Tovii

Chapters

I

Today began like each and every other. The sun rose into the sky, and began its march to burn the sand and stone of the Zercan plains. It did this each and every day with little deviation. The quiet, orange light broke through the cracks of Desert Sun’s home: a wooden shack supported by ropes nailed into the hard sandstone beneath, perched near a minor cliff edge.

Desert lifted his head from the “mattress”, his stomach achingly hungry and his lips dry. He needed water, he needed food, he needed money, but this was like most days really. Today though he also needed to see someone. It had been a week since anybody had bothered turning up to the local Aavirk, the old name for a local resting house used by the few remaining travelers of this dust bowl. The lengths of time he had been enduring with no company were beginning to get longer and longer.

Deserts coat was a yellow-gold, which matched the surrounding dunes and hills. His fur darkened to brown and black at the bottom of his legs, his mane and tail were also brown with a lighter stripe going through them. Still in a daze, he rubbed his blurry eyes, which were a dull olive green.

He pushed himself up onto his four legs, swiping a canteen up that he absolutely knew was empty, and poured no water into his mouth. He even shook it in desperation. “I must be going crazy,” he thought.

Eventually the young traveler fumbled open the door to his shack and dragged himself out the door with all his canteens and his saddlebag draped over his back, and his staff at his side. He stood at the cliff edge his shack sat upon and drank the view of the horizon. Well, the horizon wasn’t visible through the dense sand whisked up from the ground, but the red light of morning and the orange ghostly orb that delivered it was always an uplifting sight for anyone, and brought joy to the souls of many travelers, past and present.

“What a waste of a view that is,” grumbled Desert. He scuffed some of the sand off the edge and made his journey for the Aavirk.

Desert marched his way through the swaying sands using his staff to leverage onto higher ground. It is said that the dunes and valleys of the Zercan plains change and move, completely changing on a fortnightly basis. This makes travel and transport a nye impossible task for anybody unexperienced. There were very few landmarks that could permanently be seen at all times of the year, those that did consisted of formations of tall rocks and cliffs. The largest known of these, known as Kalvika Ta, has been used for at least two thousand years as a navigational landmark by the most ancient of folk. Desert would reach it in a few miles.

He had his shack built upon a similar, much smaller cliff edge. That way his home wouldn’t be swallowed whole by the shifting sands while he was gone. This was in large part why the ancestors of this place never settled in one location for long.

Kalvika Ta came into view, another beautiful sight to see. It sat as a blunt spire of gold and beige that climbed up to the clouds and cut through them, it leant slightly at an angle. On its sides peaked smaller points in a sort of spikey wall, like the bottom jaw of an ancient giant with its teeth poking out of the sand.

The stallion passed the north side of Kalvika Ta, traveling between two of its peaks, and made his way. Despite being such a large formation, it didn’t take much distance for most of its details to disappear, with all the dust and sand carried through the air. However, you could see Kalvika Ta’s influence on the horizon for miles and miles.

Desert walked on, before he scuffed his hoof on something. He brushed away some sand from under him and pressed down on something hard.

His interest perked; he brushed his hoof along the hard surface to reveal a completely flat floor of sandstone brick. He smiled at this; while it is likely this site is known, it is one of the few sites of ancient architecture that comes and goes with the will of the sand. He found it comforting to remember that his homeland wasn’t so empty as it is now. He had likely already been here, but sometimes it was impossible to tell.

Still hungry and thirsty, though the traveler walked on, passing over the bricks and likely other ancient examples of buildings, confidently in the direction of the Aavirk. His stomached ached but his mind was elsewhere.

Desert knew he was alone here. There may be a handful of travelers these days, but they were often no more than thrill-seekers and tourists. Sometimes it felt like he was the only resident of the Zercan plains. But it was weeks like this that made him question his stubbornness. He was lonely, maybe it would be truly better to leave for that reason alone. Perhaps, heartbreakingly, this place was indeed a lost cause.

Desert had no friends here. By the time they had finished school they had all left Ozka, the town where Desert was born. It bordered Zerca and the Kurizi forest, and just like anything Zercan, it seemed to be cursed with misfortune.

But that is why Desert stayed. His job here on these plains (while not being ratified in any legal document) was that of a treasure hunter of sorts. He sought no wealth or fame from this as it was purely for his goals of putting Zerca and its history on the global map. His findings of pottery shards, spearheads and even some scrolls had been donated to the few museums that were interested. Though to call these museums wasn’t appropriate; they were more like small fancy warehouses.

But he wanted one thing alone. He had struggled the searing heat and the shifting soil for over 10 years, and it has been exhausting. If he could be the one to make that one discovery, that one adventurer who discovered the meaning of Zerca and make life for its folk of the future meaningful and worthwhile, he could rest a happy man.

While he considered the discovery and preservation of artifacts his main job, he spent most of his days restocking the local handful of Aavirks scattered around the land. But these current jobs were enough for Desert; it paid for his supplies of wood and food after all.

By the time he had got through his musings, the stallion arrived at the resting stop. He sounded like a half-asleep, one-man marching band while he walked. The canteens hollowly rattled, his hoofs scuffed through the thick sand, his bag shuffled. He thudded the door to the Aavirk open and poured himself inside like the sand at the bottom of the door sill. It would have been embarrassing if someone was in here to see him so listless, but there wasn’t. This place reminded him of his own home; dusty and ill-equipped. It served as a place to rest, without any chairs. A place to purchase resources like food and water, without any food or water. A place to contact the nearest town that had something resembling a hospital or police station, and while there was a phone it was not likely charged.

“Anybody home?” he called, dropping his walking staff against the wall as he moved more inside. The place looked identical to how he left it yesterday, and the day before, and so on. He peered his head around the corner to see if maybe by some divine intervention the bulletin board had been updated. It had not. Odd jobs and the such could be posted here for anybody interested in earning some money, like checking the local radio-pylons or delivering resources to settlements in the Kurizi forest.

Desert kicked his staff over with frustration, and a hint of anxiety. “Nobody again?! Where is-!?” He quieted himself down, taking a breath. He slumped into the wall, sitting on the floor messily with his canteen and bag around him. He rested his head into the wall behind him lightly. “Where is anyone? It’s been weeks, or a week…I don’t even know...”

He closed his eyes, before standing once more and moved to the trunk the spare canteens were carried in. 12, including the 5 he carried for his own use, totaled 17 in total he would be carrying. “Brilliant”, he thought sarcastically.

He scooped them all up and threw them over his back, an unhappy frown on his face.

The door creaked open and blew in a gust of sand. Desert had to contain his relief at someone finally seeing him. He could have shouted and hit something, but he just turned to this figure and nodded respectfully.

A stallion pegasus walked through the door. He had a dusty brown coat, with emerald eyes and dark hair. He wore a saddlebag over his back sitting above a short fabric cloth scarf-thing, and had a wide brimmed hat atop his ears. He had let his beard grow out as well.

