The Parable of the Dunes

[Birdman 285]

THE PARABLE OF THE DUNES

 

 

A young uruk was wandering alone across the desert. Full to the brim with cunning and ambition, he had left home with nothing more than his sword and sufficient rations to reach the Rexdom’s eastern border. There, he would raise a mighty warband- strong enough to crush the militias guarding the frontier villages, and loyal enough to follow him on a daring raid into the rich Imperial heartland. With the loot from his conquests, he would construct a fortress bigger and more impenetrable than Kodar’Goi itself- no, it would be bigger! From his new headquarters, he would wage a savage war of conquest upon Krugmar, and his foes would fall like blades of grass before him- yes, fall like wheat before a scythe. While his warriors were making short work of the Krughai, he would handle the Rex personally- and before the eyes of all his kinsfolk, he would grind the Rex into the sand, taking the ancient mantle for himself. His hordes would stream forth from the desert’s edge, laying waste to entire armies, exacting tribute from every foe that had ever dared to cross the War Uzg. And how they would worship him, yes, how they would worship him then. His name would be on the lips of the orcish race for all time…

 

Fevered mind lost entirely to the world of dreams, the young uruk hardly noticed his slow drift off the course he had carefully charted that morning in the Goi. Straying further and further from the proper route, it wasn’t until the pricklers of a cactus pierced his bare skin that he awoke with a start in the present moment. First confusion struck, then shame, then rage at his foolish mistake- ah, but then! As his eyes took in the scene before him, the young uruk’s heart grew still and calm, for true beauty can bring peace to the most restless of souls. Before him lay the most alluring range of dunes he had ever seen. 

 

All thought of his idleness fled from his mind as the uruk was overtaken with excitement. Here he would build his Kodar’Goi! Here is where the conquests would begin! 

 

 

The desert has its own sort of beauty- a starkness and a vastness that has no equal under the sun, except perhaps in the tundra wastes of the North. An emptiness that seeps into one’s soul, turning every thought into an echo. The sandscape before the young uruk captured this elusive spirit with perfection, and before his mind’s eye, the dunes were being filled with buildings of a grand design. Here would be his feasting hall, and there the outer wall would begin! The campfire here, a shrine there, and ahh- the perfect place for a klomping pit! The young uruk paced dreamily among the dunes, exploring them, naming them, and delighting in his fantasy for the remainder of the day. Just as the red sun touched down on the horizon, a sharp wind whirled in from the west, chilling the young uruk to the bone. The wind was picking up- faster, faster, and faster still. Robes swirling about him in a mini sandstorm, the uruk made for the beckoning entrance of a cave not far from the treasured dunes. Taking shelter behind a row of stalagmites to conserve his meager warmth, the young uruk settled in for a cold and uneasy night.

 

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He rose with the sun, eager to be off on his way. As the young uruk cast a final backwards glance towards his future headquarters- he stopped, face darkening, crestfallen at what he saw. Where the dunes had once been, there was nothing. The wind had taken it all. 
 

Edited March 15, 2021 by Birdman