The Sandstorm and the Queen's Sorrow

The people were in a hurry due to the approaching signal that echoed like a train on the tracks. Whenever a desert storm was approaching, the people of the land, known to many as the "Barbarian Desert," knew a ceremony was about to take place. From a distance, a thick cloud with flashing lightning, dark and ominous, appeared—not rain, but a fierce sandstorm like a raging deity.

Panic was etched on people's faces. From afar, a trumpet's ear-piercing blast signaled danger. In that small civilization, these barbarians learned to live in the midst of a violent desert. Young and old, when the giant cloud approached, they hid like chicks during a storm. The arrogant ones humbled, and the drunkards sobered up in fear of being buried alive. Even the stray dogs learned to save their own lives.

Whenever a ritual took place, they expected another corpse, not exceeding the age of ten. The victims of the organization were not from the Barbarian city but children from different parts of the world reached by the "Shadow of the Crux." The Barbarian City was an abandoned place, and no one dared to support its people, who were treated as low-class and without a future. Many saw this place as full of criminality, where outcasts from their own countries had washed up and formed their own civilization. Children inherited the bitter lives of their parents, a chain they carried for life.

The Shadow of the Crux was known for supporting the hungry barbarians in exchange for their loyalty and service, such as their silence and inaction regarding the organization. The people supported Queen Zeri of the Shadow of the Crux, and whatever they saw, they would act as if they were blind and deaf. They had heard of the name Marguel but had never seen his shadow. They knew that the queen of the Shadow of the Crux was the former wife of a priest whom many believed to be possessed by a demon due to his obsession with the power of darkness.

Queen Zeri's goal was to take revenge on the country of Cypriox for her husband, the priest who was crucified and died. And now, she followed the command of the "Entity of the Triangulum." The organization was formed, which had previously only fought for the justice of her husband, who was wrongly judged by the leading priests. It later became a sect and would soon become even more powerful in the world.

Zeri had a beloved only child with the priest, whom they named Marguel. Queen Zeri looked out the large window and saw the sandstorm. Her beauty, which had captivated the priest's heart, stood before the approaching storm. The black cats that followed her felt the strong gust of wind from afar and scurried to her feet.

"Where is Marguel? Why hasn't he arrived yet? The ceremony has begun. It will cause great damage if it's not finished early!" the queen said to her servants.

"Queen Zeri... The stone mechanism that will open the Teleportation from the sky is already working," said one of the magician's disciples. The light pierced upward and went through the dark clouds.

"Should we now pour in the magic made of pure energy?" another disciple added.

"It's not the right time yet," the queen said, still staring into the distance. Her long black robe, which clung to the limestone floor, was like the hanging feathers of a peacock.

The queen's palace was made of limestone, white stones, and clay. It was not high but had a cave-like underground style, a design meant to cope with the complex desert environment. Squares and rectangles were the common shapes found inside, and even the vast space had a unique symmetry.

The smell of the limestone, its color, and the lack of grand architecture had saddened her since the day she left her old life in Cypriox. Her fate had been challenging. She accepted this destiny because she loved the priest named Covinnther. As she watched the light rain upward, she remembered the priest she loved, Covinnther Ruez.

Priest Covinnther Ruez was a brilliant priest and was deeply admired by the Cyprioxians. Before he became a priest, he loved inventing amazing things, ideas that scholars couldn't understand. Because Covinnther was so smart that his ideas often seemed impossible and only products of his imagination, he was called crazy by the so-called wise men of Cypriox. However, his "crazy" inventions were used by people in their daily lives as alternative methods, which made the people admire his genius even more. The concepts he put into a book were tried to be understood by experts and by the kings who boasted that they could solve the sciences and mysterious charms of ancient Cyprioxians. They had nothing to say but to scratch their heads because when they discovered that the formulas were too difficult for their brains to comprehend, they called them madness, especially since there was no basis that the things he wrote about were real or existed in the current time, and maybe they were just fabricated to make people think he was a smart priest.

But even though the scholars thought Covinnther was crazy, the people praised and admired him greatly because his inventions provided practical solutions to their daily tasks. For example, he made a wooden mechanical device that helped fetch water from a deep, mossy old well. He also solved the diseases that spread among the farmers' crops. He had to live among the townspeople because that was the challenge a priest student had to do. This favored him, allowing him to showcase his wisdom in solving problems with tools, social problems of the local people, and even environmental issues.

Zeri's family was wealthy. Every Saturday, she helped her parents with musical theatricals for the western church of Cypriox. While Covinnther was teaching the children on the side of the church, Zeri noticed him for the first time. She happily listened to Covinnther as the children threw many questions at him. When he explained, they listened like students. Zeri was amazed because his way of teaching was different; he was arguably better than the teachers in the city's schools for the rich. And even in public, he also taught citizens how to work with wisdom, a knowledge he happily shared. So, from then on, she decided to follow the young man. She entered the convent even though it was not her parents' dream, who wanted her to be a great singer. However, because Zeri entered a sacred calling, her parents thought that perhaps it was the destiny that the holy Crux wanted for their daughter. But her reason was not a divine calling, but her affection for Covinnther. Even though Zeri knew it was a violation of the sacred law of Cypriox that priests could not marry or have children, she secretly watched and followed the young student.

