[Solved] [Flashback] A Ketton on Ket... What a Novel Idea

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  Bat'tan looked out across the off-white expanse from the relative safety of the oasis. He scanned closely, looking for any movement in the sand. Even the slightest shift could speak of danger. For much of his life, Bat'tan had known the precautions to take before stepping out into the Dalvecha, as it was nearly a day's walk from the oasis to the nearest stone cover.

  The chief still told stories of how Kettons used to walk freely throughout the open desert, moving from one patch of succulents to the next. Now, the safest patches of succulents were near oasis, as there was usually stone deep beneath the pools. Much had changed the day the Kettons found a Sarlacc in these sands.

  The Sarlacc was long dead. The chief told of how many years ago, some traders from another world made a deal with the Kettons, and brought a Great Sarlacc-Eater, a Krayt Dragon, to their world. Once the dragon had fully matured, it did as was expected, and tore a lifeless husk of a Sarlacc out of the earth. There was still a massive hole just east of the Stone Circle where the ever-hungry Sarlacc had burrowed. But they had traded one terrible monster for another...

  Life with the Krayt Dragon was much better in some regards. So long as the tribes stayed within the Stone Circle (which was a large crater-like part of desert surrounded by a ridge of rock), they were safe from the sands where the dragon swam, but very little was able to grow within the sands of the Stone Circle. Bat'tan was one of the many who were sent out to collect succulents for the Kettons to eat, which meant he knew the desert outside of the Circle as well as he knew the sight of his tibes' faces.

  The Kettons had learned ways to avoid the Dragon, or as they called it, Kait-Chak. Kait-Chak mostly swam the sands southeast of the Circle, but had been seen as far north as Kataphet (an Outworlder town and spaceport) on the western edge of the Circle. Over the years, the tribes had discovered that Kait-Chak tended to be attracted by sound and scent. As such, the ones who ventured out beyond the crater, generally called Windwalkers, developed a way of walking through the desert that mimicked the wind sweeping over the dunes, and to mask scent, Windwalkers would wash with small amounts of succulent moisture, covering over the Kettons' natural musk, and mostly neutralizing the scent.

  Rumour had it, the Hapans' Queen had hired someone to kill Kait-Chak, which meant his nomadic people could roam freely once again. This made Bat'tan both sad for the loss of the creature, but happy for the protection of his people. The chief had told Bat'tan that he would be the hunters' guide, as he was one of the best versed in dealing with Kait-Chak, and had survived a number of encounters with the beast. This meant that Bat'tan had to be Kataphet in two days time.

  Bat'tan took the succulent he had been drinking from, and brushed the remaining moisture around his neck and arms, then stepped out into the desert, moving towards a small mirage of nestled stones on the horizon.