09-27-2015, 12:09 AM
The steady, pounding sounds of war drums grew near, as the putrid stench of death’s embrace tainted the evening air. Bathed in billows of smolder and ash, the night’s many stars turned a blind eye to the Dunes, as vandals, under the veil of night, descended upon their enemy.
“Wait, stop! We are but a simple mining community!” a man in the street protested, as a savage horde of raiders took the town and the man’s head with it. Decapitated, the man’s figure slumped under itself, his blood sullying the sand as his lifeless skull hit the ground with a sickening clunk. Shrieks, howls, and war cries called out to the night, as a volley of arrows, doused in kerosene, and alive with fire, soared overhead, illuminating the carnage that had befallen the miner’s village.
Simple folk, survivors of the harsh terrain, certainly, but elite soldiers they were not. Bodies of the fallen sprawled out in every direction, as they were just not prepared for the barbaric scourge that overwhelmed them. Not without their dignity, however, the inhabitants did fight back. Blood curdling screams of women and children pierced the night, causing their hearts to skip a beat, and inspiring vigor within them. They attempted to defend their own, and many joined the cause, picking up hammers, pick axes, and anything they could get their hands on. With luck, the town even enjoyed a brief moment of triumph, swinging the momentum, and keeping the raiders at bay. However, eventually the inevitable happened, an alpha emerged from the horde, distinguishing himself apart from the pack. A massive brute, wielding a monstrous blade; he cleaved his way through their numbers with ease. Dark eyes revealed no remorse as he halved a man, shoulder to groin; his blade coming away wet with crimson.
“Please! Stop! Whatever you want, it’s yours, just take it. Just leave us alone! Please!” a young woman pleaded with the brute, only to be snatched up by the roots of her hair and tossed into the pack of raiders. Clothes ripped from her flesh as the savages forced their lust and desire upon her.
The brute’s eyes shifted about, this way and that, scanning the village-- scanning his prey-- until they finally came to a stop. Huddled in a corner, three men had barricaded themselves in and were attempting to protect one of the village’s elderly. The savage’s face came alive with a wild grin as he marched over to the four of them, his raiders close on his heels.
Moments later the elderly man lay in a pool of blood, blood not that of his own, but that of his kin, that of the youth who had died trying to protect him. Saliva oozed from the brute’s mouth as his fellow raiders indulged themselves. Their teeth, razor sharp and carnivorous, tore the flesh from bones of the fallen. Cannibals, of the many threats one could face in the Dunes, none struck fear in the heart more.
“Please! Oh god no! Are you going to eat me?!” the elderly man squealed as he retreated as far away from them as he could.
“You? No, old man. Today is your lucky day.” the vandal sneered with sarcasm as he heaved the heavy blade over his shoulder.
“Today you are the only one we don’t eat. No, for you… we just have a simple message.”
“Anything! Please! Just don’t eat me, please!”
“Very well, come with me”
Erik followed the royal servant into a grand courtyard, leaving the dull and dry colors of the desert behind. Lavish and lush foliage drenched the courtyard’s visage as the brisk sounds of running water and cool temperament of an oasis enveloped the psychic. The imagery instilling a blissful moment of peace and tranquility the psychic had not anticipated. It was astounding. Hidden amongst the barren and desolate lands of the Dunes, Gilgamesh had all but reincarnated the Garden of Eden.
Whilst the psychic gawked at the beauty of the courtyard, the distance between Erik and Anos had grown, forcing the prime to quicken his pace or be left behind. Erik stole one last glance at the courtyard’s grandeur before turning the corner and finding Anos. They entered a hall and continued through the palace a few minutes longer before arriving at the desired chamber.
“Take a seat. This is New Babylon’s throne room. Today the King’s hand will be taking audiences with the people of Nippur. I have placed your name among the list of New Babylon recruits. All you have to do is await the Hand to call on you. After that, it’ll be up to you to prove yourself. Good luck.” Anos finished speaking, bid Erik Vrell farewell, and took his seat with Eudocia, next to the throne.
