Chapter 18

                                    

                                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
                          
Domain of the Sun
                          
I awoke to the sound of Jhilza complaining. Not one of the most pleasant noises, but certainly better than what would've been had I stayed in Luster City. Perhaps the ringing of chains and the never-ending dripping of sewer water?
                          
"Damn, this blasted heat," she cursed. "I'd sooner swim with the three-headed vipers in the Ether Sea than spend another moment here. Of all places to build an estate, your ancestors were damn smart choosing a desert, weren't they, captain?"
                          
I rubbed my eyes and noticed that the red cape I'd swaddled myself with was gone. With good reason, too. Jhilza was right. We were travelling amongst dunes of sand and wilted trees.  It was hot beyond all reason. The sun continuously beat down against us and I began to wish that we'd stayed near the woodlands of Luster City. 
                          
"Where are we?" I asked as I tried to stifle a yawn.
                          
Before Innes could answer, Jhilza's voice came booming from behind. "Near the deserts of Sharsir, where the living come to die of heat and thirst."
                          
I chuckled when I peeked at her pitiful state. Innes was visibly entertained by the wide smile across his face.
                          
"We're not far from my home," Innes nodded his chin towards a brown structure in the distance.
                          
When we neared it, Jhilza sent her horse in a full gallop, complaining about needing to drown herself in a barrel of water.
                          
Innes' estate must have been large. The tall wooden gates were no match for Luster City's iron curtains, but they were far bigger than those of House Deimos. Four men positioned at the watchtowers flanking the gates waved to us as they opened them.
                          
"Welcome to Aellecion," Innes smiled at me as we entered.
                          
Despite being in a sea of sand, Innes' estate was green. The lands within were full of groves of trees with skinny rivers weaving between their large exposed roots. From the top of the hill we stood at, I could see the vast expanse of farmlands between us and his manor, which was the bottom of a valley surrounded by orchards. Areas of sand were few and far in between as every foot of the estate was nearly covered in grass, trees, or small rivers that come spilling out of deep dugouts.
                          
Loggers surrounded an area filled with aged trees that began to lose their colors, discussing how much they would sell the wood for to the markets in Luster City. Women working the nearby orchards waved to their liege as passed, bowing their heads as their children appeared from behind trunks and ran alongside us.
                          
Jhilza quickly dismounted and fell to her knees in front of a small brook. She cupped her hands in dipped them in the water.
                          
"When you mentioned it being your estate, I thought it would like the stone manor of House Deimos. I wasn't expecting all of this-" I stammered. "All of this life."