The sky was brilliant, a fractured moon beaming light across the empty black ink of the night. A cold and gentle breeze wafted past Cypher, fields of grass rolling off into the distance. He recognized his body as his own, yet it moved of its own accord.

A sudden flash of light in the distance, the warmth of a hand on his own. As if he were guided forward, he moved through the tall grass. Whispering voices on the wind, another flash of light erupting across the horizon. The smell of copper, of smoke and fire, of ozone.

His body stopped, now standing at the top of a cliff. A valley stretched out before him, the grass of the plains filling the place. The light of the moon was weak, yet even then he saw shapes and movements.

To his left, there were movements of thousands. The people appeared almost as blades of grass from his vantage point. Their movements were frantic and erratic, the sounds of screams and the barks of commands carrying up to his ears. The air itself seemed tense, the fear palpable even from up high.

To his right, a single figure cut through the grass. Practically unnoticeable by sight, Cypher spotted it by its sheer presence alone. It’s movements were disturbed, its steps seemingly shifting forward at random. Yet it trudged onward, its aura one that made his stomach sick and his heart audible.

The distance between the two groups was large, yet as if on queue the large group became silent. The only noise being that of the wind as it whistled across the land.

Another flash of light, a massive silhouette briefly appearing in the sky on his right. One of human shape, yet its image was fractured. The limbs hacked and sewn together, the skin diseased and torn. It’s form hunched and broken, bones misplaced and bulging against the skin. A brilliant light shining in it’s right eye socket while thousands of dark shapes squirmed in the left, a dark crimson liquid pouring from amongst the darkness. It’s mouth was sewn shut, yet in that flash the whispers intensified to that of a roar. The giant disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, darkness and quiet returned to the valley.

A yell, one joined in chorus that echoed from the left. Thousands of arcs of light and fire tore through the air. For a moment it seemed as if day had returned, the sheer volume of light illuminating the valley as they burned towards their targets.

A relentless barrage struck the creature's form, the withering fire erasing the being from sight and presence as it was swallowed whole by what appeared to be a small star. Minutes passed, the fire never relented, explosions joining in the chorus as well yet disappeared amongst the blinding show.

A hideous screech tore across the landscape, the noise filled with the agony of millions that clawed at Cypher’s very soul. The moon that hung in the sky grew another crack as the scream echoed throughout even the void.

The weapons refused to stop despite the beast's cries. In fact they seemed to only intensify. The sound of gunfire and explosions soon reclaiming the sound scape.

A flash, a barely perceivable movement of flame. A sudden burst of light on the left, a cacophony of screams and cries. Yet the arcs of light refused to stop, the beast remained buried beneath the star.

Another flash, a choked cry. The end of the fire. The beast yet stood, in its hand a blade of brilliance. A small flick of it’s wrist, the sudden collapse of thousands more. The soft sound of sobbing filled the valley as this creature enacted it’s bloody harvest.

Cypher stood, his eyes unblinking in horror as this monster shambled amongst the thousands of corpses. Any thought in his mind disappeared as the sound of his heart filled his ears.

The whispering on the wind soon grew in intensity and clarity as the creature turned towards him. It’s neck bending at an unnatural angle as it’s gaze fell on him. A single green eye glowing in it’s left socket.

The whispers suddenly became clear, as what felt like thousands of voices spoke in unison.

“Run.”

Cypher woke suddenly, his body jolting him up in his sleeping bag. A thin sheen of sweat covered his body as he looked around himself frantically. With the tent much the same as he left it, he allowed his breath to catch up.

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The wind howled outside the confines of his tent. A sorrowful and violent noise, yet it calmed Cypher's mind. “A sandstorm, I’m glad it’s happening now and not when I travel.” He thought to himself as he laid back down.

Closing his eyes, he attempted to calm himself down to get more sleep. Yet his mind wandered of its own accord. “What was all that? Was it related to the vision I had before?” Cypher sighed deeply, his frustration translating to exhaustion. “I wonder when I'm gonna get answers.” he muttered as he stared up at the tent.

Barely perceivable over the roar of the wind, a yell briefly sounded only to suddenly end. Cypher’s head turned quickly towards the noise. “Don’t tell me I'm still in the dream.”

His attention now peaked, he listened carefully to the outside. After a few minutes passed of nothing, he layed back down, his frustration as his own paranoia now at the forefront.

Getting comfortable he slowly started fading off to sleep. A whisper, a thought in the back of his mind grew. Indistinct, it grew in power and incessantly spoke. His eyes shooting open and his blood grew cold as he understood.

“Run”

A blood curdling scream followed by a sudden cessation outside of his tent forced him up. Ripping open his tent door, his assumptions were soon fulfilled. A powerful sandstorm raged, the world practically becoming invisible in it.

Luckily for him, Gyles had lent him a pair of goggles specially suited for such a storm. While they kept the sand out of his eyes, the glass made the dark of the storm much deeper. Compared to being completely blinded, the dark was a preferable choice.

Stepping out of the tent, he tried to get a bearing on his surroundings.

With the whirling violent sands obfuscating the world, he could only see a few feet in front of himself. The bare hint of the other tents outlined further from him.

As he stepped forward towards the camp he suddenly came to a stop, his breath catching in his throat. Shimmering from the flowing sand in the air, a practically invisible tendril worked its way along the ground.

Keeping perfectly still, Cypher's eyes scanned the sands with many other tendrils moving about along the desert floor.

Carefully moving away from the camp, while making doubly sure to avoid stepping on the tendrils. “What are those things? Why are they see through? Where is everyone?” He wondered to himself.

As he moved away, a tent suddenly burst with the man inside running out towards the edge of camp. All Cypher could do is watch as the man stepped on a tendril in his blind haste. Like the snap of a whip, the tendril wrapped around his leg.

The man shouted in surprise, only to scream as the tendril ripped off. Dragging him off into the center of the storm.

Cypher watched in paralyzed horror as the man disappeared, his entire body willed him to run. Yet he remained still, attempting to gather his head as the tendrils moved about on the ground before him.

With a held breath and careful steps he moved away from the camp. Stepping tentatively over the tendrils and through the sand he prayed.

With the passing of a few tense moments and the distant silencing of screams forcing him forward. He soon reached beyond where the tendrils reached, with the storm also reaching its edge just slightly beyond.

With the streamers of a coming night urging him forward, he climbed the hill of sand before him, soon reaching its apex and the air beyond.

His entire body shook as he turned around to look at the storm, his breath coming in ragged from trying to be quiet for so long.

As he fought to catch his breath, he waited as well to see if any others might emerge from the storm. Yet as the minutes passed nobody emerged. Yet a large crash suddenly shook the earth and knocked him to the ground.

“What the fuck was that?” He wondered out loud as he stared at the storm.

Suddenly a familiar form emerged from the raging sands. The priestess, now significantly more disheveled than Cypher thought possible, stumbled out.

Stepping forward, he made to help her only for a voice to sound in his head.

“No. Run.”

Confused, Cypher takes another step forward to help her only to stop in his tracks.

A defined shadow of a person appeared, its body floating in the storm with outstretched wings disappearing into the sand. The numerous tendrils of air emerging from the edges of its wings.

The priestess stared at Cypher, her eyes telling him what he already knew to do.

The creature's hand emerged from the storm, grabbing the priestess by the neck and ripping her back into the storm. And all Cypher could do was run.