Vrell waited for maybe an hour before commotion started to spill into the chamber. The psychic sat at the edge of his seat, eager to witness the future proceedings, when the Hand of the King entered the chamber and took him by surprise. Vrell’s eye’s widened as he realized the rumors were true. Adorned in his most formal attire, Sasuke Uchiha sat atop a golden throne with a lion’s head protruding from its base. The Hand of the King was none other than the Illustrious Grand Champion of Dante’s Abyss!
Erik Vrell was besides himself with excitement. He had felt New Babylon was a strong choice in faction, but he had never dreamed he would be fighting alongside someone so famous! The hushed whispers came to a halt as a man of Nippur entered and the proceeding commenced with Anos addressing the court, “Elias Coalman, of a mining providence within our territory.”
“Thank you.” A small elderly man with salt and pepper hair spoke up as he took the podium. His movements indicated a suppressed pain from sustained injuries while his eyes expressed a fatigue beyond his years.
“They burned everything.” As he spoke, his eyes revealed the struggle he experienced, reliving the memories.
“Our fields, the livestock… Our homes.” He paused, looking the Hand of the King square in the eye, “They took our women… And then they took them again… And when they were done, they butchered them as though they were animals.”
Whispers erupted throughout the throne room at the revelation, but were quickly subdued by the signal from the Hand of the King.
“I lost three sons…” the seasoned miner continued, “My sons… My beautiful sons... They murdered them… Worse… They ate them!”
Shock and surprise struck the throne room until, once more, Sasuke signaled for silence.
“And the ones they didn’t eat…” His tired eyes now wet with pain, struggling to gather the words, “They covered our children in piss and lit them on fire!”
This time no amount of signaling silenced the uproar and outrage that swept the throne room. It was Anos, the voice of reason, who gained the audience, “Local thieves. Looting and pillaging. Nothing our guards can’t handle from here.”
Elias countered, “They weren’t thieves. They didn’t steal nothing. In fact, they left something behind.”
At that moment, three men who could have been kin to Elias Coalman entered the throne room, carrying amongst the three of them, a large brown sack. They spilled the contents before the Hand of the King, at his feet, revealing a bloody and mutilated, dead lion.
“The sigil of New Babylon!” someone shrieked!
“If people are attacking the villages under the protection of the king, then it would be... an act of war on Gilgamesh himself!” erupted an angered Eudocia.
“These men. Are they flying a sigil?” Anos questioned, but Elias looked confused. Anos rephrased, “Banners, did they represent their cause?”
“No, sir. The one who was leading them. Taller by a foot than any man I’ve ever met. Saw him cut the black smith in two. Saw him take the head of a horse with a single swing of his sword. I don’t know where they came from, but they said they had a message for you.”
Sasuke leaned forward, his curiosity getting the best of him, “Go on.”
“What he said was… ‘Tell your leader, one of the many false kings who lay claim to my sands, their reign has ended and the days of Baron Deathchew have just begun.’ ”
The Hand of the King had heard enough. Sasuke Uchiha stood, addressing Elias Coalman, “I cannot give you back what you have lost, nor restore your dead to life, but perhaps I can give you justice, in the name of our king, Gilgamesh.”
Sasuke cast his gaze over to the New Babylon and New Babylon recruit section of the chambers, “New Babylon! In the name of Gilgamesh and the grand city of Nippur, the first of his name, King of the Endless Dunes, lord of the nine verses and protector of the realm, I, Sasuke Uchiha, Hand of the King, charge you to bring the kings Justice to this terrorist and all those shared in his crimes. I denounce him and detain him. I strip him of all ranks and titles and sentence him to death!”
