The desert sand blew away in great clouds obscuring the vision of all travelers not letting you see an inch in front of your face, the scorching sun beat down on the dunes penetrating the raging sand storm letting not a singular drop of liquid remain. Through the raging sand and sun a singular figure wandered through the vast expanse of wasteland. Their figure was obscured as they were wearing long flowing clothes and a turban all the way around their face with only their eyes showing, their eyes where a deep purple and seemed cold showing almost no emotions. As the figure moved forward with an odd sort of purpose they caught themselves as if forgetting something and from their pocket produced a peculiar compass. It was ornate and the fame was made of a jet black frame, a black so deep and pure it seemed that you could get lost in it, and a singular ornate needle on the face with no markings on it that showed what it was meant to do.

The figure gripped the the compass tightly and concentrated, as he did his eyes turned a similar colour to the compass now tightly held in his hand and the needle span violently before halting abruptly to the left of the figure.

Their eyes reverted back to their original colour and they let out a long sigh before turning in the same direction as the compass and turning around and walking briskly toward a large ostrich like bird with a large curved beak and completely covered in sand coloured feathers spare it's feet and beak. The figure patted its neck affectionately before hopping on its back and riding in the direction that the strange compass had pointed in at such speed that large clouds of dust where kicked up behind it. The figure repeated this process several times with every direction making him more irritated "Is it moving" they said in a monotone voice with a hint of malice in it.

Before reaching his destination night had fallen and the bird carrying him had begun to grow weary. The winds had stopped blowing and the scenery was revealed. Massive cacti loomed over the desert each miles apart but able to be scene 4 cacti over.

The figure clicked their tounge in anger "We've already come this far out" he said in the same monotone as the last time he spoke but this time with a bit more urgency in it. The figure led the bird over to a cactus that happened to be close by passing one of its needles which was hundreds of times longer than the bird.

The figure moved swiftly toward the massive cactus's surface and pulled out a blade which looked like two curved blades with strait tops had been crossed than attached to the same hilt. He used this to strip the cactus of a large portion of its skin and tossing it aside leaving a imprint big enough for him and his bird to lie against. "Night Lugue" he said this time in a caring and kind voice. Luege let out a coo as if echoing the good will of his owner.

They both slept long into the night resting on each other. As morning broke they where already moving forward at blistering speed towards their unknown destination. They continued forward till the sun was high in the sky when they met another group. A troop of ten men wearing similar clothes to the figure on the bird with one of them riding another bird and wearing fancier clothes than the rest. Opposite them was three men and five bloody corpses two of the men where wearing green leather armour and holding broad swords with snake hilts with their faces covered with hoods. The last was wearing armour made out of what looked like wood with green linings with a helm resembling that of a snakes head holding a glaive with a green and brown staff and a blade that was protruding out of an effigy of a snakes head. The three men where breathing heavily and had multiple cuts on them. The ten men opposite where smirking and chuckling to themselves.

Suddenly the man on the bird looked over to the figure, looked him and his bird up and down and gave a smile from ear to ear "My friend" he said with a voice like poisons honey "That's a fine koorebera you got their my boys need something to rest their aching feet with, leave it here along with all your valuables and we'll let you continue on your way"

The man in wooden armour suddenly shouted at the figure on the koorebera "Run I'll distract him so you can get away"

The man on the koorebera tutted disapprovingly "Now, now, now we can't have that. Lefew make sure our friend here makes the right decision!"

One of the men who was slightly larger than the rest stepped forward and headed toward the figure. The figure made a motion with and a slight glimmer in the air. The burly man toppled to the desert sand as his head was relived from his head and the normally yellow sand dunes where stained red!

The figure made two more motions and the rest of the men on the grounds heads rolled. The man on the koorebera let out a squeal and turned around to flee but his head plopped onto the ground mid scream before his koorebera moved an inch. The koorebera stood their perplexed not knowing what to do as no orders had been given so it just stood there dumbly not moving.

The figure raised both of their hands up and seemed to catch something before got of the koorebera and stepped away from the corpses and and pulled out the black compass and started to concentrate. The needle span around before pointing directly at the man in the wood armor!

