Maya Tempora's Journal: Entry 14
by Carl van Ostrand

The party has made the long trek south of the ruins in the Lesser Dunes and they are closing in on the barracks, not knowing exactly what to expect. La Sinja, Opac, and Maya have spent much of their journey in deep discussion, and it has been several days since Maya’s last journal entry.

The road has been long and tiresome, but the company has been ideal. Opac and my sister have many wise things to say, and every hour brings a new lesson. Fist and Helios are our ever-steady companions, not much for words, but none-the-less admirable beings.

I did notice something last night that gave rise to some concern. I awoke to distant howl of a sandhound and noticed out of the corner of my eye that Helios was active, and acting oddly. He was smoking and crackling, and a thin trail of flame stirred in to the sand below him. I watched him for some time, and strangely he did not seem to notice me. Not too long ago, Helios went under a transformation, like most elementals do regularly, but this was different. It was hard to tell, but I think I saw shadows spiraling up from the sand and mixing with his flame. I stayed awake until finally he gathered back in to small ball of dull yellow flame, and rested on the sand next to Fist.

Before I could bring this up to Opac and La Sinja, Opac mentioned he witnessed Helios’s strange behavior as well. He confirmed what I thought - that it is due to the shift in the planet’s balance, and we would have to keep careful watch on both Helios and Fist, for they would both be undergoing changes in the near future.

The long journey by foot also allowed for time to catch up with my sister. La Sinja told us stories of her time spent training on Tigbar and her matches in the Justich Gladiator circuit. It’s very impressive that a woman of such beauty and poise can cause so much havoc and destruction. Her combination of a warrior’s skill and strength and her inherited mystical powers have proven quite deadly in the arenas. She told us of one time that she cut a mutant clean in half, and its upper body continued to fight. Well, that is until she drove a soulblade through its skull.

We can see the barracks on the horizon. Opac is concerned that things seem too quiet and he senses unrestrained mystical powers nearby. Tonight we shall take a better look.