Forgetful Sands

This walk was taking eternity. The further she walked the further it seemed she still had to go. Trekking through this desert was not only hot it was never-ending. The further she traveled into the desert the less she remembered. Her world was slowly leaving. Her memories were slowly disappearing. Her mind was losing its ability to remember. What was she taking this walk through the desert for?
There were four travelers slowly walking through the desert. The heat was intense. It was seeping into their minds making them forget what they were supposed to remember. Alcar shook her head and tried desperately to remember. She knew something was vital to them. It was the reason for their very existence. They were traveling through this desert to save something. Or was it to retrieve something? She wished she could remember.
"Toza, can you remember what we=re doing here?" She looked over dazedly and asked the man walking beside her.
"We are on a quest to retrieve the pantarich crystal from the center of the Forgetful Sands." Toza replied "The sands must be getting to you.” Toza stopped and touched her arm making her stop also. He looked at her face. “Have you not drunken of your water this hour? You do remember that if you do not drink your water every hour your memory will cease to be there. Please quench your thirst.” He slowly reached for her water skin that was on her waist. “Before you forget all that you must remember."
He slowly removed her water skin from her belt and held it to her lips, urging her gently to drink.
The skin was filled with water that was laced with a special powder that made the magic of the sands unable to affect the travelers’ memories. A moment after Alcar had taken a couple of drinks from the water skin Toza handed the skin to her and turned to the rest of the party. He spoke very carefully so as not to frighten the rest of them in case they too had waited to long to drink from their skins. "Hansata, have you quenched your thirst yet this hot hour?"

The young girl answered with such attitude he knew that her memory hadn’t been affected "I know when I’m thirsty you old oaf. I’m not as addle brained as Alcar. She didn’t drink when the rest of us did a little while ago. She was busy staring off into the desert. I didn't say anything because I wanted to see if it was true. I wanted to see if she would lose some of her brains like the elders said we all would. I wanted to see if these sands can really take away your memory. I guess they were right. Alcar looked like she couldn’t remember her own name a few minutes ago." Hansata was the youngest of the group and she seemed to have something to prove. At the age of fifteen when most young girls were at home trying to learn how to be the best wives and mothers they could be, she was adamant that she could and would be the best warrior of her tribe. The knowledge that only one other woman had ever been a warrior from her tribe made her even more determined. She knew that the other women would look at her like they had looked at that other women. They had thought that a women warrior was crazy. However, Hansata knew her great-grandmother had not only been the best of leaders and strongest she had been strong of body and spirit she had also been one of the most intelligent people of her tribe. She had traveled to many places and learned many things. Hansata was determined to show the tribe she was as good as if not better than her great-grandmother. She would earn the right to be leader of her tribe and replace her cousin Rahnara when she came of age. The only reason she had agreed to go on this quest was for the knowledge it would give her.
Toza shook his head in disbelief as Hansata turned away from him and started to walk slowly ahead. He turned to the fourth member of the traveling party. The only one of the group he knew he could speak to without having to worry about his reaction. The two had known each other for many years and been on many quests together. "Mitil have you drank of your skin today?"
The man walked closer to him and gave him a look of disbelief. "Of course old friend. I don=t choose to lose most of my memories to the sands. I=ve seen first hand what these sands can do to a mind. And I don=t choose to forget every one of my lives= lessons by not drinking." He smiled at him then looked over at Alcar.
"Thank the gods the three of us are ok. I hope that Alcar has not waited to long to drink. We need her memories. She must open the invisible gate and let us in. Without her this entire journey is a waste of time and the elders will have to find another way to save our world." Toza shook his head back and forth and sighed looking over at Alcar. She still had a dazed look on her face.
“You worry to much old friend. It’s a wonder you don’t worry yourself to death. If I didn’t know you better I would think you were starting to give up on us already.” He laughed when Toza looked at him.
“You do know me too well old friend. I know I have to give people more time. It just seems such a simple rule to follow. All we have to do is drink every half hour or so.” He shook his head again.
“I think she may have enough on her mind to excuse her for forgetting. Let’s keep going we have to find this place sometime soon.”
They had been traveling for five days. If they were to make it to the middle of the forgetful sands where the temple was located and back with the pantarich crystal before the magic in the skins ran out they must finish the quest in seven more days. Or they would perish in the magical sands. The sands they were traveling in would make them wander throughout the desert until they could no longer function. They would not remember to drink and slowly die of dehydration. The water that they carried had been laced with magical powder. The elders had supplied them with special water skins at the beginning of the journey. They told them that the skins that they were giving them would replenish themselves with water for only eleven days. If they could not complete this journey in eleven days the magic in the skins would run out. Without a magician to replenish the magic they would die of thirst in the forgetful sands.

