With every step they took, their forms changed. Vaika was no longer in her nurse outfit, now covered by layers and layers of baggy clothes, made from cotton. They were a mixture of white and grey, covering her from top to bottom.

Wound around her hand was cotton strips, leaving no skin exposed. They were soil-laden, dirty from a lack of washing. There were signs of tear on her clothes, with the bits flailing due to the wind. She caught hold of a long flying ribbon, tore it from her dress, and tied it around her hips, securing it.

A turban fully covered her head, only baring her eyes. Hung on her back was a large bag, made from goatskin. Contained within were an array of materials, the top securely held by a rope. Every step she took caused her feet to sink into the sand, with some of it collecting in the folds on her shoe.

Her shoe was made from tough leather, wound by a layer of cotton to reinforce it, furthering the insulation. "Watch your step, Shishya. Don't take wide strides. We might come across sinkholes or the lair of monsters from this region onwards." [1]

Her voice was hoarse, barely feminine. It could be said to be gender-neutral, or the voice of a boy in his teenage but more mature. Even the way the cloth was wound around her made her frame wider, like a man. There was zero resemblance to her slender figure from before.

"Yes, Guru." Jyorta nodded, carrying a similarly-sized bag made from goatskin. He was similarly dressed, the way the clothes were wound around him widened his frame. His voice too was hoarse, having a resemblance to Vaika's. He was currently short, his stature only reaching the shoulder of Vaika. [2]

His appearance, height, body frame, walking posture, the weight of his body, and even his body odour had changed, as if he was inhabiting a foreign body. But Jyorta didn't sense anything amiss, acting as if everything was normal.

When they reached a dune, the Guru motioned with her hands; the two crouched immediately, peaking with their heads to gaze beyond. The Guru sighed, "Another battle had taken place. We'll move after 60 breaths had passed."

"Yes, Guru." The Shishya replied.

"Also," The Guru turned around, her red eyes expressing caution and vigilance, underneath what lay care, "When we move and encounter anyone from the Clans, you know what to do right?"

"Yes," The Shishya nodded, her eyes similarly red from enduring the sand and heat, "I'll behave like a proper male."

"Your voice is still not hoarse enough. Don't talk unless necessary." The Guru said before facing forward, looking at the battle taking place a fair distance away.

Men rode horses, emitting battle cries, slashing with their swords or scimitars, spilling blood along their wake. Two forces collided with one another, slashing and tearing into each other. One side wore the skull of a Goat on their heads, ones that were large enough to fit them. The one that led them wore a goat skull that had the biggest horns of the lot, their curves pointed towards the front, shining with a menacing hue under the sunlight.

The other side sported the jawbone of a clawed beast on their lower jaw. It seemed to have been stitched into them as the jawbone moved in sync with their mouths. They possessed a small horn peaking out on their chin while their leader possessed two horns peaking out on his chin, slightly curved forward, their ends glinting under the sun.

The leader from the jawbone side raised his scimitar to the air, shouting as he beheaded a warrior fighting him, "The Meka Clan have gone overboard today by aiming for our prey."

The leader from goat skull side bellowed in return, parrying a sword blow to his head, "It was us who killed the Fire-Tailed Snail. It rightfully belongs to us. You Mosali clansmen have breached the rules of the Crimson Desert by trying to claim prey you hadn't hunted."

"Bullshit!" The leader from the Mosali Clan shouted in anger, pointing at the corpse of a massive beast that lay nearby, "The puncture wound on its shell was from our Chief when he attacked it yesterday. As we had wounded it first, it is ours to claim."

"Our Chief had actually attacked it three days ago. Look at its eye for proof. That was a result of his attack. We were the first to injure it and we were the ones who dealt the final blow. According to the Crimson Desert rules, the Fire-Tailed Snail is the property of the Meka Clan."

"Lies, our Chief tracked its home…"

"Our Chief…"

Looking at the scene of iron and blood, the Shishya shuddered, "Is there a need to kill each other for a beast?"

