Imaging Extrasolar Planets: with the European Extremely Large Telescope

Imaging Extrasolar Planets:  with the European Extremely Large Telescope

There is, in the pipeline, a new and even larger ground-based optical telescope known as the E-ELT, (European Extra Large Telescope), for short.   It is to be built in Cerro Armazones, Chile near the Paranal Observatory; just 20Km from the existing VLT (Very Large Telescope).   The planned completion date of the E-ELT, if all goes to plan, is sometime in 2022.  The E-ELT general specifications are as follows:

Organisation: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Altitude:  3,060 metres

Weather: 89% clear fraction 0.67"median seeing @ 500nm

Wavelength: Visible light ~ Near Infrared range.

Instrument type: Optical Reflector

Mirror Diameter: 39.3 m (segmented primary) a new unique 5 mirror design; each mirror can distort its shape 1000 times per second to correct the image for atmospheric distortions, a system known as adaptive optics.

Angle of arc:  0.0001 to 0.65 arcseconds

Collecting area: 978 m2

Focal Length:  420-840m (f/10 ~ f/20)

Dome:  86 metres in diameter, half the size of a football stadium.

Website:  ESO E-ELT

The initial designs had planned to create a mirror with a 42-metre mirror area.  But, because of inherent design problems, this was reduced to 39.3 metres, which saved 220 million euros, reduced the cost to 1.055 billion euros, and shortened the project time to just 10years.

The E-ELT will be the worlds largest eye on the sky. Its light-gathering potential will be 15 times greater than that of any existing telescope.  It will produce images 15 times sharper than those provided by the Hubble space telescope and is planned to enable astronomers to probe the planetary systems around local stars in the Milky Way galaxy, and in addition, stars still in their formative stages.   It will be a giant leap forward in space exploration that will help astrobiologists detect water,   organic molecules, and possibly atmosphere on extrasolar planets orbiting other stars.  Other targets will be proto-planetary disks circling young stars, with planets in the making.  In addition, it will allow us to study distant gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn in greater detail. 

Ultimately E-ELT will probe deeper into the universe, looking at even more distant objects, chasing answers to the big questions.  This will include detailed studies of the most distant objects, and possibly measure the speed at which the universe is still expanding.

    Comparison with other large Earthbound telescopes:

                                  Name              Aperture Diameter  Collecting Area    State of Play

    Gran Telescopio Canarias  (GTC)            10.4m              74 m2    Largest currently in service 

    Keck Telescopes                                  10.0m              76 m2    Currently in service

    South'n African Large Telescope (SALT) 11.1 x 9.8m     79 m2   Due at end of the decade 

    Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT)            24.5m           368 m2    Due at end of the decade

    Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)                 30.0m           655 m2    Due at end of the decade

    European Extremely Large Telescope  (E-ELT)

                                                             39.3m           978 m2    Due 2022  

 E-ELT's suite of instruments will help with investigating how objects form and evolve.   Identifying variations in physical constants with time.   The unambiguous detection of variations will advance the understanding of the laws of physics as we know them.

There are additional scientific instruments, adjuncts to the E-ELT, the aim is to switch from one instrument to another in moments, and move the dome rapidly to start a new observation in minutes

 Eight different instruments are planned:

CODEX:  A narrow field optical spectrograph (it separates incoming waves into a frequency spectrum ~ generated via a Fournier transform).

EAGLE:  A wide-field multi-channel integral-field near-infrared (NIR) spectrograph with multi-objective adaptive optics.

EPICS:  An optical/NIR planet imager and spectrograph with extreme adaptive optics.

HARMONI:  A single field, wide-band integral field spectrograph.

METIS:  A mid-infrared imager & spectrograph.

MICADO:  A diffraction-limited near-infrared camera (An optical system with the ability to produce images with angular resolution).

OPTIMOS:  A wide-field visual multi-object spectrograph.

SIMPLE:  A high-spectral-resolution NIR spectrograph.

The two post-focal adaptive optics modules currently being studied are:

ATLAS:  a laser tomography adaptive optics module.

MAORY: A multi-conjugate adaptive optics module.

