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Quoted By: >>5707795
The wind howled across a salt-crusted desert. The sun's reflection off the cracked, white earth was blindingly bright even through the dark lenses of my goggles. Heat warped the air like ripples on water, distorting the land into a broken and dreamlike mirage. The monotony was broken only by the dry, spidery shrubs and stunted, leafless trees which dared cling to life despite the relentless sun. Their bleached bark stood out only barely against the dead soil. There were no birds, nor other wildlife; not even insects. I rode through the desolation on a dusty, bone-colored horse, swathed in an ankle-length cloak which had once been white, with a scarf wrapped around my face. The only sounds to interrupt the wind were the creak of saddle leather and the clop of hooves.
The ruins of a temple rose ahead of me. Its stone walls had accumulated a thick layer of white salt, but they still loomed over the landscape as a skeletal reminder of mankind's past folly. I knew it was one of many temples scattered across this desolate region, built to honor the goddess upon which they were built. Nearly all of them were abandoned, prospective monks driven off by the hostile environment or killed by raiders. The few who remained tended to be quite mad.
The wind shifted, kicking up a swirl of sand which coated me with grit. I coughed, burying my face into my elbow in a futile attempt to protect my cracked and sunburnt lips. I'd been breathing dust for most of the day and I felt it coating the inside of my throat like so much broken glass. Tantalized by the prospect of shade, I spurred my horse forward and she picked her way over the uneven ground towards the gates. A pair of great iron doors had rusted through and hung uselessly on their hinges. I dismounted to pass between them, leading my mount by the reins.
The wind died away within the walls. The temple courtyard consisted of a square tiled with faded and cracked red ceramic, and it was surrounded by empty stone buildings. Some had collapsed or been torn apart by the elements, but others were still standing and in relatively better condition than the outer complex, sheltered as they were. The largest of them was a crusted tower pockmarked by holes where windows permitted the salt to accumulate indoors.
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The ruins of a temple rose ahead of me. Its stone walls had accumulated a thick layer of white salt, but they still loomed over the landscape as a skeletal reminder of mankind's past folly. I knew it was one of many temples scattered across this desolate region, built to honor the goddess upon which they were built. Nearly all of them were abandoned, prospective monks driven off by the hostile environment or killed by raiders. The few who remained tended to be quite mad.
The wind shifted, kicking up a swirl of sand which coated me with grit. I coughed, burying my face into my elbow in a futile attempt to protect my cracked and sunburnt lips. I'd been breathing dust for most of the day and I felt it coating the inside of my throat like so much broken glass. Tantalized by the prospect of shade, I spurred my horse forward and she picked her way over the uneven ground towards the gates. A pair of great iron doors had rusted through and hung uselessly on their hinges. I dismounted to pass between them, leading my mount by the reins.
The wind died away within the walls. The temple courtyard consisted of a square tiled with faded and cracked red ceramic, and it was surrounded by empty stone buildings. Some had collapsed or been torn apart by the elements, but others were still standing and in relatively better condition than the outer complex, sheltered as they were. The largest of them was a crusted tower pockmarked by holes where windows permitted the salt to accumulate indoors.
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