Desert could remember that face for as long as he lived, since it had been so long since he had seen one other than his own. “Hey. Just stopping?” he asked.

The stallion nodded and took off his hat, hitting the sand off of it. “Just stopping.”

He moved past Desert and checked the cabinets for any water or food, clicking his tongue at their lack of either of those things. Desert needed to use this opportunity to talk however.
“Where’ve you come from? The closest place is a fair trek.” Desert said.

“Ozka.” The stallion replied, likely more interested in getting back home than striking conversation up.

“How are things there?” Desert continued. The pegasus quirked a brow at him and looked annoyed, unrolling some papers from his bag. “What do you think? Terrible.” he replied.

Any semblance of being angry at the guy had faded once Desert saw him pinning the paper to the bulletin board. A job! Once the pegasus had moved out of the way, re-discovered the absence of food and water and promptly frowned, he left. At the doors clicking shut, Desert leapt at the bulletin board and scanned its contents hastily:

WANTED:
Traveler with experience and orienteering skills.
Knowledge and understanding of the geography of the Zercan desert necessary.
Equipment will not be provided.
Needed ASAP, more than one persons may apply.

Phone number, email address and other contact details below. DO NOT HESITATE TO CALL, APPLICATIONS REQUIRED ASAP. Rewards include money, water, food or supplies.

Desert rubbed his chin, “Hmmmm…” he swiped the phone from the desk, and upon predicting its lack of battery charge hurled it over the desk and onto the floor. He reached into his bag, pulled out a large item that could have been mistaken for a cinder block (but was in fact a different phone), and dialed in the provided number.
It ringed.

“Hello, this is Irus from the Ozka Institution of Avian Preservation, how may I help?”
That voice sounded weirdly familiar. Desert quirked his brow, and moved to the door. He opened it, seeing the stallion that just left on his own phone just outside.

“Ah. Yeah, this job thing, I’m interested. Me. The one you just...” Desert chuckled and waved his free hoof. “Back over here.”

Irus shot his gaze for Desert, hung up, and made his way back to the Aavirk, rolling his eyes.

“I had no idea that Ozka was in any position to overlook a preservation project. Don’t you guys have bigger problems than that?”

The two stallions sat next to the window of the shack. This window had no glass or even fabric covering but had a bundled-up leather curtain atop in case the wind began to blow in sand.

Irus replied to Desert, “Sure, that’s true. Ozka isn’t in a good way right now, but the OIAP brings some funding and employment to the region. We don’t just focus on Zercan birds, Ozka is just where it was founded.” He said as he knocked some sand from the brim of his hat. “We keep track of activity all around Equestria.”

“Figures.” Desert said as he slumped back. “I assumed you weren’t from here with that accent. I’m imagining you’re staying there while you do whatever it is you’re doing?” Irus smiled lightly with a nod as Desert continued, “Brave of you to head back without water or food. Ozka is not too far from here but that is still a risky decision.”

“That wasn’t the plan but this place is empty. I have some canteens after all, they’re not just for show.” Irus rattled them at his side. “Wait. You’re not from Ozka?”

Desert shook his head as Irus carried on, “Somewhere in the Kurizi?”

“No, not quite.” Desert smiled.

“Equestria?”

“No no, I live here. In Zerca.” Desert replied as Irus gave a perplexed look.

“What on earth compulsed you to live here?” Irus brushed his hair back and kept his confused expression. “I’ve seen places run down in my time, Ozka being one of them, but it’s a town at least.”

“Someone needs to oversee things.” Desert said as he leant back.

“But that’s different to living here. Is there a town I’m not aware of?” Irus continued his inquisition.

“No.”

“Any sort of farmland?”

“Not that I know about.”

Irus frowned at Desert, “What about company?”

“You’re the first person I’ve seen in weeks.” Desert met Irus’ line of sight.

“You’re crazy.” Irus chuckled, which particularly annoyed Desert, but he continued “This place has been deserted since before I was born, and I think I’m older than you. What the hell are you doing here living on your own? Tax evasion?”

Desert would have laughed at that. “It’s a long sto-”

“How long have you been here?” Irus interrupted.

Without a pause, Desert replied with “11 years.” which caused Irus to rest his head back against the wall dumbfounded.

“You’re crazy, you should get back to Ozka, or hell, even leave this desert entirely. There’s nothing here for you. Heck it would even be safer in some place like Ozka.” The two met eyes. Desert had about had enough; his gaze was furious.

He took a sharp breath. “I’ve got a million reasons to leave for someplace else. Maybe I should, maybe I have made the wrong choice. But nothing’s ever gonna change if I do. If I just went the way of everyone else, just gave up and left all here to be forgotten. What if the ancients of Equestria did that?”

“That’s just silly, c’mon.” Irus brushed him off.

Desert’s gaze narrowed. “Is it? What would they all have to say if they just stood on grass and nothing else?”

Irus scoffed once more and shook his head. “Zerca is too harsh. Look at you, you’re pencil thin.”

Irus was right about that at least. Desert took a moment, and leaned back. “Nothing ever changes if you give up.”

“So you think you can make a difference?” Irus brushed his beard.

Now that was something Desert didn’t know. A short silence fell between the two, filled with the whistling wind of the outside.

Finally, Desert replied. “I hope so.”

Once more the air fell silent for a few seconds, until Irus stood and looked over the Aavirk. “At least you’ll know where you’re going then,” he said to Desert, who returned a curious look. Irus continued. “We need you to locate some eggs for us.” Desert quirked his brow and leaned in to listen as Irus further elaborated. “Last night one of our tagged birds started acting odd on the GPS. Sporadic movement, periods of no motion at all, roaming outside her familiar spots. Unusual activity for her.”

“That doesn’t sound very promising.” Desert’s mind wandered about what this could mean, where the bird was, how it could have been injured, but then snapped his attention back to Irus, who was nearly done with his sentence by this time.

“Then her tracker stopped moving at all and hasn’t budged an inch.” Irus held his hat in his hoof and looked slightly saddened. “We think some sort of animal caught her. Could’ve been a different bird, maybe some sort of animal.”

“Hmm. What sort of bird was it?”

Irus put his hat back on and replied, “A tawny eagle. They’re firmly in the endangered species list, and we know this one had a clutch of eggs. The tracker died earlier this morning so we sadly have no way of recovering her, but the eggs need to be found for our conservation efforts.”

Desert pieced the information together and smiled a confident smile. “Can’t say I’ve got any experience egg hunting but, sure. I think I can do that. I’m gonna need some more information. Any clues as to where this bird may have laid? Is she…a coastal kind of girl or maybe, maybe she prefers trees and…stuff, I literally know nothing about birds.”

Irus leant more against the wall and replied, “We know she spent a lot of time about 5 clicks west of the Great Compass. Look for some high-up rocks perhaps. A nest should be there.”
The Great Compass was the non-native name of Kalvika Ta, to which Desert smiled. He knew exactly where he was going.