“Wait, stop! We are but a simple mining community!” a man in the street protested, as a savage horde of raiders took the town and the man’s head with it. Decapitated, the man’s figure slumped under itself, his blood sullying the sand as his lifeless skull hit the ground with a sickening clunk. Shrieks, howls, and war cries called out to the night, as a volley of arrows, doused in kerosene, and alive with fire, soared overhead, illuminating the carnage that had befallen the miner’s village.
Simple folk, survivors of the harsh terrain, certainly, but elite soldiers they were not. Bodies of the fallen sprawled out in every direction, as they were just not prepared for the barbaric scourge that overwhelmed them. Not without their dignity, however, the inhabitants did fight back. Blood curdling screams of women and children pierced the night, causing their hearts to skip a beat, and inspiring vigor within them. They attempted to defend their own, and many joined the cause, picking up hammers, pick axes, and anything they could get their hands on. With luck, the town even enjoyed a brief moment of triumph, swinging the momentum, and keeping the raiders at bay. However, eventually the inevitable happened, an alpha emerged from the horde, distinguishing himself apart from the pack. A massive brute, wielding a monstrous blade; he cleaved his way through their numbers with ease. Dark eyes revealed no remorse as he halved a man, shoulder to groin; his blade coming away wet with crimson.
“Please! Stop! Whatever you want, it’s yours, just take it. Just leave us alone! Please!” a young woman pleaded with the brute, only to be snatched up by the roots of her hair and tossed into the pack of raiders. Clothes ripped from her flesh as the savages forced their lust and desire upon her.
The brute’s eyes shifted about, this way and that, scanning the village-- scanning his prey-- until they finally came to a stop. Huddled in a corner, three men had barricaded themselves in and were attempting to protect one of the village’s elderly. The savage’s face came alive with a wild grin as he marched over to the four of them, his raiders close on his heels.
Moments later the elderly man lay in a pool of blood, blood not that of his own, but that of his kin, that of the youth who had died trying to protect him. Saliva oozed from the brute’s mouth as his fellow raiders indulged themselves. Their teeth, razor sharp and carnivorous, tore the flesh from bones of the fallen. Cannibals, of the many threats one could face in the Dunes, none struck fear in the heart more.
“Please! Oh god no! Are you going to eat me?!” the elderly man squealed as he retreated as far away from them as he could.
“You? No, old man. Today is your lucky day.” the vandal sneered with sarcasm as he heaved the heavy blade over his shoulder.
“Today you are the only one we don’t eat. No, for you… we just have a simple message.”
“Anything! Please! Just don’t eat me, please!”
***
“Very well, come with me”
Erik followed the royal servant into a grand courtyard, leaving the dull and dry colors of the desert behind. Lavish and lush foliage drenched the courtyard’s visage as the brisk sounds of running water and cool temperament of an oasis enveloped the psychic. The imagery instilling a blissful moment of peace and tranquility the psychic had not anticipated. It was astounding. Hidden amongst the barren and desolate lands of the Dunes, Gilgamesh had all but reincarnated the Garden of Eden.
Whilst the psychic gawked at the beauty of the courtyard, the distance between Erik and Anos had grown, forcing the prime to quicken his pace or be left behind. Erik stole one last glance at the courtyard’s grandeur before turning the corner and finding Anos. They entered a hall and continued through the palace a few minutes longer before arriving at the desired chamber.
“Take a seat. This is New Babylon’s throne room. Today the King’s hand will be taking audiences with the people of Nippur. I have placed your name among the list of New Babylon recruits. All you have to do is await the Hand to call on you. After that, it’ll be up to you to prove yourself. Good luck.” Anos finished speaking, bid Erik Vrell farewell, and took his seat with Eudocia, next to the throne.
Vrell waited for maybe an hour before commotion started to spill into the chamber. The psychic sat at the edge of his seat, eager to witness the future proceedings, when the Hand of the King entered the chamber and took him by surprise. Vrell’s eye’s widened as he realized the rumors were true. Adorned in his most formal attire, Sasuke Uchiha sat atop a golden throne with a lion’s head protruding from its base. The Hand of the King was none other than the Illustrious Grand Champion of Dante’s Abyss!
