Chapter 8:

The howls filling the night air from outside her window caused Roses tired eyes to remain open even though her body urged her to sleep. Images filled her mind of her sister alone in the desert without any way to protect herself; and of Coale lost in the same sandy landscape as he attempts to find her. She clutched her blankets tightly as she lay in the bed that Coale had slept in countless times before. She whimpered as a particularly loud howl from nearby shook the thin window to her right. Tara's words echoed in her mind, the grim omen that her sister could already be dead caused her to shiver under the thick cover that was wrapped about her.

The room she currently lay in was dimly lit but not so dark that she could not make out her surroundings. To her left sat the open door and a small dresser that was stocked full of clothes that Coale owned, many of which he could no longer wear but chose to keep for reasons that were unknown to her. Most of them were dark colors, blacks and deep reds that looked to be fighting clothes, like the ones that she had seen Star wearing while she took out her frustrations on a punching bag. Rose wondered if he kept them for the precious memories they held between him and his mother.

"Can't sleep?" she looked up to see Star standing in the doorway with a towel wraps about her shoulders and one of the deep red fighting outfits covering her sweaty body.

"No," Rose sighed as she looked down at her clenched fists, "I'm worried about my sister. She doesn't do well in dry places. Her voice was barely a whisper as she looked out of the window, "I hope that he finds her and brings her back soon." She felt Star step out of the room and turn down the hall towards the front room by resting her fingertips upon the charred windowsill; marks left behind by Coale at some point of time for reasons she could only guess at. She was amazed at how alienated she could feel in someone else's home; she was alone and surrounded by memories that were not her own, the feeling of isolation was only intensified by the knowledge that her sister was not with her.

She pulled her knees up to her chest as she looked out across the barren landscape outside of the sand coated window, wondering if her sister was safe out in the harsh sandy wasteland that she had wondered into. Thoughts of the dangers that had only been hinted at swam around her mind as the time ticked by on a large clock somewhere further down the hall from where the bedroom she currently resided in sat.

The moon far above the Embers home shone brightly across the sand that surrounded it. Casting a starch white light across the landscape. It looked peaceful and serine, yet the aggressive sounds of the desert animals set off the ambiance of peace and caused it to feel more like the calm before the storm. In her heart Rose hoped that the calls were not of predators feasting upon their prey.

Coale groaned as he shifted in his sleep, causing Celsia's head to slip from his side. She called out her dislike of being pushed away from the warmth she had experienced and curled up on the sand. Her disgruntled sounds caused him to jump, now groggy but awake he turned to face her as he crossed his legs and pushed himself into a sitting position. His broken arm throbbed painfully as he leaned on his elbows, causing him to hiss in pain and sit up straighter. He watched her shiver against the cold sand and frowned as he thought about what to do. With a sigh he slipped his baggy black shirt off and placed it over her bare arms. She hummed in content as the warm fabric settled against the cold skin causing him to smile.

A howl from the distance to his left took his attention. It was still the middle of the night, the predatory creatures that roamed the sands whilst the sun was set were still on the move and still very hungry. He mentally kicked himself for allowing his guard to slip before standing and pacing in a circle that was ten feet in diameter around Celsia. As he passed each lap the indent in the sand created by his feet grew deeper. He waited until it was a rough inch down before stopping and stepping inside the circle he had created. He sat with his back to her and held his hands out before himself. With the snap of his fingers they blazed up, turning into two torches that shone bright orange and red against the night's darkness. He twitched his wrists in unison and watched as his flames snaked out like two snakes, reaching the circle he created and pooling in its depth. He focused his energies and forced the flames to follow the rut along the sand until it surrounded them completely. The heat wafted towards him with each gust of wind as well as the flames themselves. He shifted his focus on keeping them at bay then; knowing all too well that if he allowed even one ember to escape on the dry wasteland about them then it could easily catch on a dead plant and erupt into another fire, one he could not control while controlling his own.

"That should keep most of them away." He muttered under his breath before grinding his teeth and closing his eyes as he attempted to feel each and every tongue of flame around him. He was so focused on his flames that he did not notice Celsia stirring behind him. The heat that was suddenly washing over her had been enough to turn her pleasant dream into a nightmarish memory of her home burning. She had been shaken awake by this and was immediately terrified to the point that she was speechless. The sight of flames all around her caused her heart to pound painfully in her chest as fear fueled adrenaline kicked in. She quickly twisted around in her spot and locked her eyes on the back of Coales neck. Her eyes widened as she noticed his right hand outstretched and on fire, the flames were slowly moving up his bruised and bulging arm, creating large welts on his skin where they licked at him. She reached out to grab his shoulder, hoping to stop the flames he had created in doing so.

He jumped as her hand touched his shoulder and the flames along his hands and arms sputtered and died; yet the ones forming the circle around them only grew bigger. He hissed something she could not understand below his breath and held his arms out once again. The flames slowly returned to the state they were in when she had awoken.

"What do you think you're doing?" he snapped with a tight voice, not bothering to look at her as he did so.

"I could ask you the same thing! Trying to burn me to a crisp in my sleep!" she accused as she eyed the flames suspiciously.

"Seriously Princess, after everything you think I came out here and saved you from dying of dehydration just to kill you in your sleep?" his arms shook as he attempted to keep the flames in check while speaking to her, "This is a safety circle, desert animals of the night aren't particularly fond of flames or heat." He spoke around her protests not allowing her to get a full word out before he finished his explanation.

"Safety Circle." She murmured as she looked about herself once again. His bare back glistened as the flames were reflected off of the sweat that covered it as he strained to keep the flames in check. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she watched him seemingly sitting still as a statue with his arms slowly burning by the very flames that he was struggling to control. She moved to sit behind him with her back to his as she looked down at the sand. She could feel the heat wafting over her from every direction so ignoring the flames did not help her with the growing fear that manifested itself in the pit of her stomach. She watched her fingers as she twisted them around themselves in hopes of distracting herself.

"How, how long will you have to keep this up?" she asked without looking away from her fingers.