“Understood, I know where that is. Don’t go anywhere.” Desert slung his bag and all the canteens over him, and reached for his staff. “As I said it’s a risky trek without water.”

“So you’re suggesting I wait it out until this place gets restocked, huh? How long’s that gonna take?” Irus settled down once more.

“Well I don’t intend on keeping you waiting.” Desert slyly smiled.

“Oh! Well then,” Irus looked out the window as he spoke. “Thank you. This will be a huge help. We couldn’t find anyone willing or brave enough to look for us, even in Ozka.”

Desert nodded at him, said, “Lucky me.” and walked out.

II

“I suppose biological preservation is still preservation. I never really thought about that side of things, but then again, I guess most things here are dead anyway so what’s there to preserve? Oh well.”

Desert once more found himself lost in thought. The interaction with Irus back at the Aavirk had perked his energy levels (and more importantly his sanity levels) but he was still desperate for water and food. His head began to ache, his stomach began to rumble, but still he walked on.

He pushed on until the murky, dusty shadow of Kalvika Ta had materialized once again. Even though he resembled an incarnation of the meaning of “shambles” with all the canteens rattling on his back and at his sides, he didn’t really mind. It wasn’t the first time he looked a bit of a mess and wouldn’t be the last.

Kalvika Ta grew taller and darker, like a living giant. With modern knowledge of the inner workings of the Earth, Kalvika Ta had lost its ancient status as a sleeping god and has become little more than a simple cliff, surrounded by smaller cliffs under the sands beneath. This place was sacred in the hearts of many tribes; some even believed the sun and the moon were born inside it. Others saw it as a divine overlord, solely responsible for the heat, the dust storms, and anything else. The largest tribes Zerca had ever seen used this monument to scatter the ash of their fallen brothers and sisters into the wind.

They would somehow climb to the top, carrying pots full of gray and blackened ash and soot, and scatter it over the edges. The meaning behind this ritual is lost to time; perhaps it was a way of setting the fallen free, or a means of guaranteeing travel even after death.

Whatever it may be, this fact was clear: when you walked through the dust of Zerca, you walked through nameless ancient souls forever destined to move and fly. Desert thought that was beautiful.

He made his way west of the cliff. He had a knack for orienting himself even with few landmarks to hint what was where. The sun was now tall above, the sky was a mix of beige, blue, and yellow, and it was as searing hot as ever. Dust and souls swirled beneath him, through his legs and away as the wind picked up sand from the tips of the dunes around him. The wind melted everything in these parts; it could tear down a dune over weeks and rebuild it miles away.

Desert knew the place Irus referred to, even if Irus thought nothing was there at all. This eagle had found one of few oases that scattered Zerca, the lifeblood of everything that lives here. Of course the eagle would have nested there; water was plentiful, and food was fairly easy to find. The only issue with these oases is that the sand had become particularly soft and unsuitable for any sort of Aavirk or even town to be based around them. Just like anywhere else on these plains.

The stallion marched on; this place wasn’t far but it sure did feel like it. Desert felt the sand under him harden, and before he knew it, he stood atop a sheer cliff. However, this one was too sharp and neat to be natural; this must be another temple. He walked to one side of it and skillfully slid down the soft sandy bank besides it. He caught himself at the bottom and looked at the drop, and indeed this was a temple. He wasn’t familiar with it, however. This “cliff” looked like it was one of its four walls, where the other three had collapsed over the years, so actually he stood inside the structure. The sandstone bricks held up a mound of sand which leaked over the top and rode the wind away.

On the inside of the structure, snapped pillars that once held up a ceiling stretched various heights into the air aimlessly. They were very carefully carved and etched with lines and dots; they likely had some meaning two-thousand years ago. He walked over the sandy surface and made care to walk over the rubble. There was some small, blackened pottery aside one of the pillars with a primitive paintbrush inside it. Desert understood this as another ritual the ancient tribes of Zerca took part in, where they painted elaborate and intricate patterns and symbols on each other. This could have been to establish rank, position in the tribe, or maybe to separate factions. Nobody really knew.

Birds cawed overhead and soared through the air. “Hmmm…we must be close.” Desert thought. Then it came into view: besides him stood the unmistakable silhouette of a tree. Zerca always found new ways of surprising Desert, how he had never found this site in all his years of passing by this oasis here he never knew. He made a mental note of this place for further explorations in the future and moved to the oasis.

Sitting next to it, one by one he plunged the canteens into the surprisingly crystal-clear pond. The tree's roots grew into the water and plunged deep into the sand. This tree looked nearly dead, but a few stubborn leaves held on tight. On the rim of the oasis there sat small bushes, and in them were berry fruits. This is the food that he would be stocking up on, and it was the only reliable source of food around Zerca. Luckily, they were bountiful in their produce, and Desert liked the taste. These fruits had the interesting property of staying ripe and eatable for long periods of time in the immense heat, but suffered in colder temperatures. He plucked some from their stalk and tucked them into his bag; enough for him, Irus, and for the Aavirk.

Desert ate some of these fruits and drank from the oasis. He felt restored, after hours of hunger and thirst. His headache began to subside.

Birds continued to caw and float around him, and he noticed that they gathered around one of the taller pillars of the structure. Weirdly, none of the other pillars had a bird on it.

“Strange…” Desert said aloud. He stood and dropped the remaining canteens, gripped his staff, and walked to it. Upon closer inspection it looked like these birds had gathered around something and were curiously running across and pecking at whatever it was.

It was a nest. The nest.

“Oh god, that’s the nest!” he shouted. “Right um, uhh, uh what do I do…”

Desert frantically searched around, before he looked over his staff. He gripped it tight and looked at the nest above. He didn’t want to hurt any animals if he could manage, but he needed those eggs to stay intact.

He pulled the staff back, aimed it carefully at the top of the pillar, and launched it fast.

It cut through the air, spinning like a bullet. The staff had no sharp edge; it just needed to frighten the birds off.

It bowed down and began to fall, but slammed and splinted against the stone pillar. The knock frightened the birds enough to shriek and scatter, and, as he saw the nest had not toppled off the pillar, Desert breathed a sigh of relief.

He emptied the fruit onto the canteens as he didn’t really know how big these eggs would be, and rushed to the pillar. The base up to the halfway mark of this particular pillar was submerged in a dune, so he cautiously climbed it. He kicked out sand from under him and balanced, eventually crawling as he got higher and higher. He still needed to be quick in case those birds came back.

He reached the nest, holding onto the pillar’s top with his hooves. He peered inside the makeshift nest, and inside were three eggs, white with a brown speckling. Most importantly however they were intact. Desert breathed another deep sigh, and carefully scooped the three eggs into his bag at his side.

But he heard a crack, and the sound of rubble crumbs escaping from the pillar.

“Oh no.”

