Blood On The Sand [Story Post]

[Urahra 5780]

The brindle colored stallion shuffled along the tops of the sand dunes, the wind ruffling his cinnamon colored mane and tail. Behind him, a pack of mares, their coats a medley of colors, snuffled at the sparse grasses between the dunes. Plenty of herds like these roamed the wilds of the War Uzg – the War Uzg’s best kept secret, in fact. The orcs mostly ignored them. And most humans didn’t survive long enough in the War Uzg to glimpse the flighty horses. Most orcs were too large or too heavy to tame and ride the feral horses. Occasionally, a hunter would shoot one down and drag it to Strigzgoi to cook the meat. However, horse meat wasn’t very popular among the orcs, especially when succulent cow and pig flesh was readily available in the Strigzgoi valley. Thus, the herds ran free.

Urara had always cursed herself for her small size. At only six feet tall, she only came up to most orcs’ shoulders. However, in this one situation, her small size worked to her advantage. Since coming to Asulon, she’d observed the herds of horses roaming among the sands. It took a while to learn to approach them. The horses weren’t used to the presence of orcs. As soon as an orc approached one of the herds, the horses tended to scatter. Some of the crueler orcs enjoyed lobbying boulders into unsuspecting groups of horses, just to watch them rear and kick and scream. As such, sometimes the horses fled at the first flash of green skin. It took a bushel full of apples and more patience than Urara usually had to get close to them.

The brindle colored stallion had a name. Urara fondly referred to him as Adir. He strolled across the dunes with a lordly bearing, holding his head high as the hot desert wind tousled his mane. His herd followed him quietly, trailing behind him wherever he went without complaint or question. The Rex of the herd. He stood no less than eighteen hands high, his body rippling with muscle and color. When Urara first approached him, he kicked and snorted, baring yellowed teeth. However, after several offerings of sweet apples from the Strigzgoi valley, Adir the horse began to let Urara get closer to him. It took several days, but finally, Urara could get close enough to touch him.

He didn’t seem to mind Urara’s hands on him, so long as she plied him with apples first. It was when she tried sitting on his back that he decided to start bucking. Breaking him took days. Urara remembered the long, searing days clinging to Adir’s back, her arms and legs locked tight around the horse’s torso. He would buck and scream and charge, galloping full tilt across the dunes until he was dripping with sweat and foaming at the mouth. Urara would cling to him til he dropped, exhausted, into the sand. Adir would not be tamed easily. There was something Urara liked about it, though – the sting of the wind and sand against her skin, the rolling muscles of the horse beneath her. With time, though, Adir learned not to struggle. Even after Urara broke him, though, he retained the lordly savagery that attracted her to him in the first place. He bit and spat, bucking occasionally, but ultimately bending to Urara’s will, even if he didn’t want to.

It was time to see how well he obeyed, though.

Urara approached the sand dune where Adir stood, his tail whapping at the sand flies nipping his silky, muscular legs. Carrying an apple in one hand, she offered it to the stallion. Adir eyed her, his neck straight and proud. There was something about condescending about his gaze, as though he were a king looking down on a lowly commoner. He strolled toward her casually, leaning forward and taking a single bite from the apple. Urara reached out, ruffling his mane with a toothy smile. Running her hands along his flank, she gripped a handful of his mane and pulled herself onto his back.

It was time to hunt.

Riding Adir, things seemed simpler. The constant swapping of Rexes in Strigzgoi had Urara’s head spinning with frustration. Between the constant shifting of power and the endless surge of faceless, whitewash orcs into the city, Urara felt herself plagued with nothing but anger and bloodlust. Even her usual sports of slaughtering monsters and taunting pinkies did nothing to take off the edge. She wanted to kill something. Something big. Feel hot blood gushing over her body like water from a fountain. Feel the surge of adrenaline that came with facing down something that could kill you a thousand times over just by blinking at you.

The good thing about Asulon – perhaps the only good thing – was that there were plenty of creatures just like that.

Blawharag had told her of sand worms – Shurr’dru – dragon-like beasts of massive size and deadliness that made their home in the hot sands of the War Uzg. Urara occasionally saw signs of their presence – collapsed sand dunes, massive snake tracks through the desert, uprooted cacti. The sand worms preyed upon wild horse herds like the one Adir lead. The bleached bones of horses atop overturned sand dunes were the sure sign of a hunting Shurr’dru. If one took the time to look for the marks they left wherever they went, Shurr’dru became fairly easy to track. Not that anyone in their right mind would want to track one. It once took an entire battalion of orcs just to scare a single Shurr’dru away – not kill, not harm, simply drive off. The thought made Urara’s skin tingle with battle-lust. She tightened her hands around Adir’s mane and eyed the sun-bleached dunes. The horse’s muscles churned beneath her, propelling them forward into the white hot heat.