The figure seemed taken aback by the compass and began to move around in a dream like trance, he moved back and forward dumbfounded at what was happening but no matter what they did or where they moved to the compass still pointed toward the young warrior. The figure took a deep breath and collected themselves and began to turn around when the young man appeared seemingly out of nowhere and started inspecting the compass with almost child like curiosity "Wow a desire compass" he said with wonder and awe "Their so rare, I've never seen one before how did you get it"

The figure placed the compass back into his sleeve and replied coldly and curtly "heirloom" as if telling the man the conversation was over

The man seemed a little taken aback but however collected himself and backed of calmly saying "If you don't want to say I won't pry" he thought for a bit and and then asked "Could I at least know the name of the hero that valiantly swooped in and saved me and my companions from the clutches of desert bandits"

Once again in a cold and sharp tone he replied "Glarica"

The man smiled a wide smile, one that reached from ear to ear but not his eyes, not taken aback by their attitude as if he was already familiar with Glarica "I am Vanrk and these are my companions Vidaln and Vidlenia. We are headed to Vanga and as we are unfamiliar to these lands are in need of a guide"

As Vanrk got close to Glarica he got a closer look at his face and understood immediately why they wanted to head to Vanga, Vanrk's face was what most would consider handsome, in fact most would go as far as to say his face was that of a sculptor made by a master, his skin was unblemished and seemed smoothed, a nose with perfect proportions, high cheekbones and beautiful silky blond hair however his most impressive feature was his eyes. The people of Vanga where said to have eyes more stunning and gorgeous than an gem found in nature however Glarica could tell that even for Vanga standards his eyes where something to behold, they glistened in the desert sun causing a truly beautiful shimmer that put the clearest of diamonds and purest of water. his eyes where a amethyst purple, the same shade as Glarica's but in another league of their own, a purple that seemed to beckon in whoever was looking in at them and cause them to get lost in the beauty of the colour. Glarica was lost in the eyes for a second before regaining his senses and noticing something of with his eyes, although Vanrk was beaming warmly his eyes seemed not to share his faces sentiment and rather than showing warmth and sincerity at their meeting seemed to be analyzing Glarica studying every little detail meticulously roaming over him taking in every slight gesture or movement Glarica made. It made Glarica feel uncomfortable and made them think that they could not let their gaurd down around him.

There was a short pause of about two seconds before Glarica made a shrill sharp whistle causing both kooreberas to come rushing over to him. he motioned to the two warriors to get on the second koorebera before hoping onto Lugue and motioning for Vanrk to do the same. Glarica made another whistle making both kooreberas rocket of towards the west. Vanrk enquisetvly asked "Why is the other koorebera listening to your orders"

"All desert kooreberas are trained in the same way so as long as their master is dead or has left them for a long time anyone can use them"

Vanrk gave a little oh of understanding but then stayed silent for the rest of the journey apart from the occasional attempt to start a friendly conversation which where all quickly shot down by Glarica. as the night started to close in around them they headed to a gargantuan cactus and Glarica began to strip away the skin taking away noticeably more than when he was travelling alone. Vidaln got up and said enthusiastically "I will keep watch at night"

Vidaln spoke in a rather airy feminine voice and Glarica could tell that she was smiling earnestly and was probably the type to stay up all night just for praise from those she respected. Glarica immediately said in their usual monotone "There is no need for that"

Vidaln seemed dejected and this but still insisted saying "Are you sure we dont need someone to keep watch for dangerous beasts or bandits"

in answer Glarica handed her a piece of the cactus skin he had been peeling, as she grabbed ahold of it she noticed their where tons of small needles, not big enough to be noticed from far away but big enough to puncture skin "Those needles absorb moisture from anything they stab" Glaricus said "no beast dares approach for risk of death and fighting near it is to dangerous so bandits leave people that sleep near one alone"

Vidaln shuffled over to the area Glarica had skinned and sat down as Vidlenia came over to comfort her. they all started to get ready to sleep: the kooreberas lied down against the cactus and let the others rest on them, Vidaln fell asleep instantly and began snoring, Vidlenia brought over a blanket and draped it over Vidaln before getting under a similar one herself and like Vidaln falling into a deep sleep almost immediately. this left Glarica and Vanrk alone in the night. an awkward silence passed between them as they both stared over the seemingly Endless expanse of sand and cacti. Vanrk turned to Glarica and seemed to have made up his mind on something "Glarica" he said with confidence "Would you become one of my vassals"

Glarica looked over and noticed Vanrk's eyes seemed to have changed, rather than showing weariness and constantly observing they stared straight at Glarica and showed sincerity in them. Garcia looked over slightly perplexed and held up his hand to tell Vanrk to stop talking and asked without his usual monotone but intent and seriousness "Before I give my answer tell me why did you pick me and why do you need vassals"