An almighty crack split through the pillar and separated the top segment from the rest of it. Desert forgot that these structures were two-thousand years old. It moved and crumbled under his grip and began to tumble forward. Desert panicked, but before he could react to anything the snapped segment of the pillar fell forward and down, sending Desert’s front legs and chest into the hard stone below, knocking the wind out of him. He fell back from the loss of grip, clutching the bag in between his legs and his body, landing hard onto the sand below with a groan. He tumbled down the dune.

Eventually he rolled to a stop. Desert was covered in dust and sand, coughing and wheezing as he had inhaled a fair bit. “Ughh man…” His mane and tail were more sand than hair at this point too, his legs scuffed, and his chest close to agony.

He shook the sand from his eyes and opened them, slowly and anxiously peeking inside the bag to check if he had protected the eggs. He lifted them out one by one, they were unharmed.

He coughed and rested his head back in the sand. “I could just work in an office...”

Irus waited in the Aavirk, now about two hours had passed since Desert left. He became slightly worried, while Desert seemed like a capable man it wasn’t very hard for Zerca to swallow up the arrogant. Perhaps Irus should have gone with him, but then again pegasi and unicorns are dissuaded from going beyond the Great Compass without rigorous training and equipment, earth’s do too. However, they have a natural advantage of strength and resilience over their avian and magical counterparts.

Irus had got this far and that was hard enough for him; he wasn’t cut out for travel into the heart of this place.

He rubbed his beard and put his hat on the table. Each hour that passed made the survival of the chicks less likely. He anxiously tapped his hoof against the floor.

At that moment, the unmistakable sound of full canteens clunking against one another sounded Desert’s return. He swung the door open and met Irus’ gaze.

“I was starting to worry for you then, buddy. Did you get into trouble?” Irus stood and moved to Desert. He brushed all the sand and grit that had gathered on the traveler's shoulder.

Desert looked tired, although slightly less tired than earlier, but now with a messy mane and coat and with sand and dirt everywhere. His hoofs were scuffed, and it looked like he had acquired a graze on his chest.

“It wasn’t too bad.” Desert smiled and tumbled all the canteens to the floor, “Nothing out of the ordinary,” and then scooped up his bag and placed his staff against the wall. Irus leaned closer, and Desert pulled the leather covering back. Inside was a mix of a few handfuls of fruit and two large bird eggs.

Irus thumped his leg against the floor. “Amazing! Thank you so much, Desert. I know two doesn’t sound like much, but in these times any and all is a relief to us. This will go a long way.”

Desert nodded and exchanged with Irus a handful of fruit, the canteens he borrowed to fill, and the two eggs. Irus placed them carefully under the fruits to keep them warm and insulated, and threw the canteens over his back.

“So how does this payment work then? Not to sound too hasty about it, I’m just in need of some bits and pieces.” Desert explained to Irus, who ripped the flyer off the noticeboard.

“If you come by Ozka tomorrow and pay us a visit, we will have your stuff ready. After all I can’t imagine you’d want to trapse all the way down there now.” Irus chuckled, “You look tired enough, like you fell off the side of a mountain.”

“Suppose it does.” Desert’s eyelid twitched.

Irus moved to the door carefully with the bag at his side as he nodded once more to Desert, said “Thank you again,”, and made his way.

And with that, Desert was alone once more.

He filled the containers of the Aavirk with its respective canteens and a handful of fruit, leaving himself some in his bag. He sighed a little bit; despite knowing nothing about Irus, he was happy he could finally speak to someone. Even a stranger like him, it made him feel slightly less alone in this vast empty plain.

Oh well.

Desert packed up, gathered his things, and left.

Hoofprints barely lasted 2 minutes in the open desert sand as wind swallowed them up. The souls in the air here could make any trace of life disappear. The stallion was contemplating whether that was an entirely good thing today.

He walked through the shadow of Kalvika Ta and into its shade, the sun on the other side of the moving peaks of sand. Once more, he thought about his life choices. Perhaps if he moved to even just Ozka, his issues of isolation and loneliness could easily be fixed. Desert never really had trouble socializing or making friends, so there was no real reason he should be this far out from society.

He could still pursue his dreams and ambitions there, but he also loved his own space. People moving around and talking and doing stuff gradually wore him down and stressed him out, so a house separate from all that was ideal. But no-one can stay alone forever.

The wind swept through the mountains and dunes day in, day out, playing the geography like a song. The sounds the depths of Zerca made were like no other to Desert; she was like a symphony. This was nowhere to be heard in Ozka. Or anywhere else in Equestria for that matter.

Folklore whispered amongst travelers and townsfolk explained this song as the souls of the cremated ancient tribespeople, singing on the wind as they traveled upon it. Desert believed this too, but perhaps he would never admit it to anyone.

Couple all that with his longing to discover all there was to know about his home of Zerca, and he moved deep into its heart, far away from Ozka and the Kurizi forest.

Needless to say, Desert felt conflicted. Biology and mental health demands action be taken after all. His thoughts remained unresolved.

By this point Desert had passed beyond the shelter of Kalvika Ta's shade, and so the searing sun burnt through his fur. So, he reached into his bag for some of those fruit to keep him going.

“Hmm. Odd. That didn’t feel like the berries from the Oasis.”

The stallion looked confused and felt through his bag, pushing aside all the berries. There was an egg inside, white and speckled brown.

“Oh no. What, how did...” Desert eventually recalled plucking three eggs from the nest, and only handing over two. He slapped his forehead with a groan, “Damn it...what do I do, head back? I don’t know how to take care of these things...!” he exclaimed with a sigh.

But there was nothing for it; he had to head to Ozka. He turned tail back to Kalvika Ta.

“Perhaps I could swing past the oasis to make up for the water I’ll drink on the...the...” Desert’s thoughts were interrupted by the realization that he was being followed.

He wasn’t being followed by any kind of person, or anything living for that matter. No, this was worse. A lot worse. He was being followed by an almighty storm of dust and sand.

It was travelling fast, eating the dunes and clifftops behind Kalvika Ta, devouring any-and-all in its path. These things were not to be tested, especially without goggles or any sort of clothing, which Desert did not have on him.

“Oh god...I didn’t know there was a storm predicted today...or did I forget?” He thought, perhaps amidst his dehydration and hunger he had forgotten all weather predictions for the next three days.

The sun grew dark till it was red. Desert needed to move, not home though. That was way too far away, the storm would doubtless catch him. He panicked and gazed at the egg in his bag. In a way, he sort of wasn’t alone in this predicament, and thus he needed to think fast. He tucked the egg deep into his bag under fruits and other miscellaneous items to keep it as warm as possible.

His eyes darted over the features of Kalvika Ta, and spotted what looked like an opening to a cave right at the bottom, half-submerged in sand from the ever-changing dunes.

There was nothing else for it. He darted as fast as possible for the great mountain in the sand, dropping canteens in his wake but making sure he clutched the bag tight, rushing into the cave as light grew darker and darker. He threw himself against the cave wall, peering outside as he watched Zerca eat the sky.

There was quiet for a second, and then an almighty thunderous crash. The wall of dust and swept-up sand hit Kalvika Ta. He was thrown onto his front from the impact as the light was nearly wholly gone from the view of the cavern.

