OOC: This is like one of those places in any video game with just ice or desert. They just keep going.

Even at the advent of another sunset, the land retained its smothering heat, which Toma was certain he'd get used to if he decided to say here a couple days longer. The question was "if," of course, and he still had no convincing reason to stay or go someplace else. He sat upon a bench made of darkened glass, and though it didn't reflect much sunlight, it was still just below scorching. He looked up at a glass domed building and saw at its top an embroidered pattern, either painted or set within the glass.

"There you are!" a cheery voice from behind startled him. He turned to see Dalia, vibrant as ever, even as she was dripping with sweat.

"Oh, hi," replied Toma, "I didn't expect you here."

"You're not very expressive, mind you." Tom paused. "Not lately, no."

"Well try to be! You've been acting so glum it's really starting to annoy everyone."

"Everyone?"

Dalia sat next to Toma on the glass bench. "Everyone. I had a hard time tracking you down, but everyone that's seen you seemed to talk about you the same way, which is how I got here in the first place." She placed a hand on his. "Look, we're both adults, you don't have to bottle yourself up so much."

Toma sighed deeply, and Dalia smirked, then mimicked his sigh perfectly. "Life isn't bringing you wine women song and more women, is that it?"

"You could say that." Toma stared at his sand covered fingers. "Back where I used to live, I made a decent living hunting artifacts from caves and people's cupboards." She looked at him. "Mostly caves. It's strange how many heroes leave chests lying around. I guess you don't need more armor weighing you down once you find something better. Still..."

Dalia remained intent on listening. "Go on."

"Well the point is, I don't have that chance here. There's no real treasure to hunt, at least from what I've seen. So there's really no point for me..." he sighed.

Dalia smirked, wider this time, and punched him in the ribs. "Grow up! 'ooh, no hidden treasure, boohoo!'"

"Hey, I thought you were sympathizing."

"I was. Now I'm not. Look Toma, I run an inn. I work. It's not all that great, but I love it enough to where complaining about it just wouldn't make sense. Maybe you're concentrating on the big picture too much."

"Meaning?"

"You want to have everything lined up for you so perfectly, without going through whatever it is you can't expect. Am I about right?"

"I don't know, I guess so."

Dalia watched a travelling tuna salesman walk by. "Come on," she stood up, "You're a real pathetic treasure hunter if you just sit here."

The tracks were hard to follow, especially nearing the crowded city, and at times they were so dim that the only way to follow was the blurry line left in the sand, with maybe a couple minutes to remain intact.

Bran knew once he reached the heart of Brightsand he'd only be able to find her after a couple hours of wandering about, and that was only if the stable owner was talking about the same middle aged man and the same black haired woman who rode off in this direction. But it was the most obvious spot. He grumbled to himself as the stench of chocobo dung from a nearby building permeated his nostrils.

"By Draya, I hate this heat!" Dalia wiped a palmful of sweat from her forehead. As a child, she always liked deserts. She found so many little things lying hidden, as if all the creatures that ended up in the sand had just died there waiting to be discovered. But she wasn't in the mood today for games or exploring, and she wasn't in the mood for the sun beating down so much. "It's not even the weather," said Dalia, "it's this stupid glass they live in. How can they stand it here?" The dome they were in wasn't a restaurant per se, but a water serving area for travelers (which was by no means free of charge).

"I thought you said not to complain so much," said Toma. "I never said that. I said it doesn't accomplish anything. It still feels fine though. Damn greenhouse, this city... grrrr..." Toma smiled briefly. "So what should we do now that we're here?" "Well," Dalia reached into satchel, "You won't make a good treasure hunter without this," she pulled out Toma's knife. He was about to sigh again, but decided against it. "I was hoping never to see that again." "Really? I thought it was taken from you." "It was, yeah, but... I'm not really sure about being "destined" to even use it. If I were really in some kind of prophecy, wouldn't that make it impossible for me to die unless I fulfill it?" "Maybe..." "And of course that would make me immortal, which I'm not. So I'm more convinced the ones who gave it to me had a simple wish, not any kind of prophecy." Dalia smiled. Her water jug had arrived with Toma's, which only had a couple grains of sand in it. "If you want to believe in it that way. I guess if something was destined to happen, and I mean really destined to happen, and you prevented it from going through, then the whole fabric of reality would tear apart and we'd all be floating in midair from now on." She smiled, resisting a laugh. "Sure..."