When Zeri entered the convent, she understood Covinnther's true personality even more. Besides the exciting ideas that came out of his mouth, his hands could also create amazing things because of his intelligence. Their relationship grew closer, like close friends. When Covinnther became a true priest, she continued to support his ideas, and sometimes she used her family's influence to make Covinnther's ideas come true. Covinnther continued to show off his wisdom and genius in invention to the public.

One night, some men entered the priest's room and destroyed his masterpieces, scattering the parts of his inventions. And his most treasured device created great damage to the western part of Cypriox ruled by King Balthazar, causing damage to the buildings in the western area called Wrestone City. Since then, the eyes of the leaders of Cypriox were on him due to the destructive results of his inventions.

Envious people destroyed his reputation in front of many, showing how damaging the priest's ideas and inventions were. They also made it seem like the priest had bad intentions, which troubled the people who admired him. But Zeri never left his side, and because of that, they grew even closer. The priest forgot the troubles and continued his service, but as time passed, the priest developed feelings for the young woman, but because of religion, he secretly suppressed it.

A cold night awakened the priest Covinnther. He had ideas that were far from the principles of Cypriox. The ideas that came into his mind through dreams were successfully written down without him missing a single detail; it was as if he was copying from an original book. He started studying it and gradually solved the formulas that were shown to him. Because of what he was doing, as if he were the most genius person in Cypriox, his enemies and those who judged his ideas increased. Some said it was against the system of Cypriox, and others said it was a blasphemy to the sacred belief of the Crux Religion.

He wanted the Cyprioxians to understand that what he was doing was a mix of science and technology, not magic or dark spells. Still, the scholars continued to resent his genius out of pure envy. Even though many knew that Covinnther's goal was for the development of the economy and the wisdom of the Cyprioxians to help with difficult tasks and further advance the country of Cypriox, he defended the use of nature to create Teleportation as not a form of magic. Using stones with inherent abilities taken from separate islands, the six islands that had their own kind of stone or jewel as many called it, he used formulas that would activate the nature of the stones.

But the leaders and sages insisted even more that the priest was truly losing his mind. Priests should not do science, especially anything related to magic or the logic of nature. It was a blasphemy to the faith of the Cruxian people. The essence of being holy was lost if there was a connection to science and nature. Even Kings Wendzar, Hebronor, and Balthazar ordered the destruction of Priest Covinnther's creations and books.

One night, after the sad event where his creations from invention and ideas were forcibly destroyed, he could do nothing but sob in front of the woman he considered a loyal friend and companion in the convent. A hidden feeling stitched the sad heart of the priest.

"Why don't you just leave the priesthood if you're happy with your inventions?" Zeri said.

"I can't do that. I swore before the Holy Crux that I would serve as a light to all lost souls."

"You were blessed with wisdom that no one, not even the smartest in Cypriox, can match... That intelligence of yours proves that you have given more light to people who lack knowledge... We are all united because of one belief... What about hearts that have their own feelings? Is it still a sin if a person loves in a way that is not according to the system or principle?" Zeri only hinted at her feelings to Covinnther.

Zeri loved the priest Covinnther, so it also hurt her whenever the sages criticized the priest for his works and ideas. The leaders of the church, as well as those of other churches, feared that one day the people's minds would be completely changed and they would lose their faith in the Crux religion. Because of Covinnther's influence, he had many followers and defenders of his work, led by Zeri.

The church leaders became angry because instead of teaching religion, the people were becoming obsessed with Covinnther's wisdom. So they spread the rumor that Zeri and the priest were in a relationship, which destroyed Covinnther's priesthood and stripped him of the right to teach people. They also took the books Covinnther had treasured and burned them in front of many people.

Covinnther got angry and rebelled, but his influence also weakened due to the people's fear of being implicated in the punishment of the kings of Cypriox. The three kings of Cypriox conducted a massive purge, and some of Covinnther's followers were being eliminated. It became bloody, and they implemented a new system. Other priests were affected and rebelled with Covinnther. But, some priests betrayed him and said that Covinnther was using forbidden magic.

Zeri's family tried to force her to leave Covinnther's side, but she confessed her feelings that she loved the priest, so she, too, was disowned by her own family and parents. Because of that, Covinnther just accepted the leaders' lies about their relationship because he had no reason to deny the young woman's feelings for him anymore. Thus, the people became even angrier at Covinnther because they had hoped that the accusations of the leaders were just lies.

However, Covinnther's loyal followers understood his goal, but due to the testimonies of the traitor priests, the leaders' eyes became sharp. They said that a priest who was not loyal to his promise was only soiling the holy name of Cypriox.

Covinnther said that even if he returned to teaching, he would not be able to cleanse the eyes that were pulling him down. So, he loved Zeri, but the people who watched them acted as if they had seen someone with leprosy and did not want to be infected.

"Zeri, take care of these secret formulas. No matter what happens, you and our future child, and my loyal followers, do not forget this. One day, teach this to our child, everything you have learned that I taught you."

"Covinnther, why don't we just run away and live peacefully?" Zeri cried, knowing that Covinnther would not stop until he corrected the violent world of Cypriox.

"I accepted you as my wife because I thought you were the one who understood me more than the people who judged me. And now you're telling me to leave and run away?" Covinnther said, hurt by Zeri's words. Crying, Zeri hugged the priest, her husband, and deeply felt his sadness.