Chronicles of Ehtelar , Vol 1 Content . The caravan tracked its way through the Hollow Wastes . Wheels creaked below the howling of the desert winds . Mercenaries , swathed in chain and boiled leather , cursed the sweltering heat that broiled them under the unblinking sun . Hearing their muttered oaths , Ehtelar was thankful for Rahad , her trusted contact in Sentinel . The burly Redguard was blessed with an unflappable practicality , born of his upbringing in the desert wastes . " Dress lightly , " he ' d said , " Loosely woven tunics will be your friend in Alik ' r . Wearing much more will see you cooked in your shell faster than dreugh shrimp in a fishmonger ' s pot . " She had taken his advice to heart , dressing only in linens and investing in an enchanted waistband that kept her cool despite the oppressive heat . Trundling forward , the wagon train crested a windswept ridge and came to a rumbling halt . Curious , Ehtelar dismounted . As she made her way toward the front of the train , merchants confused by the sudden stop peered out from the awnings that kept the sun from their backs . " My friend , " Rahad said as she passed the head carriage , " Your travels have taken you to many shores , but tell me : Have you ever encountered such a sight ? " As he spoke , he gestured out past the road to the valley below . There , amid burnt stone and winding trails , great alabaster spires protruded from the sand like arrows fallen into thick sod , stretching for miles in the space between the ridge and its twin across the span . " What is it ? " she asked , regaining her composure . " I was hoping you could tell me , " he replied , " This pass is normally home to nothing but sand heaped in dunes for miles . Who can say how long that was buried here ? " Realizing an opportunity to make a profit , Ehtelar insisted they camp among the ruins for the night . The mercenaries , glad for a reprieve from the noonday sun , were all too happy for a break from their grueling trek . Night fell and their carousing was heard into the early hours of the morning . If there were anything untoward about the ruins around them , it went unnoticed in the din . Dawn found Ehtelar and her companion picking a path through the spires in search of an entrance . It was almost noon before they found one . " Here ! " Rahad cried out , excitement barely concealed beneath the deep timbre of his voice , " I found a way through ! " Running now , to reach her friend and see what he had found , Ehtelar rounded a bend in the stone . As she did , she was greeted by a terrible sight . Hanging limp from a great spear thrust out from the crack was Rahad . His scabbard was empty , the sword that filled it thrust into a nearby dune . She stood there , gaping in horror , as Rahad was lifted into the air , a great scaly head emerging from the sand heaped in piles about the ruined doorway . With one fluid motion the creature shifted its weight , throwing Rahad to one side as it began to clean the gore from its weapon . Ehtelar shook her head in disbelief . She thought to call out , but realized the creature would probably kill her before she issued a second syllable . Slowly , carefully , she took a step back , then another . For a moment it seemed she would escape , but as her third step met ground , the creature turned . Dodging back from a thrust spearpoint , Ehtelar found her ears deafened by a sudden burst of shrill music . Clapping her hands over them defensively , she stumbled back as her adversary uncoiled before her . Rising , expanding its ribs until it had nearly doubled in size , its multitonal voice joined itself in chorus . Its shrieking harmony resounded through the sand until tiny grains fell away from the ruins in sheets . As it shifted , the stone beneath her collapsed , spilling her out toward her foe . It was all she could do to grab Rahad ' s sword , buried to the pommel in sand . Suddenly within striking distance , she thrust the sword through the fiend ' s blackened maw . As steel met skull , the terrible crescendo of its voice began to falter . In that moment , her opponent realized a simple truth : It no longer hungered for blood and flesh . It no longer wanted much of anything at all . " How wonderful ! " it thought as the ground rushed up to meet it . If its reptilian mouth allowed , it would have smiled . As the lamia spiraled to the ground , its hooked spear caught Ehtelar in the calf . Feeling the cold bite of steel , she was thrown off balance . For a moment it seemed she would right herself , but the stone she stood upon suddenly gave way . Down into the dark she fell , suspended within a cloud of sand that swept past the jutting stones and crenelated spires peering out from the shadows below . As the bright , desert sky abandoned her , she found herself bathed in scintillating light . A field of stars sparkled around her — not stars , for they were far underground . They were the bright crystals of the Ayleid oon . She fell for what seemed like days , her only company the flickering lights careening up at her from the darkness . " If I could only grasp one of those tiny stars , " she thought , her hands reaching toward them , " I might become as ethereal as they are and leave this world behind . " From below , a whisper grew to a rustling , wind like sound . Looking down , it seemed her flight of stars came to a hard edge — rushing up at her in the dark .