Erik Vrell was besides himself with excitement. He had felt New Babylon was a strong choice in faction, but he had never dreamed he would be fighting alongside someone so famous! The hushed whispers came to a halt as a man of Nippur entered and the proceeding commenced with Anos addressing the court, “Elias Coalman, of a mining providence within our territory.”
“Thank you.” A small elderly man with salt and pepper hair spoke up as he took the podium. His movements indicated a suppressed pain from sustained injuries while his eyes expressed a fatigue beyond his years.
“They burned everything.” As he spoke, his eyes revealed the struggle he experienced, reliving the memories.
“Our fields, the livestock… Our homes.” He paused, looking the Hand of the King square in the eye, “They took our women… And then they took them again… And when they were done, they butchered them as though they were animals.”
Whispers erupted throughout the throne room at the revelation, but were quickly subdued by the signal from the Hand of the King.
“I lost three sons…” the seasoned miner continued, “My sons… My beautiful sons... They murdered them… Worse… They ate them!”
Shock and surprise struck the throne room until, once more, Sasuke signaled for silence.
“And the ones they didn’t eat…” His tired eyes now wet with pain, struggling to gather the words, “They covered our children in piss and lit them on fire!”
This time no amount of signaling silenced the uproar and outrage that swept the throne room. It was Anos, the voice of reason, who gained the audience, “Local thieves. Looting and pillaging. Nothing our guards can’t handle from here.”
Elias countered, “They weren’t thieves. They didn’t steal nothing. In fact, they left something behind.”
At that moment, three men who could have been kin to Elias Coalman entered the throne room, carrying amongst the three of them, a large brown sack. They spilled the contents before the Hand of the King, at his feet, revealing a bloody and mutilated, dead lion.
“The sigil of New Babylon!” someone shrieked!
“If people are attacking the villages under the protection of the king, then it would be... an act of war on Gilgamesh himself!” erupted an angered Eudocia.
“These men. Are they flying a sigil?” Anos questioned, but Elias looked confused. Anos rephrased, “Banners, did they represent their cause?”
“No, sir. The one who was leading them. Taller by a foot than any man I’ve ever met. Saw him cut the black smith in two. Saw him take the head of a horse with a single swing of his sword. I don’t know where they came from, but they said they had a message for you.”
Sasuke leaned forward, his curiosity getting the best of him, “Go on.”
“What he said was… ‘Tell your leader, one of the many false kings who lay claim to my sands, their reign has ended and the days of Baron Deathchew have just begun.’ ”
The Hand of the King had heard enough. Sasuke Uchiha stood, addressing Elias Coalman, “I cannot give you back what you have lost, nor restore your dead to life, but perhaps I can give you justice, in the name of our king, Gilgamesh.”
Sasuke cast his gaze over to the New Babylon and New Babylon recruit section of the chambers, “New Babylon! In the name of Gilgamesh and the grand city of Nippur, the first of his name, King of the Endless Dunes, lord of the nine verses and protector of the realm, I, Sasuke Uchiha, Hand of the King, charge you to bring the kings Justice to this terrorist and all those shared in his crimes. I denounce him and detain him. I strip him of all ranks and titles and sentence him to death!”
Quote:Slay Baron Deathchew!
Requirements: Not affiliated with the Empire.
Difficulty: Moderate (5000-10,000 words dependent on writing quality)
Reward: +Reputation and increased Influence with the New Babylon.
Info: Slay Baron Deathchew and shut down his organization! He is a bad dude and the Omniverse will be a better place with out him.
Dante's Abyss 2015
GRAND CHAMPION
![[Image: Sasuke_DA_zpsb4vizgxd.png]](http://www.cytokineindustries.com/chevereto/images/2018/02/07/Sasuke_DA_zpsb4vizgxd.png)
Mark Twain Wrote:"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug."