Their flight to the headland was quick and some warriors cheered as they dashed above them. The prospect of a mighty wyvern like Dustfang at their aid created but sheer joy for the coming battles and bloody swords were raised. Both from those still running on the mudflats below as well as those that waited on the headland for them. Behind the land she saw an even bigger army. Riders on Wolfseals others on small wooden slays carried over the mud by them, were riding back to the land and away from the coming tide. Another wall of ogres followed them yet they were slow. Still moving as a wall of shields while spears and arrows flew at them from the shore. Sha’Raph was about to dash into them yet again but was stopped by the young Chieftain behind her “Don’t!” He said and then pointed down at the shore. A group of shamans, adorned in their usual chains and trinkets of metal, were singing together deep from their throats. Aside from the usual shaman metal they also had some pearls hung from their chains. A trinket of not just the land but their sea.

An old Woman stood at their centre. She seemed old yet Sha’raph wasn’t sure if she was their Seer. For she carried nothing to hide her eyes, yet they were empty. She was blind.

“Storm above and sea below!” she shanted into the sky while the shamans around her continued to sing their deep song. Broken only by roars and orders whenever the warriors threw another valley of spears or shot another rain of arrows.

“Grand us your aid! Let lightning crush our foes, and let the tide wash their rotten bodies away!” Thunder was striking through the clouds above them, and Sha’Raph understood why flying at the Ogres would be a bad Idea. She landed on the island where Dustfangs big crashing of the earth took away some of the shamans concentration.

The chieftain jumped down Dustfang and immediately rushed for a spear nearby that he threw over the Shore towards the big legion of Ogres. “Let them drown in a rain of blood and violence my warriors!” He screamed and was answered by roars and cheers. Many of them who had started to seem weak clenched their teeth and threw yet more spears, while others aimed to shoot their arrows faster. Sha’Raph could see that they had been fighting for a long time. They were in need of tha pause the tide would grand them. Some wounded were laying deeper into the headland and looked over by other shamans, while those at the shore used their last breath to throw and shoot at the legion. Not with much force or aim but it wasn’t about precision anyway.

“You heard your Chieftain!” the old woman screamed with a raspy voice before she raised her arms and sang together with the other shamans from her throat, their attention returned to their ritual. Soon rain started to fall while the cloud above them gave birth to more and more thunder. Flashes of light struck it whenever the sound came as lightning cursed through its dark veins.

“Storm above and sea below!” she repeated again “Power you may bestow!”

The shamans sang louder and deeper, some echoing her words in the ancient tongue.

“Forced by your own hand” The thunder now seemed to sing along the shamans. “Crush down those, who dare our land!” with those last words all the shamans at once brought their hands down to the earth.

Sha’Raph could feel the hidden hair on her arms stand up, as with their motion lightning struck down from the cloud and at the Ogre legion. Not just one but many and all of them wandering from one Ogre to the next. Searing them in place. Even those that were furthest from the lightning were still burned as the tide had risen to their knees. The old woman laughed into the storm they had unleashed, echoing the sound of lightning with her voice. Meanwhile the warriors stopped their throwing and shooting, either because of the shock or just because they knew the fight was over. None did anything but look at the display, few had to cover their eyes at the flashing light, but all knew that the storm had taken its prey.

Soon the last Ogre attempted to run but was struck down, burned and crushed. It would not take long for the tide to greedily take what remained of their bodies..

The orcs cheered at the death before them and raised their weapons. Some started to sing old songs, not from their throat like shamans or the Frostsong did, but just their voice. It was an unfamiliar but pleasant sound that made Sha’Raph smile beneath her mask.

The Chieftain grinned and nodded at their victory. He was walking back to Sha’Raph and Dustfang with sheer pride yet it was short lived.

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Even further north, on a lone Island the clouds shifted. Slowly they started to circle around a high cliff where the cloud's colour seemed to shift into an unnatural purple.

“She is here…” the old woman said as her empty eyes stared into nothing. The warriors stopped their song and laughter and Sha’Raph could feel an unease among them.

“Who is she?” She asked a warrior nearby. He looked up at her on Dustfang with dismay. “Their master” he answered, still panting from the battle “The Sorceress..”

