The morning sun cast long golden rays across the southern dunes as the royal caravan departed the oasis of Azareen.
Traveling along the newly paved limestone avenue, Sagiri rode the ancient desert beast Zaira alongside the covered carriage carrying Bakuru, Rusha, Healer Lira, and young City Lord Azir.
Their destination was the ancient ancestral valley of Nkara, where the grand oasis city of New N'folu was rising from the sands.
Reconstruction on the city had begun immediately following the fall of Glacial Lanka, when southern supply wagons carried stonecutters and seedlings into the valley.
For sixteen long years, this sacred basin had remained a barren expanse of scorched earth and forgotten ruins.
Now, wide stone aqueducts channeled subterranean spring water from deep beneath the earth, turning the desert valley into a lush paradise.
Date palms and green willow trees swayed gently along the riverbanks, shading flower-lined promenades where songbirds nested.
