They Come
A draft of a part of the series. When all drafts are here and comments read, I will redo the whole lot and post it up again.
It's your choice to read or not to read. There will be mistakes here. It's a draft after all and I appreciate your comments, good or bad.
Tribute to Paul Kidd's 'Fangs of K'aath' series and Games Workshop Warhammer 40,000.
Prologue
The sky, bloody red. Tranquil clouds fly above, dancing with the wind as the evening turns to night. Sky darkens with every passing moment as cooling winds, one of the few miracles seen in a desert, whirl with laughter and enjoyment. All is peace as life proceeds on its' present course.
The ground, smooth and rich in golden yellow. Dust swirl with the wind that blow across. Rich golden yellow, smooth to the touch if one stops and takes a handful of it in his hands. Sand so fine that as the desert lizards, the only life in this beautiful and deadly land slowly awakens from their warm peaceful slumber to their own version of dawn, crawl out gently.
The desert, a beautiful creature that is choosy in whom to exalt with gifts and liberal in punishments, not batting an eyelash to those that offend her. Anything not to her liking will be burned with her hateful scorn, scorched like the golden sand beneath their feet.
Though the desert lady is harsh, she is kind to those that face her challenges and lives through it. Those are lovingly cherished by her as dictated by her Creator, the very same God that created the very living creatures under her watchful gaze. In the desert, no one is a friend.
Small settlements and cities, dotted the desert strategically. Here is the desert lady's home and self. It is she, with the power invested in her, dictates at where one should live, and when and where one should do bloodshed. Many die not passing her tests and armies that march across her flesh, harming her beautiful smooth golden skin, were striped to the bone and their armour highly polished and gleams in the sun like perverted jewels and precious metals on a female at an evening gala. Though she maybe harsh, she honoured the dead as life honoured her.
There are other lands besides her on this world. Other deserts, lush green plains, high mountains with ice tips, but she is largest and most beautiful of all. As said in the book of life, God is just in His ways. Today, it is not the ones who He created from the dusts that offend Him. The vanity of the desert has determined on where another bloodletting is to be done. The location is precise and desert lady knows it. She sees her punishment as her sacred duty. Some say it is cruel to harm a beauty such as she and some short sighted ones say she deserves the pain coming to her, but as clever ones see, only she have the power and glory to be the Grand Hostess of a great battle ever seen. Her power so vast, she can even determine who wins and who dies. It is here, at her domain, the black hearted ones chose to emerge, foolishly thinking God's eyes are at places where mortal creatures dwell. Foolish demons, either they are brave or insane, or both.
She knows arrogantly and in pride that other lands and deserts are too small and unsuited for the fight to come. It is here, on the world of Aku- Mashad, a world in one of the many universes created by God's will, judgment is to be rendered. It is here, on the lands of walking talking beast, evils of the pasts are brought forward by its' foolish inhabitants. Animals that defy God by eating from the tree of life as Adam and Eve did. Here they reside as Earth is given to the humans. Here on Aku- Mashad, with damned knowledge, they make the same mistakes as their human masters.
Like them, the beasts seek wealth, power and...
Eternal Life as the Gods.
And it is their mistake in calling upon the Dark Spirits that call themselves, the Dark Gods.
So powerful, these ancient entities that warriors of Aku- Mashad, will have no chance against them and darkness will consume the light of innocence.
It is not humans from the dusts in which He created that offend Him, rather, it is the beasts that cast His left hand over them. And they shall be punished justly for calling on the dark ones that will destroy them all, for what they have done is akin to committing suicide. God will see, but He will not sully His hands, as He has made laws in which He too will follow. But, if something goes dreadfully wrong, it will be the worst case scenario. That is when, His hand will enter. He cherishes life, but when one stupidly uses a dangerous path that will condemn all, He will save all, and the desert lady is chosen, from countless of worlds, only she will be suited to host the dreadful battle that will determine fates of uncountable lives. Even those that does not exist in this universe.
This very desert still holds the scars of two major magical battles. The first is the reincarnation of the Mistress of Dreams and Nightmares, whose being is created from the fears of other Spirits that call themselves Gods, as the Creator banish them one by one to hell. She grew in strength as the one called the ‘Interloper God' smash through the gates, tossing screaming Spirits to hell, their fear fueling her.
When it is her turn, she cunningly entered the world of dreams, denying the Creator conquest. This world now belongs to the beasts of Eden that defy God's will. Seeing new prey, she manipulates the dreams of the beasts. The beast themselves are no different than humans. They sleep and she conquers them. Whole millennias pass, and she strikes to take back the world of Aku- Mashad, only to be defeated by love, God's secret weapon left behind to be wielded against her. In a form of a charming prince of the Muslim Dinaqid Dynasty and a beggar Christian girl, daughter of a once village hettman. Love blooms, and her power falters, her head disciple in the last minute cast her away in view of what a man her son has become in motherly adoration. Her son the Prince, now Shah of Osra, the ruler of the desert kingdom rules under the watchful eye of the desert, for he has passed her test. To rid the world of the Mistress of Nightmares that before plague it.
