"This world's gone mad," sighed the rider of a carriage as his caravan faced a blockade with armored guards. He faced the four passengers. "Stay quiet, everyone." Said the man as he noticed that he soldiers had the emblem of the Crescent Moon on their vests.

"Halt," shouted a female guard. "No one is allowed to leave the surroundings of the Gulf of Misra for the next 13 days."

"May the peace be upon you too, sister." Remarked the driver jumping off his carriage and petting the two exhausted camel-elephants that had dragged him across the cold night in the desert. "This place is nowhere near the Gulf. What are you talking about? I'm not just anyone, by the way. I am an old friend of the watch's captain and he'd never boss me aroun-"

"I'm the watch's captain." She replied.

"Oh," he glanced at his carriage and scratched his forehead. His insides wrapped and no word left his throat. "Now that's just something else."

"We'll investigate the carriage." Said the woman as her men surrounded the caravan. "Step aside."

"Wait, wait, wait--" The rider rose his right arm and approached his passengers. "Uncle, negotiate with them for a moment."

He pulled a man outside and disappeared among the passengers.

"You'll have to go now, Aziza." Rustled the rider to a woman who concealed her face beneath wraps. "Don't look back. We'll keep them busy here." He rested his right hand upon her veil and shoved the cloth to the side to caress the head of a child. "These guys are benders, so don't expect that we'll hold them for long."

"W-What have I ever done to deserve all of this from you?" Rustled the woman staring at him with tears in her eyes.

"Promised to flee with young me and then left him hanging as you went to marry some sheikh instead." He sighed afraid as the steps of the guards grew louder outside. His lips trembled and he could not tell if he felt fear or if he counted every second that he could spend next to Aziza. The man frowned upon the child who slept unaware of the harsh world that lurked closer to him with every second. "Does this little guy have a name yet?"

"I just thought of one," she rose her eyes towards the man and spoke the rider’s name as tear shined upon her cheek. "Hadi."

Hadi faced her without expression on his face. Her words stroke him deeper than a blade ever could.

"Leave the carriage now!" Shouted a soldier from outside. Yet the man did not react. He faced Aziza and her son named as a thief glares at his treasure.

"You think..." uttered Hadi as he swallowed his fear. "There is a world where we both will grow old together?"

She sobbed:

"I wish."

The guard screamed again:

"This is your last warning!"

The baby in Aziza's arms cried with the shout. A curtain of eyes widened upon him.

"There's a child inside!" Yelled the Captain. "Bring it to me now!"

"Damn it!" Yelled Hadi swinging the tip of his whip at the camel-elephants' backs. The animals moaned loud and heaved their bodies against the guards. The man shook with excitement. "Get us outta here, you dumb pests--"

A pillar of earth rose from beneath the carriage and impaled the vehicle. A cloud of sand rose from the ground as the rising ground threw the passengers flying off the freight. The ropes tying the camel-elephants to the carriage broke and the animals spread across the desert amidst the chaos.

"Hadi... H-Hadi..." coughed Aziza as she faced her baby. She held him as if she carried her own life.

"Please, Aziza, run! There is no time!" Yelled the rider’ss uncle as he pulled her off the ground. "Get through the mist--"

He flew against the ground with blood on his chest.

"Adil, no!" Recoiled Aziza closing her eyes as she ran away from the destroyed carriage. Yet the echoes of screams, blades and pain moved faster than her legs ever could. The voices of the dying haunted her. "I'm so sorry," she rustled to herself as the wind carried her tears. "Adil, Hadi..."

The guards sought the corpses paving the ground around the fallen caravan.

"There is no trace of a baby, Captain." Said a guard. "Did she get away?"

"Unless she grows wings and flies," the Captain frowned upon her feet and smirked as if she could hear Aziza's desperation weighing upon the ground with her every step. "No one gets away from me. After her!"

Aziza ran through a tiny village of anglers near the Middle Sea. She cried as the violent waves swallowed the beach and begged her to deliver Hadi to their cares.

"I can't..." She sobbed as she kneeled upon the edge of a harbor and her reflection eclipsed the Red Moon hovering over the water. "I'm so weak."

Her tears crawled down her face and drizzled upon Hadi. His crying ceased in spite of the voice of the guards that grew louder:

"They said that she ran to the harbors! Go, now!" Ordered the Captain as she closed the doors to an old home.