It was imperative that this journey be successful or all species on this realm would be gone forever. Each of the species were slowly decreasing in number. Each day more and more of them were killed. A new self named emperor was to blame. Tartel had named himself emperor and was executing anyone who dare challenge him. His orders were to execute anyone who was against him. His army chose who was loyal and who was not. He had already taken over much of the land. There were very few civilized areas you could go without having to pledge your allegiance to him. Tartel was determined to make his race the master race. He told each town after he had taken control that the reason he was their new emperor was because of history. He informed them that the way their ancestors had treated his ancestors gave him every right to take what he wanted. He said his race had been treated unfairly for thousands of years. His race had to crawl from the depths of despair but they were back now to claim what had been taken from them so many years before. If you challenged him the new master race would take care of you the way they had been taken care of. They would remove you from their realm of existence.
Thousands of years ago Tartels’ race had been chased off these very lands due to their inability to get along with humans, elves and every other species that inhabited this realm. At the time the humans, elves and elder dragons decided that Tartels race of reptilian like creatures must be stopped. The Zanarions were a menace to the other species that lived together without to many problems. The Zanarions took what they wanted and did what they wanted without regard to anyone else. The only thing that had kept them from taking over so long ago was the fact that they had no regard for any other creature. This included anyone from their own race. They listened to no one. They had no reason to. They were a nasty and vile race. Unable to find a way to control the Zanarions the elders decided to ship them to Cocalita. A large island that was totally uninhabitable by any other race. It was a cruel and sparse land.
The explorers that had found it had cautioned others. They had said there were mountains of fire and anything that lived there must be able to breathe in foul air at all times. They had searched the continent as thoroughly as they could but had to leave due to their inability to breathe the foul air or drink the contaminated waters of the land. The few animals they had encountered on the island had been vicious. They had lost two crew members due to an attack from a creature that looked like a turtle. It had turned out to be something much worse than a turtle.
When the humans had returned to Etel, the largest of the continents, they had written in the books of knowledge of the land that no one could live on. They had described it in as much detail as they could. It was a rectangular island two hundred and twenty miles wide and about one hundred and fifty miles long. It had four mountains on it. The sailors had explained that the largest mountain reached to the sky and the smaller mountains were the size of four houses one right on top of the other. They had written the largest mountain constantly oozed a thick smoking brownish red substance. The other three mountains would smoke all day and night. Sometimes the ground would start to shake and one or all of the three smaller mountains would shoot ashes and brownish red ooze up into the air. They explained the brownish red ooze smelled terrible and would burn through your flesh and innards very quickly. They wrote of the fate of four sailors that had been unfortunate enough to have been hit by the brownish red ooze. It had burned straight through their skin and bones leaving holes in them. The unfortunates had perished from their injuries. The healer that was sailing with them had no knowledge of how to heal an injury so great. They also wrote of the fate of another sailor who had forgotten his water skin while they were exploring. He drank from a stream and within an hour his entire body had turned to liquid. The horrors of the land were worse than anyone could imagine. The sailors explanations were followed by extreme warnings to never go to that land if you wanted to live.
Not long after the explorers returned the elders called a meeting and asked for the sailors’ attendance. They had them explain in detail the island. They then dismissed the sailors and after much thought and deliberation the elders formed a plan to get rid of this evil race for good. They captured twelve Zanarions and put them in cages. They arranged for the sailors who had been to the island before to sail back once again. They explained to the sailors they did not want anyone to ever stumble upon Cocalita. Then they drugged the Zanarions and had them loaded onto the ship without the sailors’ knowledge. Four of the most talented wizards made the journey to Cocalita. They removed the Zanarions from the cages and deposited them on the island while the ship was under a spell to make them sleep. Then they placed a force field around the small continent. The force field was designed to serve two purposes the first was to keep other species from the Zanarions the second was to keep the reptilian race in one place. The next morning the wizards made a big show of putting up a force field around the island and then had the sailors shoot cannons at the island to prove that there was indeed an intact force field. They had never told anyone about the Zanarions removal until they had requested the four travelers to go on this mission. It had been a hidden piece of history. The only thing they told the people was they had gotten rid of them. They never explained it further and if anyone wanted to know what truly happened they never voiced it in public.
Of course they had wanted to destroy the Zanarions. However, they were not allowed to. The great books of knowledge forbid them from eliminating any other race. They were not allowed to totally exterminate another race or their race would be exterminated at the same time. The gods had great power and would carry this out. They had done so before thousands of years ago with the races of Anterian and Fultizar. The two races had been determined to destroy each other.