Urara’s golden axe, her most prized possession, bounced loosely against her back as she rode across the dunes. The metal flashed brightly in the mid day sun. Sweat glistened on her horse’s neck and flank. A quiver filled with arrows, also with a sturdy bow, rested against Urara’s thigh. Adir refused any kind of saddle or harness, so any supplies Urara carried, she had to carry herself. Not that it mattered to her. Only humans used beasts of burden to carry their treasures. What Urara needed, she could carry strapped to her back. Adir was swifter without any weight besides the orc woman on his back. At full gallop, he flew across the dunes like a streak of fire. Pinkskins, with their horses weighed down by saddlebags of ore and plush cushions, couldn’t hope to ride a faster steed. She gave Adir a swift kick to the side, urging him onward.

Suddenly, Adir let out a whinny. He kicked up his front legs, sending a cloud of dust into the air. Urara gripped hold of him, whispering lowly into his ear. He whimpered, shuffling his hooves in the sand. Before them, on the dune below, lay several uprooted cacti. The cacti lay on their sides in the sand, baked white by the blistering sun. Urara’s face broke into a wide, hungry grin. “Peeps lyk uz am geddin’ luckee, Adir,” she whispered to her horse. With a swift kick to his flank, she urged the horse forward.

Adir skidded down the sand dune toward the fallen cacti. Urara straightened her back, scanning their surroundings. When the wind blew across the desert sand, it left the dunes looking as smooth as glass. Tiny ripples of sand covered the dunes. However, the sand where Urara now stood looked churned. No smooth patterns decorated the space. Something – something very big – had been burrowing beneath the ground. Urara grinned. The trail of disturbed earth would lead her straight to her prey. Squinting, she could see the trail winding into the distance.

Adir whinnied and shuffled, only galloping forward because Urara urged him to. In the distance, she could see a tall cluster of rocks. They stood high and dark against the dusty sky. The trail of disturbed sand wound its way between the dunes toward the rock cluster. “Kom on, Adir.” Urara gave her horse another nudge with her heel. He continued forward slowly, his head lowered. As the rocks grew closer, he let out little whinnies of fear, kicking up his hooves against Urara’s control. She gripped his mane firmly, bracing her body in case he decided to buck. The rocks were at least three miles off and Urara wouldn’t lose control of him before then.

As the rocks loomed closer, Urara pulled Adir to a halt. Patting his neck, she slipped off onto the foot sand. The sun-blasted grains seared the bottoms of her callused feet, but Urara didn’t mind. Adir’s chest heaved, his coat shimmering with sweat. Urara stroked his forehead gently, looking into the horse’s wet eyes. “Me am on me own frum ‘ere on, Adir,” she whispered lowly to the horse. Adir snorted, blowing hot air against Urara’s skin. Urara patted the horse fondly. “Go on! Ged goin’!” Urara lifted her arm, pointing back the way they came. The horse blinked at her uncomprehendingly. Urara’s face broke into a small smile. Turning on her heel, she started walking toward the rocks.

The high rocks stood several meters tall. They stood in a perfect ring, as if arranged by something other than the fickle will of nature. In the center the sand sunk down into a pit, as though slipping through an hourglass. Urara paused at the edge of the pit. A low rumble – perhaps it was her imagination – seemed to rise out of the depths. She reached down and unhooked her bow from its straps. The weapon felt a little unfamiliar in her hands, but it was needed for the monster she was about to kill. A few arrows in the eyes and the Shurr’dru was nothing but a big, flailing earthworm. A blinded beast was a much easier kill than one that could see and target.

It was said that the Shurr’dru could sense every movement on the sand above them. If that was true, any sand worm before would be able to feel the beat of Urara’s footsteps. She prowled along the side of the pit, knocking a single arrow and eyeing the sand for any shifts. Sweat prickled on her arm muscles as she plucked the bowstring. She glanced up, eyeing the tall rocks looming over the cliff. A large boulder, perched precariously on a cliff edge, caught her eye. Stowing her bow and arrow, she hurried toward the jagged rock.

Though the harsh desert winds had worn the rock down, the cliff face still had many hand and footholds. Urara sunk her hands into the crevices, hoisting herself up toward the ledge where the boulder sat. The climb took near on fifteen minutes – all while buffeted by the hot desert winds – but Urara finally made it to ledge. She ran her hands over the boulder. If she pushed it off here, it would land right at the edge of the pit. With a grunt, Urara began shoving the boulder toward the edge. It rolled slowly along, scraping against the rock. Finally, after several seconds of pushing, the boulder tumbled off the ledge. It landed hard in the sand below. A cloud of dust erupted around the impact site, obscuring the boulder from view. As it cleared, though, Urara saw the rock tumbling down toward the heart of the pit.

