Steven Burke - The Dark Tide

As the chant intensified, the circle around the cabin began to burn red and purple all at once. The flames slowly moved toward the cabin as predator would sneak up on its prey. The fire burned low to the ground as it approached its target. Just as it appeared that the cabin would catch on fire, a red hand and purple hand of fire shot into the air at the crows. Hundreds of birds were consumed instantly by the burning hands. Ash gathered some ten feet above the roof of the cabin, in the air, as the hand returned to the flaming circle.

“Radesh…come forth and serve!” shouted Lord Tyrienwalker.

The ash fell as the flames instantly consumed the log cabin. It happened so quickly that the men did not even utter a single cry or shout of pain. A black hole opened in the scorched circle which was empty only for a moment. The beast called Radesh clawed his way out of the underworld. He had clawed hands and feet with black wings spreading from his back. He stood nearly twenty feet tall and was black as night. His eyes were human in form but the pupils were entirely black. Once he was completely free of the world of the dead, the void closed.

“Echten loche noh bin baden” the deep gravelly voice of Radesh rumbled slowly. He was ready to serve his masters. That was part of the dark magic…those who were summoned were bound to do the bidding of those who brought them forth. The one downfall is that the creature would have a body that could be damaged and even sent back to the realm of the dead. If the beast could avoid such damage, it could live forever. The dark lord is the perfect example of such a feat.

“We are ready” Lord Tyrienwalker said as he looked back to the dark elves visible in the clearing. The sky cleared and the sun shone brightly overhead. The air smelled of burnt flesh and brimstone.

***

The sky over Burien was clear and the sun was bright as it rose on another day over the western waste land. The giants did not think of it as such, but from outward appearances it did not look all that hospitable. The air was dry and almost completely devoid of moisture. This was what a giant would consider a perfect day. The tribes primarily resided in the western part of their homeland, however, with so many giants off to war, their numbers were considerably reduced. The young giants were in training to prepare for being called up to fight. The field where they trained was a big as the elven capital in Renshaw.

The trainees rumbled out into the open arena where they practiced the noble art of throwing objects. The clear sky overhead gave the giants excellent visibility for the workout ahead of them. As a few of the giants looked to the southwest they noticed what looked like a dark cloud that appeared to swell before it disappeared. The other combatants did not notice the strange occurrence; however, they did feel an unnatural ease come over them. Everyone mechanically came to a halt and looked around for the source of the change that had sprung on them.

“What changed?” queried one of the larger giant soldiers. He was nearly twenty feet tall and looked fierce in his obsidian stone armor. His movements were restricted by the bulky plating.

“Something is happening over there” said another giant diffidently. He was pointing at where the mysterious cloud appeared and then quickly vanished.

Off in the distance a black mist started to swell just north of the strange appearance. The blackness crept like a stalking predator into the sky. What was not clear to the giants was that this obsidian mass was also moving toward them. The distance between the practice field and the approaching danger was almost negligible. The speed of the unseen danger was hidden by the crude mist.

Within moments blackness swallowed the giant soldiers on the practice field. They were momentarily stunned by the sudden nothingness. Many of the massive brutes swatted at the thick, dark moisture. Then, in an instant, the air was full of screams of terror and fierce anger. It is scary to hear such cries coming from giants and the subsequent shouts of anger would have chilled any sane person to their core. This is when the unthinkable happened…a full out assault on the giant homeland of Burian. Soon the sounds of battle replaced the brief moment of terror. Blood soaked the practice field as the giants fought unseen intruders.

“Try to get a hold of one of those vermin!” bellowed Captain Jargus. His ruddy face was covered in a mixture of mud and giant blood. His anger was his driving force at this point. The death toll was unfathomable to the giant captain and his soldiers were not having much success in fighting the invaders off.

A cloaked figure darted across the giant captain’s line of sight right after his booming command. He deftly reached behind and grabbed the hooded intruder. With both of his saucer sized hands he squeezed forcefully which was abruptly followed by a sickening crack. The body in his hands went limp. He pulled the hood back of the fellow and stared at the black face staring blankly back at him. It was a dark elf…something from legend and myth. They were the scum who killed the Eldar and then were never heard from again. There were stories that some had escaped the guardians’ punishment, but that was just fairy tales. He held in his hands proof that they did exist.

“Look alive! We are being attacked by dark elves!” boomed the captain’s voice dramatically. There was a moment, brief as it was where a cackling voice filled the air.

“The brainless oafs can actually speak! Why don’t you say hello to our friend!” shouted lord Tyrienwalker. The malice was thick in the dark elf’s reply. The voice was magically enhanced which made it difficult for the giants to identify where the vile dark elf was.

The black mist suddenly cleared and revealed a nightmare come to life. The beast in front of the Captain Jargus was the size of the largest giant and had a blackened armor to protect its rough hide. Radesh, the beast summoned by the dark elves, lowered its head and growled loudly in the direction of the giant captain. Quicker than anyone would of anticipated the beast was bounding powerfully toward the leader holding the dead dark elf. The beast panted as it rushed wildly into a group of giants. He swung his head about hitting giants as he rushed onward.

Before the beast reached Jargus, the giant captain grabbed the dead elf by the legs and proceeded to swing him back like a club. Just moments before Radesh’s leap carried him to the waiting giant he was hit alongside the head with the dark elf. The hit temporarily stunned the gigantic doglike creature, which was long enough for the captain to get on the beast’s back. He swung down hard between Radesh’s shoulders with a boulder that was three times the size of a man’s head. There was a sickening crunching sound followed by the ground beneath them started to rumble. The ground shook as the underworld creature shook back and forth like a dog attempting to dry himself of water. After a few moments he was successful in dislodging Captain Jargus.

“A creature summoned from the world of the dead…you fools do not know what evil you have unleashed” panted the giant captain. He used his considerable strength to stand up as straight as he could. He had broken his leg when he had been tossed from the beast which had a bone sticking out. The adrenaline of the moment blinded the captain to the danger he was in.

“It is you who is ignorant. You were not watching as you should have been and discarded rumors of our existence over the centuries. Now, your failure will mean the end of the giants of middle Tuwa” laughed lord Tyrienwalker darkly. His gray eyes appeared to bore into the giant. There was lethal intent in that look.

The momentary exchange allowed Radesh to end the encounter. He opened his massive maw while rearing up for his attack. The giant captain stood transfixed as the beast came down on him. Blood instantly gushed from where his head and shoulders used to be. The lifeless body fell to the ground like a mighty black oak from Renshaw forest. The raging battle seemed to pause briefly to watch the fall of their captain. He had been the battle master entrusted with the training of new recruits. He had been the greatest warrior left behind after the unification of the giant tribes and now within moments he was no more.