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The sun was crisp and hot. Stream rose form a small puddle as the sand began to heat up. Xander walked over to the puddle to lap up the last few cupful's before the sun took the only water left form the rain storm in the barrens.

Xander finished his morning drink but he knew he was going to need more later. Maybe a trip to the homewoods would be a good idea. Or depending how far he wander maybe he could go the underground water cave deep in the Barrens. He shrugged and decide only time would tell which was the best decision.

He moved forward with no real direction in mind. Keeping a sharp eye on the sand plants of the Barrens for anything out of the ordinary. Suddenly he felt an unfamiliar pull in a direction he new to be the path towards the Grandfather Tree. He was a much older then normal Buck to be making the long hot walk to the Grandfather Tree. He had ignored it up to this point find more purposes in be the herald of the Wanderlust.

But today the pull was more then he could ignore. It was not painful per say but if he continued to ignore this pull he could see it turning into a problem. Changing his direction toward the rutted path that many nouls before him had walked, he knew this was the right thing deep down.

The walk to the Great Tree was both uneventful and familiar. He had see the tree before and had even walked to but never took the steps to get his gift. Today that would change for him. As he approached the white barked Grandfather Tree he knew this was the right time for him and welcomed the process with open hoofs. "I hear your call and am here to answer it." He call up into the branches of the Great Tree.

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Xander's world fell away form him as if he was falling into a deep hard sleep. As he came wake the the ground burned and if it had not been for his cape he was sure his hide would be burnt. The air was dry and hot which was more familiar to him then anything he had ever known. He was home in the Barrens, he knew this with out even opening his eyes.

Blinking his eyes open his waited for his eyes to adjust to the familiar light. Standing up Xander looked all around. The land before him was unfamiliar, he had not yet been to this place in all his travels. "Strange." He thought as he searched for any type of land mark that might give him a clue to where he was at.

In the distance he can just make out a massive stretcher. Even form this distance he could tell that it was bone. The tell tell sun bleached white was a dead give away in Xanders bank of knowledge. Knowing that there would not be much else around, Xander decides to good take a look at the bones. "If nothing else it will offer some shade." he thinks as he moves forward.

It does not take him long to get there, he is a strong well traveled noul and this train was his home. The closer he came he found that the bones where for sure a from a massive animal long long since passed. He had seen it many times being a herald so this came as no surprise to him but for some reason the way the jaw line lay this made Xander sad for the poor creature that once roamed the Vykeli. Not overly so but enough to take pitty on the animal.

Looking at the bones he knew there was no way he would be able to take this back to a vivify noul that could revive it. That being said he had enough knowledge of the vivify gift to know that even a small piece of bone could be used to revive a creature. Loosening a tooth form the the jaw that lay in such a sad way, Xander placed it in a bag then turned back to the bones. Studying the shapes and curves he committed them all to memory so he could later draw the creature for a vivify to see. Maybe one this creature was already revived and he did not want to cause a vivify to waste energy on a creature that has already been brought back. And with that thought came a thought of what if the creature was not one they wanted to bring back. The teeth of the creature were far to sand beaten to know if it was ally or enemy.

Satisfied with he memory of the creatures shape he headed back the way he had come. Following the sun to the east towards the Homewood. After all he might not know where he was exactly but he knew that East was where the Homewood lay.

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