“I guess this is farewell…for now.”

Tejani gives me another look. I was ready to head to Lam Lathi and my horse was prepared. Even behind his grim eyes, I could tell Tejani wanted to escort me the entire way. I had my tempests with me and so I was sure they were watching in his place. I breathe in a nervously. As long as I didn't get lost I would be fine. Sometimes, Lam Lathi could be strict about it. There were also countryside bandits to worry about. Their strength would be their numbers.

“What if I don’t make it to Lam Lathi….?” I frown. I look down at Tejani from my saddle he pats my horse with with uneasy hands. The reigns were tough with grime. I didn't feel comfortable heading on my way now that my time had finally come.

“Don't think like that, Lani.”

With a last motion, Tejani touches my bootleg. He latches his rifle and points to my gift. “Don't enjoy looking at it too much. You're a messenger now. When you get older you'll understand that nostalgia is just a moment. It's not your life.”

Tejani shouts and my horse moves with all my gear. I head further away. My friendship with Tejani was something I wished had lasted longer. It felt like a flower picked too early, so its true colors were never known.

Somehow, I knew I would never forget Lapona. As my horse guides itself around I try to catch up with others who were leaving the city. They would enjoy the protection of my tempests. If they were friendly to me, I might make a few friends. My lingering thoughts blot out the jumbled sound of hooves.

“Please don’t forget me, Tejani…You’re the only friend I know…”

“Do it again.” I was already half a day into my journey.

I swirl another hourglass in the wind and make it change into a butterfly. Trace dust rides the wind currents as I create another image. The black powder clouds my visions until I align it with my energy and make it bright. When I finish I turn to one of the travelers with me. He was a farmer and trace-dust trader named Nathari. He was heading to Lam Lathi to join our ranks.

Nathari looks at me. He felt calm and slightly dazed. The energy from my body had relaxed him like a drug. He had experienced it before at the stages, but not as strongly as with me. I look at Nathari. He didn't have a wife or lover. There was no bandanna over his mouth.

Nathari was a pure-bred Lam Lathi tribal. Both his mother and father were from the north-eastern Lam Lathi cities and tribes. It was they who kept the bandits on the outskirts of the Broken Sun. Each of the main nine tribes that composed Lam Lathi was said to hold a piece of divine light. If they banded together, it was believed they formed might more powerful than the sun high above. I knew all about the midnight blue. Lam Lathi raised me since my childhood.

The natural world around me made me feel anew. Even though the countryside could not provide the comfort of civilization, I was glad to avoid the many bodies that composed the streets of Lapona. The fresh breezes helped me deal wit the stress.

I frown. I already missed Tejani and the warmth of my forgotten bedroom

“I need some water.”

I head to the nearby river.

Grass is flattened beneath my boots as I slope downward toward the sound of water. The lush creek gave me something to stare at. I was already sick of the cyan and the marigold sap veins that ran down the aging bark of the trees. They were common in this area and gave it some life. The Ryoken wilderness was empty, but safe in these parts. Nathari told me that. I could trust a full-blooded Lam Lathi tribal. As a messenger dancer, he considered me a close friend and one of his own. After I collect some water, I head back up to my tent.

Inside my tent, I open my diary and my gift falls out. I take a look at the picture. It was a picture of a desert.

“What is it? It does nothing. What makes it unique?”

I shake the picture and smell it. I was curious to see what made it so special. Finally, I give up and lean back on my fur blanket. It was already dirty from the ground. I wanted to reached Lam Lathi already. I sigh and let my hands flop above my head. I look at the gift Tejani gave me.

“I know. I'll use my possessor being and possess it!”

My eyes narrow with determination. I give a curious expression and concentrate with excitement. Maybe, it would do something. It was worth trying once. My ears fill with silver tears. A rushing noise surrounds me.

“Where am I?”

I was in a desert! I look around me. Sand flows across the bumpy expanse as I turn all around me. I look down at my hands and up again. I try to see the horizon and cover my brow with my hand. There was nothing here. I look around as my scarf whips in the wind. I felt a presence.

Suddenly, I see a funny man.

“They call me strange. A pilot known as Dominion,” he grins.

The funny man looks at me. He stares with a grin that made me uncomfortable.

“Who are you?” I motion with my hands in silence. He didn't understand me, but I was too afraid to speak. He takes a step closer. He was many body lengths away from me.

“Come closer little one. I won't hurt you. I just want to give you love. Love without the love story. No more suffering. Only love.”

I feel an energy I can only describe as good-feeling. It wasn't love, but part of me felt like it was. The whole feeling permeated my senses like the stages. I tried to make sense of it all. The pilot takes another step closer and then several others. He holds out a hand and motions for me to walk closer to him, as he takes faster steps.

“I need some energy. I want some energy. Come share with me, Lanella.”

I swallow. I was unsure of how he knew my name. I grab my knife and stand ready to strike.

The pilot laughs. He pretends to hug the air. He gives me more good feelings. It felt like my pain was vanishing and all the suffering I felt was just erased. It had no meaning, like my time with Tejani was made perfect. I never left him. No sorrow. Only a happy ending at the beginning and a happy ending at the end.

I gasp.

The desert sands pick up with the wind and blur my vision slightly. I find it harder to breath and cover my face. The pilot moves closer, taking advantage of the sandy wind. He holds his hands out as if to keep his balance, just like me on the riverbanks of Lapona. I could feel his presence move closer with each step. It felt like love. Everything felt good, but nothing felt right. The pilot speaks to me.

“Come little soul. Come be curious with me. We love being curious together. Remember?” The pilot picks up his pace again. He was only two body lengths away.

My eyes dart to the pilot and then to my side. I give a quick and angry shout.

“No!”

I run away.

My thought shouts in my head again as my possessor being re-absorbs into my body. I feel my own heartbeat slow and drop the picture on the ground. I quickly tuck it away into my diary. I whip open my tent door and look around me. Nathari stares up at me. He was starting to stack twigs for a fire, when it got dark. We talk silently with each other for a while. He could tell I was unsettled. I go back into my tent and get out my small pot. I wanted to eat something as soon as I could. I needed to think about what had happened by myself.