Arrival of Man

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'Why did this happen to me?' I had only this question on my mind at the time, being ported straight into this hell of a wasteland Isn't my usual Sunday routine. Currently, I have no idea where I am and how exactly I came here. And I'm telling you I don't have the slightest piece of explanation either. My head hurts, my the rest of my body feels like I've been riding the nuke like major Kong... That comparison sucked, but hey, you come up with a clever reference in my scenario eh?

I have been sleeping soundly, 'till a few hours ago. If it had not been for the sudden Sandstorm that had to fuck me right in the face and wake me up in the most confused state I have ever been.

So I woke up, In the middle of nowhere, completely confused about how in the Hell I could have gotten here, and to top things off, I was lovingly greeted by a nice and gentle sandstorm.
Of course, you don't know how to react to that. But my evenings watching Bear grills survive in the most surreal scenarios has paid off, so my first step was to improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

I failed, horribly

Being blinded by the sandstorm did not help either; the sand was getting into my eyes and in my mouth and, ugh, just everywhere. I curled up into a ball and waited for about an hour, then It stopped.
The first positive thing about this fucking day. I dug myself out and began to check my body for possible injuries or sand stuck In unpleasant places, you already know the answer to that one but yea... It's different to actually experience it.

After I found that I'm quite alright if you don't count my burning eyes and dry mouth, along with the existential dread I have found myself in. God why me? Couldn't you have done this to someone more deserving of punishment? I'm a good boy I swear.

After standing up and slowly getting used I the heat and dryness, my first objective was to find some water because I found out the hard way that drinking your piss is not as easy as ol' Bear makes it seem. There must be something to drink somewhere, or else I'm fucked. So I started walking in no direction in particular.

The sun glared down on me and made it practically impossible to see whenever it crossed my line of sight. I can't stress enough how hot it was. If this was hell, then It's not as pleasant as I would have imagined it was, but I guess mom was right, I should have stayed in church.

Naaah Church is worse.
So I continue to look for a source of water, or at least something that can provide a decent amount of moisture so that I may not die.

As the minutes turned into hours, the scorching sun got more unbearable, and I mean, there is literally nothing but small rocks and beige colored dirt around me, not even mountains or some shit, and no watering hole or oasis. I seriously doubt that I'm going to survive this bullshit scenario.

How rude of me, but let me tell you a bit about myself. To describe the being that is I... Well, there's not that much to it. I am average height, actually a little short and a little overweight Latin American guy; yeah, that's It, as I said, not much to it.
My curly hair and big eyes usually got a few girls to call me cute, but in a platonic kinda way you know?
I'm a fun loving and extroverted guy I guess, I spend my time geeking around at fantasy stuff and my evenings are spent alone with a good book.
I'm a sucker for fantasy and all of that jazz, I know every good book there is and I can go on and on about them usually.

Looking at the sun I realize that I have been spending more time walking than I realized. The orange colored sky that was shed upon the land almost let me forget that I will not survive this.
It's getting late anyway, might wanna look for a place to sleep. There has to be something that can shield me from the heat somewhere.

Oh no, I just remembered that the nights out in the desert got really cold, and I am drenched in sweat! I won't survive this, I am doomed!
A feeling of dread crawled over me, well even more than before to say the least.

Let me recall how I got here in the first place...

It all started with the desire to make a change. It was Saturday night, and homework, as always, has been absolute shit. So I was there, bored out of my mind. I liked to do good in school, but I wanted to enjoy my weekends to the fullest, so I wouldn't say I like homework. But there was just nothing I could do. No party's going on; I thought maybe Felix wanted to hang out; he is my best friend after all. But a quick look to my watch quickly let that thought die, like hell he's going to hang out at 4 am.
I lay on my bed and took a look throughout my room. The usual nerd decor with statues and posters of movies I like, don't fucking judge me.
It was as messy as ever and I can't seem to recall the last time that I had people over, or anyone for that matter.
My pet snake was trapped in his enclosure and shat all over it.
No seriously, snakes poop a lot, he eats once a month how can he produce that much crap?

Ahem... Back to where I was.

'Nothing exciting left to play,' I thought to myself as I looked to my abandoned PlayStation and PC. I thought about ways to quench my desire for entertainment and how to spend the time in the future, it's hard to think of anything when you're feeling that you have done everything you want to. It was too late for the good shows, so I decided not to watch TV either.

Do you know that feeling when you just want to do stuff, but there simply is nothing, kind of depressing actually that I don't really have anything to do except playing video games or watching porn. I never had a girlfriend either. I'm super-cool with any of the dudes. I mean, I am so good at befriending guys you wouldn't believe, but sadly the same didn't go for girls; everyone I ever liked had either rejected me cold or started going out with one of my friends before I could get a chance. I guess it comes naturally when every other boy in your class is a hunk and is 5 Inches taller than you. To give you a picture, I'm 5 foot 4.
And to top things off, I'm also pudgy and lemme tell you, that does NOT help. After thinking about my life for a hot minute, I came back to the main problem.

What to do?

So I just thought and thought and some time went by until the sun started to rise... Holy shit, it's dawn already? I stayed up longer than I thought. I rarely ever experienced a nice sunrise, so an idea hit me...

I can go on a walk! I know, I know that sounds anticlimactic and awful. But keep in mind that I have no clue what else to do, and actually getting my body to move was an accomplishment on most weekends.

For the first time in my life, I wanted to do something as boring as taking a walk; seeing the sunrise may help my mood, at least it's better than to linger in my room. So I quickly got out of my pajamas and went to grab my coat since It was quite chilly outside. I put on my shoes and opened the door, went outside, and walked down the street.
I was headed for the park just down the next street. I looked at a nearby clock to tell the time... 6 am huh guess I really stayed awake a long time today. The fresh cold morning air filled my lungs and kept me wide awake and refreshed as I walked past the blocks of this district.

The sky was a tone in a beautiful orange color.

"I really made the right decision; I need to enjoy the small things in life more." I smiled as I started to walk slowly again. I didn't really say something so corny, but I can't really remember, so yeah, you get the idea.

Heading towards the park, I saw many people rush to their work or getting a coffee.
I don't exactly know why I had this desire to go on a walk, but it just felt like the right thing to do... In retrospective that was really unusual behavior from me.

I let out a loud yawn. "Fuck I'm getting tired." Past me said.

After a few minutes of walking down the boardwalk, I finally arrived at the park. I've never actually been to a park by myself; I walked down the path, admiring the beautiful color of the leaves as they dropped and landed on the ground.

Long story short, I ended up seeing a hill and thought for it to be the perfect place to start looking at the sunrise.
As I went up, I suddenly felt exhausted. I didn't know why it happened so rapidly or so suddenly, but this feeling of tiredness just overcame me. I blacked out. I don't remember anything after that...

And I'm not bullshitting you; that is how it happened.
Next thing I know, I'm in the middle of fucking nowhere and without any orientation as to where I'm headed.
Well, there you have, my half-assed backstory, I know, but that's what happened.

I had to spend the night, covered in sand. I dug a damn whole with my bare hands and slept in it, I know, sounds comfy right? Well it actually was.

I woke up way too often because of the wind and other disturbances like mosquitos and the occasional lizard that nibbled on my nose.
I continued my search for water, and I was about to collapse from exhaustion.
About 7 hours passed, and I still couldn't find any goddamn water. I felt like I was going to die soon.
But I won't give up yet. I want to survive and to find the fucker or whatever it is that brought me here.
I'm so gonna murder the shit out of the first living thing I see; I am so unbelievably Angry. In my moment of rage, I saw something, a tree. A tree in the desert that can mean only one thing... Water.
I mustered up all of the strength residing within me and sprinted like I never did before; the dunes giving in to my stomping feet don't make it easier, actually.

I ran as fast as my tired feet could carry me until the shining body of water was in the line of sight.
There it was, a nice clean puddle.

Without question, I sank my head as far as I possibly could in the refreshing delight in the form of water.
I spent about 30 seconds drinking without worrying about breathing or anything of the sort, really, that is until I opened my eyes after finishing my last gulp.

3 massive bulls were staring at me, faces of disbelief and shock. They had an appearance like a Minotaur, but that would be silly a Minotaur? No way... unless I'm finally descending into madness. However, that was not the case since one of them began to speak.

"Oi Terry, what is that thing?" The largest one of the group asked, his eyes not departing from my face. He had black fur and curved horns, green eyes that shined like the brightest of emeralds, and he also had a giant sword bound to his back.

Terry responded, scanning me in the process, "I don't have the slightest idea, War, though it might be some kind of ape. Looks like half a Centaur if you ask me."

He was covered in brown fur with red eyes. He was the smallest one but had enormous horns. A big scar ran across his left eye, creepy. I am legit about to pass out like I'm petrified.

"What are you waiting for then? Capture it! It might be super rare!"
A white Minotaur with short horns said I'm presuming she was female because of the slimmer body build and the feminine voice. Suddenly, before I could react, The one named 'Terry' lunged at me with his all of his massive body.

My eyes went to pinpricks as this giant bipedal being threw itself at my dehydrated form. Out of pure instinct, I rolled over. He fell to the ground with a thump and a grunt. His eyes went back to me, now having stood up to my full size, I noticed something... I'm taller than him. It seems as if my eyes have deceived me considering the size of these three; well, given my perspective back then, that was quite understandable. That didn't change the fact that he was still big and full of muscles. I needed to think of something fast.

"That thing is Huge!" The black one commented, his gaze full of newfound concern.
I stand there now, holding a somewhat clumsy posture and probably looking like an Idiot.
Then the best Idea of the day hit me. Why not try talking to them.

So I opened my mouth and said the best thing I could come up with to sound like a sentient being.

"Wow there fellas, surely there's no reason we can't be civilized about this." Ah, brilliant, quoting master Kenobi at a time like this. So like me, to do that.

The Bull stopped Its charge at me, and its eyes opened wide.
"Steel, It talks!" He said, aghast. Now he was observing me with his eyes and slowly unsheathed his Falchion.
Terry's look hardened, and he took a stance.
"Who are you, and where do you come from?" He asked with malice hidden in his voice. Before I could respond, he opened his mouth again. "And for starters, what exactly are you mate?" He stopped so I could respond.

"First off, what's the big deal? Why so hostile?" I asked first before backing away slightly.

"The deal? In the bloody hell would someone that is not a spy or an assassin do so far out in the howling desert?" He came closer again, threatening me with his Impressive sword.

I had no idea, and I felt that that answer would not suffice.
"Well, first off, I'm a human; I don't know If you've ever heard of us but back where I come from, we are the dominant species." I quickly searched for more to say.

"The reason why I'm so far off in the middle of nowhere is that my caravan got attacked." Nice one, man, bring up even more questions. Sweat was beginning to flow down my face.

"I'm the only survivor, and I am unarmed, so there is no need to threaten me," I said with a stern tone, trying to intimidate my opponent a little bit.
Looking into his eyes, I see that it did not quite work. He instead hardened his gaze.

"Is that so? Attacked, by whom?" He asked, raising his blade against my chest and staring me down. I've never had my heart pound so much in my life. The thought of dying after enduring that hell was not welcoming at all.

"To be honest with you, I was knocked out by whatever it was Immediately, the only thing I heard was the blurred out battle cries of the other guards and whatever attacked us. Luckily enough, I was unharmed and escaped with a few bruises." I said with as much conviction as I could.

"Hmm, alright, so you're a man of the military then? May I ask your rank?" He finally put his sword down
"And you forgot your name, boy, you better spill it, or I won't trust you." Great, that worked out. I guess that is a little bit of luck to compensate for the shit that has transpired today.
I have to make up a name, hmm but what.
"Sergeant Melkor of the 3rd Division under the Kings banner," I replied after thinking about it a good 10 seconds. God, I'm so gonna die in this place. Using the name of my favorite Villain blended in perfectly.

"Well, it's certainly good to know you're not a spy, Sergeant." He sheathed his sword and started to walk back to his comrades. Which was still staring me down? I sat down as a sign of relief and let out a sigh.

"Can you show me the way to the next town? I won't make it alone, I'm afraid," I asked the group, seeing that as my best chance of survival.
"Uuh, I don't know Terry, I don't trust him; he's completely alien to us." The Black one said. He turned to me, looked me dead in the eye, and said.

"Prove that you're a soldier and you can stay with us; however, If I find that you lied to us, I will rid you of your spine." I was about to panic; goddammit, I knew this was too good to be true. Well, better prove it to him than to die alone in the desert.

"And how would you suggest to prove myself?" I asked, fearing the possible answer that would surely not be a good one. If watching Medieval films had any kind of effect, then I think I know what's coming.

He stares at me with his green eyes and slowly begins to smirk until he says...

"By a duel..."

13 weeks later in a land far away from the recent happenings...

[Canterlot Palace]

Three Princesses were consulting in the celestial throne room.

"We have to send scouts and search parties to look for Chrysalis; if we don't find her in time, we might have a way bigger problem in a few months," said Princess Twilight

"T'is true sister, we have sensed a big increase of magic in the outer sectors of the changeling badlands." said the second alicorn in the room.

The light in the room was dim as the oldest of the three began to set the sun. While she knew this was not something to be dealt with lightly, the issue was pretty much over. And a new uprising had begun in the lands far beyond her borders. Something she had feared for long.

"Dear sister, Twilight, you know that under Thorax's rule, the changelings have all reformed. Without them, she is powerless, and we also have to focus on more important tasks at hand."
She said without turning to look the other two Princesses in the eye, instead focusing her gaze into the west.

'Much more Important...'

Duel of the Fates

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"By a duel..." Said the black beast, which gazed at me in a way no man should ever be looked at.

How nice, I, the luckiest guy on earth, literally have not just woken up in the most hellish environment possible, wandered around for who knows how long, and just lied myself out of the deadliest situation I've ever been in.

NOOOOO it just has to get better. I mean, sure, you have to have some kind of proof, but a flippin' duel? What happened to the whole I share my backstory with you, and we Instantly become best friends? thing? I guess we'll skip that today to make my current hell of a situation even worse.
Being the collected and calm being that I am, I'm sure I can get myself out of this situation.

"I beg your pardon?" was my actual response, in a somewhat shaky and stuttering voice, though not so much that you could actually tell I was pissing myself just now.
The sun fell in my face and made me feel even more uncomfortable than I already had been. You know, this type of thing often happens to protagonists of fantasy novels, I'm kinda beginning to see a pattern here.

The minotaur just stared at me and huffed and puffed, his heavy chest rising as he was hyping himself up for what was to come, although only in his mind I presume.
"You heard me, let's duel, just me an' you right here, right now." He started to grin, and his eyes became even more fierce.

"Look, you'll even have my sword since you're such a big one. I'll just use Terry's." He wiggled his eyebrows; I bet he thinks I'll just pussy out on his challenge. Fucking asshole, I bet he thinks I'm a wimp. You know what? FUCK IT. If I end up dying anyway, I will go out with a bang; maybe I'll win. Ha, not likely, not likely at all.
I flexed what little muscles I had and prepared for myself mentally for the challenge, trying to look even a little tough and failing miserably.
"Alright, let's do it, you and me right now. No lethal cuts or stings though, I like being alive." I said, trying to sound as un-nervous as possible.

It probably won't have the same effect when someone like me, who is not so tough, as when someone who is actually tough, tries it. He nodded and then threw his sword to my feet like it was a stick. He then walked over to 'Terry' and yanked his Falchion out of its sheath with his powerful arms. God, even his veins have veins.

I swallowed what little spit I had in my mouth in an attempt to prepare myself.
My breath was ragged and my thoughts were racing all over the place before I even made a move.

I proceeded to take the great sword out of the scorching sand and grasped it firmly. You might not believe it but I actually have experience with sword fighting, not such big ones usually, but as long as we don't fight to the death it will be fine, I hope. I started to stretch a bit and looked around, nothing but desert for miles and miles to come. The other two minotaurs looked at me as if it was already the day of the funeral. Anyways, I can't get distracted now, War looked at me like I look at a nicely done steak, which is probably not a good sign. Do these guys eat meat, I sure as hell hope not.

So after a minute or two, we were facing each other, I raised my mighty greatsword and went into a sideways stance, to have full power, at little energy cost, cause fuck me that thing was heavy. Whilst my opponent had no problems of the sort, none at all, he looked like he did this at least every Tuesday. The anxiety coming over me right now, oh lord help me.

He was wearing light leather armor, a loincloth, and sandals, a nice combination if you ask me, gotta get some armor myself when I'm done with this shit. Gotta survive somehow, might as well make sure you stay unharmed.

"Are ya ready?" He yelled, taking a stance of his own, seemingly getting ready to charge. Oh, what have I gotten myself into? Why

"As I'll ever be." Was my reply. I was scared, like legitimately afraid to face off against this beast. Well, if I strike first maybe I'll actually be able to hit him and win.
He was getting ready to take a big swing at me. He then proceeded to jump forward towards my still-standing figure.
Oh boy.

I had an idea that could counter this attack, he was open wide and his arm was too far drawn back.
So my first step was sidestepping in to close the distance between me and him.
I swear if this works...I'm buying this guy a drink later. He seemed taken aback by my course of action, and his eyes focused on mine, a little unease in them.

So I jabbed the knob of my sword with all the power I could muster, and I hit directly in the nose, giving off a crunch and a little drizzle of blood, while the power of my attack and the fact that he was jumping me like a buffoon, caused him to drop to the ground a few feet away from me.

Damn, guess I'm buying him a drink if I have the money for it. But that must've hurt, I'm a little shocked it had this much impact, I mean he dropped like a sack of potatoes.
He got up, wiped his nose, and threw the blood on the ground.

Ok, ok so he got up, worrying but only slightly. I held my stance and glared at him, now feeling a bit confident, I mean that was awesome wasn't it? Ok, don't get cocky now.

"That all you've got?!" Dammit can't I keep my mouth shut for once. Well, It does feel good to taunt, that much is obvious.

Then I saw the sight that chilled me to my chubby core, that motherfucker was wearing a huge, shit-eating grin on his face. Fuck me he's enjoying it so far isn't he? It seems I have found myself a masochist, and the best part about it is, that he is probably JUST as sadistic.

There was a brief silence between the two of us.

He continued without a word, instead deciding to charge me again, this time much faster though, I swung my blade in hope to catch him off guard while running, I missed though, or rather the guy dodged my blow with a swift movement towards the ground. I had no time to react after that, he swung his massive arm towards my abdomen.

Did you ever get punched so hard it made you wanna throw up? I definitely didn't, I instantly hurled as his fist shoved itself into the lower regions of my belly like a hammer into foam. There wasn't any vomit though, probably because I haven't eaten in forever, so I guess that could've been worse? I was just gasping for air right now.

No time to think about that though, I can't get distracted now.
After a second of doing nothing, I decided to fucking knee him in the chin since he was bent low.
The blow connected with a solid thud and my opponent went staggering back a few inches, falling on his hairy ass. Finally taking a deep breath.

God my belly is on fire, the pain is almost enough to make me throw this right here and now.
But mama raised no coward, so instead, I gave my best war cry and charged him this time. I ran towards the sitting Minotaur who was just getting up, seemingly surprised to see me, since he did not dodge my strike towards him.

I raised my massive sword over my head and slashed down, with the broad side of course.
It connected with his thick skull and let out a metallic ringing sound. That has to be it, I mean that HAS to be it.

I was once again proven wrong by the universe.
He was of course stunned after that, but then after some, time he stood up again like it was nothing. Except for the fact that there was blood coming out of his mouth now too.

"Good one," He said, huffing and puffing "actually gave me a headache there." He now swung his sword at me, using his full body weight for support. The swing was fast, and had directly aimed for my chest.

I swiftly brought my blade against his, the loud impact of the clash was ringing through my head.
Both of the blades swung back, I took the initiative and went for a low swing towards his right side, he swung also, deflecting the blade just before his torso. That left him open, so I decided to try something and side kicked his rib cage.

Somehow that worked too, it did help that he wasn't as tall as me though.
He once again staggered back, can't he just drop already?
The raging bull however did not intend on doing so.

I slashed downwards with the great sword, trying to end it for good.
Then he did something unexpected, he bashed it away with his blade, using his momentum to shoulder tackle me backward. Then he brought his sword up diagonally across my chest, slicing through my cloth and skin. I actually couldn't believe it. He cut me open, not so much that I could suffer serious effects, but I was bleeding and everything.

"Aaargh! You fucker!"
I was mad, literally livid right now, not only did it hurt like a bitch but he also broke my terms.
He is going down. I don't care about proving myself anymore, no I'm winning this.

That black piece of shit was again wearing this shit-eating grin. He let his guard down, he was getting cocky.
I just sprang in front of him, faster than I could've hoped and punched him in the throat, as hard as my flabby arms could muster. Which was surprisingly much?
He coughed and wheezed madly, understandable of course, but I'm not showing mercy now.

I smashed the handle of my sword against the side of his skull. He fell, still wheezing.
The pain in my chest, the mad rage I'm in right now and I currently had the upper hand, gave me another rush of energy.

This is awesome, I don't know why, but this is somehow fun, I've always wanted to fight someone with swords. The thrill, the pain, the satisfaction of beating the shit out of somebody. Yep, absolutely going Insane.

My opponent managed to get to one knee and started to laugh

"HAHA! Now you're fighting for real boy!" He said between laughs and coughs. Then, the massive mountain of hairy meat rose again, showing his bulging muscles and bleeding face.

"Come on! Bring it then!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Getting ready to charge again, and most importantly abandoning all reason and sanity.

"Aye Sergeant!" We both began to run at each other with as much that was left in us. The sweat that had build up on my forehead, now streaming over my whole face.

He charged again like a train on steroids, but silly me who was into it now did the same.
I spun around and let momentum carry my blade, it flew with speed and ferocity towards the charging beast.

He reacted just a split second before catching the blow with his sword. And thus our swords clashed. We stared each other down like two predators fighting over territory.

I released the hold, hopped back, and swung downwards with the Claymore.
He again caught it just before it could impact him.

He attacked from below, but I somehow managed to dodge his sword and land a kick in his stomach, though he seemed almost unfazed by it. Then the burning in my chest became more and more intense.
Now the hard part started, defending.
He started to pour down a barrage of attacks on me, left, parried, right parried, down, dodged that one, his swing from downwards came close to cutting me again, just gracing the remains of my shirt.

It was when he wanted to attack left again, that an idea hit me. Just as he was about to strike, I rammed my sword handle against his hand, disarming him. I reacted quickly, I kicked him in the gut again, so he was stunned.

Then I took my great sword and plunged the tip into his right shoulder, piercing his armor and flesh, earning me a yell of pain from him.
I then proceeded to throw myself, including the blade at him, so we both fell over.
He was still yelling, when I was on top of him and held my Claymore against his throat, putting just enough pressure against it to prove a point.

I then said. "Stay. Down." Nice, I always wanted to say that.

Fucking hell my whole body was aching. If I ever manage to get home somehow, I will tell the tale of how I, the dorky, short fatso have bested a beefed-up steak in battle.

Then I stood up and reached out my hand to the beaten warrior. He grasped it and I pulled him up.

Then, looking me in the eye again, he let out a hearty laugh. He then proceeded to hug me.

"Terry I like him, got a real fighter's spirit." He continued to crush my bones with his packs.

Oh happy day, just what I need after a beat down a sweaty, hairy man hug.

"Welcome to the squad, mate!" He finally let me down. Thank god almighty, I live another day.
"Aye," Said the now quite shocked looking fellow Minotaurs

"Well then, shall we make our way to the next town?" I asked out of breath.

"We most definitely shall! And now that you're joining us, we can take you to our base Melkor! I bet the boss will have great use for you. " Said Terry and an optimistic tone in his voice.

Ah, nice. It seems all you need to do here to get people to like you is to beat them to a pulp.

"Wait, join?-"

And that's how I somehow became a mercenary warrior.

from Dusk 'till Dorne

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I hate walking a lot. Now more than ever, considering it's been another 2 hours since we've set foot on the blazing horizon. Thankfully though, they have supplies like water, and I even got to eat some bread; now, I finally learn to appreciate small things. My flesh wound has been sloppily bandaged with some alcohol and some herbs I have no idea about, but let me tell you, It does not feel like putting on a fucking plaster. I have also abandoned my shoes and my shirt, the shoes because they were drowning in my gross sweat, and the shirt because it was hot enough already.

We came by some places that looked like they weren't designed to end your life, but instead seeming like life could and will flourish there. A mountain pass to our right, which had dirt and grass to some extend, a little stream that flows down the brown, smooth rocks. That was nice for a change.

But back to my problems!

I still don't know where I am or who these 'people' are exactly. Maybe I should ask. Yep, I'll do that; why didn't that come to mind earlier It's been like 3 hours already since I've met them.... and beat one of them half to death.
The heat was almost unbearable, and the sweat that was dripping into my fresh wound, making it sting like crazy, didn't help either.
I decided to break the ice with these guys and ask them about our current situation. Hey, What could go wrong? I mean, they willingly accepted me into.....whatever this is.

"So, I have several questions," I said.

"Aye? Oh well, ask away, we've got time." The brown Minotaur said while turning his head towards my direction.

"First of all, who exactly are you?" I think that question was appropriate, considering I would probably spend some time with these fine gentlemen.

Turning around with a smile on his face, he hit himself on the head; then, he got ready to answer the question.

"Of course, how could we forget to Introduce ourselves? Let me fill you in on the team! Well, there's the big guy with a hole in his shoulder, named Raging War. The best warrior of the Squad and our professional for heavy weapons. " He pointed to the black minotaur of the group.

The fellow he talked about didn't say anything, just weirdly smirked at me.... this guy seriously gives me goosebumps, and not the kind you'd want.

"Then we have Durant Steel." He gestured to the female walking beside him. "She is the one responsible for any kind of ranged combat. She has all of the bows and arrows and one heck of an aim."

She looked over and wore a big smile, "Nice to officially meet you, new guy!".

"And lastly, there's me, Reigning Terror, the brain behind the team, just lemme do your thinking, and all should be fine." He gave me a genuine smile; actually kind of nice to know these are decent people, I was kinda worried they would eat me at some point, but I think I can sleep at night without having to worry for my bowels.

The breeze that was slowly brushing against me and the others was actually relaxing and comforting, a nice exchange from the hell resort that I have been through these last few days. Having someone to talk to while also feeling protected is a really nice change of pace and one that I gravely needed.

We have walked for quite some time now again; the sun was slowly setting, the orange glow emitting from the distant horizon complimenting the distant mountain lines to our left. I have to give this place some credit for Its beautiful weather and sky; it surpasses the one I know.
Terry signaled for us to make rest near some trees that gave a little shade. Hell yeah, finally some shade on my aching loins.

War sat down and brought out his claymore. To no surprise, he started to sharpen it with a whetstone.
Steel just leaned against a tree while also checking her equipment and taking out something to nibble on.
I just rested on the ground next to a bush, which smelled pretty good. Like, an exotic flower, kind of hard to describe.
At least I'm traveling with the company now; this could have all turned out a lot worse.
Terry sat down beside War and pulled out a map, which immediately brought up my interest in the second question that I had.

"Where are we?" I know, I know, pretty fucking smart question. But I gotta learn about my surroundings somehow, don't I?

So he whipped around his map and showed me our current location. We are near some sort of river, and we are almost at our destination, it seems, hence the big red X marking our target. Nice, I could use some actual beds and hygiene.

"The place you are currently In Melkor is the land of refugees and outlaws, the great land of Orin, ruled by Diamond dog organizations which are hated by everyone with a burning passion" He then spat on the ground. "Fucking greedy bastards. We are currently traveling to the town of Dorne, the filthiest piece of land you'll ever find anywhere, But It's our home, which lies an hour or two north-east. Once we are there, we'll meet up with the rest of our Warband, and you can officially join us in our mercenary quests. As of now, you are not hired yet; you'll need to prove yourself to the chieftain, but don't worry, we'll handle that for you." Terry said, smiling at me.

"When you are assigned to a squad, you can choose a weapon and a set of armor, we look out for each other, kid, and once you're part of the family, we will protect each other until the ends of the world."

He gave me a reassuring look, with a stern look in his eyes.

Somehow I kinda liked the thought of a life like this, friends everywhere and watching out for each other, meanwhile getting to live the adventures I have always dreamed of.
And of course, I can use them for my success and stuff; I think I will enjoy my stay in this world from now on. My motivations are simple, live my life to the fullest.
I reached into the bag they gave me and pulled out a bottle of water; I had a sip and stared into the distance and the setting sun, ah how I enjoyed this little moment right now.

Weird feeling being in a new land and all that stuff, but you know, I just gotta roll with it for now, and the idea seems pretty fun. My chest pain was almost gone too.
I wish I had a guitar to play in moments like this, but sadly I never really learned it, a shame really; I love the guitar, hmm, maybe someday. But as of now, I'll have to be content with what I've got.

It has gotten dark by now; we packed our stuff and got ready to move again; it actually wasn't that cold, considering the nights in a desert are supposed to be freezing.

Terry took out a torch and held his hand above it.

"Ignite" Just when he said that, his hand lit up, and a small fireball came out, igniting the torch. What the actual fuck?

I was just standing there with my jaw on the ground; he turned to me and let out a snarky laugh, "What's the matter, kid, never seen magic before?" He asked me in a joking way.

"No, I didn't believe it existed; where I come from, there is no such thing as magic. A legend at best." I just was at a loss for words.
I wanna learn that. I soooo want to learn that.

So, of course I was instantly in his face.

"Can you teach me?" I said in the most hopeful tone I could possibly muster.

"Huh? You wanna learn magic? Most people look ill upon it, you know?" He said, his voice concerned.

"I was never so sure about anything in my life!" I was bursting with envy and enthusiasm.

I always had a thing for magic back in America; oooh, the days of Skyrim being just a dream are finally over; I'm gonna git gud in this world! This is literally a dream come true for me. Imagine all of the possibilities.

"Well, if you're this determined, who am I to deny a young novice his wish?" I could kiss this guy right now, but I should probably not, I doubt these guys are Italian.

"Thank you, Reigning Terror!" I said as genuinely as I could and gave him a warm smile.

"No problem, kid!" He gave me a smile in return. "You can call me Terry, by the way."

We then marched into the night and onto our destination, the moon, which I saw surprisingly little during the rest of my stay here in Orin, funny actually since I am a person who enjoys a night when it's at its best the stars ignite the sky.

Huh...
Where is all this poetry coming from? Sometimes I surprise and scare myself.

As we walked, we once again wandered through seemingly endless hills and hills of sand and rock, nothing but sand and rock and occasionally dirt. But as we walked, flora and fauna grew richer as we went by land.
More interesting sights to see, like a formation of rocks, housed a cave full of glowing mushrooms or some fungus. We walked further and soon came across a small stream that was filled with all sorts of amphibians, like toads or snakes. It's Interesting how lively it becomes once you change the habitat.
I drank some of the water while also looking out not to swallow any lifeforms.

We continued along the river, and It was pitch black now, except for the occasional star.

At some point, I began to see some lights glowing not so far in the distance, must be a campfire, so I told my companions about it.

"Guys, there's a campfire to our left, it could be bandits or something like that." I pointed out while tapping on Terry's shoulder

He turned around and looked me in the eye; not sure what to make of this situation, I kept quiet.
He seemed to think about the situation, about the pros and cons, you know what I mean.

"Good thinking Melkor, if they spot us, they might chase or hunt us down; it's best if we surprise them. Thought like a real mercenary kid, you're learning fast!" He unsheathed his falchion while War just grabbed his claymore, and Steel took out her bow.

"Guys, do you have a spare weapon?" I asked the group.

"Here, you can have this." War just tossed me a katana, a slightly short one, but I won't complain.

"Give it back though. You'll get your own weapon once we're back home, brother." He gave me a wink... ugh.

Terry signaled for all of us to get low and slowly move over to the bonfire.
We covered the ground between us and the camp pretty slowly.

God above, am I really gonna experience my first real fight right now? I am scared and anxious, but also pretty excited.
I just gotta try and take out some of these guys stealthy, as Solid Snake would.
And no stepping on twigs or something like that, clumsy as I am, it wouldn't surprise me, though.

Steel positioned herself about 25 meters away on a hill where she had a perfect overview of the camp.
While we still crept forward towards the campsite.

We lay down in the sand, and we saw the full site.

Terry and War analyzed the situation.

"Yup, rouge diamond dogs, carrying gold and gems around. About eight of em'. We can take them easily, if Steel gives us to cover, It will be a breeze." Said our tactical leader.

There was a lightly armored dog standing guard next to the fire. The rest were sleeping in their tents or resting against the treasure.

"Steel will take out the guard; if he alarms the others before he dies, use the confusion and kill as many as you can, got it?" He looked at me, waiting for my response.
"Got it" I nodded with eagerness.

Then it all began; I drew my katana and waited for Terry's signal.

He raised his hand, and Steel shot her arrow; it soared through the sky so fast, it was almost impossible to see.
It hit its mark, with a gross wet sound the arrow pierced the neck of the canine, and he released a horrible sound, before falling with to the ground like a wet sack.

Then we started our offensive.
I jumped up from my position and hopped over the dead guard, and I locked onto my target.

I sprinted towards the one nearest to my position; he was just waking up. Poor bastard, I jumped up with my katana facing downwards; he only got one glimpse at me before I penetrated his chest with my stab, leaving him breathless and dead before I knew it. Holy shit, I just killed someone! No time to think about it! Stay focused.

I sheathed my short blade and took his bastard sword, which had a better weight and length.
War was in a fight with two of them, while Terry tossed aside another dead one.
Now the whole camp had been woken up, and this was the part where things got fun.

I quickly rushed to the help of War, as I got tackled by a brown mutt, with some heavier armor on; this one was made out of strong leather. He pinned me to the ground, and my arms tried to hold him off, but he was too heavy, like for a dog. He tried to bite my neck and shoulders, but I was holding against him with my sword.

"You bastards attack our camp? Those are our gems! You will die!" He screamed at me while his breath and saliva made me nauseous.

I reached to my side and found my katana in its sheath; while he tried to chew my face off, I grabbed the blade and rammed it into the side of his ribs. He howled in pain and lost focus of the moment; that's when I kicked him off me, he crashed into a tent.

I quickly got up and ran towards him, he shook the blow off, but I was too fast this time, I gave a good slash with the sword. I hit the throat of the bastard, and blood was gushing out like crazy. He tried to fight back, but then he just fell over dead. God, I have a talent for this. Or these guys are just shit; it could also be the case.

I quickly shrugged my morals off and turned around to see that War was grabbing one of the dogs by the windpipe.
The other one of the attackers had an arrow stuck in his back. As I searched for Terry, the gruesome sound of a windpipe being crushed filled my ears. Dammit, I didn't want a bloodbath this early; I just thought we should make sure they miss us.

