There was nothing but sand, sand, and more sand as far as the eye could see. It was a bright and sunny afternoon, not a single cloud in the sky. This would have been great weather everywhere else, but in the Plegian desert was just awful. It looked like it hadn't rained in days, and the only form of shade were a few dying trees, and some cacti scattered about. How people managed to live in these kinds of conditions was beyond Tim. The only animals that could live in this weather were scaly reptiles. Tim didn't have a problem with them, he liked all kinds of animals. He just would have preferred something cute and furry,

Beads of sweat trickled down the young Preist's face. He was hot and uncomfortable like everyone else was, but nowhere near as bad as the guy in the group wearing the dark colored robes. Tim's robes were white, they didn't absorb heat the way dark colors did. 

Tim was straggling behind the rest of his fellow Shepherds. He hadn't yet remembered everyone's names, let alone talked to any of them much. He was one of the youngest members of the group, and was still intimidated by everyone else. He felt completely out of place among them, like a goldfish in a lake filled with piranhas. Judging by the way everyone carried themselves, these people looked like they had much more experience than he did. Surely they had other Preists they could have called on? Apparently not, because by the way everyone else dressed and the weapons they all carried, he was the only proper healer in the group.

The boy sighed as he kept on walking. He reached into his bag, pulled out a canteen, took a small sip of water, then put it back into the bag. That water had to last a while, and he didn't have much left. Tim quietly kept on walking as he observed the others. They had already formed groups and started talking amongst themselves, but he wasn't really sure how to join in. He figured he would just make a fool of himself, like always...