After traveling across Centinents for twenty years, Hitirus' eyes finally fell upon the land that housed the King and their royal posse. Warm wind passed by, flowing like water.
Hitirus looked down at her tattered clothes, agreeing now was the time to salvage some new covering. She began making her way deeper into the desert outskirts, feeling the warm sand drag her deeper into the sea of yellow.
The air smelled of spice - the right word to describe Coshire. Dunes stood high like their own mountains, except no Thawed were allowed on.
Creatures roamed horizons. Such as the ghastly Pyroatic Weavers, who weren't hot enough to become physical Weavers. Only phantasmal versions of them.
Tomb-Digger Cemtrin rested peacefully below the surface of the sand. Being in an almost coma-like trance. This helped them keep water and food usage low.
While Hitirus continued to traverse through the desert, he heard the sound of something catching up to him. Sand rubbed against itself, meaning a stalker was looming nearby.
She paused, waiting for the creature to reveal itself. Only for a strange Mountain Ascent Feral - Melted Thawed hybrid pounced on Hitirus.
Befehlnadir drove both blades into her skull, scrambling her brain and instantly killing her for the 70th time. After the deed was done, he forced his body to transform into something else.
Instead of being a hybrid, he opted to becoming a Sandy Yonie. He instantly got to work on digging a tunnel away from Hitirus, so he couldn't strike back at him when he rose again.
The shovel-like webbed fingers on his hands made it easy for him to sink deep enough to make the sand above him seem undisturbed. He then used his loose skin to turn himself over.
Patiently waiting for the vibrations in the sand to mark Hitirus' revival. When the small chasm shifted slightly, he knew why.
Hitirus snarled like a Feral, raising up from his temporary sleep. He shook off the sand in his hair and clothes, deciding it was best to escape while he had the chance to.
Wasting time in searching for his attacker was futile, especially since they deployed tactics designed for cowards. Hitirus took off, sprinting in a random direction.
Now was one of those times he wished he understood how to control his mutations. Running away on sand proved to be slower and less effective than he hoped for.
Regardless, he continued to run. Unknowingly waking up Tomb-Diggers and some of the desert exclusive creatures: Yorkai and Tetrakhans.
Sand erupted out of the ground like a geyser, hiding a way a massive twelve-legged monster. Hitirus charged right through, keeping his eyes and mouth closed as he advanced.
Winds kicked up, blowing away the sand. More sand drifted past, making a sandstorm occur, which was one of the common themes upon a Yorkai's awakening.
The creature let out a deafening screech, flexing its unmatched power and frightening body. Hitirus looked over his shoulder as he ran, trying to see what was back there.
A twelve-legged, skinny spider loomed way over his head. Its body seemed like the product of a failed experiment, except it wasn't. Yorkai were designed to strike fear into victims.
Untamable beasts, with just as much power. It began stampeding towards Hitirus. Taking only four steps to reach him.
"What the hell is that thing?!?" Hitirus screamed.
He continued to push through the sandstorm, hoping the creature wasn't accurate with its needle-like legs. It hissed as it struck where he stood, narrowly missing its prey.
"Dammit... how many generations of in-breeding does it take to get such an ugly little freak like you?" Hitirus expressed his anger.
Balance became a commodity as Hitirus progressed through the dunes. He struggled to maintain the same pace as before, and he felt his body turning into that of a Zegus'.
Time was running thin for him. But fortunately, he made one of its best decisions by crossing a pile of broken rocks and boulders.
Small worms quickly woke up to inhabit these boulders. As more woke up, they communicated with each other using psychological waves.
Hitirus noticed the Yorkai slowed down dramatically, almost waiting for its natural rival to raise from the dunes. It was his opportunity to flee, which he took. Not looking back as he trotted through.
Behind him, the entire colony of worms woke up from their idle state. Inhabiting the boulders and forming a Tetrakhan.
Four pincers pointed at the Yorkai, while the giant main body rested calmly behind the rest. It looked similar to a scorpion, except it was made of yellow worms and dark-orange boulders.
The predators screeched and howled at each other, threatening the other to back off. However, their shouting match would come to an end after the Tetrakhan rampaged towards the Yorkai.
While both creatures engaged each other for their next meal, the desert howled its true might. Showing it wasn't home to the tranquil, it was home to the reason why life doesn't exist in the desert.
Not lack of water or plant life, but because two apex predators depended off each other for survival. A constant on-sight rivalry that never concludes.
Off in the distance, Hitirus crossed over another dune. He breathed heavily, catching his breath and trying to cool off.
As he was making his way downhill, the world beneath him would erupt into another sandy blast. Instead it didn't seem like a geyser, but more like an actual eruption.
Hitirus landed not too far from the blast, gritting his teeth to show no emotion after enduring a nasty fall. While recovering, he heard an enraged roar directed towards him.
Sand kicked up as a Tomb-Digger Cemtras charged at him. Throwing sand in front of it to conceal its identity and exact location.
It motivated Hitirus to take off sprinting, going as fast as he could to avoid conflict with another strange creature he didn't recognize. He thought about how dangerous this desert was.
At least compared to the previous. There were places that make this desert seem like paradise, such as Uvurim's crystal forests.
However, Hitirus was far from home. He simply continued running in a random direction. Hoping to stumble upon a town or city he could pillage in order to restock on food, water, and fresh clothes.
While he careened through the open desert, he thought of only one thing: "This is one hell of a welcoming."