Chapter one: Reaper

Skyra stood atop a large sand dune overlooking the sand-traders camp. She could see the men tying the camels to the trees and the women gathering the cloth and making sure the children where all safe around the tents, She could see Ayla Watching over a pot, Boiling cactus as meat. For a moment she wondered if she was doing the right thing. ‘My family will be better off without me”, she figured. Skyra was clumsy; she was always dropping breaking and losing things. AT 14 she was meant to help sell thing when the sand-traders came over a town or city. She took one final look at the camp and whispered goodbyes, then walked off slowly letting the sand sink between her toes.


The wind blew sand in Skyra’s eyes, she covered them but the sand still stung at her legs and arms. She knew she had to find a safe place; the sandstorm would only get worse.
“Skyra, Skyra”, the sandstorm seemed to call her name. She fell to the ground and started crawling over the sand, she looked up but couldn’t see more than an arm’s length away. Suddenly ahead she saw a small opening in a large rockside, she must have wondered off into the Canyon of dark stars, named that because at night you can’t see the stars from inside. She crawled into the tunnel. It saw dark and cold inside, and the narrow walls pressed up on her but she kept going, after a while the tunnel began to open up into a small cave. The air was damp and water trickled down the walls. In the middle burned a fire, It had no wood to feed it the flame just burnt infinity, but it gave warmth and light so Skyra didn’t complain. She sat down next to the fire and emptied her pockets; a handful of sand fell out with two evenly shaped rocks, one smooth one rough. She pulled a small pouch from her pocket and ate the dry meat strips inside, immediately wising she left some for later. She pocketed the rocks and threw the sand on the fire making it crackle then got up, in the corner was a large wooden door, Skyra studied it wondering why she didn’t notice it when she walked in.


She opened the door a little and peeped through, letting ice cold air escape along with a strange lulling scent. She slipped through and shut the door behind her. A stone staircase led down and around a corner. Skyra grabbed a wall torch and carefully walked down until she camp to a door, It was wood also, and light streamed from the cracks. She opened it and looked through. A man was inside, dressed in a green robe, he had silky silver hair and was bent over a table. Skyra took a step inside and four dying fires, one in each corner flared up with renewed strength.
“I’m glad you’re here, though you’re a little early”, the man said
“What?”, said Skyra, backing away.
“Skyra what do you know of your father?”, asked the man, Skyra looked at him, surprised by the question.
“I know he died when I was young and that he was a great alchemist”
“He is a great alchemist, but he never died. Skyra your father left you because he didn’t want to harm you, They know his kin will have great power, that’s why he left you and your brother”. Skyra stared at the man with disbelief in her eyes.
“That’s not true, I don’t have a brother”, she said.
“You do, and you must find him if you are to defeat them”