The Dread Prophecy

I want to thank everyone who has continued to follow my characters as they have evolved over the last two stories. In this novella the two main characters will finally begin to have intimate moments, something that many of you have been waiting for. Thank you for you comments and continued words of encouragement, also any emails are welcomed. Enjoy!

The Ahlissan Chronicles

~ Novella 3 ~

The Dread Prophecy

~ Prologue ~

The western half of the continent of Oerik (422 years before the reckoning of the Common Year)

Determined to with the ages old war at any cost the ancient magi of the Suel Empire unleashed the Invoked Devastation upon their ancient enemy the mighty Baklunish Empire north of the Sulhaut Mountains. The Invoked Devastation was a spell that brought forth a wave-like plague of rotting infection that sickened and killed the living, made rivers and streams run dry and caused structures to crumble. The final blow was a gateway which loosed the demon-lord Incabulos and his horde upon the Bakluni to finish what the plague did not. However, as their empire fell to the nightmarish decay and devastation not all of the Bakluni were paralyzed by the unbelievable horrors around them. The remaining survivors amassed at Tovag Baragu and prepared for a counterstrike againest their southern adversaries the Sueloise.

In retaliation for the Invoked Devastation inflicted upon them by the Sueloise magi the surviving wizards of the once mighty Baklunish Empire sent the Rain of Colorless Fire which destroyed everything it touched in the Sueloise basin. This Rain burned people, buildings, even rocks and soil to ash, leaving the once lush and green empire arid and barren. Combined with the volcanic Hellfurnace Mountains to the east, billowing out constant streams of heat and ash the now arid region soon became a hellish desert.

Together, the Invoked Devastation and the Rain of Colorless Fire become known as the Twin Cataclysms, which turned both of the once beautiful empires into barren wastelands. The northern Baklunish Empire became known as the Dry Steppes and the southern Suel Empire was renamed the Sea of Dust. With the fall of these two great kingdoms many artifacts and much knowledge was lost to time and the elements, for to travel in these ruined lands was to court death.

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Just south of the Sulhaut Mountains, the Sea of Dust (477 CY)

The two individuals who sat astride their grey camels had traveled west for a fortnight now or at least what they estimated to be a fortnight, for the blowing dust here combined the days and nights into one endless cycle of grey. Off to their right lay the Sulhaut Mountains the only visible landmark in this endless sea of dust and ash. History said that this had once been the fertile land of the great Suel Empire but constant war with the Baklunish Empire north of the Sulhauts had devastated the land.

After only a few hours of traveling in this wasteland they had been forced to stuff damp cloth into their noses in an effort to keep out the blowing dust as inhaling too much of the hot dry dust caused fits of bloody coughing. Their heads bowed against the wind, their faces wrapped to keep out the blowing sand they spurred their mounts to hasten their pace. Using information gleaned from the skull of the vanquished lich, their mistress had told them to travel west always keeping the Sulhauts in view. To veer off course and lose sight of the mountains would spell their doom. Venturing too close to the rocky slopes while providing relief from the endlessly blowing dust would put them close to the giant spiders said to inhabit the rocky cliff faces and wandering to far from the Sulhauts would cause them to become hopelessly lost in the endless sea of heat and dust.

Finally the bigger of the two looked up and through his head wrapping saw a dark obelisk in the distance. Grunting at his companion through his wrappings he pointed to the fallen yet still tall stone edifice in the distance. The smaller traveler squinted, and peering through the blowing dust, also saw the object and nodded in agreement. It seemed they had found their destination, another hour of riding in the hot gusting ash filled wind brought the ruins more into view. They could now appreciate the sheer size of the huge obelisk and saw that it had once marked an outer boundary of the ruined Suel city. Careful not to twist one of their mounts' ankles they guided them past the obelisk and into the rubble strewn ruins, for what they sought would be somewhere near the destroyed city's heart.

Soon the rubble become too dense to safely allow mounted travel so they dismounted and tugging the reins behind them, they picked their way while cautiously guiding their camels through the fallen stones. After a few hours they neared the center of the forgotten city and found a burned and ruined building that blocked enough of the wind to allow them to remove their head wraps. After another hour of sweaty work they managed to clear an area of rubble and set about making their camp. They spent the night in a fitful sleep huddled close to their fire having decided to search the ruins the following day.

