In the rockier regions of the steppes, the dream-walker sat cross-legged with her eyes closed in meditation. Below, ibex and antelope grazed in the rolling grasslands near the marshes. The place which she sat upon was a large flat boulder embedded into the side of the landscape. Here the winds brushed over the landscape like a scouring brush, taking with it any loose chaff or debris. After seeing many cities and becoming more aware of the world around her, she realized she still had much more to learn. Gale had taken it upon herself to train her body and mind, to become stronger and wiser. Foolishness led to ruin, and the only cure for foolishness was wisdom and understanding of the truth. That was what her teacher, Master Rashaad had taught her and the other children in their lessons every day. And so she had come here, to the far north of the continent for this purpose.

As she meditated, she practiced focusing breaths to enhance her endurance and core stamina. Taking in the air into her lungs, she had begun her exercises since that morning after dawn had broken. In between periods of deep-breathing exercises, she alternated with holding herself up with a single arm against the rock face. Ever since she had arrived in Canelux, she had spent more time traveling than training with the routine exercises she and her master underwent every day. Perhaps that was why she had yet to receive enlightenment on where the door that would bring her home was. The journey here was arduous, from the scorching Harena desert after the verdant coolness of Arri. She had sought this place for its terrain and more importantly, its remoteness. It was a place far from the worldly sights and sounds where she could set her complete attention on other matters.

By now, the sun was lowering in the sky as in a few hours dusk would fall upon the region. Her efforts on her focus breaths were tiring, but she continued to keep going. Only after she had fulfilled her goal for today would she stop to rest and prepare for tomorrow's session. The hum of the wind against the rocks echoed in her ears as she cleared unnecessary thoughts from her mind. 

For a minute or two Tore refused to accept defeat. He lay there huddled under his cloak eyes firmly shut, trying to force his head empty of thoughts. He didn’t need to look around to realize he had once again woken up before sunset. Dusk was most likely just around the corner – close enough for him to venture outside, at least – but every minute the daylight still lingered on the steppes was a minute he would have rather spent dead to the world. Finding this place and convincing himself it was safe enough to sleep in had taken days of uninterrupted activity. Tore had had his fill of sunrises, sunsets and every damn thing in between for a good while.

But it was no use. Despite the vampire’s best efforts, sleep evaded him. The forced silence inside his head grew heavier; his senses started to reach out. The noises, the shadows he could see through his closed eyelids, the warm hum of blood emanating from a nestful of little sparrows somewhere close by…

Before Tore even realized it, he’d started breathing.

With one drawn-out sigh he rolled on his back and opened his eyes. It was dark inside the old stone building which now served as his temporary home. The wind had picked up since last night. Its soughs pressed against the walls, finding their way in through the gaps and filling the house with long melancholic whistles. The golden light of a day nearing its demise shone in from the far end of the building where the door had someday been. Tore watched as it danced on the wall, and as he did so, a displeased frown slowly settled on his face. He’d fed only recently, so hunting would be unnecessary; he wasn’t sure how long he’d stay here, so cleaning felt like a waste of time; but finding anything that could substitute as a door sounded like something he should get done as soon as possible, no matter what. Nrgh.

Tore got up, dusted his clothes, made sure he was fully protected against the sunlight and strode out. The old settlement laid in ruin amongst the weeds, as silent and peaceful as it had been in the morning. The vampire made a quick round to ensure he was alone, and once satisfied, headed uphill.

So far his stay in Mo’Mey Steppes had been a pleasant one. The abundance of prey more than made up for the fact he had to go through the trouble of actually hunting it. The locals weren’t exactly… vulnerable when it came to things like extortion. Perhaps that was one of the reasons Tore hadn’t quite managed to make himself at home yet, despite the scenery and the blissful quiet. He often found himself casting furtive glances at the headwind half expecting to catch someone trying to creep up from behind, even though he hadn’t met a single sentient being during his time in the region. He was more accustomed to forests and farmlands, where one could disappear with ease and people had their roots deep in the soil. Here, hunters and warriors had replaced the farmers. People were constantly on the move, heavily armed and more than prepared to take down anything they happened to come across.