The Anterians and Fultizars had been fighting for years over the same lands. The races had come together in a great battle. When the Anterian army overtook the Fultizar army they killed everyone except for the leader. The Anterian leader locked the last Fultizar up in a cage and taunted him for five days and nights. The Anterians thought that if they let the Fultizar die naturally they would not be doomed to extinction. (This was written in the great book that they were not to exterminate another race.) But, the last Fultizar tricked the leader of the Anterians to do battle with him. When the spear of the Anterian pierced the heart of the last Fultizar, the Anterians all vanished.

The gods had left proof for all the other races to see. There were two figures forever frozen in a stone battle. In the center of Etel the spear of the Anterian was forever lodged in the last Fultizar. The gods had written in an ancient language on a stone tablet in front of the frozen figures of their fate. It was a warning for future generations of their fate if they exterminated another race. It was a cruel, yet effective way for the gods to keep them from killing each other.
Before they sent the travelers on this journey the elders had tried to tell the Zanarions of the forbidden extinction. They knew the Zanarions had not read what was written in the books of knowledge. But, Tartel had killed all of the messengers that were sent to him. He had also tried to kill two of the elder magicians when they tried to warn him of their eminent extermination by the gods. The wizards survived with numerous injuries. Tartel had seemed to not care about the survival of his species or any other. This had forced the elders to find another way to deal with them.

The elders were not sure how the Zanarions had escaped the force field that had been placed on Cocalita. They were at a loss to explain to the other races why they were in danger once again. The only thing they knew for sure was they had somehow escaped the force field and were now terrorizing the other races. After many days of serious thought the elders had came up with a plan to retrieve the pantarich crystal. The crystal was legend to have the force to rid them of the hated race that had set siege on everyone. The crystal was held in a room in the temple of Balzan that was somewhere in the middle of the forgetful sands desert.