"Until first light." He stated without looking away from the flames. They fell into silence as she studied the sky for any sign of light. Because of the flames around them she could not even see the stars that dotted the sky overhead. All that she could see above was a deep black void that stretched on forever into the night.

The time ticked by slowly for the two sitting in the circle of flames for two very different reasons. Coale had to focus so firmly on keeping the flames at a constant size that he felt as if the seconds that passed by had become the same length as a minute a piece. Celsia was trying not to focus on what was going on around her causing her to feel like time had stopped completely as she waited for morning. The sounds around them of the many unseen desert animals grew closer and closer before moving away once again. Each time the sounds grew closer the flames would grow larger and Coale would struggle more to keep them in check as he attempted to scare off the creatures. His arms were showing signs of worsening burns, gaining larger welts and some boil like spots that grew along his wrists and elbows. He clenched his teeth and focused harder on the flames in order to ignore the pain that was being inflicted upon him.

Celsia was oblivious to what was happening behind her as she studied the black night sky overhead. The sound of the flames popping and crackling around them was the only thing that broke the silence that had settled in around them. It would have been a peaceful scene if not for her intense fear of the flames around her, so when the sun finally cast its light across the black sky above them causing a faded stained pink blended with the black void above her head, She breathed a sigh of relief as he lowered his arms slowly, causing the flames to become smaller and smaller until they were small enough for the desert winds to simply blow them out.

She turned to look at his back as his arms hung limply at his sides and his head fell forward in sheer exhaustion. She saw the bright red boils that ran along equally red welts that spiraled up his arms from the tips of his fingers to the back of his elbows. The skin looked black in some parts where the flames where touching the longest and with the greatest intensity, mainly along his fingertips and the inner lining of his wrists. She took all of these details in without speaking, studying the patterns his injuries created along his skin with her jaw hanging slightly agape and her hands on her chest.

"Coale?" she asked softly as she grew closer to him. He did not answer her and remained in the same position he had been in. She moved carefully around him attempting to figure out the reason for his silence. As she came to a stop before him she noticed that his eyes were closed with much needed sleep as his chest rose and fell slowly while his breathing evened out and his shoulders slumped. She squatted before him and leaned forward to study his arms and hands as he slept off the long night that he had been through. With shaking hands she gently moved him into a laying position against the sand and draped his shirt across the burned parts of his arms to keep the sun for making them any worse than they already were.

She noticed, as she worked, that her skin was talking on a soft pink tone that stood out against her chosen clothing. The sunburn did not particularly hurt as it should have; it was more of an uncomfortable feeling along her skin any time she shifted her position. She looked up at the ever rising sun in the sky and worried her bottom lip between her teeth, only to be rewarded with a sharp pain that shot across the sensitive skin she had upset. She jumped a bit in shock as she realized that she was burned on practically every visible part of her body. She looked back at him while she attempted to help her lip feel better by sucking in the air around her quickly, while it was still somewhat cool around her. She reached down and carefully shook his shoulder with her right hand. It was getting brighter and hotter as the seconds ticked by them, seemingly much faster than before now that she did not want to be caught out in the desert sun for too long and risk being burned by the suns scorching touch.

"Coale?" she asked louder as she shook his shoulder hard enough to cause his arm to scrape across the ground. He jumped and hissed in pain as the clear liquid filling the boils along one side of his arm gushed out to cover the sand below his body. He turned to her with a pained expression upon his features even before he was fully awake. She backed away from him fearfully as he shifted to look about himself before turning to her once again.

"Wha-" he began with a half awake stare.

"We have to go Coale." She urged as she motioned to the desert around them, "If we just stay here our burns will get worse than they are now." He seemed dazed as she spoke but leapt to his feet as her words died away into silence. He reached out to grab her hand with his unbroken arm only to look at her in shock as she pulled away quickly and shook her head.

"Your hand." She stated as she looked pointedly at the blackened fingertips. He looked down at them, even bringing them up close to his face to study the charred tips. He chuckled to himself as if his own fingertips' burning off was the funniest thing he had seen in a while. He shook his head and looked about himself as he slowly began to become fully awake. Without saying another word he seemed to assess the situation and come to a firm conclusion as to how to avoid further injury. He motioned for her to lead the way as he looked around them for any signs of predators.

After taking in a deep breath she turned towards the east and motioned with her head for him to follow. She did not await a response before simply heading towards the source of the pulling feeling in her chest. The back of her knees and elbows burned as the sunburned skin rubbed against itself. She ground her teeth together as she made her way over the desert sands. With each step she took she felt the pull in her chest intensify. Her heart rate increased as she went along as well as her suspense. She wondered what had been calling to her all this time, wondered why she was the one who seemed affected by the strange phenomenon.

All the while she was so caught up in her own mind that she did not notice Coale, who was walking easily beside her, staring at his wrists and fingertips with his brow furrowed in worry. She was oblivious to the pain filled look in his eyes that only appeared when he placed the tips of his fingers together. The feeling in them was completely gone but halfway down his fingers, near the middle joint it felt like a fire was held against his skin every time the tips were pressed together firmly enough. He looked up at the back of her head and watched the light pale blonde hair swish with each step she took. His fingers burned as he clenched his fists and looked down at his feet that were constantly moving one before the other across the sand.

"Coale better not be using his flames out there." Star stated as she looked out from her podium to the two males who were sparring before her. Rose sat on the edge of the stage that Stars podium rested upon, her eyes locked on Rexx's flowing form as he ducked and dodged Daniels attacks. She smiled as she watched the white haired monk leap into the air and twist his body around to backflip over his adversary. Star had explained that she had created her dojo to make it impossible for anyone to use their special powers within its wall. She had to do that in order to train Coale in the art of sparring without having to worry about him burning down her home and dojo on accident.

"What is wrong with him using his powers?" Rose asked as she turned to face the woman who was watching the boy's movements carefully.

"Coale's ability is more of a curse than a gift. Whenever he controls the flames they fight back for control of him. I can't tell you how many times I had to help with burns that would cause other to lose their limbs." She sighed as she shook her head, "Without the proper care I fear he will return as a giant burn rather than a human being."