"If it was a wild animal, they would have resolved it through talk or at worst, an unarmed fight between two representatives." The Guru shook her head, "But, it is a beast. The Clan that obtains it would gain a huge boost in strength."

"How?" The Shishya was confused, gazing at the corpse of the Fire-Tailed Snail while trying to see if there was anything special about it.

"There is nothing special about the beast itself. But, stored in its heart is a special type of blood, its essence. Every beast has that. After extracting this blood, the Clan Shaman would inscribe tattoos on the back of a warrior, allowing him to wield special powers."

"Special power," The Shishya muttered, her gaze dimming, "Why am I unable to use them?"

The Guru smiled, rubbing her head as she said, "Just inscribing the tattoos isn't enough to wield the power in them. Specific conditions must be achieved before you can activate them. And, these conditions vary for each tattoo."

"Then," The Shishya gritted her teeth, "What is the condition to activate mine?"

"You'll know when it happens. Unlike the tattoos of others, if we know the condition to activate ours, then it would never activate for the rest of our lives. That is why you have to be patient." The Guru coughed once, spitting out some sand in her mouth, "When it is time, you'll know."

"Then, are there others with this tattoo?" Seeing the fight entering a fervour, the Shishya hesitated for a moment before asking.

The Guru sighed, "Usually, the size of the beast's heart determines the essence it possesses in it. Usually, a beast only has enough essence for one tattoo. If it had more, then the contest for it would become even more of a bloodbath."

She gazed at the battle, speaking in a solemn tone, "There was once where a beast had the essence enough for two tattoos. Three clans fought for it, causing a mutual annihilation of all three. The sole survivor, who also happened to be a Clan Shaman obtained the essence and inscribed a tattoo on her back and used the remaining essence…"

She looked at the Shishya, "To inscribe a tattoo on her disciple."

"Haap," At this time, the leader from the Meka Clan shouted, raising his scimitar, slashing at the leader from the Mosali Clan. When the leader from the Mosali Clan defended against the strike, the back of the leader from the Meka Clan shone with red light, flowing through his right arm before condensing into his scimitar.

When he swung it next, the projection of a hooved beast with massive horns appeared, raising dust as its hooves dug into the sand, colliding into the leader from the Mosali Clan who couldn't react in time.

He barely managed to activate his tattoo, creating a claw before him that defended against the hooved beast. Since he had haphazardly summoned it, his claw wasn't strong enough, swiftly breaking as the hooved beast crashed into him, puncturing his stomach.

"Bastard," The leader from the Mosali Clan cursed, flying a fair distance before crashing into a dune, sliding on its slope weakly, blood covering his wake.

"Leader," His Clansmen shouted before leaving their battles as they converged around him. One of them swiftly descended his horse and picked up the leader, checking his state before cursing, "Our leader can no longer fight. Let us retreat."

He looked at the leader from the Meka Clan, "We will be back."

They swiftly retreated from the scene.

The leader from the Meka Clan shouted at his Clansmen, "Swiftly extract its heart. Leave behind the rest, for now, we'll come for them later. If anything happens to the beast's heart, our Clansmen would have died in vain."

The Meka Clansmen began to extract the heart while the leader cut off the earrings of everyone dead, including his enemies. He put them in a leather bag and tied it up his waist, "May you reincarnate into our Crimson Desert as brave warriors once again."

He offered the prayers to the deceased of both the allies and enemies, showing no discrimination, even though they fought a life and death battle just now. Soon, once they stored the heart of the beast, they kicked their horses and fled from the scene.

Winds continued to blow, displacing the loose sand everywhere. Within a couple of breaths, a faint layer of sand had formed on the dead bodies, humans and horses alike.

"We should get going now," The Guru spoke, covering her eyes with a thin cloth, using the bare minimum visibility to move forward. "We will reach the Harvest Oasis in seven days. We can replenish our supplies there."

"Yes, Guru." The Shishya nodded, accompanying her as the two journeyed through the blistering heat, amid billowing winds.

[1] Shishya: Disciple in Sanskrit

[2] Guru: Master of a field in Sanskrit

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