4,000 years before the 1st Century
Northeast of the Forgotten Valley
Eleonora looked out over the massive circular stone structure in front of her. It was twenty meters in diameter. A massive structure, surrounded by wastelands of snow and cold rock. They had finished building it two weeks ago. And now the mages were finished consulting their ancient texts and worked constantly to bring the portal to life. It was no easy task. Fellow spirituals was eagerly awaiting the portals opening.
Eleonora smiled to herself. She couldn’t deny the dwarf engineers participation. They clearly proved their devotion to their cause. No question anymore. But they weren’t going with them. Not the first time. Ok, they had to bring a few dwarves so that they could build another portal in the other dimension. Otherwise they’d be stuck in the paradise of Eden. As the ancient books, scrolls and texts described.
She turned around and walked back inside her own tent. She was a tall 7.8 feet High elf with long golden blonde hair to her butt and beautiful soft skin. She was dressed in a long green dress with flowers. She had a pelt coat to keep her warm from the cold.
She sat down and continued writing in her journal. Eleonora started by looking over her last entry. It was four days ago. When the Dragon elf Druid Babenus arrived. He had been sent by the Dragon elf Druid Council to join them on their journey to Eden. It was an honor for a druid to join them. Very few had ever even seen a druid before. Including herself. In her three hundred years she had never met one. Until now.
“High Priestess! High Priestess Eleonora!” She heard screaming.
She looked to the tent entrance just as a Woof elf entered. She wore heavy Elven steel armor. She looked extremely menacing in that golden armor. She had the usual auburn skin and two head-tails. Her light blue eyes looked right at Eleonora.
“What is it Florencia?” She was quick to ask.
“The Mages managed to activate it,” she said between her breathes. “It opened. The portal to Eden.”
Eleonora’s eyes widened. This was it. The fantastic journey began. It would change history.
Eleonora ran outside with Florencia and stared at the shimmering portal.
“By the gods,” Eleonora managed.
Their fellow spiritualists ran towards the crater the portal stood in. They cheered and stared in amazement. They had finally succeeded. Finally they could show the world that their faith had led them right. High Priestess Eleonora led them right. She had been right all along.
Eleonora turned to Florencia.
“Are you with me sister?”
The Wood elf nodded.
“I am with you. I swore to protect the people here. In this world and Eden,” she said.
Eleonora smiled softly.
“There will be nothing dangerous in Eden. It’s paradise. A bright future for us. Come. Let us prepare our people.”
Florencia nodded.
They began walking down towards the portal. People started gathering around Eleonora.
“It is time to gather our equipment,” she said loudly. “Our necessary supplies until we can use what Eden has to offer us.” She looked over them all. “I promise you, that when we open the portal from our side, we will let the rest of you join us. Paradise awaits us.”
They cheered and started hurrying to carry out the tasks at hand. Those who would leave took a temporary good bye of friends and loved ones. All children would wait here. Eleonora would bring two hundred High elves, wood elves and dwarves with them. Even a few Arachnids warriors. They had another five hundred High and Wood elves here. Mostly High elves. They had a one hundred dwarves left behind too. Plus, about six hundred dark elves. Three hundred would join them. The dark elves was servants and served as manpower and their workforce. They weren’t here because they wanted to, but because they were forced to be here. And, to go through. Many of them hoped for better lives in Eden. Freedom for their families.
Eleonora spoke with the spokespersons of the mages. Dorali and Claudine. She met with Druid Babenus while she packed, and later Boldal Firestorm. He was the Engineer chief of the dwarves in their camp. He would also happily join the expedition. Fist he wanted to stay, but when he saw the portal opening, he found his faith and asked to join Eleonora in Eden. She gladly accepted. She was happy to have his expertise added to build the portal on the other side.
Babenus looked at the portal. The massive creation, built of black and red stone. It was certainly impressive. There was chiming blue light in the middle. The Druid Council was worried Eden would not be as safe as Eleonora and her followers believed. It was why he was here. To keep them safe and get them all home if necessary. There had been a question of sending several druids, but Babenus was experienced enough to handle anything alone. He had convinced the Council of that.
He was dressed in purple robes and held his staff. He would be the first through the portal. His dark blue dreadlocks moved slightly in the as the wind picked up. His black pupil-less eyes studied the portal carefully.
“Great Druid,” a young Tropical elf greeted with an honored tone. She bowed her head respectfully.
Babenus nodded to her.
“Have we met child?” He asked, not remembering her.
“I am Yuala. Just a humble sorceress from the Southern Island Chain, great Druid,” she introduced herself.
She was dressed in short light green dress with dark green flames on. Her skin was light green and her hair long dark green and wavy. Her yellow eyes looked up at the taller Dragon elf.
“Are you walking across the portal with us?” He asked in his authority filled-but friendly-voice.
She nodded.
“Yes Druid. My younger brother is staying here until we return through the portal.”
He nodded understandingly and looked back to the portal.
“Do you have a lot of family here, child?”
“Just my little brother,” she replied with a smirk. “Little guy wanna be a warrior when he grows up. He’s fourteen now. Just started training with a sword for the first time.”
“I see.”
Those who would go through was gathering around the portal.
“The moment of truth,” Babenus muttered.
Yuala glanced at him. He didn’t sound as faithful as to what Eden was as the spiritual folk here.
Eleonora stood at the portal with Babenus and the Mage Dorali. Yuala and the mage Claudine stood behind them together with the rest of the one hundred and fifty expedition members. Florencia came up to join Eleonora. She had her square Elven steel shield and Elven Broadsword. She had four javelins on her back.
