Before continuing with the story, it should be noted that the Rastro had rather negative effects in some regions, where the sudden disappearance of important bodies of water dried up and decomposed their beds over the course of a century, leaving nothing but mud, sand and remains of all kinds, which were converted into reserves of natural fertilizer such as diatomite. However, Solar Rock was a unique and beautiful territory, a desert affected by the same essence, where rock and arid soils of reddish sand merged with small pools of water, deep underground channels and the occasional wetland, inhabited by colorful fish and the so-called "terrestrial corals."
Amira wandered among the "iningeas", rock formations polished by the same erosion, stopping for moments, observing the surroundings and collecting small, unnaturally shaped bone records. They were rudimentary, single-use crafts, joined with strings and decorated with the purple gland of murex mollusks pinchearth, generally used by the Enalé Bedouin tribe to unleash sand abilities. Apparently, someone was busy making a little less than a dozen of these talismans, only to squander them in an arduous fight against sporamigas, giant ants with large jaws, solid exoskeletons covered by colonies of bioluminescent fungi and giobas (humps that served both to exhale dioxide, dangerous spores and Trace).
She left his staff upright in the sand and advanced a few meters. Sooner or later, he found a wounded elf with pointed ears, dreadlocks and a peculiar rune engraved on his cheek, a distinctive mark of the dwarven descendants, who was cleaning a small wavy blade. The survivor with a thermal collar and a moss-green rag as a cape, a light white shirt and brown cloth pants, did not seem worried; he had surely felt his presence for seconds, either thanks to his hearing ability, or the elven relationship that existed with nature. Dry twigs and bushes swayed almost imperceptibly in his direction, while the subtlest of breezes changed its direction to caress his figure.
"You don't look like someone lost in the middle of the desert. Whoever you are, I warn you that I'm not in the mood for games, " leaning against a wall and keeping a calm expression on his face, cleaning the paper meticulously.
"I was sent to find someone. And I think that someone is you," she put her hands on her waist and sighed heavily, tired of the sun that soaked her forehead.
"That's good. For a moment there, I thought you were looking for a fight. Am I right? " He stared at the sorceress, not moving a muscle.
"I come in peace".
"They all say the same thing".
"Uh... Can anyone else really live in this place?"
"Vermin, lunatics, unfortunate people or fugitives from what some deign to call "law", for the most part".
"And what are you?"
"I've never been asked that before, but what does it matter. If you were sent to this desolate place to find me, that doesn't make much difference, " with a somewhat melancholic look. "Well? Who sent you?"
"Shine".
"Of course, it had to be that fool. We made a deal a while back, but I can only now fulfill my part. Come on, I'll take you to Edom before nightfall. By the way, my name is Larsel, " shaking his hand.
"Amira, sorceress of Pérgamo.
"And that stick? " looking behind him.
"A nice dwarf gave it to me".
The Lost City of Edom was a city literally carved into large rocks. Entrance, hallways, small houses, shops, fountains, public places and mortuaries, all sculpted and prepared to house between one and two thousand inhabitants. Throughout the site, blue anhydrite minerals stood out, transported there for culinary and stylistic purposes, although its concentrated salt was also used in open-air dishes (if the interior of a cave city could be called that). The sectors where the humidity filtered, took advantage of it to surround the sides of archaic insulating plaster counter-plasters, although they also implemented marble pillars, statues of volcanic rock and amber, different forms of quartz and even ornamental skulls used in old kitdra rituals, during the premystical period.
The elven oracle stood in front of the entidafeo (sanctuary to the protective entities of the wasteland), with her feet immersed in a fountain and a type of ceremonial vessel called crizza, where she cleaned both runes and plants taken from the artificial gardens of the enclosure. The blind old woman with a long white ponytail and an apparently injured ear, wore a worn purple tunic, as well as a jet-black gem embedded in the front of her hand, as if it were part of her.
"A guest has come to our compound. A sorceress, "reading the Rastro on the spot.
"How do you do it, Nallé? " taking off the cloak from his back.
"Amazing. You read the Rastro in the air, right?"
"At this age, it's one of the few things I can read, my dear. Although, more than reading, I listen to it, " playing a small shell-shaped instrument, which emitted a deep sound, capable of calming the water.
"The time has come, teacher, " filling her water skin.
"How dare you drink from this fountain".
"It is only prohibited for pupils, but I am no longer in training".
"Kid, you've only been training for a week and you don't even have your protective amulet anymore, " raising her staff and giving them a signal to follow her.
"It has been a long time here, in the lost citadel that our people founded, but the time has come to make ourselves heard again".