"He is with Celsia." Rose stated loudly before softly sighing the words "I hope." Star smiled down at the young girl as she spoke before releasing a long sigh and shaking her head.

"The Dead Desert is not kind to its trespassers. Perhaps if they could make it to the sea then they have a chance. I trust that those two will use whatever is within their power to make it across those sands, all we can do now is wait and pray for their safe return." Rose listened to her words carefully with her head held down to rest on her bent knee. She thought of how she must have told herself these same words for a year while Coale was out collecting the others. She had no way of knowing if he was alive or dead all of that time, or even wither he had made it out of the desert in the first place. Rose wondered if she had journeyed out into the desert to search for him, how she wanted to rush out and search for Celsia.

"Instead of pining for your loved one as you wait for them to return to you, I find that doing anything at all to distract me helps me to go about the day acting somewhat human." Star stated as she looked down on the young girls profile as Rose stared out of one of the many thin windows that lined the sparring room of the dojo. Rose glanced up at her curiously as her words died away behind the sounds of the boys sparring in front of them. She thought over the words carefully and wondered if she was offering to teach her her chosen hobby, or if she were simply suggesting that she should start a hobby. She turned to watch as the boys dodged each other only to turn on a dime and lock ankles as they attempted to kick each other in unison.

"I think I would be the most useful if I continued to study the book. It feels like every time I reread it I find something new and important." She winced as she saw Rexx slip and hit the ground hard with his elbows when he attempted to avoid Daniels attack. She slid her hand down her legs side and touched the edge of the books cover as her eyes followed the boys movements. Star stepped down from her podium to squat down beside her and rest her arms on her knees.

"You know in every story of old I was told by my mother, the earth wielder was always the first one to the fight, never fearing getting their hands dirty." Star stated softly as she looked at the side of Roses face.

"I'm not a fighter." Rose stated as she pulled her knees closer and hugged them to her chest, "I don't think that sis is one either, we just want to go home." She sighed as she hid her face in her knees. Star patted her shoulder as she turned towards the scene of the desert beyond the windows of the dojo. She could train anyone to fight, it was one of the facts that she took pride in, yet if the student did not even wish to try there was nothing she could do about it. She watched as the young girl would sneak quick peeks of the two sparring boys. She smiled as she watched her fingers clench around her knees as Rexx and Daniel called out with each attack and dodge. A loud cry was heard echoing through the dojo as Daniel landed a solid kick on Rexx's shoulder. The pale haired boy went down, clutching his deep ebony hand to the cloth covering the shoulder that was struck. Rose had made it halfway to standing before his loud chuckle froze her in her tracks.

"That was a good trick, you should teach me sometime." Rexx exclaimed loudly as he chuckled and grabbed Daniels offered hand. Star watched out of the corner of her eye as Rose smiled a small smile while watching the boys as they continued their lighthearted sparring match.

"You know, it wouldn't hurt to learn to defend yourself in case you have to in the future." Star stated as she nudged her knee against Roses. She watched as the young girl seemed to debate with herself as to wither she should try to spar or not.

"I don't know if I would be good at fighting without my element." Rose stated softly as she flexed the fingers of her right hand. She watched the joints bend and flex without looking up at the dojo master beside her.

"Sure you will, it's not the elemental ability that makes it easier for you to fight, but your skills in fighting that makes it easier for you to use the ability." Star chuckled as she motioned towards the boys that where shaking hands and bowing to close out the Sparring match before them, "Neither of the two boys before you were using their elemental abilities. What we witnessed was them purely fighting as humans." Star waved between the two as she spoke.

"What do you mean? Rexx is the only one not using his abilities." Rose stated as she looked over to Stars smiling face. Star frowned at her question and raised her eyebrow to the black haired young man who was taking a sip of desert pear juice while he listened to the other young man speaking. She tilted her head as she studied his face and the pale glow emitting from him that only she could see. She turned back to Rose and shrugged as she studied the faint green glow that radiated out from the girls chest.

"My mistake I guess." She said with a small chuckle in her voice as she grabbed the young girl by the shoulder. Rose shrugged and smiled as she looked back at the boys with a small twinkle of excitement in her eyes.

"When can I start training?" she asked as she turned to look into Stars bright red eyes. She felt the older woman's hand slide down her arm to grasp her hand as her other hand was grasped in much the same fashion.

"Right away, let's get you changed into some sparring gear." She stated with a grin as she lead Rose towards the changing rooms that rested at the back of the dojo. Rose clenched her fists as she looked ahead, wondering how much she could train before she would be needed in battle.

"Can you smell that?" Celsia stopped suddenly, causing Coale to swerve in order to miss slamming into her back.

"Smell what?" He asked as her clenched his fists once again in order to hide the blackened tips of his fingers. She turned in a semi-circle as she sniffed the air gently with her eyes closed against the blinding light of the sun reflecting off of the hot sand.

"It smells like water!" her eyes popped open as she exclaimed her discovery. She turned towards the east once again with a new found energy in her steps. He ran after her with a worried expression on his face, The had been walking nearly a full day and yet he knew that the Ocean of Souls was at least a three days hike from Oasis, and that was if you were used to the deserts landscape.

"That can't be right." He muttered as he sniffed the air. He watched as she ran ahead of him before stopping short and turning to face him. He forced his way up a large sand dune to stand beside her and looked out across the landscape before them. He blinked and shook his head to clear his vision before looking out across the landscape once again.

"This isn't possible." He stated as he studied the lush green leaves that covered the trees surrounding a wide pool of crystal clear water. The grass surrounding it spread out further than the tree line and was a thick breed, each blade appeared soft to the touch as well as being greener than the greenest grass he had ever seen before.

"This is a miracle." Celsia said as she began to slide carefully down the steep end of the dune. Coale reached out to stop her, but pulled his hand back as he saw and remembered his charred black fingertips. He frowned as he copied her technique, sliding down the hill slowly and using his elbow instead of his hand to keep his balance. He stumbled at the base of the sand dune and took a few steps to steady himself before he came to a stop beside her and looked out over the lush oasis that spread before them.