If that didn’t wake a Shurr’dru, nothing would.

Urara peered down into the pit, unlatching her bow and knocking an arrow. She wasn’t experienced with the bow, but she could hit a target. And if Blaw’s stories about the Shurr’dru’s size were correct, the eyes would be an easy target to hit. Seconds after the boulder hit, something began to shift below the sand. Urara’s muscles tensed, her eyes narrowing. A pair of jaws, meters wide and lined with the sharpest teeth Urara had ever seen, opened up in the center of the pit. Urara’s fingers tightened around her bow. The Shurr’dru rose slowly up from the pit, sand spilling from every crevice along its massive body. It inspected the boulder briefly, nudging it with its great snout, but the rock didn’t keep its attention for long. It turned its head toward Urara. A pair of massive, yellow eyes watched Urara from below the pit.

Her stomach clenched with fear. The Shurr’dru was big, bigger than she could have imagined. It blinked its yellow eyes curiously, snapping its jaws at the air. Urara pulled her bowstring, aiming for the beast’s pupils. Taking a deep breath, she released the arrow. It flew straight and true, embedding itself in the monster’s eye.

The Shurr’dru let out a shrill cry, thrashing its tail wildly and squeezing its bleeding eye shut. It threw itself toward the ledge, teeth gnashing madly. Urara let out a sudden shriek as the ledge crumbled beneath her feet. In that brief moment of panic, she reached out and snatched hold of the closest solid thing she could find. Her hand latched onto one of the tiny crevices she’d used to climb. The Shurr’dru loomed over her, crying out in pain and rage as it beat its massive body against the pillar. Urara took a deep breath, gripping the rock pillar with all her might, and threw herself toward the sand worm.

Her hands closed around its craggy scales. While the beast thrashed, Urara took her chance and began the steep climb up along the length of its body. Finally, with blood oozing from its eye, it calmed down enough to realize she was climbing its back. The beast roared, shaking its serpentine body back and forth in an attempt to dislodge her. Urara’s muscles strained as she gripped the beast. Carefully, foothold by foothold and handhold by handhold, Urara began scaling the side of the worm. Its flailing nearly knocked her loose a dozen times. Urara found herself glancing nervously toward the ground. The Shurr’dru had to over one hundred feet long. It cast a long, dark shadow against the bleached sand dunes. Urara’s hands began to ache as she gripped hold of the beast. Sweat and strain made her grip slippery.

The Shurr’dru twisted wildly, trying to reach back and snap her with its jaws. Urara held fast, pressing her body against its scales. The Shurr’dru’s jaws were too large and clumsy to strike the six foot tall orc clinging to its back. Flinging her bow aside, Urara reached for the heavy gold axe on her back. The bow clattered to the sand nearly fifty feet below. With a deep grunt, Urara flung herself at the Shurr’dru’s snout. She landed squarely on his nose, her legs dangling dangerously in front of the beast’s sharp jaws. Digging into the rough scales on his snout, Urara hoisted herself up onto the beast’s head. The Shu pair of yellow eyes, one pierced by her arrow, glared at her.

The Shurr’dru shook its head rapidly back and forth. Urara held fast to the creature’s snout. Gripping its scales with one hand, she raised her battle axe and planted it deep in the Shurr’dru’s face. It let out a deafening cry, thrashing its head with even greater ferocity. Keeping one hand buried in the crags between the creature’s scales, Urara rose unsteadily to her feet. The swaying was worse than anything she’d ever felt – worse than being on a boat in the middle of the biggest storm of the century. Urara’s stomach pitched. With a loud roar, she staggered forward toward the monster’s eye.

Her axe sunk into the monster’s eye with a sickening squish. The beast let out a roar so loud that it seemed to shake the sky itself. Urara only had a moment to grin at her triumph before the beast threw her off its snout. Urara smacked into the nearby rock and plummeted toward the ground. When she hit the sand, something in her back let out a stomach-turning, organic crack. Pain rushed through Urara’s body. She let out a sharp gasp, hot tears of pain spilling from her eyes.

