22 chapter 20

The people of the desert, called the Socanas, were wicked beyond that which you could ever ponder about.

There was nothing you can think you that the Socanas had not tried to do many times over. The desert loved every form of debauchery that was possible to perform. They were not bashful in all of their attempts to do evil even when out in public.

They had no shame in their ambition to be as evil and corrupt as they obtain. Their conscious had been seared long go. To do something that was morally right was the only "evil" to the Socanas.

Evil was good and good had become evil in the hot Socanas desert.

The desert dwellers were to the east of the simple folk of Lowroda.

Lowroda was landlocked by a natural land barrier to the west and to the east by the desert.

The east of Lowroda was an impossibly high series of mountains and devoured everyone that dared to tried to scale their dangerous heights.

Nobody returned to tell the tale of what lied in the easterly laid mountains so the villagers of Lowroda stop trying and made an attempt to exit into the desert. That decision was one that would lead to their absolute horror.

All entrants into the desert were quickly drained of their strength by the heat and lack of water.

The few that survived the deserted were attacked by the Socanas.

Every form of humiliation was performed by the inhabitants of Socanas unto the people of Lowroda or anyone else that was in their territory for that matter. The desert dwellers did not care who they hurt, even if it was their own family.

This fact was wildly believed to the reason that the people of Lowroda were so xenophobic of outsiders. Lowrodans had be said that was the reasons that they learned to stay within their own lands and mind their own business.

Throughout the desert of Socanas was hundreds of oasis's and cities were built around about almost all those oases.

Huge cities were built around the water holes throughout the desert. The majority of the Socanas lived in cities based around the watering holes of various oases. The cities were often enormous and dwarfed the biggest village of Lowroda several times over easily.

The remaining populace of Socanas were nomads and carried various goods among the numerous cities. These people were often merchants that sold everything from an assortments of fruits to even slaves.

Slaves were ether used for sacrifice in honor of the great shadow and/or other idols. The most fertile slaves were used for sex slaves and the strongest were used as gladiators in the various coliseums throughout the never ending desert.

The biggest coliseum was to the north end of the desert and it had the strongest warriors among all the desert's gladiators.

People among all cultures desire to see any of the many forms of combat sports but that was not enough for the Socanas.

They wanted to see blood and guts and they did care whose blood and guts it was! The coliseums had no rules no and allowed every form of dirty tactic imaginable.

This was no surprise since the people committed every abomination that one could possibly ponder in your worst nightmare.

Nothing was taboo except going against the Socanas leadership. The Leadership was so corrupt that it was ingrained into their very nature. Doing evil in Socanas was as natural as the act of breathing air.

The entire desert land of Socanas was ruled by a mysterious cult known only as the invisible

hand.

The cult ruled everything that went on in the land and they ruled with an iron hand.

The people that wanted to do things that are honest and upright were punished and gotten ridden of as mere trash.

The invisible hand took advantage of all those that were weaker than themselves at every possible opportunity. It went on to the point that it could be an Olympic event.

Might make right was the motto of Socanas.

The common people of Socanas lived in constant fear of the invisible hand since they knew that were powerless against the cult.

The invisible hand cult's name refereed to the fact that their power was all over the desert and that it's control was in every considerable place. Plus the common people did not truly know was involved with the cult and who was not. That fact alone was why the cult was so powerful in Socanas.

The common folk of the land of the desert were seen as nothing but objects of abuse that to be done by various cult members.

#

Somewhere out in the vast Socanas desert laid a small flat roofed house and inside there was a couple living on their own next to a small oasis.

The couple was expecting their first child and the woman was about to pop out their child.

The mother puts her hands to her stomach and she screams out loud.

The man was trying to cut open a coconut outside with a machete when he hears the scream.

The man comes rushing into the small one room house with the machete. When the man sees that his pregnant lover is fine he throws the dagger to the clay bricked floor. The male rushes to his pregnant partner and holds her.

The man gasps,"What is wrong, Iona? What has frighten you?"

Iona spoke with glee," I felt two different kicks! It must be twins Danos!"

Iona grabs Donas' hands and puts them across her bare stomach.

Donas' eyes about jumped out with surprise. Donas smiled as well and the two kissed.

The couple was in sheer glee that they were with child, especially after they found out their having twins. They were both literally and figuratively in their own little world.

Donas and Iona had no family beside the two of them and the twins that were in Iona's womb. Having two new people to interact with was a blessing to them especially those that were of their seed. They would not put their children what they went through. That alone would be a huge burden off the couple's shoulders.

The fact that the couple's offspring would have a chance of a much better life was truly a blessing to Iona and Donas. It gave them both tremendous joy.

They had left everything that they had ever knew to live out in the desert and they often felt lonely. They had no one to check up on them since everyone in their life had disowned them long ago and would do nothing to help them, even if they were laying in the street dying.

The couple were the victims but they were dealt with as they were the guilty ones.

The young lovers were born into the invisible hand cult and they had knew nothing

more than that. The cult had brainwashed them into doing what they were told but something must had went too far which had forced them to leave.

They missed being around other people but they could not live where they once did. They could

not live in another Socanas city because the invisible hand's reach and control was in everyone of the cities in Socanas.

Assassins were sent to chase after them and a bounty was placed on both of their heads. It was suicidal to go into the cities and did not know any other place to go.

The cult leaders had a monopoly on the knowledge of Socanas and the outside world.

Assassination or suicide was the punishment for those who rebelled against the invisible hand.

The elite of Socanas were the leaders of the invisible hand cult and they would do anything and everything to satisfy their carnal lusts. Nothing the elites did was taboo or off limits to the cult leaders.

If the invisible hand asked you to die then you had to die. There was no other choice to the lower class citizens of Socanas since they had no power in the society.

This was not surprising to anyone that lived in the Socanas desert since the invisible hand was a true great shadow worshiping cult.

The great shadow was the source of evil in the Singlarr galaxy and desired all sorts of debauchery to satisfy his inclination for worship. The great shadow had tried to lift himself above the one true God.

Iona and Donas were alone but they cared deeply about each just the same. They had the decision to focus on each other and not their lack of close friends and family.

Children that were in the cult were abused so often that it was common place and appeared to be

"normal".

It was sad that children were abused in every considerable way but the invisible hand saw no harm in it, like it was just standard behavior. The invisible saw no evil in hurting children and the children were mad to feel bad if they resisted.

The people in Socanas were brainwashed by cult leader since they mere toddlers.

They were taught that the invisible hand and it's leaders were to obeyed without questioned.

Children and all adults were expected to work sixteen to seventeen hour days seven days a week. The non leaders of the cult were slaves to the leadership.

Donas and Iona had no free will the entire time that they stayed within the cult. They were to work since they were weaned off the nipple and to work without break until the day's shift was done.

Those that stopped from their work were whipped with various whips until they got back to work. Those who could not return to work were thrown into a small closet sized holding cell and

given no food or water.