Desert Stories

13th century- The Middle East. In the heart of the Arabian desert, Princess Laila of Al-Shujae faces an impossible choice. Beyond her city walls stands an army ready to attack on command. Their only proposition? Marriage. The fate of two tribes lies in her hands, and the ruthless warrior of Al-Muharibun will stop at nothing to succeed.

after a violent crime leaves los angeles behind them, jon and rosemary disappear into a forgotten desert town where nobody asks questions and nobody seems to care what happens beyond the limits of their own lives. hiding out in a cheap motel, they dye their hair, alter their appearances, count their money, and wait for the world to forget them, but the world hasn't forgotten. at a quiet roadside diner, a lonely waitress named sherri watches the mysterious couple from across the room, there's something about them she can't explain, they seem reckless, terrified, and completely alive, everything she has never felt herself to be. when jon leaves behind a stack of cash stained with blood, sherri realizes who they are and instead of turning them in, she asks to join them. as the three disappear into motel rooms, trailer parks, stolen cars, and empty desert roads, sherri finds herself becoming closer to rosemary than she ever expected. meanwhile, a determined detective follows their trail into a town that seems determined to protect its secrets, discovering that everyone has their own reasons for looking the other way. jon and rosemary know the truth no one else does: they aren't running toward a future, they're running toward the end because sometimes love isn't about surviving together, sometimes it's about choosing who you'll die beside.

Two hundred years before Malice Whitterson is born, Lord Philokrates and Lord Daimos create an alliance to bring more witches into the Orthomelo Desert. A witch is born to the Nbajsk clan, gifted with the ability to conjure storm clouds and rain. Growing up in a culture that praises strength and kills weakness, this witch will know that there is no strength in her powers and if she wants to be strong, she'll have to work a bit harder... or perhaps easier.

After her orphanage is destroyed, Rosalia is sent to the royal palace to serve as a servant. Quiet, kind, and seemingly ordinary, she hides a dangerous secret: she was trained to fight with a curved sword. When she dares to challenge Crown Prince Adrian during a royal festival, masked and unrecognized, he becomes captivated by the mysterious warrior who fights with courage and honor. But when Adrian later finds himself drawn to a servant girl with the same unforgettable eyes, he begins to wonder if fate has placed the same woman in his path twice. In the glittering Kingdom of Rashmir, where duty stands above love and secrets can cost everything, Rosalia and Adrian must decide whether their hearts are worth the consequences of choosing each other.

A Life Series (and kinda Hermitcraft) SMP AU featuring all 18 lifers and a few guest hermits, ships such as shiny duo, desert duo, cletho, jizzie, etc. and a world of fantasy creatures and hybrids and secrecy and of course lore! :) There are also watchers because it's a Life Series AU, what do you want from me? There is also no designated main character :/

Khoen is in his final year of military school in the desert world of Azodu. If he graduates, he will be among those who run the planet -- feared and respected protectors. But he must prove himself. Two weeks. One peer-group mission. Investigate the rumours of illegal slave trade. Luthen is an assassin. He and his brother have seen the worst of Azodu. They kill for a living. They always have. But the tables are turned as he realises he's being hunted. Khoen is a kind and positive soul, bent on understanding the world, and making it brighter. But his world-views are tested as his world faces corruption. Luthen sees the world through shadows and the reflection of his blade. He's been killing to protect his brother since before he could read. So their heads on the line is not what shakes him. It's letting others in. [⚠️This story contains themes that may trigger some readers. If this is a concern, please refer to the 'Trigger Warnings' chapter]. [This is a stand-alone book based in the same world as my books 'Interdimential Pirates', 'The Map of my Heart', and 'The Final Reaper']

On the scorched continent of Sauven, where kingdoms rise and fall beneath an unforgiving sun, the fate of empires rests not only on armies but on blood, marriage, and betrayal. As the King struggles to preserve a fragile peace, ambitious princes, devoted queens, cunning statesmen, nomadic rulers, and gifted healers each pursue their own vision of the future. Alliances are forged through sacrifice, ancient faith challenges royal authority, and every choice carries a terrible cost.