Another one rushed towards me, this one white, he held a spear in his hands.
You could really tell he was about to shit himself; genuine terror was written all over his face.

He poked the tip towards me, but I sidestepped it and brought my sword down, slamming it to the ground.
Looking down, he gulped and ran towards me, screaming all the while.

As he got closer, I readied my sword and stepped forward, Impaling the poor dog.
The bandit didn't realize he was being pierced by a sword and just tried to get to me, so I pulled the sword out, and he tried to lunge at me again, his guts and blood now showing.

That normally works in video games, but he's still alive.

He coughed up blood, and his march came to an end. While letting out a ghostly whiff, he too fell to the ground.
Terry came from the back of the big camp and brought out a severed head; oh god, come on, this is tasteless!

"That's all of em!" He said. "Good job, team! Especially you, Melkor. Are those tactics from back home? You're a natural." He smiled at me. And then he broke my back with his hand, no I'm just kidding, but the pain from that back pat was Insane.

I have to say, accomplishing something like this really fills me with confidence, fear, and, somehow joy.
And knowing that I'm not going to be all alone makes this a lot easier to adapt to.

War came out of a tent, looking down.

"I only got one kill; what's the deal with that? And they were total pushovers! I alone could have taken dozens of these babies down! Damn diamond dogs, it's like I'm fighting children!" He was pretty frustrated about that, huh. You could see on his face that it actually bothered him; this guy has some issues to figure out yeesh.

Steel joined us too, and we began to loot.
There was quite a bit of gold and jewelry, we split them. I got about a hundred pieces of gold, and all the rubies, which were 25.

"Come on guys, Dorne is just behind that hill back there!" Steel gestured to a certain location, and we then continued our journey. The coolness of the night began to slowly fade away, and the blood on my body began to dry.

The sun was rising, and the warmth of the day came back to us, filling my spirits with energy, although I am pretty tired from walking and fighting so much. I have fought now with these guys, and I will continue my story from here on, with them probably. I really hope I can trust them.
We then climbed the hill, and we saw the city of thieves and criminals.

"There you have it, kiddo, Dorne, you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy." Said Terry, in a weirdly familiar way. We then proceeded to walk towards it.

The city stretched pretty far for a criminal hive; it seemed like there were at least a few thousand lowlifes located here.
There was a crude wooden wall around it, and the gate was guarded by dogs clad in armor that looks like it has been in use for quite some time already. Overall these guys did not seem motivated OR qualified to be on guard, as half of them weren't even paying attention to us approaching.

After a few glances and stares from the guards, we entered the city gates. I was immediately reminded of the slums in India or Brazil, not the kind of place where you'd raise your kids but also not the worst thing possible, but one could tell that this particular town was filled with a lot of shifty individuals.

Somehow I didn't feel as uncomfortable as I probably should have, which may sound weird but I have definitely seen worse, ever seen a german public bathroom? Ugh...

Of course, when you are the only human around you get all kinds of weird stares pointed at you, overall I had a bad feeling about this place. Just a big old uneasiness creeping down my spine.
We made it into a dark and shifty alleyway. Great, this is how robberies start, BUT then again we are armed.
We didn't get much to see of the cities at all except the dirty streets and the smelly bars until we've reached our destination.
Before I stood a pretty big building, like an old Mexican villa but very worn down, and decorated to the brim with trophies and skulls and other charming decors.
We then entered, and it didn't take long before I was immediately greeted by about 50 other Minotaur's who stared at me like I was the next big attraction at the zoo.

And I thought, well this is going to be fun!

Fresh Meat

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As I continued to be stared at by a few tons of weapons and muscle, a certain kind of fear has overcome me, the kind of fear you only get when being stared at by someone who seems suspicious of you. Now imagine that fear times fifty, and each one of them could easily kill you.... yeah what fun. I have been in these types of scenarios before just never this, well intense. Goddammit, what have I gotten myself into again? Do I have some sort of death wish? Well, I guess this would be better compared to slowly starving and, or dying of thirst way out in the desert. It was my idea in the first place to join the talking cows, good thinking you fucking idiot! *sigh* I just hope I'll manage to survive today.

Think about it, how could I, a complete foreigner, a species of which they have never even heard of nor probably ever see one, compelling to these brutes? I gotta think of something clever, something dashing, something only a genius could think of!

I didn't have anything.

'Dammit!'

So after a few moments of silence and quite a lot of awkward tension and menacing stares, Terry started walking towards his fellow minotaurs, and somehow I felt relieved, would he stand up for me? Will he protect me from the quite possible mauling that awaits me? I'm sure Terry has got a solid plan to explain this situation and introduce me to the gang, after all, they might just be wary because they have never seen someone as handsome and charming as me, yeah that should be it.

As a deafening shout filled the halls...

"WE HAVE BROUGHT FRESH MEAT FOR THE HORDE!" Terry stated in a pretty calm manner. dude my ears!

Great, wow just feed me to them already, they look hungry enough! Fucking asshole, what a great senpai he is...
there is no way that bullshit will work though-

My line of thought was suddenly interrupted by an enormous cheering and chanting from the entire hall.
"BRING THE LIQUOR!!" They yelled

Well, guess I was wrong.

After a few hours of drinking, shouting, and getting to know each other, Melkor did seem to fit in well enough, he was damn tall, the Minotaurs were also pretty tall. He liked fighting, the Minotaurs liked fighting. It was because of this that the tension was easy to break and fun was allowed to be had. He made a few new acquaintances. Like Jerb the Rock, who was by far the tallest of the bunch and towered over Melkor like a, well like a tower. He was big and gray, and also the leader of his own squadron, just like Terry.
Jerb and Melkor instantly liked each other and they drank like no other in the mansion that day.

Our protagonist did quite well for his first impression, he even got challenged to a duel by the master of arms, after he had heard of War's defeat at the hands of young Melkor. Of course, both Melkor and Sheathed Blade were quite too drunk to hold a proper duel so it was rescheduled. Terry, War, and Steel did take quite a liking to the Human over the past few days, he had guts, was quite capable, and he had manners. It was that night that Terry went to the boss and signed up Melkor for the horned Dragon mercenary association, as a member of his Squad. And so he finally belonged to the group.

The next morning was quite tough for our hero though.

"Goooood fucking, Jesuuus, what was that brown liquid? I never thought I could get this drunk!" He complained to no one in particular.

"I'll never drink again." He stood up and took in his surroundings, most minotaurs had gone somewhere else or were cleaning up the mess they had made, the big hall was in quite a bad shape after the occasional roughhousing of tonight's activities. But worst was definitely the smell, the smell was quite bad. The scent of alcohol, sweat, and vomit did not mix well together.

The boy took a look at himself and was quite surprised. "Where the fuck are my pants!? Oh god nooo..." he had feared the worst or rather the wurst.

He started to look for something to hide his magic sword. The Hall they were partying in just a few hours ago seemed to be quite massive. He had not noticed its entire scale before. The decorations were a bit strange, to say the least, these guys sure liked to stuff large predators and collect all kinds of weapons in their hall, Melkor ended up finding a pair of shorts that somewhat looked like his, only more torn and ripped, and kind of wet, ew.

'better than walking around with my junk out and about' he thought and put on his trousers to hide his shame.

He then sat down and poured himself some water. Shortly after he had found his pants, Terry walked in and looked at him with the kind of smile that would immediately piss you off.

"Well, well, it seems like you have finally awoken youngling. How are ya holding up?" He said with a laugh

"Oh shut up you old mule, I'm just not used to the strong liquor you guys have got, it's way too strong for me to handle right now, I've never drunk anything like it! Especially that brown stuff. What's it called again?"

"Brinsbury Whiskey, the best kind in all of Orin. Be grateful you could have any, some folk would kill for this stuff." His tone was quite hurt, maybe even insulted.

"Yeah alright, I'm sorry Terry. I did not think you guys were suckers for the fine stuff." Melkor said jokingly.

"Not a problem kid, you're a horned dragon now! We'll take missions again starting tomorrow!" Terry said gleefully.

"Oh that's right, I'm an official member now! When do I get my equipment?" He was quite excited about having some adventures with his new pals. How could he not? This was always the sort of life he had wanted back home, he envied the heroes in movies who would go on epic quests and fight grand battles.
For him, this was a dream come true.

"Right now, that's why I'm here to pick you up kiddo," Terry said. "We are heading for the armory, I'll buy you some new armor, but you gotta pay for the weapon yourself, that clear?"

"Chrystal, sir!"

They walked through the place and had a little talk about the town. It was known for being a hive of outlaws, crooks, bounty hunters, mercenaries, and other types of scum. "There ain't no one in this town who can't kill someone" that's how Terry phrased it.

The horned dragon association was the only Guild who was approved of by the town lord, Dreyfuss Rex, a corrupt ruler who did not give a damn about Dorne and ruled with an iron fist. He has quite a defensive force stationed at the city due to it being quite far away from the next outpost and also near the border to the neighboring country, which Orin was apparently at war with, a country run by centaurs and satyrs or something, either way, Melkor didn't care.

He and Terry entered the armory and encountered Sheyla, a female Griff on with red and yellow feathers that wove a beautiful tapestry of colors on her person, who ran this smithy which was also the local weapons shop.

"Terry, what is that bird doing here?" Melkor asked him quietly.

"Never seen a griffon before have ya?" Terry whispered back "That's Sheyla, she runs the armory and happens to be the best blacksmith in town." He stated boldly. Such a statement would have been true had it not been for the poor funds she had been getting recently, dampening her mood and souring her equipment.

"And you better remember it!" She said. She had a pretty gruff voice for something so feeble.

"Melkor, the newest member of the Terror assault squad, nice to meet you." Melkor bowed 'since when can birds talk? This place is getting weirder and weirder, what's next, talking magical unicorns?'

Terry interrupted his train of thought "The boy needs a weapon."

"How much has he got?" She eyed him up and down. He couldn't quite tell

"About a hundred gold pieces." He pulled them out of his bag.

"That's about enough for some standard swords and maybe a bow, nothing special though boy, you'll have to make do with standard equipment." Sheyla said in an unenthusiastic manner.

"I've also got these rubies" Melkor proceeded to take them out of his bag, letting them spill all over the counter, much to Sheylas enjoyment, letting her eyes lit up like stars.

"Now that'll get you farther, with that much you could have any weapon I have in store." She smiled at the sight of the shimmering gemstones.

"I think I'll have the finest sword you have right now." He said confidently, while also crossing his arms, already smiling with joy.

The griffon walked to the back of her store and brought out a pretty big sword in a pretty unique style, with a nice handle to protect the hand and a shining silvery blade. Despite its design, it is quite large and has a grip capable of being gripped by two hands.

It was indeed a beautiful sword made with passion and personality. Melkor did enjoy looking upon it, and he could already picture himself with it.

"This is my personal creation, it will cost you all your rubies and fifty gold pieces." She said proudly.

"DONE!" and so Melkor did indeed buy himself the finest sword in the shop, ready to be tested out.

Terry looked at him and smiled. "I hope you don't lose that thing, it was quite expensive after all but damn if it isn't impressive" he eyed the blade once more "We'll be going now feathers!" And so Terry and Melkor left, while Sheyla threw something after them, perhaps she did not like the nickname given to her by Terry.

After getting his new weapon, and meeting a new species, Melkor had already forgotten about how badly this day started.

"I really like this sword, I think it suits me." He commented towards Terry.

"It does, it is unique, so are you. By the way, how do you like it here? Is this place much different than where you are from?" The bull asked, "I imagine it must be quite...... difficult getting used to 'us' hehe, you held up pretty good last night though!"

"Oh shut up, I'm doing juuust fine. Dorne is quite like a few places back at home, though it can be a bit smelly in comparison."
The Human started to look a bit downcast after thinking about home, it was a very quick change of pace and he never really said goodbye, he could never go back and talk to his loved ones. He could never see them again..... Not even having said goodbye was kinda tough.

'I just have to forget who I was and I'll be fine. I am Melkor now and I'll make the best of this new life, maybe I'll conquer the world or something haha.' he joked in his head, there always was this little Bonaparte in him that had fueled his complex for power.

Terry seemed to notice the obvious frown on Melkors face, when an Idea hit him, "Haven't I promised you to teach you magic? I can evaluate your proficiencies back at the old magus tower if you want."

"OH sure, I totally forgot! Alright, let's do some magic n' shit!" Melkor instantly perked up and swung his shirtless, now pretty firm body towards Terry, perhaps with a little too much excitement as he nearly tripped.

Feeling down was a daily routine back at home for him, he had not been the most handsome, he was quite short, not to mention all the vicious friendzoning he was a victim of. He was really looking forward to learning about magic, and getting new clothes, but mostly magic.

"Listen, Terry." He said.

"What is it, kid?"

"I just want you to know how grateful I am for taking me in and everything, I've lost my people, my stuff, even myself in that desert, if it weren't for you I would have never made it. So thank you, Terror."

Terry just looked at him and smiled, he had not expected such a comment as of now.
"Since when were you this gay kiddo?" He let out bluntly.

"Fuck you old man," Melkor replied with a smile.

The early morning has turned into an afternoon by now, and it has come that all the leftovers were eaten, the last cups were drunk and even the tiniest bit of remaining vomit was cleaned from the halls. Melkor made a lot of plans deciding what to do with his magical powers and imagined where his true potential would lie within this world.

He also made plans to get a new set of clothes tailored, his pants were gross and his shirt just a torn piece of cloth by now.

Melkor gazes into the future with confidence and hope.
Oh if he only knew what would await him

A Hero without Might but with a little Magic

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Well to start this off, Melkor did not have the slightest idea of how magic worked in this world, for him, magic was about pressing a button and then seeing how the character on the screen did some magical stuff, so he went into this kind of thing without any prior knowledge of anything, although he had no lack of excitement that's for sure. He almost lost his cool on several occasions, I mean, he rarely kept his cool anyway. Overall he was just trying not to look like a little kid inside of a toy store filled with free stuff.

And so Mel and Terry walked towards the magical tower or as much of a magical tower as you could get within this shithole of a Mansion. One could describe this place as dusty and run down, looking at the old paintings and the cobwebs all around the place, perhaps one could even say it was forgotten at some point. Walking through spiderwebs, walls of dust and filth would certainly scare some people off. The human didn't care about all this though, he just wanted 'ze magicks' and he wanted to use them in an epic fuckfest of explosions and gloriousness.

'I really hope I get something cool, maybe dark powers! Or zapping people with Lightning!.....In time you will call me MASTER!' His thoughts trailed off, while he was grinning from ear to ear. Mel started to get a slight spring in his step, bouncing up and down, while doing his best not to giggle like a little girl. A few odd glances were all he received from his new teacher. Terry was, to be honest kind of awkward around the frilly human, he was really not the best at magic and most definitely not the best at teaching. He had spent many years studying the blade to such a masterful degree, that he didn't need magic to kill someone, so he used it very sparingly. There is an overall disdain towards magic in Dorne and the surrounding cities.

They climbed the stairs for a while, and soon found themselves at the top. "This is some tower you have here."
Mel said, while also trying not to let the Minotaur catch on that he had to catch his breath. A nod was all he got as a response though. He went on to look outside the window, gazing at the city down below him.
He was up quite a bit, at least thirty meters or so, luckily he wasn't afraid of heights. While looking down he also noticed that the streets were mostly abandoned, strange for such an urban town he thought. 'Well, I mean, could be normal for this region or this world I don't know their lives.' he shrugged it off and waited silently for Terry to open the door.

Quite a minute passed while Terry was looking for the keys to the door, and an awkward silence was unavoidable.
Then after a little while, the daydreaming human had heard a lock turning and the cracking of old wood, it seems Terry did find the required key and had opened the door while Melkor was thinking about his cool new magic powers.

As they went inside, quite a lot of rats escaped the room and startled poor Melkor, who cried out in surprise. "WAAah!" He let out a manly yell of manliness.

"You alright there kiddo?" Terry asked.

"Yeah, yeah sorry. Just slightly nervous and a bit pent up about this whole magic thing n' stuff hehe. Where I come from, there is zero to none of it and it is generally believed to be a myth, so you'll have to excuse my excitement, Terry. Are you certain I could use it?" The Human sheepishly grinned hoping for a positive answer.

There was a long sigh. "Kiddo I don't know jack about your species so we'll just have to find out." He stepped inside the mysterious room and lit a few candles with a match. It had been abandoned for quite some time it seems. "I and only a few others are the only ones who have any interest in the subject of magic so our old magus tower soon was abandoned. You'll have to excuse the spider webs and the many books lying around." He then found a chair to sit in and opened a very old looking book. "Here, this thing is called Magic for everyone." He coughed a few times and put on some reading glasses. "Take a seat son, this might take a while."

So Melkor sat down with high expectations.

"So basically, there are two kinds of magic users in this world, the channelers and the bound. The channelers have some sort of object or body part, from which they channel their magic. Unicorns for example, or changelings. The bound are you and I, the casters bound to the restrictions of their bodies and affinity for magic. Your affinity determines the magic you can cast. For example I have an affinity for earth and fire magic, that is a double affinity, not rare but most people only have one. Channelers are not bound by these restrictions though, because they can use their channeling object, understand?"

Melkor nods vigorously.

Terry just rolls his eyes and continues. "So to test your affinity, you have to place your hand on this." He pulls out a giant glass sphere from out of nowhere and puts it on the ground. "This will sense your magical energy and tell you which kind of magic you can use."

Melkor went forth and gulped for a second. "This is not going to hurt is it? I have a gut feeling that this could hurt." He turned around to face Terry who just took his hand and slammed it down onto the globe and immediately you could see sparks flying everywhere, as well as an electric sound that came from the orb.

Melkor cringed at the sudden forcefulness and he yelped as the glowing sparks went flying towards his face. Shortly after he opened his eyes again and saw that the orb was glowing in a crimson red, while being surrounded by small bursts of red electricity. Melkor just stared in amazement.

"Terry what does this mean exactly?" He tried to figure out which element could be related to such a pure red.

Terry just looked in disbelief. As he tried to get a better look inside the bowl, he scratches his beard.
"Judging from the Lightning and the clouds, this should be storm magic. But the color isn't right."
He just got up and started to look around in the massive assessment of books that were just laying around.
There had to be something related to this. Right?

As Melkor grew more and more worried and even annoyed, the orb started to shake, and the glowing and lightning started to intensify.

Terry came out of the pile of books, holding a particularly dusty one in his hands.
"Found something, that could help." He opened it and pointed towards a page, while also putting on reading glasses.

"The issue is simple, you are experiencing the rare phenomenon that your magic is fused," Terry says as he continues to point at the orb. "You clearly have an affinity for storm magic, but also for fury magic, so both of them, somehow fused together."

"So what you're saying is... I can shoot angry lightning?" Melkor looked confused for a while, but then his expression brightened again. "Angry lightning sounds Awesome!" He proclaimed.

Terry just sighed at the presentation of stupor unfolding before him. "No, dumbass it means that you both have storm magic, and fury magic, but both are connected and thus enhanced!"
He takes a breath and calms down, this time speaking with less power in his voice.
"Storm magic is the evolution of lightning magic and thus, is really powerful and can be used for offense. Fury magic is the evolution of rage magic and is very rare, it basically strengthens your body and enhances your strength, the angrier you get, the two are connected somehow, I just don't know what the effect will be." Terry shrugs and closes the book.

Melkor just looks like he has heard the most awesome news ever. Well, this was the most awesome news ever to him! He was a mage, with powerful lightning and stuff!!

"Oh god, I just don't know how to process this... How do I do magic exactly?"

"You start out by Imagining the desired effect of your spell, the next thing you do is assigning that spell to a word from which you shall release it, at least for your storm magic, the fury magic should activate on its own, now that you know of it. The power or effectiveness of your spell depends on your will or your emotions."

Terry raised his hand and focused. Melkor started to watch closely.
There was a glow coming from his palm, that grew bigger and bigger, then Terry said "TORCH," and his hand was ablaze with a great flame, that burned with passion.

"This is pretty much the extent of my magic power since I rarely use it, but you, you have potential kid." He smiled at Melkor.

Melkor was just amazed, and he started to grin widely. "I want to try." He got up from his chair and focused his mind...

He Imagined the lightning striking forward, in a powerful zap. As he felt it was ready, he yelled "Shock!" and the lightning went loose, or so he wanted.

What came out of Melkor's palm was little more than a cute, little spark, that singed the wooden floor a bit.
Terry wanted to laugh a bit but tried to hold it in. A few chuckles were still heard.

"Hey quit it, I'm just starting out, you prick." The laughing continued, as the minotaur in the room kept growing louder and louder.
"hehe... sorry. That was just so SHOCKING." and now he just fully went bananas and lost his cool. He was laughing like crazy now, how dare he? This actually made Mel angry.

"Fuck you, old man." Melkor hadn't noticed that his skin started emitting steam and that his body grew hotter.

"Whoa, there cowboy you should watch your temper." As Terry noticed his new pupil was steaming from his body, and emitting quite a bit of heat, he stopped his laughter and held his hands up defensively. "Calm down, I didn't mean anything by it."

Melkor was confused as to why the old man had started backing down until he saw his image in a mirror, and gasped in awe. 'I look handsome when I'm angry, lemme try something...' Melkor then turned around and fixed his gaze upon an old dresser, that was pretty much empty.

"What are you doing kiddo?" Terry asked worriedly.

Melkor just took a breath and raised his hand. He brought it down with superhuman speed, and the old wood of the dresser gave away beneath his strike. He also shouted something stupid while cleaving the dresser in half.

Upon seeing his new strength, Melkor was overcome with joy, and all of his anger instantly vanished.
"DID YOU SEE THAT??!!" He yelled with too much ecstasy escaping his throat.

"Yeah, that was awesome, but why did you shout...ora while doing it?"

"You wouldn't get it, Terry, that is reserved for people with good taste, who can also punch things."
He just smirked, knowing that reference was stupid, but he owned all of the references from back home, so he had to respect some of them.

"Okay... let's just go down and grab something to eat, shall we? You can train more than enough in your spare time, you've also got that duel with Sheathed Blade coming up tomorrow, so be sure to get ready."

Oh shit, he totally forgot to agree to duel the biggest and worst minotaur of them all, of course Melkor didn't think twice about the issued challenge when he was drunk. That which hath made him drunk hath also made him bold, and stupid. So he was dreading tomorrow.

Melkor just kept silent as he followed Terry in shame, oh what a day it had been.
And what a day tomorrow shall be.

Street Patrols and broken Bones

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So, Melkor has magic, it is also magic that can be quite powerful when used in the right manner, he thought about it all night, while also trying to conjure more than just a few sparks out of his hands.
To be honest, he was quite overwhelmed by the whole situation, he knew he wanted strong and awesome magic, so why was he so confused as to what to do with it? Yesterday had been quite a lot to take in, him having some type of super rare magic effect, that no one in the whole association had any idea about, and the whole affair of him having to fight Sheathed Blade. Not to mention the god awful food that evening, he absolutely despised Brussel sprouts, and guess what, dinner was ALL Brussel sprouts. Overall, an interesting day for him, but also not too great.

He didn't get quite enough sleep either since he was a little overeager to master his powers. Of course, it's stupid to think that he can master it over night, but let the man dream dammit!

Other than the problem of doing magic right, was how to survive today, Melkor hadn't planned to be fighting again today, at least not against the master of fucking arms. So he woke up and immediately greeted the morning by punching a wall. He wasn't in super angry power mode, so it hurt quite a bit. "OW fuck." He muttered angrily. He glanced around his room a bit.

It wasn't as bad as you would think, it had some nice dressers, a few shelves for books and quite a lot of pots for plants he did not yet have. There was also a cozy bed and the fact that he didn't have to share it with one of his new brethren.

After waking up Mel decided to do some morning exercise, which continued for some time until he was exhausted and gasping for air. He got up and wiped his sweat with a towel, before brushing his teeth. Yeah, imagine how surprised he was to find out these savages cared for their dental hygiene.
"Man, I still don't know shit about this place."
He looked at himself in the mirror before taking a small razor out of a drawer.

Clean-shaven, and exercised, he put on the new clothes Terry gave him. They were way too wide for him now, but at least it was better than the naked alternative.
After putting on the rest of his new armament, and attaching his new sword to its scabbard, he went downstairs towards the main hall of the Horned Dragon Association.

In the dining area there was not as much commotion as he expected to be. Actually, apart from the five other people, there was only his new friend Jerb, sitting in silence.

"What's up big stuff," Melkor called out to him. He strolled over to the giant grey minotaur and sat beside him, with a plate full of corn and bread.
"Hey Melkor, what's up?" He greeted the human with a big smile, seems he was all alone until now.
"Nothing much just woke up, did some workout, you know. The usual. But what's going on here? Where is everybody? Isn't now supposed to be breakfast time?" He looked around again to confirm his suspicion.

"Well, most members have some type of job to do, or they are on assignments. My squad is currently being treated in the medical wing after that incident with the Griffins of west Dorne. Nasty stuff I tell ya, never ever steal a griffin's eggs, especially not the eggs of a group. Never seen anything move so fast in my life." He shudders and shakes, probably imagining the horrors he saw in that situation.

"I think, it's better if I don't hear about it." Melkor just took a bite out of his cob of corn. "Why were you stealing eggs anyway?" He wondered while chewing.

"Money of course, city consul Dreyfuss wanted those eggs so he could raise them for his troops." He took a mouthful of his food, which seemed to be some sort of stew then continued to speak afterward,

"They make great warriors if they are trained properly. Because of their ability to fly and their talons and stuff. A force with griffins is superior to a force without them. So he paid us about 500 gold for each egg we managed to deliver to him."

Melkor chocked after hearing the price. That was a lot of potential money from just one job. He had to cough a few times to speak again. "So how much did you get in total?" He eyed his grey friend with interest, while also trying his best to chew his food with caution now. He had no interest in dying to corn, at least not yet.

"3.000" Jerb answered nonchalantly while also continuing to eat without sparing the impressed Mel a glance.

The human just gulped, that was actually quite a sum. He imagined what kind of awesome gear he could get himself. He just had to make some money and train so he could live a great life. God knows he had no intention to stay in this shithole of a town, which was also in the middle of a bloody desert forever.

"Yeah, it was a good job offer, but quite the risky one. The reward could have been higher if you ask me." His gaze shifted over to Melkor, who was still deep in thought and stroking his stubble.
"Anyway, what about you? Has your team got any assignments yet? The Terror squad has always been great at causing chaos wherever they go. And you seem to be as at least as destructive as the other ones." He then smiled and gave Melkor a pat on the back that knocked him back into existence.

"Oh, yeah I guess so. Back home I was a simple Seargent who accompanied caravans and stuff." Melkor had to make all of this backstory shit up on the go since he had to have a believable story, he couldn't just do the old 'I lost all my memories' bit, although some of these buffoons would probably fall for it.

"This kind of work suits me a lot better I think. It's also a lot more exciting." He then gave Jerb an ambiguous look and clenched his fist.

Jerb then laughed with his thunderous voice that could rival that of any movie trailer voice ever. After regaining his composure after a few moments, the bull stopped and put his massive hand on Mel's shoulder.
"I'm just glad you took this change of pace so well shorty. I hope we'll fight alongside each other many times my brother." He then got up and began to strap his weapons back on, by god there were a lot of weapons.

"Well, I gotta go on my patrol now." He started to walk out. "WAIT!" Melkor called out louder than he wanted. "um, could I accompany you? I have to kill some time until my duel tonight, and I actually wanted to see the city and go outside for a bit, If that is ok with you." He asked kindly.

Jerb casually smiled and then gave a nod.

The sun shone brightly over Dorne on this morning, much too brightly if you asked Melkor. High heat was not something he was particularly fond of, especially when combined with walking and wearing thick clothes. The streets were actually not that active this time of day, of course, he saw a few patrols of the local diamond dog consul, but other than that, inhabitants were a rare sight. Even if he saw someone, he was met with either an intense stare of hatred or just plain confusion as to what the frick he was. The people he actually saw weren't talkative either, they mostly just sat in silence at their market-stands or just walked hastily down the street, only to make a turn into one of the many alleys and hidden passages that graced the city. Infrastructure was not something you could expect in Dorne, the place was a mess, confusing street layouts, organized as well as unorganized crime everywhere and the buildings just looked like they could fall down any moment. Dorne was a filthy place, and that was putting it kindly.

Melkor and Jerb had been walking for just five minutes now and already he regretted his decision of patrolling with him. He was particularly shaken when he learned that these patrols Jerb takes, could actually take multiple hours. Because he would get lost without the big guy, the choices were to endure this boring stroll through filthy and unfriendly streets, OR get buttfucked by strangers in an alley.

Both options were awful in their own right but Melkor decided to follow the minotaur and keep walking with him.

"Sooo Jerb," Mel was trying to start a casual conversation. "how long have you been part of the H.D.A?"

The tower glanced over his shoulder and down to Melkor, while also maintaining his pace. "Well, I don't exactly remember when I joined, I was but a young lad back then, about your height." He answered with a snicker.

"Oh haha, very funny you tall freak. You and that drunkard Sheathed Blade are the only ones that are actually taller than me, so you must be an abnormality to the others." Melkor countered. He hadn't exactly noticed but he did seem a bit taller than he was back home, his arms and legs seemed longer than they have been, his whole physique also seemed... longer. He didn't think of it other than just his imagination or that everything in this world was just smaller than on earth. But maybe this strange dimensional rift or whatever it was, made him taller somehow? As weird as that sounds.

Melkor was lost in thought, so he didn't manage to catch everything of the story his friend started to tell him.
"When I was a lad I ate four dozen eggs, every morning to help me get large. I just wanted to be the strongest guy around, it has been my dream and goal since I escaped my mother's womb. When the blazing heat of Orin touched my soft fur, I didn't cry no I shouted a warcry louder than a dragons roar." He told this with such intensity and passion that he lost himself in his story and didn't notice the merchants stand he walked right into.

A loud bang was heard, and dozens of nice pots and other fragile merchandise was shattered and spread all over the rough ground beneath.

Jerb just froze and opened his eyes. "Um, oops?" Melkor couldn't believe the destruction his companion had caused by just walking. He just bumped the stand and everything was immediately annihilated, it was honestly the most impressive thing he had seen in a long time.

The merchant behind the stand was smart enough to dive out of the way before the impact, otherwise, he maybe would have experienced the same fate as his pots. But now the guy was fuming. He stood up and Immediately started screaming and clawing at Jerb. The merchant in question was some sort of feline anthropomorphic cat with fine clothing and some jewelry.

"Oh fuck. Jerb, look at what you did. That poor cat has no more stuff to sell." Melkor tried to sound concerned but he couldn't help a few chuckles escaping his stoic expression.

"Look, sir cat. I am truly sorry for walking into your....uh your stuff, could you please stop ruining my clothes now?" He didn't sound as if he actually gave a fuck.

The cat guy spoke up. "You will pay for ruining my precious antique vases. I will kill you where you stand, buffoon." He didn't stop his clawing while speaking, he just went on and on. Jerbs clothes were really messed up now and his expression grew more and more annoyed.

"Ok, I tried being nice, but if you don't stop scratching me with your pathetic claws, I will break them AND your arms." He now looked down at the attacker with a menacing stare.

"You would have to catch me fir-" Before he could finish the sentence Jerb had already grabbed his arms.
He then gave a wicked grin, and looked over to Mel.

"What do you think Melkor? Should I teach this little kitty cat a lesson about manners?" He asked friendly, seeing Jerb mad was actually quite scary, not scary like a ghost or something paranormal happening, but actual 'run for your life scary'.

Melkor kept his cool though and just answered in monotone. "I don't care, go ahead." He did care, he didn't want to draw that much attention, but he also knew that it was not wise to deny Jerbs wish of breaking some bones, lest it might hit himself. That would be most catastrophic.

A sickening crunch resounded through the streets and shortly after, an ear-piercing scream of agony filled the air.
It seems our short-tempered friend has made short work of those puny feline arms. The sound alone was enough to make a grown man cringe. Melkor had luckily averted his eyes, so he didn't have to see that display.

The cat merchant now lay on the ground, still twitching and writhing in pain, while also mumbling that he'll let his assailant be burned on the stake, you know, the usual revenge talk. Though he was tough to understand him with all the foam that was coming out of his mouth.

"Ok, had enough big guy?" Melkor sternly asked. It didn't have to come to this, of course, he knew Jerb was short-tempered, but this was a tad much.
His friend, however, was in a really cheerful mood, with a smile as bright as the sun. Weird. He turned to look at Melkor and just have a thumbs up, still retaining that bright smile.

"You know that this could have some consequences..."

'It definitely could.'

"Don't worry about it. He got what he deserved, I even apologized to that little shit licker. Ah well, I'm certain there won't be any trouble-" Jerb continued, starting to resume his march of doom.

'There is gonna be soo much trouble' Melkor just groaned internally and also continued to walk alongside his patrol partner.

Melkor had now been patrolling these streets for more than three hours, and Jerb was showing no signs of intending to stop anytime soon. After that whole merchant business, nothing of interest really occurred, aside from the few glances Melkor got from the guards that passed the duo from time to time. It was now around noon, so the heat got even more intense than it had been before, which also served to sour the mood of our human further and further.

"Hey...Are we gonna be done anytime soon? This heat is driving me crazy. Can't we at least take a break, I need some water or I'll die of thirst." You could hear in his voice that he had enough of walking these sheer endless streets. Whenever you think you've reached the end of a road, there was another turn into another road, which also led to more alleys and more roads. Fucking diamond dogs man, can't build cities for shit.

"Hang on you baby, we're almost done anyway, so let's keep moving. Any water you're gonna get here won't be drinkable anyway." The endurance of this guy was just astonishing. How he had been able to walk this far in this crazy heat, had been an enigma to the dried up Melkor. Then again, he was probably used to stuff like this.

So they continued marching. Onward and onward, with no visible goal in sight.

Overall, the experience was dreadful, the only saving grace was hearing Jerb tell all of his crazy war stories and ridiculous tales of his childhood.
He even claimed to have wrestled a dragon into submission, and that was only the second most unbelievable thing Melkor had heard from his friend. While complete bullshit, these stories were entertaining, and even somewhat educational.

Melkor had learned that there are indeed far more continents than the barren wasteland of Orin. There were quite a few, but the most interesting he had heard of were Pleona, home of the great jungles and Lizardfolk and Ursupan, known as the mountain land up in the far north was also home to many species, Including the griffins.

But indeed the place that left him the most baffled, was a continent called Equus. Apparently, the whole continent was pretty much ridden with kingdoms and principalities run by ponies. Melkor had seen and heard some shit in these past few days in this world, but this took the fucking cake.

"So you're telling me, that there are ponies, that run whole Kingdoms. Proper, organized kingdoms?" Melkor asked again to be sure.

"Well, I've never seen one myself. Word says they are not too keen on visiting diamond dog lands, especially this rotten Place. The whole land is at war actually, we're just in neutral territory."

