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Sand. Occasional plants. Desert. No water. Desert. Animals. Desert.

It's easy to describe a world around the Lizardmen kingdom. There's no other settlement as far as my eye could see. Water is a scarce commodity outside of the kingdom's wall. The only water pump as far as my eye could see is located within the kingdom, a turn wheel originally manned by slaves under the former lizardman king. As I once recall, most of them are lizardmen and races other than lizardmen. I can find at least one bull man whose natural strength is used to push the turn wheel around. That was in my own childhood, though. It's a shame that he passed away a year ago, after slavery has been abolished for 5 years by the first Basilisk King, Francis Lacroux.

Those are all in the past now. The turn wheel still operates, but now the lizardmen uses cattle from domesticated shell-plated animals they called 'Dugros', which is 'sand cow' in our language. They once roam free around the kingdom's wall, but with no manpower to power these complex machinery, king Francis decreed that the lizardmen find a way to domesticate them. Basilisks were the main contributors with their...our, petrifying gaze we called 'Basilisk Gaze'. True, it sounds normal, but our enemies tremble when they heard 'Basilisk', a name of contempt. We were once the lizard's slaves, but we are also reptilian, and we deserved to be together. That's what Francis once said to his people once he ascended to kinghood.

As for me, I'm but a scribe for him. Danica Truffaut. Such a Basilisk name, I dare say. We have a theme for our name that cannot be found in other race's name (at least for now, before 'hybrids' happens). Our name sounds weird, but name pattern is one of our long lost culture which we held. Basilisks have names like Rene Desjour, Abel Vernier, Adaline, and so on. You know the pattern. I am proud to say that I am a pure basilisk, with talons, feather all over my body, plate-like scales, and eyes that can freeze you in place, literally.

Hey, it's not as dangerous as it sounds! We Basilisks know how to control our Gaze. Well...not everyone, however. Some chose to stay 'blind' and use blindfolds, believing that it is one of our attire when we finally integrated ourselves with the lizardmen. Some wanted to train to control them and live a normal life among the others. I'm one of them. I want to see the world with my two eyes, not feel them with my other senses. I have lizardman friends (or woman? They are females) who told me that the world is better to be seen with eyes open all the time, so I can appreciate it as they are. Though I know it is a world of nothing, there are fascinating things that happens everywhere, around the kingdom or even out there.

I've been living within the walls of the kingdom for two years now. I mostly work as Francis's scribe or hang out, as the hatchlings said. I'm not that old. Barely 21. Basilisks live to be 200, and our 'young adult' period lasted for 40 years. We are considered responsible adults after we reached 60. By that time, the lizardmen are already considered old (their life expectancy is half of ours), but it's not apparent except some wrinkles, fading scale color, and loss of head feathers. Reptilians are quite hard to understand for some of you readers. I know there are people out there who doesn't like us. No, it's not a race thing or basilisks having uncontrollable gaze. They just don't like reptiles in general. It's like someone who doesn't like spiders (I believe the word is arachnophobia) see a palm-sized hairy spider crawling up their body. Yeah, just like that. Now imagine someone who doesn't like reptiles see a lizard or a snake crawling or slithering up their body, then force them to meet us or the lizardmen. They'll get a heart attack for sure!

Jokes aside, it's easy for people to actually fear us. I mean, seriously. Lizardmen are hardy people from a different spectrum. Tyrants go all the way to be demonized, or idolized, depending on how they are during their time as rulers. Screw racial thing. Screw appearance. Lizardmen can be your best friend or your worst enemy. I've never seen one lizardmen who is incapable of surviving for themselves. They are all natural born killers. Smart natural born killers. No, they don't just kill. They know how to go around formidable opponent and kill them. Honor and glory is not in our blood (yes, I'm also talking about the basilisks). Everyone tries their best to kill. The only line that differ us from a total maniac is our morality. Self control is the only thing that stop us from merciless killer and become the enemy of the world. Aside from that, we are egg-layers, while other people like the man bull are child bearers. Of course we are different from the others.

That's when I decided to start this journal. I have a feeling that people might get funny thoughts about us. We are one of the most isolated races in this world. I want the lizardmen and the basilisks to be well-known, and at least some of us know that we are not alone. I just wish that it is not biased. I am, however, still 21, a young basilisk. Most basilisks would want me to find a mate, lay some eggs, and settle down. I say no to that. I'm wasting my youth just to find a suitable mate (in basilisk culture, once we found a lover, be it male or female, we are expected to stay with them for life. Only after they die that we can find a new mate).

That's when I decided to meet Francis, the king of the lizardmen, to have his opinion about this. I've not seen Francis for a while. He has been involved in a skirmish for a while, and his court is being managed by his ministers. I know some of them. They are young people with fresh mind and inspiration. They are also his advisors, and they know me as the king's personal friend. I talk with a first name basis with him. Do you know that we were comrades in arms? Sure, I don't look like the fighter type, but hey, looks can kill, right? Damn, that's the worst basilisk joke I've ever made.