Vanrk let out a sigh and started to explain "Due to the recent fall of Hydrabora into the hands of a tyrant the king has decided its time for him to step down. however due to a birth defect the king has no heir to ascend to the throne he has decided to stay as king until the next king is found through way of a succession ceremony. I was picked as one of those candidates and so right now I am searching for vassals to help in my attempt." after saying this Vanrk turned his head away and looked at the ground "I am the most hated by the citizens out of all the candidates. I cant gain any vassals in Vanga as no capable person would volunteer. I came to find vassals from other countries"

There was a moment of silence passed between before Glarica stated bluntly "You have only answered one of my questions. Why did you pick me, how could I be of use to you."

replying just as bluntly as asked he said "Because you do things without question. you act as you feel you should so if you became my subordinate you would be loyal but you have the skills only gained by experience. not only that but your a diviner"

as these words left Vanrk's lips Glarica got on one knee and replied "I swear my loyalty to you and pledge I will follow you till my dying breath"

Vanrk was a little taken aback by the abruptness of Glaricas pledge however he stood up quickly and offered out his hand to Glarica saying "I accept your proposal and pray that you will be a valuable asset to my succession"

Glarica took Vanrks hand and pulled themselves up, grasping Vanrk's hand tightly them shook hands firmly. after they let go of each others hand they headed to get ready for bed. Glarica picked a blanket that seemed less sandy than the others and threw it over himself letting the warm embrace of sleep take ahold of him.

From then on their journey carried on uninterrupted apart from a run in with a giant sand scorpion, a terrifying creature that towered over all inhabitants of the desert, which they where thankfully able to avoid and continued on their journey. finally after three days of traveling they reached the boarder town of Dagrl.

they entered the town and Vanrk showed a beautiful ornate seal embossed with a green serpent. the guard let the group through but as he did he scowled at them throwing a disdainfully look at Vanrk as he walked away. Glarica snuck a glance at Vanrk and saw that while he was pretending not to notice but his fists where clenched in balls of rage. Glarica pretended not to notice either.

as they walked through town the children playing on the street where ushered inside by their parents and the locals left on the streets threw dirty looks at them as if they where walking piles of rotting garbage. the intense stares seemed to drill into the backs of their heads slowly boring into their heads, worming its way into their brains becoming more and more apparent, more and more intense, more and more unbearable.

they made it to the inn feeling as though they had just walked out of a den of wolves all eyeing them up and had finally left it believing that they where safe before realizing they had simply gone in further. the inn did not have many people in it but the looks from those few inhabitants made it feel claustrophobic as if the walls where closing in.

they made their way to the desk at the front and asked for a two double rooms for a single night "Five thousand gelk" said the woman at the desk bluntly, not even looking up from the accounts she was writing.

Vidaln slammed her hand on the desk angrily and shouted "the standard price for a room is five hundred and you want five times that amount?"

Vanrk held her back and placed five ornate gold coins on the table and stretched out his hand "our keys please"

the woman begrudgingly placed two keys in their hand before quickly getting back to the accounting not even bothering to tell them where their rooms where. the group went two their rooms without a word. Vanrk's guards took the room next to them leaving Vanrk and Glarica to share a room. they both sat down on their beds, Vanrk let out a sigh while taking of his helmet and looked down at the floor clearly downcast and infuriated by the previous experience that had just occured. Glarica turnd to Vanrk and asked "Are you sure you want to go through the succession ceromy? its clear that even if you did you would just go down in history as a hated king."

Glarica was cut of by a loud crunch and looked to see that Vanrk had crushed part of the wooden bed frame in his fist "You are my vassal" he said with bated breath "And as such you have a duty to follow me so stay quiet and serve your purpose"

Glarica acknowledged Vanrks rage and backed down proceeding instead to get ready to rest for the night leaving Vanrk to wince in pain as he pulled splinters out of his hand.

They woke early the next morning not wanting to stay in the town any longer however when Vanrk left his room he found the rotting carcass of a scratt, a creature a lot like a rat but the size of a small cat, with a note stapled on to it saying "Quit failure" in large almost eligible handwriting.

Vanrk crushed the scratt's head beneath his boot before marching out of the inn, throwing the keys as hard as he could at the desk leaving them imbedded in the table. they picked up their kooreberas which they had left in the local stable before hoping on them and riding of into the forest. the kooraberas where having a hard time traversing the jungle floor and constantly stumbled and on a few occasions almost fell.