"Water." Celsia breathed in the smell of the fresh spring water before her and rushed forward across the cool grass. Coale followed slowly behind her, taking in the details on the trees around them. They had small trunks and bright leaves; the tallest tree stood close to twenty feet high and leaned slightly at the top. The smallest trees surrounded the water's edge and were only three or four feet above his head at their highest point.

He plucked a blade of grass and twisted it between his fingers, looking at the wet green stain that the crushed grass left behind. He looked up to see Celsia ducking her head under the water only to pull it out a half a heartbeat later. She cried out in pain and clutched the side of her face as she fell back into the grass. He rushed to her side and grabbed her by the wrist. She fought against him but his strength overpowered her own and he managed to pull her hand away. The side of her face that had touched the water first was horribly burned to the point that it resembled his forearms, with large red welts and boils. The rest of her face was a bright pink color that resembled a bad sunburn. Her eye on the side that had been most injured was swelled shut and leaked out a bright yellow liquid.

"Celsia?" he asked with a voice that squeaked and cracked with fear. She moaned and shook her head violently before crying out in pain again and stilling in his arms. He laid her gently down on the grass and turned to the clear pool of water. At the bottom were white stones in different shapes that shone brightly in the light from the sun overhead. He studied the large rounded ones and the long thin ones that seemed to bury themselves in the sand below.

He plucked another blade of grass and dropped it into the shallow depths of the water. It dissolved as it touched the top of the pool, vanishing completely before it was fully submerged. He bit his bottom lip as he turned back to his companion. She was lying on her back with her arms stretched out at her sides. Her left eye, which was still able to open, was wide and looked straight up at the sky above; tears danced around the edges of it as she called out in soft pained sounds that he could barely hear over the sound of the desert wind.

"It's acid," He stated as he sat down near her head," the water is acidic, horribly acidic." He rubbed his head, shaking sand from his hair and face. She turned to him then, with her good eye she locked onto his face.

"I, I only smelled water." She stated softly, taking much too long to say each word and allowing him to understand just how much pain she was in.

"If Rexx was here, he would have smelled the acid." He sighed as he adjusted his sitting position and looked down at his up bent knees. "I'm sorry Celsia. I should have stopped you before you ducked your head." He thought of the odd stones and frowned as it dawned on him what they were; bones of all the poor humans and creatures that had dived into the waters depths in hopes of escaping the scorching heat around them.

"I'm so stupid." She moaned as she closed her eye against the sun.

"No, it's a trap, traps are meant to fool people and this one is so well done that anyone could have been fooled by it," He stated as he lay down in the grass and closed his eyes, "I could have been the one to try the water out, it was just bad timing."

"Stop being nice." She ordered in a wispy voice.

"I'm being honest. I would've dived in headfirst, at least you just ducked your head in." he stated as he tilted his head to look at the hair at the top of hers. It was eaten away in areas near her face where the water had touched. The tips of her hair had been dissolved as well leaving it a good five inches shorter than it had been when they started out on their journey across the desert.

The sounds of the wind intensified around them as tiny grains of sand ran across their skin, a sandstorm was brewing on the horizon and without shelter they could easily become buried in sand, or worse if the storm intensified. He looked around the oasis for anything to cover themselves with but only saw the grass and trees. The trees where not growing in a natural way, he saw that now, they grew at even intervals much like someone planted them for harvest. Each tree stood a good three feet away from the others on each side of it, giving plenty of room for the san to cut through them and get to the two at the center of their manufactured meadow.

There was only one way that Coale could stop the sand, he would have to use his abilities and create a wall of glass around them by heating the sand as it rained down on them. He would have to work fast and would have to create a fire hotter than any he had created before. He looked down at his ruined fingertips and deep red burned skin; the burns were healing and had dark scabs over large strips where the boils had popped. He clenched his fists and felt the burning sensations where the nerves ended. Thoughts of the pain he would inflict upon himself if he went through with his plan caused him to hesitate. The howl of the wind around him was louder now. It carried with it a vibration that echoed in the tips of his limbs; his hands, feet, and head felt as if they would explode from the force of the movement created by the sound of the inevitable storm.

As he thought of giving in to the storms fierce anger his eyes fell, somehow he had stood without realizing his actions so when his eyes dropped in defeat they landed on Celsia's vulnerable and nearly lifeless body. If he gave in to the storm, the sands would rip away at her skin, scarring her face more than the water had and cutting deeply into her uninjured skin. His heart clenched in his chest as he thought over her pain, pain that would be brought on by his actions if he thought of himself over his companion.

He squatted down beside her and placed his hand on her forehead, it was hot with fever and felt slick with sweat. She was in no position to help him fight off the sand in any way, her body was fragile in the state that it was in. he doubted that she would be able to stand, much less anything else. With a clenched jaw and a determined stare he stood and moved to tower over her body His hands clenched and unclenched as he stared ahead at the wall of sand moving towards them. He could not hear his own thoughts over the howling wind that surrounded them. His fists clenched one last time before he closed his eyes against the grains of sand that threatened to embed themselves in them.

"With one last deep breath to steady himself he snapped his fingers to cause friction on the dead tips and summoned his inner fire. His arms blazed up causing him to grit his teeth against the pain. He held his arms up to the wall of sand and widened his stance to steady himself against the wind. The pain intensified as he forced the flames to become hotter and hotter. The usual red orange colors of his flames grew lighter and lighter as the heat on his arms grew more and more. As the sand cut through the first line of trees his flames were becoming blue along their base and a light yellow along their tips.

He moved his arms outward in a sweeping motion before bringing his hands back together and repeating the process once again. Shards of glass hit his arms as he superheated the sand grains that blew past him. The larger clumps that he managed to catch fell at his feet in a crescent shape that reached out a few feet on either side of him. As the wall of sand grew closer he managed to heat more and larger clumps and the tiny wall of glass grew, many of the glass balls that dropped shattered against their brethren causing him to become concerned about the sharp shards of glass cutting either Celsia or himself. He focused then on building the structure upwards by sweeping his arms up and out in a wide arching motion. By the time the wall of sand had crashed through the last line of trees, he had created a thin wall of glass, about five feet across and six and a half feet high that arched around the two. It was barely half an inch thick and was battered by the sand as the beast of a storm rained down upon it. He released his hold on the fire of his right hand and used it to drag Celsia up against the wall while he continued to heat it with his left in hopes of causing some of the sand that beat against it to fuse with the wall. He knelt down on one knee, forced to do so by the increasing pressure on his left arm caused by him having to keep the flames away from Celsia's body and clothes while focusing its blast on the glass wall before him.

