Spirit Canyon

Day 11: Spirit Canyon
The afterimage of the sodium-orange lamps of the city was still burned into my mind as I entered the chasm before me. It was noticeably dark, but the sunlight seeped in through the ceiling, illuminating the sandstone around me.

I moved forward, the walls of the path being claustrophobic in nature, seeing the twisting and turning created by erosion from a river long gone. Despite the very dry nature of the place, the area I was in was nice and cool, thanks to the rocks casting a large shadow over my walkway.

The winding path continued for a long while, and just as I was about to fall over from exhaustion, I see a large space at the end of the path. I quickly drag myself over there, hoping to find a way out, but instead I found something interesting.

I saw a group of horse riders, all moving in a circular motion around this "room". One of the riders shouts a call, presumably alerting the others of my presence; or so I thought, as all they did was walk around in a circle faster.

I was confused by this whole scenario, so, curiosity getting the better of me, I start to approach closer.
Suddenly, I hear the same shouting call again, and the area around me went pitch black; the only light I see being the one seeping through the rocks above me.
The horsemen multiplied, their steeds galloping and creating a whirlwind of loose sediment and rock. I cover my mouth and nose and squinting at the action to avoid anything getting into them. Their motions felt both chaotic and coordinated, as if this was a machine-controlled motion. The horses followed the actions of their riders perfectly, as if the two had become one masterful creature.

There was a man chanting something I couldn't comprehend, but it definitely wasn't nonsense; I can't exactly tell what was they were saying, but I also didn't think it was anything good. As soon as birds started flying with the coordinated cavalry, I started to turn around and tried to leave.

However, as soon as I took a step forward, the chanter started to yell, and I soon felt something pull at the back of my shirt...