After an hour of riding Glarica Turned to Vanrk and asked "how long is it going to be until we reach our destination? the Kooreberas cant go much further and if we go any further their feet may suffer permanent damage"

"Don't worry" Vanrk replied cheerfully "We have arrived"

as these words the group entered an area where the trees where spaced out a bit further than the rest of the forest. at first Glarica thought Vanrk was confused, surely he would not be living among the trees with no shelter like an animal, but then something caught his eye and he raised his eyes to the treetops and what he saw shocked him. among the trees hundreds of houses had been built latching on to the trees like giant bird houses, citizens walked along rope bridges hundreds of feet in the air without fear, the scene seemed like it was ripped out the pages of a children's story book. Everywhere Glarica looked a new wonder seemed to appear, while Glarica was gawking at the beauty the others had moved to the trunk of a gargantuan tree that seemed to be the center of the village. "Hey Glarica get over here" Vanrk shouted to Glarica.

Glarica snapped back to his sense and moved swiftly over to the rest of the group just as Vidlenia pushed the base of the tree Making it swing on a hinge revealing a hollow inside with spiral stairs leading up and down: Upwards the stairs where clean and in pristine condition with hand rails to prevent injury and had torches lining the walls, the stairs heading Down where dull and caked in mud and what Glarica could only assume was excrement from the smell but could have been something a lot worse, there where no handrails or torches in sight making it seem as though it was a bottomless pit. "Lets head up" Vanrk said in a matter fact way.

Not wanting to stay near the foul steps any longer Glarica ascended the stairs at such a fast pace that Vanrk could have sworn he teleported. he shrugged his shoulders and followed Glarica at a similar pace.

they moved up the stairs until they reached a landing just as clean and pristine as the stairs. A door stood opposite the stairs, it was heavy and made of the same wood as the tree it was built into. Vanrk moved forward towards the door and threw it open with a flourish "Welcome to canora" as these words left Vanrk's lips a loud bang rang through the trees and one of the houses started violently spewing black smoke.

Glarica dashed past Vanrk leaping from bridge to bridge, amazed at how stable they where, getting closer and closer to the smoking shack. as he got close to it Glarica pulled wiped out the oddly shaped blade and jumped, moving their feet to be level with the door and kicking it off its hinges and rolling through the doorway. as the door flew across the room it hit something with a loud thud sending it flying into the opposite side of the room with a loud groan.

the smoke filtered out the the gapping doorway allowing Glarica to view the scene before his eyes. the room was immaculate with everything neatly ordered on shelves, sheets of paper neatly filed in cabinets. the room looked perfect except for one corner where the shelves had been smashed, along with anything on them, and a man in a white outfit, shattered glasses and purple eyes that was lying dazed being flattened by the heavy wooden door.

Glarica placed his blade to the mans throat and demanded "Who are you and why have you come to this village"

The man on the ground looked groggily at the blade and then up at Glarica in turn. His dizziness disappeared in a Flash and before Glarica could do anything he screamed "Vanrk help there's a psychopath in the village"

Glarica brought the the blade up to strike the man down when Vanrk rushed through the door and grabbed his arm. "He's an ally Glarica"

Glarica returned his blade and then gave a deep bow to the man shaking in fear on the floor "I am terribly sorry for my mistake and I pray for your forgiveness" Glarica said in a clear and deliberate voice

The man on the floor was taken aback. He got up dazed and looked around. His demeaner changed, his face that had previously shown fear and terror turned to pure rage. "My lab" the man whispered with rage "What have you done to my lab, everything is covered in dust, its all filthy" at this point the man finally turned around to see the wrecked cabinet. The man grabbed Glarica by the collar and screamed "You incompetent koorebera brained half-wit, how dare you come into my lab and not only track dirt and filth into it but also reduce half of it to rubble. Can your rock of a brain comprehend how valuable what you just destroyed is, that was my specimen cabinet and now they have all gone to waste"

Vanrk placed his hand on the mans shoulder and said "Please Bretan calm down"

"Calm down? Calm down! You expect me to be clam when this incompetent disappointment to his family destroyed five years worth of research data? I will not be calm until I see this dimwits head mounted on a bloody pike"

Bretan stood there out f breath, not moving, his shoulders heaving up and down. He wheeled around on his heels and shouted "Just make sure that scorpion brained fool never enters my laboratory ever again" before storming up a flight of stairs

Vanrk turned to Glarica with a disappointed look. "Next time don't just run off without checking if it is a problem" he said with a sigh "Though I guess it is my fault for not warning you, just next time wait for me to give you instruction"

Glarica gave a low bow and responded "I will remember that for next time"

Vanrk made a motion for the others to follow him and made his way to the door. As they walked along one of the many bridges Glarica stayed silent only walking behind with a straight unwavering face that would in no way suggest he just destroyed valuable property. Vanrk turned to him and casually spoke, saying "that is Bretan. He is a researcher that works on our weapons. Its not uncommon to hear explosions so next time you hear one look before you keep".