The storm lasted an eternity and seconds at the same time. The howling of the wind cut through his thoughts and caused his sense of time to become distorted to him. He focused on holding his flames at a steady heat while ignoring the growing pile of sand behind them that threatened to entomb them in its hot grainy walls. His neck began top sweat, pooling at the back between his shoulder blades and causing a sick squishy feeling to fight for his attention. He fought against every urge to wipe away the sweat as he kept his right hand hovering over Celsia's head in order to protect her face from the sand that was whipped around the wall by the force of the storm.

By the time the storm had moved away beyond them his left arm was charred black up to the elbow and the fingers on his right hand matched its brother's injuries. He fell to a sitting position that had his right knee jutting up into the air while his left leg stretched out before him. In total exhaustion he groaned and closed his eyes against the glare of the newly uncovered sun glinting off of the tilted wall of glass. His right hand rested against Celsia's shoulder as he tilted his face up to the bright blue sky above.

Rose stood before Star, fully clothed in a uniform befitting the dojo that she stood in the center of. The woman before her smiled as they exchanged nods and slipped into their starting stances. Rose raised her fists before her face in the way she had been taught to do and prepared for Star's opening attack. The woman moved quickly, running from side to side as she neared her and did not hesitate as she swung one leg upwards to bring it down on Roses arms, which had been crossed over her head as she had been taught to do in order to protect from attacks coming in from above. The force of Star's running had given her enough momentum to knock the girl to her knees.

From the sidelines Rexx watched the fight. His back was tense as his eyes followed the movements of the two before him and his arms were crossed to hide the clenched fists he had pressed to his chest. Rose was a fast learner and easily pushed the woman's leg away before shifting her body backwards to gain a bit of distance and time to right herself. It was time for her to counter attack, she slid one leg across the ground as she bent her knee to bring her body low to the ground once again, with her fingertips brushing the floor she performed a tripping kick on the woman who avoided it by leaping backwards and twisting her body into a back flip that increased the distance between them a few feet. Rose panted and righted herself once again before turning to fully face the woman. The two locked eyes and rushed at one another, arms raised and ready to attack as they closed the short distance. In almost perfect unison they grabbed each other's attacking arms with their free hands and pushed off of them, opening a few feet of distance once again.

Daniel, who stood next to Rexx against one wall, smirked at the fighting females. It was clear to him that the elder was taking it easy and not going with full power at the younger girl. The fight was painfully phony on the woman's part to him. He wondered how long this would go on, after hearing the horror stories of her teachings from the students that lined the wall across from him he knew that she could do so much more to this girl with just the smallest amount of effort. He watched as she moved in to attack only to slow her speed as her fist swung about an arch that was aimed at the side of the girls face. Rose swung her arm up too quickly and managed to knock herself off balance and sending herself falling face first to the floor as her body spun with the left over momentum from her arm. Star's hand opened as her arm finished its swing and was readjusted to reach out for the back of the girls shirt, grabbing it and stopping her fall just before she hit the floor.

"You have to focus, don't get too excited about your moves. Keep your head clear and focus more on analyzing your opponent's movements so you can calculate their next move and compensate for it with your defense." Star stated as she pulled Rose to her feet, "The battle is a tenth physical and the rest is purely mental. Do not battle yourself whilst battling others." Rose nodded at the words from her teacher as she panted heavily, attempting to catch her breath.

"I, I can do it. I just need to focus." She said around deep breaths, speaking more to herself than to Star.

"Get some rest." Star stated as she reached out to accept two towels from one of her younger students and handed one to Rose, "You can't be too hard on yourself, it was only your second try." Rose took the offered towel without saying a word and ran the fluffy fabric over her face. Rexx moved away from the wall to stand beside Rose and patted her shoulder as he smiled.

"You were good out there." He stated as he rested his hand on the sleeve of her uniform.

"I need to get better." She stated as she turned away from him. He watched in stunned silence as she wrapped the towel about her shoulders and left the large room of the dojo. Daniel stepped up next to him with the same smirk on his face that he had worn the entire sparring match. The two boys looked at each other and Daniel shrugged as his smirk turned into a smile. Rexx frowned and looked at the door that Rose had left through.

"She just needs a bit more practice." Star stated as she stepped past them, "Just give her time. She'll learn." The older woman sighed softly as she headed towards the room that Rose had disappeared into. Rexx worried his bottom lip as he thought about her words; Rose certainly could fight and picked up on the moves quickly, however it seemed she was frightened of physical pain to the point that she would do anything to avoid it and the thought of being struck caused her to lose focus on the fight as her flight instincts kicked in. He mulled over how he could help her with this problem as he followed Daniel out of the main doors and across the small section of yard that separated the dojo from the Embers home. When they reached the small yard his first thought was how loud the wind was, a fierce howling that resembled a growl from a feral beast. His next thought was that it seemed to him the air had grown thicker. It became hard for him to breathe and it felt as if sand was clotting around his nostrils. He clutched his nose with one hand as he rushed for Star's back door, slamming it open and slipping inside without waiting for Daniel to follow. Once inside he took a deep breath and relaxed against the nearest wall, with the door shut the overpowering sensation of his nose being filled with sand stopped and he could breathe normally once again. Daniel shot him a strange look as he walked past on his way to the front room.

"You okay man?" he asked once he had made it to the door leading to the rest of the house.

"Yeah, I uh, just couldn't breathe out there." Rexx pointed to the door as he spoke causing Daniel to cock his head to one side curiously.

"Why not?" He asked as he eyes Rexx like one would look over a strange specimen in a museum.