The inception of the E-ELT project was rooted in the first decade of the 2000's. At that time a number of similar projects were on the drawing board.   The GTC, SALT, GMT, TMT, they are all due to come online before the end of this current decade.   You may wonder if the E-ELT is overkill?   But, the Astronomical community are close-knit and plan ahead with a lot of international cooperation.   Each project is planned to fill a niche in the search for further knowledge about the universe.   Each complex fulfils a need in that scientific community.   Science is a truly multinational fraternity, why else would a consortium of nations invest 1.055 billion euros setting up a telescope array in another country, such as Chile and call it a European telescope?   Surely this should point out the path to be followed by the Nations of this world.   That working together is the only logical way for humanity to progress.

The visible universe is no more than 5% of what is out there, the rest is made up of Dark Energy 72%, and Dark Matter 23%:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHium3r7qco

The time of discovery is not at an end, it is just beginning...

The Io Observer is a New Frontiers Class mission

The Io Observer is a New Frontiers Class mission

Io is Jupiter's  5th moon (3rd largest and slightly larger than our moon) orbiting at around 422,000 Km.   The significance of Io is that it is the most geologically active body in the solar system, with over 400 active volcano's many the height of Everest.  The highest recorded magma temperatures ~ 1800 degrees Celsius, far higher than that recorded on the earth, suggesting the magma is more primitive and that there is a magma ocean beneath the surface. Possibly duplicating conditions that existed on earth before life began.

The Io Observer mission is designed to determine the internal structure of Io and to learn about its volcanic activity which could have real applications to the nature of volcanoes here on earth.  The mission will be funded by NASA, including the cost of the launch.   None of the four proposed options require new technology and, two of the proposals fall within the new frontiers cost cap, the other two are marginally higher.

Because Io is situated within Jupiter's radiation belt it presents significant challenges to the engineers involved, but the benefits from solving these problems now will result in payback, in the near future, when even more challenging missions are contemplated.  The Io Observer is, as its name implies to be a remote observation mission, under the guidance of the National Research Council's (NRC's) Satellites Panel.   They have four suggested study options using similar equipment to investigate variations in payload, power systems, and mission duration.  Those options are as follows:

1. An advanced Stirling radioisotope generator (ASRG)-powered remote sensing spacecraft.  This will involve ten flybys.
2. A solar-powered remote sensing spacecraft.  This will involve ten flybys.
3. A Solar-powered remote sensing spacecraft with one less instrument and a shorter observational period compared to option 2.   This will involve six flybys.
4. A Solar-powered remote sensing spacecraft with one more instrument compared to option 2.   This will involve ten flybys.

For all options the spacecraft will enter into a highly elliptical orbit of Jupiter, to minimise radiation exposure, while performing periodic Io flybys; this will allow for multiple viewing of Io's polar regions.  A series of close flybys would enable higher resolution mapping and details of the magnetic field, species in the atmosphere and plume to be analysed and allow greater understanding of the internal stresses, strains, put on Io's internal structure by the gravitational pull of Jupiter.   This phase would last approximately 60 days, and would include:

• A redundant 3-axis stabilized spacecraft carrying a narrow-angle camera (NAC), to measure peak lava temperatures with near-simultaneous colour imaging to tightly constrain peak lava temperatures.
• A thermal mapper, to map & monitor temperatures & heat flow patterns related to the internal structure and tidal heating mechanisms.
• A pair of fluxgate magnetometers (FMG's), to detect magnetic induction and an internal field (if the latter is present).
• In addition, options 1, 2, & 4 will carry an ion and neutral mass spectrometer (INMS), to determine composition and spatial distribution neutrals, that control energy input into the Io plasma torus; determine the composition of Io's atmosphere, volcanic plumes and a whole host of other things.
• Option 4 will also carry a fast-imaging plasma spectrometer (FIPS), to measure the energy, angular, and compositional distributions of the low-energy components of the ion distribution.  The solar-powered versions will require an instrument scan platform that will enable the solar arrays to continually face towards the sun while data collection is in progress. 

Previous missions to the Jupiter system were:

1.     Pioneer 1 & 2 1973/74

2.     Voyager 1 ~ 1979  first reported volcanic eruption.

3.     Voyager 2 ~ 1990  confirmed volcanic activity.

4.     Galileo      ~ 2000  confirmed the volcanic nature of Io.

5.     New Horizons ~ 2007 due to flyby 2016

There is a high Electrical current set up between Io and Jupiter in a cylinder of highly concentrated magnetic flux known as the Io flux tube, of two trillion watts output.  This is comparable to the total power produced on earth. 

The Short Version:

Most of the above technical data goes way over my head.  I understand that there have been six missions that have visited the Jupiter system.   They obtained a lot of information about the Jovian moons some of it was about the anomaly that is Io.  One of the sixty-seven moons (last count), It appears to be a double for earth 4.5 billion years ago.  It's unlikely that it will ever spawn life as we know it, but given enough time anything is possible.   It would be interesting to watch it and draw parallels between the geological activity on Io & Earth.   There are a lot of forces in action between Io & Jupiter, sometime in the future that awesome energy in the Io flux tube (two trillion watts) might be harnessed; anything is possible.   It may sound like science fiction, but if we don't study it we won't learn anything, and Homo sapiens are a curious species.

Jane’s Travels

Jane’s Travels

When I became a Vegetarian, Eric went the way of all flesh.   When marriage enters the conversation after lovemaking, it usually marks the beginning of the end.   So, I became celibate.   That period in my life lasted about ten months.   Then, on the first day of my vacation in Thailand I met a particularly delectable young Thai.  

Ahlbaan was seventeen, experienced and wonderfully athletic.   He had an awesome drive, and the ability to sustain and suspend the moment indefinitely.   It resulted in a truly memorable three weeks.   Admittedly, I saw nothing of the country but, it was money well spent. 

 He escorted me to the airport, and I gave him my London address and offered him a place to stay, should he ever decide to visit England.   It was only then I realised he didn’t speak English.   I bade him a  fond farewell, and boarded the plane; I had to smile as I watched him pick up another horny female visitor to paradise.   It struck me then, that whatever he received for his services wasn’t enough.   I realized at that moment that no matter how much I enjoy sex I could never be a prostitute.

On the long haul home I was entertained by an elegant and sophisticated knight of a bygone age.   He wined and dined me in first class.   At precisely the right moment he rose to the occasion, adorning me with a natural pearl drop necklace.  

However, it was confiscated at Heathrow airport with a smile and an apology!   They are such brutes, those customs officers.   He pointed to the sign above the exit gate – ‘Nothing to declare’.

Well I declare...

.-…-.

Most of my female acquaintances rave about the Spanish resorts.   They dance to garage and house, swallowing pills, and drinking the night away.   Putting it crudely they get pissed, get laid, sleep, eat, and rave again.   They meet and mate with girls and guys from all over.   They engage in carnal sports then lay in the sun for two weeks, returning to regale us with their conquests and to save up for their next holiday, or work to pay for the one they’ve just had.   Very clinical, very lavatorial, like shitting and pissing.   Well, I have to say it's not for me, it leaves me cold.

So inevitable, so obsessive, and unnecessary.   But, if it’s what turns you on if   Following the herd is what gives you a buzz then go for it!   If popping ‘E’s, drinking gallons of booze and mindlessly jerking like an automaton to tuneless rhythms, is where it's at, then jerk away!   I just prefer to do my own thing.

I prefer a uniquely personal experience.   I don’t mind not being the first, just so long as I’m not one of the crowd.  It has to feel fresh and spontaneous.   All I can say to the morons on the beach is “Wake-up and smell the Chanel.”  

Life is nevermore vital than when danger is present.   When death is imminent, life is more intense.   Sky diving, bungee jumping, base jumping, white water rafting, driving a formula one car around Silverstone at full throttle; all give me a bigger buzz than Snow fights, chasing the dragon, or freebasing.   They are healthier and far more satisfying – if you survive!!

That’s living!

.-…-.

“Jane darling.   Such a lovely party, so glad you invited me.”

“Aunt Loosee, how could I not invite my favourite aunt!”   We touched lips "Mwah!"

“You were eyeballing that male eye-candy on the barstool; is that the correct expression?”

“Have you watched how he never takes his eyes off me?” I asked.

“Mmm.   Are his pants too tight or is he having trouble controlling something, are you sure he isn't looking at me?”  She giggled as thoughts played through her mind.

I had to smile.   I could practically read her thoughts.

“You can’t take offence when a man expresses his feelings in so obvious and honest-a-way,” said Loosee.

I guffawed and nearly choked on a cocktail cherry. “He’s got a stiffie!”

“Precisely,” said Loosee.   “My goodness, Jane dear, you certainly have a lot to learn about men.

“For instance?”

“Why firstly, you have to realize that pretty much the only thing on their minds awake or sleeping is sex.”