Once the pantarich crystal was retrieved, the elders would use it to put the Zanarions away for the rest of time. The four travelers had been chosen by the elders for this quest. Most of them had known nothing of the others until the day they had been thrust upon each other. The elders had sent runners to the various areas where they lived requesting the honor of their company. The elders had not told them any details. While each of the travelers had tried to get answers the messengers were unable to supply them with any other information. They had all arrived at the grand temple Husen the house of the great elders on the same day. With the exception of Alcar who already lived with the elders. Soon after their arrival they were taken to a secret room that very few knew of and explained the reasoning for their secrecy. They were given as much information as the elders dared to give. They were then given instructions on how they were to carry this quest out.
The travelers were a very diverse group. It included Alcar, half elf half human. She was taller than most female elves her height kept her from blending with the elves even though she had numerous elfin characteristics. Her hair was long and brown, her eyes were the deepest violet they were the most stunning eyes many had ever seen. When you spoke to her her violet eyes seemed to look straight through you. Yet she was a very shy young lady. She kept her appearance mostly hidden by the loose layers of cloth she draped over her everyday wear. The only things that represented her difference were her eyes and the cloth she wore over her everyday wear and the fact that she stayed inside with the elders most of the time. She had been found by the elders’ years before. No one knew where she was originally from. The fact that the elders knew so little about her and had still chosen her to go on this quest made her wonder why. When she had questioned them about her as their choice they assured her she was the one to open the gate. They would give her no further information. They had not revealed to her the information that had made them sure of their choice. The first few days after they had found her as she was sleeping they had tried to test her mind. The mind testing was common for them they tested many village children for magic while they were sleeping. However their testing had not turned up very much information. Her mind was blocked from their view. They were puzzled to find one so young able to block them out so well. They had held council and decided that she must be a gift from the gods and she was sent to them for a reason. She was the first choice on their list for this quest due to the test. They believed her body and mind contained much more magic than would be needed to merely open a gate. They told her that the knowledge to open the gate was hidden deep in her memories and when the time was right; she would know exactly what to do. They had explained to her that since they had rescued her from dead and taken her under their wing instead of leaving her in cold northern lands to perish it was now her duty to save them and others from the Zanarions. She hadn’t questioned them further feeling they knew more about her than she did. However, she had doubts that she would know what to do when the time was right. She had quietly agreed to go on the journey. Her treatment since they had found her had been excellent so she had faith in her elders and felt they must know more than her due to their age and wisdom and the fact that they had taught her all she knew since they found her. The fact that she could not remember any of her past life also gave her little reason to question them.

The elders had chosen the leader Toza for many reasons. He was rather large for a human his strength was unquestionable. They could have chosen another but this human warrior was well known to them his unfaultable knowledge of the land and his inept ability to get the job done. They had never found fault in him and they had found him to be trustworthy and honest. They had sent him on other quests in the past and he had always completed them to their satisfaction. The fact that he had been in many battles and always won had helped in their decision also. They were sure he could take care of Alcar if trouble should arise. His past experiences made him the perfect choice for the elders. He had both the strength and knowledge to lead the key, Alcar to the invisible gate. They were positive he would return with the pantarich crystal and bring safety to them once again.

Their next choice was for defense. They had not been sure if they would need it but felt it better to have someone to back up Toza should the need arise. Their choice was one of the fiercest warrior elves around. Hansata had been chosen for her warriors= skills but when the elders had done further checking on her they felt the information they had received might come in handy. Their sources told them she had a rather amazing ability to move in and out of small spaces like a rat. She could contort her small frame into the oddest positions. Their sources had said that her body seemed to be made of something other than bone. She could contort her body to fit into areas even small children would have trouble getting into. They imagined this might come in handy for the travelers. They were not sure but felt that there might be small spaces that may need to be inspected for the pantarich crystal. The temple had not been visited in many years and no one knew if the temple was still in one piece or whether it had fallen to disrepair.
There had been much indecisiveness on the fourth and final choice. The elders of the group that wanted Mitil to be a part of the quest had defended their choice by explaining that a human know more for thievery than anything else would be needed. They stated that if he could steal from right under so many peoples noses and not get caught then it was a gift of some kind and they felt he would be of use. They had left out the part that he was now in prison for the very reason they chose him. Mitils’ surprise had been evident when the elders approached him with their offer. His first response was to ask the elders if they were sure he was the choice they wanted and not someone else. They assured him he was needed. The tall man was relieved but confused. He asked them why they would trust a thief with their future. They assured him they would indeed trust him after all it was his future too. He had thought they were confused since they had taken him off the butchers block to send him on a quest but decided it was a much better offer than death and accepted.
"So how do you know where this invisible gate is located?" Hansata asked as she walked up next to Toza "If you can't see it how do you know where it is?"
"The gate may be invisible but the temple is not.” Toza answered as he scanned the area with his eyes.
"That still doesn’t answer my question how do we know when we’re at the gate if it’s invisible."
"You cannot walk through a gate can you?" Toza asked her.
"What I mean is, do we just walk into it face first or is there some kind of warning? Because if we’re going to walk face first into a gate made of who knows what then I’m walking behind the rest of you idiots." Hansata told him. She didn’t wait for his answer but she slowed down to get behind the rest of the group.
"You will know when we have come to it. The land is said to change dramatically. The elders informed me you cannot mistake the change. There is said to be a vast garden that lies on the other side of the gate. You can see through the gate but you cannot get to it without the key." Toza explained.
"Ok so we’re going to be able to see where it is. But how do we know where the door to this gate is? If its invisible then how do we know which area we open it from?"
"The door is where the sun meets the earth" Alcar said in a dreamy voice.