Her axe, plus the arrows she’d fired earlier, seemed to have done their job. The Shurr’dru flailed blindly for several seconds before turning and burrowing back into the pit. Urara lay splayed on the sand, overwhelmed by pain. Her vision faded in and out as pain radiated over her body. The ground rumbled beneath her, stirred by the Shurr’dru’s burrowing. As her consciousness began to fade, a shadow fell across Urara’s body. Though her vision was hazy, she could just make out the silhouette of Adir leaning over her. He snuffled her face gently, his breath hot against her skin. Ignoring the searing pain just under her skin, Urara lifted her arm and touched the horse’s face.

Adir’s muzzle was soft as velvet. Urara stroked his nose. The fall to the ground felt like it had smashed half the bones in her body. Something hot and damp stained the sand beneath her – blood, probably. She didn’t dare try to move or examine her wounds. Instead, she focused on the softness of her horse’s nose. In those few, vague moments, his warm breath and soft nose were all she could think about.

Her hand slipped off his muzzle, falling limply to the ground. Adir nudged her face again, breathing on her hair. Lifting his head, he looked off into the distance where the Shurr’dru was burrowing steadily away. Turning, the horse began walking in the opposite direction.

---

Yes, I used my 2000th post to kill my character. Urara was a great character, but I feel like it's time to move on to other characters. Urara was fun, but, for a variety of reasons, I thought it was time to put her to rest and move on. I enjoyed my time with the orcs and I have no regrets.

I am not sure if my description of the Shurr'dru's appearance and behavior is entirely accurate? There wasn't an entry about them on the wiki and Gragarn just told me they were big. And I couldn't seem to find Blaw's story about them on the forums. So I assumed really big and also covered in scales with yellow eyes. If my assumptions are wrong, that's fine. Urara's still dead.

This does not mean I am quitting the server. Still got my Fjarriauga, after all.

Thanks to everyone who played with Urara. I enjoyed my time with the orcs. <3

[George of House Glover 372]

*looks at the body, not really caring, he walks off

[Destroyer_Bravo 1054]

Ellsia looks towards the dead greenskin, and kicks the body to make sure it is dead. She then stabs it for good measure, and then walks off.

[Austin 697]

Walking past the body, Thore stops and sees the body of her fallen Gorkil "sister", he slowly swoops to pick up her corpse and her weapon. heading for the Gorkil camp

When he arrives to the Gorkil camp, he gathers with the clan elders, Gromgok, Gragarn, Mogroka, And Blawharag, Urara places on a stone table with wood below it. Mogroka lights the fire burning the body of Urara. Thore takes her weapon and heads into the catacombs with a Goblin where he places in a tomb her weapon and the goblin enscribes "Urara'Gorkil" on it and places the plaque ontop of the tomb

Thore then sits around a logfire with several other Gorkils in the blackness of the night, he tells them of the tail of Urara from his point of view.

Thore stood around the fire with only his face lighted about it,

"Urara wud a bub'hozh wurrier, eben doh she wud small she knew her way around uh skahun weapon, she served az a Kheshig fur meny meny season for Rex Mogroka'Gorkil. She wud well trusted around dah Uzg, declared dah Ugliest uruk at dah Festivul Uf Krug, huweber nub everytun about Urara life wud bub'hozh meny season ago in Aegis, Mirabelle bekame dah Warmisstress Urara thought Mira wud nub'hozh. Su she left Gorkil ahg hur title uf Kheshig, after about uh elven week she returned, ahg challanged Mogroka to hahb dah honoah tuu enter the goi again. She had wun ahg shi entered dah goi. Den she disapered for 50 seasons, ahg in Asulon she appeared ahg Pok gabe her title back ahg now she flat."

[Noahjam325 53]

Gragarn grunts, waiting for all the other orcs to leave the burning ceremony. When all but he and Blawharag remained he approached the charred bones that lay in front of them. He looks over to his brother with a stern gaze, and then back to the remains. He reaches his hand forward and begins to feel the bones.

"Still hot." Blawharag steps forward and places a hand on his soldier.

"Me can sense id. Da presenze uf Gilgamesh." Gragarn quickly spins around to face his brother.

"Da same ash?" Blawharag nods to his brother. Gragarn continues running his hands through the bones. He clutches them into his hands and quickly begins stuffing them into the satchel hanging next to him. "Then uz klomp 'im." Gragarn begins walking away when he looks over the weapon Thore took. "Amal is 'ur luzk?" Blawharag turns to face Gragarn.

"Wut?"

"Urara's luzk."

"She nub Ligz'r?"

"Diz ashst tick me peep 'ur uze o'lig. Thore only brought o'lig bak wif 'ur corpze." Gragarn looks over towards the tombs before turning back around. He grunts to himself and continues walking towards their hut with Blawharag in tow.

[Urahra 5780]

-accidental post, sorry.-

[Destroyer_Bravo 1054]

-snip, appears everything has been solved-