章 8: Crossing the Desert of Death
It was extremely uncomfortable for Ryan to be brought across the desert. The sun was extremely hot and he was freezing during the night. He was strapped to the back of Nailah, so he was constantly being mushed up against her sweaty back which was disgusting. Also, there was the occasional case where sand got into his eyes and mouth, causing him to cry. Probably only the best thing that happened during this journey was that he was able to feel her fur when she was in beast form.
Unfortunately, he was the only one feeling this way. The wolf Laguz had greater endurance and were used to the heat so it did not bother them too much. Also, it was a wonder how Rafiel could keep up with his serene look. It was probably an extra effect that comes with Galdrar since he should be weak physically for being a heron.
The way that Ryan and Rafiel were being transported was on a cart of supplies being dragged by four Laguz warriors. The wolf Laguz would trade places every couple of hours, keeping to a pace. The trip would have been much slower if Rafiel was not there to sing two times a day. That was the best he could do without straining himself.
As the days went on while the group crossed the desert and around the half-way point, a thought popped up in Ryan's mind.
Ryan: 'Why has no one been able to cross the successfully? With enough supplies, it should be fairly simple for a group of people like these Laguz to do. Also, why is this place called the Desert of Death? I mean there is nothing out here except for a bunch of sand.'
Ryan was questioning the logic, storyline, and background of the two Fire Emblem games since they were not adding up. After thinking about it, the reason that there is no information about the desert or the land beyond is probably due to Hatari.
The kingdom of Hatari is shrouded in mystery. The games never delved deep into the background of the hidden kingdom so things like geography, resources, and population were all unknown. The only thing that was known about the kingdom was that it across the desert, it is currently ruled by the wolf Laguz, and that there are humans over there since it was acknowledged that all three races lived in harmony, including the branded.
There was also the question of why Nailah and some of her moved to the kingdom of Gallia. According to what was said, things were all great in Hatari with no racial conflicts. Although, they were isolated, it should not warrant Nailah wanting to migrate her people, she was essentially giving up her kingdom.
Ryan: 'Well, I'll find out eventually.'
Although Ryan was extremely curious, there was no rush. He was going to find out eventually why Hatari is called the 'long-lost kingdom'.
Five days had gone by and with about half a day to go, they were currently almost through with their journey, but the sun was setting on the horizon.
Nailah: "Alright people, let's stop here and rest here for tonight."
The men followed her orders and started to set up camp. They had plenty of wood and dried grass stocked up from Ryan's home so starting a fire was done fairly quickly and could go on all night. Food was also in abundance and soup was plenty and passed around.When everyone was gathered around the fire eating, they all turned towards Ryan to thank his family for the food.
When these Laguz came to the desert, they were just on a mission to wander the desert to scout. They had enough food to last them about a week before they needed to go home, but things took a turn when Nailah found Rafiel. If they rationed their food, they probably could have made it back home albeit starving, but things got worse when she and the newly added heron wanted to go further in the desert. They could not complain since it was leader's order and when they finally found Ryan, they were just out of supplies. Thankfully his home was a farm and there was plenty of food to spare. Quite literally, without Ryan's family, they would have died from hunger.
Nailah: "Hey guys, listen up. I know that we are long overdue to go back home, but we'll be there by tomorrow afternoon. However, I do not want anyone slacking off, we're still in the Desert of Death and it got this name for a reason so stay on your toes."
Although Nailah was trying to sound like a proper leader reminding her men of the potential dangers, it was hard for them to take her seriously when she was carrying Ryan and feeding him. The men were desperately trying to hold in their laughter, some were even hard-biting their own tongues. However, they saw Rafiel openly chuckled and Ryan was also seen spilling some of his milk.
Nailah: "What's so funny?"
Rafiel: "It is quite difficult for us to listen to you seriously with baby in your arms. Come here, give him to me. I'm sure that he's getting tired and sleepy."
Nailah: "Wait a bit, he's not done drink yet."
Rafiel: "I can do that. It is not as though you are his actual mother that stays by him all the time. Everyone else is also able to feed him, but you won't give them the chance."
Even Ryan was getting a bit annoyed with Nailah's behavior. She was constantly bugging and trying to play with him, but he had a role to play. He was also thankful for her since she not only took care of everything going in his body, but also the things coming out.
Eventually, Rafiel wrestled Nailah a bit before being able to take Ryan away from her and went into a tent where both of them will sleep in. The thought was that if anything disturbed the child he was able to sing a tune that would calm him down, but that was rarely ever needed since Ryan had the mind of an adult.
The way that the Laguz wolves set up their camp was surprisingly normal. Unlike how normal wolves huddle up together stay warm, they set up tents for the ones to sleep in their human forms and for the others that keep watch, they stay in their beast form. Needless to say, Ryan and Rafiel both stayed in a tent near the campfire.
In the tent, pretending to sleep, Ryan was awake circulating the mana inside of his body. He has been doing this every night and while sleeping the most when the sun was out. Currently, in game terms, his magic could be considered D rank and he could even cast magic similar to that of Elwind. However, he can only cast this a few times before exhaustion and fatigue sets in. He was constantly reminding himself that he was still a child and that normal problems for adults and teens could be potentially fatal to him.
Sometimes during the night, Ryan would notice that Rafiel would silently sneak out and would come back after a couple of minutes. He was unaware of what he was doing, but it probably was not any of his business.
When the sun came back up, everyone looked ready to go as they were finally going to get out of this incredibly long desert. Soon everyone's mood spiked up because they all saw a grassy green plain at the end of the sands. It was a standard plain field, but the sight of it made the Laguz happy because they knew that they were nearly home.
After walking in the plains for a few minutes, the group saw something in the distance and it was coming towards them fast. It was bandits. A few wolf Laguz were pulling some of their human companions to attack Nailah's group and they were also coming from the left and right.
Even if it was a different country, it still had some problems with bandits. It was fairly common knowledge that bandits usually launch their attacks near the edge of the desert on parties coming back from the desert in hopes for some loot. Even though Nailah was the newly crowned queen of the country, she forgot about this.
Nailah: "And here I thought that it would be a smooth ride once we got out of that godforsaken desert. Men! Get ready to stretch. Time to see if you all still are capable. Our main priority is the safety of the heron and child. Understood!?"
Wolf Laguz: """Understood!."""
Rafiel was also prepared to help them and sang to give them a starting boost. All the Laguz warriors transformed into their beast form and when they were close enough, half of them, including Nailah, charged towards them to meet them head on.
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