"I still can't believe that these ponies have whole kingdoms and stuff. Crazy if you think about it. And what are they like? Do they walk on all fours or are they some sort of weird bipeds like the diamond dogs ore that weird cat guy back there?" Melkor's interest was piqued, if only a bit. This topic was by far not as entertaining as the other stories Jerb has told. But it was just interesting to Melkor, he had seen and known ponies back home, so how was it that they also existed here?

"Like I said, never seen one. They do say that they are pacifists who think themselves superior to other species. Assholes." Having said that, He spat onto the street to truly show his disdain.

"Yeah, they sound horrible from what you've told me, big guy. So... how long are we gonna keep patrolling for? My legs kill me and the sun will burn my skin if I'm not careful, not to mention this incredible thirst that I've built up this entire time. There doesn't seem to be any trouble around so-" He then suddenly felt a hand on his chest, that held him back from walking forward. It was Jerb who stopped his advance, and his glance was focused on the nearly empty street before them.
The reason for their stopped march was standing right before them.

"Well well, look who it is. The giant cow that attacked the young master." A group of the same race as that merchant earlier took up almost the whole street. They wore torn cloaks and scarfs that covered their faces, there were about seven, and every one of them had at least one weapon. This was not good.
The one that spoke before stepped forward and drew his dagger.

"So, the boss want's you dead, understand? The monkey can leave, he only wants you." He then went into a stance that seemed like he was ready to pounce.

'He did not just call me monkey' Melkor internally raged. How dare that pussy call him a monkey? Ape, fine yeah, he could see some resemblance. But he was not a fucking monkey.

"I told you there were gonna be consequences Jerb..." Melkor just said in a deadpan voice, while also exhaling through his nose.

"I know. I need to watch out whose arms I break next time." Jerb said, his voice showing no actual signs of regret.

Mel breathed in calmly.
"OOOOH YOU THIIINK?"

Tuesday mornings are alright for fighting

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Melkor and Jerb stood surrounded by at least seven of those weird cat-like people, who circled them like hungry sharks around a bleeding seal. It was quite obvious that something would happen after the big klutz decided to go ham on the poor merchant, but such is the way of the minotaurs, break first ask later. Their leader, a big grey one with spotted fur, looked like he had seen quite a few fights in his nine lives, indicated by the lots and lots of scars and rashes on his fur and skin.
He got into position and readied himself to pounce upon Jerb who had now drawn his massive battleaxe which resembled a minotaurs head, the horns being the blades and the hilt being the face. He looked calm, and Melkor could see a smile forming on his face, oh yeah he definitely waited for something like this to happen so that his day would get a little spice.
The minotaur readied his swing and Melkor drew his new fancy sword, this being his first fight in daylight, he had a nervous look upon his face as he pointed the blade at the cats.

"Listen here, suckers! I am the Grey Tower of the Horned Dragons, one of the six great squad leaders! No one has yet stood in my way and lived to tell the tale." Jerb boasted loudly to the group of attackers. "My axe has split mountains in two, what do you think it will do to little kittens like yourselves." He then gave a big smile which gave some of his audience quite the nervous feeling.
"At my side is the notorious Melkor last of his kind, who tamed the great desert like it was a pet lizard... So you best go and run back to your mama's TITS!" He said the last part with more effort than was needed.

Melkor just gave him a look that yelled 'seriously? Did you just say that? ' but it was too late for intervening, the cat people had already taken offence to the words of the grey minotaur, and the leader leapt with great speed and agility towards Jerb, while three others followed him.

Melkor barely noticed a small ball of flame that was aimed at him, which he managed to dodge by an inch or less. It seems there was a mage in the ranks of the enemy, he wore clothes fancier than the others and had a hood which covered his face.
Melkor didn't immediately realise what happened as two more assailants rushed him. He swung his sword at one of them, but he easily dodged under it and went in to sweep Mel's leg, without success though as he was too steadfast to be tumbled down by such a-

Never mind he fell...

"UGH!" Melkor crashed to the floor as his leg was kicked away and he lost his balance. The cat was on top of him before he could come back to his senses. 'Fuck, what do I do?' he was at a loss, pinned down now he was vulnerable to the attack of the said bandit, which now plunged his dagger down with a manic look in his face.
Melkor's heart raced at the thought of being killed, so much he didn't notice his skin sizzling.
As the dagger drew closer to his heart, the grounded human brought his fist up and punched the hand which held the dagger.

*CLANG* there was a brief silence, as the dagger shot through the entire street. The cat yelled in pain shortly afterwards, for his hand had been shattered.
Melkor finally realized that he had summoned his magic power, and he was really fucking excited.
His assailant went to claw at him, but he was quickly riposted by a quick kick that sent him flying quite a distance and crashing into a building, leaving a sizeable hole.

Jerb was having a little trouble, the cat leader continuing to slash at his fur with his daggers while he also had to fend off the minions, was proving to be not so easy.
He swung his axe a few times, but the cat men proved too nimble for him to hit easily.
"You have no chance against us, you absolute buffoon!" Yelled the scarred cat while climbing on top of the giant.
"We are too many and too skilled for you to-" His sentence was cut short by a big hand that suddenly grabbed him by the throat.
It seems that in his boasting, this guy let his guard down.
You could feel the air grow colder as the Tower of Dorne tightened his grasp, and the little kitty squirmed and struggled.
"No, it seems you have made quite the mistake my brother...." a loud whoosh of air could be heard, followed by the sound of metal cutting through flesh and bone.
The lower body of Jerbs victim fell to the floor while the rest of his guts and the upper body followed shortly after. The cats could not believe their eyes, their leader; an expert assassin had been slain in mere seconds. Enraged they charged forward with even more resolve in their attacks.

Jerb stayed cool and swung his axe faster and heavier than before, creating small gusts of wind anytime it soared through the air.
The third swing hit its mark, and another of the attacker was split in half through the middle, like a hot knife through butter as they say back on earth.

Melkor noticed the change in the atmosphere, he looked over to his friend who was happily slashing at his two remaining opponents, and he knew the tide of battle had been turned.

He watched as the cat mage moved his hands and formed another fireball, while the second rogue sprinted at him.
Thinking fast was not one of his strong suits, but in this situation, he had no real choice.
Letting out a roar, Melkor rolled forward and picked his sword up, going into a full sprint afterwards. The fireball now approached him with great speed, and dodging seemed impossible now, so he brought his sword up and smashed the spell with all of his might.

There was an explosion as the blade struck the ball of flame, and Melkor, as well as his opponent were thrown backwards.
Once again, Melkor landed on his back...now hurting, he looked to the side and saw his sword shattered into pieces and his arm burnt black, possibly broken.
He screamed in pain, as his rage now fueled his magic, even more, there were small arcs of red lightning across the ground where he lay and on top of his skin, which now took on a slightly reddish hue. There was steam coming from his body, but all of that didn't matter right now, the only thing that mattered was to let out this anger...

"FUUUUUUUCK YOOOOOOU!!!" He roared a mighty roar and gritted his teeth, saliva coming out of his mouth all the while. He used his left arm to stand up, his pain now gone thanks to the adrenaline pumping through him.
Melkor looked at the situation, his right arm was useless, and his vision was blurred. The blast had ruined his whole outfit; he looked quite shite if I can be frank with you.

Jerb coughed as the dust settled, the roar of his buddy had deafened the sound of battle in this street. Though he had no time to focus on what was going on, he fought his own battle, and punched the nearest cat right in his nose, knocking him to the ground and following up with a stomped on his head. The brains of the aforementioned cat spilt out of the now cracked open skull, as the warrior now focused on his last living target.

The Mage began to panic, he didn't have that much mana left, and the hairless monkey didn't show any signs of letting up or being defeated.

"Hey, Ricky... make sure he stays away from me... I'm too valuable for the boss to die here." He said in a shaky voice

"But...but did you look at the guy? He looks like a freaking monster!" Ricky now gulped, he had been hired as extra muscle for the crime syndicat about a week ago, but he still knew what the boss would do to him if he let one of his mages die.
"Fine, but hurry up another of your spell things!" He exclaimed hastily. "And please, not another fireball... I barely dodged last time."

"No problem Ricky, I'll shoot him with another spell." 'I can't let it be known that I know only this one spell' He thought to himself, before seeing something that made his blood run cold.

Melkor was now in a full-on dead sprint, covering much distance in a few seconds, he was like a speed train of doom, leaving a charred path behind him.

Ricky jumped at him with his dagger, he plunged the blade into his right shoulder, but the human did not care nor did he stop as the cat clung to him. He did not stop his run of death, seemingly not affected by the extra eighty pounds that were on top of him by now. He went straight for the mage, who conjured up yet another fireball.

Ricky now grabbed his dagger again, preparing not to miss anything lethal with his next stab. He felt a cold sensation running down his back as he felt a powerful grip on his tail. Before he could look at the problem, he was already flying through the air at great speeds. It seems that Melkor has used his left arm to throw him off.
Before Ricky could see where he was going, an orange light showed him that he had no time to worry about what would be...

There was another explosion as he collided with the last fireball of his companion, who looked traumatized by now, I mean, who wouldn't, after this whole situation.
Nothing, really nothing had prepared him for two maniacs such as these....there was little left but a burnt pile of flesh, cloth and bones left of his former guard and comrade. Adrenaline rushed through his body, and he began to book it as fast as his legs could carry him over the streets now filled with blood that stained the sand, of course, he couldn't report this or seek refuge with the city guard, as they would immediately recognize him. Sweat runs down his forehead and tears well up in his eyes, thinking that he will meet his end here. His departure has of course not gone unnoticed by his enemy...

Melkor was chasing the magician at top speed, so fast he left a small dust cloud every time he set his foot on the ground, he had a lot of ground to cover though, and his energy began to deplete more and more by the second.
A loud booming sound stopped him after the cat turned a corner into an alleyway. Smoke filled his vision, smoke so thick you couldn't see your own hands through it. He still marched trough with an iron will to pursue his foe.
The smoke ridden air filled his lungs and he began to cough, it was so severe that he had to stop and bend over.
Something was not right, this smoke was not ordinary, it hurt to breathe and it felt to him like he would choke any moment now, he has fallen for an obvious trap.
A firm hand grabbed Melkor by the collar and yanked him out.
Jerb had realized the severity of the situation and decided to help his friend, who now lay on the ground, wheezing.

"You're a stubborn fucker, that I gotta give ya" Jerb only continued to watch as the human writhed on the ground, obviously in pain.

As he took the first breath of fresh air, Melkors vision returned to him, and other senses followed suit.
His magic had worn off, as has his adrenaline, the pain he felt was like nothing he ever knew, being a city kid who never got into any sort of trouble other than stealing some pastries that one time, he did not have a high pain tolerance.

"Aaaaaaarghh!" His screams filled the air, he was horrified to see his arm in its crippled state.
He lay there and tries to catch his breath between the shouts he gave, what a turn of events.... the day started off fine, it grew more boring sure but he didn't want this. Oh, boy, did he hate it, the pain and the feeling of 'what have I done' really ate at him while he was still just on the ground.

Jerb, who had seen enough now and didn't want to see his comrade like this, took Melkor in his arms and bandaged his arm with some of his torn cloth. "You know..... I am really grateful for what you did, not many people would have stayed and fought. But you, Mel, you did something I really didn't expect, the bastard told you to leave and you had every right to, seeing as this was all my fault. Half of my squad would've abandoned me were the odds against us by this much." He gave a light chuckle, before giving Melkor a determined look "If you, my friend, are ever faced with great danger or a perilous situation, you can count on this ol' bull to be there by your side." He ended his speech with a smile, before facing forward again, he didn't speak for the entire backtrack, there was nothing but the silent chatter of the street, that soon turned into the bustling noise of a market again.

Melkor's screams had stopped during the speech, he still winced and grunted with almost every step, but he tried his best to listen to what the minotaur wanted to tell him.
It was hard for him to get used to this strange place, it was cool without a doubt, and he had magic. Moments like these though, where he lived the life of a soldier without being trained as one, damn was it hard, first his fight with Raging War and the diamond dog ambush, and now he has barely survived.
But even though his arm was shattered and his lungs burned like hell, he couldn't help but think... about how awesome it had been to use his powers in battle and fight side by side with his first true friend in Orin. And hearing those words coming out of Jerb's mouth, sure helped to numb the pain....

He had a lot to talk about with his squad tonight

It was, as he says it...."One hell of a day"

Rest and Exposition

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The sun set over Dorne in the late hours of the day, sending the honest folk, if there were any at all, to sleep. But a true Dornian knows that life here begins only after sundown. The numerous petty criminals that were hiding in the shadowy alleys now had the cover of darkness on their side to help with their devious deeds.
The city was divided into a lot of gangs and clans that each dominated a part of the local underworld. The consul cared little for the locals, as seen by his lackluster effort to keep the streets clean and the pedestrians safe. To say that Dorne was a city delved in chaos was the understatement of the century, for every guard there were ten criminals armed to their teeth. The city was still a pretty important place for the land of Orin, as it was the only place to overlook the grand desert in the south and a place for the Orin-militia to rest their heads, should a current war or conquest require it. Such a day was today, as a large Orin force was approaching from the western steppe lands and cities, leaving a large dust cloud in the dry sands they crossed, it seems it was time for war.

In the headquarters of the horned dragons, a certain human was getting some much-needed rest in the medical wing. Well, if you could call it that, it was as unsanitary as the rest of the filthy old building, and the smell could drive out the most vicious of beasts.
Melkor lay in a makeshift bed, with bandages across his body and an old, wet towel on his head to lower his temperature. By his side stood a pretty worried Durant steel, who looked over her newly assigned comrade, and tended to his wounds. Since the minotaurs weren't very good in medicine, they usually just sent one of their own to watch over a crew member to make sure they don't die. Basically, their way of treatment is to 'sleep it off'.

After a few hours pass, a very exhausted and bruised Melkor opens his bloodshot eyes. Looking around the empty room he noticed that someone placed a little vase filled with flowers on his bedside, he grimaced at the idea that these meatheads have a cheesy side to them.

Steel shifts and quickly hands him a keg of water. He grabs the beverage with his good arm and takes a few deep sips, spilling a lot of water in the process.

"Oh, he-" The human couldn't finish his sentence, he was cut off by the massive pain in his throat.

"Don't strain yourself, the gas you inhaled yesterday was a pretty nasty poison." She then smiled at him and took the water.
"You should be able to speak, just keep your voice low and stay hydrated." She earned herself a smile from him, followed by a pained groan.

"What the fuck, happened?" Melkor asked in a low and pained voice, his burns had almost healed overnight but his broken arm would still need time to fix, he displayed an unnatural healing factor compared to the other residents of the hospital, while it is different from species to species, and the magic power of the being plays a good role too, it was still a bit uncanny.

"Well, it seems you and Jerb have pissed off the wrong cats. The Pawfright-cartel is a pretty large organization of drug lords and thugs, and it seems your buddy broke the arms of the boss' son. Which is never a good thing to do, thank goodness it ended this well for you, could have been a lot worse trust me." She gave him a stern look after her sentence was finished.

"Hey, I wasn't the one who went berserk. Blame the big guy, he started it, I just helped when shit went down." He sat up against his rock-hard pillow, the long period of laying in bed made his back sore and his joints hurt worse than they already did.
"But yeah, I guess I'll be more careful next time. Your name is Durant Steel right?" He asked his makeshift nurse.

"Yes, that is my name. You can call me Steel if you want, we minotaurs have such long names, get's confusing sometimes." Melkor smiled at that.
"Thanks, I'll remember it. Back where I'm from, we also have another name depending on the family you're from," He always found the names in this place to be kind of weird, they were just adjectives and nouns.
"Oh, so Melkor is not your full name?" She asked, a sudden spike of interest in her tone of voice.

'It's not even my real name' He thought to himself while quietly snickering. 'Fuck, I gotta come up with a family name now, good job man'.

"I abandoned my family name after I joined the army, it's kind of a tradition where I'm from. So I'm just good old Melkor, nothing more, nothing less." 'Good save man, good save'.

Durant Steels' eyes widened and a little spark could be seen in her eyes.
"Where are you from exactly? What kind of place is it?" She asked while inching closer, since Melkor seemed to have a growth spurt since arriving in this land, she was a bit smaller than him but still muscular and strong looking, the sight of minotaurs was something he would still have to get used to.

He swallowed hard and gave himself a metaphorical facepalm. He couldn't just say he was from another dimension or something, these knuckleheads probably wouldn't understand a thing he is saying, so he had to make a backstory up from out of nowhere, oh boy.

'Great, how do I get out of this one?'

"Well, it's a long story, you sure you wanna hear it?" He asked with a sheepish smile that absolutely gave off the 'I don't want to be here right now' vibes.

Durant Steel nodded her head very hard, the spark in her eye seemingly getting brighter and bigger.
Melkor wasn't getting out of this, so he sighed and began to weave an epic tale of where he was from.

"Well, I am from a land far in the north, where no cartographers of you or the other species of this world have ever been. My home is the uuuuh... isle of Menkaind, where our glorious Empire was founded over ten thousand years ago!" He began to speak in a tone that you would expect from a BBC documentarist, him doing it was very underwhelming though, and very harsh on his throat so he gave that up quicker than the french did Paris in 1940.

"We are a peaceful people, who live inside a sea that is ridden with storms and destructive winds, so no one ever visited Menkaind. We spent our years believing we were the only intelligent beings in this world, and without rivals or interference, our land and our race thrived. We began to build large cities and ports and cultivated the land, we developed a culture of beauty and art. We never knew of magic or anything so we focused on developing our gear and technology. We built the best weapons and armors imaginable, water delivery systems and heated floors!" Steel gave him an odd look at that one.

"Until..." Melkor's look darkened and his head sank, he didn't spend 5 years doing amateur theatre for nothing!
"Vile beasts as large as a mountain came crawling out of the ocean and devoured our people like there was no tomorrow. A hundred years later, we drove them back finally, but the cost was simply too great. Our Cities destroyed and our leaders broken, in the end, we numbered less than five hundred. And Menkaind was a barren wasteland covered in death and the diseases these leviathans brought. I was part of those who were tasked with finding new horizons, along with my captain and two hundred soldiers, we sailed in a large ship, to the unknown." He underlined his speech with pretty solid acting and some crocodile tears, whom he summoned by not blinking for a minute.

"And you pretty much know the rest, we landed in this land and were lost to the desert. I am possibly the last survivor of this expedition. But I found new purpose, and will continue to live my life to the fullest." He wiped the tears off his face and gave Durant Steel a heartfelt smile. 'I should get an award for this' he thought, his imaginary shit-eating grin growing wider and wider.

One look at his comrade confirmed that his roleplaying was on point, the look of terror and sadness on her face was priceless. Give this man an award already!

"My god... Melkor I am so sorry, that is such a horrible thing to experience!" She put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a sad look.

"If there is anything I could do for you, please tell me." He thought about the Idea, he was pretty bored and wanted to get out of bed as soon as possible.

"Are there potions in your land? Or rather, in the guild?" He asked her very nicely, rubbing his broken arm. "I can't stand to be in this bed any longer, and I clearly need some training since those cats want my ass now. Do you think you could get me something to speed up my recovery?"

She rubbed her chin and drifted off into thought. After a small while, she seemed to have gathered an Idea.

"Well, the boss has a few magic potions that speed up the body's recovery rate, but he doesn't give them out lightly. You would have to take on a personal mission to pay that thing off. And by that I mean alone, he gives those things only to those who can prove themselves to him. Terry did one once, and he barely made it out of that sandwraiths cave. I think if you are willing to do something like that he would give you a potion."

The human didn't quite listen to the part where this mission is supposed to be life-endangering and difficult to accomplish, all he heard was 'magic potion' and 'recovery'
Melkor didn't really think hard about this, it was a no-brainer to him. Spend a month in bed or get out of bed and do a little chore, easy. The faster he could get out of bed, the faster he could go after that asshole of a wizard that broke his sword and his sword arm.

"Deal, I'll do it." He said without any hesitation, not thinking about the fact that he might end up more beat up than he currently is afterward.

Steel just stood there, baffled at the lack of hesitation he showed. The missions given by the boss were indeed ruthless and resulted in the deaths of many who took them too lightly, this man was either stupid as hell, or one of the bravest guys she ever met, then again, after what he told her about his war against the leviathans, she could guess that he has seen his fair share of threats and could know what he was doing. She could respect such courage.

"Alright, I will bring him the information, but I hope you know what you're doing. It would be a shame to lose you." She punched his shoulder, earning a pained expression on his face, but he kept himself from making any unmanly noises or shedding any tears.

"Thank you Steel, I owe you." He gave her a nice smile and rested his head on the pillow again, sitting up was not as easy as previously thought, and the conversation had been lasting for an hour or so.

"Don't mention it bud." She then walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. The atmosphere quickly grew quiet again and Melkor thought about all the bullshit he made up and any more possible stories he may have to come up with.

'I sure hope Jerb is doing fine, then again, the guy is a mountain of muscle and fury. He'll be fine.' with that thought, he tried to lay down more comfortably, which was a chore on its own. He never actually felt this much pain in his life, and the actual fight was more difficult than anything he had done before, but it somehow brought him joy seeing what he could do now, and he was eager to test the limit of his abilities once he was out of bed. And he still had to deliver on that promised duel with Sheathed Blade. He also thought about home and some things that he missed, well-cooked meals and tv, as well as the internet or hanging out with human friends. But things here were different and in a good way.

He looked outside of the window and gazed off into the distance, the city was dark, but you could hear a lot of things. Cries for help and people running rampant in the streets, as well as the distant clashing of blades or the occasional spell being fired.

"This place is a mess, I'm glad that I'm not down there." He sighed and tried to blend out the noise.
The candle by his bedside was slowly dying out, and the wind coming in through the window quickly snuffed it out a few moments afterward. Or was it the wind?

A sense of uneasiness overcame the lone human in the dark room, who wouldn't be a bit paranoid after yesterday's events?
He looked around and saw nothing but the yawning emptiness of the medical ward, which surprisingly had no other residents than him. It was very quiet, almost too quiet, and he couldn't help the feeling that he was being watched.

He concentrated on hearing something, anything. In his current condition, he wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight anyway, the best thing would be to logically think about this.
Calling out for anybody might get him killed before help could arrive if there was indeed an intruder in here. There was of course still the option of his mind playing tricks on him, which could very likely be the case, the dark leaves much for the imagination.

He slowly stood up, as silently as he could manage, it took him a lot of effort and nearly a minute, his whole body was on fire, literally. The magic that lies dormant within him seems to react to his heart rate or something because he was giving off a cloud of steam again, he couldn't turn it off either since he is not really in control of it yet. He silently cursed to himself and grabbed a pair of scissors that lay on the nightstand beside him, they could be useful he thought.

'Nothing is in here, there is no one here, calm the fuck down!' He violently repeated again and again in his head. He so desperately wanted to believe that everything was okay but his body wouldn't let him.
Now every other noise that was inside seemed to die out to the noise of steam coming out of him.
A curtain moved and he quickly turned around, too quickly, as one of his damaged ribs seemed to crack.

He let out an involuntary groan and almost fell from the pain. He swore he heard the sound of something on the floor, there was someone in here. There had to be!

He was ready to bolt to the door, he knew it would be painful but what else could be done?
He began to count down from three

'one'

the room seemed to get wider and wider as he looked that the door, Melkor felt a fear he hadn't in a long time, a fear of the unknown.

'two'

It hadn't grasped him that hard since his first days in a room without his parents when he was a small child.

'THREE'

He slammed his foot on the floor and started to run towards the door with all that he could, the wood beneath him gave away to his empowered foot and the heat coming from his body was increased tenfold. Every step hurt, and he could feel his body growing weaker with every millisecond.

He reached a hand for the door, but it was opened before him, a very concerned-looking Durant Steel on the other side.
The opened door flooded the room with light and the sight of his comrade gave Melkor some much-needed relief.

"What is up with you? You need to be in bed!" She very sternly said, almost having a motherly tone in her voice.

Melkor turned around and saw that the room was indeed empty of intruders or living things. He sighed with relief and almost collapsed from the pain this little escapade gave him.

"I.... just have to go to the toilet, really bad." He said through clenched teeth, trying to hide his pain.

"Don't scare me like that." She crossed her arms and shook her head. "The boss accepted your proposal and will give you a task in the morning-" She showed him a small vile filled with a bronze-looking liquid. "Drink this, it will heal your arm and the rest of your body overnight, this is one of the better potions so be ready for some hard work, now go and relieve your bladder before you die on me." She said with a slight smile and waved him outside of the room.

Melkor thanked her and limped out of the room, on his way to fulfill what he had told her.

The female minotaur walked over to his bed to place a cup of warm milk on his nightstand, blushing a little bit, hoping he would notice this little act of kindness.
As she turned to leave the room, however, she noticed something odd.

The vase that adorned his nightstand from before was gone.

Growing Struggles

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A warm breeze entered the room where the sleeping human was having a very uneasy and unpleasant sleep. It carried with it a few grains of sand and a smell of piss, which both decided to embed themselves into Melkor's face, resulting in a less than pleasant waking up.
This night hadn't been very restful, quite the contrary actually. While he knew that nothing was actually in this room with him last night, the feeling of uneasiness and his growing paranoia made it almost impossible for him to sleep.

The potion given to him last night had kicked into effect, Melkor awoke without the immediate desire to end his life, the pain had actually faded and his burns have healed nicely. He tried moving his right arm and it obeyed him without any issue. A feeling of joy overcame the human who then burst out of his bed with the energy of a child that had discovered red bull for the first time.
As he sprung up he noticed that he was still fatigued, very much so actually. The potion must have had its limits, all these things are still so alien to him, Melkor actually spent the next ten minutes or so admiring his newly healed body in the sole mirror that hung in the room.

"This is crazy..." He turned around a few times, it seems everything was absolutely fine, a reason to celebrate and start the day with a smile. "I still can't believe some of the things that are possible here! I wonder if this works with severed limbs as well." He trailed off in thought and decided it would be better to not experience that firsthand.
He was hungry as hell and could really go for some food, hopefully, it wasn't another sprouts day.

Downstairs there was a large gathering of minotaurs of all shapes and sizes. He had never seen the gathering room this full before, it seems that today was some sort of occasion he had no idea about, he walked down the floor and into the large room.
As his feet carried him into the hall, he could already smell what had these cows so excited, this foul stench that filled the air and brought tears to his eyes.

Melkor sighed and slumped his shoulders, this could only mean one thing- "Sprout day." He hissed under his breath. The other members of the association couldn't get enough of them, it was some sort of delicacy for these people.
The human wasn't having any of it though and proceeded to walk over to the table containing his squad comrades.
The table was filled with familiar faces, Terror, War, and Steel all sat down and happily ate their sprouts with strong beer and what seemed to be the Orin equivalent of tequila.
The smell almost had him throw up in his mouth but he managed to suppress the urge and rather sit down with his colleagues.
All eyes fell on him as he sat down in his fresh white and grey clothes, seemingly unphased by the fight he and Jerb were in.

"Good morning fellas, how do you do?" He gave Terry and War a shit-eating grin and a small wink towards Durant Steel who was blushing a bit under her fur.
The old minotaur dropped a sprout he held in his hands- "How the fuck are you walking?" a bewildered look could be seen in his eyes.
War opened his mouth next. "You were supposed to be out for three weeks at least brother, that damage couldn't have healed overnight!" Unlike Terry, the black minotaur didn't stop eating while talking, he rather proceeded to stuff his face while doing so.

"Is your species regenerative or something? I mean good for you, but you could have told us earlier." Terry finished his sentence with a light chuckle. The female minotaur at the table shifted a bit uneasily and tried to hide a sheepish grin, which in turn got noticed by the squad leader. "Steel, you had your hand in this right?" He raised a bushy eyebrow.

"Yeah, sorry Terry. I just wanted to help, and I told him that favor from the boss requires a favor in return! It's not like I said everything will be fine and all your worries will wash away, I specifically said that the boss will have a mission for him if he wants that potion." She made her point, it is as said, she warned him of the danger and he accepted it without any hesitation.

"I should have known, no one likes to be bedridden for long and the idea of having all of your pain go away overnight almost seems too good to be true for some. But listen to me Melkor, what you have done is not something to be taken lightly! The boss is a strict man and he demands that all of his requests be met, if you fail your mission that is it, he will sell you off into slavery or have you executed for wasting his materials. The quest that will be given to you is going to be hard and will probably take time to complete. There is no turning back now boy, so you better pray that your task will be doable!" Terry raised his voice and increased the volume as he went on with his monologue, it seems that his own task left him with quite the impression.

"Wow, I didn't think about it like that Terry, I guess I was desperate to feel better... I hated the fact that I was chained to my bed while the guy who did this to me is probably off somewhere getting a reward. My sword got annihilated, and he threatened to kill my friend Jerb, so I guess my rage blinded me. Maybe it still does."
Melkor tried his best to sound sincere, the truth is that he actually didn't listen well enough to Steels explanation of the situation.

Terry gave him a look of understanding and patted him on the shoulder. "You're young and full of energy, revenge is something young warriors constantly think about, so don't blame yourself. The reason you had was valid to you, and that's what makes it the right decision on your part, no one else can make decisions for you kid. I also took the favor of the boss once, I nearly died back then but it also changed who I was. This quest will be a test of your skill, but also nourishment for you, it will give you room to grow. I do not doubt your skill Mel, and I have no doubt you can do it." He looked at the human with a melancholic smile and once again patted his back, before returning to his now cold plate of sprouts.

Mel then looked on the floor, a feeling of shame overcame him, had he thought about this more carefully he wouldn't find himself this deep in the shit. A few weeks of bed rest compared to a mission that could very well spell out the end of your life. Revenge wasn't worth dying, and the chance that he was to find his attacker is microscopic. His mind started to race and his vision became blurred. Thoughts about his situation started to shoot through him, growing darker and darker by the minute. What would happen to him now? Would he fail, and what if he failed? He didn't want to die or to spend his remaining days as a slave. His breaths became shorter, and his heart rate spiked.

A few moments later, after almost everyone had left the dining area, Melkor still sat there, lost in thought. A large sweat had built upon his forehead and his body temperature was almost at the point of producing steam again. It was almost time for him to receive his mission, what would it be?

A concerned black minotaur approached the human.

"Mel, is everything alright?" Raging War sat down beside his comrade, using the absence of his friends to get some time to talk to Melkor alone.
Our hero snapped out of his trance as he felt the vibration of War sitting down next to him.

"Hmm, what?" He asked quickly, turning his head frantically to the minotaur.

"You're not looking too good buddy, is it diarrhea? If so then you should eat-" War found himself surprised at the hand that clasped over his mouth.

"No it's not diarrhea you idiot," Melkor said, trying not to think about the subject, "I am just worried that I won't make the mission, and that I'll fail. I left Terry and Steel worried and I can't help the feeling that I let you guys down."

Raging war just gave him a look of sympathy.
"You know, I was the one who first noticed you back there in the desert. At first, I thought you might be a wild creature coming to eat us, so I instinctively tried to attack and murder you. When I found out you were smart and could talk, I was still on edge about whether or not I should trust you, I have had bad experiences with trusting people too fast. But I felt something when you pierced my shoulder with my blade that day... you had something that makes a warrior, you showed initiative and some unorthodox movements, and I respected you after that. But what really makes you great my friend, is your team effort, you plunged into that diamond dog camp with us and threw yourself in the fight without hesitation, willing to put everything on the line for a group of strangers that you've met in the desert, that is when you earned my trust."

He gave his friend a large smile and looked him in the eyes afterward. Melkor was a bit baffled that the guy could form such long sentences when all he previously heard from him were one-liners, battle cries, or insults.

"And what happened in the streets during your patrol was something that impressed many of us. You showed selflessness for a friend, you risked your life and fought like a madman just to help Jerb get out of there. That was the moment I realized trusting you is not good enough, you are someone I admire. After Steel told me what you have been through I was even more impressed by you Melkor, and I want to tell you, that you are a man I would be proud to call my shield-brother."

After finishing his sentence, Raging War took his jug and downed his drink in one go, it seems to talk this much had exhausted him as well as dried out his throat.

"Wow man, I don't know what to say except thank you... I didn't know you could be such a softie." Melkor punched the shoulder of his friend and gave him a big grin. This was a confidence boost he direly needed, he has indeed shown some weird mannerisms and behaviors to these people. It was very unusual to adapt as fast as he did, but for him, this was always something he'd dreamed about. Magic, adventure, and a thrilling life were all the things he longed for when reading novels and books back home.

'He's right, I can't doubt myself, I am not a small boy anymore, I am a magic-wielding mercenary, fighting in a land of criminals!' He slapped himself on both cheeks really hard and regained his senses.

It was like a train had hit him in the head and made him realize what a bitch he had been. He would pull this thing off, and no one would be able to stop him.

Melkor stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead, before turning to his friend War and giving him a sly look.

"Wanna spar for a bit?" He asked in a confident voice while giving War a look that screamed, come at me.
The minotaur responded accordingly and narrowed his eyes, a large toothy grin forming from his mouth.
"I thought you'd never ask."

This time, Raging War wasn't going to hold back at all.

Boss

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A few moments later, Melkor and War walked outside to the H.D.A's training grounds, and they each stood at one end of the fighting ring and started to stare each other down like two starving jackals about to maul each other for some food. The makeshift fighting ring was filled with dried blood and stank to all heavens, the perfect place for a good old-fashioned smackdown.

The two of them had, of course, donned some heavy, padded sparring armor, and would only be using wooden weapons for this fight, to avoid any potential heavy injuries. It was rare to see the arena this empty but it was a Thursday, which is a rest day for most of the minotaurs, had to do something with religion but Melkor didn't really seem to care all that much, the minotaur customs were quite strange to him after all. The human thought that the outfits looked ridiculous but didn't complain, knowing that fighting without these might end with them in the hospital ward again, and nobody wanted that.
The sun was glaring down mercilessly today and Mel already had built up a little sweat from standing outside in that heavy armor, War on the other hand was fine and already doing some stretches to get himself into fighting shape.

The human followed suit, and though it was a nightmare to stretch in these clothes, he knew he should try stretching more often if he is going to go through with this lifestyle.
Back on earth he always used to suck at P.E and would always get an A for effort but a D for execution. But the week in this environment and the total lack of fatty foods, not counting the time he didn't eat anything, made him a little more fit. Not to mention that his body had also changed since he got here, with him now being more slender and longer than before. He didn't sport any abs yet, or any significant muscles in general, but the requirements for both were certainly there now.

"So, big guy, are you ready for a beat down?" A very hyped-up raging war shouted to his opponent. He was jumping from side to side, while also having a few practice swings with the giant wooden club he chose for a weapon. It was a sight to behold honestly, this mountain of muscle and black fur, clad in heavy training armor and holding an oversized weapon in one hand could be something straight out of a video game.