He reached the top of the hill and halted. Holding the hood of his cloak firmly in place he peered down at the seemingly endless green expanse of the grasslands. For a moment Tore relaxed; everything seemed to be in order. No hunters, no obvious disturbances, no smoke columns to betray nearby campfires. Just him and the- Except- Wait.

Was that a person?

Tore stared. Something red had caught his attention on a nearby hillside – something that unfortunately seemed to be attached to a human body. The vampire hastened to scan through the scenery again, but the only anomaly he could spot was this lone unmoving figure. That didn’t make any sense. If there was one, there had to be more somewhere nearby. Tore had heard enough stories about the local orcs and their habits to know it would take someone really desperate or foolhardy to venture into these lands alone. That, or someone really powerful.

He stood there lost in thought for a minute or two, and then, reluctantly, started downhill. Soon he disappeared from view.

———————————————-

“Hoi. You there.”

This terrain truly wasn’t made for sneaking. Tore had ended up taking the long way around in the hopes of staying hidden, perhaps even catching a scent of other humans, but in order to get into hearing range he’d been forced to leave the safety of the boulders and their shadows behind. He now stood in the open at a polite distance from the stranger, contemplating her with curiosity and suspicion. She looked young, almost a mere child, and was either very much alive or extremely good at faking it. Tore wasn’t sure whether this was a relief or not.

“Tell me… What business does a lone child have here at this hour? Are you lost?”

She opened her eyes at the sound of a voice. In her breathing practices, she had slipped into the realm of dreams for but a moment. The shift in the warp and weft of the stream of consciousness told her that someone was here, in the waking world. Focusing her eyes she looked at the person in the distance. They seemed rather far away, and she couldn't see what they looked like very clearly. Gale stood up, and carefully dusted off any dirt that had gotten onto her trousers while she had sat in meditation. Tapping the heels of her boots into the ground to shake the dust off, the girl didn't appear to be in any hurry from her casual movements. The young dream-walker drew closer, tiptoeing around the rocks and boulders, hopping from one flat surface to another. She came at a leisurely pace, as if she had not a single care or worry in the world. Once her eyes determined she was close enough, she stopped and folded her hands together, letting them hang naturally before her.

This man was very pale, and had not a single hair on his head. Gale had never seen a completely bald person, as the most she had encountered were the older men with receding hairlines or a thinning spot on the tops of their crowns. Her eyes widened in surprise as the person standing before her truly was hairless. Her reaction was noticeable, but she didn't mean it out of disrespect or alarm. After staring at the pale-faced man's head for a while, she realized why it felt like his face was missing something…he had no eyebrows. He certainly was a strange person. Searching for an explanation, she thought of the time she had seen a group of monks from a faraway land who were travelling through Karkhata once, to spread the word of their beliefs. There were women and men of all ages, all with their heads shaved in clad in the same colored robes with the same style. Perhaps he was some sort of monk too?

Following her period of silence, Gale finally answered back. "…Oh, please forgive me efendi. I did not know that this place was owned by someone. I saw no walls or fences, so I thought it belonged to the beasts of the field. I traveled here from across the desert, searching for a place where I could meditate and train both my body and soul. The climb upward was arduous, but the boulders here were wide and flat–thus I chose this place where I could see the sun when it rises and sets each and every day." When she had finished her explanation, she gave the man a deep bow. "If I have disturbed you in any way, I ask for your forgiveness for my ignorance." Just like how her teacher had taught her, she followed the rules of etiquette to the best of her knowledge. She had not seen any form of dwelling, either permanent or temporary out on the steppes or the plains. Maybe it was over the ridge? That was the one place she had not seen in her time she had spent here.