The next morning the sky was just as gray and lightless as it had been during the previous days. They searched the ruined city and by late morning they found what must have been the central temple complex when the forgotten ruins were still a great and beautiful city. The temple seemed to had been constructed of white and black marble, its' grand pillars now lay broken, the roof sat at a precarious angle and seemed dangerously close to collapsing. Several hours of digging through the rubble revealed a broken marble staircase that led down into the earth. The two companions followed the stairs, stopping to light their torches, as it wound down into the dark depths. As the two descended the stairs themselves became more rough and disjointed following the jagged curves of the earth rather than a planned and engineered route. Eventually the stairs ended altogether and gave way to rough hewn tunnels dug far beneath the temple complex.

The two followed the tunnels, often they had to double back as a few of the tunnels led to dead ends or to the edge of some yawning chasm. As they proceeded deeper the walls around them began to sparkle as the light of their torches was reflected back at them. Stopping to examine the tunnel walls they could see that not only were the walls covered with a layer of cold moisture but they also held rich veins of ore and gemstones. The larger of the two pulled out a small knife and began to dig at a large red gemstone.

"Stop!" hissed the smaller humanoid as he grabbed his larger companions' arm. "Have you forgotten what the mistress warned us about? She said not to disturb anything!"

The large dull green skinned orc known as Gro'gul yanked his arm away from his smaller companion and bared his oversized tusks at the other orc.

"Shut yer' hole Cor'gak!" replied the large orc as he angerily thrust the knife back into its sheath on his wide leather belt. "I remember what the mistress said."

Lifting their torches high the two orcs once again began walking down the slightly angled tunnel. Soon the tunnel opened into a large dome shaped cavern, the whole interior was lined with fitted blocks of obsidian that seemed to drink in the light of their torches. The air was perfectly still within the underground dome, the silence of the hidden shrine seemed unnatural. Dominating the center of the room, flanked by deep purple tapestries, was a great black altar riddled with strange glowing lavender veins, which seemed to pulse as if alive. Suspended just above the surface of the altar was a small golden scepter like object about twelve inches long and floating just behind the altar was a smooth black orb of total darkness that did not reflect their torchlight.

Cautiously the two monstrous orcs approached the altar, as they drew nearer it the black orb seemed to react to their presence. A mass of tentacles quickly emerged from the bottom of the orb and reached out eagerly for them but were stopped by an invisible field. The ends of the tentacles were covered in barbs and suckers and slammed at the barrier as if desperate to reach their warm flesh. They both drew back in fear that the tentacles of the unnatural creature could grab them.

"Do you remember what to do Cor'gak?" asked Gro'gul as he eyed the strange creature and his hand went to the large axe he kept tucked in his wide belt.

"Cor'gak!" said Gro'gul again loudly when his smaller grayer companion did not answer the first time.

"Yes..." replied the smaller orc in an iritated tone as he studied the altar closely. The front edge of the black altar contained a series of runes each in its' own square. The runes, he had been told, could be pushed like switches; the right combination would release the artifact. The wrong sequence would release the black cyst creature and its hungry tentacles. His mistress had demanded that he memorize the sequence without notes, exactly as she had gleaned it from the lich. Cor'gak rubbed his stubbley chin and carefully considered the runes before beginning, slowly he began the sequence.

After several tense minutes they watched as the artifact slowly dropped to the altar as it was released from the field that had held it suspended. Gro'gul then took off his pack and after rummaging through its' contents produced a black wooden box covered in magik symbols the mistress had given him. He placed the box over the scepter and using the lid gently rolled the artifact into the box without touching it. The large dark green orc then clasped it shut and gingerly returned the ebony box to his pack. Cor'gak had already started for the door where he waited for his partner.

"Hurry Grogul, this place makes me uneasy." Said Cor'gak as he glanced around the room, the utter silence made him feel uneasy.

"Don't rush me ya' sniveling wretch!" replied the larger orc. Gro'gul made for his partner as he hefted his pack and adjusted its' shoulder straps.

Cor'gak was already making his way back up the tunnel when, Gro'gul turned and looked at the floating black cyst, with its' desperate grasping tentacles it made his skin crawl. Then in silence he turned away from the strange domed underground room and joined Cor'gak for the trip back to the surface.