"You're the one that's going to get beat down, SUKKA!" Melkor now also began hyping himself up, jumping up and down a few times, and swinging his wooden sword around as he'd seen in all of the star wars movies. He began taking a stance that pointed his sword straight towards the minotaur, while also bending his right knee and extending his left leg forward.
Melkor was pretty calm this time, he had fought Raging War before and knew that he was slow but hit like a truck, so he just had to be swift and hit him in his weak spots. Being agile in these clothes would prove to be a rather hard thing, but War had the same problem to work with so it pretty much evened out.

"And remember, do not use your lightning! You can use that thing where you get angry if you want, makes it more fun for me!" The bull reminded him. Boasting as if he would win this battle if Melkor didn't rely on his magic. And he took that personally.

"Pfff, eat my ass you shit-talking cow! I don't even need magic to drive you into the ground!" Melkor proclaimed jokingly, but also very vigorous. If you looked very closely, you could see a small flame flickering in his hazel eyes.
The minotaur now grabbed his club tighter than before, and his trademark creepy smile slid onto his face again.

'Man this dude has a weird thing going on with fighting, next thing I know is that he's gonna be rocking a full hard-on every time he fights.' Melkor shuddered at the thought, fighting was cool, yeah and it gave him a thrill as well, but the way War viewed it made him just a tiny bit concerned.

Without much time to think about it, War suddenly charged forward, breaking into a dead sprint and coming straight towards him. Suddenly Melkor lost that easiness he had before, the guy was faster than before and if that club did hit him, it would be a very short match. He braced himself and readied himself to strike or dodge, whichever was more appropriate
His sight became focused on his sparring partner.

War came closer and closer, Melkor barely had time to react, as the black minotaur swung his massive club at him from above, creating a loud noise as it pushed through the air. He sidestepped ever so slightly to the left and barely managed to dodge the club, which now hit the ground at full speed and collided with a loud thud, kicking up dust around the area of impact.

'He wasn't this fast last time' Melkor thought and swallowed hard before having to dodge another strike coming from his right, this one just as fast and strong as the first one. Jumping back, the human felt a breeze as the club swung past him.
His comrade had a look of pleasure on his face as he continued the onslaught, but never once did he seem unfocused or like he didn't put thought behind every movement.

'So this is what he is like when he gets serious, I need to be careful.' Before he finished his thought a swipe from below almost made him lose balance, and he had to catch his feet. The minotaurs gaze never left him, and he quickly rushed toward Melkor again, seemingly getting faster and faster.
The next swing came from Melkor's left, and the human ducked down quicker than he ever had to before, watching as the wild strike went above his head. Now was the time to move, so he used his momentum and stepped forward before rising from his lowered position and thrusting at War's head.

The minotaur saw it coming though and tilted his head to the side, avoiding the attack and bashing the wooden blade away from him with his other hand.
Melkor stumbled backward and breathed out heavily, this was going to be harder than he thought. This time, it was him that charged, always keeping an eye out for that oversized weapon.
He barely dodged another wild swing and slashed at the minotaur's chest this time. The blade hit with a small smack, but he was met with a lot of resistance because of the heavy armor.

"You call that a strike?" War asked in a mocking tone, and cocked an eyebrow, "Maybe you wanna use that magic after all." He smirked before bringing his fist towards Melkor, catching him by surprise and hitting him in the face, sending him flying backward in the process. He hit the ground hard, and his face was in a lot of pain, the saying of seeing stars when being hit very hard was very much true as the human found out.

He had no time to wail though, as the minotaur quickly followed up with another attack coming from above. Melkor's eyes went wide at the image, his instincts took over and he rolled to the side, again, narrowly avoiding the club. He tasted iron in his mouth, it seems that punch had caused him to bleed a bit. He took the opportunity of his opponent missing to quickly stand up.

"No way am I gonna use magic, it wouldn't be fun that way." He said that, but his sentence was also interrupted by a lot of short and exhausted breaths. He took on the same stance as before and wiped the blood from his mouth.

War smiled and attacked him again, this time Melkor didn't dodge but he used the lighter weight and quickness of his weapon to strike the arm which the club was held in, causing the minotaur to stop his attack and rebalance. He used this and quickly followed with another swing, this time going for the back of the knee, which was mostly unprotected.
The wooden sword cut through the air and hit its target with as much force as he could bring up.
The impact wasn't as strong as he would have liked but it was enough to throw war off balance for a bit and force him on one knee.

Melkor now smirked as he saw his chance, War swung his weapon again, but without the support from his legs, the swing was much slower, giving our hero enough time to kick at his arm and stop the attack again. The minotaur almost fell and needed to rebalance again, but Melkor didn't give him the time to recover. The wooden sword now aimed for the head and connected with another smack, the impact this time could not be denied as you could hear a slight crack underneath the protective helmet.

Melkor quickly jumped back, not wanting to risk getting too greedy. He was also very exhausted, breathing heavily and fast, sweat running down his face and into his eye. The burning feeling inside his mouth became stronger, and his body grew heavy.

'Fuck this piece of shit armor, I hate it. I hate the SUN.'

As his opponent got up again, he noticed that there were a few minotaurs standing on the balconies of the building, watching and drinking all sorts of alcoholic beverages before noon.
'Seems like watching duels is a pass time here, figures. What do I expect from barbarians who eat sprouts'

His focus quickly returned to War, however, as he did not even need a full second to get back on his feet. The bull now grinned even wider, and in his eyes, there was a faint glow. Melkor didn't know how long he could do this anymore, he tried to read his opponent to see what he will do next, what he didn't expect, however, was for his opponent to throw his club at him.

Melkor didn't have time to dodge so he tried to block it off with his sword as best as he possibly could, there was a loud clank as the club hit his relatively small sword. The defense did not hold up well, as the impact still reached his chest, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him to take a few steps back. Before even processing what had just happened, a blunt impact hit his stomach area. He never saw War sprinting towards him as his eyes were on the club, so he had no time to react to the punch that was now sending him flying backward again.

He gained quite the amount of airtime, as War finished his uppercut. The human landed hard on his back, leaving him lying in the dust, snapping for air.

The small crowd that had gathered now began to cheer and drink more violently, as this match seemed to be over.
The minotaur clad in armor looked down and his heavy breathing friend, perhaps he had overdone it, after all the lad barely had any muscles on him.

'Fuck this hurts, I'm gonna throw up. No, don't, keep it in. What the hell happened? I didn't see a thing'
His vision was blurred and his hearing was like being underwater, this clearly left a number on him.

'This asshole, did he have to go that far? Fuck him, fuck this shit! I need to get stronger, I need to fight!' His mind started to race again, this time with violent and furious thoughts. Time seemed to slow down as his thought process became faster.
Pain, embarrassment, humiliation, and weakness were things that ran through his head at the time. He couldn't focus on one thought as they all shot through his head and took turns being dominant. They had one thing in common though, they fueled his anger, seeping into his brain and unconsciously activating the seal that lay dormant in his body. It starts with a tingling in the head, then it goes through his limbs, the sensation getting more intense by the second, it felt weird but good.

The more he thought, the angrier he became, soon his blood started to boil and his breath became hot. His skin again took on the red hue and steam soon started to rise as the fury magic covered his whole body.
He began to twitch, as jolts of electricity shot through his body, making him assume weird poses on the ground before they clear his thoughts and he regains his focus. He was in control now, this happened before, this was nothing new, but every time felt so alien to him.

He rose to his feet slowly, his head hanging low until his body was upwards. With a quick motion, he now stared at War again, who had picked dusted himself off and picked up his club by now. It was an intense stare, one that would have little children scream for their mom. War returned with a stare of his own that he directed at the human, his eyes sparkling with joy. A feeling of excitement washed over him as he sensed the new threat of an angry Melkor.
He hadn't seen this sort of magic before, and would most likely frighten him if he wasn't so damn excited to throw hands with the human.

"Looks like you finally realized you won't come far without your rage." The minotaur gave a hearty laugh and smiled at his now literally fuming friend.

"Shut up." Melkor didn't say much, he didn't need to. His actions would talk louder than any words he could possibly think of.
The crowd had grown quite silent, you could cut the tension with a knife so to speak. If there was popcorn around here, I'm pretty sure it would be eaten by these guys by now.
The human leaped forward, creating a small shockwave and a large foot imprint on the ground that he launched from.
He was fast, much faster than before but that was a given in his current state.

War prepared to swing his club as Melkor flew straight at him with a cocked back arm.
He swang the mighty wooden tool with as much force as he could muster, reaching a speed that could barely be seen by the naked eye.

The human swung his fist equally fast and the two objects collided with amazing force, creating a loud bang in the action.
Splinters flew through the air, and both Melkor and War had been knocked back from the impact.
War barely managed to catch himself before falling by driving his free hand into the ground. His opponent had been knocked on his back again, but he quickly kicked himself up, before pausing and looking a bit dumbfounded.

"I did not know I could do that-" He said, pretty baffled. It's something he always wanted to do, he would definitely do that again when he had the chance.

BACK TO THE ACTION

Melkor scoffed and frowned at the realization of just how much that armor impended his movement, so he grabbed it in the middle and ripped it apart, and took off the helmet leaving him bare-chested. He took a deep breath and cracked his neck loudly.

"Hey, those are expensive!" Yelled someone from the crowd, breaking the silence.

"Sorry, I'll cover it!" Melkor responded, grimacing as he remembered he was pretty much broke after buying that sword.
He got back into position and started sprinting at his opponent, who had also regained his balance by now.
The minotaur also began sprinting, and they both clashed in the middle, the club was pretty damaged from before, so Melkor's first swing at it broke it in half completely, leaving War without a weapon now. He did not seem to mind though, as he immediately swung his fist at Melkor, hitting him in the chest. The punch had more force than the ones before, and even though he was amped up, hurt the nimble human quite a bit.

"You were still holding back before you bastard." He glared at his friend who was chuckling to himself at the moment.

"Of course, I didn't want this to be over too soon." He gave the biggest shit-eating grin ever to be seen by anyone and went for another punch, this time directed at the face.
His fist was met by that of Melkor, who by now wore a grin of his own.
War and Melkor then engaged in a flurry of blows to one another, their fists often colliding with audible smacks and crunches, seemingly increasing with speed and power as time went on. It was quite a spectacle to those who watched, both were very fast and left almost no opening to the other,

The crowd was now full-on cheering and excited, there were people making bets, and as I foretold it some had brought snacks to nibble on as they watched the two go at it.

A punch of Melkor managed to bypass War's defense and hit him straight in the liver, sending him flying into a part of the arena fence. The large bull smashed through the barricade, but even after that, he managed to pick himself up.
He was hurt badly of course, but it was in situations like this that he felt true happiness and ecstasy so you won't hear him complaining.
Melkor continued to sprint towards him, but War managed to dodge his first punch and countered by using the momentum to grab his arm and throwing him into the ground.

The human gasped as he collided with the hard arena floor, a widespread pain shooting through his back. He hit the ground so hard he even bounced a bit before falling down again. There was dirt in his eyes, and he was beginning to feel tired again, he had to make this quick now. He struggled to get up and looked at his opponent who was clutching the spot where he had hit him before. The guy was obviously hurt and didn't have that much fight in him left either.

He used the last of his strength to run at Raging War one last time, kicking up dust and sand with every step. The bull got into a fighting stance and swung a left hook at his assailant, who took the hit but didn't stop his charge.
Melkor's face exploded in pain as he was hit, but he powered through it, he could do it.
Using the speed he had built up, the charged-up man now plunged his elbow deeply into the abdomen of the Bull, knocking him back and causing him to spit up a bit of blood.
Melkor then prepared to deliver a finishing blow to his now-flying opponent. He jumped up so that he was above the minotaur and twisted his body, creating the right position for a well-placed roundhouse kick.

The kick shot downwards at high speed, hitting War in the chest and knocking him into the ground with impressive force. There was a loud crack and a huge cloud of dust sprang up as he made contact with the floor. He was very lucky to be wearing that soft padded armor.

Melkor didn't have the time to land gracefully so he fell and hit his shoulder, again knocking the wind out of him. He now realized that he had spent all of his energy and the magic again drained from his body. There was as per usual, a lot of pain, but this was not even comparable to the last incident. He didn't scream but there was a fair share of groans and pained breathing. But all of those noises were drowned out by the crowd having the time of their life and going wild over the match.

The human took quite a while before he could stand up again. Looking at War confirmed that he was still conscious and laughing his ass off like there had been a good joke.

"I gotta tell you, that was amazing Mel!" He groaned once in a while between laughs, but it was clear that he enjoyed this more than the pain hurt him.
He stood up and sat down next to his friend, who was still on the ground and breathing like a dog.

"How.... are..... you still this talkative?" He coughed a few times, and tried to regain his breath, "I just slammed you into da ground, my guy..... you went all boom!" As hurt as he may be, Melkor has still got energy for jokes.

"Oh no I definitely felt that, and I gotta say you pack a mean punch. The armor did help to absorb the impact though...if I didn't have that, things would be worse for me." He then coughed up a bit of blood, which landed on the ground before the human. "Just ignore that. I'll say we call it a draw" he smiled at the human and extended a hand to him.

"No way man, I beat your ass! You ain't got.... nothing on me...." His sentence was followed by a lot of coughing and reeling in pain.
"Alright fine, draw." That got a chuckle out of his friend, who now helped him stand up.

"That's what I wanted to hear! So, how about I treat you to a drink?"

"Sure, that sounds grea-" His sentence was cut off by the sound of a lot of minotaurs going to one knee. Looking up he realized they were all bowing, sure the fight was great but he didn't expect this kind of response from the audience. His thoughts were then interrupted by War following the example and going down to a knee. Melkor was confused, what was happening?
He looked around and saw that a large double door leading into the training grounds had just opened. And something was coming out, something big and lizard-like.

The creature looked almost like a komodo dragon but with yellow color and black spots all over its body. It was also much larger, and by that, I mean really huge, maybe twice the size of a saltwater crocodile. The thing had six legs and horns on its head, Melkor almost would have freaked out if he hadn't remembered that such things were probably common around here.
He just continued to watch in awe as the thing slowly crept towards his and War's position, almost carrying itself with a form of dignity.

As it came close, he noticed a relatively small figure on its back, clothed in fine blue robes and all sorts of medals around the neck. A hood covered their face so he couldn't make out more detailed features.
Melkor felt chilly, the air around him almost seemed to grow colder by the second, he dismissed the thought, thinking that it was just him being nervous, who wouldn't be?
He swallowed hard, why was everyone bowing? Is this a bad thing? Is something bad happening right now?

The lizard stopped to a halt a few meters before him, and the figure climbed off. They were quite small, about the size of a cat person he had met, so they reached his chest area. As they got closer, he noticed that he was not just nervous, the air was indeed getting colder, he no longer felt the sun burn his skin, rather, he felt actually cold.

The figure took off the hood, shedding light on the mystery of who it was that the minotaurs bowed to.
The hood gave way to light grey fur and piercing purple eyes before him stood a delicate female minotaur, smaller than any he had met, but also with an aura that would make someone feel uneasy if they were in the same room as them.
She had a pretty stern look on her face, but in all honesty, Melkor couldn't take her that seriously, she looked like a child compared to the others, he would even go so far as to call her 'cute'.

"Is it not custom to bow before one's superior in Menkaind?" She asked with a certain coolness in her voice, she seemed calm, relaxed almost. Melkor had now finally grasped that this was not a random child but probably an important person around here, so he blushed and mentally slapped himself for being an idiot.
He now bent the knee like his fellow brethren did, looking towards the ground, and trying to hide his shame.

"I am deeply sorry milady, I did not wish to offend you in any way." Nice, he worded that in the most pretentious way possible, if he was not a manchild cracking jokes, he was a bootleg knight.

"Milady?" She then chuckled for a bit. Her voice was actually quite nice and calming, not at all like the gruff and booming voices of his co-workers he had become accustomed to.
"No one has ever addressed me like that. Everyone calls me boss, you will do so too, of course."

'Of couuuurse she is the boss! Sure a noble lady or an aristocrat or something, but the boss of this band of cheese dicks, really?'

Melkor couldn't help but wonder how someone so small and delicate could actually be the leader of a hardened Warband, but he dared not ask, this chick gave him the heebie jeebies.

"Of course boss, I will do as you ask." He kept his head lowered, not daring to look her in the eye. He knew a mistake or one wrong move could end with him being 'human flambee' by the end of today.

"Good, at least you seem to possess a tad of intelligence. Your name was Melkor right?" She lifted his head up with a gloved hand, and then looked straight into his eyes. He didn't manage to croak a word out, as his heart was pumping really fast and for the first time in a long while, he was actually nervous. Instead, he decided to nod.

"What an interesting thing you are...." She almost seemed to trail off, looking deeply into his eyes and looking at the rest of his body. "But that is not the reason I am here, you have received my favor. I trust you know what this means?" She asked smoothly, her voice caressing his ears in an unnatural way. This was all kinds of wrong, this girl gave him all the wrong vibes.

"O-of course boss.." The nervous human managed to croak out, "You will give me a task, and I will complete it." He managed to say his last sentence with a bit more confidence, not sounding like a total fool this time.

She finally let go of his chin and began to smile.

"Good boy, I have the perfect job for you."

'Oh fuck'

Lord of the Sands

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Melkor stood at the city gates, sweating up a storm for what he had to do next was something he dreaded ever since laying foot inside the city. He had received his task from the boss, who he didn't find intimidating at all, showcased by the amount of anxiety that had rushed through his body like it was no one else's business.
He was given an extra day of downtime to let his bruises and emotional trauma heal, a day which he spent in his room, laying in his bed and rethinking his life choices and wondering if it wasn't better he never went for that damn walk.

Things weren't all bad though, the boss had some new clothes tailored for him, sturdy clothes fit for uncomfortable trials of hardship. The cloth was padded and flexible enough to move around in, without anything tearing. He was also sporting a large backpack filled with gadgets and supplies to last him for a while.

Hunting knives, rope, waterskins, blankets, a compass, flint and steel, and of course packets of dried fruit and vegetables he could snack on. You're probably thinking why Mel was so uncomfortable with this situation, you see his tasks included something he never wanted to do again.

Go back inside that fucking desert.

"I hate my life." He sighed while kicking a rock that lay on the ground before him. He got a few strange glances from the Diamond dogs that guarded the gate, but he couldn't care less. For all he cared, they could just impale him with those spears that glistened in the blazing sun.

His female superior had given him the task of retrieving something called a 'fire ruby' out of an ancient castle ruin, belonging to an old civilization of dragons that have long since left the land. The spot was several hundred miles west of Dorne, inside of a mountain pass. This might seem like total overkill...

No wait...this IS total overkill.

He didn't dare talk back to the boss, however, because he was afraid of what she or the others might do to him if he would not comply, he could handle one minotaur maybe, but a hundred? No, please. And he didn't want to spend the rest of his life as a slave, though now the option didn't seem so bad anymore. He didn't even know what this fire ruby is supposed to be, or how it would look like once he actually got there. Hell, he didn't even know if someone didn't already snatch it away from where it was. Oh boy, this whole thing was gonna suck ass.

At least his friends were supportive and gave him some tips and tricks about surviving in the desert and pathfinding, Steel even gave him a small bow and about 20 arrows, he didn't know jack shit about using those, so he would probably use it to start a fire later on. His squad and Jerb all promised to send him off today, but it seems that yesterday's farewell party had even knocked the spirit out of the mighties of minotaurs. Thank god He didn't have any drinks, he would literally die before nightfall. He was too nervous to drink anything anyway, let alone sleep in that rock-hard bed of his.

But no arguing would save him from his predicament now, it was far too late and the clothes had already been paid for.

The next thing he had to do was take the first step, but he didn't dare it just yet.
His eyes were fixed on the horizon, and the lack of anything but sand in it. The desert glared at him and its void emptiness filled his heart with doubt. He could hype himself up all he wanted, but in situations like these, the true cowardice of man begins to show again. But, to be fair, I'm pretty sure no one would actually feel joy in this sort of situation, except maybe War the crazy bastard.

The human took a deep breath and tried not to shed tears of regret as he began with the first step of his long march.
"Thank god these boots don't let any heat through, God knows they're gonna be smelling like my cousin's cum sock collection by tomorrow. It's so hot I can't believe how much I hate it!" The human began ranting, one of his more passionately followed hobbies.

"Oh let's just send the new guy on a journey to an unknown place that no one has been in for centuries! This isn't Lord of the rings, I'm not Frodo and I don't have Sam!" He began comparing himself to some of his favorite movie characters, who faced similar situations, although even they didn't have to move through a desert devoid of life. (not counting Mordor)

But no amount of complaining would get him out of this situation, it was his own fault if we are being honest here. His mental screams became louder and louder as he stepped further into the endless body of sand and dust, Melkor really darn goofed this time, heh.

Several hours later...

The sun had now risen to the zenith of the vast skies, it was a short period after noon now. Many steps were taken until now, and many droplets of sweat had found their way out of the lone traveler's skin. The land of Orin was known for its endless deserts and rocky cliffs, along with the deadly wildlife. Truly, Australians would feel right at home here. As time went on, there was a faint noise growing to be heard, wandering through the heart of the desert,

"tell me why..."

It was almost like someone was singing something, a tune unheard by many a soul for many years.

"ain't nothing but a heartache!"

If anyone were to hear it they might be hit with a wave of nostalgia of better times when things were easier, and music was better than today's crap playing at your local tavern.

"TELL ME WHY"

The sound became louder, and louder, as it was clear that it was just a very annoyed Melkor slowly going over a dune, singing one of his favorite songs, while being slapped in the face by sandy winds, which made the sand stick to his sweaty face, an experience that much reminded him of last week, when he had first gotten here. A lot had happened regarding that he wasn't here for very long.

"AIN'T NOTHING BUT A MISTAKE!"

The human just kept on getting louder, singing with more fervor than he ever had before, trying to forget these awful feelings of uneasiness. Hunger also slowly crept into the back of his mind, he needed to find some shelter soon, he had only walked for about seventeen miles, the way ahead was a lot longer than that. While in this situation, he thought about home, about the warm bed that stood in his room, about his friends in college, about good old American food. It was in moments like these when fun no longer was an option, and endurance and strength of mind were tested, that he rethought the choice of becoming a mercenary in an alien world without any knowledge of how things are.

Truly, this lifestyle is changing him, the constant struggle and the adaption to new surroundings and the constant feeling of growing power he has, all of those things feed into his development, he is becoming more mature, he is becoming a man-

"I NEVER WANNA HEAR YOU SAAAAAY!"

Never mind.

"I don't know why I'm even doing this honestly, it just seems pointless. I don't even have a clue where this ancient fortress is supposed to be, it feels like I'm sent out here to die like the boss doesn't want me, or what I am inside of her organization. I mean it would be the most convenient option for her, not having to get her hands dirty and all that, you know?"

He looked into the starry sky and lay on the cold desert sand as a small but warm fire warmed his sides, a snake that he killed slowly roasting above it.
The night sky looked so very different, it was something he had to get used to, so much more visible stars than back home, and the moon was much more radiant and gave enough light to see in the nightly hours. The human took a deep breath and calmed his mind, before continuing his conversation.

"I don't want to die, but I also don't want to leave. Chances are if I leave I'm gonna get killed anyway, so I think it's best if I just try to find that stupid gemstone or whatever. I have been walking for two days now and It seems like I haven't made any progress at all. I love this world as much as I hate it, being able to do all these amazing things is giving me thrills I never had before and it sometimes scares me what I'm capable of doing, or what I'm thinking sometimes. I think it's human to long for something we could never have, but now that I have something so unobtainable for anyone else I have ever known, I'm not even able to share this overwhelming feeling with the ones I care about. Sure the Minotaurs are great but I've only known them for a few days, I miss my friends, especially Felix. That bastard is probably out there having parties without me, heh, if I wasn't such a good wingman he wouldn't have had half the success with women." Melkor teared up before choking on the next thing he was about to say.

"He's screwed without me, and probably wonders where I am."
Thinking back on the days the two of them would go on parties and have the time of their lives made him sadder than he could have imagined, the full weight of his situation came down on him for the very first time in these last few days. He would never have another human to interact with again, no one that can relate to him, no one that he can truly open up about.
What's a life full of adventures and awesomeness when no one else is there to experience it with you? There was nothing he could do, probably no one in this backward ass country, he wasn't even completely sure of going back, he was just, confused. He wiped away his tears and took a bite of the now fully cooked snake, which surprisingly tasted more like chicken than earth's hen's do.

"You know, thanks for listening to me." The human smiled at the small blue lizard that had sat beside him since dawn, with hungry eyes that eyed that snake on a stick.

Melkor broke off a little piece for his newfound friend and they each enjoyed a nice little meal while enjoying the other's company.
Sleep that night came almost easily, the fire crackling beside him gave him some sort of comfort and the lizard had also decided to coop upon his chest, which was adorable as heck. He finally had the courage to bring the subject of loss up, it hurts but he couldn't just shove it aside, he confronted it tonight, and while he isn't over it yet, he has taken the first step towards acceptance.
He dreamt of home, of his loved ones, and how their lives would go on and they would still find meaning in happiness with their situation, and it became clear to him that he had to do this as well, seeing his friends and parents again comforted him with a night of deep sleep, that wasn't interrupted nor disturbed.

Melkor continued his march the next morning, having newfound motivation and inspiration. He walked through the dunes and sands with more pace than before, and more resolve, a different tune on his lips every other minute. Melkor was a pretty good singer, it was one of his favorite things to do if we're going, to be honest, but his colleagues don't seem to care for music altogether. But here it was different, no audience, just the emptiness before and behind him, it raised his spirit to sing, and every journey with a little joy in the heart becomes much better.
The small lizard now named Sam, that lived in his backpack now seemed to enjoy the music as well. The little guy just didn't leave and kept following Melkor, who didn't have the heart to abandon this little guy. He was actually really glad he was getting some company on the way forward.

Today was rather mild actually, the sun hiding behind some clouds every now and then, the only thing that would make this better was some rain or a river. He was slowly running out of water, so he had to find some asap. According to his map, the next big river was at least two days away. This situation had become even worse than before, he needed to drink, or else he would die sooner than he could imagine.

He kept on walking, speeding up unknowingly as his steps became wider and his eyes more panicked.
Being in the worst place imaginable without water just seems a bit unfair if you think about it.

He contemplated drinking water out of the many cacti he had seen along the way, but he didn't think seeing giant friendly mushrooms would help him in this situation.

"Sam, what do we do? I can last today, I have a bit left over but I don't know how I will survive tomorrow..." Worry filled Melkors voice, as the sky lit up again as the cloud had passed beyond the sun, he heard a noise.

A grunt, followed by heavy, sandy footsteps.

He crouched down and observed as over the hill next to him descended a group of camels, and dromedaries, paying him no mind as their massive bodies slowly walked past him, casting his body into the shade with their wide and tall frames. They were much bigger than their cousins back on earth, and every step of them seemed to have immense weight behind it, he didn't want to attack them for meat, he didn't dare to.

Then it hit him, these guys must know where to find water, and you don't look a gifted horse in the mouth, so he quickly took up the pace and followed the giants to wherever it is they are heading, while he might get off track for a while, he didn't really care as long as it meant water and survival. He was also pretty sure that these things are big enough to keep any potential predators away from him for the time.
Sam took one look at the things and hid in the bag again, they were easily 3 meters tall and weighed at least two tons, dwarfing the pretty tall human in comparison.

Melkor also kept his distance and resorted from Singing to mellow whistling to keep these things from being annoyed or alerted, while he knew that camels weren't the most dangerous things back home, these bad boys played in a whole other league, at least they were something relatively familiar to him.

As the hours went by, Melkor became more daring and approached the creatures a bit more, and they didn't seem to mind as he posed no real threat. He even contemplated using his magic to jump on one of them but that could easily backfire.

"Now we only need to find water sam, I'm sure we'll make-" He paused as his vision spotted green in the far horizon, could it be? Trees? And a possible water hole? He jumped and shouted out with glee, his survival had been secured and he couldn't believe his luck.

His traveling companions that were startled by the sudden outcry just gave looks of annoyance at the human, seemingly judging him, except being only dumb animals.

"Hehe, sorry."

Dangerous Paradise

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Sprinting was never an easy thing to do, neither was it fun for the eccentric human from earth, and by god did the sand make it all that harder for him. The thing is, that he didn't care about the big mass of sand that hindered his legs from gaining the speed he actually wanted to have. He didn't care and was running full speed towards the oasis, which hopefully was not a hallucination, the friendly desert mammals had led him to.

Melkor was about done with everything, life had been hell these past few days. But now that he had found this place of life-saving moisture, he was not waiting another minute until he could taste that fresh and probably bacteria-infected water.
He practically lept the distance from the first palm tree towards the shore of this little pond and landed face first in the cool liquid. He filled his cheeks with as much as they could hold before he swallowed hard, before repeating the process over and over again, while also not caring that he absolutely forgot to take a breath once in a while. Shade covered his body, soon after, the effects of hydration and not being exposed to the sun all that much, soon let him regain his vigor. Once he had satisfied himself with drinking, he turned on his back, only to be surprised by shuffling in his backpack, it seems like the little rascal Sam had also noticed that they were now in more hospitable surroundings, and quickly rushed in the water as well.

The human just lay on his back and breathed in and out, taking in the scent of the trees and a few flowers smells that he never really cherished or noticed before, but being this close to madness and dehydration lets you look at things a little differently.
Sam splashed in the tiny lake and dived, practically giving a little show for his newfound friend, while also marveling in the beauty of this place, if lizards could laugh, then the little guy would have probably done so.

The Beasts that showed them the way did not seem to be joining the pair, as they headed south instead, maybe to more flush and wet lands altogether.
Mel wondered why they went this way if they didn't want to drink or eat anything, perhaps they just sensed that he needed this and decided that he was worth saving? That couldn't be it, those were animals, it had to be a huge coincidence that something like this happened.
Soon after dismissing that thought, he stood up and took a look at his surroundings, the lake was about thirty meters long and fifteen wide, with almost crystal clear water, a saving grace for many an animal or traveler no doubt.
Nine palm trees decorated the scene, each with a few bushes growing from their roots, containing colorful flowers and living up the atmosphere.

In the far-off distance, Melkor could see a mountain pass that dominated the horizon, that is where he needed to go, the Herald mountains, the former seat of the ancient Dragor-empire a force destroyed thousands of years ago, by god knows what. And it was in that giant mountain range, that the castle in which he had to go was located, where all he had to do was find some damn ruby, god how stupid this all was.
He felt uneasy, he had walked maybe sixty miles in the last three days, and he had about twice that much left to go. Dire circumstances for any man walking in a desert, but at least he could rest here a bit and fill his waterskins. His determination to survive only grew in that time, even though the thought of simply booking it often crossed his mind, he did not dare challenge the boss or his brethren in arms.
He sighed and decided that it was the most logical decision to spend the night here and continue tomorrow, after all, it had been quite the day and he could use the rest until nightfall.
Melkor would have some time to do stuff.....but what to do?
'I could maybe practice magic, or spend some time to think about a plan....or just play with Sam.' His thought process was, as usual, not very complicated and the options indeed very limited. But in this moment of unsureness, Melkor felt his neck hairs spike up, and his nostrils picked up quite a rotten smell, the kind that would almost let you puke, but oddly remind you of grandma's place.

He knew something was up when Sam skedaddled out of the water like a flying fish taking off. He quickly grabbed his small friend and dragged himself behind some bushes that were plastered under the palm tree right next to him.
Something was off, maybe there was another reason those camels didn't want to go here, the stench of fouled meat spread through the air, and Melkor would soon see the reason as to why.

On the other side of the oasis, there was sand being thrown up, just behind a dune of sand, and over the hill of beige-colored pebbles, there loomed the head of something Mel never would have thought of seeing.
There was a bird walking toward the safe spot, but not just any bird, no no no, this.....was a so-called terror bird, three meters in height and with a mean attitude backing his giant steps.
And in his enormous beak, there was the carcass of a smaller and already rotting ostrich, which is a massive creature by itself, but his predator dwarfed the dead bird and as soon as he found his way to the oasis, threw him on the ground, which produced a sickening sound, the mixture of bones cracking and flesh ripping.

Melkor was about to freak out, those things were extinct! Or at least they were on earth, that thing just about thirty meters away from him, was as alive as he was and feasting on the corpse of an animal.
Sam had already hidden in his backpack and probably prayed to his lizard god or something, while the human tried his best to keep his breathing calm and collected.
That thing was something else compared to some thugs or his friends, this was a savage beast that could easily cleave the poor bastard in two pieces if it wanted to do so, and it most likely did. Kelenken is extremely aggressive and almost always hungry, if you're asking how he knows that he was just a nerd about all things extinct.
His heart raced, this was new, genuine fear took over his whole body, he knew that if he ran, then this thing would absolutely chase him down and bite his head off.
If he hid, it would sooner or later catch a whiff of him and the result would be the same, dead Melkor, fed bird.

Mel collected his thoughts and slowed his breathing, it seems like fighting is the only solution, he had to make the first move and he had to do it fast.
Sweat once again poured down his face as he strapped down the bow from his back, and took out his quiver, in which there were still all arrows left.
He once fired a bow as a kid and was pretty good, this couldn't be that much harder, could it?
"Keep calm, just do what Steel told you and it will be fine, always aim a little higher when the target is far away." he was whispering to calm his mind when suddenly an idea struck him.
So he tied some rope around the arrow and made sure it was sturdy, before tying it to the tree which he was currently under. Next, he drenched the whole thing in water and made sure that it was indeed wet enough for what he was about to do, which was genius in his mind at least.

He knocked the arrow and took a deep breath before looking over the bushes, that bastard was still chomping away at his meal, without even looking out for anything, seems like he was the apex predator around here, no wonder looking at those muscles and talons.
'If this doesn't work, I'm screwed, keep calm' Melkor gathered his thoughts before he silently stood up from the bushes and took aim, just a smidge higher than the beast's chest. There had never been a moment in his life, not even when asking Linsey Brines to the prom, where this man had been more nervous, and it showed on his face, and in his mind.
After a few seconds though, the Kelenken stopped his feast to slowly turn his head to the human, before staring him dead in the eye.
And before letting even a second more pass, he breathed out and released his grip on the bowstring. His eyes never closed during the time his projectile flew through the air, and it seemed like minutes passed. Melkor was not a trained archer, so his stance was poor and he shook the bow slightly upon release, so the arrow went a little off course.
He stared intently, as it flew towards his enemy, ever so slightly coming closer and closer.