As these words left Vanrk's lips another loud bang went off behind them followed by billowing Black smoke. "See" said Vanrk in a nonchalant, even bored, way before before pressing forward to the large tree in the center. Vanrk strolled toward a set of stairs winding around the massive tree. He motioned to Vidaln and Vidlena and they marched of to smaller tree with a building on that seemed to be their living quarters. Glarica turned around to follow them but Vanrk held him back. "I would appreciate it if you could follow me" he said in a way that clearly showed this was an order, not a request.

Glarica followed obligingly making his way up the stair following closely behind Vanrk making sure not to lag to far behind. They both continued up the stair until they reached the top.

The flat to of the tree had been used as the foundation of a large home using the leaves as a natural roof, it had two floors and was rather open with only the second floor having separate rooms. The first floor was filled with treasures and furniture all ordered neatly in an organized way: A large desk sat on the opposite side of the room, surrounded by bookshelves and cabinets full of documents, which clearly was used as a study area, a pair of sofas Sat on the left side facing inwards, the right side had a glass case holding a set of Royal robes weaved out of gold and the finest furs and silks with an ornate crown above it, the glass case was surrounded by fancy jewels, ornate weapons and armor and stunning works of art, the rooms centerpiece was a massive heavy wooden table with about twelve seats around it.

Glarica seemed completely unfazed by the many decorations that probably would sell for more than him. Vanrk found this extremely amusing but contained his laughter only letting out a small giggle. Suddenly there was a loud squawk and before either could do anything a feathered cannonball collided with Vanrk nocking all the wind out of him leaving him sprawled on the ground. A feathered creature danced on Vanrk's chest with delight, it was a forest koorebera. Unlike its dessert counterpart it was tiny, about a fifth the size of the size, its feet where more claw like and its plumage was a dark green. Its wings where wide slowing it to glide and its beak was more drill like.

Vanrk coughed and spluttered as the forest koorebera planted its self firmly on Vanrk's chest. Vanrk turned his head to face Glarica with a look of incredulity. "Why are you not helping" he hissed with what little breath he had left.

"Oh I'm sorry, I thought I had to ask first" Glarica replied with the faintest shadow of a smile on his face. Glarica moved towards Vanrk who was now turning a deep shade of red due to the dog sized Bird flattening his lungs and picked the koorebera of him slowing for the safe passage of air through Vanrk's lungs once more. The Koorebera seemed a bit shocked that it had been picked up and started to squirm and wriggle in Glarica's arms flapping its wings wildly and screeching all the while. Vanrk got up and stroked its neck gently whispering "There, there bravery, its all right, its going to be fine"

Glarica gave a look of distaste and asked "You named it bravery?"

Vanrk turned his head to Glarica at such insane speed Glarica was surprised it didn't break. "Is there something wrong with that name" Vanrk said extremely defensively.

Glarica sighed and handed the now cooing Bird to Vanrk and began to look around the room. Glarica eyes roamed around the room not leaving a single detail uncovered, Glarica stood still for a minute before hi eyes landed on a map on the central table. The map was cheap and had tons of scribbles on it laying out detailed battle plans, trade routes and resources. The entire table was littered in similar maps. Out of curiosity Glarica walked over and picked one up, studying it carefully, while at First glance it may have seemed random every single ink stroke was done with purpose and severed to show something whether it be minor or major each was an important piece in a confusing puzzle of ink and paper.

Vanrk who had been playing with bravery stopped and moved towards Glarica without making so much as a sound. "Interesting aren't they" he said appearing at Glarica's shoulder "They show important areas we are thinking of occupying"

Glarica simply nodded with a little "Mhm" and left it at that. Vanrk seemed a little disappointed that he could not start a conversation about something he was clearly itching to talk about. Vanrk new it was pointless talking any further and simply left it at that.

Vanrk moved towards the glass cabinet and placed his hand against it. "These are ceremonial robes worn by candidates during gatherings" he said in a A flat way as if the topic bored him "in six months I will put these robes on and walk out in front of all the citizens of Vanga. Though my clothes will be that of a king I will be seen as below the lowest scum" at these words he pressed his hand against the glass and his voice changed from one of boredom to annoyance "So we will prepare for it when the time comes, no we must prepare"

Glarica stood unflinching and nodded in agreement "If there is anything you need I will prepare it immediately"

Vanrk smiled and threw his hand out "Go to the training grounds, there we shall prepare for the First trial of kingdom" he stated with a flourish "We will make it so no one can look down on us"