Idem rode through the vast wastelands, seeing nothing but brown sand stretching into the horizon. Samza and his guard of Tije rode on both his sides and the harsh winds blew into his eyes. His mouth was covered with black cloth, against the harshness of the weather. He squinted, shielding his eyes as he looked from side to side, scowling. Father once said that the world was once littered with trees and flowers, a beautiful blend of color he called it. Now those gardens were few and extremely precious, guarded by specially trained soldiers led by a few viners tutored for that task. 

He felt the muscles of his powerful,black horse writhe beneath him as it thundered across the Sandy plains. He reached the western reservation by nightfall,seeing the vast blanket of Atu, stench and poverty stretched across the landscape like a blanket. A blanket of hopeless frustration. He rode into the reservations with his guards and he could see the people hurry from their path,eyes lowered in fear, occasionally looking up quickly to look at the impressive armors of the Tije and the mighty warhorses upon which they rode. It saddened and at the same time, fascinated Idem at how people could live this way; without ambition, without power, like sheep waiting for the jaguar. He saw resignation on their faces,even the faces of the young. A resignation that seeped from them into the very landscape,breathing out it's stench upon everything that touched it. Idem frowned. He had been given control of the reservations but he had focused primarily on the Shandar mines. Shandar gems were extremely important to the empire. It was what gave life to the gardens which in turn gave life to the empire.

Idem saw a group of soldiers obviously waiting for him, a captain standing at their head. He scowled. Why was the captain still breathing?. He rode past them, his face expressionless, his eyes focused ahead. He rode into the huge camp with soldiers moving about their tasks with a lack of efficiency and discipline that stung Idem's eyes. He looked at Samza and he could see her scowl, her face turn into a mass of intimidating, terrifying flesh. The men wore their leather armors in different styles than what was expressly commanded by military law and they laughed and joked amongst themselves. Some were clearly drunk and there was an abundance of camp whores, confidently loitering about the grounds. Idem jumped down from his horse and turned to the captain with cold, lifeless eyes.

"Captain, report." 

The captain shot out a crisp salute, raising his hand to his chest. Idem looked closely at him. The captain's eyes were unfocused and he was struggling to maintain his balance. He was clearly under intoxication. Idem scowled, locking eyes with the man who seemed to wilt under that intense, orange stare. 

"What do you know of what happened here yesterday?" He asked, struggling to keep his anger out of his voice. The man stammered a little before he regained his composure.

" Darkness, my men reported a certain disturbance to me of which the details were sent to my superiors and I respectfully hope that they have reached you. A copy in writing has been carefully documented and awaits your perusal. Before I had the chance to react, my men had already set fire to the Atu. The men have been properly punished and I offer you my sincerest apologies, darkness." He said and bowed,looking away from Idem's eyes. Idem nodded and stretched out his hand.

"Your blade,captain." He said as calmly and with as much nonchalance as if he were discussing the sands or the weather. Fear broke through the captain's face but he drew his blade and offered it, still not looking up. Idem held it and looked at it for awhile, as if deciding something then he threw it to the floor.

"You are removed from your rank and expelled from the empire's army. You will be whipped a hundred lashes as punishment for the carelessness exhibited by you and your former men. Leave me. Go and receive your punishment." He said and Samza raised an eyebrow at him before falling back into cold silence. The captain bowed and left, leaving Idem to look at the camp of men who forced themselves into a salute for his presence. He turned to one of the Tije. 

"I will attend to the matter at hand. In the meantime, see if you can beat some discipline into these wastes of flesh." He walked forward as the man saluted. He walked into the captain's room and looked around. It was spacious, sparcely furnished with a table and three chairs on each side with one at the head. A single map of the empire was mounted on a wall. Idem nodded privately. At least the place was clean. Samza walked up to him.

"The captain you spared. That is too close to kindness. It might be misinterpreted as..." 

"I don't care how it is interpreted. I chose to let the man live. Besides, how could I punish a man when I have tried to avoid punishment for my own incompetence?" He said and sat on the table. He beckoned to one of the Tije that stood outside.

"Take a few soldiers and ask around, find out anything you can. I want to know everything about this shader." He ordered and the man nodded, saluting sharply then jogged away. Idem reached for a pile of papers that lay on the table and his eyes flew across them, picking out and dissecting every word. He turned to another Tije.

" It says here that he worked in one of the Shandars. I want you to gather all the mine-masters in the particular mine he worked and get them to me." He said and the man saluted and left. Idem looked around, his mind working furiously. He went to a bucket which contained different rolls of maps and he opened them, glancing over them quickly, his mouth muttering quiet words. He did that whenever he was thinking. Oddly, he felt excited about this hunt. It gave him a refreshing diversion from training, study and duels. He found one of the reservation and spread it over the table, holding the edges down with map holders. He looked it over and Samza came to stand beside him, her grey eyes working at an analysis as well.

" If one wanted to leave this reservation, there are obviously three options." She said " there is the northern gate, the Eastern outlet and the western posts."

Idem nodded and whistled.

" Get me one of the higher ranking soldiers." He said and in a few moments, a young, light skinned man with a thin, black moustache stood before him. His face moist with sweat even inspite of the harmattan cold. His head was bowed low and he clenched his hands into fists, probably to keep them from shaking. He had never been in the presence of a prince before. Idem waved him over without looking at him. The man drew closer and Idem spoke, eyes still on the map.

"Which exits are guarded the most, soldier?" He asked. The man looked over the map and pointed.

"The Eastern outlets, darkness. The Western posts are also efficiently manned. Though a bit less than the Eastern outlets." He said and Idem nodded. 

"Do you know where the incident happened?" He asked. The man hesitated then pointed on the map. Idem raised an eyebrow then frowned. It was very close to the northern gate. He turned to Samza.

" He left through the northern gate. He was in a hurry, I expect. The northern gate was closer and was the least guarded. From there, he might travel toward the sleeping hills or one of the outlying villages. A man and woman on foot, say they were running, will get to the nearest inhabited place in three days. With my horse and vines, I could make it in a day. I could catch them." He said, rubbing his lower lip. Samza slowly shook her head.

" The land is terribly wide. If they're smart, which we must assume they are, they would not travel by the road. You couldn't spread eyes that far, darkness." She said and Idem pursed his lips in consideration before exhaling lightly, nodding in agreement. 

" Send my best Tije after them. Also, arrange for flatlars to send my messages to captains and chieftains in the villages and hills. They must be on alert and on the lookout." He said. She nodded and walked away. He turned to the soldier standing before him. He made to dismiss him but he stopped, turning to look at the lanterns that lit the room. What would he do if they all left? Think? No, doing that too much allowed his moods to darken. He turned to observe the soldier who seemed to be only a few years older than himself. He sat on one of the chairs and looked directly at the man who looked down rather than meet his gaze.

" Sit, soldier." He said and the man sat, still avoiding his eyes.

" Now tell me, how does life feel in the reservations? I am terribly curious." He said and smiled, drumming his fingers on the table.