Heart of sands - I

Dwab dwab dwab

The man stomped quickly forward while following the guard, who was leading the way. With the rage visible on his face, he gritted his teeth.

"So what are the items stolen?"

His eyes squinted, making a tense frown on his eyebrows. The drops of sweat flowed down his temples in an uneven manner. The pressure on his mind was too much.

When everything was calm, without anyone's knowledge, huge trouble had walked in. The royal treasury, heavily guarded by an elite group of elites, was attacked.

The Sabbianyth Empire was the financially strongest nation. The royal treasury had almost ninety percent of their wealth stored inside it. All to make sure it was safe.

The security around the Treasury was divided into three levels. The first one was 'Basic' or 'Front'. Followed by 'Middle' or 'Block'. And lastly, 'Traps'.

The first unit consisted of regular guards, but their number was too large for intruders to get past them. The second unit was the elites of elites, who excelled in their respective combat styles.

The final level, as per the name, was made up of multiple deadly traps. That's why the situation was supposed to be under control. Sadly, that wasn't true.

Since the empire started to amass wealth, there have been no cases of someone making it past basic security. But this time, the situation had escalated to a whole new level.

"There's nothing missing."

"Did you check carefully?"

"We are still surveying the Treasury."

Kamran couldn't say a word upon listening to that. All he could do was think about it. There were countless questions that arose due to the illogical actions of the culprit behind the incident.

If the intruder never intended to steal anything, then why did they even bother to go as far as taking the risk and attacking the Treasury under the light of day?

It would've been night after a few hours, though. At present, it was late in the afternoon when the unfortunate event took place.

According to the reports Kamran received from the guards, there was only one intruder who broke inside the palace. What that person did was defeat all the guards, disarm all the traps, and finally enter the Treasury.

'And that's the strangest part... They never took a thing?'

Even after going through all of the treasures, there was nothing that was missing. Then for what reason did they even bother to intrude when they never planned to steal?

It simply didn't make any sense. What could've been the real motive behind such futile attempts? To know that, Kamran himself was heading towards the Treasury in person.

'It's better if nothing is missing...'

Losing some small treasure won't affect their finances too much, but Kamran wished for nothing to be missing. It would've been for the best if his wishes were heard.

Tap tap

They slowly began descending a staircase after walking towards a room in the centre of the palace. The Treasury lied underground, just beneath that very palace.

That place had only one path for entering and leaving. They had arranged it that way so that no intruders could leave the place easily if they managed to break in there.

Unfortunately, this time things were way too different. Not only did someone break in, but they also escaped safely without getting caught. And most guards were found passed out.

Kamran heard about the intrusion a bit later. By the time he had gathered his forces, the intruder had escaped the palace. Couldn't they've caught that person if they chased him?

Tracking the intruder wasn't useful either. That person was too sly to leave behind any evidence. The intruder sneaked in and left as if nothing had ever happened.

"I will be taking my leave, your majesty."

The guard didn't waste a moment and left the place once they reached the Treasury Chambers. Kamran glanced one last time at the staircase nearby before heading inside the room.

After that, one hour went by quickly. Kamran, along with the people dispatched to investigate the matter properly, tried to look for the missing items. It was actually a relief that nothing was actually missing.

That sense of relief didn't last long. Soon, Kamran happened to pass by the most important and heavily guarded treasure. The traps around it would kill anyone who came close to it.

The box that was supposed to be locked up with a lock, which was also an ancient relic, was in its place. The main issue was that the relic used to seal it was missing.

Kamran's face went pale at just the sight of it. After all, that was the most precious treasure of the Sabbianyth Empire. It had a relic from before the Dragon Age called...

-------------------

"Heart of Sands."

The woman with pink eyes held the crystal-like ball in her hands, staring at the clouds swirling above the skies of the whole Sabbianyth Empire.

That crystal orb was partly responsible for the phenomenon causing havoc at the moment. Partly? Then what else was behind the storm?

"So, this thing overrode and intensified your nature attribute magic?"

The woman with blonde hair asked the question with her index finger pointed at the relic. The red-haired little girl standing beside them said nothing.

She had no clue as to what those terms even meant. Even though she had basic knowledge about magic, there was stuff she was yet to learn.

The two terms used above were basically rare to witness within the world of magic.

Overriding, a phenomenon where the control of magic is stolen from the original caster. And intensification, a phenomenon where a spell once cast is forced to evolve stronger.

-[Claire... That thing is bad news...]

Those words she heard within her mind made Claire squint her eyes with nervousness. Every time she received warnings from the voice in her mind, there would be a disaster.

'Stay quiet for now... She won't even bother telling us her plans...'

Claire couldn't understand it at all. If it was a dangerous thing, why was Aliana carrying it around carefree? Sadly, she had no courage to ask her that question.

After a long pause, Claire let out a light sigh before leaning back against the wall. Melanie's blue eyes were purely focused on the skies.

The once-clear sky was filled with black and brown clouds running violently. Despite that, Melanie wasn't feeling any fear. She only zoned out for a moment.

Then her gaze fell on Aliana and Claire, who were talking by themselves. Usually, she would stay out of their discussions, but this time she mustered up a bit of courage to ask them a question.

"Uhh... What exactly is 'that'?"

Her index finger pointed at the crystal ball in Aliana's hands. This was the first time ever that Melanie had asked them any questions.

Sigh

Aliana let out a soft sigh while smiling lightly at herself. She could remember the times she ignored others's questions and acted clueless.

Aliana closed her eyes gradually. At the unexpected reaction, even Claire flinched. Both Melanie and Claire hadn't expected Aliana to speak.

"You know..."

That was an ancient relic named 'Heart of Sands'. According to the legends, it is a relic that existed way before the Age of Dragons.

Though uncertain, its age was more than a few thousand years. No one knows how or when it came into existence.

The only details found were the records left by people from the past. Not that there was anything that could stand in favour of that content's validity.

But if there were even ten percent chances that what was written in the scrolls found on a lot of archaeological sites was true, then that meant the orb was bad news.

According to the details archaeologists found and the legends passed down by their ancestors, that relic was a lot more precious than any nation that might rise up.

"Eh? Why is that so?"

That orb looked too normal to Melanie for it to be anything special. The only thing unique about it was its name. Then again, that relic was one of its own kind.

"That might look nothing special to you, but..."

That relic was the partial reason behind the success of the Sabbianyth Empire and Kamran. Has anyone ever questioned how an empire was able to exist in the middle of nothing but sand? Most likely not.

The relic was only mentioned in legends, too. There was no information about its whereabouts. Yet it existed. That too, within a part of the world no person could expect.

What exactly did the relic even do to contribute to the above-mentioned things? The answer was in front of them at the moment. Claire's could feel cold sweat on her forehead.

"No way... Did it..."

"That's right."

The only reason people were able to survive in a widespread sea of sand without any actual water resources available was because that orb had manipulated nature. How so?

"It can control nature as per the user's wishes."