Chapter 9 - Sand and Blood

The morning cold fades away under the relentless assault of the scorching sun, and the desert heat starts wearing me down as I move away from the giant's corpse's shadow. We're leaving, on foot, the riding beasts trailing behind us. Something is going on, but no matter how hard I try, I don't seem to make sense of what all this means. Why are we leaving the dead giant behind? And why the hell have we chased it down and massacred it like that?

Everyone seems tense as they move away from the blood pool. Rai'Ze is busy as well. She moves ahead, hair flowing in the wind, orders shouted left and right. Everyone keeps silent, acknowledging her commands, knowing too well what's about to happen next. Everyone except for me. I lag behind her like a complete moron, holding the heavy hunting axe tightly. Questions rush through my head, but now is not a good time to ask, now is the time to follow, and that's what I intend to do.

We stop, not that far away from the carcass. The hunters rush toward the beasts, dragging them around, forming a line across. The creatures are thankful for the rest as they bury themselves halfway in the sand. They did their job, chased the giant across the sands, now they can chill, take a nap even. We lean against them on the other side, stealing whatever shadow they cast, some of us peeking back at the sand giant's corpse.

"Why did we...?" I finally dare ask, but my words are stopped as she pushes her finger on my lips.

I look at her, confused, she is grinning again...

My blood starts rushing through my veins. What the hell is going to happen now?! I clench my axe and start looking for danger. The air around us burns as the warriors slowly draw their axes and push themselves over the sand-covered riding beasts. I do the same. Something is about to go down, something dangerous!

Suddenly, the giant starts moving! No! Shaking! No... it's worse!

The sight makes my stomach churn in fear.

A wild pack of horrible creatures surrounds the carcass, growling, pulling it from all sides! Heads buried deep into the flesh, claws digging, fangs ripping, chunks of meat flying around, blood spurting everywhere. It's a carnage! A feast! A feeding frenzy!

Some climb on top of the creature, ripping the giant's back, while most just pull from the sides, tearing the flesh away with all their might. My skin crawls as I witness them half covered in blood, jumping one over another, growling, squealing, fighting to reach for more.

Piranhas! These fuckers are just like piranhas! Giant, man-sized, hyena-like, sand piranhas!

I feel movement and look at Rai'Ze standing tall, pointing with her mighty axe.

Are you fucking kidding me?!

"Wahnz." She smiles, looking at my terrified expression.

My heart stops as Rai'Ze gives the order, and her warriors jump into action, rushing over our sand-covered beasts and toward the carnage, axes swinging. I am shocked, stunned, frozen in place! The sight is terrifying! Fangs, claws, blood everywhere! There's no way anyone can survive those things!

And then... she pushes me toward the moving pile of fangs, guts, and flesh.

"Time to prove." She grins with fire in her eyes.

I look ahead, holding tightly onto my axe, fear rushing, pushing my conscience into a corner. I climb out of hiding as the adrenaline takes over. In front of me, the carnage is in full swing. Pieces of meat and blood flying everywhere. Terrifying sounds of flesh tearing and guts being ripped open fill the air. These bloodthirsty beasts are tearing the mighty giant apart right before our eyes. I feel overwhelmed as my legs, weakened by fear, refuse to take another step.

Right then, I catch a glimpse of the first warrior striking down one of the smaller wahnz that was pushed aside by the ravenous pack and had to make do with whatever meat flew out of the carnage. The strike was so powerful that the poor critter had no time to react and fell right on top of its dust-covered meal.

Another warrior runs ahead and grabs a large wahnz by surprise with a blow to its back. The beast turns to face the new threat, but its reactions are too slow, and it is hacked before it can let go of the piece of thick skin in its mouth! More warriors rush ahead and join in the carnage hitting the wahnz and striking them down before they can react.

I'm stunned! What's going on? Why are these hyper-aggressive beasts not reacting to us?! We won't stand a chance if they could only... see us?!

The wahnz are not paying attention!

The scent of the sand giant's blood is masking us, and the sight of the mountain of flesh is blinding them. They're completely absorbed, lost in their bloodlust, fighting each other, ripping and pulling chunks away, digging deep inside the giant's dead body, maddened by their own instincts. This carnage is what gives us an advantage, and our hunters are not wasting any time!

This is it! This is my chance! My heart beats like crazy! I have to be fast and get in there before these stupid fuckers realize what's going on!

Ahead! Fast! Now!

I rush toward the first wahnz, axe ready, yelling like a madman. The creature is small by their standards, less than half the size of others, bigger than a wolf, that's far from small in my world. Head covered in blood, busy chewing on a large tendon, shredding it apart, completely ignoring me. Big mistake! My axe strikes deep, and the stupid creature squeals, collapsing in the sand, tendon in its mouth and all! I look at it, all riled up, but there's no time to waste!

One fucker down! Twenty or so to go! I encourage myself to rush toward my next target!

