Read Online Wielder's Rising by T.B. Christensen - Free Book Online

philosopher and him just as the wall of sand slammed into their impromptu camp.
    “What’s happening?” the philosopher mumbled, disoriented in the dark with the screaming wind all around him.
    “It’s a sandstorm!” Traven yelled back.  “Just stay still.”
    The two of them waited under their shelter, holding the blanket down as tightly as they could, trying not to let any sand in.  The wind outside continued to howl as it rushed over them, blasting everything with sand.  Traven wondered how long it would last.  The blanket kept getting heavier and heavier as the storm deposited more and more sand on top of them.  The stuffiness and darkness made it hard not to imagine that they would suffocate.  He tried not to think about it.  Instead he attempted to make out any sounds from their horses, but he could hear nothing above the screaming of the wind.  He hoped that their mounts would be okay and that none of their gear would be lost.
    He was stunned by the suddenness and fierceness of the sandstorm.  He had never seen anything like it.  It went on and on as it swept over them.  Just when he began to wonder if the storm would ever let up, it abruptly stopped.  The silence seemed more acute than normal after the incessant howling of the wind.  Traven pushed himself up on his hands and knees and heaved the sand covered blanket off of him.  The brightness of the sun temporarily blinded him, and he blinked away the tears that sprouted in his eyes.  He pulled the blanket the rest of the way off of the philosopher and helped him to his feet.  They both drank in the fresh air as they surveyed their surroundings.
    Traven was relieved to find the horses in exactly the same position he had left them in with the blankets still covering them.  He hurried to pull the sand covered blankets off of them and allow them to also breathe in the fresh air.  The horses proceeded to shake the rest of the sand from their bodies as they snorted.
    “Well now,” Studell said as he stared to the east and brushed the sand off of his shirt and pants.  “I felt like I was being buried alive.  How exciting this trip is turning out to be!”
    Traven shook his head at the philosopher’s excitement.  The man could have suffocated in the sandstorm moments ago and yet now he was as giddy as a little kid on his birthday.  He joined Studell in watching the diminishing wall of sand speed away to the east.  He hoped that they wouldn’t run into any other sandstorms.  He anxiously checked their gear and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was all still securely tied to the horses.
    Deciding that it was still too hot to travel, Traven put their makeshift shelter back up, and they rested for a few more hours.  When the sun began to get low on the horizon, they ate a small dinner, packed up their camp, and continued north.  It was still warm but not as oppressively hot as it had been earlier.  They talked of the sandstorm and the sand dunes that looked like the waves of the ocean as their horses plodded along in the soft sand.
    As the sun began to set, the heat began to fade more quickly.  By the time night fully arrived, it was actually cool enough that Traven was grateful for the thick robe.  The coolness soon turned to cold.  He was taken aback by the dramatic change in temperature.  He wondered how it could be so hot during the day and yet so cold at night.
    “It’s the dry air,” Studell explained.  “There’s not enough moisture in the sand or the air to retain the heat from the sun.  Once the sun has set, the heat rapidly rises back into the sky leaving it cold.”
    “I wish the temperature wouldn’t change so much,” Traven stated.
    “That’s how deserts are, extreme heat during the day and extreme cold at night.  I expect it will get even colder before the night is over.”
    Traven hoped that the philosopher was wrong but knew that he was probably right.  Luckily the dry, clear air also allowed the