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A long time ago a solar flare heated the sand in this area to the point that it melted and a formed glass landscape. The glass glistens in full sunlight and reflects the colors of the setting and rising sun. The night stars and moon also reflects on it's surface.

It is an eerily beautiful place but a little hard to walk on if you're not use to it.

Azur would not be surprised to find that the Shadow Tracker was close behind; never skipping a beat in their pursuit. While his life before had been founded on the hunt of others, now he was able to simply chase. It was his favorite part of the hunt, and Azur provided a greater chase than many. Mere feet away and breathless from his tireless pursuit, Krayth lept out towards Azur with arms outstretched. He sincerely hoped his love did not intend to dodge his lunge, or he'd be greeted by the unyielding face of the nearest glass dune.

What mattered was that they had managed to arrive before sunrise, and the first piercing tones of yellow began to rise up from the horizon.

"You never cease to amaze!" commented the Anima as he traveled through the air, hoping to nestle his face in his lover's cool body over the dunes cool razor sharp glass.

Krayth and Azur's frames collided, and in that moment the Anima's joy was at it's zenith. His posture was perfect; his twist calculated exactly so that when they met there would be no sharp blow. He struck the glass of the nearest dune on the blunt of his back, and there was no pain. All that could be felt was the light weight of her caught in his grip. He allowed himself a moment to shut his eyes before turning them to witness the rising sun.

"Indeed we should..."

But the Anima's smile faded, and though the light of love remained in his eyes Krayth was clearly distressed. His thoughts lay on the men and women of the desert -the humans and others he and his lover had liberated from their captors not long ago. Now, their backs knew shade, but their stomachs still knew hunger. Their children still knew poverty. As Krayth moved to set his lover comfortably aside and witness the birth of the sun through the glass dunes, his words carried a hint of sadness.

"I do not think we will be able to come as often as we'd wish... we have much work to do.... still... this place is beautiful. Truly wondrous, like you."

His smile returned in time to gleam down to his Lady, but the weight of his words remained. The Devil's Eye Desert had only recently returned from turmoil, and it would take some time before they rose from the shadow of the past to become a formidable kingdom.

The Anima recognized the anguish and self-loathing in Azur's eyes, and he was quick to move towards her. He had seen that glint in her eyes in the past, and each time -even the first moment they had met- he consoled her.

"Azur, do not hold such anger for yourself. We've been leading for less than a week, and look at the difference we've made. Yesterday, I even saw one of the Shas'Ti tribesmen SMILING!"

He stood before her with the sun rising beside them, and in that resplendent array of color cascading over them Krayth raised his hands to cup his lover's face. Staring into her eyes, his smile flickered back to life and he spoke softlyto his Lady.

"These tribes are truly free; moreso than you and I could ever be. Now, they have the power to live as they wish, teach their children their culture, and preserve their heritage. They can do all of these things because of you. Your words rallied their spirits, and your sword shattered their chains. You..."

Staring into Azur's beautiful eyes, Krayth suddenly saw something... something wrong. He felt nauseous, and a feeling of omen pulled at his innards. Before he could say another word, it all came flooding back to him. As vividly as he had seen it then, he relived the nightmare his subconscious had suppressed.

His hands clutched her face, but it had no body. His eyes looked to hers, but found only bloody and gouged sockets. Her mouth was agape to reveal shattered teeth and blood bubbled over her torn and bruised lips. Smoke everywhere... screaming... he could smell it on the wind. He had been too late, and arrived only in time to watch whatever beast that stalked the dark reaches of his mind rend apart his beloved and his closest friends. He could smell the sickly copper aroma of all the blood. He could see her blood-soaked brain through her skull...

Krayth gasped violently and fell away from Azur. His eyes were wide and his pupils fully dilated. Only the unyielding force of the ground striking the back of his head and shoulders broke him from this horrific vision, and when it did The Anima clutched his face and tearfully stared at his beloved. He could hardly comprehend what had just happened, but it had happened right in front of him. Beyruun shimmered violently at his hip; the weapon visibly trembling from the amount of emotion that stormed inside its Anima. Krayth continued to stare at his lover in shock, but finally managed words.

"Azur, by the void... A nightmare. I remember my nightmare..."

If The Lady of The Devil's Eye had forgotten about hers as well, his words might very well trigger a dreadful recollection of her own.

Krayth didn't falter long. Seeing the expression that swept over Azur's face, he knew that she was experiencing something similar to his own horror show... and that revelation was most disturbing. It did not slow his hands, however. He leaned up and forward to her; raising his hands to her shoulders and gripping her tight.

"It's not real, love. I am here. I am alive and well, but..."

The concern on his face was apparent, and Krayth made no attempt to hide it. There was real fear in his eyes, and such a thing rarely took his features.

"You had one too? I remember it from last night -I had forgotten it, but it suddenly came to me..."

He took on hand and set it gently on her chin to turn his eyes to his. Carefully he wiped away her tears, but his tone was one of deadly seriousness.

"Something is coming... such terrible things don't happen out of chance. What does this mean?"

The Anima could only nod in agreement as Azur expressed her own realization. The lines of concern in his face deepened, and his tone reflected their feelings.

"You're right... you couldn't have shared my vision, it would have made no sense from your perspective. In your nightmare, did I... die? Horribly?"

He fought the urge to cling to her. Now was not the time to get hysterical, or desperate. It was only a vision. He reminded himself of that, and squeezed Azur's smooth shoulders to reassure him of that fact.

"Whatever it is, we should consider speaking to the others about this. Maybe it isn't just us."

He sincerely hoped so. Such an idea was very troubling, and he did his best to ignore the growing possibility that haunted him.

Krayth seemed pensive, but as his fingers rose to cup his nose and lips within, the bobbing of his head affirmed her suggestion.

"It was... and I will do well to never think on it again. You're right, of course. These matters should be introduced to the tribes last. They have enough to think on now, without sowing seeds of fear in them again. Let them rest and rejoice... for now, we should confide only in Darius and the rest of the court."

He looked up from the glittering glass at his feet and managed to slap a small smile back onto his face.

"But, as you said, the day has yet to begin. Let the others rest as we walk awhile... we must make new memories to distract us from..."

He couldn't bring himself to say it. A flash of teeth and the offer of a hand served as a sign to Azur. The sun had just barely pierced the horizon at this point, and as intense and dazzling as the sunrise was now, it would only grow in beauty.

"If we move briskly, we might reach the Grand Peak before the sun has crested."

Azur's familiarity with the dunes was more than apparent as she strode effortlessly ahead. Krayth was not far behind, but the sheer smoothness of many of the dunes' surfaces was still partially problematic to him. He slipped once but caught himself before he could fall, and was silently grateful for his gloves. He resumed Azur's rapid rhythmic pace, and did not slow or speak until his lover commented on Darius... the question was a welcome respite from the brooding that transpired in his mind, and the Anima was quick to take the bait.

"Given the state of the tribes, I doubt Darius feells that his loyalty has yet to be justly rewarded for his service, but he will in due time. I had been thinking of a gift for our Knight - perhaps a new blade would interest him?"

Krayth couldn't say for sure. With the chaos of the past week and their sudden rise to power, he had little time to share friendly banter with Darius. It was all business, much like Darius, to his credit. By the time he had finished speaking, they had paused before the slope of the Grand Dune. It was taller than all the others, and much steeper. Krayth resolved himself for the climb, but spoke in awe at the spectrum of color that burst through the whole of the dune. No wonder the tribes found this place so spiritually invigorating. The Lord smiled to his consort and bounded forward towards the slope with sudden determination, and as he passed Azur he shouted, "This time, you have to catch me!"