“And you said we’d eventually run into the Godshollow if we keep going south?” Maiya asked.
Vir frowned. “Not quite. I’d gone southwest, which means the plains wrap around the desert, maybe in a circle. And I didn’t get anywhere close to the Godshollow. Just that the terrain where I was at felt similar to the land around the forest. And I think we’d hit the northern border of the forest, rather than the eastern border next to Brij,” he said, scribbling in the rough outline of the forest and their village.
Riyan had mentioned his home was several hours from the Godshollow, so Vir tried to show that on the map. The Godshollow also extended all the way to the Viridian Coast to the west, which had been Rudvik’s initial destination, so he drew that in as well.
“Wow, this is really coming together, huh?” Maiya said. “Not bad for a few minutes of effort.”
She was right. They’d solidified their picture of the surroundings, but of course, there were still several empty spots.
“We know nothing about what lies east or north of Riyan’s place, but I guess we can look for that later. How about we go find this oasis you saw?”
Maiya looked around. “Hmm… You said you’d ended up southwest of Riyan’s place before, right? And I saw the oasis in the distance on my left when we came to search for you. So that means it should be around here…”
“Actually, I think we’ve gone too far,” Vir replied, shaking his head. “We’re already at the edge of the desert.”
“Oh, right. Okay, let’s backtrack then.”
Vir stowed the map before mounting Bumpy. This time, he turned them around and headed slightly northwest. Even after another half hour of searching, they weren’t any closer to finding the elusive oasis.
“I think we should call it for today,” Vir said. “We need to get back in time for our afternoon lessons.”
Maiya remained silent, and he could tell she hoped to lay eyes on the oasis. But things were never so convenient. Searching for something so small in such a large desert was bound to be an arduous task. They’d have to try again some other ti—
“Found it!” Maiya announced, pointing to the right. Vir squinted, and sure enough, there were trees visible through the haze of the desert heat.
“Hiya!” He turned Bumpy toward the patch of green in the ocean of sand and ordered him to speed up.
The oasis was on the smaller side. It took Bumpy only ten minutes to circle the entire thing. Tall coconut trees ringed the area, while small shrubs covered the ground all the way to the pond at its center. Small animals darted here and there, scurrying away as they approached.
“Weird for a pond to be all the way out here, don’t you think?” Maiya said.
“Actually, I wonder if this pond is fed by the same source that gives us water at Riyan’s place?”
“Could be! Doubt there’s much in the way of water sources in this area,” Maiya said, jumping off Bumpy. “I think this is a perfect spot for lunch, don’t you?”
She retrieved a picnic cloth and a banana leaf that had been folded around a package and held it up.
“Lunch! Nothing special. Just some sandwiches I threw together, but it should fill us up.”
“Thanks, Maiya!” He’d been thinking of quickly wolfing something down once they got back. This was so much better.
Vir picked a spot near the pond under the shade of a coconut tree and stomped around for a few minutes to flatten the location. Maiya then placed the cloth, securing its corners with some pebbles.
“Not an unpleasant view,” Vir said as he kicked off his shoes and sat down beside Maiya, marveling at the amazing scenery.
He opened his banana leaf and munched on his lunch, the leaf doubling as a convenient plate. The tomatoes, kale, cucumbers, capers, peppers, and salt all exploded with taste, making for a delightfully refreshing meal. All procured from Riyan’s pantry. As Vir devoured the sandwiches, a smug smile creeped up on Maiya’s face. “This is working out pretty well for us, huh? I mean, no one likes being constantly sore, but I can feel myself growing stronger by the day, y’know?”
“Same,” Vir replied between mouthfuls. “My endurance still sucks, but staying with Riyan was the right call. I can’t wait to get to some of the more advanced stuff he’s gonna teach us.”
“Only question is when he’s gonna ask us for those favors. Seems like it’ll be a while, though. I can’t imagine we’d be of any use to him as we are now.”
“Right,” Vir replied. “I think our infiltration skills will be important for whatever he has planned, and he hasn’t even started teaching that.”
Maiya went silent for a moment. “I just… I wanna visit home, Vir. My parents must be worried sick about me. And… I miss them. A lot.”
“I do too. The faster we progress, the faster he’ll let us visit Brij.”
“Just hope he gets around to teaching me magic soon,” Maiya said, twiddling her toes in the sand. “I’d be a lot more useful if I could cast fireballs.”
Vir smirked. He could picture her horror when she discovered she’d be an ice mage. Fate had such a cruel sense of irony.
He broke out the map after he’d finished eating and added the oasis, putting it due south of Riyan’s home. Now, all that remained was to chart out the east and the north, and they’d have a pretty clear picture of the area.
“Let’s head back,” he said. “Wouldn’t want to miss our second round of torture now, would we?”
“Oh no. Anything but that!” Maiya said, placing the back of her hand on her forehead.
The truth was that Vir actually couldn’t wait to return to his training. Every moment spent in that sandy dome inched him closer to understanding some fundamental secret about his own body. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the prana inside him was powerful. He yearned for the day he could see it in action.
Vir touched the eight-pronged tattoo on his chest.
If only I could unlock it somehow…
Just then, something caught his attention. It took him a moment to realize what it was, but when he did, he looked up at the coconut tree that shaded them from the heat of the desert sun. Its powerful shadow seemed darker than usual, and Vir was thankful for it… But there was something else there, too.
In… its shadow?
Vir shot to his feet, startling Maiya.
“What’s up, Vir?”
“I’m going for a jog.”
“Uh, what?” Maiya asked, but Vir was already gone, leaving his friend staring after him like he’d gone crazy.
Maybe he had gone crazy, but he had to be sure.
With the temperature being what it was, a single lap around the small pond was enough to get his blood pumping—and in so doing, his Prana Vision intensified. He was now immensely thankful for the very heat he’d complained about moments earlier.
Vir returned to Maiya, drenched in sweat. He peered at the shadow of the coconut tree.
He hadn’t imagined it! There really was something there. Something gray, moving ever so slightly. Unlike the other prana affinities that coursed through their respective elements, this affinity barely budged at all, which was why he’d never noticed. That, and it was the same color as the shadow itself.
Shadow Affinity prana?
Vir instinctively looked at the prana in his arm. But no, this was not the same. This was clearly different. Another new affinity.
He’d now discovered three affinities that weren’t supposed to exist. Rather than exciting him, he started to doubt the validity of his thesis.
Were these truly new, undiscovered affinities?
Or was something else going on? Vir only wished he had the answers.
“Sooo, uhh… Feel like telling me why you randomly took a jog around the pond? In a desert? Under the sun?” Maiya asked.