The sand stretched to the horizon in every direction. Great dunes formed like waves in the sand sea. The sun beat down from the cloudless blue sky, creating waves of heat that reached a few metres above the sand. The place was devoid of detail, except for a column of sandy dust that worked its way between the dunes as it headed westward. A large, scaly beast charged through the column of dust. More than ten metres wide and thirty long. It was a triceratops, far larger than a normal one, and domesticated. Leather straps lined the body, holding a platform of wood and stone tight on top of its back. There was a crowd of people on this platform. One of them was at the front, wearing a pair of goggles, looking through a spyglass to navigate the sandy land in front of them. This man was Miles Rodger. He was a man of the Amber Army, a squadron of the Royal Army of Justisar that was dedicated to roaming the land and bringing peace. He hid his sleek black hair underneath a leather cap and twi

A shadow swished in the darkness in front of them, and with a slash of silver, a demented figure appeared, holding a scythe with one hand. Locke skidded to a stop, and Fahrla held onto his shoulders tight. The figure laughed at them. He wore a hooded cloak, and underneath the cloak, Locke could make out a skull. Bone knuckles flashed underneath the hem of his sleeve. Lightning and thunder crashed around them as the rain sunk into their rags and their skin. Danger! Locke's senses cried out at him. Whoever this person was, he was out here to bring harm. 'Danger, so he thinks.' The figure stretched out his bone hand and touched Locke's forehead. 'And danger, so she thinks.' He touched Fahrla's forehead. With a touch, Locke found that he could not move. Fear gripped at him, holding him tight. He felt Fahrla's delicate body shudder against his own, her breaths short and sharp, and her finger trembling against his shoulders where she held him. 'St-stay away!' Locke cried. The cries in th

It took Dorothy the triceratops three days to break free from the sweltering dunes of the Sandara desert. The desert shifted into a rocky landscape where smaller dinosaurs roamed alongside leagues of two-legged feathered birds that were as tall as a human. 'That's a Kalbuk,' Miles said, pointing to the feathered birds. 'They look goofy, but you definitely don't want to go toe-to-toe with one. Its beak is strong enough to break through metal, and its talon can cut through your gut with ease. Don't underestimate them.' In his free time, Locke had decided to spend his time at the front of the triceratops next to Miles so that he could learn more about the land outside of Arindel. Every so often Arla would run up to Miles, offer a few words in secret, at which point the two of them would look back at Stag, who waved at them with a smug smile on his face. 'He just does it to annoy me,' Miles said as Arla returned to Stag. 'He wants to know "how long?" every few hours. What would it take

Hidden deep within a forest a short way to the North-West of the Royal City, Justisar, was the Amber Army’s headquarters. Constructed of dark stone, with dusty windows spanning across the walls, the place had a very gothic appearance to it. Stag named the place the Amber Hall.The Amber Hall was split into four quadrants. The girls’ dorms were to the east, the boys’ dorms to the west, the training hall to the north and the recreation room to the south.It was evening when they reached the Amber Halls, and Locke lit up when he saw it. This place was amazing compared to Arindel.‘Make yourself scarce,’ Stag roared over the soldiers, who were eager to jump off Dorothy and return to their rooms. ‘Have a good night’s sleep and meet me here at sunrise. I feel it is time that we turn things up a notch with your training.’Groans swept through the ranks of the soldiers.Locke expected Stag to show anger, but a malicious smile played at his mouth instead.‘Sleep well, all of you. It’s the last

Far from Locke and the other, in a small clearing, a small group of recruits paced around Kets.'What are we going to do with the girl?' one man asked as he tightened the rope around the tree.Kets sat on the ground with her legs folded, frowning at them all.'Why did we even bring her with us?' another man asked. 'She's a dead weight. There is no tactical advantage to having her with us at all.''Hey, it's not like I want to be here, either. Let me go.' She kicked out her leg at a woman who was close to her.'Oi, you better watch yourself, girl. You cost us a lot of marks,' the woman snapped.'It's your fault for getting tricked by something so obvious.''Shut up!''Idiots! Ya ha ha.' She poked out her tongue at them.'Hey, you didn't even realise what had happened until we had explained it to you,' a second woman said. 'And besides, I wouldn't call other people idiots when you had the most marks out of anyone else. Your team used you for bait and nothing more.''La la la I'm not lis