"I don't know. It felt like I was being suffocated by the sand." His honestly only made Daniel look at him with even more suspicion.

"Maybe I hit you a bit too hard that last match, let's get you laid down somewhere so you can rest off whatever's going on." Daniel held out his arm in an 'after you' motion after opening the door to the rest of the house.

"I should tell Miss Star about it, maybe somethings wrong and its manifesting itself in this way to me." Rexx muttered as he slipped past Daniel.

"Or, maybe it's just that hound like nose of yours being over sensitive to the sand." Daniel chuckled as he patted Rexx's shoulder upon passing. Rexx looked back at him inquisitively as he turned to head towards the back hallway.

"You really think it's just my nose's sensitivity?" he asked as he rested one hand on the doorframe.

"Yeah man, you should just take it easy. Go lie down for a bit and take some time to clear your head." Daniel smiled at Rexx and gave him a small nod. He watched as Rexx moved past the doorway and listened to his shuffling footsteps down the hall. The smile on his face fell into a flattened worried frown. He moved quickly to the nearest room with a window and rushed to press his face against the warm glass, scanning the horizon for any anomalies. He had read in his studies that the Dead Desert was known for sandstorms that came from nowhere and dissipated just as quickly as they revealed themselves.

He pushed away from the window as his thoughts drifted to Celsia. She was out there without any shelter, and if Tara were to be believed dead. His fists clenched as he thought of the alternative, Coale could be with her; they could be alone out there together, depending in each other to survive. He ground his teeth as he thought of how close they would become after depending on one another for so long.

"Hey Daniel," he turned to see the person speaking to him was Rose, now in her baggy pants and green gray shirt with a worn out smile on her face, "I mucked up that match huh." She stated as she stepped up to him. He realized that in his attempt to get to a window he had unknowingly gone into the room she was using for the time being.

"Hey Rose," he stated as she slipped past him and began to go through the bag of clothes that Star had given her, "Don't take it too hard yeah." He shrugged as he offered his words of encouragement.

She turned with fresh clothes draped over her arms and gave him a small nod to say his words were heard before she moved to pass him by. He turned towards the door as her body moved into its frame.

"Rose, do you think that Coale found your sister out there?" he asked before she could get away. She stopped in her tracks and turned to face him once again.

"I," she began before clearing her throat and looking down, "I try not to think about it." She finished her thought as she turned away from him. He watched her walk out of the door and turn to go down the hallway before she eventually moved out of sight. He turned back to the window as a growing dread built in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't paying attention when Star slipped into the house and stood with her shoulder leaning against the doorframe.

"I saw them." She stated, causing him to jump and turn to face the woman who was grim faced and staring at him with cold red eyes, "I saw them coming, your family to kill mine, hidden in a sandstorm on ships that flew like clouds on the wind." As she spoke of the family he had left behind he could sense a sadness hanging around her soul, knowledge that no human should have had aged her spirit faster than her body.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He stated with his fists clenched at his sides.

"They are making plans, I see them in my dreams, my dreams that always come true." Star looked past him to the window where the sand was building against the glass.

"Dreams don't come true." He stated as he stepped up to move past her. She raised her arm and rested her hand firmly on the other side of the door frame.

"I saw what you did to my son and his friends, I saw everything, even when you joined them and headed here. That is how I knew to be out in the desert to meet you at the right time." Her eyes bore into his as she spoke, "My dreams come true. Every time I dream I know it comes true eventually, and it is always about the five of you." She stated with a hint of anger in her voice, "I did not say anything before because you were always around the others. I do not trust you Silverstone, and you do not belong to Celsia."

"You're a Prophet." He stated as he fought back a smile, "My mom told me about you, but there is supposed to be four of you. Mothers of the future she said." He stated as his grey eyes searched her red ones, "I can't believe I am meeting an actual Prophet."

"If you choose the wrong path you will regret meeting me." She stated as she turned and left him in the room alone.

Star collected the other two and gathered them in her living room to tell them of the impending sandstorm. Rose stood there against the wall with a downtrodden look on her face while Rexx sat with his back against the cushions of the couch with his usual blank expression.

"It's coming from the east isn't it?" he asked as he looked up at her.

"Yes." She stated flatly.

"Celsia," Rose began as she stepped forward.

"She's with Coale, she will be fine." Star gave her an encouraging smile as she spoke, "My son has had his fair share of sandstorms. However we need to prepare, there is a force coming that will use the storm as cover. They are coming for the two of you, and your sister and my son as well." She stated as she looked down.

"It's the Silverstone's isn't it, that's why Daniel isn't here." Rexx stated as he stood. Rose glanced at him before moving towards the windows to see the growing storm outside. The sand beat against the outer walls of every building around them as well as the Embers home.

"How long do we have?" Rose asked as she turned to face the two of them with a soft defeated sadness in her eyes. Rexx moved forward to pull her into a gentle embrace while Star looked on with a stern expression.

"I don't know." She stated softly, "In my visions the sun is usually there to allow me a close estimate to the time, the sandstorm blocks that I am afraid." Rose looked up from where she had her face hidden in Rexx's arm to see tears brimming in Star's eyes.

"We should prepare." As Rexx spoke Rose looked up to see him staring directly at Star.

"I agree." In unison the three of them turned to see the one who had just spoke, Daniel, standing in the doorway with a grim look upon his face, "I know who's coming, My uncle won't stop until he gets what he wants. What he wants is my friends and I cannot just sit idly by in some room locked away while he just waltzes in and takes the two people who I can still keep safe." He looked between the three of them as he spoke," You want a reason to trust me, well then here comes a bloody good reason." He pulled a large sharp training sword from a rack nearby after speaking; "I suggest you all arm yourselves if you hope to stop my uncle A." he stood stiffly as he spoke the words before moving towards the window. Star stepped to the side as he passed her, as did Rexx and Rose, until he stood between them facing the glass.

"How long do we have?" Rexx asked again as he turned to face Daniel.

"A few minutes tops by the look of it." Daniel stated as he looked out at the onslaught of sand outside.

"Celsia." Rose breathed.

