The first chapter of Claws & Sand is LONG overdue. Welp, here it is…

Claws & Sand

Prologue: The Demon

(Third person, following Dustdevil).

A small trail of smoke followed the Risen Demon as it walked, staining the sand black. It passed tribes of Men, who stared at it with fear. Beasts bowed their heads in respect, and it stared with its inward-spiraling, glowing purple eyes in return. The harsh, sharp clicking noise of claws on stony ground was the only noise the Risen made.

After many, many days, the deinonychus known as Dustdevil reached the Obelisk that glowed a pale green. It looked at the ancient monolith with disgust. ‘Made by man….’ Those were the first words it ever spoke, echoing through the halls of time. T’was the first words any non-human spoke, and they were said with distaste at Man. ‘If these…structures were built by Man, then by beast they shall be ruined.’ A mental command called the bones of a strange, long-dead variant of the Deinonychus up to the ground, forming into a full creature that stood at nearly twenty claws tall (Twenty claws is around ten feet). The raspy clicking tongue of the Deinoraptor, the beast that stood before Dustdevil, came from the Risen’s jaws. ‘Rip that tower…apart. Piece…by piece.’ The Risen flicked their tail, summoning another twelve Deinoraptors. It repeated the order to them, stalking away, still trailing smoke. The Deinoraptors claws and slashed at the ancient metal, ripping the Obelisk into pieces. Though this process would take decades, if not centuries, they continued their work. The pieces of savagely torn metal fell to the ground. (Moon, if I may use a reference). One chunk seemed to have a rune carved into it, sinking into the sand, and, unbeknownst to the Risen and the Deinoraptors, would fall into a different world.

(Back with the Risen Demon)

Dustdevil wandered around the world, killing humans. Not for food, as they needed no sustenance, but for sport. After fifty years, three Deinoraptor skeletons approached the Demon. They spoke as one: ‘The green tower has been destroyed…. What are our new orders?’ The Risen laughed, a harsh, demonic sound. ‘Slaughter…the Men. They live near flames, in pyramids of…beast pelt. Kill them, and you shall be let to live.’ The Deinoraltors nodded, their commands clear. ‘The humans shall die, Lord…’

-Ranger