The Impact could be heard, and Melkor was stunned for a second. His shot had missed the chest, but the arrow still embedded itself in the stomach of the beast, letting it emit a roar of pain and discomfort. The high-pitched shriek was painful in Mel's ears, but he did not have time to cover them, for the beast had already started its approach, and it was faster than anything Melkor had ever seen, it would no doubt reach him in just a few seconds.
Blood spilled out of the wound and covered a bit of the rope that now tangled in its intestines, the beast was hurt no doubt but that rarely ever stops their charge.
The Human did not waste a second and immediately grabbed the rope around the tree with his right hand, before still looking at the approaching doom, Melkor had never more in his life been thankful to have received magic.

"SPARK!" small dots of red electricity shot of out his right palm and immediately engulfed the rope, leaving burnt marks across its long body. With speed unable to be detected by the eye, the shock traveled down the rope and the arrow, right into the arrow wound, causing the Kelenken to stop in its tracks and trip over in pain. It reeled and spat out blood, and one could see the intestines spilling out of his gut, while also beginning to smoke, this was torture for the poor creature.
Melkor never released the rope, and continued to send little waves of sparks to the bird's abdomen, he had prayed that his magic was stronger, just to end the poor creature's life at this point.
He winced and practically felt its pain as it slowly cooked from the inside out, such a horrible thing to watch.

The screams and squirms stopped after about two minutes when there was nothing but a steaming pile of blackened guts on the ground, and a dead Terror bird in front of the Human. He had done it, he had once again survived something unlikely and it made him proud, a feeling he grew fonder of every day, as it bolstered his confidence, while also nurturing something more wicked about him, but he chose to ignore that side.

"Sam, you can come out, we're safe, thank god for magic." He practically let himself fall to the ground as soon as Sam escaped the cave of cloth he hid in. It was also in this moment that Melkor became apparent to the smell that this mess in front of him was producing, and he was not a fan.
He held his nose, and threw up his eyebrows, but was in fact too lazy and still too shaken to move even an inch.
Sam on the other hand found these black intestines to be quite the tasty treat and helped himself to a few servings of burnt foie gras.

A few hours later, the mess was cleaned up and the exhaustion was beaten once again. It was nighttime now and Melkor once again started a fire with some dry wood that he kept in his backpack, Kelenken was roasting over the fire and he had to admit that it was not bad at all, actually richer than chicken with less fat.
He felt blessed to be able to eat actual food in the desert this time around, while also being next to a freshwater pool, that was also clean and not filled with fish that pee in it.
"You know Sam, it helps me a lot that you are here, actually. I know you can't understand me and we can't really talk, but I feel better when you are around, kinda gives me the feeling of not being by myself, so please stick around okay?" He told the small lizard, which was once again resting comfortably on his chest, but he did not expect his little buddy to actually nod at his question.
For the first moment, Mel was just, surprised, then he was a bit dumbfounded but the expression that would have suited him most was....shocked.
'There is no way he actually just nodded at me, how does that even work? He's a lizard so why would we be able to communicate?' Then it hit him that he was in a world where minotaurs exist and dogs and cats walk on two legs, so he should probably not be this surprised by it.

"Sam, do you understand what I'm saying?" Another nod was given to him by his small blue friend.
Our protagonist couldn't help but laugh his ass off, this was amazing to him, to be able to talk to your pet was awesome!
He then patted that cute little head of his and continued with the questions.
"Are you a boy?" Another nod, "Do you have a family?" A shake of the head, followed by a small sad squeak.
Melkor then proceeded to pet him, "Don't worry, we're a family now. You are my Sam, and we'll journey to mount doom together." He said in a soft tone, that carried his tiredness into the vast void of the night.
The moon shone bright and beautiful tonight, and its reflection inside the pond was one of the most relaxing things this human had seen in a while.
He slowly let his eyes close while he listened to the soft snores of his companion, as he was suddenly startled, by a distant flashing of green light, that seemed to be like a wave of green fire or something.
He quickly stood up and grabbed his bow, this could be something even more dangerous than before, and he was unsure of what to do.

He held his head low and extinguished the fire with his foot, now it was cold and his breath could be seen.
There was rustling in the bushes, and he strained his eyes to look for the source.
Focus barely came to him but after a while, he could now see clearly, basking in the moonlight just before the pond, there stood another Human.

It was a blonde woman, and she was beautiful, he could not believe his eyes, this was a dream come true! Someone he could talk to about home and how they may have gotten here.
He approached her slowly as she seemed to pay him no mind while staring at the moon, her blonde hair almost glowing silver on this night.
Something was a little odd though, since when had humans with blonde hair, such piercing green eyes?

Starry Starry Sky

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The moon and stars wove a sky that was only seen in movies this night, while the cool air brushed through Mel's hair and rustled his unkempt mane that had been gathering sand these last few days. It surely was a sight to behold for anyone that loved stargazing as much as the young man did, so there had to be a pretty good reason why his focus was away from the jeweled heaven, and there sure was.
The woman he was currently staring at from a safe distance, was enough to catch his attention while letting his jaw hit the floor.
He swallowed hard, this was weird, why would there be someone like here in this shithole of a desert? And she seemed without a care in the world, as her emerald eyes searched her surroundings just before they landed on the young man, catching him off guard and piercing his soul.
They were so green, more so than he had ever seen on anyone before and it was captivating him to come closer and call out to her, but before he could do so she made the first move and stood up, seemingly startled at the wild man before her.

"Wait!" Melkor called out a little louder than he wanted to, and he slapped himself for it mentally. Great way to be subtle about it dumbass!
The woman fell backward on her posterior and looked at Melkor with a mix of fear and amazement, seems like she didn't expect to meet someone out here, and probably not another human.
"I-I'm sorry...please don't be afraid! I'm friendly I swear, look!" He held up his arms in the international sign of surrender to seem less threatening.
She took her time to stand up and dust herself off, before then continuing to keep her gaze fixed on the nervous man.
Her expression changed from afraid to a little more curious, and she slowly approached him, as if her nerves had been calmed by something.

"Who are you, stranger?" She asked him, with a voice that was smoother than silk but still held a bit of authority in the back regions of her intentions, that voice was regal. Matched with her beautiful appearance and the way she carried her she must have been some sort of celebrity or star if she was from earth as well, but who knew maybe there were human people in this wretched world after all! The thought alone excited Mel, but he needed to be a bit more cautious about this whole thing, after all, he didn't know who that person was and if she was to be trusted or not.

"My name is....." He needed a moment to think, would he give her his real name or the one that he made up her and give her the whole, 'I'm a sergeant of humanity' shtick. This was hard, judging from her tone of voice and those exotic eyes she could not be from back home, or could she? Playing it safe would be the better option.
"Melkor, I come from Dorne and I'm currently on my way to the herald mountains. I'm really surprised to meet another human out here, to be honest, you're the first one I have seen in a long time so please excuse me if I startled you."
His voice was nervous, maybe a bit intimidated by her aura, but yet she seemed so harmless.
He dared to move a bit closer to her, even though it was slow his movement carried a bit of conviction as if he had a goal to reach, which indeed he had and she was the most beautiful thing he had seen in a long time.
She smiled at him with teeth so shiny that they could have lit up the surroundings on their own, had it not been for the full moon gracing the scene on this eventful night.
"I am surprised as well so please excuse my ignorance towards you, dear Melkor. Meeting another hooman is a great surprise indeed since I have not seen any in these parts for months. You see, I was on an expedition to look for new lands and my brethren abandoned me after they thought me useless in a fight, and so I wandered the desert for a long time looking for sights of civilization. It's a pleasure to meet such a gallant young man in this dire situation. My name is Sky." she said those words more elegantly than Melkor had ever heard anyone say anything before, and he could feel the heat rushing to his cheeks as she called him gallant, which he thought was a compliment.

Though he had to hold and think for a hot second at the way she pronounced human, it kind of itched in his ears, and it could not have been an accent as she spoke perfectly clear whenever other words were coming out of her mouth.
He dismissed the thought, maybe that is how they talk like this where she is from, and it would be rude to assume anything else, regarding that this might be his only chance at human interaction ever again.

He returned her smile and the gesture of polite bowing and decided that it was best to not question things so much. Though it was weird that her clothes were in near perfect condition, and her complexion didn't show any signs of the straining sun that haunted the desert.
Magic? Maybe, so he continued to walk toward her as he noticed some tugging in his backpack, it seemed like Sam was not too happy with the situation, but this disturbance was quickly dealt with by jabbing it with his elbow.

He then laughed nervously and scratched his head, Sky was a beautiful name he thought to himself before he spoke up again.
"Would you maybe like me to start a fire for the both of us? You must be cold surely, and I would love to help a lady in need." he quickly said and already began gathering wood with his hunting knife, a process that took some effort and time.

She laughed at his willingness and sat down next to the lake again. Before humming a tune, which was almost bewitching in its beauty. Who was this girl and why was Melkor so attracted to her after this short time?
His heartbeat faster than when he encountered the Kelenken this afternoon and that was weird. It was not just excitement or nervousness that plagued him, no that feeling was something like desire...

Wood was burning and some bird meat adorned the stake above it, filling the air with pleasant smells and giving Melkor something to do without seeming like a bumbling buffoon.
Sky just sat next to him and continued to hum, ever so slightly glancing over at him and sometimes letting a giggle escape those lips.

The apparently gallant young man was nervous as all hell and red as the ripest tomato being next to her.
After about ten minutes of cooking and humming, he prepared the meat for her and himself, before awkwardly taking a bite of his meat, and burning his mouth.

"Argh!" he of course had to make a sound, which was awkward enough as it is, but if that hadn't been enough he also dropped the rest of his wing.
'Fuck! Why do I have to be such a damn idiot, I can't believe that happened. And in front of the prettiest girl, I could have met! I feel like Ben Stiller in one of his horrible romance movies.' he silently continued to curse himself out and didn't notice that his opposite was inching a bit closer until she was so close that one could indeed feel her body heat.

She giggled "You're cute." said Sky in the process of coming closer to the young male next to her, who now looked like he had been thrown in front of a bus.
'Did she really just say that? And when the fuck did she get so close!' his mind was racing, in fact, he never got this close to a girl before so he really didn't know what to do and how to react? Was this that famous moment where the protagonist and the heroine come together for a night of passionate fornication?
He couldn't help but be a bit hopeful, before shaking off that thought and snapping back to reality.
"Excuse me, but I think you got the wrong guy." those words left his mouth in an effort to sound cool, but all it did was give off a bad Sylvester Stallone impression.

Sky however didn't seem phased by that either, no she giggled again in that sweet and alluring voice of hers. This was definitely weird, Mel now kept getting hotter and hotter, not knowing how to deal with this.

"But I mean it, you're handsome and really charming, I like that." that last part was whispered in his ear and it sent down a shiver in his spine that rocked his whole body.
His breath became staggered and his heart nearly jumped out of his chest, this was really happening, wasn't it?

He exhaled strongly before making eye contact with her, 'God those gems are beautiful.' he thought and pondered on what to do next, on what to say next, hell he wondered how he would breathe properly.
"I think you are very pretty, Sky, if I may say that. I'm really glad I met you here." It was now his turn to be smooth and he semi succeeded in his book at least.
"I thought I would never meet another person ever again, it's been quite a while and I miss humanity a lot, to be honest, so for me to meet you here Sky, it's a gift. And we have so much to talk about, where we come from and what we did here, and m-maybe we could keep each other company if that wouldn't be too much to ask-" what happened next was both weird and amazing. His rambling was cut off by Sky, who pressed her lips against his, without any warning whatsoever. To say he was surprised would be the understatement of the century, Melkor was absolutely baffled, to the point where he didn't really take time to enjoy the kiss before it ended. It was short and sweet, no tongue, no slurping, just a little peck on the lips.

After contact was broken he was red and his mouth was open to indicate his level of confusion and surprise. Sky laughed a bit and shut his mouth with the palm of her hand, before bopping his nose in an effort to be cute, and hell did it work.
"You talk too much, and yes I would love to keep you company dear Melkor, you are just a treat." the way she emphasized treat was kinda weird, but hey Melkor just had his first kiss and it was awesome, or at least he thought so.

He regained his composure shortly after and cleared his throat.
"Great, thank you Sky..." he was a mess, and he somehow felt a bit tired, but also amazing in a weird sort of way. The girl in front of him was beautiful before, but now that her lips have graced his, she absolutely shined and he had this feeling of wanting to be with her. Was this love? Do you fall in love that easily? Who the heck cares, this is what's happening now!

You heard it right folks this story just turned into a romance!
DEAL WITH IT!

Moments later...

The fire was dying out and soon the stars along with the big cheese in the sky were the only thing lighting up the small paradise that Melkor had found.
On his shoulder was the head of the most beautiful woman he had ever met while they both sat on a patch of grass that covered the basin of the oasis.
The two were stargazing, and haven't spoken that much since the kiss barely thirty minutes ago, but they didn't need words, the stars told stories which they never could and their hearts...

Okay, that is way too sappy I'm not continuing like that.

Melkor and Sky enjoyed the silence and each other's company, no more kissing was done, but Melkor felt happier than he ever did, and he felt like he truly loved this girl. Which was weird, he had only met her barely an hour ago, and yet she managed to capture his heart and the rest of him in that time.
Sam had meanwhile fallen asleep and given up on escaping the prison of cloth and leather that bound him, so he dreamed of food probably.

"The stars are so clear tonight, I wonder if they have led you to me." Melkor broke the stillness with perhaps one of the corniest lines I have ever heard, come on man you're not like that! Where has the reference-making jokester from chapter one gone?
"Who knows maybe there will be a meteor shower so we can get all of this sand out of our hair." there he is.
Although that joke was abysmal, Sky still laughed and smiled. Honestly, that woman had a strange vibe to her, but Melkor was happy and did not mind the weirdness but rather fully embraced it.

"The stars are mysterious, they have been my only friends in this desert for a long time, so I'm glad I have you now Mel." she already moved on to shortening his name, seems this was legit and not just a one-sided fantasy like he was afraid it would be.
He now felt more comfortable, and almost compelled to do something, so he put his arm around her and pulled her closer. He normally wouldn't have done that, because he was usually a nervous little manchild, but this was different, it felt like something compelled him to take action.
He suddenly had this feeling of being weakened again, which resulted in a mild headache, which he pushed down as to not upset his companion.
She snuggled closer to him and this feeling of desire kept on growing, along with the fatigue and the headache, something was wrong, and he knew it. But why did this feel so god damn right?

He closed his eyes and had to rub his temple for a second, before using up all his willpower and pushing Sky slightly off him, so he could breathe again.
He inhaled sharply as the air flooded his lungs and his head didn't feel like five bottles of vodka anymore.

Sky seemed surprised and pouted at him, obviously ignoring his discomfort, before she came closer again. She crawled on all fours in a seductive manner toward the overwhelmed boy. She came closer and closed in on his lips again, this time with a deeper kiss that had loads of passion in it.
Melkor was of course again startled and he might have enjoyed it, had it not been for the feeling of being drained like a water bottle that was meant for someone who ran the marathon.
The headache got so much worse, but he couldn't refuse those lips, could he?
He had to, he was feeling like he was about to die!

He pushed her away from him, this time with more force than before and she landed softly on the grass, leaving Mel gasping for air and coughing soon after.
If kissing was like that then he had enough of it already.

Sky of course stood back up and came closer again, this time loosening the shoulders of her tunic and exposing the soft white skin underneath, while also giving him a look that could only be identified as the 'do me' eyes.
He gulped hard, he knew that was bad for him but how could he resist that? He literally couldn't, he wanted to but his effort to stay strong was thwarted by this little voice in the back of his head, that kept telling him to push forward and enjoy the fruits that were given to him.

"Come on, don't you want me? This might be your only chance to mate with me Mel. After all, we could be the last survivors. Who knows if my expedition or the others back on Menkaind survived the hardships." she kept crawling closer and her clothes continued to fall, exposing part of her chest, but still not showing all she had to offer.

The boy had to swallow, this was indeed a ticking offer, and he could die soon, so the chances of getting with a human again were slim to none.
He was about to move toward her when it hit him.

He snapped out of his trance and his instincts took over, he grabbed his hunting knife and tackled sky to the ground while pressing the cold, hard steel against her throat.
"Who are you really?" he asked in a low voice that was threatening to end the life of the asked, should they not answer truthfully.

You could see panic growing in her eyes as she was pinned down, and her breath became unsteady for the first time since the two had met.
"B-but Mel, honey, I'm sky... we kissed twice! Doesn't that mean anything?" she said in a scared voice, but also her answer did not satisfy her interrogator who only tightened the grasp of his knife on her neck.
"Who, and what are you? There is no Island of Menkaind, and the only ones I've told that story are my friend back in Dorne, so quit your bullshit unless you wanna end up like that bird over there." he threatened and pointed over to the kill he had made earlier.
The imposter used this moment and manifested a black, curved horn on her forehead, which immediately zapped Melkor in the chest with a splash of green magic.
It didn't hurt that much like the fireball but it stunned him, and the knockback was impressive.
Melkor fell on his back with a loud thump and the woman was quickly on top of him, preparing to fire another spell right at his face.
"It would have been the best for you if you continued to be the lovestruck idiot!" she said through clenched teeth as her horn lit up with that green energy again, ready to send him to oblivion.

It was at that moment, that something amazing happened, out of the sands, a blue lizard lept directly in her face and bit down hard on her cheek. She yelped in pain and lost her focus at this vicious attack, and she tried prying Sam off her.

Melkor seized his chance and decked her in the face, not too hard of course since she was still a woman. The hit was hard enough to send her flying off him though, and she too hit the ground hard, with a groan.
Melkor quickly stood up just before her body was engulfed in the same light he had seen prior to this night, and he watched in horror as the beauty he fell for turned into a small, insectoid equine with a black carapace and small fangs. Its eyes were like a bugs and the chitin covering her body reflected the moonlight.

Melkor had to hold down a gag and reeled over in disgust at the sight.
The creature got up on all fours and looked at him angrily, since Sam had now left her face she could concentrate on fighting again.
"What's the matter, lover boy? Can't handle the real deal?" she taunted him, only to be interrupted by his constant gagging, which annoyed her very much, to say the least.
"Hey, are you done yet?" she asked angrily and prepared to blast him to oblivion.

"FUCK YOU!" Mel managed to get out between gags and reeling, which didn't hinder his words from carrying all of the malice he had.
When he was done he wiped his mouth.
"You kissed me you cunt!" he spat at her angrily, while regaining his composure.

"You kissed me back, loser!" she said while charging up her horn. She fired shortly after but Melkor dodged the shot narrowly and kicked some sand in her eye.
She yelped at the stinging sensation before hurling hard, she had apparently been kicked in the stomach very hardly by a very sexually frustrated Melkor.
She crashed into a tree and landed harshly on the ground, before also needing to hold her vomit in.
"Okay I give," she said in an out-of-breath voice.

"I'm gonna wreck your shit you fucking catfish!" his screams of pain and frustration were carried into the desert as he prepared to teach this cunt a lesson.

And that is how Melkor fell in love and regretted it immediately afterward, so take a look at him and realize that love is pointless, focus on making jokes instead, it's much more fulfilling.
And to all the jackasses that thought this would turn into a romance story, I am truly sorry for you. Not.

The Bugs Apprentice

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"WOULD YOU FINALLY UNTIE ME!??" It has been two days after the incident that happened in the Oasis. Melkor had taught this weird bug thing a lesson and then tied her up so she wouldn't escape so easily. And the next morning he stocked up on water and decided to drag his assailant behind him, just for the sake of making her pay, and also the opportunity of having some form of entertainment here in this big nothingness. It was quite fun to hear her complaining while her face got dragged through masses of sand.

The human had learned quite a bit about her in the time he used her as a plow for the desert. Apparently, that thing was called a changeling, and they were quite numerous in the lands east of here, the so-called Badlands and the Ephiterus cliffs.
They had hives and the structure was basically the same as bees, only less wholesome and more off-putting. Each hive had a queen and each of them had rivalries with each other, and apparently, her hive had been enslaved by a rival queen who killed their own.

"I won't untie you and let feed on my emotions again, bugface!" Melkor hissed sharply at his prisoner so that she would finally stop asking that question. And oh yeah, these changelings fed on the emotions of different creatures, that was so weird right? After hearing that Mel made sure not to let anything except disdain and contempt through. He kept on walking, having already gone quite the distance these past two days, considering the luggage he had to carry behind him, and the occasional attempt to break free he had to thwart.

The changeling scoffed and snorted in disgust, she hated the nickname that he gave her. She turned her head slightly to avoid swallowing sand while she opened her mouth, "I told you not to call me that, my name is Tibia! And I'm not a bug I'm a-"

"Changeling spy looking for new hospitable lands that you and your brethren can flee towards. I heard you the first fifteen times missy! Now shut up before I gag you again." Interrupted a clearly annoyed Melkor, who picked up the pace a bit to reach his destination faster. It wouldn't be long until he reached the first parts of the mountain pass he had to traverse, the only downside is now he had to drag this bag of nagging with him.
Sure, he could just kill her, but at this point, his anger had faded, and learning about this world could be quite interesting as he had found out.
Tibia had told him countless times of the importance of her mission, and that she was chosen to lead her people out of slavery from the false queen that pressed them like slaves, even more so than usual.
Of course, this scenario reminded Mel of the whole exodus ordeal that was pictured in the bible, only without the whole 'divine intervention' stuff that made hardly sense.

But thinking hard about it, who else could have created this scenario in which he currently was? Was it god, or aliens, or maybe something even more unbelievable?
He had spent so much time trying to fit in and survive that he had forgotten to question the reason why he was in this predicament in the first place.
He believed in higher forces but for them to take action like this seemed quite out of place, he would have thought that Zeus would come down to bang him sooner than being transported to another dimension.
He had to snicker to himself at the thought.

"Where are we even going, Mel?" Asked Tibia with an annoying voice that was muffled by the sound of her being dragged through sand. The man's hand clenched hard as he had to suppress his anger a bit, spending too much energy would be very unwise during the scorching days at least, but he got flashbacks of that night they met whenever she called him that,
He exhaled hard and decided to move on, tugging a tad harder on the rope that bound her.
She noticed his annoyance of course and had to giggle a little bit to herself, the least bit she could do to make him pay was to make his journey as painful and annoying as possible, at least before breaking free and killing him.

"I told you that I have to go into the Herald mountains and find something that is hidden somewhere deep inside some ancient fucking ruins. So stop fucking asking me about what I am doing, since your catfishing ass has no business of knowing me or my problems!" He quipped at her, while Sam had just made himself comfortable on his shoulder, basking in the blazing sun.
The changeling let out a "Hmpf." before deciding to speak again, "You're just frustrated that we didn't go all the way, virgin!" She jabbed at her jailor and then shot him a large shit-eating grin.
Surprisingly, instead of a beating like she usually received, he just kept walking and walking, seemingly unimpressed by her attempts of raising his anger.

She scrunched her face up before trying again, "I called you a virgin! Hello, that usually gets you angry doesn't it", she practically whined and complained in a voice that was trying almost too hard to be annoying.
"I'm over it bugface. And if I beat you up again I'll just spend precious energy that keeps us alive in this desert." Though his voice was sincere, there was a certain tug to the rope that had just a bit of frustration in it.

And so the hours went by, just like the last two days Tibia would annoy Melkor and he would keep walking and make her eat some dirt once in a while. The only major difference today was, that there were no attempts of breaking free or any other violent intention in one of her actions, which left Melkor feeling a bit suspicious about the whole thing.
At night he and Sam decided to shift their turns of watching her, so they both got a decent amount of sleep. Food was scarce but manageable and Mel still had three full waterskins, which would definitely supply him for the moment's time.

Just a few hours after he had fallen asleep, there were some noises beside him, which kinda seemed to get to his head. It was almost like a stomach growling in hunger, and his suspicions were confirmed when he opened his eyes to the sight of a squirming and flinching Tibia, who was having a seemingly hard time with her hunger, and pain written all over her tired face.

When she spotted his eyes resting on her disgraceful form, she hissed at him and bared her fangs. Sure they had not been for fighting, as they easily break and were pretty much just for intimidation but they were impressive to those who didn't know about their initial brittleness.
"What are you staring at? Come to make fun of me while I'm slowly succumbing to hunger?" She asked as angrily as she could while trying to ignore the pain, she had barely eaten anything in months. The bits of love she got from Melkor the other night was enough to keep her from starving for another few weeks, but the hunger still burned and it would continue to do so until she died, that was a changelings curse, and that is probably also why most of them were so damn grumpy all of the time.

Mel just sighed and responded.
"I know your kind eats....feelings, but don't you eat anything else to nourish you? I mean how can emotions satisfy your bodily needs. It is also very inconvenient for coexisting with other species don't you think." He said in a calm manner, the first time he had spoken to her without a raised voice or hints of annoyance in his replies, no he seemed a bit curious and maybe a tad understanding.
"You people really got the middle finger from evolution didn't you?" He asked before giving her a small smile.
"What happens when you don't eat emotions for a while? Do you physically starve or how does it work."

The changeling stopped her pained straining, the cramps have subsided for now and she could breathe again, of course she had no other choice than to listen to what this idiot in front of her was saying, but she wished to the old ones that he would just shut the buck up.
"Listen, the changelings are the pinnacle of evolution! All other races are beneath us in cunning and intelligence, that is why the older gods decided that naturally the only thing we could survive on, was the love of the inferior creatures, who were destined to adore us and view us as their superiors." She said in a voice that almost mimicked a politician who was advertising himself to the people. While she told Melkor this her eyes seemed to shine a bit and her lips curled up to a smile, before suddenly going into a frown again.
"But of course, as you see now, none respect us, and we have to fight and deceive to survive! That is why, yes Melkor we have no need for physical food, as it is our birthright to be the ones that are worshipped in this world!" She went on a rant and her joy quickly became anger, which fueled her words and let her horn flicker a bit with green energy, but not enough to cause a magic blast, just some sparkles.

Seeing that gave Melkor an Idea, he didn't know if it would work, but it at least had the potential to solve some of his momentary problems.
"Seems like you are quite narcissistic, but I get that, humans are that way too, more often than not. Must be hard fighting for food and not being able to live peacefully, but I know that you wouldn't admit that, seeing as you are indeed all talk and no game. Listen bugface, I have a proposition that could help us both out." He then sat down right in front of her, before looking her in the eyes, which were as green as the brightest emerald Melkor had ever seen, they would be quite beautiful if they weren't attached to that thing.

"Fine, I'm listening." She got to the point quickly and faced him now, before flinching slightly after seeing how close he had come. For some reason, there was this big and goofy smile on his face, that just made it look so punchable.

"Aight, since you need some positive energy from me, I could provide you with some, I guess." He started out, and TIbias face shortly got twisted in confusion, before she could answer anything to that he continued though.
"In return, since you seem to be at least adept with it, you will teach me some magic when we aren't moving."

He guessed since she had a horn that she was one of those naturally gifted 'channelers' that Terry had talked about, who drain raw energy from the air through their source of magica to create spells and weave reality to some degree, they were also the ones that didn't rely on one certain type of magic. Terry was a conjurer, they got their magic from within, which also made their mana pool more limited, but it also gave them the option to increase their potency more than any other magic user archetype.
Melkor on the other hand was a mixed bag, he had storm magic, which was that of a conjurer, as well as fury magic, which technically also made him an augmenter, whose bodies got enhanced by the type of magic they use, which almost exclusively limited them to close combat.
But since the lad had both of those, he wasn't really limited, since his magic was indeed fused they both were more or less dependent on each other, as Terry told him.
The angrier he gets, the stronger his body gets, the stronger his lightning gets.
Yet he should still be able to at least conjure some form of lightning when he wasn't in, what he called himself the 'Fury Frenzy' but all he could do were a few sparks that could travel through conductive materials.
Reigning Terror couldn't really help him out with that and said that he would just have to try and train by himself.
But this right here was someone with a horn, a prodigy when it came to magic so she should at least be able to teach him something right?

Tibia pondered hard, what could his intentions be? He didn't really use magic when they fought so maybe he really did suck at it, or he was just trying to get on her good side to maybe use her for his own gain later on.
This could all be a clever ruse into lowering her shields, although they were not really up anyway, given her current circumstances.
Magic for a changeling wasn't that hard, but could she teach someone without a horn? Would that even work? And what would happen to her if it didn't? Would that bastard kill and eat her? She has seen how he eats a snake and she desperately wished she could have unseen it.
But soon the cramps returned and made her wince once again, making the decision at least a little easier for her.

"Ugh! Fine, but you'll have to stop calling me bugface!" She insisted while squirming inside the rope.

"Absolutely not." Melkor said with the most deadpan expression one could possibly have, this was a big no-no for him apparently.

Tibia grunted again and decided that the pain was worse than the embarrassment. "Okay okay! Fine, I'll teach you some magic if I get some food." She said reluctantly through clenched teeth. This was a new low, having to strike a deal with an outsider just so that she would survive, normally she would have taken kindly to death but she had an objective and it was more important than her or any individual changeling.

The pain got worse and she closed her eyes, trying to shut it out, when suddenly she was being lifted up. Two arms grabbed her sides and lifted her up like it was nothing, before bringing her head into the chest of the now smiling human.
This was unexpected, she was never held like this before, was he about to snap her neck? Or squeeze her lungs out?

"You're pretty light, you know that?" Melkor chuckled, "It's almost as If I'm hugging a big, scaly baby....sorta."

Those words lifted her fears a bit, no one with killing intent could sound so goofy or laugh like that, this was probably safe contact, for now.
As his right hand then slowly stroked her head, she could feel the hunger disappearing slightly, at least the cramps were gone after a minute or so, and this whole thing didn't really feel...terrible.

Shortly afterward, he let her down and the look on his face told her that it was not as enjoyable for him as it had been for her, quite the contrary, he looked pretty much like he had been deprived of sleep and food for a few days.
But he still had a smile on his face, and then took a sip of water to revitalize him at least a bit.
He had beaten her up when he should have killed her, and instead of tying her up somewhere he just dragged her along with him. This one was weird, but she didn't really dislike it, this was kinda better than how she was treated back home, at least she was fed.
After a few moments, her mind had wandered off and she slept in her cocoon-like prison as if she had been laying in a soft bed instead.

Melkor on the other hand had to fight with the aftermath of hugging a changeling, which would have been not that bad if it weren't for the draining of his energy. Her carapace was weirdly smooth and kinda soft, which was strange but kinda pleasant.
Soon, sleep carried him off as well, and the only one left watching the fire was Sam the lizard, who was munching happily at some of the dried fruit that his master had shared with him. He watched the whole thing, of course, watching Mel getting sympathetic with one of the dark deceivers tickled him in the wrong way, and he was ready to strike at any moment in time, being the loyal knight that he was.
But as his human hugged the imposter, he saw something that not even the gods could have foreseen.
The cheeks of the aforementioned changeling were redder than a field of roses. Sam had to rub his little eyes to check if he was seeing right, but he did, there was indeed a blush on that vile monster.
Mouth agape, he sat there long after the pair had been asleep, he shook his head and returned to his fruit, would he have been able to speak then he would have definitely told the tale. But alas he was a lizard of lesser intelligence and thus condemned to a life of eating and being cute, so proceeded to do what the gods had designed him for.

Several miles west...

The stars were mostly covered with clouds that night, and the desert was darker than it had been before, perfectly disguising some of the dark warriors sent out into this great desert, scaling the cliffs of the Herald mountains.
The changelings were clad in armor and equipment designed for killing, these were no mere scouts, but Praetorians.

Some of the figures set up camp upon a steep cliff that overlooked the desert for hundreds of miles.
One of them was intently watching a tiny spot of orange light from their position.

"Captain! why aren't you with the rest of us, sharing the rations?" Sounded a high-pitched voice from behind the heavily armored changeling, who only seemed to tighten his gaze on the horizon, his stance unwavering and his form unchanged.

His reply was short and precise, leaving no room for misinterpretation.
"There is someone out there." He knew that the only ones stupid enough to cross this desert were the ones running from something, and their hive recently had some rogues that decided they could just abandon their post and disrespect their queen.

The sergeant that called out to him just nodded and backed away, the captain could not be swayed, he experienced it often enough.
He just left him there, letting his blue eyes search the endless horizon.

Getting Sucked the Wrong Way

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Melkor sat down in the sand, while also holding the makeshift leash that he kept Tibia on firmly in his hand. He had given her some form of freedom after this night's agreement of being taught magic. He could subdue her at any moment though, as the rope was once again coated in a bit of water, giving it the ability to act as a taser, should he decide that the changeling overstepped her bounds at any point. It was now the later afternoon, shortly after lunch, which meant that now was time for a break and the first class of magic with his weird bug teacher.
Tibia enjoyed stretching her legs for a bit and jogged around the human and skipped and hopped a bit, seemingly trying to get her body to function properly again.
You could hear that she was stiff, with every move there was a pop or a crunch, which made Melkor flinch once or twice.
After a few minutes and the dust has settled, the human cleared his throat as to notify the changeling of his existence.

"You done yet bugface?" he asked, slightly annoyed, with a deadpan expression that was aimed at her.
Were it not for the circumstances and the unfortunate bad blood between the two of them he might have joined her, playing in the sand could be fun.

"Aaaw come on, I haven't been able to move in forever! My whole body is stiffer than a stick. Lemme stretch some more." she complained and put on the pouty face she was well known for back home. Unfortunately, her charms didn't work on the stone-faced bipedal in front of her.
" Fiiiine!" she said as she stretched her back in with a row of cracks emitting from her spine.

The human then smiled and nodded, seemingly pleased with her obedience.
"Good, the more you listen to me, the sooner you get lunch." he said while grinning at her, knowing that she couldn't possibly refuse now that their deal had been sealed.

She just rolled her eyes, and hugged with annoyance at the humans chipper attitude.
A sigh escaped her lips as she plotted her rump in a particularly soft spot of sand, and gave Mel the kind of look you get from a professor who was already done with life even before beginning class.

"Okay, sooo before I start explaining anything to you, I need to see where you are at. Show me the best you can do. I suppose you have an offensive type of magic?" she asked while tweaking her head sideways to underline her question.

Mel just smiled and stood up, releasing the hold on his leash for a second before stepping on it the next second, in case she got any funny ideas.
He stretched in an over-enthusiastic manner and cracked his knuckles before holding his palm out to the desert and giving the command word for the one spell he had taught himself.

"Spark!" He commanded and red electrical arches ran across his arm, before proofing out of his hand in an embarrassingly small static shock, that left much to be desired.
His smile was wider than that of an Olympic athlete that had just won gold.
"Pretty cool huh?" he asked while wiggling his eyebrows at her, much to her disgust.

She exhaled and shook her head, this was gonna be hard.
"Okay, that was the saddest thing I have ever seen. And I am changeling, we see sad shit every day." she quipped at him mockingly, while also trying to fight the urge to commit seppuku right here and now.
"To start things off, your stance is all wrong, it has no power behind it, it seems your mana core is still very weak so you need to create a pathway from your stomach to your point of exit. Which in your case is the palm, for the ones with horns, we already stand on all fours so our stance is solid from the get-go, but we also use our bodies to gain momentum when we shoot out spells, giving them drive and power."

