Golden Dawn

|Chapter 32 ~ Furious Retribution|

The Sandrîanî metropolis disappeared behind us in a wisp of sandy mirage, the entire desert kingdom swallowed up by the surrounding hills of sand. The sun's rays were sharp and sizzling on my head and droplets of sweat made their way down the sides of my face as we traveled further south. The pendant Gandila gave me felt like ice against my neck, the only thing that managed to help me stay sane in the furious heat.

The warmth was intense, but nothing I wasn't used to back on earth. 

The land however, was absolutely striking. The Sandrîanî desert was beautiful in its own simple way. A colossal sea of sand that seemed to cover every inch of land, stretched out in front of our small party. Each sand particle was bright, its colour almost blinding while they glittered like precious stones in the sunlight.

I gaped at the simplicity of it all. The way everything seemed to be completely open and how the waves of sand joined the very sky above us in a kind of elegant endlessness. 

I was unfortunately too exhausted to really appreciate anything. My breath rasped painfully through my lungs with each step and my legs had become deadweight. Lex walked next to me - the only person who bothered to stay by my side while we trekked through the sandy hills. I wasn't as physically fit for our journey as I would've liked and I appreciated Lex's company.

I glanced at her often - dreading the irritated expression that my slow pace probably invoked - but found nothing but kindness in her blue eyes as she inspected our surroundings instead. Her blond hair was tied up in a rough bun, the strands wild with the heatwave that blew through them ever so often. Her beautiful face was slightly flushed and smeared with sweat. She wore the indigenous Sandrîanî clothing with extra brown cloth wrapped around her arms and legs to counter the harsh rays of sun. Her dark leggings and shirt seemed to form a stark contrast to our almost white surroundings and made her look even more stunning.

She caught my stare and smiled. I returned her gesture and suddenly noticed something I never saw before. A piece of cloth was moved aside to reveal a mark - no scar - on Lex's one arm. I almost gasped aloud in shock at the sheer ferocity of the wound. The scar looked almost faded with age, but I knew it would be forever etched into her skin by the damage with what it was etched into her flesh.

Lex's eyes followed mine and her face immediately darkened. The light in her blue gaze evaporated at once, replaced only with silent fury. 

"You finally noticed." She said, her tone harsh. 

Lex glanced at the rest of our party that began to descend a great hill, leading into a small valley between two great mountains. The rocks that made up the mountains seemed to glitter like pure obsidian. Dark and brooding. The whole setting seemed slightly ominous, but I couldn't manage to focus on anything besides Lex's scars.

"H-How?" Was the only word I could manage. Lex didn't meet my gaze for a while and the silence felt almost painful.

"Jacob and I were born in the same region and thus grew up as childhood friends. Both of our families were sent to The City more or less at the same time." Lex began, her eyes clouded with nostalgia that seemed to travel much deeper than mere recollections.

"It was... very hard on the both of us, especially Jacob. Almost immediately after he was ordered outside the City for work, his little brother died for reasons unknown to everyone at the time. I was the only one who could give him the news since his mother - out of pure grief - had forgone the ability to speak." Lex scowled, the anger in the motion catching me off guard.

"The only thing she did was stare out of her window every single hour of the day."

All sound seemed to disappeared from my pounding mind while I listened.