Aziza sobbed as she rested her son inside a basket. His face reddened to cry as he stretched his arms to reach her and she could not pull him back towards her chest.

"I'm sorry," she pulled a bracelet off her arm and wrapped around Hadi's neck like a necklace. Her fingers danced over the jewel and the clay in the object deformed itself, forming the word "Hadi" in her language. "This gift is so that you'll go far..." Explained Aziza. "But always remember why and where you came from."

She embraced Hadi as if she could give him her heart and rested him on the basket. She delivered him upon the water and watched the waves drag him away as he cried for her to bring him back.

"You hear the crying?" Asked a guard. "There! In the harbor! I found them!"

Aziza nonchalantly stared at her son as he moved away. Her lips mumbled a lullaby as if the wind could carry her words and calm him.

"There's a better place waiting for you." Spoke Aziza to convince herself that the waters would not pull him to the depths of the ocean. "I know there is. If there is anyone listening to my prayer, you will survive. You'll be loved and one day you may come back to show us how to." She sobbed. "Good bye. The peace be upon you, Hadi."

"We found him!" Yelled a man with a bow and arrow on his backs. "Over there, in the waves!"

"He's got there fast." Yelled the Captain glancing at her guard.

"Yeah, he did." Replied the man.

"What are you waiting for?" She yelled at him and narrowed her eyes at his bow. "These are the Caliph's orders, Basin; not mine. Kill him!"

The guard rose his trembling arrow at the distant child. Aziza had her eyes closed as she mumbled a silent prayer for him to miss.

"Why are you taking so long? He's getting away!" Yelled the Captain as she pulled the bow from him and aimed at Hadi. Yet she recoiled and lowered the weapon as a tall wave pushed him into the water. "It's unnecessary. He is done. Take the woman and let's go."

Aziza cried with her head on the floor as she heard the news that the waters had taken her Hadi.

The baby sank into the darkness. Yet as he lost consciousness in depths, lights shined in the shadow. Curtains of faces surrounded the child and their bodies glowed. They were Spirits and as if they heard Aziza's prayer, they pulled the child from the waters and guided him to a shore.

A bright Sun of Summer obscured the Red Moon on the sky. A young woman with a skin as pale as snow prayed with a veil covering her arms so they would not tan.

"All I'm asking is for a child, come on!" She kneeled before the shape of a triangular shield with a cross carved in the middle. It wasn't supposed to be hard! The peasants have so many!"

"Duchess, you've done this so many times." Remarked a peasant dressed in black. The years of hard work had carved wrinkles on her face. "Can't we just go back to the castello? There are spirits here."

"The Guardian will hear me! 12th time's the charm!" She insisted.

"I'm sorry, Duchess Livia, I have to go. I can't burn the food."

"Whatever, I don't need you anyway!" Insisted Livia with both hands wrapped together. She noticed her servant's silence and searched her surroundings. "And now that I'm finally alone and there is no one to judge me," she walked away from the forest and reached the beach. A couple spirits roamed around a starfish laying upon the sand.

"Ciao!" Shouted Livia at the creatures, excited.

The spirits flew away to hide behind the rocks. Even the starfish somehow dragged its body faster to get away from Livia:

"I'm feeling so profane for asking you something, but..." she blushed as she followed the spirits. "Can you give me a child? People are starting to say things about my husband."

The Spirits hid beneath stones and she uncovered them.

"Please?" Finished Livia. "I'll do anything--"

She heard a cry echoing from behind her.

“What?”

A baby with an appearance exotic for her land slept in a basket. Livia's eyes filled with light as she saw the summer’s sunlight engulfing him.

"Yes! Yes!" She rose the child from the basket. "It's perfect, thank you guys," she glanced at the spirits and they stared at each other, confused. "I don't think this will solve the problem, but who am I to judge? He's adorable and so quiet!” exclaimed Livia as she hugged him tight. “He even came with a cute..."

She frowned upon the language of the Caliphate written on his neck. Livia gritted her teeth and wrapped her hand around the necklace to snatch it away but his cold neck repelled her hand.

"Wait, are you sick?" Livia recoiled in despair. "Don't worry, boy, keep calm! Giulia will take good care of you! And I'll call you..." she smiled with tender in her eyes as she rose him towards the Sun. "Verano."

Avatar: the Wild Lands

Map of the Wild Lands for reference.