He panicked and crawled to the cave wall, sitting upright against it. The air quickly became thin and dusty. Desert scooped his bag in between his body and his legs to keep it warm, and he was forced to close his eyes from all the dust. Now he could only feel and hear the peril he was in: sand blowing in and filling the floor deeper and deeper, creeping up the walls and filling into its details.

Desert prayed to his gods.

III

Desert awoke with a frantic gasp.

“...where...where am I? What the hell...”

It didn’t take long for Desert’s amnesia to wear off; he was still inside that cave. His legs and arms felt restricted, like they were nearly being crushed by weight. Come to think about it, that’s how his whole body felt. As his eyes focused, he saw that was buried under sand, up to his neck.

Desert shook sand and dust from his head and hair and sharpened his focus. The cave was now considerably darker than it was earlier. That was because now there was no exit to be seen. He groaned and pulled one of his front legs upwards; slowly his senses came back to him. He sweated from the heat in here, and the air was thin. He managed to get his front legs free and thus dug himself out from the pit, but his ears brushed against the top of the cave as he stood and stretched. That meant he was considerably higher up than when he entered this place.

He shook his legs free of dust as his heart began to settle down. This was one of many times that the country he loved and lived in had tried to murder him.

But now he had the predicament of getting out. He had no idea how long he was asleep for. Maybe a day? Hours? Or maybe just a few minutes? The longer it was, the more likely that the surface of the sand outside was much higher on the outside. Not good news.

“Wait a minute...my bag!” Desert exclaimed. He shot down and dug the sand away from where he sat previously. He pushed walls of dust and dirt aside till his hoofs scraped the stone wall he sat against, and eventually scooped out a handle. He pulled out the bag absolutely covered in sand and clutched it against him tight.

Strange. He hadn’t expected a reaction like that from nearly losing the bag. Was that because of the egg inside? He scooped it out and examined it: it was intact still, thank goodness.

Perhaps sometime after he discovered the egg in his bag, subconsciously something clicked in his head. This was a living creature for the most part, the only living thing not airborne nor microscopic for quite some distance. Though it could not speak, and it could not sense, it was alive, and Desert had a duty to protect it, both for the creature’s sake itself and the people who relied on him.

He had to think on that later, as it dawned on him that they would both be dead if he couldn’t get out of this cave. Desert put the egg carefully back in his bag and moved to one of the cave walls.

He lowered himself once more and dug at the base of the cave wall, scooping away the sand like a dog digging a hole. He dug deeper and deeper, but had no luck; there was no exit submerged here. He began to sweat more intensely from the heat of the cave and progressively dug along the base of the wall, moving along its side. This was hard work because the air in here was thin, the walls were warm and the sand was rough which scuffed his hoofs pretty bad. His shoveling grew more panicked with each hoof-full of sand he threw back.

But he kept going through the exhaustion and the fear, moving further and further along the wall. He huffed and panted with sweat dripping from his forehead, eventually he had to find the exit somewhere along this wall. Desert felt the panic in him continue to rise, but he pushed on. “C’mon...c’mon! Where is it?!” he called out.

His hoof clipped the edge of the entrance, and energy sparked from what felt like the pit of his soul. He dug harder and scooped sand back and away. Light peered in through a gap, the light of daytime. He squinted his eyes at its brightness even through a tiny gap like that. Desert dug harder and kicked sand in heaps away from the exit, before getting low and crawling between the sand and the stone cave.

He pushed through and once out, rolled onto his back from this new opening, free from the cave. He gasped in the clean air, his coat filthy with dust and dirt. Exhausted, but relieved to have unsealed his fate. He pulled the bag against his chest safely and held it there.

Why was he acting like this to an egg? Sure, it is an important resource to other people, and he wouldn’t exactly feel good about misusing it or threatening its life, but by the way Desert was acting you would assume that it had a special significance to him.

He stood up weakly on all fours, shaking himself down of dust (and practically making a dust storm of his own in the process) and looked up at the mountain besides him. The sun was still high up in the air. Desert didn’t feel any more parched or hungry than before so it must still be the same day. Perhaps he only passed out for a few minutes, perhaps out of fear.

The stallion rested against the great mountain and slumped to his flank; evidently it was too soon to stand. He felt the blood racing behind his eyes and under his fur, so he took slow breaths and closed his eyes. Despite his distracting heartbeat and the literal near-death experience just moments ago, this choice with the egg was now the biggest issue filling his mind. Maybe that’s just the way his mind worked.

“I should take it back to Irus in Ozka, but...” Desert thought on, “maybe I could...keep it? If I could bring him up and raise him, or her, they could be...a companion? No...that would be selfish.”

Maybe a decision like that would be selfish. It could hamper the conservation effort, maybe this one extra tawny eagle could save the species from years of endangerment, maybe even extinction. Saving a native species was a small piece to the puzzle of building up Zerca, but it was one Desert was happy to be a part of.

But on the other hand, perhaps this companion could help him with his own personal conservation endeavors. Having an eye in the sky would be a very useful tool in unfamiliar sands. Maybe this little bird could help Zerca in a very different sort of way. Maybe, if he knew how to take care of one of these guys, he could be some sort of companion. That would certainly solve a whole load of Desert’s issues. Maybe one bird wouldn’t be too harmful.

Again though, that could be cruel. This was a wild animal at the end of the day. Maybe it would be better for the eagle if he lived a normal life amongst his own kind, naturally, rather than forced to scout oases and temples, and carry messages and light tools.

He pulled the egg out and looked at it, “Hmmmmm...”

Desert knew he should take it back to Irus and the avian trust place. After all, like he thought, this one could be vital in repopulating the species. That was the whole point of today’s expedition. Desert knew the right thing to do with this egg was to hand it to Irus.

“Hmmmmm...”

Desert needed to pick up some more water now that his canteens were lost, so he had no choice but to head for Ozka. But should he hand the egg over to Iris? Or maybe head to the library instead for some research?

Desert gradually stood on his weary legs and began to walk around Kalvika Ta; he collected his manic thoughts and slowed his racing pulse with slow periodic breathing. He had to think through this issue with the egg though. He made his way for Ozka.

Was Desert so fervent in his quest to fix Zerca that he would steal and lie?

“I don’t know how you traveler-folks get the energy for those journeys. While you were making your mind up on whether to follow me or not, I was napping. In fact, I just woke up five minutes ago.”

Desert stood at the desk of the Ozka Institution of Avian Preservation. Well, its Zerca branch anyway, which didn’t live up to the expectations set by its corporate name. This place was like a cluster of refuge barracks, but then again most of Ozka looked like that. The walls were lined with contact information and details, as well as with maps of locations and trails through the Kurizi forest and some close landmarks of Zerca. There were a few ponies here, most were likely residents of Ozka, but a few had brighter colours that Desert had scarcely seen on a pony before. They were from the grasslands; a smaller detail which most wouldn’t care to remember, but it had been a while since Desert had seen colours so vibrant.

