The hot, dry air whips around in mini spirals, turning a pinkish red with the dust and debris picked up from the sandy desert floor. The faint color gives the illusion of life to the mini tornadoes before they unwound, releasing their contents back onto the ground and losing the animated effect. The very moment the wind dies down, the scorching sun takes over once again, mercilessly baking the desert landscape. Wavy lines of distortion drift from every rock formation, disrupted only when the winds pick up yet again, and the hot, sweltering, air forms the dancing sand ghosts once more.
Traveling through the Aries Desert, it’s hard to imagine any form of life could possibly be sustained in the sandy graveyard. Skulls of beasts long extinct are seen half-buried in sand. Some give the appearance of a bull’s head, but have four horns on the top portion of the skull and three orifices that can only be assumed were for the eyes of the beasts.
Although almost never seen, large, snake-like creatures called sliths creep five feet below the top sand with surprising efficiency, feeling for vibrations above so they can strike the surface and get a quick meal before returning to the cooler sand down below. They go months at a time without food for obvious reasons, but they have evolved to use the necessary combination of low-energy movement, driven by their tiny tentacles, and developed a slow metabolism that requires little sustenance.
A wilted cactus can be seen covered by gray bats sucking the remaining life from the plant. The bats, or “sandbats” as they’re known, are no larger than a man’s fist. Two sharp top fangs and a needle-like tongue exceeding six inches in length are all they need to get whatever juice remains in the dying cactus. When finished, they will continue on for days looking for another, searching with the single black eye nestled in the middle of their foreheads. They search for the rare vegetative life needed to sustain them.
But many miles north, deeper into the wasteland than anyone has ever gone, is a sight so out of place it would appear to be a mirage to anyone that laid eyes on the spectacle. There, in the middle of the sandy tomb, endures a fertile oasis teeming with life. Beautiful palm trees are alive with all sorts of colorful birds, both perched and airborne, singing contentedly without a care in the world.
A babbling brook splits the oasis in half, filled with goldfish both white and orange, each up to a foot in length, lazily swimming to the edge of the stream just to slowly turn around and return the way they came. Exotic fruit trees of all sorts are scattered about randomly, including apple, orange, plum, and some sort of yellow fruit that is not known anywhere in Tarmerria.
Looking deeper into the miraculous sight, a roaring waterfall flowing over the black rock cliff gushes into the brook, cascading mist that generates a permanent rainbow, whose vibrant color is matched only by the exotic birds flying through it.
At the very top of the cliff was a flat area with no trees or birds. The only vegetation was long, green grass with a few dandelions and other weeds mixed in. A jet-black marble tower protruding from the flat surface stands several stories tall. In all its unnatural beauty, it’s quite clear no human created this. The smooth structure represented a stalagmite growing out of the ground. Wide at its base, it continued to grow thinner as your eyes followed the structure from base to top.
At the midway point the tower was half the diameter of the base but now splits into three columns, each reaching up toward the sky. The middle column was straight as an arrow, but the other two each bent toward the center, giving the whole tower the shape of a bent pitchfork. There was no door or entrance that could be seen, but the smoke coming from the middle column made it clear that someone or something lived inside. The interior of the tower was no less impressive than the outside.
The upper level room was full of hand-carved furniture fit for royalty. A large, thick, sturdy wooden table, along with matching wooden chairs of equal quality, was placed in the corner of the room. A large, black, wooden dresser that strangely had no drawers that could be seen stood opposite the table. But the most intricate piece of furniture by far was the king-sized bed that looked to sleep five. The sheets and blankets were checkered with reds, blues, yellows and greens. Set with just as many colors was the giant see-through net that hung from a metal frame surrounding the bed, although the colors were not as bright due to the thin material. It was all a stark contrast to the jet-black, shiny marble floor and the dull, gray stone walls.
The walls were full of tapestries, each with a gold-embroidered edge. Some images were of mythical creatures tearing apart humans, but most were of kings and queens, all with servants surrounding them bowing or holding jewelry placed on a pillow, reaching out toward their masters. Each one looked to have taken months to paint due to the vibrant color and detail.