Rise of the Horde

The horde, the Ereians, the dark elves, Artanos, and the demoness watched as the giant dune worms played around with the newly arrived demons. The four armed demons were at the mercy of the worms with no way to retaliate at all.

"What in the name of the ancestors is happening!" Sakh'arran can't help but exclaim.

'Yes, what the heck is happening!' Khao'khen screamed inside his head. The dune worms were so powerful that he felt like an ant in their presence. He felt intimidated by them by just their sheer presence.

And even with the horde under his command, along with the Ereians, and the dark elves who had allied with them for the meantime, he was fearful of the possibility that those monstrosities may come after them, after dealing with the demons.

As the worms toyed with the demons, a sudden crack tore through the air, followed by the sound of crumbling stone. One of the magical towers, a structure of power, began to collapse, its once-sturdy form now little more than rubble.

The onlookers were startled, and a hush fell over them as they witnessed the tower's collapse.

Sakh'arran, his voice laced with concern, exclaimed, "By the ancestors, what is going on? " The unexpected collapse of the tower shifted the atmosphere, and the rowdy orcs stared in awe, the dark elves heightened in their wariness, and the Ereians relieved.

Khao'khen noticed that the Ereains seemed to be quite relived by the presence of the monstrosities, "They know these worms...?' he whispered to himself, but his voice was audible enough for Elara to hear.

"They know these creatures?" Elara quickly questioned, "How sure are you?" she continued.

"It is just a hunch, a gut feeling if you will" Khao'khen shrugged his shoulders then pointed towards the Ereians who were around.

"You are basing this all on what? With just the feeling in your gut?" Syvis stared at the orc chieftain in disbelief. She can't quite understand what is going on in the head of this orc.

"Look at their faces," Khao'khen responded, still pointing at the Ereians, "Their faces have expressions of worship instead of fear, which would mean that they know that these monstrosities are something related to their faith. I don't know exactly the details, but that is what I can infer from the situation."

"The chieftain is right," a voice suddenly came from behind them. The three of them turned around and saw Faynah staring at the enormous worms with thankful eyes. "Those are the Guardians of the Burning Sands," she continued.

"Guardians?" Elara can't help but question, she was not aware of such things, "There was no such records of them, even in the royal library."

Faynah smiled at her, "And what would such records' purpose be doing in the royal library. They are ancient beasts which protects the desert from harm, and their existence should be protected and kept secret at all times. That is the reason why no records mentioning their existence exist anywhere."

"But I am certain that these is not the first time that they have shown themselves. Won't their existence be known to others from the mouths of those who have witnessed their presence?" Syvis directed her gaze at Faynah who still has her eyes focus on the dune worms.

"And what would such witnesses do to prove their claim if the entire Ereian kingdom denies their claim?" Faynah gave a meaningful smile at Syvis.

"But aren't they related to your faith? Why deny their existence?" Khao'khen was now confused.

"Yes, they are related to our faith, but not in the way that you think. According to the ancient texts. Long before Ereia was created, the Burning Sands was already inhabited by them, they were the original inhabitants of this vast desert. It is said that our ancestors managed to settle here in these lands without being attacked by them because of Faerush. The details were not mentioned on how." Faynah explained then shrugged her shoulders after telling all that she knew.

Another one of the magical towers crumbled and the four armed demons were all gone. They were either devoured whole, shredded to pieces or dragged to the underground by the dune worms.

"Damn it!" Artanos cursed after noticing what was causing the towers to collapse. His eyes showed fear for the first time ever since he had arrived in this backward place. "We are leaving..." he snorted then grabbed the demoness and flew away.

He had no plans of fighting one of the Ancients. As powerful as he is, there was no way that he would contend against the might of an Ancient alone, that would be a foolish endeavor.

Although he was certain that he would survive the ordeal, killing one was impossible for him, and he was also certain that he would be unscathed from the clash.