The desert flourish and rest as water crests the sands, aquamarine blue alongside the golden yellow as jades of green flourish by it. The desert given new dressings and jewels to show, and it is happy. Thus she exalts the Muslim king and his two wives, the Christian dagger of Osra and the Flower of Defiance. All three, a jackal, a mouse and a bat rule in peace.
Until the second war with an ancient dark hearted human.
The second war saw both Muslim and Christian nobility fighting the corpse Warlord, Tsu-Khan. Lord of death and ice. An old human wizard from Earth, came to Aku-Mashad with three others, enslaved the entire planet long ago. They bring with them age old technology which is now lost and forgotten. This is a threat that combines both science and devilish powers, though not as powerful as the Mistress of Nightmares. From a time line long ago, this human and his three friends come to this world, bringing ruin and death from a portal of their making. They worship the dark spirits and combine age old tech with powers that even man says never to exist. They became Gods. They became power.
To the inhabitants of Aku- Mashad, they are evil incarnate.
Once conquered, the devils become supreme rulers. After centuries past, they hoard all technology and wealth to their desired portion on this world. Fate is fickle and cannot be predicted. In the end, what goes up, must come down. Either softly, or hard. In this case, extremely hard.
The four reign for generations until they are destroyed by their own personal slaves. Their slaves are tired and weary of what has happen to their people and plotted the impossible. They are patient and observant. When they found their masters' weakness, they struck quickly and ruthlessly. All fall at once. Except for one. Legend only says one survived and escaped to his mountain fortress.
Once the dust have settled, the remnants of the inhabitants of this planet, this wrecked and wretched world, grabbed what treasures were left and walked away to start a new life. They even learned the old human religions, such as Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, to name a few.
History does not say much from then on. The magics and technological marvels soon rot away and lay forgotten. History became legend; legend becomes myth than became old wives' tales. Then, they lay forgotten. Even as the screaming throes of the Mistresses of Nightmare thrums within the air as she was hurtled to hell, the ice devil lay slumbering. Until a white snow fox of the Steppes awaken him. With the name Tsu-Khan, the name of flesh which he resides, he took over the Steppe lands one at a time until he amassed an army of a quarter million veteran horsemen, born of the saddle. With it, he took over the yellow empire in the East. The ruling pandas and other species residing in it were slaughtered. He built a monument of skulls and ruination that has been long forgotten. Eons of slumber have strengthened him and the world of Aku- Mashid was his for the taking. With the East taken and subdued, he turns his sights to the warring Christians in the West. The desert is in his way and the only road through is both attacking and crushing the Dinaqid Dynasty or go to the north and in the winter cross the frozen ice waters.
Shah Raschid is not deaf to the rumours and his black dagger of a wife, Sandhri, First Queen of Osra, Scion of the wild Muslim tribes Beni- Mus and Darb H'aasi, Beloved Christian daughter of the Frankish priests in the Holy Lands of Sath, sought out the devil working to destroy and conquer what's left of life. The war was brutal, but was won during the cold winter. Her husband was wounded, but he'll live under the watchful eyes of his mouse and bat.
Now, darkness comes again for the third time. It seems this world is fated for destruction. The darkness is unrelenting.
Creatures of the black hearted, more powerful than the other two combine, claw at the unopened doors of the mortal realm. A crack appears, and God sent His finest creation.
They will come from the heavens, flames racing to catch up with them. A chorus of praise to the Emperor of Emperors, sung from their unmoving mouths. Heralding them is the sound of oncoming death, lances of bright light, so strong, it melts the ground.
They are His finest. They are His will. They are His image incarnate.
Demon, evil and the black hearted will know fear in their presence. Their battle cries will forever be written and remembered by enemies and friends alike.
"Come Show Us What Passes As Fury Amongst Your Misbegotten Kind.
Remember The First Angels, Primarchs Created By His Hands, They Watch Over Us Still.
Come Brothers, The Enemy Wishes To Fight. Let Us Indulge Them.
FOR HE IS WITH US."
And thus, such words being said shall be done. The desert lady, hostess of The Grand Battle. The desert, her flesh will be once more scared by ethereal powers and technology. As night approaches, she gazes to the sky, gleefully, silently welcoming a falling star, one of many to come, from a far future and another universe.
It streaks across the clouds, smashing the delicate dance of vapour. Before it even hits the ground, it is red hot and it's facing end steaming with bluish flames.
In an instant, like a boulder hitting silent river waters, the construct blasted to ground on its descent. Sand flying and rippling like water. The sound of it can be heard far and wide. The camels and horses in nearby desert villages nickered and shied restlessly. Sentries on fortified walls jerked to attention. Scholars, scanning the night sky on minarets recording the falling star, trembled as the tremors softly shook the building they are on. Magicians and seers, screaming in their sleep and awaken from dreaded vision nightmares, shivered in cold fear and some even impale sharpened blades on themselves.
Struck with such force, the desert lady cowers and humbly spread herself out like a maiden on her first night with her husband, to the creature's eyes within as heated bolts and pins were blasted away from heated doors and they come crashing down.
They come. They are here. The first of many has arrived, others approaching patiently.
THEY COME.
ONE
BY
ONE.
Are they death or salvation? Which ever they are, woe be upon the world the descend upon.