Brannan paused and kneeled at the edge of the creek to fill a bit of his well worn water pouches. Cautiously surveying the area, he hastily scooped as much water as he could find into the leather packs. There was no time for him to dally here; this was no place for a battle to be fought and won. As Brannan got to his feet, he shielded his eyes from the blinding sun, straining and squinting to see past the horizon. Brannan could faintly make out the outline of an enormous sand dune that the locals called the Harenae, according to what he had heard at the pub in Siccumsurb.
What I could do with a nice refreshing ale at the moment.... Brannan sighed and licked his dry, chapped lips, absentmindedly rubbing his water pouches with his thumb. Brannan wearily trudged over to Flare, his boots sinking deep into the scorching sand, grimacing as some of the sand made its way to his toes, nestling in between them like a whore forcing her way into bed with a pair of faithful lovers.
Flare snorted, kicking up sand upon Brannan's arrival as if to tell him of her annoyance of waiting for him in the heat, startling a few rabbits to dart into the bushes to hide. Or rather, what was left of them. The bushes which were once lush and positively glowing green with life were now completely barren, the empty branches barely concealing the rabbits' frightened eyes which were anxiously peering at Brennan and Flare. The Deep Woods are dead.
"Flare, Calidi awaits. Our journey is nearly over." Brennan gently stroked Flare's reddish brown mane, as Flare snorted and neighed with approval.
It had been 9 months since Brennan had set off on his adventure, desperately trying to find an answer to what really happened that day.
His beloved, vibrant Deep Woods died in a single day and no one knew why.
Without warning and what seemed to last only a few minutes, the Deep Woods died an excurciating death; if it were a person he would have died in seconds from the sheer amount of pain. The trees sank beneath the endless waves of burning sand. Creatures of varying sizes and names, now left without a shelter, were soon consumed, helpless, by the elements. Thousands in nearby villages who depended on the Deep Woods for food also perished in the coming weeks.
But Brennan had found hope in Calidi. There were rumors of a wise, secretive man in Calidi going by the name of Bamba, who had the answers Brennan so deeply craved.
But the way to Calidi was treacherous. He had to summit the Haranae, as going around the monstrous sand mountain would take weeks, even months longer. And Brennan wasn't sure if he had that kind of time.
Brennan hurriedly gave Flare most of the water he had just gotten from the disappearing stream. Flare, having walked for days without water, eagerly drank, and was visibly disappointed when Brennan had no more to offer. "Off we go, Flare." Brennan smiled assuringly at Flare as he hoisted himself onto her back. But as soon as he got on, the skies darkened with a haze of dust and sand. Wind began whipping around the two as they started galloping away towards Haranae