If the world of Rain World was rotting, sickly being, the world now is nothing but a dusty skeleton, half buried in the sand, wishing to finally sink back into the earth and be at peace. But the march of progress will not let it pass away peacefully, even as The Cycle halted, and the Iterators collapsed into rusting hulks of steel... Life, however brutal, finds a way... ---- This is just a fun project I just wanna work on while I'm blank on ideas for my other stories. This'll be short, maybe 10 chapters, probably less. This is gonna be heavily based off of the Fallout games, most notably Fallout 2, and a tiny little bit of Dune. This won't be a Reader story, the main character has a name. Oh, and I'll be crossposting this to AO3 if this does well, because I'm GREEDY and I LOVE BEING AN EVIL PERSON HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. More info in the opening chapter.

Camilo lives the life of a madman. Everybody knows him. Everybody knows he has blood on his hands. Everybody knows he went crazy, haunted by ghosts of his past and the spirits of the desert. But in a world where even the Gods have died and left nothing but blood and pain, his insanity keeps him alive in a way that is more than just survival. And when he was presented with a way to get to a place where he would be safe, what else could he do but take a job he knew would be dangerous? Even if it means endangering and manipulating a child he just met, lying to the people he had grown into calling his family and having to confront his brother, whom he had tried to run away from, for so long.

In a kingdom built on shifting sands and buried secrets, the truth has a way of rising to the surface. Michael has lived his entire life in the shadow of the dunes, raised by humble travelers who found him abandoned in the wake of a devastating desert storm. He knows the rhythm of the wind and the secrets of the desert, but he has always felt like a stranger in his own skin, haunted by dreams of golden halls he has never seen and a heritage he cannot name. Sareen, a Princess from a rival kingdom, has spent her life surrounded by the luxury of the court, yet she has always felt the pull of the untamed world beyond her borders. When her travels bring her to a remote, sun-drenched outpost, she expects nothing more than a brief respite from her royal duties. Instead, she finds him. One look is all it takes to shatter the lie of his existence. As the weight of a forgotten history bears down on them, Sareen realizes that the common traveler before her is the missing piece of a centuries-old prophecy. "It's you... You're the lost Prince."

In the year 2082, all paths lead to Kitra IV - a desert planet rumored to be hiding an underground city of life-changing wealth. Four strangers will be forced to set their differences aside and cooperate, stranded amidst the greatest treasure hunt in the galaxy. OST: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIlfu9P4AmJM Chapter artworks by https://www.instagram.com/tompi2oo7/ Some things to keep in mind: - This is my first attempt at a full novel. Chapters will drop at LEAST once every three months, as it's been so far. Some chapters may be slightly rewritten to better fit the storyline at some point in the future. The cover art, as well as the in-chapter art, will be added/polished further later on. - English isn't my native language. I apologize for any poorly constructed sentences you might find. - SFW but features swearing, alcohol, and mature topics. - This novel is human-made. Absolutely no generative AI or LLM was used in the writing, music or cover arts. Enjoying the story? Leave a star or a comment! Would love to hear your thoughts.

When a mysterious artifact is discovered in the desert, a team of archaeologists and soldiers must race against time to unlock its secrets before a shadowy organization gets there first. The discovery could change the course of human history, but it could also bring about the end of the world. In the heart of the desert, trust is a luxury and survival is the only law.

Logline > To survive in a desert whose name has been forgotten, a mother must sometimes tear the wings of a slumbering god from her infant's body with her bare hands. > Synopsis In the stone village of "Dashil," under the heavy, looming shadow of the cursed "Shir Yatan" forest and its bloodthirsty wolf pack, a macabre secret is born. Every night, in the dark solitude of their home, "Aneh-Gol" plucks the bloody, unnatural feathers of her infant son, Bilan, by the handful. She does this to hide him from the terrified and judgmental eyes of the villagers. She believes that by inflicting this pain, she is saving her child from the madness of men; little does she know, these feathers belong to no earthly or mortal being. Outside the stone walls, the desert stands on the brink of ruin. "Mansour Cherli," a young, ruthless warlord eternally stalked by the shadow of death and three ominous crows, sets foot in Dashil. He has come to drag soldiers out of these broken people, vengeful hunters, and silent giants like "Qoushan" for a bloody war. But neither Mansour Cherli's blade, nor the magical melodies of the Dutar, nor even the mythical beasts of Shir Yatan are the true masters of this nightmare. Deep within Bilan's small, fragile vessel, an absolute and ancient power is awakening. A being that, should it fully open its eyes, will shatter every rule of the desert and bring the world to its knees. What to Expect: * Grim and Ruthless Atmosphere: A world where flawless heroes do not exist and survival comes at a bloody price. * Deep Psychological Conflict: The harrowing clash between morbid maternal love, madness, and the terror of the unknown. * Lore-Rich Worldbuilding: A blend of ancient mythology, demonic entities (Bolqouz), dark magic, and the enchanting melodies of the Dutar. * Slow-Burn to Epic Character Arc: The journey of a wounded, hidden infant evolving into a god before whom the cosmos bows.

