View

At last, the dark wooded trees had finally thinned out, revealing before me a steep dune of ash. I looked up at its peak, the gray surface submitting to the winds rhythm, dancing in the flowing air. The ash cascaded down the sifting dunes like sand being disturbed. I approached the base of the slope, its steepness becoming more apparent now as my feet sunk into the thickened ash. I stepped forward onto the slope, the powdery gray immediately enclosing my boot up to the ankle. There was no way I would be able to get up with just my legs alone. I reached out, planting both my hands into the ash. I bent both my legs and pressed my knees into the dune side, my shins leaving long imprints where they were. I began to crawl, careful not to slip back down the sliding slope. Soon, I was able to peer over the top of the gray dune, laying my eyes on the journey ahead.

I stared ahead across the ashy waves, the shadow of the kingdom now nearly taking up my entire line of sight. Its shape was grand, yet loomed with an atmosphere of vacancy like it had not been tended to for quite some time. Despite its shadowy surface, I was finally able to view some of its details that emphasized clearly just how small I was in comparison to it. The bottom half of its silhouette was taken up by a high wall. The rampart featured tall cylindrical towers at each corner of its shape. Just peeking out the top of the construction of stone bricks, I saw the shadow of a steep triangular roof with several towers poking out of its sloped surface, nearly reaching the black sky above. The menacing silhouette it cast was still so far, yet just its walls alone were taller and more grand than any structure I have ever seen.

I laid my gaze upon it for quite some time, appreciating the beauty of its colossal ambiguity. I had no clue what lied ahead of me, but I felt that I could find something of value within those walls. A gust of ash suddenly flung itself into my face, taking me out of my awe filled trance. I averted my gaze downward to the invisible path I laid in my mind and began my march forward over the sifting dunes. The wind seemed rougher than before, but maybe that was just because I had gotten use to the gentle breeze that snaked through the burnt woods, being dampened by each tree. I carefully descended and ascended the steadily morphing slops of the gray dunes, the ash at my feet burying my footprints as I lifted my foot from it. I followed this up and down pattern of traversal for quite some time, the wind and landscape giving me trouble as I went along. I mindlessly wandered as this stagnant pattern of travel swept my thoughts away, until something in my view broke that pattern.

From the top of a dune, I saw a set of three dilapidated houses, two of which had been buried in ash, but one still stood firm. I approached swiftly, abandoning the cautiousness I had moments ago to get to the only house standing, my empty stomach acting as my driving force. I slipped hastily up and down the final dunes before finding my feet planted in front of the chipped down wooden door. Its rustic details were splintered and severely damaged, its light brown color doing nothing to hide the its flaws. I placed my hand on the black rugged handle, its curvature melding with my palm. With a weak movement, I pushed forward, the sound of the old hinges cracking at the light force. The dim light of the monochrome outside seeped around my back, dimly lighting the dusty interior. Its layout was fairly similar to that of the first house I scavenged, just with no furnace and other things in slightly different places. I took a step, not realizing the small table that was propped next to the front door. My arm hits it, knocking whatever was on it down to the floor with a loud crash. With the fall of the fragile items, a deep masculine voice bellowed from the darkest corner of the room.

"Arh! Who goes there?" He yelled.

I flinched, knocking the entire table over this time, its legs shattering with the fall. From the shadow of the stone brick corner, a large man got up from the bed that was far too small for his stature. His height was about half a foot over mine, his presence startling me, as it felt as though he came out of nowhere. He stepped forward, his face coming into the light. He had a thick, dark brown beard with a silver streak of curled hair running down it. He hair was short and unkempt. His eyebrows were well defined and his eyes were sunken and further pronounced by the bags under his eyes. He wore a long, brown cloak stained with streaks of ash gray, the fabric held together by a metallic piece at the neck area. Under his cloak, I could make out dark saggy pants and a tattered tunic.

"Shut the door, will thee? The ash will cometh in. Ah, but it would be too dark then." He said.

With that, I reached into my bag and pulled the long stone item out and ignited it, light bursting forth, gently damping the room in soft illumination. I reached for the doors edge and pushed it closed, the sound of the wind fading as the door shut.

"My, that's a fine ruin piece thou havest there miss." He responded.

"Ruin piece?" I questioned.

"Ha! So thee claimest it without a clue!" He laughed.

I fiddled the thing in my hand, cluing to the mysterious man to explain what it is. He seemed to have caught on.

"Now now, settle down. We haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Mendaciu, a mere traveler in search of... well whatever I come across." He said with a smile.

"I'm a traveler as well." I said on instinct. "I'm..." Suddenly the words could not come out. It was like I was missing something. My name; I had forgotten my name.

Immediately Mendaciu noticed my struggle for words and asked a question I did not expect.

"Does thou happen to keep a dragon tooth on thee?" He asked with a hint of concern.