"Loosee!" I gasped.   But, she was already standing too close to him, talking, with her arm on his knee, her hand drooping...  "Loosee No!"

Corvalen 1 ~ 02 - An unfortunate Happenstance

Corvalen 1  ~  02  -  An unfortunate Happenstance

Adrenaline coursed through his veins, as he climbed the ancient vine to her casement, feeding and intensifying his expectations.  He entered her apartments soundlessly.  Only one flickering patchouli-scented lamp was lit, leaving most of the room in deep shadow.   He moved silently to her bedside.  

“Eldoriel” he called softly, omitting the flowery epithets, and words of endearment employed by other men, as a precursor to foreplay, he knew they were unnecessary.  Carefully he drew back the curtains, leaning over to kiss her lightly on the left cheek.  She felt cold to the touch and did not respond.   Cupping her face gently between his hands, he turned her head to face him.  It came away from her body, in his hands.

"Aaagh!"   He cried out involuntarily, with shock and horror, dropping the bloody thing onto the bed.   His eyes, now accustomed to the gloom, stared fixedly at her severed head; momentarily his mind and limbs froze as he shook uncontrollably.   Then suddenly, the room was alive with people all shouting and yelling at the same time.  Hands grabbed for him.   He tore free, as if in a dream, and headed towards the window.   His way was barred by two hefty but cumbersome eunuchs, the merchant’s personal bodyguard.  He dodged past them easily reaching the open window in an instant.   But almost toppled out, onto the pavement far below, as an empty wine flagon shattered against his skull.   Lights flashed before his eyes, and he staggered.   Through the fog in his brain, he retained the presence of mind to grasp the top of the vine and dive through the opening half climbing, half sliding, twenty feet to the ground.   His landing was mistimed knocking the wind out of him.   He sat in the courtyard dazed, for precious seconds, then without warning another heavy pot fell from above, smashing loudly close by, bringing him to his senses.  He struggled to his knees but, as he strove to rise, a third missile struck him rendering him unconscious.

"Wake up!"   Somebody yelled harshly in his ear, slapping his face.   He was shaken roughly and doused with cold water. He groaned and shook his aching head realising, in that instant, his hands were bound behind him.   As he opened his eyes he found them watering and puffy, little more than slits.   He tasted blood in his mouth and felt sick.   He had been systematically beaten and every inch of his body was wracked with pain.   As his eyes focused, he recognised Grym-Baal, gesticulating angrily, his voice droning on and on, seemingly from a great distance, in his thick, scarcely intelligible, Huren accent.

"Even your lawless heaven forsook nobility will now recognise your flagrant affront, to my dignity, and accede to my right to redress…” he yelled triumphantly.

"They will consider I have bestowed honour, on the house of Baal, by planting royal Kurdik seed in the belly of your Bellorne concubine!   They may even demand a stud fee!" he added with arrogance.  

"She is dead!   You still have her blood on your hands and clothing, you killed her.   There is no way you can escape retribution.  I have rights!"

"I most certainly did not kill her!   She had already been despatched by another before I even entered her chamber.   Though after consideration, and under the circumstances, I am sure they will waive the stud fee…" he said bluffing in an off-hand manner, as he again attempted to rise gingerly to his feet.

With murder in his eyes Grym-Baal launched a ferocious attack, beating Ahlendore to the floor, continuing to kick and beat him where he lay."

"I could seek satisfaction, and kill you in hand to hand combat, but there is always the chance you might triumph and thwart me, I will not risk that!   You caused her infidelity, you brought about her death, and now you are going to pay!"

"Very well," said Ahlendore in a conciliatory manner, "She was from Bellorne and delightfully experienced, which will, of course, increase her value considerably," he said, still attempting to carry the bluff, "How much do you consider she was worth?"

"Far more than your wastrel life!" he replied his voice ice cold and bitter with anger, “a damned good deal more.”

"But, I did not kill her, I was simply the unlucky cove caught with his finger in the honey pot, so to speak, it could have been anyone.   My family will not permit…"

"Your family?   Your brother, Fazeil himself, informed me of your involvement with my wife and bade me take you with his blessing.   He paid a tidy sum in gold to ensure you are discredited and despatched, prior to your father’s demise.   Being an honourable man, of course, he could not do so himself but, it has been agreed, I should deal with you as I see fit."

"I do not believe that…" Ahlendore replied.

