Desert Trek - I

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[149] Nymaya: Desert Trek - I
Fri Aug 7 04:54:33 2009
To: New_Thalos All ( Rp )
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Her trek into the desert hadn't been intended to last more than a week
but the factors that often decided the course of her life had never been
easy to navigate or chart. And in this instance, she hadn't been entirely
prepared to handle the storm that had arisen upon her.

She'd clearly traveled too far from her intended destination and so, when
the giant wall of sand had descended upon her, she had barely managed to
work her exhausted way to the ruins spied in the distance. Most of the
buildings had been decimated but one had managed to withstand the awesome
force of the desert and offered four walls and a roof. It was in this place
that she weathered the blasting sands and the unending howl of the wind, so
loud that it aided her in the repression of the memories she had come out
here to work her way through.

Many days passed in this way. She hadn't thought a desert storm capable of
such extended violence but there was never any lax in the wind or the
driving sand that kept her prisoner. The drifts built up dangerously around
the window and the arched doorway before they began to pour into her
shelter, driving her back further into the dark room. It soon became
apparent that if she did not brave the dangerous weather, she might find
herself buried.

Trapped on either side with the threat of death, she resolutely wrapped
herself in her desert garb and decided to take her chances with the storm.
It was better to face death head on rather than hide in the dark, waiting
for it. The thought struck her as ironic, being that she had been accused
of doing such a thing when she'd taken the proffered sanctuary of Verminasia
over the death that had waited out in the wilds - where she had been
expected to remain in the wake of her banishment.

Old anger managed to burn alongside the drive to survive as she forced
herself into the very teeth of the wind and sand. All sense of direction
had been erased. There was no sun and little visibility during the day and
even less during the night while the storm raged, leaving her blinded and
wandering. Thirty-six hours or more had passed without a change in the
weather since she'd left shelter, leaving her on the ragged edge of
exhaustion as she forced herself past endurance. She'd begun to notice a
growing darkness on the horizon that she felt fairly certain was a low range
of mountains. It meant she was severely off course but if she could make
the mountains, her chances of survival would increase.

It was strange to be faced with death in this way, though it had previously
never failed to cross her mind. It brought forth unique and pertinent
questions that any mortal being might ask themselves. It made her wonder at
the reasons that were driving her even then to grasp at survival.

She stopped abruptly then, almost knee deep in the lee of a dune that she
had been scaling. Her lungs were burning, her muscles and limbs drawn
almost to their limit, her mind a strangely calm fog in the midst of the
roaring wind and unmerciful sands. A memory of survival triggered by her
inner question.

So long ago, she had taken the King of Shalonesti's offer of life because
death at the hands of Shalonesti for a crime she had never committed would
have been ignominious. She had given up the Song in the hopes that her
sincerity and pleas of innocence would be heeded. And in the end, she had
been lured to Verminasia when all hope had been dashed by the Matriarch and
the Queen.

It happened to be but one instance during which, she had managed to survive
against the odds.

-cont-