“Rumors spread from the males you took to the Heart Sands,” Aarom murmured. “They state Drazan of the Red Sands found his kode among them. Rumor is these ‘humans’ are able to stir an Aterans’ blood.”
Nakan remained silent and focused on putting his energy into another swing.
“Rumor is,” Aarom continued, “there is a female with hair the color of an ambroze stone who draws our warlord’s eye. They say he was unable to look away from her through the entire journey from the Heart Sands.”
Nakan paused and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. His thoughts went to the human female, Kalinda. Her ambroze-colored hair shimmered in the light of the twin suns, framing her angelic face. Nakan had never seen a female with hair. Aterans—both male and female—were bald since they were covered in scales. It had been an even greater surprise to see a female with hair the color of the ambroze—one of the rarest stones in the Hard Sands. He had been captivated by the sight of her. From her hair and her gentle curves to her soft, pink flesh—he had never been so drawn by a female in his life and he wondered if she could truly be his kode.
“I do not wish to discuss the females.” Nakan opened his eyes and returned to his work.
Aarom harrumphed. “Then let us discuss the state of the territory. There has been a great deal of unrest since your sire’s passing. The lesser warlords to the south and east grow agitated. There are numerous reports of minor skirmishes between the lesser warlords of different sectors in our territory as well as between our warlords and those of the Red Sands. The problem is bad enough if our people continue to fight among themselves, but it will be far worse if they antagonize the Red Sands into true battle.”
“And what is your proposal? What shall I do about these unruly?” Around any other, Nakan was loath to admit uncertainty and weakness, but Aarom could take his full honesty. The truth was, Nakan was overwhelmed by all his sire’s responsibilities. His sire’s untimely death had left Nakan to inherit the Hard Sands far sooner than he ever anticipated. He would never admit it to another, but he was not prepared to lead. He did not know the best path for his people, but if any of his lesser warlords saw his doubt and perceived it as a weakness… his very life would be in jeopardy. Any of them could challenge for the Right of Ka’Eana—an honor duel for leadership of the Hard Sands. To fail in the ritual combat would cost him leadership as well as his life.
“Your sire would have visited the troublemakers and shown them his strength.” Aarom did not hesitate when providing his answer. “He would have challenged any warlord who could not get his territory under control.”
“I am not my sire.” He raised his chin. “I do not believe strength alone is enough to usher ours into the next age.” He knew he was a strong and skilled warrior, but at the same time, he was not as strong as some. He knew many lesser warlords in the mountain had physical prowess and skill in combat along with a need to defeat him in battle. That did not mean they had the wisdom needed to rule. Nakan hoped he had that wisdom though doubts constantly plagued his mind.
“Is that so?” Aarom’s penetrating stare remained focused on Nakan. “I wonder where this attitude of yours originated. Could it have anything to do with the gifts from Eana?”
“I do not wish to discuss the females.” Even if Nakan would not admit it aloud, something about the gentle fragility of the humans had touched him in a way he had not expected. The beauty of the female Kalinda filled with the desperate urge to protect her and keep her safe from any and all. It did not matter that he knew her not at all. It was difficult, even now, for him to remain in the mine rather than seek her out to stand at her side.
“What would you do? If not ruling through strength, what will you do to bring stability to the Hard Sands, young one?”
He considered the question for a long while, continuing to hammer his pickaxe against stone before stopping once again. “Our people prosper more in times of peace than war. We should encourage trade and development of our economy. If our people have the wealth they require to meet their needs and to develop luxuries, art, and culture, they will be content. There will be no unrest.”
“Perhaps you are right.” Aarom shrugged. “We have been struggling to keep up with orders of stones to the Living Sands. Particularly the deahmid stones. Our mines are running dry. If you could discover a new source, that would help our people.”
Nakan stiffened. He had been dreading this conversation with his paladin. Ever since he took over the mantle of warlord of the Hard Sands, he had been expected to follow in the path of every warlord before him. He had undergone the ritual of bir Gamas—the Stone Sense. He had been infused with the energies that were found in some of the rarest gems in the Hard Sands. The ritual was supposed to give him the ability to sense the locations of the rare gems and ores within the mountains. When not engaging in war, the warlord of the Hard Sands was expected to use his ability to locate new deposits ripe for mining.
Yet since completing the ritual, he had not sensed anything. Even during the simplest of tests of his ability, he failed again and again. He had instructed a warrior to hide a gem in a room so he might engage the Stone Sense to locate it, but not once had he experienced a stirring in his soul. There was no sensation of any kind that would indicate the location of the hidden stone. If he could not locate a single gem within a room, he had no chance of locating a new mine.
Standing there, he tried once more, just to see if anything had changed as he toiled. He knew there were deahmid embedded in the stone wall before him. He closed his eyes and reached out with his senses, searching, searching, searching… He attempted to clear his mind as he had been taught and put aside all distractions so he could see what had been hidden.
But the sense would not come. Clearing his mind of distractions was impossible. Not when he could think of nothing but the beautiful Kalinda.
He growled, frustration overtaking all else, and tossed the pickaxe aside. It clattered against the stone wall, an echoing clang reverberating throughout the mine.
“If you wish to turn your mind from the human females,” Aarom chuckled, “perhaps you should venture through the mountains. Survey your domain and see what you can discover.”
“Perhaps.” Yet the word was a lie since he did not believe he could force himself to lose Kalinda’s nearness.
“It is a better use for your time than hammering at rocks.”
Nakan harrumphed. He knew Aarom only meant to distract him. It would have irritated him if he did not know the paladin was correct.
Aarom laughed. “Even if your senses fail you, there are other tools. Survey the mountains. We need a new source of deahmid. If we are unable to meet our obligations to the Living Sands, they will cut off all trade. We need their food and Healing Sands. If our agreements with them are lost, the people will be in turmoil. War would be unavoidable.”
Nakan ran a hand over his scaly head again and sighed. Perhaps his paladin was right, but he struggled to organize his thoughts. Hunger had him intent on wondering when the next meal would occur instead of how to keep his lands from war. Skipping breakfast had been an error on his part.
When the second chime announcing a mid-morning meal reached him, he decided it was time to cease brooding and go eat.