"Gag him and put him in the wagon," another voice commanded; a course gravely voice.

He kicked and threshed about "Murder!!!"   He yelled with all the force of his lungs.

He received curses, punctuated with blows, in return for his trouble and landed with bone-shattering force in the back of a wagon.

"You will receive Huren justice boy.   You will wish I had run you through with a rapier, but I am determined your death will be slow, painful and lingering, allowing you time to reflect long and well on your misdeeds.   You will be staked out in the sun, to be eaten alive by ants, scavenger crabs, and birds.   This is the preferred fate for lecherous adulterers who misappropriate the affections of virtuous married women of the civilised Huren states."   He salivated, licking his lips, with anticipation.   "I seriously considered castration but there is always a risk of the victim dying under the knife, cheating the injured party of his vengeance, which in this case has been painstakingly and meticulously planned.   But, who knows, you may get lucky and still find yourself on the wheel of life in time to welcome your father when he passes over."    His manic laughter rang in Ahlendore's ears, as he removed the gag, "I will allow you to beg for your life now if you've a mind," he sneered.

"Help murder, bloody murder!" he yelled again.

He was silenced quickly with the now all too familiar tirade of blows.   When next he awoke, they were already out in the western desert, where days are hotter than a kiln hearth and nights as frozen as the far northern reaches.   He found he was still securely bound, frozen to the boards and unable to name a single part of his anatomy that was free from pain.   Every jolt of the wagon brought further misery adding bruises to existing bruises.   He bore it stoically in silence, concentrating his energies on attempting to escape.   He tensed his arms, legs, chest, and any other part of his body that might aid him in loosening the bonds.   He groaned involuntarily from the waste of effort and energy.   ‘What if he didn't get out of this?   He had not yet faced that possibility; he might not survive,’ that first niggling thought 'a seed of doubt' germinating, and growing like a cancer in his mind.    Another day passed, he remained trussed and without sustenance, his resolve was beginning to crumble.   'Mayhap I will not become Caliph after all,' he thought with genuine regret.   He had plenty of time to think on such matters, as the wagon trundled inevitably onwards.   For a seemingly intelligent man, he’d been incredibly stupid.   Grym was right, he'd acted badly, and openly without considering the consequences for either himself or for others.  With that realisation came remorse and regret, he'd been a fool, blinded by his own lust and selfish desires

.-...-.

He knew exactly where he was.   For the last three days, he'd eaten nothing but fine white powdered sand which to his certain knowledge came from one place only, the Western Desert.

"This will do," he heard Skaa call out, in his now familiar abrasive voice.  

Moments later he was thrown unceremoniously from the wagon. 

"Stake him out!"  

Four three-foot stakes were driven into the ground leaving just ten inches proud of the close-pack powdered sand.

"Its nothing personal," Skaa said conversationally, grinning from ear to ear and speaking just inches from his face.

 He could smell stale ale and tobac on the older man's breath.

"I actually quite like you boy, we are kindred spirits, we both tasted the delights of the delectable Eldoriel.  It's just a job you understand?"   He paused to light his pipe.  "Heh Heh!   Stud fee!   That was an inspired touch.   You had him foaming at the mouth he damned nearly killed you with his bare hands then and there.  You could have cost me a fortune if I hadn't acted swiftly to pull him off."

As he listened, he was conscious that others were tying thick strips of wet leather to his ankles and wrists.   Stretching and securing them firmly to the stakes.  

Skaa patted his cheek, "Best of luck boy.”  He came closer and whispered intimately, "She was good though wasn't she?" he was grinning all the while.   "That should do it," he told his men, as he rose and headed towards his mount.

"You killed her?" Ahlendore said accusingly his voice and eyes betraying his surprise.  

Skaa stopped halfway, turned and leered, "I don't think you’re in a position to do anything about it, do you?"   He laughed coldly, do you have any last requests?   Anything?  Some last words of contrition you would like me to pass on to Grym-Baal?"

"Yes!   Tell him in future I will stick to whores.   They are more discriminating in their choice of partners, they are cleaner, and offer less risk of the pox!" 

The man laughed again then, on reaching his horse, he turned reflectively and retraced his steps. "There’s something I forgot, to do..."   He said, proceeding to urinate in the unfortunate boys face.   He took a step back gesturing encouraging his men to do likewise.  He just stood there watching, grinning.   When Ahlendore thought his humiliation was complete, one of them handed the grizzled veteran a large salt glazed jug.   Removing the cork with his brown tobac stained teeth he proceeded to pour thick black molasses over the boy’s head, face, arms, legs, and feet, covering every exposed skin surface.  

Ahlendore swallowed as much as he could, licking his lips and face hungrily.

Skaa backed away from him, leaving a thin black trail on the white sand.

"The ants will soon be coming to woo you, they will take you to their nest for a grand feast, piece by piece!   Haha ha!"  He laughed again and the others joined in.   Moments later, without further talk, they mounted and rode off in the direction they had come.

He shuddered inwardly 'ants, I hate ants, so uncompromising and so bloody efficient'.    He could feel the vibrations from the horses' hooves long after the sounds had died away.   Now he was alone, he felt the pangs of hunger and thirst more acutely than ever before.   He turned his head from side to side to encourage the few remaining droplets of molasses to flow in the right direction, towards his mouth, he managed by trial and error to gain a little additional sustenance, and also a measure of protection from the sun, thanks to the coagulating surface layer.  Gradually, the leather straps began to tighten around his wrists and ankles, as the moisture leeched into the dry atmosphere.   He began to lose the feeling in his limbs.  He responded by flexing, tensing, and pulling, against his bonds.  He succeeded in stretching them, just a little; taking heart from this he redoubled his efforts.

Corvalen 1  ~  A fortunate happenstance

   Hurda rested, thoughtfully on her stave, in the shade of a ramshackle construction that somebody, on the fringes of Corvalen, called home.   She oft stood there gazing across at a two-story brick and stucco building; it looked so out of place in these surroundings.    There it stood, just twenty feet away, across the busiest road into the city but it may as well be twenty miles off.   To own and run such an establishment, would require wealth and riches beyond her imaginings yet for as long as she could remember, owning it had been her dream.   Hurda Madame of the 'Pochette Platzi' the cities grandest, and most notorious, house of pleasure.  It had been intentionally sited at arm's length from Corvalen’s polite society.  It mattered, not to her, that it was situated outside the protection of the city.   

But not today!   She shrugged off the muse.   Today exciting things were happening, momentous things.   The old Caliph was dead, and the kull had begun.   There was fighting in the streets, even now his sons would be locked in a life and death struggle from which only one would survive and become the Prince Regent.   Then after twelve months, he would succeed his father, on the Karveel stone throne, as Caliph of Corvalen.  Yester-even a young woman had been decapitated in the foreign quarter of the city.  As she watched, a dozen Huren dog soldiers escorted a covered wagon out into the western desert.  They rode straight as a lance shaft, away from the main road, out into the land of the dead. 

'Why?   What was in that wagon?   What was of such interest to them out there?   What-ever, it would be worth investigation', she thought.  'Where there's an escorted wagon there’s invariably profit to be had.' 

.-...-.

   Hurda was an orphan, she had lived her whole life, fifteen years, on the streets around the fringes of the city.  She was a loner, who survived by turning happenstance to her advantage.  She possessed an innate curiosity and a sense for knowing what was saleable and would turn a profit.  Goods, services, information, she had brokered them all.   She was a rangy girl with a dusky complexion, darkened to a deep sienna, by the incessant gaze of the sun.   She was quick of wit and limb, displaying remarkable shrewdness and judgement far beyond her years.   She was patience itself except where her own physical development was concerned.   It was happening, at its own pace, but far too slowly for her liking.  She felt like a woman trapped in a child's body.   She knew there was nothing she could do about that, puberty would come in its own good time.  Now was the time for action ‘she who hesitates is lost’ was a phrase written indelibly on her brain and this, she believed, was an opportunity not to be missed!

She made a brief stop off at the lean-to shelter, she shared with five others, to eat and fill her back-sack with supplies.  She collected the funds she had not yet invested with her mentor, and banker, Asba Dylon.   Asba was an important counsellor at the royal court, she smiled as she thought of him.  He had been as much a father to her as she could ever want, one day mayhap…   Well, she could dream but only once a day, dreams do not put food in your belly.   Her next stop would be the nearest well, to fill her water skins, then she could be off in pursuit of that mysterious caravan.   She regretted not being able to tell Asba where she was going he liked to be kept informed of her movements.

.-…-.