"She will be fine, as long as she stays in the desert." Daniel stated without looking away from the window.

"But she's-" Rose turned towards him as she spoke.

"Dead." Daniel interrupted before she could finish her thought, "Coale as well. They ask about them at all they are dead and buried, got it." He looked around at the three of them sternly as he spoke. Rose looked at him with utter shock while Rexx and Star both nodded.

"Best way to keep them safe." Rexx began.

"Tell them that they have already met their end." Star finished his sentence with a smile, "Daniel Silverstone you do live up to your families name, in strategy at the very least." She turned, looking around the room as she spoke. Her eyes landed on the rack of training swords and lit up like stars in the night sky, "Come on kids, let's go fight back." she smirked as she grabbed the longest sword, one she had personally used to spar with Coale when he was just starting out on his training. She gave them a maniacal smile before rushing out of the door.

The three of them rushed after her; Rose stumbling behind the others as she pulled a sword, too heavy for her, behind herself. Rexx and Daniel made their weapons look as if they weighed less than feathers as they ran ahead of her. The front door was open and the sand from the storm outside waged its war on the Embers front room as the three of them rushed towards it. Star had already broken through the initial blast of sand and stood by the empty pool that had given the town its name with her sword raised and her eyes on the sky above. Below the rumbling of the angry storm there was a low hum, the sound of engines drawing ever nearer. She knew they would come in from the skies, on machines that had never before been heard of. Large ships that would cut through the air above her and tear open the very storm that covered their entrance into the village.

Daniel drew to a stop beside her and looked around them as he raised his sword in a ready position as his eyes darted about the sand covered landscape around the small area that he could see. Star moved closer to him, nearly pressing her back against his own as she readied her own blade. Rexx had gone back for Rose so it took them a bit longer than Daniel to reach Star, but when they did they took their own positions with their backs to each other and nearly pressed against the two others sides.

"Keep your wits about you." Star ordered over the din around them.

"It's getting closer. What is that smell?" Rexx gagged against something that no one else could smell, causing Daniel to look towards him with a knowing glance.

"They're close." He called over his shoulder to Star. The information turned Stars scowl into a determined stare. She clutched the hilt of her sword tighter as she looked towards the sounds of the engines.

"Getting closer all the time." She stated as she narrowed her eyes. Rose shook as she held the sword awkwardly in her hands, her shoulder bumping into Stars rhythmically as she did so. Star gripped her sword tightly in one hand as she reached out to grasp Rose's elbow with her other.

"Steady child." She stated softly as she rubbed the point of her elbow with her thumb just as she had done to Coale when he was just a frightened child, scared of his own power.

"Here they come." Daniel stated as the hull of the ship above cut through the sand that swarmed about them. The four of them watched as the ship blocked out what little light they had from the sun above, coming in like a black omen of death and destruction.

Celsia awoke with a start, hitting her knee on the glass wall beside her as she attempted to sit up straight. She moved to rest her hand on the ground beside her as her other hands fingers traced the grooves that were burned into the glass beside her. Her hand that she had used to steady herself brushed against something soft and grainy at the same time. She looked down to see her hand resting in the tips of Coales bright fiery hair, just where it mingled with the sand below. That's when she noticed it, a circular wall of sand, about a foot high, which stretched around them to connect to the glass wall at her side. She shifted quickly until she was no longer touching him and pressed herself against the scorching glass at her back.

When she moved her arm brushed over his face causing him to groan and open his left eye. It locked onto her face just before the light of consciousness filled it. He sat up quickly then, rubbing his eyes and finally opening both of them and turning to look at her as he squinted around the light of the sun.

"We survived then." He stated as he shifted and popped his neck. She touched the ruined side of her face and looked away from him as he spoke. She felt the melted flesh around her swollen shut eye and felt a wave pass over her, a urge to keel over and cry like she had never cried before. Her hand shook as she took it away and closed her good eye against the sudden influx of tears that threatened to spill from it. She felt a cold trickle down the right side of her face, over the pock marks left behind by the acid water and the rivets that followed the melting of her cheek. She reached up to touch the trail left behind by her tears and wiped upwards causing a large shocking pain to flash through her face. She let out a whimper as she hid her face in her hands, only to have them pulled away and her chin grabbed by Coales calloused fingers.

"Celsia, open your eyes." He stated calmly.

"I can't." She whimpered as she leaned forward in an attempt to hide her face from him.

"You can." He urged as he forced her back to a distance where she would be revealed to him, "Celsia listen to me; it doesn't matter, what happened to you doesn't matter. What matters right now is that we are alive. We survived." He chuckled as he spoke the last two words, his hands reaching up to grasp both sides of her face as he smiled madly.

"Coale, I- I have to get to the one that's calling out to me." She stated as she choked back tears, "Nothing matters but that, that thing or person. I don't know what or, or who is calling me but its strong, so strong Coale. I can't fight it." She pulled herself away from him and forced her body into a standing position as she backed away from the glass wall.

"Then let's go." He stated as he stood and dusted himself off. Her blue eye sparkled with held back tears as it lingered on his face.

"Why are you following me?" she asked as she turned away from him to hide the wet streak that rolled down her soiled features. He moved to stand before her, determined to have her see him and know that he was there for her.

"Because, I want to I think. Yeah, I want to. I would follow you to the ends of the earth Princess. And do you know what? I think I may be doing just that." He chuckled as he spoke and looked up to the clear blue sky above, "Besides, you may not know it just yet, but you need me and I won't leave a friend in need. Not ever." His red eyes bore into her blue one as he spoke.

"Thank you." She said after a long moment. She looked down and stepped past him, headed Eastward as she did so. He smiled as she passed him by and slid into step behind her. They walked like that, in silence, for a while with the sun bearing down on them from overhead and the sand radiating heat from below their feet that they dragged across the sand. Hours passed s dehydration slowly took its toll on Celsia. It started with her stumbling, slipping on top of the soft upper layer of the sand. She passed it off as nothing to Coale and urged him ever forward towards the east, towards the source of the strongest pull in her chest. She fell a few yards after her initial slip, he rushed to help her up of course but she wouldn't allow it. She pulled herself to her feet and kept moving forward even as her breathing labored and her legs shook with exhaustion. His brow creased more with worry with each step they took.

