As the battle at the border raged, Jensen gazed at the battle from afar. Hallie stood beside him with a sullen expression. They still hadn't found Priscilla, and now a battle erupted before their very eyes. They found Ferro, his body battered and broken, but he hung to his life with a sliver of a thread. With him and Jared gone, the two now found themselves outnumbered and outmatched by either side.
''Where the hell is Pris!'' Jensen muttered through clenched teeth. ''This is getting too cursed, and we haven't seen a trace of her.''
''Maybe she escaped already...'' Hallie said unconvincingly.
''Where would she go!?'' Jensen was in disbelief, they had the whole mountain range behind them, the border land beside them with both Empire and Sand waging war, was Priscilla insane to just vanish among it all?
''Seriously, Hall... What should we do?'' he asked as he stared down the two sides clashing against one another, the blood splattering the sand and the death encroaching upon them all.
The woman held her head in frustration. ''Do we have a choice? You're insistent on finding her, aren't you?'' She felt an overwhelming annoyance at the man, but it just happened to be the traits she fell for in the first place, she was really helpless with his attitude. ''There's only one thing we can do then, intercept the monsters, help the barbarians, and we'll see if they know anything about Priscilla...''
''I'm sorry Hall, I know it's risky... but I brought her into this crazy plan in the first place, I don't think I'd be able to handle the guilt if I didn't at least try.'' he said apologetically.
''I know.'' she sighed, he was such a foolhardy giant, but he was her foolhardy giant. ''Let's go! Once we're done with this, I swear you're coming with me to my parents town, and you're not leaving the house for a year.'' she glared jokingly at him, her meaning very clear to the man who gulped nervously. 'Maybe going to war with monsters isn't so bad...' he thought for a moment.
The two ran into the fray, storming behind the closest Imperial soldiers. They assaulted them with fists readied, their entrance stirred the fight into a chaotic brawl, with neither side profiting. The Imperial side's ferocity was on display as they brutally charged into the battle, their blades piercing and slashing at the barbarians flesh. They craved that bloodshed deep down, causing their morality to vanish. But that was the problem; wasn't it? Human the flesh may be, precious their human form. Monsters they were despite it, blood of venom and ash, their fury an extension of their visceral longing for death. Sandy was their coffin drenched in red, the numbers of battle thinned, but with it so did the creature's patience.
Mother Ora meanwhile found herself facing off against the leading soldier, the man lashed out with bestial viciousness aiming only for her vital points, but the woman defended herself skillfully, dodging and deflecting with grace. She roared with strength as she weaved her polesword in sweeping arcs through the air, deflecting the creature's onslaught and pursuit. The man could no longer restrain himself, the woman was a rat in his mind, sneaking around and skittering with light steps avoiding his crushing stomp. He roared in a harsh gurgle towards the other Imperial's causing them to react immediately, their bones began to creak and crack as the men swelled and transformed, not a single one was truly a man. They had pale ash grey flesh and the same trademark hollow eyes. Bony growths spurred from their bodies in distinct ways creating the rare distinction between them. They were truly nothing more than monsters, who craved to be man. The tribespeople winced at the transformation; they clenched their fists as their eyes burned with fiery determination. They could not allow these things into their territory to hurt their land and their people.
''Damn! They really were all monsters...'' Jensen muttered in disbelief as he deflected one of the creature's surprise attacks. ''Be careful! Those creatures slaughtered an entire town earlier!'' he yelled towards Mother Ora. The woman lifted her head slightly eyeing the man, she saw the signs of an Imperial on him, yet he had been helping them since he appeared. It made it difficult for her to reject his claims, not that the validity of them was in question considering the veritable assault and appearance of the creatures themselves. Her mind scanned through countless stories, everything she could think of from her predecessors; matching them up with the creature's forms, but no matter what she simply could not think of what they could be.