Desert definitely looked the scruffiest and most disorganized there. Though in his defense he had fallen off a temple pillar and nearly drowned in sand under a mountain, all in one day, so he let himself off.

Desert smiled at Irus, who stood behind the desk and hovered slightly above the ground with his wings. “Thanks. Besides, I dropped the canteens I had so I needed some more. Long story, involving a dust storm,” Desert said, with some shiny new canteens at his side.

Irus noted the sand in his coat and assumed he was telling the truth. “Uhhhh, didn’t you know there was one on the way? Everyone gets radio’d about it.” He quirked his brow.

“No, I just like walking in them from time to time.”

Irus squinted his eyes, confused.

“Sarcasm,” Desert shrugged, “been a while since I got the chance to use it.”

“Oh!” Irus smiled, “You need some practice.”

Desert chuckled a little bit as Irus continued, “Listen, I was thinking about earlier. What I said about you. I don’t think it was, well, entirely fair.”

Irus dropped to his hoofs from the air and tucked his wings away. He sorted out some papers and other items on the desk in an uncomfortable way and avoided eye contact. “I don’t think I was wrong, but maybe I could’a been more constructive about it. You’re doing your thing, and that’s fine. I just don’t get it.”

Desert nodded in understanding, “I know. I don’t expect many people to, in honesty,” he replied. By the way Irus was acting, he assumed Irus didn’t like apologizing.

“I still think you're crazy, no doubt. You do you, but sometimes you gotta think of you, right?” Irus smiled.

“I guess so.”

Irus leant on the desk, “Anything else I can help you with, Mr. Sun?”

Now was the time, if Desert wanted, to hand the egg over. It sat at his side in his saddlebag.

Thoughts raced through his head. Irus would not be very happy with him if he ever found out about this. Maybe he didn’t really deserve his payment if he decided to keep the egg. A slight trickle of sweat ran down Desert’s temple. Irus had noticed by now Desert was lost in his head. Actually, he had noticed that it seemed to happen quite a lot. He waved his hoof in front of Desert’s eyes, “Hey, you still in there?”

“Sorry.” Desert shook his head, “That’s everything,” he said with a small smile.

Irus tipped his hat and sat back on his chair. “If you ever stop by Ozka make sure you pop in, if for any reason just so I know you’re still kicking,” he said with a chuckle, “You stay safe now.”

“Will do.” Desert returned the smile.

“Back to the desert Desert goes.” Irus waved him away and looked through some forms on the desk.

And with that, Desert left the conservation building and made his way straight to the library.

Ozka was a pretty place, no doubt. It was sat right on the border of Zerca and the Kurizi, so there were both trees and small sandy dunes surrounding the buildings. Roots weaved their way under the sand and spiraled through the dunes like ropes, or webs even. These trees were ancient, older than any tribe, and it would be an impossible task to uproot any of them intact. Vast entanglements of spiraling roots and vines erupted from the sand into the air, only to find their way back into the ground, like a snake. In a way each and every tree here was connected, feeding off of each other's energy and water supply. Perhaps the lack of water was the reason they did that.

To the north, the Kurizi forest manifested in larger numbers of trees densely packed together; the further you saw the denser it became, until you saw nothing. To the south, the opposite effect was true for Zerca. Trees became smaller, weaker, and less densely packed together, until the sand was all that remained.

Desert walked to the library, which did actually look like a building and not just an army barracks. This one was wooden and painted, though the paint had been worn from the dust in the air over the years. He opened the door and entered.

The librarian at the back smiled warmly; she was an old, grayed earth pony. She had worked here in one capacity or another since Desert was a colt, but now she ran the place. It turned out a town as remote as Ozka only needs a handful of staff to keep a library operational. There were a few people in here, no number out of the ordinary.

“Back so soon, Desert?” She looked to him with a light smile, her tone deeply sarcastic.

Desert smiled back in return, “Yeah I know. Nice to see you. It has been a little while.”

The stallion walked down the entrance, he ritualistically glanced at the “Zerca’s history” section over on his right. He did this every single time he came to this library, and every single time there was just two books there, both of which he had read over a number of times.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any books on native animals, would you?” Desert made his way to the librarian, who gestured to the shelf behind her without so much as a heartbeat passing. An answer that should have been expected from a pony with a book as her cutie mark.

“You’re welcome,” she replied as Desert passed.

“Hmmmm...habitat of deserts, mountains, savannas, generally dry climates...diet of carrion, small mammals, insects, understandable...fledgling at around 12 weeks, wow...”

Desert had been sat at this desk for a fair while, now surrounded by a fair number of books about birds and their information. Each was open on the page of the tawny eagle, unsurprisingly.

But what was surprising however was the fact that Desert was enjoying this study. Throughout his life, there was very few things that could keep Desert’s attention for longer than five minutes. The history of Zerca was one of those things, but he could barely recall another.

Even more surprising was how much of this he was remembering, too. He skimmed and scanned over information, corroborated sources and cross-referenced facts with the information available. He smiled quite widely; it had been a while since he had enjoyed reading a new book (even if it was purely a factual one).

Next after trying to remember as much as he could, he researched and read over how exactly the bird developed and gestated inside the egg while under its parent’s care.

“A regular temperature transferred from the parent’s body heat...” Desert said quietly. He hoped the temperature of the room and the soft insulating fruit inside his bag was adequate for now, but he would have to use fabrics and some sort of shelter from the wind when he got home.

All this seemed easy enough. Desert’s confidence grew; perhaps this wouldn’t be so difficult. He continued to skim the pages and analyze the information; the particular book he held showed off photography and diagrams all about eagles and a variety of its species. Desert saw a particularly appealing photograph: a black and white image of a tawny eagle flying above a dead tree. He knew this was Zerca because of the blurry, hazy presence of Kalvika Ta in the background. It had writing underneath it:

An adult female tawny eagle, soaring in front of the Great Compass, 2584 AC. The image is entitled “Tovii Orvaa”, the ancient Zercan word for the eagle.

Desert knew what those words meant, and it wasn’t Zercan for “tawny eagle”. He frowned at the book; the words were actually an old proverb, roughly meaning “to fly is to survive, to survive is to fly”.

The proverb was referring to life in Zerca. Stay put, the sand swallows you up. Much like the dead tree in the photo. Keep moving like the birds, you will thrive. He ignored the annoyance that the book didn’t get the fact right and instead focused on that word.

“Tovii...” he whispered while looking into his bag. He saw the egg sat under the fruit.

The librarian cut off Desert’s trail of thought, “It took you long enough, but I knew you would get there,” she said and smiled from her desk.

Desert looked up to her, “Sorry?”

“I was wondering why you didn’t head over to the usual bookshelves, but I see it makes sense now,” she replied. “I’ve always said that it takes more time for some than it does for others.”

“I don’t think we are on the same page. Mind the pun.”