Kuhhalu, descendant to Ashnu. Argolis, heir of Tsar Tan. Borlin, father of Tash. Kesniv, godfather to the Melak'ket. Warrior. Hunter. King. Priest. All proud and noble to their lineage. All possessing the knowledge and power of a hundred journeys to distant lands. All experienced in their own lives, on their own worlds. Slayers of monsters. Peacemakers in war. Representatives of their people. And each of them was no longer alive.

As their life energy shifted through the endless webbing of veins and slop, waiting and growing for the master of the lair to return and feed, one capsule of hibernation remained cracked and empty. Standing tall, naked, and hairless, almost a featureless figurine, stood a woman who served Anacortes only a few days ago. One who, in her previous life, knew logic and the strategies involved in combat.

But now, as the nutrient-rich slime replaced her warm red blood, and the minds and life forces of the chamber had twisted and perverted her once human form, the only inkling of her past was but a single memory -the moment she had been struck, helpless, and left to die for the amusement of others in the most humiliating and dishonorable way. And with that thought, the only logic left within her brain was a single, unshaking lust to kill.

She walked up the cavern steps, slowly, drudgingly up past Anacortes bedchamber, down the long stone hallway and past the gates, into the open air and the mountains. Anacortes watched intently as she kept distant, ordering her men to stand still and ignore this strange thing that walked past.

A smile crept along her face. Things grew curiouser still.

"Mmm..." Dalia rested her head on Toma's shoulder. He was a little surprised at first, but her weariness grew more obvious as dawn was upon them.

Toma kept staring into the sands. "Treasure hunting never gets this relaxing..." He remained still as always, wondering about the future. Maybe he'd accomplished all he had to in this life. There really wasn't much more for him that a real group of heroes couldn't do. He remembered the three at his grave site, each battle ready, as if chosen from birth for greatness. He was neither, he reminded himself, and there was little reason to think he would be.

"Toma," Dalia whined with both eyes shut, "you're thinking again aren't you?" "Of course I'm thinking." "Well stop." They rested against a small mound of sand, hardly a dune as the land was kept mostly flat by travel. "I don't find many quiet moments like this, Toma." The air remained calm, like a beach with no tide. Minutes passed with nothing more than the air around, the sand against their feet, and themselves close by. Nations had fought over this kind of peace.

"THERE YOU ARE!" a loud voice from behind startled them. "Oh, hi..." Toma blinked.

Behind them, Bran Kraven stood with both arms crossed. "This better be good. I haven't heard a decent story in quite some time." "Sir, look I didn't-" "Get up, you little bugger." "He wasn't bugging anyone," said Dalia. "I believe he meant to imply-" "AHEM! Before we start our own little circus, I'm only going to ask both of you to explain while I walk you two home." "But-" "In the meantime, I'm tired, crabby, and not willing to hear anything else but the blunt truth. Now come along."

As their footsteps plodded into the deep sands, Dalia looked at Bran, as if saying with her eyes, "Please trust me," though she was unsure if he truly would. "Shouldn't we get a mount?" asked Toma. Bran stared at him. "Uh, I meant to ride on." Bran stared some more. "I mean so we can go faster." "Don't make me hurt you, boy."

As they walked farther along, Dalia saw a bright flicker in the corner of her eye. "Look, over there!" All three turned to the far off hillside, south of where they were headed.

Bursting as if from a giant furnace, a tower of flame spewed from behind the grassy hills. It was quite a distance away, but even from where they stood they could tell it was enormous.

"By the stars..." Bran's jaw remained open. Another burst of flame, this time in the shape of an arc, careened into the night sky and lit part of the grass in its glow.

"A dragon?" Dalia's eyes widened.

"But how?"

"Toma began to tense. "I didn't think you had dragons around here."

"We don't." Bran remained staring into the distance. "The only ones alive now are both hidden and extremely rare."

"Then how would one get here?" Tom could hardly imagine the sheer enormity of something creating flames at the size they witnessed. "Wouldn't the townspeople in the area already know about it?"

"We don't know how long it's been here, boy... But I'm getting a better look."

"Bran?" Worry crept over Dalia's face.

"Just enough to catch a glimpse. Whatever it's doing, or however it got here, it'll be too busy to notice us if we stay cautious."

"I hope it's not vicious. They say the largest ones are the most intelligent, and if it's possible to actually talk to it..." Toma looked at her.

"What?"

"It might even be storing some gold, "she smiled. "You won't be a jobless treasure hunter then, now will you Toma."

Though they knew not to get any hopes up yet, the sound of Toma's heartbeat seemed to drown out his own footsteps, as they slowly crept to the hills to catch a glimpse.

Next: Flames, flames everywhere