Eleonora was the first through the portal. She disappeared in blue shimmering light. Babenus was a second behind her. The rest started going through, carrying supplies with them.668Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5grAWyyGK
4,000 years before the 1st Century
Northeast of the Forgotten Valley in Eastern Ardaena
Eleonora appeared in blue light. Her happy and excited expression fated quickly. She stared at the sight before her. The sky was black as night. Not a single star was visible. No sun, no moon. Nothing. There was nothing to see in the sky. Just darkness. Terrible and frightening darkness. There was not a tree, bush or straw of grass in sight. Red rocky terrain. Red hills, boulders and red dirt and sand covered ground. Her eyes was wide with horror. She didn’t understand. She didn’t understand. How was this possible? This wasn’t Eden. It couldn’t be. She collapsed and fell to her knees.
She heard gasps and confused voices all around her. The expedition members were confused. Scared. Just like her.
“Eleonora!” She heard Florencia called out.
She grabbed her and helped her to stand up.
Eleonora looked at her.
“Where are we?” Florencia asked. She kept herself in control and gathered. Someone had to be.
Eleonora shook her head. She didn’t understand. “I-it was s-supposed to be paradise,” she stuttered.
“We will figure this out,” Florencia promised. She realized Eleonora was losing it.
Eleonora looked with frightened eyes at the Wood elf. She was gathered and in control. The High Priestess turned to look over her shoulder. Looking at the confused and scared people around them. Many looked at her. Hopefully waiting for answers.
“I-I c-can’t speak t-to-to them,” she stuttered.
“It’ll be alright,” Florencia promised. “But they need you. Right now.”
Eleonora swallowed hard.
“I-I-I…”
“The dwarves built it wrong!” A High elf cried out.
“Yeah!”
“Don’t ya blame us ya elf twat!” Boldal Firestorm snapped. He pointed fiercely at the elf in question with his slightly chubby finger. “We built it per instruction from the blasted scrolls! Maybe ya ’self-got the wrong scrolls!”
“Imperial dwarf filth!”
“Damn elves!”
“The mages activated it wrong! They must’ve gotten it wrong!”
“They sent us here on purpose!”
“We’re here too you nitwit elf!” An Arachnid mage defended his brethren. He sneered in his raspy voice.
“Who knows what you Arachnids do!” A dwarf yelled, raising a crossbow. “Ya so stupid ya got stuck here too!”
Dorali came to his fellow mages defense.
“This might be no one’s fault!” He said with a raised voice. “We cannot blame each other until we know what happened. It might be, that we actually came where we were supposed to.” He looked over at Eleonora and Florencia. “This…might be Eden.”
“How’s that possible?!” Someone shouted angrily.
Babenus walked into the middle of the argument.
“The scrolls are thousands of years old. Collected by scribes, scholars and mages long before us. Long before history was recorded,” he explained. “Perhaps this is Eden. But this part of the world is dead. It does not matter right now. We need to find a source of water, first of all. The water we brought can only sustain us for a few days.”
Everyone seemed to agree and follow him. Florencia was extremely happy that a Druid was with them. It was only a few people here that could keep the expedition from tearing each other apart out of fear and old hatreds. With Eleonora’s unstable condition they needed Druid Babenus to keep them calm and together.
“Get the High Priestess some water,” she told a dark elf servant.
The man nodded and hurried off to get it.
“We are going to send a few scouting parties out,” Babenus decided. “I need volunteers. We need at least one armed soldier with every scouting party.” He turned to a group of twenty dark elves. “You are all going. Four per group.” They didn’t look excited.
There was sixteen others who volunteered. They were spread out to lead the scouting parties with none-volunteer dark elves. Several other dark elves was forced to join the scouting parties.
“We need all supplies gathered in one place,” Babenus continued. “Engineer Chief. I would like you to start searching for sufficient supplies to construct a portal so we can return home.”
“Ya got it Druid,” Boldal confirmed. He began rounding up his dwarves and some dark elves. “Hey, dark skin, get over here!” He called to a few. “Nobody told ya ya could relax.”
A few hours went by as everyone set up tents and established a camp. Eleonora sat silently and contemplated the situation. Florencia left a pair of female dark elves to keep an eye on her while she joined a scouting party in search of water.
She was joined by the Tropic elf Sorceress Yuala, a dwarf with a heavy crossbow and four dark skinned servants.
They walked through the red dirty sand waste, over rocky hills and under the blackened sky. Through the red desert terrain. She could feel the worry amongst her fellow scouting comrades.
One of the dark elves bent over and let some red sand slip through her fingers. She stayed close to a male dark elf beside her. He held her hand tightly. The dwarf had a tight grip around the heavy crossbow. He was ready to shot at a moment’s notice.
“Can’t imagine anything living out here,” the dwarf stated.
“Sense we can breathe, there has to be fauna somewhere. A few trees,” Florencia pondered.
“Maybe cross the continent,” the dwarf replied. “This expedition was a terrible idea. I knew it. That Eleonora’s crazy.”
Florencia glared at him.
“No one foresaw this happening. It’s not her fault.”
The dwarf snorted.
“Typical elves. Always stickin’ togetha’.”
Yuala looked at both of them. She decided not to say anything.
“Typical dwarves,” Florencia countered. “Always racists.”
The dwarf glared at her.
“Watch it girlie or I shove this crossbow up ya ass,” he threatened.
“Not before I decapitate ya, with my Broadsword,” she replied with a threat of her own.
“Easy now, lady and lord,” a dark elf male tried.
“Shut up dark skin!” The dwarf snapped at him.
“Don’t yell at him!” Florencia demanded. “He’s my servant. You don’t get to threaten or yell at him or his girlfriend. Or any of my three servants.”
The dwarf snorted.
“Elf filth.”
Three of the dark elves with them belonged to Florencia, while the fourth was a random servant who was paired up with them.