   By mid-morning of the third day she was thinking 'this was a mistake, these dogs intend riding all the way to the Sabre-Toothed mountains.   Already I've used a third of my supplies.   They are a'horse whilst I am a'foot.’    She wracked her brain but could not recall any habitation closer than two days walk from her current position.   She stopped; finally resolved to cut her losses and returning home.   For once her instinct had played her foul except, her innate curiosity rebelled and led her on for another hour, she still had to discover what they were about.   Her persistence was rewarded.

 "This will do!"  One of them said.

She skirted their position, carefully erasing her own tracks as she circled the wagon party.   A full lodestone point - anti-clock - placed her on a small dune above them with the sun at her back.  She watched the young man being thrown unceremoniously from the wagon.   She winced in sympathy as events unfolded before her.  She lay prone, level with the lip of the dune, straining her ears and eyes to make sense of what transpired.   Watching as they first watered him then covered him with treacle before finally riding off, leaving him to the elements.

She thought long and hard on how she could turn this to profit.  'Who was he?   Why had they gone to so much trouble?   What had he done?'  

She watched him struggle and thresh, he had no intention of giving up.   'He's a game one,’ she thought.   Mayhap I could sell him to the slavers of Maal, just three or four day’s journey?   They were within range, but they would see she had a weak hand and probably take the both of em.

"Bastards!"    He yelled, “my father will hear of this!"

'Sounds like quality' she thought, 'Mayhap I should sit and wait a while, let him simmer a little, let the reality of his situation sink in.   An hour ought to do it'.

She pulled back off the dune a little, ate some biscuit, cheese, and figs.   She drank sparingly, if she was to stretch it for two, she would need to be frugal.   Finally, she rose, it was time to confront him.   She approached from the sun'ard.

.-…-.

He lay on his back, eyes closed, facing the sky for how long, he didn't know, it seemed like hours.   He had long since given up on the possibility of rescue.   The sun sank slowly down towards the horizon, when it dipped out of sight he knew it would start to grow cold.   In his mind, he pictured the beautiful young girl from Bellorne, which was what she had been, a girl.   Eldoriel was even younger than he, with potentially a full life ahead, and yet she had been dead these four days.   She died because of the kull, because of his…   That distant man, a stranger to his own flesh, he remembered having to wear his best clothes to visit Papa in his study.  Yet Papa could only spare moments and never ever remembered his name.

‘Why?’  He thought.   ‘Who cares anyway, if I die now, or live another sixty years?’

He had lived his whole life with the spectre of death, when his father finally returned to the wheel of life.   Ahlendore and his brothers had been schooled for leadership.   His fifteen years had been consumed with horsemanship, martial arts, weapon training, and tactics.   Survival was their primary aim, but there could be only one to rule.  Whoever sat on the Kaveel stone throne of Corvalen, on the anniversary of their father’s death, would become the undisputed ruler.   Any survivors would pay homage or be despatched unceremoniously as enemies of the state.   He was thirteenth in line of succession for the Caliphate of Corvalen.   He was a fine swordsman, and one of Caliph Endrochines more intelligent children and, an early developer in all respects.   He was arrogant and selfish, just like his father, but could not see himself surviving sixty-eight years as Endrochine had done following the death of his own father, and all but seven of his own siblings.  

A shadow fell across his face, 'this is it' he thought, 'whatever happened to the ants?' he wondered.   He was drifting just on the verge of consciousness.  He could feel the burning pains, in his wrists and ankles.   He imagined he could feel water on his lips and taste it trickling into his mouth.  He swallowed, easing his parched throat.  He swallowed, again and again, a dream mayhap but a very good one.  He opened his slits of eyes to see the silhouette of Eldoriel, that beautiful young woman, bending over him carefully pouring water into his mouth from a skin bag. Was he already dead, he wondered?   He reached up and kissed her, his hands were no longer tied.   She drew back from him, her hair now appeared shorter and black, her eyes brown instead of blue…

 "My name is Hurda," she said "Don't try to speak, drink some more, but only a little," she paused as he swallowed.   "Good, now you must try to eat something."   She placed some cheese in his mouth and he began to chew, she gave him a little more water then, some chopped figs and when he had swallowed, another sip of water.   "You’re doing well" she said encouragingly.   "Can you sit up?   I tracked you from the city.   Your friends weren't very sociable so I didn't introduce myself."   She gave him a wry smile which was parodied on his battered features.   She scraped away most of the hardening molasses with her fingers "I should tell you now, I live on the streets, where everything is done with a purpose in mind either profit or self-survival.   So, tell me how I will profit from rescuing you?"  

