Sotel Firestorm: Astia and Evel's Epic Adventure

The air was hot and dry, and the ground beneath Astia's feet was bone dry. The sun beat down on her like a hammer and she could feel the heat beating against her skin, invading every pore of her body. Sweat rolled down her back and she felt dirty. She wanted to go home. But it was too late for that, she had made her choice.

It had been two years since she left home and journeyed across space to the solar system of Iulor. Taking odd jobs along the way, and here she was, standing on the surface of this desert world of stone and sand, staring at a structure carved from stone. The pillars were huge, larger than any buildings on Sotel. In fact, each pillar was about as large as one of the cities on her home world. The columns were stacked on top of each other until they reached a point so high it disappeared into the clouds above.

She wondered what sort of people lived in such a place? What sort of world would they be living in? She had heard stories about Iulor but none of them ever mentioned anything like this. These pillars would have taken lifetimes to create, far longer than the bronze age Iulorans possessed. This was not a work of humanity, this must be something else...

Astia turned to the left and stared at another column but it was much smaller than those around her. A single person stood next to it and he wore a cloak over his shoulders that looked like it belonged more in a library than an outdoor market. She walked towards him and he turned to face her as she approached.

"Can I help you?" He asked in a soft voice with no hint of malice or menace behind his words.

"I'm looking for Evel." She said, looking up at him with large eyes she hoped would convey innocence more than anything else.

"Who are you?" He asked with a slight tilt of his head before continuing "And why would you think Evel might be able to help you?" He took a step closer and took a good look at Astia's face before adding "You're not from around here are you?" His voice almost sounded like he knew exactly where she was from but wasn't going to comment on it right away.

"My name is Astia." She said with another smile "And I can't just find anyone Evel knows I need someone who can help me..." She lowered her eyes for effect before lifting them again "I need Evel." It felt strange saying his name after all this time hearing stories about him from afar it was only now that she had realised how important he was to the people who lived here...

"Well then..." The man said with a smile "...you've found him." He spread his arms out wide revealing that underneath his long brown robe he wore a pair of long brown pants identical to those worn by everyone else within sight "You're looking at him." He gave Astia another once over before asking "What do you need my assistance with?"

"The advanced ships! We need your help!" Astia blurted out without thinking about what she was saying "We can pay you whatever you want we will give you anything..." She trailed off realising how stupid that last sentence sounded "That is... Where am I?" She asked confused by how quickly their conversation had changed direction...