"A giant bird?" Faynah noticed the winged creature that was flying away from the highest point of the Sand Palace. "No, that's not a bird" she muttered after getting a glimpse that the creature had a humanoid shape. Experience exclusive tales on

"That's an Avariel!" Elara replied, "That bastard is finally leaving..." she clicked her tongue as her eyes followed the flying figure. It didn't take long for it to disappear into the skies, far from the range or her sight.

"You know that creature?" Khao'khen questioned with curiousity.

"I know what he is but I do not who," Elara responded swiftly, her voice laced with hate.

"Seems like you have some bad blood between you two," Khao'khen muttered as he watch another one of the towers to collapse.

"Not just between the two of us. It is between his kin and ours," it was Syvis who responded this time.

"His kin?" Khao'khen glanced at Syvis before shifting his gaze towards Elara.

"Yes, his kin. Those Avariel bastards..." hate and anger could clearly be felt from the words of Elara.

"They are much worse than those high and mighty elves, who call themselves pure, and us dark elves tainted." she continued.

"Wait...wait...wait...Are you saying that an Avariel is also another type of your race." Khao'khen wanted to clarify.

Elara just nodded her head in response.

The last magic tower crumbled down, but whatever was responsible for their destruction seemed to be not done just yet, as the ground still continued to tremble.

"So a winged elf huh..." Khao'khen muttered, he learned something knew. It was the first time that he had heard of elves with wings even from his previous life. "So they are like angels," he continued.

"No," Elara was quick to refute his words, "Those are not angels, those scoundrels are far from the Celestials. They just like to pretend to be them in order to manipulate some of the human powers. If nothing, they are just like the demons or much worse than demons. At least the demons don't veil themselves and pretend to be holy," her words was literally oozing with hate as she explained.

As Elara's words hung in the air, the very foundation of the Sand Palace seemed to shudder. The onlookers, still reeling from the collapse of the magical towers, now found themselves witnessing the downfall of the entire structure.

The once-imposing palace, with its intricate sand-stone arches and towering spires, began to shake violently. Great clouds of sand rose as the palace trembled, a testament to the power of whatever is beneath it.

The Ereians, who had once named this the heart of the kingdom, watched with a mix of emotions. Some wore expressions of awe, as if witnessing the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy, while others, like Faynah, stared with a sense of sorrow and loss.

The dark elves, Syvis among them, observed with a detached curiosity, their wariness of the dune worms now extending to this unexpected turn of events.

Khao'khen, the orc chieftain, still felt a sense of unease as the ground beneath his feet quaked. The power of the Guardians of the Burning Sands was not something that he could contend with at the moment, but in the future, who knows what might happen.

He glanced at the dark elves and his own horde, seeing the fear and confusion reflected in their eyes. The Sand Palace, a symbol of power and dominance in this desert kingdom, was being reduced to rubble before their very eyes.

The trembling of the ground finally halted, and everything had calmed down. It was only the thick dust cloud that was kicked up by the destruction of the Sand Palace which had not settled down just yet.

As the dust settled, the true extent of the destruction became apparent. The once-majestic Sand Palace was now little more than a pile of rubble.

The onlookers stood in awe, their faces a mixture of emotions: the Ereians, a blend of reverence and sorrow; the dark elves, curious and wary; and the orcs, led by Khao'khen, feeling a mix of unease and fascination.

They had just witnessed the fall of what was once a symbol of power and dominance in the desert kingdom, and the impact of this event would be felt for a long time to come.

"To think that such power exists in this world," Khao'khen muttered, his voice filled with a mixture of respect and trepidation. "Those worms are definitely not creatures to be trifled with. We were fortunate that their wrath was directed elsewhere."

He glanced at the dark elves and his own horde, seeing the same realization reflected in their eyes. The dune worms had shown them all a display of force that would not soon be forgotten.

"Indeed, their might is legendary," Elara agreed, her voice soft as she, too, took in the destruction.

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