"Hey zombie, that made about as much sense as the rest of this trip. If you didn't notice, the sun meets the earth all the way around us. That’s why it’s hotter than a kitchen fire out here. All the way around us nothing is growing because there is too much of the sun meeting the earth.” Hansata threw up her arms in frustration and walked ahead of the group again muttering “If we had to bring a key why couldn't it be one that could go on a ring instead of one that talks and walks? I’m going to look for this stupid invisible gate without the rest of you. When I find it I’ll yell for the key to open it"
"Hansata don't go too far ahead. We are all needed for this quest or we would not have been chosen to do it together." Toza called after her.
"Let the little wench go she'll be fine. I mean where is she gonna go that we can't see her?” Mitil said as he turned and looked around them. “She may be annoying but she’s not stupid. She knows the only way out of here is with the rest of us."
“You are right my friend. I am not used to a female being as headstrong as her.” Toza told him.
"Where are we now? I feel so foggy . . . like I just woke from a dream." Alcar had been walking slowly behind them. Toza and Mitil stopped and turned back to look at her. Alcar stared at them and then blinked her eyes and rubbed them like a small child does when they first awake.
“It seems to have taken a while but your water must be working now. Do you remember why you are in the forgetful sands?" Toza asked her.
"I think so." Alcar said. She had a dreamy look in her eyes still. She shook her head like she was shaking off something then looked around again. "Wait a minute. I do remember. It is imperative that we reach the temple of Balzan. We have to retrieve the pantarich crystal. How many days have we been traveling?"
“Your nap is definitely over. We’re halfway through day five on this wonderful journey to a temple that no one is really sure exists." Mitil told her.
Alcar ignored the last remark she looked at Toza “We must make haste. We only have six more days to complete the quest or we=ll all perish." Alcar started walking again. Mitil and Toza followed slowly behind her. "Why are you two walking so slowly? And where is Hansata?" She looked back at them as she quickened her pace.
"Hansata has decided we are much to slow for her she said she will yell for us when she finds the gate. If you look up ahead you will see her she is that dot over their.” Toza pointed her out to Alcar.
“You mean the one that’s growing smaller by the second. She looks like she’s running. Why are we going so slowly if she’s running ahead of us?” Alcar asked him as she once again quickened her pace.
“You are correct we should be going faster. Please drink once again from your skin so we can run to catch up with her." Toza told her as he reached for his skin.
They drank some water and put away their skins. Mitil looked at the other two and said “On three we run . . . one . . . two . . . three"
The three quickly approached her. It didn’t take them long to realize she had stopped and was starring intensely at nothing.
"I think she has found the gate" Toza said.

When they had almost caught up to Hansata they slowed to a walk. Mitil since he was used to running more than the others was the first to catch up to her. He stopped next to her and stared straight ahead at something that neither Toza nor Alcar could see.
Toza and Alcar joined them a moment later. They immediately saw what Hansata and Mitil were staring at. If you were looking this way from afar, all you saw was sand, miles and miles of sand. But if you stood where they were standing you could see through what seemed to be a window. It was the most beautiful sight any of them had ever seen. It reminded them of childhood stories about a lost fairy forest. They could see the lush green grass and beautiful flowers surrounding a temple in the distance. What they could see of it looked impeccable. To the left of the temple they could see a waterfall that made the sunlight look like it was dancing. It looked like the most peaceful place in all the land.