Prologue: The Sand Dread

[Blawharag 277]

Ahead, Blawharag watched as heat rose from the sands, distorting the world in waves and sinking into his flesh. It was good to be in the desert again. Blawharag had arrived to the new world on a separate boat than his Orcish brethren. Ever since he had slowly been making his way to their new capital. He could feel their spirits, they were congregating somewhere in this desert. At his back Gilgamesh, his sword that had been his companion ever since the day his first clan was shattered, hummed happily. Clearly the Gilgamesh is as happy as I am to be in the desert once more Blawharag thought to himself. Few environments were so beautiful or so deadly as the desert. Cacti were wonderous things, green as any Orc had right to be and vengeful to those bold enough to touch them. Yet if you sucked down the pain, they held water inside, a reward for the strong who deserved it. In this, they are much like our women Blawharag mused to himself as he cut his palm on a nearby cactus, offering his blood in exchange for water. One benefit from shamanism, he had found, was that communing with cacti was far more efficient than smashing them open. Less cacti were destroyed this way and you didn't have so many prickers to pull out afterwords.

As the Orc sat and enjoyed his cactus-water, he gazed out over the desert trying to find a likely spot the Warnation would pick for a home. In the distance he saw a particular mountain range which looked like it could harbor a valley. An easily defensible place, one opportunity no orc could pass up. He surveyed some more, getting a feel for the land and then he spied a dune shifting across the sea of sand. Not uncommon, Blawharag thought to himself, The wind shift desert sands all the time. Yet something made Blawharag uneasy. He sat there, staring for a moment at the shifting dune. In moments he realized there was no wind, and only the one dune was moving. More importantly, the dune was moving towards him. A mirage perhaps? Blawharag knew better than that, however. Mirages came only to those too weak for the desert or those on spiritual journeys. Blawharag was on no journey that he knew of and fresh water in ones belly kept the mirages at bay.

"Skah, wutevur diz am, me nub gunna lyke id am me?" Blawharag had a nasty habit of talking to himself when on the verge of battle. He drew Gilgamesh from his back and the blade hummed loudly, hungry for battle. Quickly Blawharag set to meditating, through the blade he conjured a connection to the ancestors of his shattered clan, beseeching their wisdom. Yet none knew dunes that came to life and moved of their own accord. It would seem that Blawharag was on his own today. Blawharag held his blade at the ready, hoping he was going to fight some creature beneath the sand and not the dune itself. I never did care to learn how to fight a sand elemental, he thought bitterly to himself. Suddenly the elements seemed far more important than they had previously.

As the dune shift and twisted across the sands, it appeared to pick up pace. Soon Blawharag could feel tremors in the desert around him as the dune began making a bee line to his position. As the faceless enemy made its final charge Blawharag let out a roar of defiance, ready to die fighting. As if in response, the dune sunk into the desert and disappeared entirely.

"Dyd me win?" Suddenly the world exploded around sand flew up in all directions as the ground beneath him leapt up and threw him into the air. He slammed back to the earth and lost his wind. Dizzily he stared blankly at the sky where the silhouette of some great winged serpent loomed over him. The world spun around him and somewhere someone was making an aweful ringing sound. The shadowy god above him reared its head and some voice deep in the back of Blawharag's mind told him it was time to move. Without a second though the warrior sprang to his feet and dived out of the way, just as a torrent of sand came slamming down where he had been laying. Gilgamesh in hand, Blawharag ran at a frantic pace, trying to put distance between him and his assailant. Behind him the beast let out an aweful roar. The whole world shook with it's mighty below and Blawharag stumbled to his knees. By the time the roar stopped, the ringing in Blaw's ears had started again. Annoyed, Blawharag turned to get a better view at his prey and quickly realized he was outmatched.

Before him a beast as large as a mountain loomed. A serpentine creature with two massive fin-like wings and a tail that tapered into another fin shape. The monster opened its jaw to reveal a mouth large enough to swallow an entire castle whole with pointed teeth the size of people. Out came another cry so load and fearsome that the desert itself quaked with fear. Blawharag released his own defiant roar but found he could not even hear himself of over the creature. Instead, he switched tactics.

"Skah lat!" Blawharag hefted back Gilgamesh and threw it with all his strength. The blade soared threw the air and slammed into the monster's gaping maw. The blade found its mark, and the foe let out a cry of pain. Any satisfaction Blawharag might have felt at his enemies pain was quickly forgotten when the beast flicked its tail and launched itself through the air. Diving to the side with all the haste the Orc could muster, he barely escaped where the serpent crashed into the sand, submerging itself back into the depths. Around him a dune began to circle. Frantic, Blawharag looked around for some means of escape. There he found it: A rocky cliff jutting out above the desert. With all the speed he could manage, Blawharag ran for his desperate hope at salvation.

Blawharag was no less than a hundred meters from the cliff when the serpent breached the surface in front of him, crashing back into the desert and sending a wave of sand towards Blawharag that knocked him onto his back. Acting on instinct, Blawharag rolled backwards and out of danger just as the predator's head emerged from the sands and snapped shut around the space where he had fallen. In moments Blawharag was back on his feat and running again. As he neared the cliff face he heard his pursuer leap up from the sands behind him. A shadow passed over the ground and Blawharag knew he had a fraction of a second before impact. With on last panicked jump Blawharag threw himself at the cliff edge. The great hulking enemy slammed into the rocky ground around the cliff and slid across. The weight of its body carried such great momentum that the beast slid straight off the cliff. Blawharag spilled over the ledge and caught a hold along the cliff face just in time. Below the creature tumbled into the desert below, slamming head-first into the sands and sinking into them. For a moment, Blawharag dared hope the creature had died from the impact. But no sooner had he the thought than he witnessed a dune rise in the sand and make its way slowly across the desert before disappearing back into the earth.

"Wut da skah wuz dat?" Blawharag asked as he pulled himself back up onto the cliff. He sat on the cliff edge catching his breath as he waited to hear Gilgamesh hum it's response. When no sound came, Blawharag reached to his back and groped fruitlessly for the blade. Even when realization dawned on him, he was still slow to believe it. "KUB UV ASH SKAHUR! LAT TEEFED ME ZULT!!! ME GUNNA SKAHUN FLAT LAT!!!"

The Warnation would have to be told. If only because Blawharag was going to need help getting his Gilgamesh back. Of course there was the safety of the Warnation at stake too, but mostly Blawharag wanted his blade back.

[Blawharag 277]

((Hope you enjoyed the prologue, I plan on making 4 stories, one for each Shurr'Dru slain by the Orcish Warnation. The first Shurr'Dru, named Drae'hai, will be slain by our very own military: The Krughai. Any comments, feedback, or criticism on my writing is much appreciated. I even appreciate Grammar-Nazi feedback, so fire away.))

[Luchian 214]

[[ Love it, Really interesting and fun to read :] ]]

[Lawrence Berell 226]

(( ...

You. Win. Life. ))

[loopmoploop 5]

((I have always enjoyed your stories, this one cements that I always will.))

[DecoLamb 959]

((....****.. *goes to dig up the picture she was supposed to do ages ago*))

[Dretus 14]

*reads this*

Me know how latz fell. Me lost GolemKlomper

[Jutra 51]

Your stories are the main reason I decided to join this server and become an orc. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

[Redbaron™ 690]

I very much liked this, keep up the work please. Interested in future stories

[Jarkarll 314]

Can not wait till the full story is out!!

[Danny 2232]

Moved to the Great Library. It shall be sorted into appropriate category shortly.