Dust Clouds in the South

It took Basti only mere moments to climb up the huge stone boulder in the middle of the savannah. Eleven feet tall with a diameter of over 30 feet, the mother of rocks was no match to the boy’s sharp eyes and agile limbs. Basti was ten years old but he had been tending his family’s flock since six; while his herds graze, the young boy spent his time conquering these “miniature mountains” of the plains.

Basti liked this particular rock a lot, and had named it as Al Jahab, or “My Grey Fortress” in common tongue. For the boulder granted him an unobstructed view of the countryside for miles. Here he was able to spot predators long before his sheep could be threatened and if he was thirsty, the stream was just a dozen paces away.

The sun had left its eastern palace two hours before and the rock was slowly getting warm. Basti lay down with his hands and legs fully stretched, enjoying the warmth that his rocky bed was giving him. As Basti recalled tales of kings in the North spending fortunes to construct steam baths for a similar experience, he could not help but laugh.

The young boy closed his eyes and was about to doze off when a speck of bird droppings hit him on the cheek. Irritated that his sweet dreams were disrupted, the child got up and ready to treat his harasser with a shot from his sling. To his huge surprise instead of a single stray bird, Basti spot a huge flight of flamingos racing over his head. Though young, the boy had lived through sufficient winters to know that it was not the time for the annual migrations yet. Curiosity took over and Basti stood straight up on his favourite rock, eyes peering into the horizon in the south where the birds had came from.

Far ahead nearly ten miles away was a long dust cloud stretching across the horizon. The boy suddenly yelped and jumped down his rock. He wasn’t sure if he was right but he will be not taking his chances today. After a quick whistle to his dog to round up the sheep, the boy sped back into his village, yelling on top of his voice.

“Tima, tima. Ashanti kuk ni-ah!”

“Run, run. Grab your things and go.”

It seemed that misfortune had finally caught up with Basti and the boy had just witnessed something that the village had not faced for nearly a century. For ahead is a creature that is able to stir up the clouds and cause all beasts and birds to flee from it.

Men.

====================================================================================

Long forgotten since his banishment to the southern sands, the Great Evoker has returned with a great host to bring about a time of bloodshed and despair in the Southlands.