Fatigue impacted them like the setting star above, unnoticed and unattended it arrived numbing their hands and burning their lungs. They had to fight, but their bodies wanted to refuse. As they watched friends and family die one after another the pangs of sorrow impacted their rationale, war was hardly beautiful, and against starved monstrosities even less so. The numbers dwindled rapidly as both sides hacked at one another, Mother Ora and the creature's captain found themselves struggling bitterly, the monster's flesh was carved from the woman's crescent blade, his grey withered flesh spackled with dried blood. The woman hacked away, her blade an everlasting storm that surrounded the depraved beast's body, he could not keep up, a mindless brute in the face of a predator. He felt the proximity of death approaching, his severed limbs rolled on the sand lazily, before one final extended sweep of the crescent blade glided horizontally through the air straight towards his neck. And just like that, the creature fell— headless and limp.
The creatures that remained began to shriek in panic as they turned tail and retreated, the tribesmen weren't slackers however as they took advantage of their momentary negligence and began sweeping through them with the final dregs of stamina that they could afford. This time it didn't take long until the creatures were wiped out, their bodies encroaching upon the land like rotted driftwood that dirtied the pure gleaming sand with its vile black. The tribesmen felt a moment of relief, they didn't know whether they stopped the Empire itself, or just some monsters pretending to be the Empire, but they won. That was the thing that mattered the most. Jensen and Hallie sat on the sand gasping for breath, their weary bodies covered in fresh cuts, but despite it they felt joy, they were alive and the creatures were not.
Their relief was broken rather quickly though, as the sound of thunderous clapping echoed from atop the nearby mountain range. With their lifted heads to the sky they glanced, but they could behold nothing but cloud and rock. The mountain quaked as stones rolled down the cliffside. A hoarse and deep booming voice echoed alongside the thunderous clapping. ''That was incredible. The blood and gore absolutely amazing. You really showed those dogs who the boss is!''
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As the rubble and stone rolled down the mountainous cliff, the people could make out the faintest shadow of what seemed to be a man, launching himself high up into the air off of the peak. His body racing up and then down just as fast as he crashed into the sandy earth beneath him. His drop caused the sand to erupt in every which direction as a towering hulking excuse for a man stood in the crater. His armored body inhumanely large, and not unlike the armor that the Imperial's wore in terms of design. His helm was adorned with three jutting spikes that gave him an added layer of cruelty that the previous Imperial monstrosities lacked. His broad frame was a menace as he stepped forward towards the exhausted people.
Before anyone could say anything, a shrill scream gushed from Hallie's throat as her eyes looked upon the man, not for the fear of the man himself, nor his size of appearance. But for the terror at the sight of the two severed heads that lay hung around his thick neck, dangling lifelessly.
''Jare... Ferro...'' she muttered through trembling teeth as her heart raced, her mind blanking as she felt her eyes darkening in front of her on the verge of blacking out completely. Jensen supported her against his arm. His eyes bulging with a mix of unbridled rage and fear.
''What have you done...'' he uttered hoarsely. ''WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THEM?'' he roared as he pointed to the two severed heads.
The man halted his step, sizing up the one that spoke before laughing madly. ''Puny man, you know these two ants?'' he questioned through his laughs. If one could see under his mask they could simply picture his grin widespread and shining. ''Who am I, you ask? I am Auror of Arrogance! The pride of Divala! I AM THE VANGAURD WHO BRINGS DEATH TO THE COWARDS OF THIS WORLD!'' he said, his voice hiking up into a roar as he spoke.
Utter confusion took ahold of all, only Mother Ora's eyes widened at his words. ''That's impossible.'' she muttered softly, before screaming the words again in the Imperial tongue. ''THAT'S SIMPLY NOT POSSIBLE!''
''Demon Divala is just a myth, a made up story!'' she said with utter disbelief.
''VERMIN YOU DARE?'' the man roared angrily as he turned his large body towards the puny woman. ''DIVINE DIVALA IS A DEITY UNLIKE ANY, YOU SHALL NOT DIRTY HIS NAME!'' He stomped his leg forward quaking the very ground beneath them, sand lifting up around him before cascading down.