Melkor grumbled for a second before a thought crossed his mind, " But you shot at me while you were on the ground and it knocked me over!" he said pointing a finger at her, seemingly having caught a flaw in her philosophy.

She shook her head again and opened her mouth to speak, with a little less patience this time.
"Yes, and that is why it didn't knock you out, you were barely scraped. A good stance and drive is the first thing to learn when using magic used for fighting, try bending your knees more and use your shoulder when you bring out your hand. And also chant with a little determination, the way you said it was comparable to a first-grader trying to imitate something he read in a book." she giggled, openly making fun of the way he had gone about casting his magic before.
Tibia seemed to be successful when his cheeks turned red and he frowned slightly. It was true that he had just tried to copy things he had seen in action movies or comics, which made him feel ALL the more embarrassed.

He stomped hard on the ground with his right foot, sending sand flying and he shifted into a stance that lowered his center of gravity, while also giving him stability on his feet.
He breathed in and drew back his arm, using the full width of his shoulder this time before shooting out his palm again, shouting the chant with determination.

"SPARK!" echoed his voice again, while his arm now gave a path for the lightning once more, only feeling a little stronger this time.
He almost yelped in surprise as the spell left his hand, and fired a tiny bolt of lightning from his palm, knocking him on his ass in the process.
The spark flew for about five meters before hitting the ground and throwing up sand, while also leaving the ground seared.
That was new.

His eyes widened at his success, before he kicked himself up, letting out a cry of joy.
"Yeees! I'm a magician! Gandalf can suck it, I'm new in town and I got a hot date tonight, her name be MAGIC!"
He threw his hands up in celebration, even though what he just accomplished was the feat that a ten-year-old unicorn could achieve.

Tibia couldn't help but snicker at the sight and seeing the human so giddy was actually a little amusing she had to admit.
While he was an idiot, he was entertaining, to say the least, but most importantly he was food.

His head turned toward the changeling after he was done with his victory dance.
His smile that previously couldn't have been any wider, now seemed to split his face, while his hazel eyes sparkled with wonder at this newfound ability of his.
"That was good wasn't it?" he put a hand on his hip while the other flicked back his hair, before pointing dramatically at Tibia.
"Your teachings seem to be of use to me, I will not dispose of you just yet." his voice took a deeper tone and that ridiculous pose seemed like it was ripped right out of a very bizarre piece of literature.
He then laughed heartily, but not the kind of laugh you made when hearing a good joke, or when a kid fell over and hurt itself.
No this was a victory laugh, and it bugged the hell out of her.

Get it?

"So what comes now, when do I learn the advanced spells and all of that cool stuff!" Mel was in Tibia's face in less than three seconds, already begging for more while shooting her that winning smile all the way.
She facepalmed... Facehooved? I don't know she brought her hooves to her face, you get the idea.

"You've managed to improve your sad little attempt at magic into a sad little success at magic, so don't think you can handle the big guns right away." she scoffed before shoving him out of her face and leaving him in the sand.
He surprisingly did not care, seemingly too fascinated by the wonders his magic hands had just achieved.
"For now, work on your stance and drive until you have perfected that little spell of yours, that is your homework. And don't ask me for more lessons until you haven't mastered it, because more advanced magic would drain you faster than I would, we're you chained before me and overflowing with positive energy." She began drooling at the thought, that would be a banquet fit for a queen!

Melkor had begun to frown again, "I guess you're right, practice makes perfect is what they say anyway. I'm gonna have a lot of time on this trip anyway, and you've earned yourself some love I suppose." He then walked over to her still drooling form, while the hot sun was working his sweat glands like crazy, but he had gotten used to it after these few days.
He had also built up a pretty sweet tan, which had come after he had to peel his dead skin off just after the sunburns subsided.
Mel then knelt to the bug and patted her head before going over to stroke the fins on her back, which were surprisingly soft, almost like a fern.
He didn't have to force any happiness out of him, no this was genuine joy and appreciation that he was feeling, and Tibia was enjoying it, filling herself up on the joy of her freshly baked pupil, she quickly began to smile herself.
"Tastes different today, guess you are happy with what I showed you?" She grinned and gave him a sarcastic wink while stroking her own ego.

Melkor would have rolled his eyes but he was too busy petting the gross abomination he dragged through the desert these past three days.
"It was all aight, seems you're not completely useless after all. And I guess after beating your ass up several times, we're almost even at this point. Though I will never forgive you for taking my first kiss you cunt." He said as he closed his eyes, the headaches were beginning to start again, and he was feeling weaker by the minute, time to stop.

His hand left her back and he sat down to handle the aftermath of being sucked the wrong way once again, man this was worse than algebra.

She sighed as his hand left her, before staring at him with a puzzled look on her face.
"What does this word mean, cunt?" she asked confused, but also with a hint of curiosity.
"You've used it several times already and I can't remember ever having heard it before."

Mel stood up, having beaten the initial headache, is only left with a dry mouth and fatigue.
He then ruffled her spiky hair thingy and looked at her with a shit-eating grin.
"It means you bugface."

A few more days passed and the pair wandered through the desert with a more evenly speed now that Mel had Tibia on a leash rather than cocooned up in rope.
After a promise and some hard negotiating with Sam, she was allowed to lose her shackles and walk from now on, which sped up their progress immensely.

The Herald mountains were very near, maybe a day's march ahead of them, and this fucking journey neared its halfway point with every step that they took.
It was also of great help that Sam had found a small river that ran through the desert, its shores lined with a bit of grass and the occasional flower, which did wonders for anyone sick of seeing nothing but sand.

Practicing magic had also come along, with Melkor using every possible moment to practice his stance and drive, with mixed results. While his shots became more powerful, they still lacked distance.

"Again!" Screamed a female voice who had been resting under a small tree, while watching the stupid human work his ass off in the blazing sun.

"SPARK!" an evenly aggressive human did his best to fulfill his teacher's demands and was still practicing his proficiency with magic. He had gone on for an hour and a half now.

"Two out of ten, come on, more drive!" Tibia was relentless, she thrived at this job, finally being at the end of the drill Sargent rather than the private and she was loving every second of it, while sitting in the shade and sharing a split open coconut with Sam, who was evenly enjoying himself.

"Two out of ten? Come on! That was the first time two sparks came out instead of one!" The out of breath human complained, before being interrupted again.
"That's why it wasn't a one like the last three hundred times, and quit complaining now do it again!" her voice was loud and angry but in truth she was more calm and relaxed than she had ever been, causing this damn monkey some misery always seemed to brighten up her day.

"SPARK!" Again and again, the electricity escaped his hands and flew a short distance in front of him before dropping down rapidly and leaving small burn marks in the sand.
The only difference being that the amount had changed from one to two, showing at least a bit of improvement on that end.

"Two out of ten! Put some gusto in it you damn virgin." Tibia laughed her ass off, this was top-quality entertainment, and to think that she would, later on, be fed, this was almost too good to be true for her.

Sam drank out of the coconut and watched his master work himself down to the bone, and to be honest it was quite amusing, in a cosmic sort of way. Over the last week he had bonded with Tibia a bit, he got over the fact that she was a changeling and she acknowledged his existence as something other than food for a hungry sandwraith.

Some coconuts and shouting sessions later, a very exhausted Melkor stepped over to the two of them and sat down in the shade. The smile he had since discovering the new side of magic three days ago seemingly never left his face which was admittedly kind of creepy.
Sam quickly climbed up to his shoulders and gave him the nuzzles, trying to keep that smile going for as long as he could, it was good when Mel was happy, it meant more back rubs.

"I'm exhausted, that was a pretty good workout, what do you think Tibbs?" oh yeah Melkor had gotten used to calling his changeling acquaintance something other than demeaning words, he now called her embarrassing pet names to mock her pride even more.

Tibia would have liked to disagree, but the results spoke for themselves, that monkey was actually slowly building up his mana pool and some muscle from the extended period of training he does every day until exhaustion. It's almost as if something was driving this man, and whatever it was it had the power of god and anime on their side.

"It's a start, but you're far from actually mastering anything Melly. The way you are right now any larva could do better, you might wanna try joining the toddler class if you ever get around to visiting the hive." She condescendingly opened one eye to look at him while also grinning toothily, she knew he hated that name as much as being called a virgin, so she kept sticking to it after he got tired of the spankings he would normally give her whenever she overstepped her boundaries. The line of how far she could go actually stretched pretty far over the last three days. Ever since she began teaching her magic he never punished her for jokes she made, rather he countered with a jab of his own.
Tibia would never admit it but that mechanic was kind of fun, and getting to scream at him during training sessions was also a big plus.

"No thank you, one of your kind is enough in my opinion, any more and I don't think my sanity would last. And given my ass-kicking prowess, that, wouldn't end well for your hive." He was quick to answer, the tone of his voice was straining a bit, however, as he was just in the process of opening a coconut of his own. He had come to enjoy the taste after drinking five of them, luckily the palms around the river bank held many of them, and a well-placed bonk could bring down a few when he actually tried.

"Aaaagh, I can't believe we're gonna be out of the desert soon Tibbs! Just imagine, changing the scenery from beige tiny rocks, to brown larger rocks, doesn't that sound awesome?" He sarcastically said, while taking a drink out of the fruit that had given way to his hunting knife after a few failed attempts of cracking it with his hands.

The changeling once again rolled her eyes and just leaned back onto the tree they were currently all huddling under. He was right, the fun part was just about to begin.

"I don't wanna think about rocks anymore, it makes me long for their company, seeing as their intelligence surpasses yours by a mile." That was a good one, she thought to herself and mentally added a point on her "word battle" sheet.
She was currently losing by ten points.

Mel had to laugh at that one, her insults were becoming better ever so slightly, which was fun in a way of its own.

"Good one bugbutt, but next time try not to be a little faster with the punchline." He said, while also petting her head slightly, much to her annoyance.
"Ah, you teach magic and I teach you everything else you need in life, like jokes and all that, you get the idea. In time, you will call me Master!" he clamped his fists together and chuckled to himself darkly, doing his best Palpatine impression, it helps that he shoots lightning.

"Why in Tartarus would I ever call you Master? Not to mention the absolutely stupid thing you claim to be the master of, which in case you haven't noticed, you are not!" Her voice carried a lot of annoyance and possible ~~sexual~~ frustration in it, her face also showed that which she projected through her vocal cords.

"Seems like someone is cranky because they haven't had their milk yet." Mel did the whole baby voice thing and the hands to indicate a crying child.

To say she got red with anger was an understatement, yes she was crimson and if looks could kill our dear human would have died a few thousand times over.

"I'm gonna kill you, faggot!" She lept up and prepared to jump Melkor the second he did so as well.

"You don't even know what that means!" He also leaped at her now, but in a manner that didn't really take her seriously, seeing that she was half his height and weighed about fifty pounds.

"I don't care! It's something bad and probably fits right to your description!" The two of them then proceeded to get into a 'sorta' fight, which ended with them on the ground, wrestling and punching each other, as a dust cloud formed around them, in an almost shockingly cartoonish manner.

Sam, once again unbothered by the antics of the two decided to use this opportunity to wash, and thus he got into one of the coconut shelves and took a relaxing bath in it. Oh, the poor bastard that would end up with the lizard juice.... Well, at least he didn't pee in it... Yet.

Later, the two of them were on top of each other and covered in mild bruises and scratches. Tibia was glaring daggers at her opponent, who in turn seemed to be having the time of his life.

"I win." He simply said, before bopping her on the nose, causing her to sneeze, before waddling off towards their spot under the tree.
Tibias rage was only fueled more after this tussle in the sand, and her voice echoes through the desert, carrying all of her resentment at this moment.
"Who says that? This fight is not over! I will personally drag your flank back here and administer another beating until you will crawl-"

"I'll feed ya."

"Coming!" She said in a sing-song voice, before trotting over to the human.

Well, it seems like Melkor is getting sucked the wrong way again.

Mountains of Peril

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It was time, finally.

One more day, the group had walked along the narrow river towards their destination.
Well, more like Melkor's destination but the others didn't have a say in the matter.
After painstakingly making his way through the great howling desert, he now came to face with what could be an even more challenging route.

A few hundred meters before him was the greatest mountain pass this side of Orin, and it loomed over him in a way that would make everyone feel small and insignificant.
The humongous clusters of stone stretched for miles on end, so far that the eyes could not see them, blocking his way from the lands that lay behind. The evening sun cast a shadow over him, letting him rest from the heat he had to endure for the last nine days.

"Well fuck. This is gonna be fun Tibbs isn't it?" he asked the changeling, which he had currently strapped under his arm because she was tired of walking.
A small glance later made him realize she was still fast asleep and snoring slightly.
Annoyed, he let go of her and she was greeted with a face full of sand, which didn't soften her awakening.

Immediately she sprang up and got into combat position, already charging her horn with magic and giving the air around her the stink eye. She hopped around to see who was attacking her, while also having the biggest scowl on her small face.

Melkor held back a snicker and patted her head.
"Relax bugbutt. We're here, the Herald mountains. From now on you and I gotta walk." he said while setting his gaze upon the path they had to take next.

Tibia followed suit and her tired eyes opened, while her green eyes focused on what lay before the three of them. She had heard rumors about the mountains where the first dragons had founded an empire eons ago, but to see it for herself took her breath away.

What they were currently standing in front of were the ruins to an ancient gateway that led to a path through the mountains, and probably towards where the human would reach his goal.
Tibia's tiredness quickly faded and she became focused on the structure, that was clearly meant for something 'dragon sized'.

The old gate was destroyed and the wall had seen better centuries, but as it stood there in front of them, no one could deny that this massive object once belonged to someone with power.

"Cool, isn't it?" Melkor said impressed, while also smiling to himself, he always was a fan of ancient structures.

The thing was of epic proportions, with an architectural design that would remind someone of the holy roman empire maybe. It had archways, gargoyles, and everything, only that it was crumbling and sand covered the whole thing.

"This is amazing, I would have never believed that the remains were still intact! I wonder why no one ever sought to reclaim this kingdom and rebuild it." Tibia wondered as she trotted closer, never taking her eyes off the archway.
The human walked up next to her and leaned down, to view it from her perspective.
"I guess that it would be hard for something that isn't a dragon to live here, because of the size I mean." that was a valid thought.
"Imagine having to walk a mile just to get to the bathroom." another valid point.

Tibia looked at him with the look only a disappointed mother could give her child.
"Why am I not surprised that that's the first thing you talk about. You really are a buffoon after all." she hmpfd and continued to walk towards it, holding her nose up high in the process.
The leash tugged on Melkor, prompting him to follow, and he did shortly after.

"Come on, as if you haven't thought about that! Wouldn't it be weird to sit on a dragon's toilet? Quite frankly speaking I wonder if they even had any back then." he wondered.
"Hey, I don't even have a toilet back in Dorne! We gotta use this damn-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there before I send your flank into the ground." Tibia snapped at him, she could not handle another one of his disgusting latrine stories.
"Let's just go find a place to sleep! I don't want to spend the night on rocks out in the open, so It would be nice to have a place to rest." she then said, picking up the pace as much as she could, considering her tiny legs.

"I'm sorry, it just bugs me." He then said and shrugged his shoulders, before looking at Sam, who had previously napped on his head before. He lay down on his shoulder and gave something that resembled a yawn by lizard standards.
"Good morning best friend! Did you sleep well? I hope you've had good dreams!" he said while stroking Sam's chin and petting the lizard, much to his enjoyment.

Tibia looked back at the scene and scoffed slightly.
"Why can't you ever wake me up this nicely? I don't appreciate you always burriying me In the sand and then flicking my forehead...I deserve some niceties too once in a while!" she said pretty annoyed, but also kinda like she meant it, either way, she was quite unamused by the situation, glaring daggers at the both of them.

"Because you're a cunt that emotionally scarred and almost seduced me, imagine if I had put my dick inside you," he said before pushing his finger down his throat to let her know how disgusting it was to him.

She again got angry, before marching towards him with pretty fast speed and stopped just before the human, giving him the death glare and frowning up a storm.

Melkor had to hold back a laugh.
"Well, that would be intimidating, if you were uuuh... intimidating." he mocked her openly, and just continued walking past her, leaving her standing there.
The sun sank beyond the mountains, leaving only the little bits of orange sky that remained light up the heavens, softening the brightness and leaving the two of them at dusk, just as they began walking through the gate.
"That was mean you know," Tibia said, trotting to keep up the pace.
Her face was still twisted in a frown but with one of hurt instead of anger this time.

Melkor turned around and was quite surprised by the scene, if he had been honest he would say that he was worried for a moment.
First, he thought that this was some sort of trick on her end to confuse him, only to lash out at him or insult him in an even worse way.

"What is it?" he said calmly as he slowed down a bit and looked her in the eyes, which sparkled brightly on the darkness that slowly lay over the two of them.
"I'm mad, but I don't feel like yelling, that was just... mean, and I feel bad." She said, kinda confused, seems like she hasn't really felt like this before, or not very often at the least.
"Huh? Since when did you get feelings? Shouldn't you be yelling at me and tell me how inferior I am? Or say something like, you could be glad to get it on with me you damn virgin, anything like that." His tone had shifted from calm to being confused as well, the Tibia he knew would never admit to something like that, the fact that she did was preposterous.

This is one of those simulations, isn't it?

"I don't know why I feel like that, I've never felt like this, and I don't know why and it makes me angry! I know what I look like and there is nothing wrong with it, so stop saying that I am vile or disgusting just because you can't comprehend my species!" her voice raised with every sentence that escaped her mouth, she had something to say and he would listen, for once. She flew straight in his face and stared him down at eye level this time, one could see that Tibia was not having it today.

Mel just froze dead in his tracks, he did not expect that response from her, maybe an annoyed grunt or a jab in the stomach, but this was new. He looked into her eyes and realized that what he said was very mean to her, even if it was understandable from his perspective.
He didn't really know how to handle the situation now that it's come to this, he had never been good with girls, especially when they are a different species.
A hundred thoughts ran through his head at the time, and each one told him to do something different.
Only after a few seconds of silence and one clear voice being heard in the mess that was his mind, he put his hand on her shoulder and then said that what he had to.

"I'm sorry Tibia I didn't mean to actually hurt you, I thought that it was just part of the little insulting that we do every day." he then softened his look and ruffled her head again when he noticed that her anger filled gaze was now slowly fading into one of slight approval.
Melkor continued,

"When I think about it, you are pretty cool looking, to be honest, you know with the horn, your fangs, and the wings and all that. Makes you look very interesting, to say the least, and your ability to change forms is pretty Op." Those words out of his mouth were like diamonds to a dog for her.
She wasn't being praised often back home, actually never but receiving compliments had always been one of her favorite things, but somehow when he said it about her true appearance, it was a more fulfilling feeling than when someone complimented her on the shape that she had taken.
"So please don't be sad now Tibbs, I still find you vile and disgusting, but not because of your appearance, it's just because I hate you," he said while giving her the softest and friendliest look he had to offer her, those words were true.
Looking into Tibias' eyes, Mel could see that they were full of joy and her face mirrored his own expression of friendliness.
" I hate you too." She said, before hugging his neck and letting herself hang before Melkor brought his arms around her to return the hug to her, making this whole weird scene complete.
The two of them had gotten rather close, over the trip, even if they didn't want to admit it, but here they were, two frenemies hugging it out under the archway of the ancient dragons that roamed these mountains.

The sunset had painted the last bit of sky a deep mix of purple and orange as the two of them broke their hug shortly after.
It was indeed getting a bit late, maybe they should carry on.

"Why didn't you eat something? That was the perfect opportunity." Melkor said while letting go of her frame and taking a self-made torch out of his backpack, that he lit up immediately.

Tibia's green eyes shone brightly in the overcoming darkness of night, so Melkor always knew when she was around, and confusion filled those eyes at his words.
"I didn't? But I feel kinda full..." She said, before looking at Melkor weirdly.
"Have you been feeding me in my sleep?" she asked in a suspicious voice while raising one of her eyebrow things.

"Hell no, ain't no way I'm carrying you around the desert and let you nibble on my vigor! I am already a saint for sparing your life and giving you life support.

She was confused as heck but didn't really want to complain about the situation, if she was full then that was a good thing because even after she feeds, the hunger still lingers. Now, it was gone for once and that was indeed miraculous.

Melkor shrugged and continued on the path that lay in front of them, his stride was tired and his movements dulled from the exhaustion had been facing these last few days.
The changeling followed him still, this time though, she noticed that her leash was loose, Melkor had let go of it.
Now was her chance to fly away or attack him from behind, at least that was what a changeling would do.

So why couldn't she?
No matter what scenario she made up in her head, it always ended with the situation becoming worse for her, or with the thought of killing him, which bummed her out. She didn't want that anymore it seems, Tibia didn't want to kill the first person she was affiliated with.
Maybe this is what friendship was?

She just silently hovered next to Melkor as he lit the way with the flickering torch, the way up ahead was rocky and solid, a clear road built for travelers or merchants to pass through these gates.

" I didn't really think you cared that much about what I think of you, Tibbs." Mel broke the silence with a slight increase of cockiness in his voice, maybe to get a small rise out of her again.

"I wouldn't care if it was some stranger, I'd just kick their butt or get them a divorce by sleeping with someone else in their appearance and sending the pics to their spouse. But I can't do that to you... Yet. " she said nonchalantly.
"That was oddly specific," Melkor answered slightly bewildered.

"And it is high time that you recognize the beauty and grace of the changelings and start worshipping me!" She took on an equally cocky tone by the end of her sentence, raising her nose in the air and giving her companion the signature look of superiority.

"Whatever bugbutt, let's just go find a cave or something to sleep in." our protagonist said while stifling a yawn.
The coolness had already taken over the terrain and usually, this would be the time that he would start a campfire and prepare his bedroom for him to sleep in.
Sam would usually be asleep by now, and had eas, in fact, asleep by now.

The pair walked up the steep path that led them beyond the archway and deeper into the mountains, while Melkor looked at his map to confirm their location.
It seems there were about fifty miles left to cover from here to the ancient ruin of Arghast, an old watchtower on the far end of the former kingdom.

Tibia had napped before traversing this road, so she was not affected by tiredness and fatigue, no instead she helped Melkor by flying around and looking ahead. Her eyes could see well in the dark, and being from a hive of changelings, she was more than familiar with rocky terrain like this.

"Over here!" Came a small shout that would lead Melkor in the right direction.
The human rubbed his eyes and yawned loudly, this whole ordeal took way too long already. He just wished that they would find some shelter to rest in.

He had this uneasy feeling of being watched, as he slipped on a rock that he had not seen prior.
He fell to the ground and knocked the wind out of him for a short period of time.
A small squeal let him know that Sam was not happy with the situation that they were in right now.

Melkor rubbed his temples and took a deep breath as he recovered from the fall. He didn't hurt himself that much, it was just that he got startled and needed to call down again.

What was worse though, he had dropped his torch, and the night sky was covered in clouds so the moon could not illuminate his path like it had the last few days.
The light source was nowhere to be seen, it had likely fallen down the path or something, and the descent was deep.

"Damn...what is this damn darkness! Am I on the tomb of giants or what?" He yelled out of frustration, his anger carrying the voice through the mountains, uncaring of what might hear him.
"Tibia! Where are you, I can't see a thing!" He was only met with darkness and the wind howling through the canyons that went down into the abyss below them.
"Tibia!" He was getting really angry now, this prank she was pulling was far from funny and he would be sure to schedule the first beating since three days.
He slowly got up, careful not to trip on anything since his life could depend on it.
As he stood there, surrounded by nothing, his ears picked up the sound of small wings fluttering in the distance, really fast wings.
"There you are, you fuck! Don't ever scare me like that again!"
Tibia flew straight towards him, at least he could see the color of her eyes, which were....blue and without pupils.

He noticed his error too late and the foreign creature that emerged from the darkness descended upon him, followed by three more of his kind.
They looked like Tibia but larger and more disgusting, with greater horns and fangs that dripped saliva, along with a carapace that could be described as armor.

Melkor tried grabbing his hunting knife, but he was tackled before that.
Though these things weren't exactly heavy, they were fast enough to build up the right momentum to knock him over.

They both crashed to the ground and this thing tried to stab the grounded human with his horn, but his instincts immediately told him to grab that thing's neck.
The human had to wrestle for a bit before he saw the other two things coming closer to him.
He could barely make out their shape, the only good thing was their shiny carapace made him see an outline once or twice.

The one on top of him now flashed its teeth and tried to sink them in his torso.
Tibia's teeth were small and kinda dull, his we're serrated and long as if they had been filed that way in order to cause damage.

Melkor yelped and tightened his grip around the neck, and he began squeezing with all that he got. It was hard for him to get out of being pinned to the ground, especially since that guy brought reinforcements.

They were coming closer, and he had to do something, he couldn't break his neck from this position, he also couldn't run or get up without letting his defenses down.

The teeth got closer to sinking themselves in his torso, he was at a loss.

"Of course! SPARK!" The command word echoed through the air and seemed to reverb countless times, leaving the changeling in confusion.
Melkor let go of the assailant and thrust his hand forward with all he could, catching him in the thorax as he did.

Red lightning shot through his arm, faster than he ever saw before and the sparks seemed to be more too.
His opponent grimaced from the pain, then shortly afterward, his body exploded into bits, cracking the shell and throwing around green blood, organs, and bones.
There was a huge bang as the changeling's body erupted, and Melkor was then covered in blood, before standing up after the initial phase of shock.

The other two were hovering in place, their expressions filled with horror.
This didn't last long, as they soon began to fire green energy towards the human.

Melkor was excited, but also scared, these emotions led to him activating the fury inside him, as his skin began to smoke once again, and he felt the power rushing through his pulsating veins.
He then dodged the two blasts of energy effortlessly, with a speed he had previously not achieved.
His senses were also heightened, seemingly a side effect from increasing his mana prowess.

He inhaled slowly, before picking up a rock and crushing it in his hand.
His breath was calm as he set his sight on the eyes which he saw.
He reeled his arm back as far as he could before flinging it back forward with as much speed and strength as he could muster, letting the shards of stone sail through the air.

The changelings were immediately shredded by the sharp particles and fell to the ground, both of them seemingly dead.

Melkor was breathing to keep calm, he couldn't use another burnout, not here in the mountains.

As he opened his eyes again he could hear the sound of more wings fluttering, and soon, after the darkness around him was filled with glowing eyes that stared down on him.
There were dozens of them, he was surrounded.

He sighed and clenched his fists.

"Bring it then you motherfuckers!" He yelled As the swarm began to descend upon him.

And that is how it begins.

Holding out for a Hero

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Night had fallen over the land and the moon was obscured by thick clouds that blocked any light from touching the ground.
Some of the mountain peaks burst through the soft blanket that stretched out over the sky, being lit up by the full moon.
But the clouds that lay over Orin are heavy, and the winds are beginning to weave through the desert, picking up sand and plant alike, while gaining volume and magnitude.

Thunder comes from the far east and heads over toward the great mountain range that split the desert and the drylands of these lands, the herald mountains are about to become home to the storm of the decade.
And Melkor was gonna become part of it.

As rain broke the silence that lay in the air, Melkor stared into the eyes of about fifty changelings or so, maybe more and maybe less.
Either way, they outnumbered him by a lot, the odds were against him like they never have been before.
He had taken three of these beasts down just now, but he knew it would be foolish to expect a win in this situation, but what other choice did he have? His path was blocked and Tibia was nowhere to be found, so this was it, he had to fight for his life.

His heart began beating faster, letting the blood rush through his veins even faster than they had been before, and the light red glow coming from him increased tenfold when he knew what he was up against.
Snarling and hissing was thrown out of the darkness, directed directly at the nervous human.
Sweat ran down his face, as his surroundings seemed to come to a halt, the silence took over once more, and Melkors glow was the only thing preventing him from being in the dark.

He inhaled sharply, then let the air escape his lungs with volume, to be heard across the mountains.

"BRING IT THEN YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!" his voice held pain and frustration, as much as it carried his anger.
The sheer volume of it seemed to carry a light shockwave towards the stalking changelings, making them flinch back.

Melkor's skin was steaming and a deep crimson from what one could see in the dark, he was fully leaning into his fury magic now, letting it take over all of his body, but he thought this was his only chance.

After a few seconds, the black figures seemed to snap out of their trances, and a wave of angry hisses was thrown at the human before the swarm started to descend.

The first wave to fly at Melklor did not seem to think, rather they decided to book it straight towards him, horns pointed forward, in an attempt to launch themselves at him.
His gaze hardened as he saw the dozens of changelings descend upon him like a swarm of bees that were driven by something of a hivemind, not caring about their fate as long as it is for the greater good.
Meanwhile, his eyes had adjusted to the dark, and he could at least see their silhouettes while the mass approached him.

Melkor prepared for impact as the first two changelings came into reach and prepared to tackle him.
They never made it to his body as the human had grabbed them by their legs mid-flight, and he held on tight while giving them the stinkeye.
He slammed the two light bodies of his opponents against one another, with such speed and force that their frames collapsed with a loud crunch, leaving the broken corpses in his hands.

The next were quick to follow, but Melkor had reacted quickly and threw their deceased comrades at them, knocking a few of the changelings over.
He smiled as the others made their way around the crash and once again tried to reach him.

Blue eyes flashed in his periphery and Melkor dodged an incoming bite by a few inches, before answering with a hook straight to the temple, which crushed its head immediately.
His victory was short-lived though as a trio of changelings had gotten through to him, and latched onto his body, using their teeth to hold on to his clothing and the backpack.

"Get off you fuckers!" Melkor shook violently, but the three didn't budge, he was about to kick them off as one sank his teeth into his lower leg, causing a dulled sensation of pain to shoot through the human, which only made him madder.

With a roar, Melkor's body lit up even more, and the magic burst caused red lightning to ripple all over his body once again, which fried the three changelings and left him free.
He was even more loaded with fury now, this state was further advanced than when he fought War back in Dorne. He could see that the skin itself was turning a darker shade of red, and the electricity all over his body was now constant, surging through his veins and out of his skin, creating an extra source for damage.

Could this be because his mana had increased? Maybe, but who cares this is awesome!

This New aura of his halted the changeling advance for a second, causing them to stay wary of coming near him, in fear of being fried by these magical pulses running along with his figure.

They used this time to circle him completely, watching as his face twisted with more anger by the second, and his eyes darting between their shadowy forms.

The human watched as the swarm ran around him like a pack of hyenas that frightened their wounded prey before going in for the kill.

"RAAAAAGH!"
He was not having it though, he once again roared, causing yet another small shockwave to come forth, and disrupt the order in which the beasts had been flying, making a bunch of them crash into each other and sail to the ground.

They did not know what hit them as the ones on the ground already stared at a sprinting Melkor, coming for them with incredible speed, even surpassing theirs while in full flight.
His eyes were bloodshot and glowed an emerald green in the darkness, as he prepared to engage the grounded creatures.
He reared his fist backward and lunged at them, but he was caught beforehand, a changeling struck his side while flying at full speed, knocking him off course, but suffering the effect of the energy that covered the human's body, cutting the changelings hooves off from his legs.

Melkor hit the ground and heard the following screams of agony from the foe that hit him.
His effort wasn't in vain though, as the grounded changelings managed to rearrange themselves in this confusion, and took to the skies again.
He was pissed that his opportunity had passed, he could probably not do another one of these magic shouts anytime soon, as it really strained him, adding to the creeping fatigue that slowly lay over his body.
The changelings didn't screw around and started circling him once more, their eyes always on him, and soon enough, just as he had gotten to his feet again, they started blasting him with magic.

You see, in order to do actual damage, they would have needed to be grounded and have some resistance they could push against, but these blasts could still stun him, and there were dozens of them coming at him.

His pupils shrank and he quickly dodged the first few bolts with some sidestepping, enhanced by the greater speed this magic gave him.
The green shots of energy danced around his frame as he avoided them as best as he could, but alas there were too many of them and soon enough Melkor got hit in the arm, then the chest, and the leg.
It hurt him like hell and he was trying his hardest to stay on his feet all the while, the pain served as nourishment for the will to survive and it seemed to fuel his anger as well.

The swarm broke into a fit of annoyingly high-pitched laughter, as they made Melkor dance around, and wince every time one of them hit the mark.
Grunts escaped the human's mouth as his exhaustion became greater and greater, he had been dodging shots for a minute or two now, and when there were this many, it could drain your stamina amazingly fast as Melkor found out.

His thoughts were all over the place as he thought about how to handle the situation.
'I can't keep this up for much longer...I'll die if I keep this up. Tibia where are you?'
The barrage never faded, but Melkor seemed to get into the rhythm of their shots, at least a little bit.
His next step was to quickly grab some rocks from the floor and hurl them at them, to break formation and eventually take some of them out.

And he did just that, clenching his ass cheeks, he dove to the ground and picked up some more rocks, having to endure the pain that the impacts had on his back during the time he let his guard down.
The rocks were once again crushed by his hand and then promptly thrown at the bastards that had been playing cat and mouse with him.

If his throw had been hard before, now it was at least triple that, his swing was so forceful that he could not even see the shrapnel that he flung at the mass of insects.
What could be seen though, was the impact it had on his attackers. Crushing and cutting noises, just barely audible over the now raging storm let him know that at least a few of the changelings had been hit, and with great effect as well.
Six of them stopped flying and fell into the ravine that was beside the road Melkor and Tibbs had been traveling on previously.

The attack seemed to break their formation and cause the fired shots to become random, letting the human dodge them way more easily than before.
Melkor smiled to himself as he was slowly getting back into the fight and finding his rhythm, although deep down he knew that this was one fight he couldn't win.
Nevertheless, he was determined to fight until he couldn't stand anymore, giving up was not an option anymore, and he knew that.
His eyes scanned the surrounding landscape and all he saw were more eyes glaring at him from the darkness, seemed like these bastards were just waiting for their comrades to tire him out.
He clenched his teeth and went to grab more rocks from the ground, and repeated his first attack, once again making the swarm of changelings scatter.

Lightning struck somewhere off in the distance and roaring thunder could be heard, echoing through the mountains like a war horn.
The light coming from the loud spectacle blinded the battling contestants, while also showing Melkor more of the surrounding area, which was beginning to crawl with more changelings that came down from their high ground.
Quickly taking initiative, Melkor ran up to the swarm and used all of his rage and strength on his legs. He jumped up with as much force as he could muster, easily jumping three meters high, and headfirst into the collective of bugs, and he was about to let them have all of his fury.
He cocked back his right fist as far as he could while suspended in mid-air, slowly coming down through the force of gravity.

