Chp.43: The Thul Oasis

Haku and Rhaegal found Darbi busy making Brenno spit out an abnormal amount of sand he had swallowed. Apparently he had initially dug the hole in a joking way, just wanting to have a laugh and never having had any intention of covering it, but unfortunately the minotaur hadn't just thrown himself in, but in doing so he had hit the mound of sand created next to it. to the hole and so it was submerged by a cascade of hot grains. Furthermore, Brenno, very slyly, had even tried to eat them. The result had been that Darbi had to force him out from under the sand and had to hold him upside down for almost ten minutes, while Gord forced the minotaur to open his mouth to get everything out. Needless to say, Brenno had even tried to fight, so in the end they had to put him to sleep with punches.

After making sure the minotaur was okay, or at least would live another day, Darbi had been happy to join his two brothers for this little exploration. After all, it had been a long time since the three of them had fun together, or at least they didn't stay together only when they had to argue, reproach each other, plan something or carry out an attack. It would have been nice, at least for a few hours, to go back to having fun exploring as they had done in their mother's territory many times. Therefore, Darbi was enthusiastic about the idea. Obviously the three told their sisters their intentions to avoid worrying them; they seemed a little annoyed at being left out, but after all, as Corgorin had said, 'sometimes it was right for boys to spend time among boys'.

The Thul Oasis was now close enough to be visible even to the weak eyes of newcomers, so it took them a few tens of minutes to reach it even without going at their maximum speed. When they arrived, they could see that it was exactly as the few witnesses they had heard of had described it, and it was perfect for their purpose. It was the ideal place to live, and lacked practically nothing.

Although officially it was defined as an 'oasis', in reality it was much more. It was a large lake of at least three kilometers in diameter, in the center of which there were also some islets. The clean, placid water gleamed continuously in the perpetual sunlight, and small waves crashed on the sandy shore. The lake was surrounded by a chain of hillocks similar to dunes, formed however of a harder material, although very brittle compared to normal loam; different kinds of grass and trees grew on them. The area was so fertile that the plants were present up to half a kilometer from the edge of the lake, beyond which the desert became sandy and monotonous again.

"It's beautiful!" Darbi exclaimed as they arrived. "Damn, look at those huge trees!"

The trees surrounding the lake were truly enormous: they were at least fifty meters tall and cast great shadows all over the ground, which combined with the little desert wind that managed to pass between them and the lake breeze kept the temperature at acceptable levels even if it was broad daylight. It was hotter than the one in Baudonia City Alliance or Jurao Kingdom or elsewhere, but still easily bearable. Probably, even the temperature of the night would have been more acceptable, because the lake water would have retained the heat of the sun.

Haku took a good look at the trees. They seemed to be divided into three parts: at the bottom there were the roots and then an extremely thick trunk, over five meters wide and covered with a gray and extremely hard bark, which climbed without even a branch for about thirty meters; after which there was an area, about ten meters high, from which emerged innumerable branches pointing in every direction and which were covered with very dark green leaves; finally, above them, the top of the tree flattened and spread out, creating a kind of 'hat' similar to a mushroom's one that cast a shadow on some of the leaves, a shadow that shifted according to the position of the sun. "Why do you think it has such a strange shape?" Rhaegal asked curiously.

"Probably to avoid getting cooked by the sun" Haku answered. That strange 'hat' not only lowered the temperature, therefore making it more comfortable and probably more suitable for the growth of the plant, but it also decreased the amount of sunlight that the leaves received. It was probable that too much sunlight would have hurt the tree: in short, even with that sort of 'hat' that periodically obscured the leaves, the plant still obtained enough nourishment to grow up to fifty metres. Which meant that if it didn't have that protection, it probably would have received lethal doses of sunlight. "Every life form in this desert has adapted to withstand these extreme conditions. These trees are perfectly designed to live here. Look at those trunks and those huge roots: I bet they are strong enough not to be moved even by a sandstorm. This desert always has new surprises in store for us..."

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go and discover them all!" Darbi exclaimed finally crossing the border between the desert and that small forest and entering it. Rhaegal and Haku immediately followed.

As they went a little further, the tree cover was so thick as to make the sunlight much thinner and the temperature quite comfortable. The three dragons were satisfied: even if they couldn't care less about the difference in temperature, their allies would certainly have liked that environment. When they had gone more than ten meters, the air was filled with the continuous buzz of several dragonflies flying everywhere. They came in all colors, from midnight blue to bright red. They were quite large compared to common dragonflies, so much so that if they landed on a human hand they would have taken up the entire back, not counting their wings. However, their presence didn't bother the dragons, because all the dragonflies were flying over thirty meters high, where there was a strange vine-like plant covered with pink flowers, which tied like a rope around the branches of the trees and from them it expanded. The dragonflies entered the flowers, stayed there for a few minutes and then came out again. "I assume that, in the absence of butterflies, wasps and bees, they have taken over the role of pollinating insects" Rhaegal said looking at them. "After all, this is their ideal environment. Thanks to the lake they can reproduce in large quantities, and all these flowers provide them with nourishment. It was normal for them to become specialized in transporting pollen to favor the reproduction of flowers and keep the food chain stable... "

"One species is missing, another takes its place" Darbi commented with a smile. "Nature is really capable of continuously adjusting itself..."

