Red sand dunes spread out as far as the eye could see. Burnt orange and faded red, colored by both mother nature and the blood spilled over years of treacherous crossings.

The winds shifted and granules blew over each other, hiding the relics of carnage. The mast creaked as the sail pulled along the dusty sea.

“Starboard bow!”

The call came from above where Amber stood in the crow’s nest, aviator goggles over her eyes for protection, tangled dark brown hair blown out behind her.

Laris was tempted to rush the side of the ship for viewing but instincts told her the sound beneath the boat’s hull was the weaving swim of the very beasts she was looking to avoid. The gentle hiss of sand over scales - quiet. Unnerving.

She’d somehow lived to make this trip more than once but the fact the beasts still roamed in the numbers they did showed just how many had braved the landscape only to end up its dinner.

“Counting two sighted, Captain!” Amber shouted from above.

Sienna sands slapped Laris across the head, disorienting her for a bare moment as a roar that rose into a shriek split the air. She lifted her arm to block more sand and turned to see the writhing creature rise from the crystalline sea just as a boom echoed in the distance and she was thrown to the ground. Wood splintered below and the ship shook from the impact.

Was someone seriously firing on her or did they honestly have the audacity to go after the draconic beast with her and her crew between them and their query?