Blazing Sand

Disasters are natural disasters that come in many types – ranging from earthquakes, sand whirlpools, the lightning storms, to even stand storms. Any type of these happen frequently in the Anisa Desert, leading to the changing of the environment. 

The first record of these constant disasters dated way back before the empires of Nusa even existed. With some scholars from Ortiva and Ark Empire even believing it started after the fall of the Carefree Empire.

Ortiva had classified the Disasters based on the amount of magic and damage they do. One can tell the class of disaster based on the range, volume, presence of magic and terror one feels when it appears. Class I are the most common and frequent type of disaster, for example if it's an earthquake, then only an area range of one or two buildings will begin to be affected. Leading to shake, cracks forming on buildings if they are around, and trembling of any life around. 

But fortunately these don't damage the town much. It's only the appearance of Class II that it becomes dangerous, as it covers an entire town. One can tell by cracks appearing on the Ley Lines and how much the Ley Lines began shrinking. Since the Ley Lines will instantly try to fight back against anything destructive on top of it. 

Another way is by the symptoms of trembling and sharp headaches, and if it's a thunderstorm - the clouds will cover the entire town. Class III is said to cover an entire city but that hasn't happened in centuries. The information on it was limited, Lorian himself didn't bother to research it, since it wasn't needed. 

But the most important finding is the Anuk Countdown. Depending on the class, the time between the ignition of the Disaster and its eruption is up. For Class I, the time is three minutes and Class II the time is eight minutes. Once the time passes, it's when the area the Class covers will be destroyed and left in ruins. 

The issue is depending on where one was, type of town or village they lived in and the direction the disaster came from. Trying to escape might be difficult or even impossible for most, let alone everyone. This is why Selene Ruler was needed to force them all to move, ignoring their physical limits. 

And Lorian Magician ability Naivety which makes the targets slow and naive. This means that anything negative or positive will take a while before they connect or affect them. This is why the townspeople didn't feel any pain or exhaustion when passing their physical limits. 

It simply was delayed and pushed back until Uro and the other Lover Ascendant could utilize their abilities to erase the pain and heal them up.

'Still each disaster strength is based on an Ascendant's level of strength. Class II would match an Apprentice level Ascendant magical potency.' Lorian thought before he came out of his thoughts from Roy words.

"What's wrong, Lula, Phil and Iran?" Roy asked, leading Lorian to glance to the right. The other watchtower guards, two women and one man came over with a worried look. All three wore similar clothing to Roy, red scarf draped across their shoulders, grey tunic dark trousers and soft-soled shoes. 

"Roy what happened to the Guardian Tome? It's still intact right?" Lula asked, her brown eyes staring at the ruins. 

Roy grimaced, as he clenched his fist before shaking his head and speaking words that sent shiver to all who heard it. "No, it began sinking and then was destroyed when the disaster started to happen. The ground swallowed up the skull before I could lift it up and carry it out."

The expression on the Watchguards, Silvian Outlaws, and even Uro fell, all of them understanding the horrifying implication. 

While Lorian simply sighed and Selene hummed before she said. "This is dangerous then. The Guardian Tome would be helpful when we are crossing the desert with Nuya residents."

Roy slightly frowned as he nodded. "I know it's a rule to secure the Guardian Tome. But the disaster happened too fast, and the headache left me weak for an instant."

Louise shakes his head with a sigh before pulling out a map and opening it up. "The nearest town would be… Milkey Town. It's south-east of Nuya town and shouldn't take long to reach, maybe two or three hours."

"That… Isn't too bad. We just need to be prepared for any beasts and disasters." Phil said with a frown, her short blond hair swaying in the wind. 

"But it's desert and we're traveling with over fifty people, some being children and were lacking-"

"Supplies." Silis finished with a frown, glancing worriedly behind. "We have some supplies in our bag, but it can't possibly feed and fill this many people's thirst."

"I have some supplies that we can add together. We just need to adapt, kill any beasts for food and stop at the local small ponds as we make our way to Milky Town." Lorian said with a stretch. 

"But those usually have beasts-" One of the Silvian Outlaws spoke up.

"It's fine. Remember there is an unsaid rule for all beings around the water source." Loiuse interjected with a smirk, nodding his head. 

"We have twenty Unicols, the children and elderly can ride on them to decrease the rate they will get tired and thirsty." Uro said, leading all Ascendants to nod their head, "There are about… Twenty two Ascendants here, so we will have a group of two surrounding the entire residents."

"Who will lead them?" Another Silvian Outlaw asked with a tilt of their head. 

Lorian hummed before saying. "The Watchtower's guards. The people watching their back as they go will keep morale high and make them feel more safer."

"Ahh, since the guards are their protectors, no wonder. Then we should get started, since it's the morning time, we can reach Milky Town before night comes." Louise said as he glanced up at the sky. "Let's start then. Remember to have a Colorful Path compass out at all times, while it can only cover a hundred meters, it is still helpful."

Lorian and the others moved to the crowd of people. All of the adults and elderly nodded instantly while the children and teenagers were confused. But they simply followed the others' lead, as Nuya Watchguards and Outlaws started placing the kids and elders on the Unicol. 

Once they were all on, everyone began moving south. 

…

The desert of Anisa was a vast graveyard of heat and silence. Every breath drawn felt thick, like inhaling powdered glass to some of the people walking. Over sixty people were trudging through the endless, shifting sands. The landscape was bleak, with only the occasional silhouette of a dead tree or the skeleton of a beast.