Letting his full rage unfold in this very moment, he roared louder than the times he did so before and let his fist swing forward with every bit of power he could muster in this very moment.
Time seemed frozen as his right arm took on a much darker shade of red, while the lightning that ran along his skin started to transform into a vortex around his fist.
His shoulder cracked from the sheer force that was now stored in his arm, and he winced in pain, almost letting his concentration slip for a second, but the sight in front of him reminded him of his fate, would he lose here.
He reeled his arm back even further and the green glow in his eyes increased tenfold, turning into a small fire for anyone that it.
The changelings that were in his way, quickly realized what would await them mere seconds from now, would they not dodge, so naturally, they tried to get out of his way as quickly as they could.
They didn't come very far.
As soon as he noticed what was going on, Melkor brought his fist forward, using his whole body in the swing and unleashing all of the power that he had conjured.

"EAT THIIIIIIS!"

The speed of the thrown punch, as it connected with only air, let loose a growling boom that overshadowed even that of a mighty thunderclap. Dozens of horrified eyes watched as a shockwave emitted from the point where Melkor had struck, was now headed for the main body of changelings. The human, still suspended in air, clutched at his right arm, and bared his teeth as he felt the pain this massive surge of Magic had cost him. The taste of blood filled his mouth as he began to fall towards the hard stone floor. The changelings, however, had to bear the brunt of the attack, as soon as the thundering shock connected, their formation immediately fell apart and the majority of them were obliterated by the sheer force, leaving only crushed husks or broken bodies. Clusters of them smashed into the ground or the mountainside with audible cracks, while the survivors panicked and flew about like a swarm of bees, whose hive had been destroyed.

Melkor heard the buzz of their small wings as the rain hit his body and face. Now on the ground, he noticed the awful smell of the changeling blood on his armor and flesh, it reeked as rotten flesh should, but the extreme sweetness was what almost made him empty his stomach. He growled as his eyes grew blurry from the mana loss and exhaustion he had built up these last few minutes. He realized with horror, that he could not move his right arm, it had been shattered by his own force, he should have been more careful. But giving attention to their own health is not something fighting for his life can often do. He had taken a risk, and it had worked, for now at least. Realizing the mess he had gotten himself in this time, he did something he didn't do in a while, he cried silently to himself as he heard the wings and snarls, slowly growing out of their daze, taking on a formation once more. Tears mixed with blood as he thought about what he had done to end up here, but he knew fully well what risk he had taken. He did it without batting an eye, a decision he came to regret as he felt the pain of the magic blasts connecting with his body once more. With his magic gone the pain felt overwhelming, knocking the wind out of him, time and time again.
He screamed, with a strained voice, that carried his pain through the mountains.

His eyes strained themselves to stay open, his body ached to the point of not wanting to move even an inch. A bolt hit him straight in the chest, causing him to gasp and cough violently, while bile escaped his stomach and went onto the ground before him. His eyes were red once more , this time from pain and exhaustion. The remaining Changelings descended onto the ground before him, there were about seven of them left, not counting the still spectating crowd atop the cliffs. Their little faces sneered and laughed at the downed human, seemingly thinking they had won, and honestly, it seemed that way, for Melkor had nothing left to give, not even a snarky comment or an insult.

"Looks like the creature is all out of juice!" Exclaimed the first of the changelings, who stepped closer than his brethren who stayed about ten feet away. This one though, came so close to Melkors face that he could smell the disgusting mix of brimstone and sulfur that was his breath, while also seeing the rows upon rows of sharp teeth. These ones were different from Tibia's, these could actually cause some major harm if used properly, or at least that was the thought that ran through Mel's head.

The Human growled at the mocking beast and barred his own teeth to show that there was still some fight left in him, even after all of that. A light Chuckle was all he got in response though, before the Changeling reared up on it's hind legs, seemingly trying to finish his opponent off.
Melkor's eyes went wide when he saw that the horn was aiming straight for his chest, as the attacker drove his head down with malicious intent and murder in his eyes.
The time to act was brief, so brief in fact that he didn't even realize he had put his right arm up to stop the charge, even though he could not move a muscle beforehand, now it seemed as if the adrenalin in his body was pumping out the last reserves it could offer.
The horn was caught as it tore through Melkor's already wounded hand almost effortlessly, sending waves of pain through the previously numb body part. He screamed in pain once more, as he held back the angry Changeling, now manically laughing at this futile attempt to stop him. The human could feel every chunk of flesh that was pierced, every bone that was broken inside his hand, and it was worse than he could've ever imagined. His vision filled with tears as the effort to keep the horn away from him kept getting harder and more straining, his other arm had to be used to push him away, but everything felt so heavy, how did it come to this?

"Come on, stop struggling it will be more pleasant for both of us this way!" The bug complained, while only thrusting his blade harder into the human's hand, and tearing more of his flesh out, piece by piece. He even tried biting into the arm of his victim but the resistance left in him made that a harder task than one would imagine. The other Changelings moved in to help their comrade while licking their lips and chuckling darkly, excited for the easy kill right in front of them, this fucker had killed a lot of their brothers and sisters, after all, so now it was time to make him pay for what he has done.

The one upfront however hissed at them, keeping them at bay. This was his kill, and his glory, surely they would promote him after this, how often is it that you get to take down such a dangerous creature after all! No, this was his prey, and he was going to-

His train of thought was interrupted by sudden pressure around his horn, looking back in horror he saw that the Human had brought his left hand around his horn after he was distracted with keeping the others away.
Melkor spit out a bit of blood and smiled darkly, before wincing in pain as he twisted his other hand to grab on as well, now having a full hold on the changeling.
The others quickly ran towards him, and the leader quickly charged his magic, cauterizing the wound in Melkor's hand.
But as time once again slowed down, they were not fast enough to change the outcome as Melkor the human twisted his hands with as much force as he could bring up, breaking the changeling's horn in the middle, while he was charging.
The crunch was loud and the scream that followed even more so, leaving the group in a state of shock. Watching their squad leader, they also noticed that the spell which had formed now had nowhere to go as it charged, exploding the base of the horn that was left, along with the cranium.

The Squad now once again hissed and roared at the strange creature, which now stood upright once again. Standing up had taken Melkor all of his energy, but at least he wouldn't die on the ground like a dog, no this was better, to show them the middle finger as long as it was humanly possible.
He laughed at their angry faces, Mel was far beyond anger now, he had accepted what would happen and just prolonged the inevitable, and hell it was more fun than he could have ever imagined. His pupils had shrunk so much that one could swear they stared into the face of a madman, and along with that bloodied smile, it made for a sight to behold that's for sure.
The pain spread from his limbs to his bruised torso, up to his head which ached after using too much of his energy and mana, now there was not a part of this human that didn't scream out in a cry of help. He laughed, however, coughing hard afterward.

The changelings were held at bay by this, it seemed they didn't want to meet a fate similar to that of their brethren. Strange, since they readily flung themselves at him like moths to the flame. He couldn't care less however, this was not something he was going to win, not if the gods himself were on his side this very moment.
His suspicions were confirmed, however, as right before his eyes, there landed a big, winged creature with fiery eyes and sharp teeth. Out of the darkness there descended a wyvern right before the quivering human, with dark scales that reflected the moonlight and blue eyes that met his own in terms of height and intensity. His ears could hear the wyvern's massive lungs even as the rain began to pour harder on the rocks around them. Its long neck inched closer to him and the deep rumbling of his throat turned into a dark and raspy voice.

"Well fought, but it's time you faced a real changeling." The calmness in his words showed absolute authority, not leaving a single doubt about the outcome of this fight, and Melkor was frightened for the first time in forever, he was truly afraid. His lips quivered and his mind grew numb as he was approached by the humongous creature that easily stood two meters shoulder height.

Melkor's breath became short and his instincts told him to run. His eyes wandered and his nose ran with snot, as the beast charged. His knees shook, and his mouth screamed, as its teeth ripped through his shoulder.
His sight grew black, as he was tossed down into the ravine of the mountain.

Rain in the Mountains

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Rain kissed the ground after the thunder had passed a few minutes after the spectacle that took place atop the mountain. The changelings promptly returned to their base after collecting their dead and wounded, making haste as to not be out during the rain for too long, their task was almost finished. The rogue had slipped them though, but they managed to kill her guard at the very least, and what an interesting creature he was.

The changeling Captain, now smirking after dealing the killing blow to that creature, collected his troops in front of their hideout and gathered them for a headcount. It seems that the strange being had taken about twenty-five of the grunt troops, leaving the remaining warriors and drones for reconnaissance and future battles under his command. It was time for them to return to their hive soon, as their livestock quickly faded with each passing day of feeding. Tibia was still on the run but she would never make it in these mountains, not in this storm anyway, she would shatter her tiny wings trying to fly with this much wind and rain, and when she can't fly, she will just starve to death. His Queen would be pleased with his results, though having a body for show would be better, he knew that his mistress trusted his word and his capabilities.

Looking over his camp of hungry and weary soldiers, he got lost in thought and wondered if it had been the right thing to sacrifice so many of his own. No, it had been worth it, finding out the limits of this creature, this way he knew to utilize his warriors instead of the youngbloods. As the winds passed through their cave, he once again thought of home and his queen.

Tibia had been laying dormant for the past four hours now, breathing silently while laying under a rock that was hidden from wandering eyes that had been searching for her. It shocked her to see changelings from her hive so far out north, and it had been an even bigger surprise to see that there were so many of them. She barely had time to fly away after spotting their camp from above. She would have stood out because of her pupils as she had been a rather rare breed of changeling.
She, of course, wanted to warn Melkor of the impending danger, but she did not have the time nor courage to tell him, the fear of being brought back before Queen Cercus was worse than death. She knew what she had done was an offense so grave that even her children would be punished for it, but she had to, she was the Messiah. That is also the reason she didn't even bat an eye before choosing to abandon Melkor, it was her duty to find new lands and a better life for her hive members. Nothing was more important than that, is what she said over and over again in her head but why did she feel this pain in her chest when she thought about what her former jailors might do to this strange idiot. Sure he was a food supply, but he was also annoying and rude and showed her no signs of respect...

But then he also made her laugh and kept watch when she couldn't sleep due to her nightmares, and he listened to her story and was understanding instead of calling her a lunatic like anyone else has ever done on the road towards her goal. This idiot was not someone she wanted to see die necessarily, maybe she wanted to coexist for a little while longer, maybe it would have been nice not to travel alone anymore. No, it was nice having someone by her side.

As the regret now fully hit her, she couldn't hold back a few tears that now mixed with the rain in her face. Her sobs were silent but hurtful. He didn't deserve to be torn apart or experimented on, neither did Sam. And for once in her life Tibia thought about her morality, a changelings morality. Never before had she shed tears before, never before has anything come this close to hurting her emotionally. She didn't even know she could cry, no one else around here has ever done so, not her sisters or brothers, nor her captors. No, she felt something she wasn't supposed to, and that scared her even more than the thought of being caught, almost at least. She couldn't stop it however, as she continued to feel bad for what she had done, the rain began to pour down even more.

A few hundred meters, the collective of falling water began to clean the blood off the battlefield, both green and red. Leaving no trace of the battle that had taken place here mere hours ago, letting it only remain in the minds of those that partook in it. The smells of burnt flesh and blood still lingered in the air, however, and they would remain there for at least some time until the smells of rock and moss would cover these ancient paths again.

Tibia was idle, not moving a muscle besides those in her face, occasionally blinking away tears caught in her eye. It took another hour for her to notice that on the horizon, the other changelings were finally leaving, and by the sheer number of them her fears were confirmed to be true, there really was no way out of that one for him, how could they have found them here? Were they laying out a trap or did she bring them here somehow? What did she do, was it even her fault? Thousands of questions ran through her mind as she became angry with herself. She could have prevented it so easily, but then she also couldn't, not willingly at least, and that is what made her so mad, and sad.

Time once again passed and seemingly all of the others had now abandoned camp, so Tibia moved for the first time in forever, escaping her rocky dungeon and now, for the first time smelling the horrid stench of blood all the way back from where the two of them had come. The rain had simmered down to a drizzle at this point, making it easier to hear anything suspicious or worrying. Though not a single sound was heard by her, not even the wind let itself be known at this hour of the night. There was only the silent splatter of water against rock and carapace, letting her feel completely alone in this darkness. Though her eyes were made so that she could see in these conditions, it didn't make them any less uncomfortable to be in, as a matter of fact seeing in the dark is probably worse than being in the dark for her, at least when she is alone. Would Melkor be here then he would've probably said something funny or uplifting, but knowing him he would most likely have insulted her, and she longed for nothing more than for that to happen right now. She continued to walk towards the stench, as it insulted her nose more every step that she took, she noticed the smell of changeling, it was hard for her to tell throughout this mish-mash though.

She chuckled darkly as a pained sigh escaped her lips, this was all so unnecessary. Had she just been more careful, they could have noticed the changelings hours before they even arrived, and taken a different route. Just for once, she wished that she wasn't so damn prideful, that this mistake wouldn't hurt so much, that she could somehow fix it. But alas, there was nothing she could do for him now, not even give him a proper burial as the body was nowhere to be seen. She was a little thankful for that if she had to have been honest. Seeing him mauled would probably not help her psyche. It was hard for her to admit really, but that asshole was her friend, and the first one she ever really had. Her nose picked up a different smell as she was lost in thought, a mellow and metallic smell, it was not changeling blood, for that it had been too sweet. No, this smell was something else and it came from....the ravine beside the path. It was dark, pitch-black even, so much that her eyes could not penetrate its thick blanket. But this smell, was also kind of familiar, like something she had recently come to know.

When it hit her, she immediately began flapping her little wings, and downwards she went, without a second thought. This was him, no doubt! This metallic and sweaty stench, that had been the smell of Melkor she got to know over the last days. There was no mistake, she raced through the darkness and dodged the occasional boulder, and avoided flying into its wall, the best she could. It was not easy, and the way down took a while since she had to be careful to not collide with anything.

'Maybe he climbed down here in time!' She thought while smiling weakly, nodding her tiny head. 'Maybe he is fine, he will be just down here and tell me how ugly I am!' Tibia had completely drowned out the fact that she had heard the battle that took place atop this ravine. Her eyes watered at the thought of punching him in the gut for scaring her like that, of her kicking his ass for being such an asshole towards her, the thought of her giving him another hug.

A weak smile found itself on Tibia's face as her hooves connected with the ground. She lit up her horn and illuminated the surrounding area, it was surprisingly filled with moss and some dirt, the occasional bioluminescent mushroom lit up only tiny plots of grass as she continued to follow her nose through the darkness of the abyss. Her eyes were filled with all sorts of interesting and beautiful things that flourished in these depths. Flowers the size of her entire torso, seemingly living only off the small stream of clear water running down the small descent of the path she took. Her hooves carried her through the ravine, but she dared not walk too fast and fall down somewhere, that was a fate she hoped to avoid. The smell grew stronger and more familiar the more she walked, and the more time she spent down here, the more hopeful she was that her friend had survived in this lush environment.

'Hey Tibbs, took you long enough to find me!' His voice echoed through her head as she thought about how he was gonna greet her, a warm welcome would be in order! After going through all of this trouble just for him! Yes, he was worth it, she finally realized. It was too late to take back her cowardice before, but now things could be different. Like he had shown her affection and kindness, so could she now after realizing what difference a friend could make to someone who had abandoned all hope like her, who was chosen for a task she had no Idea was possible by people she knew didn't care for her. They cared only for themselves as she had done. 'Mel will forgive me....he has to' she reaffirmed her doubts about confronting the one she left behind. But time could heal wounds they say, at least non-changelings say that, and this could be fixed with time and care, right?

She passed a little field of flowers once more, these ones had been inhabited by little bugs and butterflies that shimmered green in the light of her glowing horn. Now it had been two minutes since she started walking towards that smell, and it was so close she could even feel it. She could hear Melkor, shouting her name as the ravine carried on into darkness. His presence was right there, and the smell almost kissed her nose at this point. She threw logic out of the window and began walking faster, then trotting, before going into a full gallop. She went fast, not looking at the path below her anymore, not looking for anything dangerous, and not concentrating on her spell properly.

As she sprinted full speed towards her friend, she tripped on a loose rock that was in front of her hooves. She faceplanted hard into the ground, with her speed carrying her for a few more meters. She shook her head and spat out a bit of dirt that had accumulated inside of her mouth as she slowly got up, slightly dazed. Tibia noticed that the smell was right in front of her, so she lit up her horn once more, expecting to see Melkor standing there, with a smile on his face.
As the darkness gave way to green light, she saw her friend lying on the ground, in a small pool of red blood. He was placed in another field of those great flowers, his body having crushed a few of them, in an almost artistic scene in front of her.
His wounds were severe, there was a hole in his hand and his shoulder had been the victim of a vicious bite. Sam was nowhere to be seen, perhaps the little guy found safety somewhere else.

As she got closer to Mel, she saw that his eyes were closed, and on his face was a mellow smile. And after checking his warmth and pulse, Tibia could tell, that her one and only friend in this world, along with her hope of traveling further with him, had died.

Tibia, the messiah of the Samerrow hive, sat down and silently watched the lifeless body of the only person she cherished.

Everything but Fabric Softener

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The smell of popcorn. That was the first thing the individual was greeted with. Without hearing or sight, the only thing that came towards it was that penetrating smell of popcorn. But what was popcorn even? And why did it know this smell? How did it know anything when it had not existed up until this point? What did existing mean, and how did it think without a voice? The individual smelled, and nothing more, for what seemed like days on end, never experiencing anything else during that time. But how did it know the passing of time when it had no consciousness? Being comprised of only one sense really leaves you in a confused state. You get the idea.

So, where is this, and how did it come to be? There is nothing, at least nothing to experience besides that particular smell that the individual grew to hate over time. And as that dislike of the one thing that let it know it was grew, so did the individual. After smell came hearing, it heard words that were directed at it, or at least it thought them to be words, as they were so very far away and unclear. The horrid smell had stopped, but to its dismay, the sense seemed to be gone for good now. With a sense gained, one was equally lost, there seemed to be an exchange of some sort. Hearing in complete darkness lets you imagine things, but what could it possibly think of when all that it knew was black and popcorn. A vision could not be created without having ever seen it, that would be impossible unless you are the creator of your very own reality. But sadly, it was not, having those abilities would surely free him of being mute and blind and numb.

Once again, time passed who knows how long or how short, the duration is unknown. His singular sense grew stronger, however, making the words clearer and louder with every passing moment. It was a name, called by a sweet and innocent voice. Said with such love, with such joy, that it almost confused itself into feeling for but a moment. It knew, somehow it knew the name to be of importance. With hearing, came understanding, and with time then came mind. The individual now fully knew that it was, for it was indeed. What it was, it knew not, all it knew that it heard a name. A name called so sweetly by the voice that grew closer every passing moment, until it was right beside its ear, or rather where the ear would be. As sweet as the voice had been, it made the individual mad to be unable to reply. Always and forever locked in a one-sided conversation with something that repeats the same phrase over and over and over and over again.....can make one mad.

Something clicked, and it grew deaf once more, having grown to hate what he just before loved. Since it had gained a sense of clarity, it remained in nothingness again and now it knew that it was so.

It was surprised to suddenly taste.
Taste not like you would a meal, savoring the texture and flavor, but instead having a constant, unrelenting stream of taste on one's tongue. Strawberries, the taste was familiar to the individual, however, that was possible remained a mystery. Since it knew that it was, it could question its circumstances, but how did it know what to know. Relief came over the individual as it savored the sweet assault of the fresh fruity delight. Finally having lost the ringing in its ears, it could finally relax again. With every sense came new information, and with a taste, this familiar came a feeling of remembrance. It had indeed experienced this flavor before, it knew it, but not how, where, or when. Maybe it would simply have to wait longer for more senses to come and go, maybe this is part of existing, waiting to fully be.

Since time was but a far-off concept for one who has never seen a clock, or for that matter the sunrise, it knew not how long it took in comparison for the taste in its pseudo-mouth to turn sour. But sure enough, soon it did, too much of a good thing it seems. There was a lesson here to be learned, but what did it mean to despise something, the sheer concept seemed so malicious and unnecessary. Liking something seemed to be the much healthier option, but then again what does define liking anything, and how does it happen?
Pondering in thought seemed to take up no time at all, while also taking up all of the time it has ever known, which is none.

Next in line seemed to be touch, as the individual suddenly experienced a warm feeling over its body, without actually possessing one. It was rather strange like it had phantom limbs but with its entire body. The feeling seemed to be sunlight that kissed its skin on a warm summer day. This was new, how could this turn bad? Having lost his other sense yet again, it leaned into the new sensation and let the whole process take place once more. Experiencing this was by far the most subtle of senses thus far, only tingling him slightly over the entire course, nothing irritating about it. Pleasantly, the feeling seemed to spread over every inch of its being, even covering its mind, like a soft, light blanket. The thought's the individual now had seemed to be more pleasant than those before, as the warmth reached the mind even, seemingly at least. Then a realization hit suddenly, every sense seemed to be more intense on their own, and is thus enhanced by a lot. Who knew that touch could have an effect that reaches even the concept of mind and feeling? The awareness of the Individual grew stronger, beginning to understand instead of questioning. Everything seemed to make sense somehow, and yet it couldn't really, having formed a mind filled with only a few experienced senses can't fathom some of the concepts of reality as it is.

As pleasant as this warmth had been, it began to burn. Not hot like fire, but instead it was a numbness that also caused pain. Only ever feeling warmth can lead to you feeling very uncomfortable after time, admittedly it probably lasted longer than the other senses to turn bad, but like the individual had learned, even the best things could become worse once you experience them for too long. So as soon as it grew sick of that creeping warmth, touch went away.

The eternal darkness, having reigned in the Individuals mind had been everything it knew up until this point. So to say that the surprise of suddenly opening its eyes was the most shock it had felt up until now would be an understatement. Colors, light, and things it had never seen before fille its vision. The scene it was displayed, showed a city, of unknown origin. Square buildings as high as the clouds, filled the horizon, while smaller houses stood in the foreground. But of course, it had no way of knowing what those could be or what their meaning was. That didn't matter, however, as seeing was truly the most pleasant experience it had until now! Those vibrant colors and concepts that weren't there before in the darkness were truly splendid. And it couldn't imagine how this could ever be something bad? For the first time, there was also a change in what it witnessed. The sky, so blue and full of clouds, seemed to turn orange and then black, lining its tapestry with thousands of bright little dots that illuminated the dark. At first, the individual grew afraid that the darkness would come again to plunge it back into the abyss of not feeling anything, but seeing that those dots, lit up the scene just enough for him to see, calmed him immensely. And so, time passed, this time with a visible indicator, giving it the means to understand change and the passing of time. It saw grass grow and turn into flowers, only to wilt again once the sun had passed a few times. It learned to understand that change was normal and that everything did eventually. Although it did need a lot more passings of the sun to see that the little houses started to decay as well. The vibrant colors slowly washing out, and the weed overgrowing the neatly structured walls and roofs. The individual created its own form of entertainment even, guessing how often the sun had to pass for the next thing to decay. The numbers grew into the thousands, before the stone eventually cracked, letting some of the buildings collapse in front of him. It grew even more, however, to see when those giant towers in the far back would fall. The exact number was somewhere in the five millions, and the last tower fell, leaving nothing but grey and wilted landscape, rid of its former neatness and structure, as well as those beautiful colors. Then the individual experienced something new, pain. Not physical of course, but emotional, watching this beautiful scenery slowly crumble into nothing more than a grey mess of rubble and dust had taught him the concept of loss and disappointment. It screamed inside of its mind, however, as it realized that it grew tired of seeing things that it loved disappear. This meant one thing, that darkness would take over again.

The smell of popcorn that it once loved, irritated it.

The sound of that sweet little voice that calmed and let him gain a sense of being, had aggravated it.

The taste of fresh strawberries that delighted his mind, made it sick.

The feel of warmth across its body that let it know calm and understanding, made it numb.

The sight of that beautiful scenery let it know happiness, only to watch it crumble as time passed, making it sad.

Five senses of something pleasant had made the individual hate each and every one of them with enough time. There was a lesson hidden in there somewhere, but it didn't care. As darkness overtook it once again, stripping it of everything, its thoughts were filled with something new as well, something primal, something animalistic, a feeling that resides deep within everything that lives, no matter how good everything has been. The feeling of pure rage.

A scream gave way to the silence of nothing, as the formerly formless Individual suddenly experienced a blunt impact on its lower body. This was weird, since when could it feel physical pain, or scream for that matter? It could see, and hear, and touch and smell, even taste the saliva that now roamed its mouth. Quickly looking down it saw that it now had forme a body mostly hairless but with the occasional stubble on chest, arms, and legs as well as....other places. Was the nightmare finally over? Could it be that the lesson was learned and the test had been passed?

It looked around and saw white, an endless room of white light with nothing inside. It cheered, jumping and laughing, something it did instinctively as joy overcame the individual at the time. No more abyss, although this was nothing as well, now it could experience all the things it was stripped off again. However was this a good thing? The senses that caused it so much pain had returned, yet they didn't seem to be hurting him right now as there was almost nothing to be experienced. No matter, this was better, it had made up its mind and thus continued laughing and jumping around as if it had never done anything else. The Funtime was interrupted, however, as it could hear a voice from the nothingness that spoke to him with certain mirth about it.

"My my, aren't you the happy one?" It said, its voice seemed to be masculine, and rather old. What was strange however was that this particular voice seemed to fill the entire endlessness of the vacuum the Individual had found himself in.

"Where are you?" Asked the confused being, how it learned to speak or understand for that matter was a thing of mystery, it just could. Turning around, it saw nothing but white, and with the voice covering the entire room, there was no indicator of where it had come from.

"Oh, I'm everywhere, this is me, young man." It chuckled lightly, before continuing with the talk. "You see, what you experienced beforehand was my doing as well, as a sort of test, as you seem to have figured out already." It spoke again, leaving the young man, as it had called him, in a state of confusion.

"That was you? Why did you do that? Do you know how awful that was?" The rage he felt was clear, as he spat out his lines with anger, making him a little lightheaded from the sheer strain it put on his body. He turned around more rapidly this time, his eyes searching the room for the one that had done this to him.
"Show yourself! You have a lot of explaining to do, and you better hope that I won't kill you!" Those words, those concepts he didn't understand before now painted a clear picture in his mind now.

"Already threatening me? My, you mortals are all the same, you don't seem to understand the concept of fun even when you've had eons to experience it!" The voice never showed any emotion besides amusement it seemed. "Come now, don't be mad at me for opening your eyes to what life is truly about after you have died so tragically. It truly is a shame to see someone so interesting pass away so young." Despite the topic being rather dark, the person seemed to become more and more amused as he went on.

"What do you mean I died? I just woke up here, and let me tell you what I went through was a lot of things, but not fun!" He calmed down a bit, lowering his voice but keeping the hostility in his eyes, which could still not focus on anything as there was nothing. Having a conversation with an empty room was weird.
"Can you please explain to me what the hell is going on here?"

The voice seemed to be closer and louder as it decided to speak up again. "Hell! Yes exactly you said it, my friend, that is where you should have gone." Suddenly a white list appeared out of thin air, along with a set of reading glasses that floated in the air, seemingly covering an invisible face. "Let's see, multiple cases of assault, fraud, theft, refusing to eat your vegetables, multiple cases of first and second-degree murder, and worst of all, wearing a brown west along with beige pants! Ugh, such a drab and distasteful color palette." While counting the crimes, the little pen wrote something on the paper, as if to capture the misdeeds on paper. "Yes, exactly with a list that long your sorry little flank should have gone straight to as you would call it hell. And before you ask, yes it exists, along with heaven but trust me, down there in the brimstone are the guys that know to party." He had to laugh out loud for a moment before clearing his throat and adjusting his glasses, leaving no sign of the amusement that had been there before, which was strange since he was not really there.
"Anyway, the reason you are currently not barbequing with Asmodeus is that you do, in fact not originate from this reality. Now now, I know that this might come as a shock, mostly because you don't remember your living days, but hear me out on this one kay?"

The being just nodded.

After this short sign of approval, with a small burst of confetti, a snake-like being, with limbs from different animals came into the void, filling it with a sight stripped straight out of a Lovecraftian horror story. The way it was just random body parts thrown together made it seem grotesque and almost chimera-like, and very big, it had to have been at least twenty meters in length. The clueless, naked bipedal had to stifle a shriek, as he almost threw up in his mouth. That must have been the scariest thing he had ever seen, which was not really an accomplishment as he really ever only saw one scene. The creature, however, seemed to take no offense to this, rather posing like he had been surrounded by a swarm of paparazzi to show them his good side.
"Oh I know I'm just a dish, you don't have to flatter me so!" Looking closer it had the head of a dragon, the body of a snake, the tail of a lizard, the wings of a butterfly, and the limbs of four different mammals, which the being could not really identify as they had been too vague and could stem from a variety of animals.

"I think introductions are in order. My name is Pandemonium, but please call me Pan. I am a draconequus, or rather THE draconequus. I wouldn't expect you to know of us since you are from a different reality, after all, so let me explain who I am and why exactly you are currently within my realm okay?" He didn't let his visitor answer, however, as suddenly a zipper appeared where his mouth had formerly been, which Pan quickly shut. "Let me elaborate my dear friend."

"We draconequi, were the first beings to roam the planet, created out of pure chaos and disorder, we are a manifestation of the world as it once was and as it should have stayed. Ah, life used to be so different back when the world was only us and nothing else. You see, we thrived in the chaos, just snapping your fingers could create something new and weird, no holds barred. We used to have these century-long contests of who could create the weirdest and chaotic thing out of all of us! We were gods with the power of creation, and it was yours truly that shaped the world as it is today, I don't expect you to believe me of course, but back in the day, I was quite omnipotent, even among my brothers and sisters I was a standout. But of course, that never mattered to anyone, our goal was to have fun and we did, oh how much fun we had. Until someone had the bright idea to break our one rule and create life, his thoughts being that the most disorderly thing one could do is break the rules of chaos. Oh and he won the contest for most chaotic creation that year because none ever followed." His eyes grew a bit darker as he went on with the story, letting a low growl escape his mouth as he thought back to that day.

"My stupid younger brother had created life in all shapes and forms, that now roamed the landscapes I had created to be our eternal playground. We could have just killed them, you might think but no, our magic was meant to create chaos and not to take lives, which made that curse Anarchy had bestowed on us all the more threatening. We argued about what to do with these new critters and beings, as we could not eliminate them, we had a grand council that same day. Some of us suggested locking them up somewhere they would never be able to escape, while some of us suggested we rule them like the gods we were, others again suggested using them as a new form of entertainment. We never found the answer, like the true avatars of chaos we all were, we could not find the one thing that maybe would have saved us, unity. As we discussed, the eons went by, and right under our noses, those critters had evolved from brainless animals into somewhat sentient beings, which formed communities and societies all by themselves. They had created a new force in this world apart from chaos, and that was harmony. Slowly, but surely the harmonious coexisting of the creatures made this new energy seep deep into the roots of this world, driving out our beloved chaos, and slowly killing us. We never even saw it coming, one day as we were arguing, my sister just disappeared into thin air. And while we all were in shock over her sudden loss, it took us some time to figure out what had even caused it. And so began the extinction of my kind." His eyes began to water just a bit, before the teardrops turned themselves into butterflies and flew straight into his mouth, disappearing with an audible gulp.

"After we had it, there were only five of us left. Once a number in the hundreds now countable on a single hand. We could not harm them, and they couldn't harm us directly, so we only had time to look out for. We created concepts of hatred, sowing seeds of doubt in their mind that manifested as monsters cold as ice when they argued for too long, and it worked out for a good amount of time, yes it did. It gave us a few hundred years at least. Until those things showed up. Ponies were the most goody two shoes out of all creation, but even them we could throw into disarray, even they were not immune to the power of chaos and deception, but when they were at their darkest hour, nearly being frozen by the hatred for their own kind, some of them overcame even that, and in turn, turned into something we could not deal with as easily. Alicorns, the guardians of harmony they called them, ponies that were stronger and wiser than the rest. The sheer purity of their hearts made them beings of order and love, and poison to us. They were the ones to discover us and our plans, and they are the accursed uniter of the tribes! Alicorn magic is powerful my dear friend, very much so, and so purely harmonic that it could hurt even us, no, especially us, for we were their counterparts in every single way. We were much more powerful sure, and our magic worked better on them as well, but for the first time ever, we had an adversary and since their tribes were united once more, time was working against us again. We battled them for eons, with battles you couldn't even imagine with your frail little mind!" He then poked the focused listener on the forehead, not with force but enough to get his attention.
"Alas, they outnumbered us by quite a lot, but in the end, we managed to nearly wipe out their entire race! Not by murdering them, we simply turned them to stone or threw them into dimensions of pure horror and many other creative ways to dispose of someone. There were only two of us left, and three of them, a mother with two foals, one as bright as day, and one beautiful as the moon, how it sickens me to think of them! They had made a fortress, a city where all ponies lived in peace, a place where the harmony was so strong that it nearly tore us apart by being near it, and the hundreds of barriers didn't help as well.
So, In order to win once and for all, I hatched a brilliant little plan inside this beautiful head of mine. The younger Alicorn, I believe her name was Luna, was quite the explorer, despite her young age. Such a little rascal she was, always sneaking out at night when the moon shone the brightest, it almost hurt me to kidnap her, with such disobedience she could have made for an excellent draconequus. I took the form of a guiding light and whispered sweet promised in her ear as she waddled through a field of flowers, right into the darkest of caves, where my brother already prepared to ambush her. You should have seen the look on her cutesy little face after she was caught! HA! And how she screamed for help, oh it was music to my ears. So we tied her up and all we needed to do then, was wait. As it turns out the mother and older sister had been hot on our trail, for it did not even take an hour before they came crashing in our cave, guns blazing as your kind would say."

"Excuse me, this is very interesting stuff for sure, but how is that all connected to me Mr. omnipotent?" Asked the naked figure now sitting on the surprisingly warm floor with his head craned up at the massive Tatzelwurm in front of him.

"We get there when we get there, it's not like you have anywhere to be anyway." Pan shot him an annoyed look, being so rudely interrupted while nearing the climax of his epic tale. And he was feeling every minute of it, let me tell you that this man is an actor waiting for a stage, the way he moved while talking practically made this tale come to life right in front of his audience, which was currently only the unnamed man.

"So, the both of them came crashing through the ceiling, not the front door mind you, no they exploded the roof and burst inside, already shooting at my brother with a new type of magic. Usual Alicorn magic may stun us, yes and with enough combined it could even...end us, but the rainbow-colored blast directed at my brother obliterated him in less than a second.
Boy was I scared, the look on Queen Gayas's face that night, as she was surrounded by that vortex of six gems, really made my blood freeze. I would later find out that these gems are the final weapon against chaos, against all forms of disorder if I am correct, they call them the elements of harmony, and as I have told you, one blast was enough to end a godlike avatar of chaos. Now, I was indeed much stronger than my younger brother, but not even I could have withstood that. So I acted in a second, and put my claw against Luna's little throat, instantly freezing Gaya and Celestia in their place. I chuckled darkly, as I knew these ponies valued their loved ones more than any other creature that has ever roamed this world."