They suddenly felt the ground quake.
“By Lord Highborn’s beard,” the dwarf exclaimed. “An earthquake!”
“It doesn’t feel like a real earthquake,” Yuala stated.
“I believe lady Yuala is right, mistress,” a female dark elf agreed.
She was quick to step closer to her wood elf mistress.
“Than what is it?!” The dwarf asked anxiously.
The quake stopped, but only for a moment. The dwarf breathed out.
“Thank Lady Nightingale,” he breathed.
“What was that?” Yuala asked.
The ground started shaking again.
“Damn it. It’s startin’ again!” The dwarf cried out.
The dark elf couple hugged each other.
“Stay close,” the man whispered to his love.
She leaned her head against his cheek and held him even tighter.
What happened next happened in a second flat.
A massive beast appeared from the red sand. It was a giant wormlike creature. The jaws was anywhere between ten and fifteen meters in diameter. Countless rows of teeth filled the inside of its jaws. When it appeared from under the sand, it swallowed the couple up hole. Their screams of horror and agony was quick to dissipate as they were certainly chowed and swallowed in moments, even seconds.
The dwarf, Florencia, Yuala and the other two dark elves threw themselves to the sandy ground in panic.
Florencia was quick to get to her feet.
The dwarf immediately screamed and regretted having chosen his heavy red chainmail armor. He gripped his crossbow tighter than ever and fired a bolt at the beast before it disappeared under the sand again.
“Oh god-oh god!” He cried out. He stood up. “Fuck! We gotta get out of here!”
The remaining male dark elf was gripped by panic and started running out across the sand.
“Get back here!” Florencia shouted after him. “Not that way!” He continued running. “Damn it.”
“Forget him!” The dwarf’s voice squealed. “Let’s get the fuck out of here!”
He started running back the way they came. Yuala grabbed the last servants hand and pulled her back to her feet. Still holding her hand, she started running. As did Florencia. They could feel the quake again. It was moving around nearby.
Florencia heard the dark elf male screamed, and just as quickly stop. She stopped and turned about. She didn’t see him. The worm definitely took him.
“Mistress!” The female dark elf called with fear. “Mistress don’t stop!”
Florencia started running again.
“We have to reach high ground!” Yuala cried out as they ran. “Mountains or some rocky terrain!”
“It can’t get through rocks?!” The dwarf asked in panic.
“I don’t know but it makes sense!” He got in reply.
Not too calming for him.
A monstrous shriek filled the hair, sending chills down their backs. Behind them the red carapace covered giant worm leaped through the sand and towards them.
“Scatter!” Florencia screamed.
She ran left, the dwarf left, as did Yuala and the dark elf servant. The ground shook when the giant worms head missed them and disappeared under the sand. The worm’s body seemed unending. Yuala estimated it must have been at least over one hundred meters long.
The group didn’t stop running. They continued running in the same direction. The dwarf threw him helmet away. He breathed heavily. Clearly he was getting tired. Running in his heavy armor wasn’t easy. Florencia would agree. She was starting to get tired herself. Running in loose sand didn’t improve her condition. She was worried that if they didn’t stop soon, the dwarf would just collapse and get gobbled up by that giant red worm.
“Look, rocks!” Yuala saw. “Right ahead and left. Hurry!”
They saw six people appeared over the sandy dune head of them. Fifty meters of so. There were four dark elves, a wood elf mage and an Arachnid warrior.
Florencia waved at them.
“Run! To the rocky hill!”
They didn’t hear her. But they did ready their weapons, at least realizing something was chasing them. But they wouldn’t have a chance against the sand worm.
Florencia pointed at the rock hill.
“Run to the hill! Now!”
Before anyone knew it, a sand worm leaped out of the sand from the east and gobbled up the entire group in one fell swoop. To their horror, it was only half the size of the last one.
“Th-there’s two of them!” The dwarf exclaimed in horror.
“Just run to the rocks!” Florencia shouted. “Quickly everyone!”
“Quickly, quickly,” the dwarf muttered. “Dwarves aren’t supposed to run like this! We’re short range combatants!”
“You wanna stop?!” Yuala asked rhetorically. “Feel free to. Bye us a few seconds!”
“Oh haha! Funny elf! Never seen one of those before!”
“Never met a cute dwarf before!” Yuala shouted back. “But there’s always a first!”
“I’d blush if I wasn’t runnin’ for me freakin’ live! Trust me!”
The original worm came up from the sand right in front of the dwarf. He cried out and swung its head around before diving down again. The dwarf had stopped in his tracks.
“RUN!” Florencia screamed at him. “Run, Boren!”
It got him moving again. He threw his gauntlets away. Both of them. It was slightly less heavy without them.
Yuala was the first up on the mountainous hillside. The dark elf servant was next. With Florencia a few seconds later. They looked to Boren. He was approaching quickly, but they could see the sand moving swiftly behind him. In two places. Both worms was coming right behind him. The fifty meter ones jaws appeared, swallowing huge amounts of sand as it approached Boren.
“Come on, come on!” Florencia shouted. “You’re almost here!”
It was too late. He was twenty meters away and the worms jaws was five meters from him. A second away from swallowing him.
That was when the large worm appeared out from beneath the sand. Its massive jaws gripped the smaller worm and pulled it underneath the red sand. The smaller shrieked monstrously. Boren managed to reach the rocks and safety.
“By the fuckin’ goddess of love herself,” he breathed out. “This goddamn armor’s getting’ off.”
Florencia patted him on the back.
“Rest for a moment my friend.”
“What the fuck happened?” He asked. “I could see the beast behind me and then…nothin’.”
“The first worm decided it rather ate it then you. Luckily,” Yuala explained.
