"Indeed." Elina said, shivering from the cold until she activated the warming spell of her armor. "If early morning in Lutia is midnight in the Desert, why didn't you make us come here later?"
"Because the night here is more pleasant than the scorching heat of the day for those used to a milder climate." Salaark replied. "Also, there are very few activities after sundown, which allows me to give you a tour of my city without the bustling of the day.
"On top of that, by staying awake until the sun rises and falls again, tomorrow at this hour you will be so tired that you'll have no problems falling asleep. Many birds with one stone." The Overlord of the Blood Desert had taken her human form to welcome her guests.
She had the appearance of a stunning woman in her mid-twenties, about 1.76 meters (5'9") tall. Salaark had silky black waist-long hair, emerald eyes, and a bronze tinge of skin so clear that it looked milky under the moonlight.
She wore a white robe with long sleeves that covered her from neck to toe, leaving only her hands and head exposed. It was the Blood Desert equivalent of a commoner dress, made of a special cotton that would preserve the precious body humidity during the day and keep them warm during the night.
Seasons weren't a thing in the desert. Only the moving from one oasis to another to give the soil time to recover and the trees to grow new fruits marked the passing of time for the nomadic tribes.
"Welcome to my palace." She pointed at a circus-sized tent in the middle of the camp that was surrounded by flags. Each one of them represented one of the tribes that had sworn their loyalty to her and had their leader been bestowed the power of a Feather in return.
"Why outside?" Tista asked after noticing the long red carpet that went from the Gate to the palace.
Huge braziers had been placed along the carpet, making their path as clear as the day for the members of the tribe that had assembled on either side in curiosity.
"My dear Featherling, if you ever want to become part of my nest, the first thing you have to learn is the importance of the pecking order." Salaark placed her right hand on Tista and the left on Lith, triggering the Blood Resonance.
They found themselves turning respectively into their Red Demon and Tiamat form, yet all of their scales had been replaced by thick feathers. If not for the lack of a beak and the presence of the tail, Tista now looked exactly like a Phoenix-human hybrid.
Lith, instead, between his long, tail, the curved horns, the seven eyes, and the two sets of wings looked more like a demonic bird.
"As long as you are here, you'll keep this appearance." Salaark said. "Everyone must know who you are and who you belong to. If anyone takes your fancy feel free to make the first move. Know that my children are highly coveted breeding material.
"Always remember that if you make it, you own it. Mate and dash is not allowed in my country." She pointed at a rectangular space that every tent had where the few laws of the Desert were written in black ink.
The one Salaark had just mentioned was the fifth law, after "Always obey the Overlord and her envoys", "Do no harm", "Don't steal", and "Do not practice Forbidden Magic".
"You sure like to keep things brief, Grandma." Lith said, knowing that she was referring solely to him.
"Indeed, and my laws are not up to interpretation. What the people in the Kingdom call lawyers disappeared from my tribes when they learned that they would share the same sentence of their clients if found guilty." Salaark guided them to the oasis's spring.
"Really?" Raaz blurted out in surprise.
"Really." She nodded. "I believe that following the law means to protect the victims and to punish the criminals, not to play with words and distort facts until the truth becomes a convenient lie.
"In my country, a lawyer's job is to make sure that their client receives the sentence they deserve. If they are found aiding a criminal or hiding their crimes, they are considered accomplices and treated as such."
Salaark lifted Leria and Aran on her shoulders, to let them admire the lake that represented one of the sources of all the life in the Desert.
"This is the only spring for dozens of kilometers, kids." She said. "It's the beating heart of the oasis and for that, you have to treat it as if it was your mother. Here the air is too dry to practice water magic and people need to keep them hydrated to survive the heat of the day.
"The spring is heavily guarded at all hours. Mages use it to practice their spells while people take turns to collect their daily ration. It's forbidden to bathe, dirt, or throw anything that might make the water toxic in it. No shedding either."
She glared at Abominus and Onyx that had whined a lot to not be left home with the rest of their pack. They didn't like either the new climate or the environment, but it was better than missing their friends and their pet privileges.
"How do people bathe or practice magic if water is scarce, Grandmommy?" Aran asked.
"We bathe only if necessary and everything used to make water spells has to be returned to the spring after purifying it. Water is too precious a thing to be wasted." Salaark replied.
The tour was quick since there wasn't much to see. The Heavenly Plume tribe had settled in the middle of a large clearing amid the dunes that protected the camp from the wind.
There were no cultivated fields and the only trees in the area grew near the lake. Before leading them to the palace, the Desert's Overlord showed them the living quarters of the Magical Beasts.
To survive in such a harsh environment, the humans had developed a symbiotic relationship with the only creatures powerful enough to carry the belongings of an entire family and to protect them from the monsters that roamed the desert.
Finding a small oasis wasn't hard for travelers or peddlers, the problem was surviving the encounter with the creatures that elected water sources as their home. Thanks to their true magic, magical beasts were the life companions of all tribes.
In exchange for their services, they demanded not only food, but also respect. Magical beasts had their own city block and a proper place where to live, not some smelly stable where they would be confined in small cubicles until a human decided otherwise.
Young men and women looked with curiosity at the foreigners, receiving as many stares in return. The women of the desert made up for the simplicity of their clothes by wearing colorful make-up and accessories.
The men, instead, always carried their weapons with them and the regular practice in their use made the inhabitants of the desert have a lean but fit build.
"Too bad for the beards." Tista grumbled after expressing her appreciation for the many young men waving at her.. "If I liked that much body hair, I'd rather date an Emperor Beast."