“Or just one of her pawns..” The old woman corrected herself.

Before she could ask more all the clouds were dragged away from the sky, giving birth to a red dusk that settled over the sea. The distant figure that had gathered the clouds unleashed them as dark tendrils towards their shore. Both warriors and shamans took a few steps back in fear yet the cloud tendrils did not seek them but the fresh Ogre corpses that were slowly drowned by the tide. Slowly, as if their dead bodies would breathe in the clouds, the tendrils vanished and to Sha’Raph’s shock the dead rose again. One after the other, despite their dead burned flesh, they stood up until the entire legion of burned corpses stood there in the rising tide and unleashed an unearthy scream into the sky. It was a sound that shouldn’t exist, a sound that felt wrong. Even Dustfang took a few steps back now. Behind their scream Sha’Raph could now hear commands coming from the high cliff beyond the sea. No matter if Sorceress or pawn, it shanted spells into the air which made the army move. That much she understood.

The Chieftain sighed as his warriors looked at him. “Your orders, Chieftain?” before he could answer, Sha’Raph screamed and let Dustfang dash into the sky once more. His rising winds as he started to fly, were a sudden reminder to all that a rider of Karn’Arak was here, and Sha’Raph would show them. If they were meant to be loyal to Aru’Gal they needed to be shown the strength of the riders and no matter what had happened to their Watcher, she would prove to them that the Khan had not forgotten them.

Dustfang dashed above the slowly rising tide and the dead army of Ogres straight for the cliff. She didn’t know the sorceress yet somehow knew it wasn’t her when she saw another Ogre there casting. He held up a staff made of metal that held a black swirling crystel at its top and unlike the other Ogres, he wore a robe that was hanging from one of his shoulders until it circled his legs, held by a golden highly decorated belt.

The Ogres around him pointed at Sha’Raph and started to yell orders. They had no simple weapons like spears or arrows but instead pointed what she didn’t know were called ballistas at her and Dustfang. Their names didn’t matter anyway for the crashed down right onto the sorcerer who was kept in a form of trance as he controlled the dead moving bodies below. Without any hesitation Dustfang crunched down at the sorcerers head, making his body fall as twitching and lifeless as the dead legion below.

The other ogres were about to attack but Sha’Raph jumped from his back and at theirs to bring down her twin blades at their necks in an ashen dance of violence. Dustfang then destroyed a Ballista with his tail and roared, signalling her to come back. After another slice at an Ogres neck she was back on his back. He rose up on his two legs spreading his wings to show the entire gigantic form of his body, while his neck was glowing. While he gathered his breath Sha’Raph was ready to lunch from him again as the Ogres did not stop their attempt to run at them.

Yet before they could he finally breathed out a big cloud of hot ash at the Ogres. The Waste Wyvern did not breathe fire, yet hot toxic smudge that slowly burned itself inside the flesh until it would cool down and harden. The Ogres screamed in pain, and another ballista started to burn. Seeing that there were more Sha’Raph made a clicking sound with her tongue, signing Dustfang to gather more of his breath again. They then started to fly above the ogre legion that was coming for them and covered them in more hot burning smudge as well. Those that were left untouched had pure panic in their eyes now and tried to hide while some of those that were hit jumped down into the sea. Some hit the cliffs and painted them red while others just splashed down into the still too low tide on the mudflats.

After they had covered most of the small Island and the legion in Dustfangs breath, they dashed back to the other orcs.

With a crash she landed again and jumped down to face the Chieftain yet again. Dustfang had to lay down and breathe. Even though their fight was short, so many attacks from his throat had taken a lot of him. She petted his big resting head while he made a loud approving grunting sound.

Her eyes went back to the Chieftain and finally she realised the complete and utter silence of the gathered Bladeland Orcs. Carefully her hidden eyes wandered over the shores until she saw the Chieftain do nothing but grin and not. Before anyone could say a word they cheered and restarted their songs, dance and laughter. Something Sha’Raph could not help but enjoy, yet she was still here for a reason.

“Where is your watcher?” she asked with a regained coldness in her voice as the chieftain returned to her with a happy grin.

Hearing her question his face darkened and they shared a cold gaze in the cheering cloud.