master, what news is there of Irelaf?’

Aldber awoke with a jolt, gasping for air. He looked around, puzzled. It took him a few moments to register his surroundings and regain his breath. 

He was sitting in a small cave nestled next to a raging fire. Outside, a howling storm bombarded the coastline. Having washed up upon the shore, he had found this refuge and slept for hours, curled up next to the flames.

Suddenly, he had a discomforting realisation. Disjointed memories of what had happened: Awaking late into the night by the sound of the storm. Distant shouting from the upper deck. A loss of balance. Hitting the hull. Water flooding the cabin. Flashes of lightning. Freezing rain streaming down. The vicious dancing of gigantic waves around the vessel, surrounding it like moving walls surging high into the blackened skies. Narrowly missing flying debris. Several warriors falling overboard. Hit by the breaking mast. Thrown into the cold water. Winded by the force of the collision. Wading past dead bodies to the surface. Blood—a wound to his head. Wreckage. Lightning crackling. Thunder pulsated through his body. A devouring wave. Cast into the merciless depths of the ocean.

Aldber took a moment to digest it all, struck with grief, thinking about the other shipmates who had died. Unable to fathom how he had survived, he touched the throbbing wound on his head. It was still painful but healing. 

His gaze returned to the elusive flames, mind wandering. 

Suddenly, he felt compelled to get up and leave, knowing the severity of what he had learnt from Master Ahura.

Irelaf.

It had to be reported to the council immediately. Everything would change from here. 

But he would have to wait until the storm had passed and the new cycle arrived. Instead, he pulled the ripped jacket tightly around his weak frame, sat back and settled. The flickering fire offered warmth and comfort, its light casting shadows out of the cave entrance into the bleak night beyond.