His mind hardened, "you’re a bounty hunter?"

"I need to earn a living,” she said.   “Most girls of my age who have no rich family or patron are prostitutes.   I am my own woman, beholding to no man, I pay my way and I'm treated with respect by some of the lowest throat slitters in the land.   If you doubt me…" she challenged standing and drawing her blades with lightning speed

"No, I'm not questioning your ability or your integrity, in truth I'm not very proud of myself at this moment.   To date I have profited none but myself, for which I feel deep shame.   I might add you are most likely a better and nobler person than I, despite the accident of birth." He smiled weakly.  

She placed her ground cape about his shoulders, "If you can rise to your feet, we'd best be moving away from here."

"Is there something I should know?" he asked.

"Your father is dead."

"You know who I am?"

"No.   But, I suspect you are one of the princes who escaped the clutches of Regent Faziel, he will even now be searching for you."

He thought a while before speaking, "So my eldest brother is to succeed after all.   You could give me up to his hunters?" he suggested.

"They would probably kill me for the bounty, one or two I could handle but they tend to run in packs of four or more, whilst I work alone.   I would prefer to rely on you having a private stash within easy reach.   You could pay me say;" she paused to calculate "half the bounty on your head?"

"A third!" he answered at once.

"If I leave you here you're dead!   You'll never get out of this desert alive on your own.  You’re a soft farm-bred rooster; you need corn feed and comfort.   I'm betting you wouldn't last three nights alone," she stood up, shouldering her sack and water skins.

He thought on it, "Half is fair and reasonable," he conceded wearily.   "So what do we do now," he asked coming painfully to his knees, then with her assistance, to his feet - on wobbly spring willow legs.   

She laughed; it was like music on a breeze.   When she spoke her voice was husky, her words easy on the ear, she was direct and to the point, so refreshing to one bred on deceit and intrigue.   He sensed she could be a good friend or a deadly foe.   He would much prefer her friendship having taken to her from first meet.

"Lean on me," she said adjusting her back-sack, and evenly distributing the weight of the water skins across her shoulders.  She handed him her stave, and they started out, with the sinking sun at their backs, their shadows at right angles to the wagon tracks; leading back to Corvalen.

 "We are heading for Mandrell - it's a two day trip - but we aren't moving that fast, so we will have to conserve our water."

"There is no rush is there, nobody knows where we are, do they?"

"The Huren know where they left you, and as soon as they get back to the city they will learn of your enhanced worth, 'dead or alive' you will be well worth a second trip for those dog soldiers.   When they find you are gone, they will start to search."

"Shouldn't we try to cover our tracks?" he suggested.

"We will have to leave that to the wind.   It's a six-day return trip to Corvalen, anything could happen in that time and probably will."  She replied.

 They walked through the night, planning to rest by day, but the morning was dull and cool, so they decided to keep walking until the sun appeared; instead it grew darker.

"There is going to be a storm within hours," she said pointed to the north and clouds.

"At least it will cover our tracks."

"We will need to make as many miles a'foot as we can before it hits," She said matter of fact, as she took yet another lodestone needle bearing, "it could go on for days."

"I feel OK to continue," he answered her implied question.

After an hour, they stopped for food and water.   He appeared to have regained some of his strength.  They continued walking, making better time now.   In two hours the storm hit and they sheltered in the lee of a small dune, covering themselves with her ground cape.   She removed her sandals and fine cotton hose - handed him one.   "Pull it over your head and face, to protect you from the sand." She yelled above the howling wind.   They huddled together, both clinging on to the cape to hold it down until the sand began to settle on top of it.   They lay beneath it, creating an intimate air space as the sand rapidly covered them.  Hurda held her stave vertical between her feet and knees until it became a solid and immovable tent pole.

"This is bad," he said, "We could be buried alive and die here."

"This is good!" she countered, "they will never know that you escaped, they will assume you are somewhere back there" she pointed with her eyes, "buried under ten feet of sand."

"Instead of being buried under ten feet of sand here?"

"But, we are not staked out and helpless are we?" she asked pointedly.

He nodded slowly, we will see, come the calm, he thought, “We shall see."

To be Contiued/...