It has been five months since I met him in his court. His usual seat was empty when I went to meet him some times ago. One of his advisors told me that he's involved in a skirmish and wasn't expected to return for a while. I don't expect to meet him this day, but I am surprised when I meet with the basilisk. He returns with scars and missing scales, but otherwise he's okay (basilisks, like lizardmen, wear minimal clothing as they don't need that much protection. Their natural scales are enough for that. The fabrics are used to cover essential parts. I'm not one of them, though. My choice).

Francis, still wearing blindfolds when I come in, is elated to meet with me. I am, too. He quickly pull up his blindfold to show me his eyes. It's customary for friends to look them in the eyes, but not when you can't control the Gaze in public. Francis chose not to control his petrifying gaze as it gives an edge to his blind fighting skills. I decide to use my eyes. What's the point of having eyes if I can't look with them?

Oh, and if you want to know, our Basilisk Gaze in not a power. It's a genetic trait. Our eyes have a prismatic iris pattern that change color depending on light intensity and color spectrum. That pattern, however, contains a subliminal message. Based on some old lizardmen medical text (morbid, I know. But believe me, it's for the best), that subliminal message will not fade if the eye is still in perfect condition. That's the source of our petrifying ability. It 'commands' the body to stop moving and stay in place, like a statue. The beauty of it is that if you are skilled enough, you can control how strong it is. Only our race can control our eye like other race controlling their hands, provided that they train themselves. Not all basilisks want that. It's a lot of work and tiring. It's like you suddenly decided to work out a muscle you seldom used. Yeah, that's what it felt like back then.

We both embrace as friends, before he invites me to a common room beside the throne room. It's a room with mattress and some table with fruits on it. The lizardmen, mostly the people working in and around the palace, relax there. It's like a common room for everyone, but Francis once told me that it wasn't the case back when Serkat or Senneth was still the ruler. It's a typical room reserved for the royalty or important people, maintained by slaves as servants. It's not as different back then as it is now, except the slaves are gone and everyone is equal, including the two of us. We sat on a mattress with a plate full of berries of all kind on it.

Francis offers me some berries. I gladly accept it. We mostly talk about our experiences apart, like my work, documents I need to maintain, official letters, things like that, while Francis talks about his skirmish and how he successfully convince a settlement to start an economic relationship with the kingdom. But what's more important is the progress in undoing the damage Serkat had done to the kingdom.

From there is where I start talking about my intentions. I talk to Francis about wanting to travel for at least 5 years or more, depending on my luck, to see the world beyond what my eyes can see. Francis is exceptionally silent during the talk. But then, when I come up with my intention to go find the sea, Francis starts talking.

"Hold it, Danica," he said. "What are you going to do when you find the sea?"

"Travel, of course," I replied. "I wanna cross it."

"Isn't that a bit dangerous? I've known some people from the harbortown two days travel from here, but beyond that..."

"That's the point, Francis. I want to see the world beyond the harbortown. I know that some years from now, this kingdom might've expanded, but I want to see the world before that happens. Just imagine a world beyond the sea, full of new people and races and cultures and..."

"War and violence," interrupted Francis. Oh, boy, there he goes again. Francis is a good basilisk, and I can't blame him for renouncing violence (even though he is also a brutal fighter), but he is a little 'isolated', if you know what I mean. He is not willing to see new things, but not to an extent that he rejects them. He is not comfortable, that's all.

"Like I said, that's the point," I said, trying to convince him. "It's a win-win situation. I go to find a new world beyond the Lizardmen domain, spreading our culture around, and you can expand your domain, and possibly those after you."

"But what if they want to conquer us because of it?"

"I won't let them do that. Before their explorer comes to you, I will submit my journal of the world we lived in. I know it will take time, but hey, it's worth it. At least for me."

Francis goes silent again. He usually thinks about it before talking. He doesn't like to the way of 'do first, ask later'. He's a careful person, and I respect him for that. Francis helped me to be who I am by giving me a perspective of life that I had never seen before. All I knew before meeting Francis and Senneth were death, survival, and betrayal. I don't want to talk about it more that it is. It's the past. A painful and traumatic past.

Francis taps the table with his sharp talon. It's a habit whenever he is thinking. It is amusing to see his sharp talon, able to pierce a lizardman's scales, start to form a crater on everything he taps on. It can grow into a hole if he's determined enough.

After a while, Francis finally reacts. He sighs and walks to a nearby counter. He pulls out a drink, alcoholic. He offers it to me but I don't really want to drink when I'm explaining something. It might cause...complications.

"You miss Senneth, don't you?"