"You still have a long way to go, there are things I have not revealed to you and many others that I have not even known in my almost one hundred years of life, pupil. Your task, from now on, will be to search beyond these walls, the desert itself if necessary, for the answers to those questions. What do you know about the Lost City of Edom, my good pupil Larsel? " without stopping his slow walk through the echo of those corridors.
"Which was created by our people, the Dwarves, even before the Mystic Age".
"For years, that was the official version, but our people were not responsible for its creation".
"What did you just say? " stopping in place.
"The importance of paying attention to detail!"raising his free hand and tapping it with his cane". As you hear, many confused "discovery" with "creation" and, when the few voices that resonated among the most privileged places of knowledge made themselves heard, it was already too late.
"I don't see much difference. I mean, if you elves resided within these walls that no one ever claimed, then by right they belonged to you "looking at the polished walls, copper backings and runic inscriptions".
"My dear, our identity as elves transcends these walls, no matter where we come from. We have made this our home until the last of our days as a desert civilization, wary of the deep mysteries that came with Edom. However, the first question to be answered is: Are you ready to discover them?" turning around, raising her ears, observing them closely.
"Of course, teacher".
"Eh... I don't know if it's appropriate. I'm not an elf or a redeemer, just a simple village sorceress".
"She's being modest. That staff you have says otherwise, Amira "pointing to the rune of the Ichnospea". Do you recognize this rune, Nallé? " sarcastically.
"Stop joking, "donkey ears."
"Whew! The forgotten Ichnospea "whistling in amazement, while scratching his chin. Not everyone knows that inscription, which not even the oracles can read. Or am I wrong, master?"
"Lass, I don't know how you obtained that rune, but let me warn you: you must be careful. It is more powerful than it seems. Few people obtained it, and of those, it was never heard from again. Do you have what it takes to pass through these doors?"
"There's only one way to find out."
Certainly, a strange, unnatural and almost imperceptible force offered resistance when trying to cross the threshold of the great bronze doors. Both elves did not notice it because they were ahead, but Amira had to make a small extra effort, simply to put a foot inside the room and thus penetrate that almost spectral barrier; the atmosphere inside the cavernous vault was also different from the rest of the bright Edom, heavier. The light that entered through the robust door was just right and necessary, while the temperature dropped a few degrees when descending a series of unsafe blocks, which took the form of a spiral staircase, but much less stable and safe.
From the deepest abyss, where the light that entered through the sturdy door did not reach, the taps of that wooden staff made of roots activated a kind of mystical network (similar to the walls of the Entimateca, although made of something similar to chalk). It was joined by runes and intertwined nodes, continued between the stalagmites, submerged in underground streams and ended in half-destroyed statues of the goddess Díz, goddess of experience in Combat. They carried something in their hands, something like a basket of apples, due to its shape.
"This is the Chamber of Daguib, discovered by the noble tyrant Cosse, who led the remaking of Edom and commanded our people. We elves have learned to use these carvings as a system of essence, which extends within the rock and feeds Trace into the citadel".
"Now I understand: these traces come from the underground channels, " crouching with her palms open, while the energy they gave off moved her hair and clothing.
"I knew that the quintessence of the desert was not enough to supply an entire commune, "the craftsman contemplated runes and goddesses, making noise with his bone talismans.
"While she was alive, Edom drank from the Underground Trail, just as we do from water. Díz, Capia, Ahia, Nephia and Ginna granted us their five lifelines, with which we survived, until a skilled sorcerer named Idhunn developed the mysterious art of geomancy, making use of premystical tribal knowledge, alchemy and sorcery. However, at the time of his departure from office, the long-lived elf moved with his only offspring to the chambers of Sir Gerlofs, human commander".
"There's something I don't understand. Why is all this of interest to Shine? " turning to Larsel".
"His interest can be summed up in one word: Carmot."
"Carmot does not exist. According to legend, the goddess Díz granted it to her people in exchange for worship."
"Oh, it's as real as we are, my dear! " activating the missing runes with just a tap of his staff, illuminating the entire place.
"Impressive, "looking closely at the ceiling of the inner chamber, also covered by those marks. "I was never a staunch devotee of elven traditions, but if my teacher is right and Idhunn kept it secret out of spite, or if she decided to share it with Gerlofs out of admiration, it is obvious that the formula was buried in the past".
"Or, it turned out to be a farce by the foolish alchemists," shaking the sand from his orange hair.
"Sorcerers don't get along with them, do they? " scratching his ear with the tip of an amulet.
"They are superstitious, we are skeptical".
"Wasn't it the other way around?" The elf looked at her, confused.
"Tomorrow morning, first thing in the morning, follow the northeast stream towards the remains of the heroic borough, recover the recipe, and no matter what happens, don't let it fall into the wrong hands. You'll have to hurry, because we're not the only ones interested in it."