Blood spills over me as I strike! This one is larger, it turns toward me, surprised, still chewing, eyes confused, blood pouring down its face. I don't give it a chance to react and strike again, right on its head! It tries dodging, not willing to let go of its meal. Its movements are slow, too slow! The blow is devastating, my axe blade sinking deep, and the critter goes down, squealing in the sand before my feet.

I pause for a moment, taking a breath. Around me, the hunters are hacking away at the surprised beats. It's a fucking massacre! Our warriors are attacking and killing in a frenzy, their bloodlust matching the beasts'.

My blood starts boiling again!

This is it!

I can feel it!

The hunt, and I'm in the middle of it!

I feel emboldened, mind drunk on adrenaline, as I rush toward the next beast!

I think little, I just strike as hard as I can, sinking my axe in its back!

The blow must be terrible as I feel my hands shaking, absorbing the impact through the weapon's heavy handle. But the beast still ignores me! A fatal mistake!

I pull back, ready to strike again, when the dumb animal turns toward me growling, mouth open, staring at me with dripping blood through its giant sharp fangs.

I brace myself and rush forward, aiming for its head! The beast jumps away, evading my blow, but I can still feel the axe striking flesh! I hit its shoulder as hard as I can! There's no way in hell the fucker still stands after this! And yet, this one refuses to go down! I've delivered two direct blows and nothing!

The giant wahnz doesn't even seem to be bothered! Its eyes pin me down as it growls at me, arching its body, preparing to attack!

I freeze. This one... acts differently!

The jig is up!

They are fighting back now, and I just realize the size of my opponent! It's a fucking giant! Taller and stronger than any other around! It raises its head, dwarfing me, forcing me to look up just to keep those crazied eyes in my sight.

My knees weaken, but I'm determined to hold firm! If these fuckers are anything like our wild dogs, turning away and running will be the end of me. I squeeze my axe with my hands, staring down the beast's open mouth as I anchor my feet in the sand, bracing for its assault. A moment later, the fucker charges at me!

A blink, that's all it takes! I was still keeping my axe above my head, ready to strike back, when suddenly the mighty wahnz collapses, its bloodied body twitching and convulsing in the sand right before my feet.

I look at it, stunned, unable to understand what happened.

The dead critter is gushing blood from its open skull, and I can see the iron handle of my desert queen's axe from within! The blade split the beast's head in two and buried itself deep inside its neck. There was no way for it to survive the blow, and instantly died mid-charge. It was dead before its body touched the sand.

I let my axe down and look behind. As expected, Rai'Ze stands there, grinning. She nods and points at the dead creature.

"Charging the head! I like that, Marcus!" She smiles as I drag her heavy weapon back to her. Waves of pride and fear wash over me at once. That was an alpha wahnz? What the hell was I thinking?! Could I've survived that charge? I look back at the corpse, doubts filling my heart and soul. Fortunately, she was there, watching over me, backing me up. Was that by chance?

I grab onto my weapon, looking for new prey, but I already feel my body's limit, and there's not much left to kill anyway. A dozen large and a few smaller critters lie dead in front of us while the rest of the pack scatters, howling and growling through the sands. The hunt is over, just in time. My muscles are giving in, exhausted as the adrenaline washes away. I'm barely swimming through the sand, slowly dragging myself toward her.

The hunt is over.

I survived... again...

"You did good!" I hear the beast's voice right before a powerful slap on my chest almost sends me down for good. She laughs, I gasp for air, she ignores me and looks back at the alpha beast.

I wish to protest, but I'm too weak to say a thing, and I know she's going to ignore me anyway. She walks past me, moving close to the dead beast and casually raising her hand. Her massive double-bladed axe swooshes out of the mangled creature and flies right into her hand! What the fuck is that?

How.... the... hell.... did she do that without the bracelet!?

I quickly walk to her, dashing through the sand, my heart racing again as my mind fills with questions. Another bracelet? Where? Her armbands are leather, some metal rings, and studs, nothing like my Th'al-nik! I look across her body, eyes searching for another item. Her massive chest is barely covered in cloth and leather straps, a savage amulet hanging around her broad neck. Teeth, claws, leathers, and more metal beads. A wide belt keeps her loincloth in place, and that's about it. Nothing else except for her boots.

Damn, how did she do it...? I keep wondering while trailing behind her. There must be another item, I conclude right before the sudden pain sheers through my right arm. The bracelet is acting up again, spinning like crazy and sending all kinds of lights up and down my veins.

What the fuck got into it?! My legs collapse, and I fall to my knees.

"Aaahhhggg....." I grunt loudly, trying to hold my hand in place from twitching around, feverishly touching all the controls, trying to stop the damn thing from ripping my arm apart!

"Th'al-nik!" I hear Rai'Ze's commanding voice as she grabs my burning arm and holds it up high to her face.

The bracelet slowly winds down and eventually stops as its energy drains away to her body. The crippling pain fades away, and I can finally breathe again.