"Guys, don't you find this strange?" Haku suddenly asked.

His two brothers looked at him confused. "What's strange?"

"The totally absence of sand!" Haku answered pointing to the ground. "Look around: there isn't a single grain. When we entered the grass every now and then you could see a little, because the desert wind carried it, but there is nothing here"

Darbi and Rhaegal looked around. It was true: the ground was completely covered with soft green grass and no sand was visible anywhere. Which should have been impossible since the desert wind would have had to carry her continuously. "Well, due of these massive trees the wind is weaker here" Rhaegal pointed out. "Maybe it can't carry sand..."

"And when does a sandstorm happen? Even then, is the wind too weak?" Haku asked rhetorically. "Something is wrong. This place is constantly whipped by storms that literally rain sand. Yet not only are plants able to grow there, but for some reason the ground is completely devoid of sand when it should be covered in it. I want to understand what it's happening here"

Under Haku's orders, the three dragons quickly made their way back and returned to the outside of the oasis, and there they collected a large amount of sand; after which they walked back to where the sand seemed to vanish and climbed to the top of a tree. Even though their bodies were very heavy by now, those massive trunks could still support them. Once near the top, they tossed sand into the air and watched it fall to see what happened.

For a few meters the sand fell towards the ground with nothing stopping it, then something happened: those strange lianas full of flowers that practically connected all the trees in the forest opened. Their massive stalks, which were about a foot thick, split in two and uncoiled until they were over four meters wide. All the lianas present in that area did the same thing, until the passage of the sand was completely blocked; all the grains settled on the plants and remained stuck there, without being able to reach the ground. As soon as there was no more sand falling, the vines closed up and trapped the sand inside their stems.

"Wow! So cool!" Darbi exclaimed upon seeing that scene. "Guys, did you see? It was incredible!"

Haku had to admit he was amazed as well. He knew that some plants could move, but he had only seen it done as a defense or predation mechanism, for example in carnivorous plants. But this time it was different: it was rather a symbiotic relationship. Whenever there was a sandstorm, those strange vines would open up and keep the dust from falling to the ground and choking the trees that were still growing, so they could grow tall and strong and allow more vines to grow on top of them. and protect them. They also made the undergrowth a safe place where all their pollinators, meaning the dragonflies, could take refuge. The storms could drag huge amounts of sand, but the forest, already partially defended by the 'hats' of the trees, was completely protected by that strange liana. "It only remains to find out where the sand goes" he murmured; after all, the plant could not absorb it, nor keep it forever within it. He had to have a way to get rid of it.

"I know only one way to find out!" Darbi said, and ran away; after a few moments he returned with more sand and spread it over a liana, which obviously opened to capture it. He repeated that operation a couple of times, and then finally something new happened.

The vine trembled and something seemed to move inside it; the dragons understood that those strange dark spots they saw was the sand being moved. It was dragged to a point where a strange fruit was growing, similar to a large nut; the sand entered the fruit through the plant, and when it was finished it fell to the ground with a thud. Rhaegal picked it up and tapped it with a claw. "Damn, it's so hard. It's no surprise it withstood a thirty-meter fall" he said. "It doesn't make sense, this fruit can't be used to reproduce, the shell is practically impenetrable. And then it wouldn't make sense to put sand in it. What is it for?"

"I doubt this fruit is meant to reproduce, it doesn't seem to be born from a flower. I think it's a different organ that serves to eliminate excess sand" Haku said taking it. "But I don't see many of them around, so somehow they have to move around. Who knows how...". An intuition suddenly struck him. "Of course! Everything here works by cooperating with the other forms of life! And if there are no fruits and no sand here... maybe I understand! Follow me!"

Haku, Rhaegal and Darbi ran back to the border between the oasis and the desert, and there Haku threw the fruit in the middle of the dunes. For a few minutes nothing happened, then there was a snap and the fruit opened, releasing the sand it contained. Haku approached and saw that inside the fruit had a reddish pulp, without seeds (another sign that it was not made to reproduce), which gave off a strong smell and from which a thick red juice flowed. He gave it a lick and felt a sweet taste invade his mouth. "It's all clear now. This fruit needs sunlight to open. In the forest, with the trees blocking the sun, there isn't enough light for that to happen; but out here, it does. And since it's so tough, if an animal would have to eat it, he would have to bring it here. And since it is so good, surely many creatures would like to taste it. In this way the sand that the lianas capture is continuously transported out of the oasis, avoiding settling on the ground and thus keeping it suitable for growth of new plants"

The ecosystem of that oasis had really adapted to work perfectly and prevent the extreme conditions of the desert from making it unlivable. Each life form had learned to cooperate with the others to be able to push the sand out of their territory and thus avoid being suffocated by it. "But if so, then there must be animals in here too" Rhaegal said with an excited smile. That exploration was getting more and more interesting. "Come on! Let's go find them!"