The Open Desert

And with that, he looked to Time Walker, a mightily proud nod given towards the Professor as he lifted into the air, sand going in random directions as he spun around into the air, kicking into the side of the atmosphere and beginning their flight northeast, gliding the majority of the time and keeping speed impressively.

The fireball gliding towards the sands had black smoke engulfing its trail as it flew. Then, wings would outstretch, luminescent with heat as fire still raged upon them. The roaring dragon saw nothing but deserted stands, and the sandstorm coming his way caused much irritation with the dragon. From there, it turned its path, inhaling mightily as it glided the other way, holding its breath as it felt steam pouring out of its mouth from how hot the fire was building within it.

Turning around suddenly, the wings stretched out mightily and blasted him backwards, a mouth stretched as wide as possible unleashing a storm of fire. It was hard to tell which was larger than the other, but the outcome proved which was more powerful. A rain of glass could now be witnessed falling to the ground, and into the mighty canyon made from long before. The dragon stayed its travel as it stared down to the depths below it, eyes twinkling as an addiction was sparked once more. Gold.

Mighty fire escaped the dragons mouth, increasing in head as the sand around the canyon shriveled up and ocndensed to solid forms of blurred glass. From there, shards and nuggets of gold could be seen under the fragile layer. The dragon's eyes widened as it suddenly landed, shattering the field of glass as it stared down to the golden nugget, the fires around it starting to heat up the other areas of sand where it could.

They came at night, with wagons filled with pickaxes and wood. The goblins crawled their way into the mounds of sand to claim what was first there, hurling it into the enormous crucible the sand crawlers carried. There were two of them: Giant sand lizards, beasts of violence, but tamed by the ogre they were most obedient. The goblins then crawled down the massive canyon, and began to mine out more of the gold, supposedly they were aiming for all of it.

(Currently, 100 NPC points are in play.
15-point sand crawler(x2)
1-point goblin minders(x70)

A portal splits the air in the middle of the godforsaken waste, Grandma stepping out of it in her deep purple robes. As soon as she was clear of it, the portal closed, leaving her standing in the middle of the vast desert, nothing other than sand in sight.

Having no time to lose, Grandma dropped the first level of restraints on herself, gaining access to the majority of her true mana pool. Raising both hands, she focused as she channeled mana for the next spell. A single massive rune appeared in the air, made of a blood red mist and slowly rotating as she pumped mana into it.

The earth itself would groan as the spell was being cast, protesting such unnatural magics being used. Centered on the middle of the floating rune and appearing just below it, a massive gate with two doors would begin appearing. First, a bottom corner would be there, then a bit of the middle, and then some of the top. The appearance of each part was erratic and sudden, but within minutes, the gate in its entirety would be there.

The construct itself was made of a blackened, jagged material, and was about 100 feet wide by 250 feet tall. Alien runes covered each door from top to bottom and a thick black fog seeped from the cracks in the door. Pointing one hand at the door, Grandma spoke a single phrase.

“Come forth, children of Icaroth.”

At her words, the two doors slowly swung open, completely silent despite their gargantuan size. The black fog poured out, completely concealing the area around Grandma and the portal itself, this cloud would continue to grow for sometime, but considering her remote location in the desert, it was unlikely to be noticed.

Alden steps out of the portal and onto the sandy road outside of Sakand. He stares out at the jewel of the desert and starts building a mental map of the city. For all its beauty the city was just a series of streets and alleyways to the high marshal, he was still working on art appreciation. Behind him, fifty marshals stream out of the portal to stand around him. Marshals training didn't include military formality, but most struck something akin to an at attention stance even though they were forming up in a loose half-circle around their high marshal.


Some might have found the lack of discipline odd for a military force but the marshals weren't one, not in the formal sense anyway. One of the reasons regimental structure was practiced to provide a sense of order and cohesion to people who needed to maintain such a mental state under extreme stress. Essentially you needed soldiers to practice at being calm and orderly at all times so they are better at maintaining formation during the actual fighting. Marshals didn't have such requirements since if they were the type to crumble under pressure they wouldn't be marshals. They tended to either be so stoic they could stare down a dragon without flinching, or so crazy they'd smile in the same situation. This is why they were sent out into impossibly dangerous situations alone or in a small group and given nothing more than vague instructions.


Given all of this one might think that means Sun Marshals weren't the kind to show respect, but really it just means they don't show it easily. Alden had their respect so that is why they made their attempt at standing at attention. They all knew him at least in passing since he attended as many debriefings as he could and handed out most missions personally, this personal touch coupled with his reputation and the rumors around him had earned respect and loyalty from most.


Once the portal closes Alden turns to eye the fifty gathered marshals, it would seem a small force to most but by his estimation, it was better than any army. Then he nods and they take off into the desert in groups of five while he makes his way towards the city gate. Some would be entering the city under less than normal circumstances, others would be doing outside surveillance. He makes his way towards the city.

Cairex rode just a tad behind Safi, body very stiff from being unused to riding for hours. It was with a sigh of relief that he was able to dismount, stretching his legs. He grabbed both horses by their reins and led them together into some semblance of shade, filling a large bowl with water and allowing the pair of horses to drink from it.

"Er...Safi, what do you know of lycanthropy?"

"Hmmm...well, at least you know that those are mostly tales."

Cairex shifted a bit uneasily as he hung the watering jug back onto his horse, hefting it as easily as he would an apple.

"The evidence that such things exist stands before you, if you will give me a moment and not try to hit me with your sword," he said, cautiously with a half-grin on his face. The shifting began almost immediately, the armor covering up a lot of the process, but his face was fairly visible, and it changed quickly but smoothly. The process was eerily quiet, and lasted but a few moments before a rather large wolf (animal form) sat in the sand before her. The only part that remained unchanged was his eyes, though the look on his face also seemed familiar, though what exactly was the same was difficult to tell.

Cairex's next shift sounded far more painful, bones and muscles snapping as he shifted damn near instantly into his form. This form was familiar, and he flexed his claws, a wide grin on his face. The human form felt restraining, and this is where he felt most at home. None of those squabbling nobles, bickering fae or stubborn dwarves. Finally.

The blade slid free from its sheath on his back as he stared at the new foe, rather grateful for the distraction from his admission of...whateverness.

"Safi, is this thing edible by any chance?" He was at the ready for any attack by the sand worm, but this was not a threat he was taking seriously yet.