"What do you want? She screamed at me, while her little filly cried like I already had cut her open. All I want is for you to give me those gems, and to leave your ponies behind causing different nations again, then we can all live together in disharmony! Is what I said to that arrogant face of hers. She came closer indeed, and even though I could see the struggle in her face, she dumped those gems in front of me. So what did I do?" He raised an eyebrow, seemingly addressing the question to his listener.

"Um, you let the filly go and you both held to your terms?" He answered, although not a very smart answer it was.

"No, hahaha no. I mauled her. I used these teeth and these claws for what they were meant for, and I ripped out her throat, before breaking her neck. Oh my how the fillies both screamed! It was fantastic and is to this day the greatest moment of my life. Ah and just Imagine, when it all began me and my family only wanted to have fun. Next came something I didn't expect from little Celestia, her rage was so great that she summoned those stones from right under my grasp, and trust me my grasp is stronger than any convenient magic. But Celestia, well she always was really gifted, you could almost say that we were similar in a sense. Both were born with more than anyone else, and both of us lost it by the end. Those elements of harmony sure do hurt, but I was quick enough to use all of my powers to create a mirror dimension, one that I could send my mind off to. And so I did, while my body vaporized under the assault. And that was the end of the draconequi, well not quite since there was my attempt of creating them anew, spawning my so-called offspring, but he turned out to be a total failure after all. But enough of me now!" The other person in the room gave a relieved sigh, as Pan had been going on for what seemed forever now.
"Let me tell you of a man, who came to this reality because of a small slip up on my part. Who has single-handedly thrown this whole world in a state of chaos beyond anything that was for the last three thousand years! He didn't do anything grand yet, oh no quite the contrary, simply being in this reality caused something to go wrong entirely and grant me a fraction of my power back, allowing me to assist him in a sort of way, by giving him a stronger body and equipping him with potent magic. He had to get used to both of course, and he is far away from being a master at anything, and because of that, he overestimated himself too much and died, while only being nineteen years old, how tragic. That man, my naked friend, is you! You are the sole reason we are having this conversation at the moment, Melkor the Human, a warrior of Menkaind. I gotta tell you, the bullshit you fed those minotaurs was hilarious!" Pan then proceeded to laugh his ass off and slap his knee with a sound that reverbed several times over in the neverending room.

"And as you died, I pulled you here, letting you experience what I have been dealing with for an eternity, only much more slowly and cruelly. You were nothing when you died, soulless and just an Idea traveling through the abyss. But I snatched you up with what power I had left and tormented you. There was a certain pattern behind it, giving you all of your senses at once and torturing you would have been in poor taste, so I chose something much more fun! Slowly making you sick and tired of the favorite things you had in life while slowly watching you succumb to madness, only to start all over again with the next sense! Oh, what marvelous fun it was! But, you failed. You were supposed to go mad, crazy even, you were supposed to break, feeding me your malice and the chaos within your heart to finally let me take full form again and escape this monotonous hell that I have created for myself!" He then looked at what was formerly Melkor, and gave him a big, shit-eating grin, while slowly slithering closer. "Anyone else would have broken down after a thousand years at most, but you, you managed to endure all of it, without losing your mind! Can you imagine the sheer willpower it would take for that to happen? I tortured you for fourteen thousand years Melkor, I let you experience hell for multiple lifetimes, and yet here you stand completely sane! And that is when it hit me, back when I searched for your magical gateways, I noticed pent-up aggression, that is when I opened the gate for rage magic, and lightning because you were so energetic. Don't ask me how that would take way too long to explain. Instead of going mad, you channeled all of those years of torture into rage! You have something about you Melkor, something that almost no one has, you have a will made of iron, and focussing on your rage helps amplify that by lot." He then slithered around the human, who had been frozen in place these last few sentences, by Pan himself, fearing that Melkors shouting could overtone his absolutely reasonable explanation. He began stroking his hair and cooing in his ear, getting uncomfortably close. "You, are an avatar, just like myself. There is a potential deep within you, and you have shown me that you can give me something even greater than leaving this place."

Pan then let go and whirled himself into the air like a typhoon, creating a massive whirlwind around the human, showing him a display of power, as he released the spell he had put him under. Melkor was furious, and it showed in his face, as well as the rest of his body, but he knew better than to start a fight with a god, even if it was a fallen one.

"Listen to me human! I will grant you life, under one condition!" Boomed the voice, as loud as thunder. He really was putting up a show, trying to make his guest see just what Pan had once possessed, even it was, as he said, but a fraction.

"And what would that be?"

"You will cause chaos, on a global scale, you will throw this world into a state of disarray like it has never been before! Freeing me and letting me control the strings of reality once more! And your rewards shall be anything you have ever dreamed of, tiny one!" Pan then struck a pose again, and inched closer to Mel, looking him right in the eye. "Almost no time has passed in the living world, and I am fully aware that it will take time to accomplish what I have asked you to do, but you have the potential and the tenacity to pull it off, you shall be my wrath Melkor! You shall be my instrument of chaos!"

Melkor was stunned, he could bring him back to life? But he knew nothing of his life before, so was it life even worthy of going back to? He was flummoxed, but remembering Pan's words, he realized that there was no afterlife for him, and the thought of spending eternity in darkness, never feeling anything was scarier than anything else he could have thought of.
But how could he throw the whole world into chaos? That was a task impossible for one man alone! And what would even be the best way of going about it? Nonetheless, it would be better than to spend eternity in that hell.

"So, you'll bring me back to life if I make a deal with you?" Melkor scratched his stubble while looking at the draconeequs.

"That is what I said, yes." Pan's voice was slightly strained, perhaps from being a little impatient for the answer the human still needed to provide.

"And if I succeed in freeing you, you will be able to give me everything I want?" He raised an eyebrow. "Like anything?"

"Yes, yes everything but fabric softener! I will even make sure that you get to the afterlife once you die! Now, do we have a deal?" Aksed Pan, now almost screaming out his lungs, anxiously waiting for the deal to be made so that he could follow through with his plan to send Melkor back to the world of the living. "Should you refuse, I will send your soul back into nothingness." He then threateningly added, while giving the human a serious look.

"DEAL!" Melkor quickly said, grabbing the hand of the avatar of chaos, and shaking it firmly. The handshake caused a small explosion inside the area of whiteness around them, and when the dust had settled, Pan smiled from ear to ear, letting his sharp teeth show, as well as that happy spark in his eye. "Thank you, my friend. You shall not regret this. However, with this, I will have spent all of my remaining chaos energy, and you can not expect any more support from me. As a matter of fact, you will not remember me at all, nor this conversation we had. You will feel as If you had just woken up from the roughest and most uncomfortable sleep you have ever had."

The humans face twisted in annoyance and confusion. "What kind of bullshit is that? Can't you just wake me up nice and comfy and ready to face a new day?" Pan just laughed at this, which then turned into snickering as he managed to calm himself, the annoyed face of Melkor almost caused him to laugh again, but he managed to hold it together.
"No, that's not how it works kiddo, no. It has to be done in a chaotic way, which unfortunately for you, but very funnily for you, is going to be pretty uncomfortable. And there will be pain, quite a lot of pain." He then finished by giving Melkor a genuine and sweet smile.

"Fucking great, and as a matter of fact, how am I going to know what to do when I won't remember you or our deal? This doesn't really make any sense to me, In fact, that nearly makes it impossible. I mean what are the odds of me going through with a plan that I have no idea exists in the first place, given to me by someone I have never met? You gotta admit that sounds kinda stupid Pan."

The great draconequus however, just smiled. "Oh yee of little faith, I will do one last thing before I send you back Melly, I am simply going to give you an idea that you once briefly had, and make that Idea into a priority for you my dear wrath." He sweetly said, in a matter that was still somehow condescending. "And what Idea would that be?" Melkor asked as he raised an eyebrow, but looking at Pandemonium the next moment caused a lump to get stuck in his throat, as the creature now resembled the picture of a being made entirely of chaos even more as it grew in height and its proportions grossly extended. He brought a finger up to the human's head and smiled yet again, with glowing red eyes that pierced his soul.

"I want to conquer the world."

Tears under Heaven

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So, the days had been quiet in the mountains after the tempest that occurred here a while ago. The rain began to stop after a while and things returned to a certain balance, sort of. It had been quiet, peaceful and most of all it was totally devoid of life. Except for the vultures that is, who kept picking on the body of deceased changelings that still lay in some cracks and on the broad side of the mountains. After some time, there was nothing left but bones and bad memories, yet the scavengers couldn't quite get their beaks on one corpse, in particular, the corpse of a human.

Tibia, the great prophet of her kind, and the leader of the soon-to-be exodus lay at the bottom of the ravine that lined these mountains, fiercely guarding her friend from anything that might defile his dead body. She had been starving, alone, and hadn't spoken a word in the 5 days that she was there. At least there was a stream of water nearby so that she could drink when there was nothing to worry about. With her green eyes, she looked around the darkness and scared off birds, lizards, and many other parasites that could have feasted on the man-flesh. The only company she had down here, was little Sam, who had survived the fall and hid from any dangers until she showed up. The little lizard was grieving as well, he had lost his dear friend and cuddle provider, and what a friend he was true. But he couldn't stay here forever, he knew that, but a certain bug refused to move an inch from her spot. Even when he bit her, she wouldn't move a muscle. She didn't even cry anymore, she just sat there with her eyes fixed on Melkor, who strangely enough didn't start to rot just yet.

He hissed at her once again, to leave and move on, but his little efforts had been in vain once again. It would crush the little guy to leave Tibia down here, knowing that she would eventually share the fate of the human. She wouldn't listen, and he couldn't do anything about the fact that she was larger than him. Strange how a relationship this genuine could be formed between two people who started out hating each other's guts. He never knew a changeling could feel, it was uncanny and unheard of, to say the least. Sam kept looking, he knew she was special, and he was glad to have her after all, but it seems she was a lost cause.

He saw her breathing, her chest rise and fall, so he knew that she lived, any other forms of life that were once in her, the fight, the sass, and the pride were gone. He didn't want to admit it, but this seemed to be hopeless. Tomorrow, he would need to move on, and he would leave Tibia on her own, but for now, he would spend one more day cuddled up to her cold chitin, giving the slightest bit of comfort he could provide her with.

The wind blew through the blades of grass, and the sunlight barely managed to illuminate the dark canyon they had found themselves in, funnily enough, this scene was beautiful in a strange and twisted way, had the circumstances been different, it could have been nice.

Sam closed his eyes, the only way to pass the time down here was to sleep, and due to lack of energy, he couldn't force himself to stay awake. He heard thunder as he lost consciousness, maybe he would have a nice dream this time, maybe he would be able to have a moment's peace.

There was no rain, there were no clouds either, but there was thunder. And with thunder came lightning. Sam's eyes ripped open as he heard a strike from above his head, and in a split second he saw lightning travel down the ravine, strange, this was such a low place that it would be illogical for lighting to travel down here, but it did. And it struck right next to him, it hit Melkor right in the chest. Tibia screamed, the first sign of life from her in days!
"Nooooo!" The words were weak but full of grief, what she had been trying to protect all this time was suddenly targeted by one of nature's most destructive forces. Surely he was blown to smithereens. Sam was startled as well, the lizard scurried over to Tibia who was still in disbelief.

The dust settled, and he could hear faint coughing. Actually, it was rather loud and followed by pained groans.
Could it be? No.

Looking at the dust cloud, there was not a dead body, but a shivering and coughing Human, in fact very alive. Was this a dream? Was this the pleasant dream he had hoped for? It must have been, but he was glad nonetheless.

"FUUUUCK!" The voice was strained, and clearly in pain. Melkor sat up and cracked his neck audibly, his eyes were red and he was drooling as a madman would. His chest was burnt by the impact but visibly rising and falling.

Tibia was stunned, she looked in awe, her face filled with emotion. This had to be a trick, right?
"A...a...a..." She tried to say something but she stumbled over her words like a shocked buffoon.

"What's wrong bugbutt? Frog in your throat?" Asked the newly revived human between coughs and groans. It feels like he had just woken up from a nap, and a very shitty nap at that. Everything hurt, his head ached worse than the day of his initiation, and by gods amplify the feeling of a numb foot times 100 and apply that to his whole body. Frankly, Melkor wanted to scream like a madman, but somehow all that pain seemed less important than the fact that Tibia was silently crying giant tears, without the slightest change in her expression. It was like she had seen a ghost, which was actually the case, but there was no way Melkor could be able to know what she felt right now.

Slowly getting up, Tibia set one hoof after the other while coming closer to Melkor, step by step the malnourished changeling approached the ghost in front of her.
His eyes were filled with concern as he watched her struggle to even walk towards him, and as she reached out a hoof and fell, he captured her in his arms, his gaze never leaving her crying eyes.
"You can't be..." She hushed in a weak and hoarse voice. "You can't be alive... I've checked your heartbeat...it was silent." She spoke yet again, while the stream of tears never ceased to roll down her pale cheeks. Melkor, completely baffled at those words, stroked her cheek with his free hand while shushing her. He knew what she said couldn't possibly be right, but he also knew that she needed to be comforted right now, and as much pain as he felt, she seemed to be taking the situation much worse.

"I'm alive Tibbs, in the flesh, the most handsome of humans, Melkor. You know?" His words were unsure as if he was questioning his reality briefly. Why would she say such things if she didn't believe they were true? And why did she look so horrible, could it be that he really was unconscious for a long time? He didn't feel like much time had passed, but then again, the same thing applies whenever you are sleeping.
"I'm here, now calm down will you? I'll give you some food you look like shit." He hugged her, pretty tightly, more so than he had ever hugged someone before, the kind of hug that you give someone who truly needs it, and she needed it that was plain to see.
As the human closed his arms around his equine companion, he gave her more love than he had the last time when he fed her, truly she was a pain but Melkor couldn't stand to see her so miserable, after all, they....sort of became friends didn't they?

It was then that Tibia started to sob uncontrollably, while unconsciously getting fed by him. She let out all of the pain and despair she felt when she had thought to have lost the one meaningful relationship she ever made, without him, she would be lost, in many more ways than one.
Changelings don't do friends, is what they say in the hive. They don't need these pathetic feelings for one another, what matters is progress and survival. Every changeling is taught that the day they are born, so why did she care? Tibia cared for this person, in a way that a changeling shouldn't, why was this so? He was rude, arrogant, selfish, snarky, sarcastic, idiotic, annoying and.....

Kind. Patient, ambitious, funny, optimistic and most of all he didn't despise her because of what she was. A changeling's life takes place in the shadows because of those that fear or hate them for what they simply are. Changelings don't belong, that is made clear by their need to prey on others' emotions to survive, they lie, deceive and they terrorize. For once though, she didn't feel dispised, she felt like she had someone by her side. And that someone was cradling her in his arms, after having died a few days earlier.

What a strange path she had chosen, but it was good. In a way that many a changeling would never come to know.

"You are dead! How are you talking? This doesn't make sense!" As the color returned to her face, slowly her voice also found its way into her throat. The crying got louder and the curses as well. With each struggle from Tibia, Melkor held her tighter, completely encasing her in his arms once she found an ounce of strength. While it hurt like hell to hold her like this, it was even worse to give her his energy right now. The headaches, the cramps, and the burning skin were all competing which would be the worst thing Melkor experienced at that moment.

"I'm sorry to have worried you, though I don't know exactly how. But please calm down, I'm real, I'm here so please calm down." His voice was strained from the pain and exhaustion, as small as she was, Tibia sure knew how to fight herself out of a grip.
"Please, I can't hold you much longer....you fucking cunt!" The words left his mouth but weakly, yet the changeling ceased her struggle for a moment. Relieved, he loosened his grip and fell on his back, the exhaustion taking over finally.
Sam had already waddled over and was now nustling against Melkors coarse hair, relieved to see him breathe.
Although there was no more strain, the human still felt a little weight on his chest as he lay there, it was a bit hard to breathe. It was strange that the changeling had fallen eerily quiet when she had nearly brought the canyon down with her crying before.
"Tibbs, do you mind? You're kinda heavy." Wheezed an out of breath Melkor, and while he tried to move his arms again to simply remove this weight that was BUGGING him, he found that he couldn't raise them, let alone move them at all.
While he came to that horrifying realization, he noticed the pressure on his chest shift a bit, as Tibia, with eyes still full of tears and a runny nose, looked him in the eye with puffed-up cheeks and furrowed brows.
"You're the cunt." She said quietly as she let her head fall on his chest with full force, shoving a grunt out of the human, followed by a soft chuckle.

"I know, I know."

Same evening.

The little group sat around a makeshift campfire that Melkor and Tibia made from little twigs and a few dry leaves. It had taken the human a few hours, but he eventually recovered enough strength to get up, much to the dismay of a still grumpy changeling nesting on his chest.
Roasting on a stick was one of the many large bugs that roamed the floor of the ravine, after checking it for poison, Melkor found out that it was indeed edible, although very disgusting nonetheless. Hearing Tibia explain the whole ordeal of him falling down the chasm and him actually being dead for nearly a week almost made the human burst out laughing, but when he looked at her dead serious face, he knew there had to be at least something to it.
Sam had also confirmed her story to be true by giving a nod when the very much confused man asked him about it.

"I remember fighting, a whole lot of fighting actually." He scratched his head, the memories were fuzzy at best, he tried his hardest to remember any details but all he remembered was rage, pain, and a lot of blood. "But I don't know what happened afterward, It's like I woke up from a dreamless sleep. POW! There was a loud noise, a pain in my chest, and an overall feeling like I drank too much and got into a fistfight." He explained his experience to his friends, who looked at each other before Tibia came to word again after having been silent since telling him her side of the story.

"Yeah, you kinda got hit by lightning...that would explain the pain you felt." She said, while also gesturing to the still very obvious burn mark on his chest. "It still looks painful if you ask me." She reached out a hoof to touch it, but it was swatted away by the recently resurrected human.
"Okay, so it is as painful as it looks, got it." Her words still felt heavy, while she was coming to terms with the situation she still felt a little cold and empty when thinking of how both of them ended up here in the first place.
"You fought with a group of changelings it seems, I saw the bodies....you really did a number on them. Although it's impossible for a single man to defeat a whole wing of changelings, there are often over one hundred soldiers under a captain in these groups. Good thing you were fighting only drones, would they have been warriors or praetors the situation wouldn't have been so...clean for you." Melkor cocked an eyebrow at that. "You said I died." Came a deadpan reply, before taking a bite out of his roasted bug.

"I meant clean as in, you wouldn't have been whole if even anything remained of you. Those guys are brutal." Tibia shivered at the mere thought of watching a squad of warriors slaughtering Melkor. "Now, as for how you are still here...I don't know. It seems you fell down here, and there was a huge bite wound where that scar now is." She pointed to the mans shoulder, causing him to look down and spit out his bug.

"Holy shit!" His eyes went wide when he saw all that fresh scar tissue, the scar spanned from his shoulder till his lower chest, with dozens of little cuts healing in between. This was one hell of a bite wound. "This looks wicked!" He exclaimed while admiring the ins and outs of his new battle souvenir. Mel was the sort of person that didn't care for practicality as much as he did for coolness as you all must have gathered by now.
"You guys shapeshift right? I didn't think that changes of this size were possible though." Tibia sighed and began explaining.
"While our combat abilities are fine on their own, we often change into more imposing creatures. Not many changelings are able to make changes of such a magnitude however, whoever gave you that wound was no chump let me tell you that. From the pattern of teeth and size, I would say either giant crocodile or wyvern, though I doubt a croc would be advantageous in these mountains, so my pick is a wyvern." She then let out a whistle, before taking a closer look at the bite.

"Okay, I know it's cool but please don't touch it while it's still healing. And especially not with you weird, gross hoove-thingies!" Mel said as he scootched further away from the dark menace. She chuckled lightly, by now the light in her eyes had returned and she wasn't on the defensive anymore. It seems this truly was her friend, after all, no one else would be foolish enough to insult a mighty changeling in such a sorry state.
"It's been lonely without you, meat lug. I didn't have anyone to insult, no one to make fun of, and no one to tell me how pathetic I am." Tears had again found their way into her eyes, this time not of sorrow but because of relief.

"Well, I don't plan on dying again, Tibbs." He said with a stern voice as he ruffled the weird thing that was on her head. "First, we have to get out of this abyss though...I'm afraid we're going to have to climb...." He said with a disgusted tone behind his words. He didn't even want to think about how long it would take to take them out of this hell.

Tibia, however, wiped her tears away and sat down next to Mel as he was contemplating how to ascend in the most efficient way possible. One could clearly see the gears grinding inside that thick skull of his, while a certain bug was trying to get his attention.
"Maybe we could forge some rope and spikes out of plants and animal bones..." He shook his head at that. "No that would take too long." A sudden smack to the face got his attention. "Hey!" He yelled as he got ready to strangle the agitator.
Tibia just smirked and pointed at her horn.
"I'm a channeler remember? I can use universal magic." She said while giving her simple-minded friend a self-righteous grin.

"And that's supposed to tell me what exactly?" Melkor asked with clenched teeth, trying to suppress the urge to hit her back.
"Every once in a while, when I have enough energy and can focus for a bit, I can teleport myself and a few others a short way. I studied that art in secret for the grand exodus that I was chosen for! Although it takes a toll on my physical abilities." She sheepishly admits while rubbing the back of her head. Melkor was intrigued since this plan didn't involve any sort of manual labor from him and would probably be a lot faster. For a second he became suspicious, however, squinting his eyes at the small bug-horse.

"Waaaait a minute, why haven't you used it before then?" He pointed a finger at Tibia, while still keeping his eyes squinted to underline that he was, in fact, actually being suspicious of her right now. I mean, who would not use such a trump card? Especially during their first meeting, it would have easily let her escape.

Tibia sighed, however. "Because I need to be positively FULL! I need every bit of energy I can gather by myself, and then some. Which is why I could never do it alone, it always was part of a team plan. Teleportation is very advanced magic mind you." She scoffed a bit before continuing. "I need tonight's rest and every. single. drop. of energy you can give me, then I will be able to bring us three out of here in the blink of an eye, although I won't be able to move for the next six hours afterward. So you'll have to carry me." Tibia finished up her explanation with a hoof pointing at Melkor, whose expression had loosened up, but still remained sour for the time being.
"Fine, but after you can move again you're on Nightwatch." He said, pointing a finger back at his bug friend to mimic her gesture.

"Deal." She said, laying on the human's lap. "Now let me rest, and start with the food while you are at it, I'm gonna need a whole lot of it, buddy." She let herself fall into a comfortable position while yawning and stretching. She happily closed her eyes as the human began stroking her head gently.

"I should have just stayed dead."

HDRLT

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The ravine was quiet at night, eerily quiet to be exact. Among the few noises that could be heard was the soft breathing of two recently reunited creatures, sleeping soundly without a care in the world. Since light down here is scarce, there was no natural alarm clock in the form of the first rays of sunshine that gently caressed the face of its recipient.
The campfire remnants were still smoking to a small degree, the embers having transformed into white and grey ash.

Laying in the arms of Melkor, was Tibia who had just recently regained her will to live, so this was the first good night's sleep she had in a week, and boy was she enjoying it. The human seemed to be dozing happily as well, no wonder with how exhausted he was after being forcefully awoken from the dead. Scarred, burnt, and sore as hell, his body was craving this sleep like never before.
Sam, was curled up in a little scaly ball, having made his bed on top of his human's forehead. The grass down here was ample and soft, the perfect natural mattress to carry these three through their much-needed sleep.

All good things must end, however, and as soon as the sun reached its zenith in the sky during noon, the light eventually hit Melkors face, tickling and giving a sense of warmth to the spots that are hit. With sloth-like speed, his eyes open, revealing a still happily snoring Tibia wrapped inside his arms. The human stifled a groan, he couldn't let her see this, or she wouldn't let him live this down. He could already hear her annoying voice exclaiming stuff like 'oh, did the human need his blanky?'. He had to think of a way to escape this situation without waking her, it was also at this point that he realized his lizard friend slowly waking up and crawling down his face and giving him a good morning lick. Melkor almost chuckled, before he realized he had lost focus for a second.

With a sharp breath and swift movement, he let his left arm escape from under the bug, and with a fast roll to the side, he was free. And to think that could have gone horribly wrong! No, he couldn't let her have even the tiniest win today, for he had to completely give up mind and body today, so that they may flee this chasm. He sighed and scratched the stubble that formed on his face, it had been a pain to give Tibia his love until he himself passed out from tiredness, as his whole existence after being reawoken was just a cluster of unpleasantries.

He felt a bit better today though, it seems as if he truly had a knack for regeneration. Don't get me wrong, the pain was still very much there, but it had become a lot more bearable than yesterday. Looking down on himself Melkor noticed that his only shirt was completely ripped open, leaving him bare-chested as the cool morning wind passed through the now open parts of his former desert gear.

He had lost weight, a substantial amount actually. When he first arrived in Orin he was still chubby and unfit, but now that he has been here for over a month already, he could see that this harsh lifestyle actually did him some good. For once, he had something to genuinely smile about again. Leaning against a nearby rock covered in thick moss, our protagonist decided he would enjoy these last moments of peace and quiet before the insectoid menace decided that it was her time to wake up.

Sam, not having had much time yet with his human, joined in on the morning hang session, and crawled upon Melkors shoulder. Though he had not been able to verbally express it, the little lizard was overjoyed to have his companion back after having lost him earlier. No words were needed between the two, however, for when they had relaxed enough, Mel did a single-hand gesture, ordering the blue lizard to execute order 69.

Order 69 or better known as "Wake the bug in the most unpleasant way you can." between the two of them. Sam didn't hesitate one second before crawling down the still tired human's arm, who stood up slowly afterward and started to stretch. The devious reptilian slowly crept up towards the unsuspecting bug, who still snored without a care in the world.
With a grin from hell, Sam sat next to her ear and licked his tail. I think we all know where this is going.

With full force, Sam jammed the wet end of his tail right into Tibias's ear, creating a moist noise.
Her eyes shot up in an instant, and so did her voice. With a shriek and a leap, the sleepy changeling was awoken.
She landed on her ass, the fall being broken by the soft grass that covered the ground, but that didn't stop her from giving Sam the death stare, prompting the scaled scoundrel to quickly scurry towards his master and hide within his hair.
Melkor chuckled as he stopped the charging Tibia with his hand. The foam coming from her mouth accompanied by the more than heavy breathing was a clear indicator that she did not like order 69 one bit, a clear success.

"Out of the way you filthy bag of meat! I'm gonna have me a scaly steak!" She said between huffs and puffs, her eyes never leaving the ever-mirthful Sam atop Mel's head.
The human sighed and gave her a quick bonk on the head with a closed fist. "Listen numbskull, don't waste your energy on such petty things as revenge. We have a mission you know? Chillax and get breakfast already, before you explode." He added jokingly, now scratching the chin of the still dazed bughorse.

"I know that whole thing was your Idea, and don't try to play dumb, you know I hate slimy things!" She tried to stay mad but those chin scratches of his were one of the most pleasant things she ever experienced and a very rare treat for when he was in a good mood or if she managed to not swear all day. Getting fed in the meantime also helped extinguish the fires of rage just a bit faster, a full changeling is a less mean changeling is what they say, and the same goes for Tibia.
"Oooh I'm going to enjoy being worshipped by you, perhaps you'll come to like it and make it an everyday routine hm?" She said with closed eyes while blissfully humming, unaware of the fact that the person she was conversating with was about to deck her in the face for that comment.
Yet, since he couldn't afford to upset her, and out of a dire need to escape this chasm, Melkor simply gritted his teeth and forced a smile.
"Whatever you say, oh great messiah." The venom seemingly dripped through his teeth with every word he spoke in that sentence. He was going to make sure that this was over as quickly as possible, so he was going to give her the full human deluxe relaxation and love treatment, or HDRLT for short.
Sam only chuckled at the misery of his master as he watched the whole thing unfold.

First, there were scratches all over, from chin to back to belly and legs. Tibia might as well have been a cat with the amount of purring that she did subconsciously, and instead of making fun of her for it, our poor protagonist kept his mouth before going on and about with his slave duties.
What followed were massages, excruciatingly long massages for what might as well have been hours. Massaging chitin is weird, what was even weirder was the way her chitin still behaved like skin since it wasn't really armored more like a hide, yet still kept those bug-like properties. Next up was a big meal for Tibbs, she drained Mel like the US drains oil, leaving him with cramps, headaches, and very fatigued by the end of that session.

Sam had grabbed himself something to eat in the meantime, he was snacking on some of those bugs from yesterday that remained uneaten due to their gross taste, which came in quite handy for him since he loved it. Popping one into his mouth once in a while, he simply enjoyed the show, earning him the occasional glare from Melkor, who looked worse for wear ever since this whole treatment started. But it was a necessity to escape this situation, and he would find a way to repay her sooner or later, he was already hatching mad plans by the second, each worse than the last and more horrifying and gruesome than anything that has ever happened in the history of paybacks.

It was now the early afternoon and Mel might as well have been dead at this point, at least he looked the part. His eyes were already beginning to lose color and his skin turned a damp grey-ish tone over the course of the HDRLT. Tibia felt more powerful than she ever had, there had never been such an abundance of food in her entire life, and neither had her hive. This is what queens must feel like, a glorious occasion and one she would probably not be able to repeat soon. Though she did notice her slave beginning to look worse for wear by the minute, and she decided that this could not go on for as long as she might have wanted it to.

"You may stop now serf." She said in a snooty tone, giving a small nod to the human who had been working on her hooves for the past thirty minutes. His eyes lazily met hers and she gave him a small smile, a courtesy which he did not return, simply staring blankly into her face, expecting her new order to roll up just as she was finished gloating and feeling awesome about herself right now.
"You have served the Messiah appropriately and my powers have now reached a new peak thanks to your groveling." Boy Melkor punched her a lot in the past but she was seemingly asking for it with that attitude of hers right now. He was having a hard time staying calm, even as drained as he was this still caused some rage to bubble inside his gut, alas the desire to live had been stronger than the desire to punch Tibia in the face again. So instead, he put some sprinkles on top, lowered his head and bowed to his temporary 'master' "It is an honor to serve you great messiah Tibia, let me thank you for the privilege of providing you with the energy you need."

His tone was dull and defeated, he was truly exhausted and he was having a hard time keeping his thoughts straight most of the time, felt like a few shots of tequila and a punch in the face if you asked him. His words rang through to his friend and she was beaming brighter than the sun could ever hope to, though her face sunk in thought for a second after his words of praise.
"N-now it's time for the final task, after that we will be done and I will have enough power to teleport us out of here..." Her tone was a bit unsure and a small blush appeared on her cheeks, almost like she wasn't sure about this next step. This, however, was music to the ears of Melkor, who had been wanting this charade to end for its entire duration, he would do just about anything to get out of there and make this finally stop. He let out a sigh of relief as she told him this would all be over soon and a spark of determination flashed in his eyes as he was gathering the rest of his remaining strength to carry out whatever she needed him to do.

"Just tell me what needs to be done great Tibia." He said, now with a bit more energy behind his voice, as he positioned himself in front of her after he ceased her pedicure. The changeling, however, remained silent for a minute, her hoof scratching her chin as if in thought, her cheeks still maintaining that noticeable blush that she wore since her previous statement. Melkor grew impatient but decided that getting worked up now and ruining the mood was not worth it, so he gave her all the time she needed, even reassuring her with a firm nod that told her 'whatever it is, I'll do it.'

Tibia then cleared her throat after a few moments of pondering, and began to speak with a somewhat shaky voice.
"A-alright then...for the final task, I r-require from you something simple. The ultimate display of affection one might say..." She trailed off for a moment, looking Melkor directly in the eyes, she saw nothing but stoic will and determination in them, and it unnerved her a bit, but she needed to do this.
Melkor was ready for just about anything.

"A kiss."

Anything but that.

"Say what now?" He checked again to see if he heard correctly, perhaps the exhaustion, dehydration, and malnourishment had finally attacked his brain.
"I need a k-kiss... you know... love and all that." She said meekly while trying to sound determined with the final result being hilariously adorable.
She also got as red as a beet after she said what needs to be done.
"Y-you know that w-we have to get out of here and th-this would be the final push I need for m-my powers to-" She was then abruptly cut off by two hands clasping around her cheeks and pulling her into a kiss orchestrated by the man himself.
He was determined to get out of there and it showed, he pulled her in for a kiss like he meant it, and boy did he mean it.
She, of course, was surprised by this, but ultimately realized that she was getting the final rush of power that she needed.

Sam, on the other side of the campfire, choked on a bug he was currently in the process of eating as he witnessed the scene before him unfurl.

Melkor realized that the kiss felt barely different from the time he had kissed "Sky" yet the drainage of his energy remained exactly the same, but he pushed through the pain and even put his hands around her waist for good measure. All in all, the only bad part about it was being drained.

After a good twenty seconds, Melkor broke the hold and collapsed to his side, now completely lacking the energy to stand. Tibia just sat there, breathing heavily, while the black of her cheeks was now a deep crimson, and her eyes were spinning around wildly. Sam still sat there, mouth agape, he could not believe what he just witnessed.
The changeling may have been dazed and flustered, but her powers were charged, to the point that her eyes and the little spines on her neck began glowing in lime green. Her body was ready, yet her mind wasn't, and Melkor was knocked out cold, so the only one who could save this moment was the man, uhm I mean the lizard himself. Samwise of the dunes quickly scurried over to his two friends and climbed the legs of Tibia and after reaching her cheek he slapped her across the face with a strong flick of his tail.

She was stunned for a second before spotting the perpetrator and glaring at him. The lizard simply deadpanned and pointed towards the sky, signaling her that they had somewhere to be. Tibia's expression softened and she looked over at her human buddy, she nodded at Sam and charged her horn, after making sure that everyone was in reach. The massive power she used began to glow in a bright green around her, creating an aura that lifted all of them off the ground, there were charges of green lightning coming from the group as they were floating a few feet in the air.
The changeling concentrated hard on where to go, and then, suddenly with a flash.

They were all gone.

Conquering the World! - for starters

by Dadecious

Arrival of Man

Duel of the Fates

from Dusk 'till Dorne

Fresh Meat

A Hero without Might but with a little Magic

Street Patrols and broken Bones

Tuesday mornings are alright for fighting

Rest and Exposition

Growing Struggles

Boss

Lord of the Sands

Dangerous Paradise

Starry Starry Sky

The Bugs Apprentice

Getting Sucked the Wrong Way

Mountains of Peril

Holding out for a Hero

Rain in the Mountains

Everything but Fabric Softener

Tears under Heaven

HDRLT