"This thing... is broken..." I manage to articulate, almost hanging in the air as she investigates the bracelet for damage.

"It's not," comes her reply. "U're too weak for it!" she growls, releasing my hand from her grip.

I fall back in the sand, shaking my arm around and rubbing my numb hand. It still burns, I can feel it. Take this thing off me, please, I feel like begging, and yet, I don't.

"Go on," she commands me, pointing at the cooled-down bracelet.

I feel no will to do as told, and yet I doubt there's a choice. I touch the Th'al-nik and speak the word. Nothing happens. I try again, nothing. I look at her for an answer, but she's not in the mood to provide one. She's just sitting there staring at me, disappointed. Or so it seems.

I look back at the blasted thing and push every single symbol I can.

"Th'al-nik, Th'al-nik, Th'al-nik!"

My attempts fail again, and yet somehow, I have to continue. Her eyes command it!

"Th'al-nik! Th'al-nik, you piece of shit!! Th'al-nik!!!" I rage at the bracelet, letting my frustration vent as I remember the pain, no, the pains! Start, you fucking piece of shit! You owe me! I command you to start up!

Suddenly, movement, barely, a small rotation, was that even real? I check the marks, the middle part, and the top. Yes! They're not aligned! The center moved! I made it do that! It was my will! It reacted to my command!!

I squeeze the bottom ring with all my might and take a deep breath.

"TH'AL-NIKKKKK!!!!" I call out with all my power, almost ripping my vocal cords apart.

The bracelet slowly moves, half a circle, then slows down and stops. Faint colors flow across the top symbols and down my veins. Yes! Fucking yes! I got you now!

I brace myself for another attempt when I feel her grip on my arm.

The bracelet lights up, and it starts rotating again, first to one side, then another, and then back. The symbols light up, and the hologram begins filling the air in front of our eyes. She releases my hand and stares at the stats.

"U feed it ae'l, from your blood," she explains, partially annoyed, adding more confusion in the process.

I look puzzled at the floating image. Where does it say that? What the fuck is she seeing in there? And why is she annoyed about it? Is that a bad thing? I thought I was here to get stronger or something.

Did I fail? What the hell is going on?

I force myself to understand. Lines, symbols, a chaotic mess floating over my holo-scanned body, diagram, whatever the fuck this is. She touches the air. There! Fingers trace a line, it flows through the body, from the heart, through bones, lights up the muscles, encircling the entire body, and running down toward a single glowing symbol. Is that new?

It looks like it, a new symbol, or rather a number of sorts. Three short lines, is that it? I gained three... stuff? But I feel no different than before! If anything, I feel weak, exhausted, barely able to move or stand. It must be a mistake, my body feels worse than before!

"My body?" I let my doubt out.

The beast shakes her head, almost annoyed by my words. I knew it! There's no way in hell I could get stronger from hunting those creatures, what the hell was I thinking?

"Ur Ae'l, the fire within," she speaks, tracing a line from the glowing symbol toward my bracelet.

Wait, what? My fire, what fire?

I stare at her, even more confused. The hologram symbol matches the one below the ring, the power-on button, or something. Is that this "Ae'l" she's talking about?

Oh, three lines! Right next to it, they match with the diagram!

As soon as I see it, my face lights up.

Finally, something makes sense! This Ae'l energy she's speaking about, it gets stored inside the bracelet!

Some gains, sure, but do I have to keep hunting down these dreadful creatures? The thought of it instantly shatters all my confidence.

You can't be serious...

The hologram fades, and I can see Rai'Ze's disappointed face looking back at me.

"Hunt's over, we go back," she harshly speaks, turning her massive back to me and walking away.

My heart sinks. Just when I thought I made some progress, apparently, my efforts are not enough.

I somehow feel guilty. Annoyingly, I can't seem even to understand why. What did I do wrong? I was there, charging, slaying, hunting those beasts down, one after another.

I get up on my tired legs and slowly chase back after her, ashamed of my actions, whatever they may be.

The rest of the hunters got busy, dragged the dead wahnz back to our riding beasts, packing them tight and rising in their saddles one after another, ready to move. I reach Rai'Ze's mighty riding beast and make my way up behind her without saying a word. My massive alpha wahnz is already tied down behind our saddle, together with the other two I've killed before. With a loud shouted command, we saddle up and start moving back through the burning sands.

I should feel victorious; I survived! Hunted my first prey, gained my first ae'ls, whatever the hell those things may be.

And yet my heart is silent.

I grasp tightly onto her massive body as the riding beast rises and starts walking. The scorching sun is unbearable, but I'm too tired to be bothered by it. I lower my head and close my eyes. Soon enough, the beast's rhythmic movement soothes my tired body, and I find myself dozing off, completely ignoring the bracelet's core silent rotation.

I have so many questions, but my exhausted body can't care less and takes precedence before my troubled mind.

I may be too weak for this world...

It's a losing fight...