Florencia sat down against a rock.
“We have to warn the expedition. We have to tell them about those…worms.”
“Agreed,” Boren breathed. He looked towards a nearby cave in the middle of the rock formation, surrounded by sand. “Should we have a look in there?”
Florencia looked to the cave entrance.
“I suppose we should. No idea what might be inside.”
While Boren took his armor off completely, leaving him in brown leather, the others walked in to the cave to have a look. He drank from his water skin bottle before following them when he was finished. His crossbow ready to kill anything not to large in his path.
The cave was dark, only lit up because of Yuala’s staff.
Although he wouldn’t admit it, he was shaken up from the chase and his nerves was up in arms. He took a heavy breath to calm himself slightly. What the hell was this place? What kind of world were the on? What kind of dimension?
They started walking downward after only a short moment. When they heard a strange clicking noise. As if something walked against the cave ground. It wasn’t human or elf, or dwarf. That was certain. It sounded insect-like to Yuala.
They entered a huge underground chamber. They came into it from a ledge above. It was huge. Probably a few hundred meters across. Unfortunately it was incredibly dark so they didn’t see much. But they definitely heard a lot. There was something below them.
Florencia gestured for them to hide along the ledge. Yuala than shot down a boll of light to light up the chamber. To their horror they found a massive blob in the middle it was purple, brown and red. It was at least eight hundred meters in diameter. Sitting on the ground and stretching almost to the roof. They stared down at it. The chamber was clearly much bigger than they thought. Countless large ants crawled around it. Several crawled their way into the blob, while others crawled out of it. There were at least three tunnels on the ground and there were lines of ants leaving and entering through them.
Those ants were one meters long with red and black carapace and scary mandibles. Countless of them stopped and stared at the boll of light. Almost fifty of them charged at it, in an instinctual attempt to defend the blob. Was it their ant hive? Florencia asked herself.
“We need to get the fuck out of here,” Boren whispered firmly.
“Agreed,” Florencia replied.
Yuala raised her staff and lit up the chambers right wall. She saw half a dozen of those ants climbing up. They certainly had seen them.
“Crap, move!” Yuala warned.
They got up and moved for the exit. Boren fired a bolt which burrowed into the skull of an ant. It fell off the wall and towards the ground below. As he turned around he started reloading and running.
Yuala fired a wave of fired and burnt the rest. They fell down after the first.
They could hear how hundreds-at least-charged towards their tunnel. They had to get out of here and take their chances with the worm in the red sand.
As she ran, Yuala fired off a blaze of lightning. By the sounds of it, she zapped a bunch of them. Boren turned around and fired a bolt into the mandibles of an ant. He then started running and reloaded a new bolt.
“Boren, don’t fall behind!” Florencia shouted to him.
The head-tailed wood elf momentarily stopped to see where Boren was. He was three meters behind them, but those creatures was approaching fast.
“What the fuck kinda world is this shit?!” Boren shouted. “This is seriously fucked up!”
The elven servant was first out. Her grey eyes looked around and couldn’t see anything dangerous. Yuala was right behind her.
The dark elf screamed when an ant jumped her. Yuala blasted it in midair. The carapace cracked and it was torn in two. Florencia drew her broadsword and readied her shield when she came out. Boren was a short distance behind her. She could see dozens of ants approaching from the outside.
“W-where’d they come from?!” Boren exclaimed.
“Remember those tunnels in the main chamber?” Yuala reminded. “They must have led out somewhere. They probably use those to scavenge for food.”
“Forget that and just run,” Florencia motioned.
Yuala created a wall of ice between them and the bugs. Specifically she froze the entrance. It would take some time for them to cut their way through it. She then joined the others in running.
“Gotta get back to camp!” Boren shouted.
“Think any other scout parties have made it back?” Yuala asked.
“If they ran into the same wildlife we have-” Florencia started. “-not many!”
Boren fired a crossbow bolt into an approaching bug. He felt his legs trembling. He was exhausted. He hadn’t recovered completely from before either. He couldn’t keep this up.
“Fuck,” he cursed. He stopped and turned around. “Run!”
“Boren?!” Yuala cried for him. “What are you doing?!”
“I’m delaying ‘em. Just go!” He replied. “Go!”
He fired a bolt, killing another bug. Managing to reload and fired a second before they got to close. Boren then threw the crossbow at them and drew both of his steel axes. He held his posture and waited. Three. Two. One seconds away. He crushed a bugs mandibles and decapitated another. He kicked one away and blocked a pair of hungry jaws with his left axe. With his right he then jabbed it through the carapace and into a bugs head.
The others kept running. Trying to get back. The bugs was surrounding him. He kicked one away and drew his axes down on the heads of two others. He felt mandibles ripping through the back of his leather armor. Another pair of mandibles tore apart his side’s armor. He jabbed an axe into the bugs cranium. It collapsed on the spot. He felt three mandibles ripping into him. He held the pain in. two of them came down right on top of him, with a dozen more ripping into him as he fell to the ground. He then led out an echoing cry of pain and fear.
The other three just kept running. They kept running until they came over a hill and saw their basecamp.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Florencia sank to her knees. Her servant kneeled beside her and handed her a satchel of water.
“Drink mistress,” she said.
Yuala sat down on a rock across from them. Babenus, Boldal Firestorm, the mage Dorali and Eleonora was gathered. They had listened to their terrifying story. It was absolutely terrifying.
The druid breathed out carefully.
Dorali was the first to speak.
“It is extraordinary you made it back. Did no one make it from the other squad you met?”
Florencia shook her head.
“That sand worm gobbled them all up in a second. They didn’t stand a chance.”