They were never meant to find each other. Javier Garcia is a guardian; one of the wolves sworn to protect those who cross the desert under the cover of darkness. He knows the rules. Protect the vulnerable. Stay hidden. Never get involved. Then he catches her scent. Maeve Callahan isn't a migrant. She isn't supposed to be here. And there's something burning beneath her skin-something ancient, something dangerous... something Javier doesn't understand but can't stay away from. When a forgotten force known only as the Devourer begins to stir, the fragile balance between worlds starts to unravel. Corruption spreads. The Ashborn rise. And Maeve may be the key to stopping it all... if her power doesn't destroy her first. But wolves don't choose their fate. They recognize it. And Javier is about to realize that protecting Maeve might mean losing everything, including himself. --- A dark paranormal romance about fate, fire, and the things that hunt us in the shadows.

With a single, decisive blow, Cassandra - Shadow of Sammos, immortal warrior, and general of the Thiria - ended the war. The Emperor is dead and the Empire has fallen. Now that she is faced with the weight of rebuilding the world, Cass is blindsided by the choices of people she's never met. A Council she's never heard of demands she deliver the Emperor's head to an enemy general across the vast desert nation of Desheret. With her is a wide array of travelers from every nation, including old friends and old enemies. Cass must learn how to solve problems without her strength, violence, or her army, and navigate a world that doesn't yet know the Emperor is dead.

It is a story of how fire survives in the desert, and how a chance meeting in a second-class sleeper can rewrite the laws of a life. It is the constitution of a new reality.

The year 1925. Young archaeologist Brad Ruben Rensselaer discovers a forgotten tomb in the Valley of the Kings - one absent from all historical records. Inside, he finds the sarcophagus of Djehutiankh - a pharaoh erased from history who, instead of dying, awakens after thousands of years. Brad soon discovers that ancient Egypt harbored secrets far greater than mere legends, and that the gods he once dismissed as myth are real. As the past resurfaces, Djehutiankh must decide whether he belongs to the world he lost or to the one he is only just beginning to discover.

〈 ❝ sirocco ❞ 〉 ☆ﾐ a hot wind, often dusty or rainy, blowing from north africa across the mediterranean to southern europe. ☆ﾐ enjoy ! 𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒐 started last year.

Zenobia is not the queen the history books promised. She is a widow in hardened leather, a huntress who sharpens her iron with the same ruthless precision she uses to command an empire. When the world burns and the Roman eagles circle, she is the only thing standing between her people and the dust. From the sandstone ridges of Palmyra to the marble halls of Rome, this is the story of a woman who wore a crown of thorns and a chain of gold-and dared the world to break her. She didn't just challenge an empire. She made it bleed.

A quiet drink, a drunken fight, and one punch that changes everything. Mako has spent years trying to leave his past behind. These days, he prefers empty roads, small towns, and the steady rhythm of his motorcycle over the violence he once knew too well. However, when a confrontation in a roadside bar leaves a man unconscious and possibly dead, Mako finds himself fleeing into the vast South African wilderness with a question he cannot escape: What if this time he went too far? As guilt, fear, and old memories begin to surface, one lonely stretch of road becomes a journey into the heart of a man trying to decide what kind of person he truly wants to be. A contemplative tale of faith, redemption, responsibility, and the quiet grace that sometimes meets us when we need it most. The Kit & The Open Road was originally written as a private commissioned story. It is shared here with the commissioner's permission, who generously allowed me to publish it for others to enjoy. I hope you enjoy Mako's journey as much as I enjoyed bringing it to life.