Coale made sure to stay just a breath of a step behind her, arms at his sides with hands turned out ready to catch her when she fell again. His fingers were nearly useless to him now, if he used his power even once more they would likely fall off as simple charred black bits that would rot away in the wasteland around him. He would not be able to protect her but once more, after that his power would be lost to him forever. In that moment, on that long trek that lasted forever on all sides of them, he felt useless for the very first time in his life. Although the heat did not affect him as it did her, the sheer time that he had gone without a single sip of water showed on his chapped and cracking lips and the dark bags that had formed under his eyes. True he could go far longer than anyone else without waters nourishment, but two days in the desert was enough to even dehydrate him.

"We're getting closer." He voice cut through his thoughts, snapping him back into reality, causing his head to jerk up and his eyes to lock onto the rough sand caked hair that swayed before him as she continued on her stumbling walk. He turned his palms to where they were facing forward once again, ready to catch her as soon as he was needed.

"How can you tell?" he asked around a coughing fit that threatened to overtake him.

"The pull is stronger than ever now." She stumbled over a small sand dune that seemed to pop up in front of her and fell forward harshly. Coale's arms wrapped about her waist as he attempted to catch her, but the force of her fall sent him spinning and twisting down into the bed of sand below as well as her. Without realizing it, the two had managed to climb a very large hill of sand that dropped off very steeply on one side. They tumbled down the hill, rolling over each other as they went with his arms locked around her waist and her hands up to block her face from the sand. They hit the ground with Coale at the bottom, holding her to where her face was towards the sun above. She used one hand to shield her eyes and pulled at his fingers with the other, which were warm and squishy under her own. She jumped in her shock and looked down at his blackened interlocked digits.

"Coale, your hands." She gasped in her shock as she touched the area between his blackened flesh and his bright pink burns. He let her go then, pushing her off of him and turning away to hide his hands from her with his back.

"It's no big deal, it just happens when I use my powers too much." He stated as he tucked his hands under his arms.

"No big deal. Coale; your fingers are black, your arms are burned, and your acting like this happens all the time." She said as she pried his bag off of his back and began to go through it.

"There is no more water." He stated as he watched her work.

"I'm not looking for water. Didn't you bring bandages?" she asked as she riffled through the bag. He watched her as she deftly shuffled the contents of the bag around until she pulled out a roll of off white bandages and a small roll of gray tape. He watched as she bit the end of the bandages and ripped a small strip, about half the width of the bandage roll, from it. She grabbed his hand and wrapped the bandage strip around his thumb expertly before taping it off with a small strip of tape and repeating the process on the rest of his blackened digits.

"How did you learn to wrap bandages? I figured growing up like you did you wouldn't know what a bandage was." He said about halfway through her bandaging his first hand.

"Rose got hurt a lot running around the garden, she never wanted mom to know so I had to bandage her up." She stated as she finished his ring finger and pulled another thin strip of bandage off of the roll.

"Why didn't you just get the servants to do it?" he asked as she taped his last finger on his first hand. She tapped it a bit tighter than the others as his words brought a rush of anger coursing through her mind.

"Living in a big house doesn't mean you have people wait on you hand and foot," she stated as she ripped off another strip of the bandages and motioned for his other hand. He held it out and allowed her to wrap his thumb as he looked around them.

"I just thought that you were a part of the lordship family of Lakeland, so.." he stopped as soon as he saw the look in her eye.

"I said it before; it's not like that with my family. The town was named after my grandfather because he founded it, not because he ruled over it." She sighed as she continued her work, "The house was big because my family used to be big, but due to sickness and war we were reduced to just the three of us, the two of us I should say." He could hear the urge to cry in her voice even as she fought it back.

"Your mom wasn't in the ashes." He said softly.

"I know." She stated as she sat back to inspect his bandaged fingers. He raised one eyebrow as she stood and dusted herself off. Her eyes trailed the horizon to the east as she took in a deep breath through her nostrils.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he followed the path her eye took with his own.

"Water." She said, "And salt, the ocean is nearby." She looked down at him as she spoke, a small twinkle in the corners of her eyes. She stepped past him and continued east. He gathered his bag and turned to follow her, but stopped short when his eyes settled on the west. Dark shadows loomed over the horizon, just above the thick cloud of the sandstorm. Something was happening over his hometown and he was too far away to do anything about it.

"Coale?" he looked behind himself to see her standing there, atop a sand dune with her face scarred and her body nearly broken. Celsia was hurting, she was struggling, she was lost, and she was nearby. Near enough for him to help, near enough for him to do something about.

"If you can smell it over the sand then it must be close." He stated as he forced himself not to think about what was happening behind them, "We can't be far from whatever it is that wants you right?" he asked as he stood and fully turned his back on the town behind him.

"Right." She stated as she turned towards the east once again. He stepped up beside her and took her arm in his hand, looking down she sighed and shook her head, "I should have bandaged your arms." She stated softly.

"Maybe." He sighed as he tugged at her arm gently, urging her eastward.

"We could stop. I could fix it for you right now, it will only take a moment." She said as she pulled back against him.

"We don't have time." He stated as he continued to urge her forward.

"I'm sure whatever it is that's waiting for me can wait a bit longer." She reached for his bag as she spoke only to look on with shock as he pulled away from her.

"We don't have time, look somethings happening right now. In the village there are dark shapes above the sandstorm that don't belong there. I saw them on the horizon and, I don't know I got this ominous feeling like something very very wrong was happening. Do you know what I mean?" he asked as he looked over her head to what was too far away for her to see. She sighed and looked down at his arm before pulling away from his grip and stepping up beside him.

"Fine. No time." She sighed as she tore her eyes away from the burns and felt her own face without meaning to. They began their journey once again in silence as the sun continued to bore down and the sand continued to heat their legs. Coale continued to think of his home and Celsia continued to try to ignore the strange howling sound she heard so faintly from behind her.