The librarian chuckled a little bit, pointing to Desert’s chair. He briskly checked whatever it was she was pointing at.

“No no no, your leg Desert. Not the chair.”

And there it was, a mark on Desert’s thigh: it was two white feathers, tipped black.

It wasn’t entirely uncommon for those born in and around Ozka to struggle finding their exact place in life; older folk than him had waited longer for theirs to reveal itself, many discovered themselves after moving to Equestria. But Desert thought he had his nailed down and he was just waiting for that one event to show it. Maybe a map, or perhaps something that symbolized an artifact.

But a feather? His skills, his destiny, involved...birds? All his life he assumed it would be about Zerca. This didn’t exactly turn his life on his head; it’s not like you can’t have more than one interest and pursuit in life after all, but still. It was definitely a surprise.

“Everything ok?” the librarian enquired. Desert’s mind, once more, had trailed off.

“Yeah...yeah, everything's ok.” Desert smiled.

He swept together the books and parted with most of them, but kept one that detailed care for eggs and the chicks they produced. “I’ll take this one, please. To rent,” he said to the librarian.

She nodded in return, “I thought you would be more excited about your mark?”

“Well, maybe so.”

“Not what you were expecting?” the librarian continued.

“Not entirely,” Desert leant on her desk, “I always thought it would be a map. Guess this isn’t exactly how I imagined it.”

“I can see that you’re slightly disappointed.”

“I was never very good at hiding that, huh.” Desert smiled a bit, to which the librarian nodded in agreement.

“Well, these things come up sometimes,” the librarian said as she stamped the inside of the book, “if life was straightforward, we wouldn’t need a book every now and then, huh?”

“I guess so.” Desert smiled. He took the book, nodded in departure to the librarian, and headed out the door.

“Man...my cutie mark?” He thought. “I had completely forgot...I wonder what it means.”

He returned to that word that hovered in his head as he left the building. “Tovii...” he said. Desert peered into the bag again. “That’ll be your name. Tovii. To fly is to survive.”

A hint of guilt lingered in his thoughts as he passed the conservation barracks though. Desert knew he did the wrong thing in many ways. But if he could just make it work, perhaps Tovii could help rebuild this place. He would make a perfect scout after all. But maybe it was appropriate for Desert to give him the choice to leave, when the time came. That would be the fairest decision; if Tovii stayed then Desert could rest easy.

Desert walked for the border of Ozka back to the Zercan plains, before a voice stopped him.

“That was a hard decision to make. Perhaps a decision that doesn’t have a correct answer, one way or another.”

Desert turned to his side to see a lightly cloaked stallion, leant against a shack. From what he could tell, this man had a purple mane with a white coat, and golden yellow eyes. He was stood above some wooden planks and pallets.

“Excuse me?” Desert replied to the stranger.

“Hmmm?” In return the stranger looked up to Desert.

“You said something to me.”

“Oh,” the stranger smiled, “sorry sir, I was just talking to myself. It’s these pallets, they’re dense enough to be used for the foundation, but firm enough to be side walls. Whichever one is correct will leave someone short on something.” he said as he tapped his hoof on the wooden supplies, deep in consideration.

“My apologies.” Desert nodded respectfully and continued his walk.

“Perhaps what works for me will work for now. But I shall not make a habit of it.”

Desert turned once more to the man, who was making his way into the town with the wooden planks. Desert shook his head in confusion at the strange encounter, before he headed back into the wilderness of dust.

IV

30 days later

Today the sun shone, and the wind whistled through the mountain spikes just as every day had before. They burnt and eroded the dunes and rocks, respectively, like a constant attack on Zerca itself. The constant fact of life here is simple: nothing much changes. But today something was different. Desert walked and climbed up the steep dunes to where his shack was perched, and he quickly pushed the door open to get inside.

He seemed slightly frantic, with a surprising amount of energy considering his busy routine. That was because inside his shack, sat a ball of gray-brown feathery fluff inside a box on his wooden desk. Two eyes opened from said fluff, and then a beak, which let out a screech. One odd feather curled out from atop his head, which Desert thought was amusing.

“Ah, thank goodness...” Desert smiled widely and brought his belongings inside.

The ball of fluff was Tovii; he had hatched over two weeks ago. And in that time he had grown significantly larger than he was when he hatched. The chick fumbled his way out of the box he sat inside, which he was too short to do just a couple of days ago.

Desert chuckled and sat next to the desk, “I’ve noticed you’ve gotten bigger these last couple of days,” he said, “so I’m gonna have to start finding some bigger food for you, huh?”

Tovii waddled his way along the desk and screeched at Desert once again and flailed his young “wings”, although they looked more like weird hairy arms to Desert.

“Yes yes, I know, you’re hungry. You’re always hungry.” Desert smiled once more and rummaged around his saddlebag.

So far it seemed Desert was quite a natural at this bird rearing stuff; Tovii was nice and big for his age, there were no signs of any illness that the book he rented mentioned present on him, Tovii hadn’t tried to escape or anything. Things were good. Desert’s new cutie mark definitely wasn’t lying.

From his bag Desert pulled out a small pouch, “I wouldn’t do this for anyone else, having these things crawling around my stuff. Consider yourself lucky.” He said patronizingly to Tovii, who nodded his head up and down in that strange bird-like way. In the pouch were dead bugs, like locusts and centipedes that Desert had scavenged.

Presenting them to Tovii, they lasted less than a second each.

“That’s gross.” Desert chuckled.

The stallion leant back on his chair as Tovii ate his lunch, and his mind began to wander. Having Tovii around changed things, he thought. It was strange. No longer did he see things through the lens of a pessimist, most of the time at least. When he had finished restocking the Aavirk’s and scouting any new temple sights, he didn’t have that regretful feeling of leaving the desert with nothing done and nothing achieved. Now he had something to go home to, a project, or a pet even. He thought positive things and felt excitement at what may happen in the coming months.

No matter if today didn’t work out, tomorrow is another day. After all, now Desert had the responsibility of taking care of Tovii. He had actual duties to attend to at home. Sometimes Desert brought the chick along his adventures.

Desert ate his own lunch of fruit and berries gathered near the oasis beyond Kalvika Ta. He watched the small eagle carefully and thought about the events that had brought them here.

“At the risk of sounding, well, stupid talking to a bird...these last couple of weeks could have been very different,” Desert said with a light blush, “because you really weren’t meant to be with me. It was a chance that I found that job, that I found you, that I changed my mind, and that we survived the trip.”

Tovii had finished his lunch by this point and sat amidst a pile of down fluff. Desert had noticed the feathers gathering on the floor and sides and needed to sweep them out. However, he carried on, “I’m just saying, it could have very easily turned out that I never found you and then you...well, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to hear what would have happened to you.”