Dorali looked worried. His friend Claudine had joined a scouting party. She still hadn’t returned. With these news, he was very worried for her safety. He knew she could handle herself, but with these news, that may not be enough.
“What do we do?” He asked Babenus.
He grunted.
“We…must build a portal and survive until it is done,” he said confidently. “We will survive. I will hold off anything that would strive to close to our camp.”
“Not even a druid can fight what we faced,” Yuala stated bluntly.
Babenus glared at her.
“Don’t underestimate me child,” he sternly told her.
“Either way, we should move the encampment to rockier ground,” Florencia argued. “You can’t fight something that moved underground. And, if five of those giant worms attack. They’d eat us before we could bring them down.”
“You are overestimating their strength and abilities,” Babenus said flatly. “Just because you couldn’t find them, doesn’t mean I cannot.”
“The scout parties won’t find us if we just pack up and leave,” Dorali said.
“If they haven’t returned by the time we’re done, they ain’t coming back,” Florencia’s servant said honestly.
Dorali glared daggers of death at her.
“Shut your mouth dark skin filth,” he sneered.
“Don’t talk like that to her, mage!” Florencia came to her defense.
She stood up and faced Dorali. They glared at each other.
“Listen to me you filthy Tropic-”
“Enough!” Babenus cut him off. “I won’t tolerate that tone in my presence.” He spoke with a hard voice. “We are all elves. The superior race of Ardaena. Now, we shall begin moving our camp to rockier terrain, and, keep a presence here until day rises. If one has returned by then, I fear they won’t. But we will return again and again just in case.”
Everyone seemed to be on board with this idea.
“What changed your mind, Druid?” Yuala asked coolly.
He looked at her, but ignored her tone.
“I know I can deal with several of those worms at once,” he said with arrogance and overconfidence. “But, I cannot say what will happen to you all if many of them attack. Or thousands of those bug creatures.”
Florencia scoffed silently at his arrogant tone. Was all mages so arrogant, overconfident and condescending? Or was it just Druids and members of the Mage Circle. Yuala wasn’t either of those things. But she was neither a Dragon elf Druid nor a member of the Mage Circle. She was a free spirit. Formerly the magical advisor to a High elf noble, and teacher to the noble children of the same house. The mage Circle probably regarded her as too chaotic a force to ask her to join them. Although, the usually did ask those elements to join them. That way they could keep an eye on them and control them. The Circle had an underlying motive to control Ardaena’s most powerful mages.
Eleonora spoke up suddenly.
“We move the camp then. I suggest, to those mountains west of us.” Away from those worms, Florencia noted mentally. “I will speak to the expedition and get us started.” She then turned to Dorali. “Perhaps we can light a fire, or sent up a signal of some kinds, tell our parties to return.” She went under the assumption some was still alive.
Dorali nodded slowly.
“I can use magic to signal anyone in range,” he affirmed.
“Wait,” Yuala interjected. “What if anyone sees it? Anyone else?”
“Hmm,” Babenus scratched his chin.
“Like whom?” The elder high elf mage asked with disapproval. Everyone seemed to go on each other’s nerves more and more.
Yuala stood up.
“What if there are something sentient out there?”
“Like what?” Dorali chuckled condescendingly. “Those damned worms? Or those bugs?”
Yuala glared into the high elf’s eyes.
“We know nothing of this continent, this world. We didn’t think there’d be giant hungry worms or colonies of giant bugs either but they’re here.” He stepped over to him. “We need to be on the safe side.”
Dorali and Babenus looked at each other and exchanged a glance.
“You are over reacting child,” Babenus said. Dorali agreed completely.
“Hey,” Florencia said, finally speaking up. “High Priestess, please.”
Eleonora looked at her friend, then to the mage and druid.
“I think they’re right. We should play it safe before the unsafe,” she decided.
Babenus turned to Dorali.
“Use your magic to fire a flare they can see,” he told him.
Dorali nodded.
“Don’t ignore me,” Eleonora said firmly, with a feeling of insult. “Listen to me.”
Dorali raised his staff and fired a massive blast up into the black sky. It was a mix of purple, pink and orange and stretched two hundred or so meters up and one hundred meters across in every direction. Everyone and everything within countless kilometers could see it.
“Hey!” Eleonora snapped and grabbed Dorali’s arm.
He pushed her away.
“This is my expedition. You will listen to me!”
Florencia smiled when she saw her friend take control again. She was back after the initial shock.
Babenus walked up to Eleonora looked down on the slightly shorter elf.
“You. Are in command. Of nothing,” he spat darkly.
Eleonora glared daggers back at him.
“As a mage, I know what is best. You. You know nothing. Keep your mouth shut or I will make you,” he threatened.
Florencia stood up and gripped her Broadswords handle.
“These people are my responsibility,” Eleonora responded. “I am in command yet. We must work together. Why can’t you see that!?”
Using his staff, Babenus punched her in the head and knocked her to the ground. A lot of heads turned to see what was happening. Florencia drew her sword from its sheath. Dorali put his staff against her chestplate.
“Don’t,” he warned. “I shall kill you where you stand, Tropical filth.”
The dark elf servant hid behind her mistress.
Yuala took up an offensive stance and pointed her staff of light at both Dorali and Babenus.
A few more mages hurried over, along with armed elf soldiers. They all pointed weapons at each other.
Eleonora looked up at Babenus as she sat on the ground with a wound bleeding slightly.
“You want this to turn into a fight? You want our mages and soldiers to die? You’re the aggressor. The people won’t follow you afterwards,” she told him in an angry tone.
His black pupil-less eyes looked down at her with death in them. He was outraged at-what he saw as-her insubordination to his command and divined authority. He was a Druid. She should fall in line.
He gripped his staff and let the end touch the ground in a regular position. He raised his hand.
“Easy everyone.” He then started walking. “We are leaving for the mountains in the east.”
Eleonora stood up.
“We will never make it that far. We must reach the mountains in the west. They’re closer.”
He refused to comply with her idea. His idea was superior. He was a druid. His experience made him what he was. Supreme.
“It isn’t safe to go east!” Eleonora said so everyone would hear. “Everyone please. We must go west! You’ve all heard what happened to these people out there.” She gestured to Yuala, Florencia and her servant.
“You are an idiot!” Babenus snapped at her. “All mages follow me. Bring your supplies, equipment and servants. Boldal, bring your men too.”
The dwarf looked at the druid for a moment.
“I am sorry Druid, but I swore to follow Eleonora. Not you. I am staying. So it my men and equipment. As well as servants.” He turned to Eleonora and smiled warmly. She was quick to return the warm smile.
Dorali snorted and followed Babenus. All mages followed, apart from a few that stayed with Eleonora and her expedition. Babenus led the mages and a many dark elf servants out into the red desert. Florencia had a feeling they would never see them again.
They began packing up the camp. It took two hours and as they finished, the sky was still black. They started realizing that in this world, a sun never rose. How it could be a living world without a sun? This place made even less sense every day.
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Babenus led his force of fifty mages and almost one hundred dark elf servants through the red sand desert towards the mountain chain spotted far to the east. They had walked for two hours and he estimated that it would take at least two-three days until they reached the mountains.
Dorali walked beside him, along with a dwarf mage.
“Druid,” the dwarf alerted and pointed forward.
About one hundred meters ahead of them, on a sandy hill, a character appeared. It was a monstrous one too. It had dark skin, wings, back bent knees, a pair of horns on its head and it held a long black and red sword in its right hand. Hit was around 4-5 meters in height.
“What is that?” Dorali asked.
“I do not know,” Babenus said honestly. “But we will kill it. It stands in our path.”
Dorali and the dwarf nodded compliantly.
The demonic beast raised his blade and countless beasts appeared from behind the hill. Over one hundred at least, in view right now. They reminded Babenus of the barbaric Orcs of Ardaena. But these had black skin, a pair of tusks, fangs and looked around 2.7 or 2.9 meters in height.
“Ready yourselves!” Babenus shouted.
The poorly armed servants was worried, most of them holding position behind their mage masters. They were poorly armed with daggers, iron swords and wooden shields. A few had spears. None of them had armor. Just cloths in different colors.
The pig-like beasts charged them when the demonic leader raised his blade and roared. It sent shivers down the servant’s backs.
“On my command…” Babenus said loudly. “…all mages use your staffs to rip through the demonic beasts.”
The mages were ready with their staffs. The pig-like warriors approached quickly with axes in the air, ready to strike the expedition down.
Babenus was ready. His eyes fixated on the demonic presence of their leader. Who was it? What was it?
From behind the charging hostiles, suddenly a storm of red sand swept across the desert. It took only seconds to reach them. Their vision suddenly lowered, almost to zero. They could barely hear anything over the strong wind.
Dorali held his robed arm over his face, while trying to watch for the incoming black skinned Boars charging them. He let his staff be be engulfed in flames, ready to fire it off at the incoming beasts. He could hear there roar after a moment. They came closer and closer. Babenus shouted something, but he couldn’t hear him completely.
Suddenly he saw a Boar in front of him in the storm. He fired his staff and a bolt of fire stuck the Boar warrior down. A split second later two axes came down on him from the side and a third in front of him. He cried out as his flesh was ripped asunder by battle axes.
Babenus blasted down Boars all around him. They were suddenly coming from every direction it seemed. Their formation was broken.
“Hold your ground!” He shouted, but the wind was extremely strong and he was barely heard over it and the screams and roars around him.
He suddenly felt the ground quake slightly. A quake, but a small one. Sand worms? Smaller maybe. This couldn’t be happening. They would hold. All of them had to hold. He wouldn’t die here. He couldn’t die here. It wasn’t his destiny. It wasn’t. He had a glorious destiny back in Ardaena. To lead the Druid Council one day. It was destiny. He was meant for glorious greatness damned it! This couldn’t be happening. The gods would never let him die. Never!
As he continued killing every Boar in sight, it got extremely quite otherwise. In only a few moments, everyone seemed to quiet down.
“Impressive mage,” a dark voice echoed. “Quite impressive.”
“I am no mage!” Babenus shouted. “I am a Druid of the Dragon elves!”
“Oh, a druid, huh. Impressive title,” the voice echoed. “Never heard of a druid before. That better than a mage I presume?”
“Very much so!” Babenus froze a trio of Boars.
The voice chuckled.
“I see. Well then. I will have the honor of being the first to slay a Druid from whatever world you came from.” It chuckled again. “Tell me. Was it you who sent that large magical blast into the sky?”
Babenus’s eyes widened. No. no. by the gods, he’d been wrong. No. gods, what had he done?
The sand storm disappeared and revealed that Babenus was completely surrounded by sixty Boars and four massive fifty to eighty meter sand worms that looked up from the sand. There jaws pointed at the Druids position. The demonic leader he had seen before was closer. He stood behind the force surrounding him.
He was commanding the sand worms. But how? What was he?
“What are you?” Babenus asked in shock.
The creature smirked.
“I am Titan,” his dark voice echoed. “Specifically, the Slayer of the first Druid in our realm.”
“Try it demon scum,” Babenus growled threateningly.
The Titan just chuckled in amusement.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Florencia sat behind the cover of a rock formation. She could hear nothing but the strong wind as she tried guarding the camp. The storm had moved it just as they established their encampment. Her servant sat curled up beside her. She was holding a satchel of water incase her mistress needed it.
Florencia was regretting bringing her servants with her to this place. With two of them dead, she wished to protect her last. To keep her safe.
She looked at her.
“Do you need water mistress?!” She shouted over the wind.
Florencia shook her head.
“If you are thirsty, drink!”
She looked surprised.
Florencia nodded. She then sipped a little from the satchel. She wanted to save the rest for her mistress. The wood elf continued to be amazed by the girl’s loyalty to her. Sense she bought her five years ago, the girl had always stayed loyal to her. She didn’t despise her like many dark elves did. Many didn’t like their place in society as servants. Not her apparently. Which she found strange.
The dark elf yawned. Slowly she lowered her head against Florencia’s arm. Florencia smiled slightly and put her arm around her. The surprised young woman looked up at her for a moment, then she rested against her mistress.
Florencia could see a group of dwarves working on putting a wagon together in the storm. They were wearing a cloth over their heads and faces to protect them from the red sand. They were working hard to put together wagons to help carry stones back from the discovered quarry to build a portal to return home again. The quarry was only fifty meters from the newly established camp.
At least the sand storm slowed anyone that might want to attack them too. So it was something good about it. Those giant worms could certainly move unhindered underground but nothing else. Hopefully. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something sentient lived on this continent. This world. Wherever it was. They must have seen the blast from those arrogant mages.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A pair of strong taloned feet paced across the red stone floor. The five meter beast spread his demonic wings and cracked his knuckles loudly. His red eyes focused on the ghostly shape before him. He bowed his strong muscular upper body. The ghostly cloud formed into the body of a female with ghostly green and white colors, and a pair of glowing lilac eyes staring at the five meter beast before her.
The male raised his head and looked at her with yellow sparking eyes.
“My lord,” he said respectfully. “What can I do for you?” He straightened his back. “I was not expecting your lovely…presence.”
“Your charm is wasted on me,” she said with distaste. “What I am interested in is, the strangers.”
He was surprised she had heard about them. He and his two comrades was the only Titans with any forces in this area. He was quick to hide his surprise, but was it quick enough, he wondered.
With a smirk of satisfaction the answer came to him.
“Don’t be surprised,” she said. “You can’t keep a secret from us. You’re a fool if you believe you can.”
He was quick to recover. “My lord Syae. I assure you that I have hidden nothing from your lordship. I-”
“Don’t play dumb,” she said with a growl and an angry look. “I want as many survivors as possible.”
“I understand my lordship.”
She glared at him.
“It was decided by my brothers and sisters that I shall be responsible for this. I want all available information about them. Don’t slaughter them like the mages.”
She’d heard about that too. Hmm. How did she discover everything they did? These forces was under his and his two fellow Titans command. There were siblings. As he was the oldest, they were subordinate to his authority. They agreed to keep this from the lords. His brother would never do such a thing, but his sister? She was sometimes too willing to comply with the Titan lords. She might have betrayed them if Lord Syae had questioned her.
“A dead…whatever they are,” she waved it off. “They won’t speak of their world. Where they came from. I need living mortals. Not dead ones.”
The male nodded.
“I understand. I will contact you when I have them.”
She chuckled darkly.
“If you try to treat me like a fool again, you die, and your forces will be spread out to your siblings,” she promised him darkly with an amused look on her face. “I am on my way. I’m keeping an eye on you and both your siblings. Nothing happens that we won’t know of. Remember that.” She cocked her head upward. “We know what happens in our realm. Just remember, that most of your army is composed of monsters and demons with low intelligence who can easily switch loyalties were a more powerful master appear. Your mental abilities are nothing compared to ours. One wrong step, and we take your army.”
The ghostly cloud disappeared as a hooded figure waved her arms. She was slightly taller than two meters, dressed in black robes. She looked at the male before her, before departing without a word.
The male growled in fury and smashed his closed fist into the red stone wall. This made it all harder. They might have to abandon their plans to keep the newcomers a secret and could then conquer their world by themselves. But that would only work if the Titan lords wasn’t aware. If they were, it would turn into a suicide quest. Clearly they knew of it now. Could the plan still be saved?
“Beast Captain!” He barked.
A Boar appeared in the dark red glowing hallway behind him.
“Yes master?” The black skinned Boar asked with a dark, raspy and drooling voice.
“Have my mages send a sphere with a scroll to my brother. Tell him Lord Syae demands survivors from the intruders. As many as possible.”
The Boar bowed.
“Yes master.”
“Add that he must refrain from violating any of the females. Tell him, that is a command from his brother and Lord Syae herself,” he finished with a harsh voice.
“Yes master. Your will shall be done.”
With that, the Boar left.
The demonic male knew his brother wouldn’t like that. He might take a few for himself anyway. This time that would be suicidal, with Lord Syae taking an interest in the name of the Titan lord’s themselves.
4,000 years before the 1st Century
Unknown location
Florencia had no idea if it was day or night. It seemed the darkness never dispersed. The red sky remained unchanged. Fear was sitting in everyone’s mind. They were all scared. The poor people who were not warriors could keep their fear in check even less. At least the storm had stopped. Finally they could see after hours upon hours of seeing nothing but sand.
The dwarves was able to turn their full attention to building the portal back home. All their hopes was put into that, but they didn’t have a lot of mages left. The young Sorceress Yuala wasn’t experienced enough. It would take a long time to activate it, even for experienced mages.
She saw her dark elf servant jogging over.
“Mistress, mistress!” She called. She stopped in front of her. “Mistress, Lord Boldal and his men saw something at the quarry.”
“Calm down,” Florencia told her scared woman. “What did they see?”
“Th-they say they saw three giant lizards flying through the sky,” she explained. She looked absolutely terrified. “It-it was a-at least twenty meters w-with g-giant wings!”
Florencia kept her shock hidden and grabbed the scared servant girl’s shoulders. She had to stay strong for everyone else. But she was also terrified. A trio of giant lizards flying through the sky? Up to twenty meters in length. How could they fight that?
“Lady Florencia!” A man shouted.
He was standing at the edge of the camp, at a makeshift barricade.
She jogged over to him, with her servant right behind her.
“What is it?”
“High Priestess Eleonora’s scouts isn’t back yet,” he explained. “She wanted to send out a group of experienced men to search west for them.”
Florencia thought it was a terrible idea.
“We can’t spare the men now,” she argued.
“High Priestess Eleonora is worried about our water supplies,” he explained.
Florencia frowned.
“Where is Eleonora?”
“The High Priestess is in her tent, milady.”
She turned her heels, only to hear screaming. It caught half the camps attention. It was a pair of dark elves and four dwarves. Boldal not included. They came from the direction of the quarry. She worried the lizards had attacked and ran towards them.
Yuala came out from her tent when she heard the screaming.
“Th-they killed everyone!” A dwarf cried out in horror. “Giant lizards from the sky!”
“What happened?” Florencia shouted. “Where is Boldal Firestorm?”
“Dead. Like everyone else. Those beats swept down and spew fire from their massive jaws!”
Florencia froze. She stared at the dwarf.
“We and the darkies made it, everyone else died,” the dwarf stammered.
Florencia was trying to gather herself, trying to keep everyone calm. It wasn’t better when a monstrous roar filled the air. It sent shivers down their backs. Many man and women fell to their knees in pray.
“Lady Florencia!” A male Tropical elf shouted. “Beasts approach from the north!”
Florencia ran towards the edge of the camp to get a look at who or what approached them. What she saw shocked the brave woman. Hundreds of black skinned Boar-like creatures filled the field. Around them came thousands of red carapace enveloped monsters scrambled between the giant pig-like monsters.
“To arms!” Florencia shouted, bringing as much authority to her voice as she could.
Time unknown
Decca Arum
Through red cave-like hallways grunting and whimpering echoed. The dark environment was slightly lit up by touches that were attached to the red cave walls. The sounds came from a door, from inside the little room. Florencia lay on the cold floor, her body named and bruised. Her head tail had been almost snapped off. Causing imaginable pain on its own. She was curled together and held her knees slightly.
All she wanted was to cry. Nothing else. She had no idea how long she had been here. Wherever here, was. To cry was all she wanted. She couldn’t take it. Let someone just kill her and get it over with. Every little sound those red little creatures make scared her as they danced around her in the little room. She only thing she could do was scream. Not cry, but scream.
One of the four feet beasts stared into her empty eye sockets.
In another chamber Yuala was hanging on a wall. Attached to chains, she could do nothing but just hang there. The Tropical elf felt tears streaming down her light green cheeks. Her former wavy green hair was a rough mess. It was hanging in every direction. She heard the heavy footsteps of the monster that had taken her. Shutting her eyes hard, she prayed he would go away and everything would be alright.
It didn’t work.
The massive demon stopped in front of her. He leaned down and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him. Slowly, she opened her eyes. To her horror, a pair of large orange eyes stared back into her yellow ones. But this thirteen feet giant wasn’t the same she had seen before. He was red skinned while the first had been black with horns and wings.
“Little creature,” he spoke. She shivered in fear.
“D-don’t h-h-ur-hurt me,” she begged. “I-I p-pl-plea-pledged to-to serve y-you,” she cried.
His red tentacles hanging from his chin twitched slightly as he cocked his head closer to her.
“You are lucky the Lords are interested in you,” he said bemused. “But…I have time to enjoy you before that.”
She gasped, realizing what he meant. His eyes turned to her clothes and he easily tore her dress from her body. She cried out and tried to desperately wiggle, as if it would safe her.
“I will be the first to fuck one of your species. Or even from your world,” he said with a smirk of satisfaction.
Then a female voice echoed through the cave hallway and chamber.
“Terrodar!”
He let go of Yuala and turned to the voice. The pure sight scared Yuala even more.
The eleven feet female had dark grey skin, her long hair was black and a pair of sharp glowing lilac eyes stared at Yuala and the demonic monster. She was carried up with a spider’s body and six spider legs. Her long arms were crossed over her chest.
“My lord-” the red monster started.
“Leave or I will have your own warriors skin you alive,” the female monster hissed warningly.
Terrodar-as she called him-left with a bow and no further words spoken.
Then the female strolled over to the terrified Yuala and released her chains. The now naked elf fell to the hard ground.
“Speaking with your…comrades…I gather you are something called, an elf. Tropical elf, if I understand it right,” she surmised. “You call yourself, Yuala, is it? A sorceress in your world.”
“W-what d-do you w-wa-want?” Yuala stuttered.
The female gently drew a hang through her green hair, and Yuala trembled at her touch.
“Rise.”
Yuala slowly looked at her.
“Rise, elf.” Her eyes hardened.
Yuala stood up on shaking legs.
The monsters lips curved into a smile and she pulled the elf towards her while pressing a gentle hands against her naked body.
“You and I, we have a lot to catch up on. Firstly, I am Syae. You may call me master or lord. Understand?”
Yuala immediately nodded obediently.
The female-Syae-smirked.
“Good girl. I expect you to tell me everything about your world. Your people and how you got to our Realm,” she told her. “I expected that, since you surrendered to us. So now, you get the honor of serving me.”
Yuala nodded swiftly.
She turned around and gestured for Yuala to follow.
“Come my pet, we have much to do.”
ns 15.158.61.16da2