That sentence freezes me in place. I have never thought about my impulse to travelling. But then, Francis's word's never wrong. Yes, now that I think about it, after usurping the throne of the lizardmen five years ago, the public chose Francis as their new king because they would never forget his past atrocities, but they gained a new respect for him for trying to undo the mistakes he had done and admitted to it. After that, he went away, travelling to parts unknown, trying to use his magic for good. That was the last time I've ever seen him. Francis reminds me that Senneth is still out there, travelling or helping others to try to forgive himself from the errors of his past actions.

Apparently understanding my reaction, but mostly because of my eyes, Francis smiles and put one of his talons on my shoulders. His eyes are mesmerizing for a basilisk. Those prismatic colors are a pinnacle of a basilisk's eyes. A true work of art exclusive for a being named Francis Lacroux. That's how I admire his eyes. Basilisks have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen, if it is not a petrifying gaze for others.

"You can go," he said. "Travel. Find a new world that we will never find. I'd like to know about it. I'll appoint another scribe in your place, but don't expect me to return that job for you when you return one day."

I laugh from that comment. Classic Francis.

"You bet I am. You'll have a blast. Don't expect it to be fairy tales and happiness, though."

"Just be careful out there, Danica. You will not die on me, you hear me? I hope you know how horrid it is out there."

"I will."

Just then, a basilisk comes into the common room, but I immediately realize something different from him. He is using a walking stick like a blind lizardman (basilisks don't use them because they somehow train their proximity sensors. I don't know how it works. I don't go to that domain), and he trips. A basilisks, trips. Well, that's something new (for me). Francis sighs and somehow the basilisk hears it. He nervously smiles and try to get on his feet.

"Arnaud, don't walk around without me!" said Francis while helping him get out. "We talk about this, right?"

"I want to, but I'm bored, Francois! Your room is too small and I'm uncomfortable with these clothes!"

"Arnaud, basilisks around here don't walk naked," said Francis. "And my name is Francis, not Francois!"

"It sounds the same to me. And, uh...I don't think we meet, mademoiselle. My name is Arnaud."

"I'm Danica. Good to meet you. If you mind, I want to talk with Francis. Is it okay for you?"

"Take your time. I'll sit here and wait."

I promptly pull Francis away from Arnaud and talk to him out of earshot.

"Your lover?"

Francis seems surprised when I said it like that. "How do you know," he said.

"You two look like lovers quarreling. It's cute."

"Stop it."

"But I'm glad. You've finally moved on. What's his story, though?"

"I met him during a skirmish. Some days from here, there's a community of nomadic basilisks who are 'one with nature', so they don't wear clothes, like a proper beast kind. That community was devastated by a cult that believes our eyes are evil eyes. Most are killed, and Arnaud was one of the last survivors. He was mostly kept as a trophy and servant, with damaged eyes."

"So what did you do?"

"Simple. I show them how evil my eyes can be," said Francis with a wicked smile. "Worst death you can even get. Petrified death. Slit their throats while they can't move or scream. Don't want Arnaud to be scared, right?"

"Right...Senneth is rubbing on you, Francis. I thought you don't like violence."

"I can be cruel if the situation demands it. A king cannot rule if they cannot show cruelty, right?"

I smile back nervously. Francis may look like a good person who cares for you, but if you want to become his enemy and betray his trust, don't. He's as cruel as Senneth in a way I know is possible. If it wasn't for me, he would go down a darker path, a path that would make him not that different as Senneth or Serkat, for that matter. He is the king of the lizardmen, and it is a necessary thing to look at if you decide to meet him.

I walk down the corridor back to the throne room with Francis, trying to forget the fact that my friends are all borderline psychopaths. When we reach the court, I turn to the basilisk and said, "Francis...be a different king than Serkat or Senneth. Please."

"I will, Danica. You have my word," he replied.

"I hope you can, Francis. I'm always there for you, but now...I cannot be there for you all the time. I cannot become your 'heart' anymore."

Francis stays silent as I say that. I try not to cause him to see the errors of his past judgements. He cannot be burdened by it, unless it causes harm. Then I get an idea.

"Let Arnaud be your 'heart'," I said to him. "He looks innocent enough. I can no longer be your 'heart', but a blind innocent basilisk might be able to do it for you. Promise me this one thing, Francis."

"Y-yeah, I will, Danica. Stay safe out there. Thank you...for everything. Oh, and say hi for Senneth for me."

"I will, if I meet him."

I turn around, never looking back. After I go through the doors leading to the throne room and going down the flight of stairs, I dare to turn around and look the palace and the society around it. A lizardmen society that I grew in. I won't be seeing these for a while.

This is the point of turn in my life. I might not be able to return to the kingdom for a while, but when I do, I will present Francis, provided that he's still a king by them, the journal of my journey. This chapter starts the chapters after it. It is the start of my new chapter in life. It's time to see the world we live in. The present day world full of wonder and adventures that I will face.

I just hope that is the case....