Beginners Luck: The Outsiders 2

Migoene, Myene, and Gettar stepped forward and pushed themselves through the energy barrier that glistened around the marble cube. The energy washed over them, making their skin prickle with slight discomfort. The stark contrast of lush vegetation and open air from the brutalist cathedral would have been disorienting if they had not been prepared for this very moment. They entered with no weapons wearing only their armor and masks. In symbolic tradition of the first violent encounters with humanity, they would only use weapons that they took from dead humans. The Derboul race used technology and weapons, but humanity had been cunning their advancements of war. Being physically smaller, more numerous, and technologically advanced had always been in the favor of humanity. When the Derboul understood and turned humanities weapons against them, the slaughter on both sides grew to literal astronomical levels of death and destruction.

Migoene was the leader of the Initiates and gave them their orders.

"With the parameters of this rift having changed, I believe it is expedient to cull every human. Sentients will be strongest and drawn out by the destruction. The human Leader is on the distant island, but the secondary rift could be anywhere, cycle through all your visions to scan for its entrance... Go." Each Initiate ran at the speed of Olympic athletes, making their way to the now lazy smoke trails and the unexpecting humans beginning their day.

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Trueno was the older of the two lieutenants under the leadership of the Librarian. He knew his role was protector and overseer of the coastal village just north of the rift. He was a fatalist by nature, for his entire existence was predicated on the very destruction of his little village. Giving up on hope early on, he put his efforts into fishing. His mask was fully developed for a human: divided down the middle into left and right halves of white and black. The red outline of a harpoon traced from the middle of his forehead down to his chin. When he dove into the water, the mask would seal around his head and provide him with oxygen for 20 minutes. The Librarian had opted for a cloak, but Trueno needed to be agile and unincumbered when diving to fish. A dull gray wet suit fashioned from a dead great squid protected his body. On his ankle was a sheathed knife, for cutting line, fighting fish or prying open oysters. In his hand a lengthy harpoon doubled as a walking stick, completed with an enchanted rope that wound its way around his waist.

He had been out fishing all night, bringing in a haul enough to feed his village and send some across to the others as well. Stepping onto the shore is when he saw the sky shift, radiant colors, and a storm now brewing above the rift entrance. His once high spirits from a successful haul, now evaporated as rage and dread coursed through his veins. Images of the non-sentient villagers now ran through his mind. They were the closest thing to friends and family he had, they had their roles and he had cultivated their growth with raw materials for as long as he could remember. He found himself propelled forward, running up the beach towards the growing sounds of chaos and slaughter. His knuckles gripped his harpoon, and he felt his teeth grind in furious anticipation and rage. The pounding of his heart like a war drum setting the pace of his run, his mask sealed around his neck and head, and he breathed in deep pure oxygen, now sprinting. The screams punctuated the silence between breaths, as he flew into the village square. It had only been moments, and yet as he walked slowly forward, his bare feet stepping into pools of blood, he knew they were all dead.

The corpses of the villagers had not been honorably killed in combat, but a senseless slaughter had been carried out, limbs now separated from bodies. Torsos left with bloody stumps lined the path up to his cottage. The fire that marked the center of the village now had its logs and coals scattered about. The young apprentice of the blacksmith was spiked onto the anvil, his face no longer recognizable.

From a shadow between houses, stepped out the 3-meter tall Gettar. His white mask punctuated with a blood splatter, and each of his four limbs were coated in viscera and blood up to their elbows. Trueno acted on instinct once he had a clear view of the hulking creature, throwing his harpoon with all the years of practice and force he could muster. Flying at the speed usually marked for javelins, the heavy harpoon rocketed at the torso of Gettar. All four limbs caught the javelin mere centimeters before reaching his chest armor, and a grin on the masked villain appeared. Gettar looked up to see Trueno flying towards him, the enchanted rope propelling the human forward. Slamming into the beast whose arms were now occupied, Trueno accepted his fate. The fear and dread of death now gone, replaced with malice and fury. Trueno had caught the harpoon mid-flight and pushed the blade through the light armor of the invader, propelling him onto his back.

Words now flooded his mind as he shouted with all his force, the ragged visceral scream that left his throat he did not recognize as his own, but the words encapsulated his soul.

"You all-destroying but unconquering fiend! To the last I grapple with thee! From hell’s heart I stab at thee; FOR. HATE'S. SAKE. I. SPIT. MY LAST. BREATH. AT. THEE!" Each of these last words he pushed or pulled the harpoon, up and down, stabbing, puncturing, penetrating over and over. His roar overshadowed the screams of blood curdling rage that came back from the beast that had killed all those he had known.

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Gettar felt the blood pooling in his lung, and the searing pain that lanced up his torso with each stab. The wounds would be fatal if he wasn't able to return to the cathedral in time. The human tried to slam the harpoon down one more time, but Gettar used his left two arms to throw the smaller warrior from his chest, into the stone wall of the house next to them. Taking the harpoon in his hand, he threw it at the human now dazed and bloodied, the speed and distance between them made it impossible to evade.