Xtreme Saga - Book One: The War for Rig

Chapter 8 - Strangers in the Desert

Mera and Orb were teleported to a region of Rig known as the Pylon Desert. An ocean of red sand that blazed like fire in the sunlight. However, it was not unusually hotter than the habitable deserts of most planets. The reddish color of the soil simply played tricks on the minds of those who weren't used to it. The portal had dropped Mera and Orb a ways from Pylon City, but it was still within their range of sight. That wasn't the way Mera intended to go though.

As Mera scanned the desert, she wasn't exactly sure what to do. Gaia sent her there to do something, but had been extremely vague about what that something was. Mera had been told to follow her instincts, but the last time she did that she ended up ambushed by a small army of Cult of Ios soldiers and sucked into a portal to another dimension. Only time would tell if that should be considered a positive occurrence or a negative one.

"Do you see anything, Orb?" Mera asked.

The robot scanned the desert in all directions. Orb's ability to scan and analyze large distances of land quickly was impressive, but even a highly advanced artificial lifeform had their limits. The Pylon Desert was simply too vast for them to scan the whole thing from this one spot. Though they did the best they could, given the circumstances. Orb was never one to complain and would always try to meet Mera's requests to the best of their abilities.

"Scans inconclusive at this distance. I am picking up several lifeforms in multiple directions" the robot said.

Mera was not surprised by her mechanical companion's answer. She knew it wasn't going to be that easy. She only asked him to scan the desert in hopes of a miracle. She was acting on behalf of a goddess after all. In the distance, she saw a great structure. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but it looked to be a basin of stone. Clearly, it was quite large, as she could see it from such a great distance. She didn't know why, but something about it called to her. She raised her hand and pointed at the structure. Not just to show Orb but to make a declaration to herself. She would brave the unforgiving desert and make it to whatever it was she felt drawn to. It was not a hope. It was pact, with herself.

"Gaia said to follow my instincts, and they're telling me to go to there," Mera said.

"Very well," Orb replied.

Mera marched confidently into the sand-filled wasteland. Orb floated along close behind, taking no issue with the idea of Mera getting as far away from Pylon City as possible. It needed time to forget the Crimson Shadow, lest she be ambushed again. Mera had never travelled in the desert before. Honestly speaking, she'd never travelled anywhere before. Her short trip to Gaia's realm was the first time she'd ever left Pylon City. Now she was leaving her home with no idea about how long she'd be gone or if she'd ever return.

Though the Pylon Desert was habitable, it was not an easy existence. Water was scarce. Plants were sparse at best. Animals were limited to mostly smaller wildlife. If the heat did not get the best of you, starvation, dehydration, or exhaustion were next in line. There were tales of some wandering nomads in the desert, but Mera had never seen them first hand. She quickly realized that the journey to the stone structure would be much more difficult than she had first imagined.

Orb was an invaluable resource during their journey through the sand. The robot was able to guide Mera to hidden sources of water and the small bits of vegetation in the region. For the first time in her life, Mera had to really learn how to survive. Not from the threat of violence, but the elements themselves. When the heat was too high, she had to find places to hide. The tiny shadows of rock faces and small caves. On the other end of the spectrum, the nights were cold. The sand did not retain its blazing heat in the absence of light from Rig's closest star. She had to make fires in order to stay warm.