The Unicols were moving in the lead, behind Roy and three Silvian Outlaws. Draped over the Unicols were the elderly, and behind them were children whose faces display a bit of exhaustion. 

Behind them walked the adults, their feet crunching against the shifting sands with each step. Some had wrapped their heads in cloth after tearing pieces of their clothing, as to shield their faces. While others simply let the sweat sting their eyes, the pain itself helps them focus under the stifling heat. 

The wind that passed by them was hot, they all knew it would only become cold around evening time. For thirty minutes, they walked in near silence, the sound of boots scraping against sand and the occasional shifting of the Unicols. All for conserving the energy, but some were surprised the children were silent as well. But the adults and elderly knew even those kids could vaguely grasp how unfortunate their situation was. 

…

Ema's small hands clung to Unicol. She recalls the times the Silvian Outlaws let her and some of the kids ride on them, although a lot of them fell off pretty fast. But fortunately, the adults had tied sash around her waist to help keep her on even as the Unicol sometimes swayed. She pressed herself against its hide, she liked this one because it was very kind to her, even though it smelled a bit.

She looked back, her mother Enui was walking, her hair tied in a scarf, eyes all squinty. Ema wanted her to ride too but her mother simply smiled at her, saying this is a game they were playing. 

Ema felt something was wrong but quickly erased that thought, believing her mother. 

The man behind Enui kept coughing; he held a wrapped bundle that didn't move. A man passed the coughing man a bottle, leading the coughing man to lift it up and drink as it fell down into his mouth.

"Thirsty?" A serious yet gentle asked from next to Ema, making her blink as she turn to see it was Silis. 

Ema nodded, Silis handed her a small waterskin. 

It was a simple leather bag that held water, to which Ema drank, enjoying the coldness. 

Her blue eyes caught the sight of a blur across the horizon. She heard murmurs around, the only thing she could grasp from it was beasts and not interested. 

It was Silis who helped her understand the beasts were busy moving towards a water source. And that we were nothing more than a quick sight for them before they headed on their way. 

"One more hour," Silis said, mostly to himself after Ema gave back the waterskin.

Ema blinked, she didn't know how long an hour was but hopefully it wasn't too long.

…

The hour stretched out like an eternity, the sun, now high overhead, shimmered off the dunes in waves. The people feet sank deep with each step, and some seemed to struggle more as the minutes ticked by. Their hooves kicked up small puffs of sand, and their heavy breathing matched the rhythm of the survivors' march.

Fortunately, the wind stirred past them, this time more cooler than earlier. But at times, the wind would stir with greater force, sweeping across the desert. Carrying with it the sands that had people covering their faces as it passed by. 

Each person lost in their own thoughts. Some thought of their lost homes, the precious treasures, gifts, books, and memories they had left behind in the ruins of Nuya. Others thought only of the future of the faint hope that lay in the distant town of Milky.

By now, even the children had stopped asking questions, focusing more on the new world around them. Some of them clung to the back of the elder in front, some simply stared out over the sand, and others enjoyed the Unicol ride they couldn't before. 

As the hour passed by, the entire crowd of people seemed to have stopped. Roy shouted for them all to stop before squinting his eyes, confused and a hint of fear in his eyes. 

"Stay here for a bit, I will be right back." Roy said to the outlaws behind him and without waiting for their reply. He turned, his heart racing as he rushed forward, feet kicking up plumes of dusty sand that danced momentarily in the sunlight before settling. The remaining townsfolk glanced at one another, concerned flashing across their faces. 

Leading to the three outlaws to placate them. 

…

"Something must have happened." Lorian muttered as he rushed forward with Selene following next to him. 

"Either there are beasts walking by or a disaster." Selene points out, leading Lorian to frown, not liking either. 

As they reached the front of the crowd, they found Louise conversing earnestly with the three outlaws who were with Roy. Louise turned to Lorian and Selene, scratching the back of his head, his demeanor conveying his mounting apprehension. "I think Roy saw something because he told everyone to stop before heading ahead."

"Well, let's go see. The rest will stay here." Lorian said as he began rushing forward, Selene, Louise and the two outlaws followed along. 

It was only a minute before they caught up to Roy, who stood rigidly, his gaze locked onto something in the distance, trembling slightly as he breathed deeply.

Lorian asked Roy as he reached him, who acted as if he didn't notice them "What's wrong?"

Roy's expression displayed concern; his lips pressed into a thin line as he shrugged slightly, still staring ahead. "The Guardian Tome... I don't see it," he responded, his brow furrowed deeper.

"Could we not be close to-"

"No, we are close," Roy interrupted, his finger pointing forward as he took a cautious step forward. "Because I can see a familiar watchtower structure." 

Lorian, Selene, and Louise moved to where Roy was pointing, eyes narrowing against the sun as they took in the horizon. In the distance, they saw the faint outline of a watchtower, the once towering building of bone and wood, now splintered. 

Leaning over into the sand. 

"Is that—" Lorian began, realization dawning.

"It's... I can tell," Selene interjected, frowning. "The watchtower seems to be broken, shattered, and half-buried in the sand." Her frown deepened as her violet crimson eyes glanced around. "This... doesn't look like a disaster happened."

"Huh? If not a disaster, then it would mean-" One of the outlaw whispers in shock.

"Yeah, a beast tide." Louise said with a grimace, the information hung heavily in the air. 

Lorian furrowed his brows and then he walked forward. "Let's check it out. If it's really a beast tide then things got even more complicated and terrible."