The others had never heard of Divala, they could not comprehend the woman's reaction nor the man's anger at her comment, but they felt the chill in their hearts as they took the scene in. Jensen couldn't handle it, he felt the stifling pressure of his blood racing. Seeing his friend and brother dead it made him so furious, he was holding onto Hallie, a meager attempt at restraint, but it could not last. The woman felt the sickness in her stomach, she knelt on the sand numb, her head lowered. Jensen meanwhile had enough, he lurched away from her. Rushing at the titan of a man, his fist rushed for the man's head, but Auror simply caught it and squeezed. Jensen felt his hand crack under the pressure of a mere motion of his body, he grit his teeth in pain as his eyes watered slightly.
Auror's gaze never left off from Mother Ora. He couldn't even feel the satisfaction of killing the ant who tried to bite him, he simply flicked his wrist tossing Jensen like a stone against water. His body ricocheting repeatedly across the sandy earth. Jens felt each thud against his ribs before he finally slumped down in a sandy pile, his head rolling with confusion. Hallie lifted herself up, running towards him with trembling legs. The two held each other, far off from the 'man' if one could even call him that.
Mother Ora waved her polesword in front of her, sweeping it towards the man with a serious frown on her face. ''Has Divala's cult of fanatics taken over the Empire?'' she asked in the Imperial tongue. ''Is that why they've been so persistent recently in attacking my people?''
''We are not a Cult, you worthless vermin. We are the mighty followers of the Divine Ruler.'' the man's chill voice resounded. ''You are mere parasites piling your excrement up on his land, and we will not tolerate it anymore.'' as he spoke the words his torso flexed, his flesh bubbling out from the gaps in the armor. Spikes jutted out from underneath the armor plating, piercing it as if it were cloth, extending out from his shoulders, elbows, and fists. His armor seemed to merge with his flesh as he fully embodied a titanic monstrosity. His change made the tribesmen tense with desperation, the previous creatures were difficult enough, but this man... seemed far more atrocious. Could the Matriarch defeat him? They weren't too confident...
Mother Ora breathed out a fatigued sigh as she turned her crescent blade towards herself. She slit a line across her forehead, drawing blood that poured down into her eyes turning them crimson. She chanted something in an olden tongue that predated even her people, as she sang the song of old the sands swirled around her forming golems of protection. Their people's blood marked this sand for eternity, and for eternity it would protect their people. Live with them and die with them. The golems roared with the soulless wrath of a forlorn mirage trapped in the sands of time as they punched down on Auror.
The man scoffed in his hoarse voice as he punched back, his spiked knuckles bursting the sandy fists one after the other, filling the air with their debris. He jumped atop one, slamming his massive boot down onto its head flattening the golem under his weight. The sand burst into grains before the winds of past blew the grains into another golem. Seeing that his attacks weren't effective he turned to Mother Ora, despite being a brute he was far from mindless. He jumped at her in a swift assault, sending a full power punch aimed at her, but several golems intercepted him, blocking the force of his punch with their bodies, the swirling sand swept her up and sent her back and away from the man. He halted his assault and stared eerily.
''You think you can tire me out like this? Child's play!'' he scoffed, unwilling to accept their futile attempts at stopping him. He roared furiously causing the ground to tremble even stronger than what the sand golems caused, the sound of hysterical squeals echoed as repeated thuds slammed into the ground. Small armored creatures not unlike the previous ones that transformed from the Imperial soldiers crashed down the mountain, their limbs bent in odd ways as they gazed at the crowd with their hollow bloodshot eyes. They began frantically charging at the golems with their jagged teeth. It seemed insane, yet they were devouring and absorbing the sand into themselves, the golems reactively slammed their fists at the creatures. Splattering them into piles of blood and gore, but the creatures couldn't care less. They devoured the blood of the fallen, the sand of the golems, and anything else they could get their fangs on.
Seeing the invasion, Mother Ora changed her chant, the tone becoming much more shrill and fast paced as the wind howled, the sands blew left and right coalescing into elongated pikes that pierced into the earth and out from it, piercing through the small creatures and propelling Auror further back and away from the golems.
''Retreat, monster. There is no place for you here.'' Mother Ora said, her voice echoing chillingly as if multiple voices were speaking at once.
The man laughed, his voice a gargled mess as the flesh muscles constricted his vocal cords. ''You win for now, sand witch. I'll be back.'' he muttered coldly, before launching himself onto the cliffside, and beyond.