Tovii screeched at Desert as some form of reply, and Desert smiled in return. “Exactly, probably. But all that lead me to finding my mark, which was a surprise. I had completely forgot that I hadn’t found it yet. At first, I was worried it conflicted with what I currently do. Or what I want to do, is more appropriate. But I’ve realised now that it’s not some sort of mistake or disappointment. I mean sure I may have preferred a compass or something, but this is my mark, and it’s who I am. It’s most definitely not going to stop me from what I’m doing; all it means is I’ve got a companion to do it with.”

Tovii obviously didn’t understand a word of Desert’s ramblings, but that’s not why he said it. “It is not what I thought it would be, but that’s ok. This can still work.” He said, but brought his hoof up to his chin and rubbed it anxiously. “That is, if you decide to stay with me.”

Tovii waddled forward and nearly tumbled off the side of the desk to the floor, but caught himself on Desert’s lap just about. The stallion leant forward to make sure he was ok, but instead Tovii climbed up and perched himself on Desert’s front leg. His talons, sharp for his age, clung to Desert’s fur.

He smiled at the small bird, “I guess, what I’m saying is, thank you. I’m not going to waste the opportunity that this mark presents me. I could visit Irus again perhaps, show him the mark, maybe that organization could hire me. With a feather mark, why wouldn’t he? I could be some sort of vet or carer...but that wouldn’t leave much space for Zerca, huh?”

Tovii screeched once more.

“Hmmm. If he hired me, I may have to stop refilling the Aavirks too. I’m sure nobody will miss the dry food and hot water there. I mean it’s probably the animals who take all the stuff in there anyway, right? I’ve lived here a long time; I’ve filled those stops for like 3 years at this point, and how many times have I seen anyone in them? Maybe thirty times in those three years? Ten times a year...”

Desert hadn’t talked so much at home in a very long time. He drank from his canteen and poured some out onto his hoof for the chick, who happily pecked at it and drank.

He let out a sigh. “Man...I didn’t really realise how much of my life I’ve...wasted, doing this stuff...”

Tovii peered up at the stallion, his face wet from his particularly ungraceful drinking method, but Desert didn’t meet his eyes. “Three years...eleven years, you could even say.”

Desert stood from the chair with his leg raised for Tovii to remain perched upon, and shook his head. “No, now’s not the time for that. If you stay after all, it could all be worth it in the end.”

35 days later

The time had come.

Desert held Tovii on his leg, perched there with his talons, that single stray feather still atop his head was his only remaining feature from his youth as he was now fully grown into a young adult capable of life on his own. That feather on his head is how you told Tovii apart from any other tawny. The young eagle seemed content, but Desert on the other hand was weary and anxious.

This was the correct thing to do, what Desert knew he had to do from the day he took home the egg. If Tovii didn't want to stay, then the humane thing for him would be to set him free. Desert hated thinking about that; he dreaded the day he had to do it. But that day was today.

He had hoped, and nearly prayed that Tovii would choose to stick around, but at the end of it all the decision came down to Tovii. If he leaves, then he leaves. If he did leave, Desert had crafted a sort of earring from a pair of Tovii’s lost feathers as a way of remembering him. He had only had Tovii for a few months, but the chick had made such a significant impact on Desert’s life in that short space of time. Perhaps because Desert saw barely anyone else out here.

Desert stood at the cliff edge near his house and held his leg out. "Okay Tovii...this is it."

The bird cocked his head and looked around over the vast Zercan desert. He squawked, shaking his wings about. Tovii had been let out to fly before, but he was always considered young enough to return for food and water. Now though, not so much.

Desert closed his eyes and extended his leg further. Desert kept thinking that if Tovii left now, there was no chance he would come back. He would likely be interested in finding a mate at this time in his life, and it’s not like he had any particular compulsion in returning to the stallion who reared him. It’s not like Tovii was a pony after all.

Desert breathed out deeply, and kept his eyes shut. With a push, the eagle let go of Desert’s leg and pumped his wings, bringing up dust and sand at Desert's hoofs as he took off.

And from there he flew away.

Desert put his hoof down after a few seconds and opened his eyes. Tovii flew high over the cliff edge and soared on the ancestral winds, banking and spiralling in beautiful grace.

Desert watched him fly further and further away than he had before as he became little more than a dot in the dusty sky. It took a disturbingly short time for that dot to disappear completely.

Desert nodded to himself quietly in acceptance as the feathers bristled against his ear in the wind. He felt his heart beating in the pit of his stomach. "Goodbye," he spoke carefully.

He knew it was wishful thinking. How could you be so stupid, thinking a bird could help you in some sort of crazy delusional adventure fantasy anyway? What was he going to do, carry a torch through the bowels of an ancient temple? He was a wild animal, not a robot.

Desert eventually turned and quietly walked back into his shack and closed the door slower than he normally would. He stared into his home; feathers swirled and blowed in the gust let in by the opening of the door.

He stood still for a few minutes and watched those feathers. There was no scurrying of talon against wood to greet Desert now that he was inside, nor a screech to signify a hungry lodger that needed feeding, not even the frantic flapping of young wings for no real reason Desert could deduce. It was just quiet. He sat down on his mattress and looked out of the square "window" cut out of his wooden wall.

He watched the dusty clouds swirl and race across the sky, white and gold. He found himself deep in his thoughts once again.

He was defeated. His eyes wandered to Zerca, but he wasn't overwhelmed at the golden beauty this time around. No, this time it felt gray. Maybe Irus was correct all those months ago, maybe his parents were right to suggest he find his home elsewhere, maybe all his friends were right about this place.

In the face of disappointment and maybe even failure, the whistling spiritual wind just didn't sound the same, and nor did the tip of Kalvika Ta in the distance look the same. After a few minutes, sick of the view, he slumped back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling above him. It felt like he just laid there for hours.

But, the noise of gripping talons scraping against dry wood sounded. To Desert that might as well have been the sound of heaven’s bells. His eyes shot for the window, where Tovii clung to its sill and squawked at him, the single stray feather atop his head dancing in the gusts.

Desert felt his heart rate pump faster; he had no idea how to react. Was he just seeing things? He always knew he was sort of crazy in a way.

But no, this was very real. The stallion shot up from his bed and sighed in relief, "...I spoke too soon. I always speak too soon, huh? Man...dad always said I was a pessimist." He said with a smile to Tovii, who hopped onto his worktop from the windowsill. He made a mess of the stuff on it, but Desert couldn't care less. He moved from the bed and grasped his staff in his hoof.

"Alright then. In that case, let’s get to work. Me, and you. Let’s put this place on the map.”

Squawk!

Author's Note

Thank you for reading!
Before making this story it had been a fair few years since I last tried my hand at writing, and in retrospective while I am proud of the work I did, it had errors and faults. Common mistakes that I would have avoided had I took the time to research basic writing rules, along with the fact that I was unhappy with the direction I took my characters. This story probably has issues too, but it allows me to springboard off into the bigger and more exciting stories I want to tell, where I can include more of my characters. Whenever I decide to take to writing again, of course, I'm not sure when that will be.
But that's why I wrote this one: to get started.

Anyway thank you for reading, any and all criticisms and opinions are welcome.