<== Sand; It’s rough, coarse and it gets everywhere ==>
“AAARRGGH… Really?! Again with the portal whipping?!” A woman’s voice rang out from the lonely dunes as thunderous cracks of lightning shattered the once quiet air. Sparks of blue and green lightning flashed across the burning hues as a portal, swirling in circles behind Belladonna began to pull itself to a close. Bringing a peaceful quiet to the Dalmascan Air.
It was one throw after the other for Belladonna. Ever since the end of Blind Autumn, the girl had been subject to constant and rapid near instantaneous teleportation by The Creator. Various points around Hydaelyn she traveled, without the ability to protest. She was simply given a picture, a location and time. Then off she was dropped, unceremoniously by the seemingly immortal man.
Sand, it was always sand though. However unfortunate, it didn’t matter, there was always something waiting for her deep in the burning dunes. Whether it be Crystal hearts of simple ancient Crystaloids of a generation long passed. She was told they were needed, but for what purpose she didn’t know, just that they were important… for one reason or the other.
As soon as she had claimed one, she was ripped away by her shoulder for either respite or another task, seemingly all the same. All intense, all insane, and always.. almost always sand.
It was faster than the blink of an eye, as she moved to exit the Phoenix Parlor’s rambunctious atmosphere in some mild mannered attempt to find her date. Her bruised hands grasped the metal door knob only to be met with illusionary projections. A hand gripping onto her shoulder tight, the crackle of thunder that only she could hear echoed into her mind as shimmers of blue and green began to envelop the stranger and herself. One moment an electrified air, the next… nothing.
And thus she was spat back out into another far reaching desert… Only this time it was Dalmasca, below the reaches of Othard, and away from the Empire’s wrath and the jewel of the desert. Dusted boots slid along undisturbed sands, her white coat dirtying itself with soot and dirt, mixtures from the portal and the world around her. With a rasped groan and a slightly intoxicated huff, the hyur rose her sandy auburn hair to watch the portal collapse and close, only after glimpsing at hooded man that stood on the otherside.
Find the shimmering silvers against the golden sea. Then you may return to me.
The ancient man’s voice resonated within her heart, casting her tired gaze to the seemingly boundless ocean of empty dunes. Before her, a small scroll formed atop of the shifting grains. With dusted hands the hyur gripped the rolled parchment, unfurling it with relative gentleness and ease. Within, there were aged and faded drawings and diagrams of what looked to be crystals of varying aspects.. all seemingly worshiped to some degree due to their luster and power.
She would need what they were, luckily now, the crystals in questions were volatile in their own regard. They grew as the millenniums passed, and now once again they were ready to be collected. At least… that’s what she believed to be the case. Why else would she be given vague pictures as her only directions now. Her objectives over the passing weeks had never been clear, but whenever she had retrieved what was needed, there was never a complaint from the being who sent her.
Slow they were now, her slipping footfalls against the steep inclines of the dusting dunes. The sun burned down against her baked skin, her spines jutting out from her back seemingly enjoying the warm rays against their bone-like structures. The blistering air scorched her lungs, despite the lack of pain she could ever feel, even this Bella could feel deep within her. Forcing her body to adjust, to accommodate the dizzying heat.
Not before long, she could hear a rising cacophony of thunderous cannon fire. Step by cautious step she approached the crest of the dune she walked upon, offering a crouch to keep her head below the peak. Her eyes eventually crept over the edge, glancing at what was to be a pair of airships, equipped to run against the sandy dunes like a simple boat opening fire on a distant trembling mountain of sandy ruins. Atop the peaking pyramid there was the glint of silver hues against the golden sea of sand.
No doubt that was her destination. No doubt there would be trouble. Yet as she watched, it looked to be nothing but sand people, looking to find salvage to send back to actual mercantile cities for supplies to last against the unforgiving heat of the blistering sun. But something else began to catch her eye. Off far into the distance she could spot the shifting changes against a mirage. There were other things among the dunes that waited. Judging from the way the sand seemed to trembling she could only imagine it be a large worm… Oh good. She thought to herself, a furrowed brow on her face as one of her hands tightened the bandage around her eye.
This wasn’t quite something she wanted to deal with.. But she knew there was no changing the fact that what she needed awaited past the armed vessels and a possible ship-eating worm. Dread and anticipation dug deep trenches into her decrepit and weak heart. A hand instincitvely reached for where her weapons would be.. But alas there was nothing. No gun, no sword, no rifle or spear to her name today.
Perhaps a stealthy approach?
… Perhaps so.
More internal thoughts met with an external silent reaction, her fingers tracing small symbols into the sand. The Sun sat high, burning all who’d wade in its rays for too long, even her darkened skin was wishing for darker days or even something to plainly cover up and protect against the drying heat. She was parched, tired, but at least not hungry. The heat didn’t bother her, but it began to damage her body. Belladonna needed to make a move, or else the cannons would bring down the temple down on itself and her goal… the jewel, the crystal.. the gift she needed would be lost forever under the weight of the world.
A hand reached up to re-tie her rather unkempt ponytail, her fingers straightening out the singular frontal floof that fluttered in the wind. With a bandage readjusted she spawned a cunning smile as her tongue tasted the dry air.
“Sand.. why is it always sand..”
With a small grunt, the mutant rose to her feet. Stepping forward, one by one. Her footfalls gaining speed as she bound up and over the dune’s crest. Her shadow seeming to glide across the now disturbed shifts of burning yellows and whites beneath her. Sliding down the hill she rolled her shoulders, preparing to disappear into the shadows of one of the low hovering vessels.. intending on making her approach quickly and quietly…
