Dominant Species
During the times of the medieval ages, a vile destructive species of creatures known as Clawn arrived on earth, with a bloodlust that made any creature cower in fear. At that time the species were Dwarfs, Elves, humans, Orcs, Metallia, and mutants. The Clawn started a small tribe in the forest, which was only known by the inhabitants of the land, through rumors and legend. Their choice of inhabitance was present day England, which was held by the humans. The Clawn were already formulating a plan to overtake the nearest castle, Arx-Telum.
Chapter 1
The Awakening
Sounds of preperation could be heard miles away from the forest, this day blood would spill like water from a cup. "Have all the preperations been made for our attack," the general announced. The technical war officers responded with a general nod in his direction. "Then let us prepare our troops for battle!" shouted the king. They had been mining and logging for the past two weeks to find the raw materials needed for the soldiers armor and war machines. However, it only took them a few hours to fashion the armor and vehicles alike, due to their high intelligence. Bows, swords, and spears were handed to each soldier according to position.
The king of the Clawn was named Niger Mortis. You could tell clearly who he was by his scar. He and his people came from Jupiter. Their basic body structure was a combination between a velociraptor, and the stegosaurus. They had the basic body form and features of a velociraptor, while they had the same spike arrangement as a stegosaurus' plates and tail spikes, but they also possesed the stance of a human. The most distinguishing feature that they had was a 4-inch mohawk of claws that ran up the spine to the head. Even more threatening were the 8-inch claws that looked like an extra set of ribs. This was a very fearsome sight. Their people were more sophisticated than Earth beings and knew modern space travel and defence, they had yet to form an offense in space. However, their basic intelligence still resembled Earth's.The king's general, Ferus Rector, was his main cause for sucess. With his strict discipline and genius in combat his name was well-earned.
The Clawn only found earth because of a mistake in navigation. Earth seemed to be a perfect place to start a kingdom for the king. However, because his general was not prepared to start conquest on Earth, he came with few men and because of limited technology and resources, no reinforcements were sent. This left him with only an army of two hundred men, but each soldier was far more deadly than the land had ever seen. This sent the castle of Arx-Telum into an inescapable doom. The capture of this castle would help them further develop their society, meaning a more efficient militia. In order to practically fight, they reduced their size to eight feet.
"Commander, order your men to locate the back of the castle and fire," Ferus barked. Five hundred battle ready catapults and ballistae were wheeled stealthily towards the rear of the ballistae were wheeled stealthily towards the ready catapults and ballistae were wheeled stealthily towards the rear of the castle, while expert marxman shot down the few guards wathing them. The ballistae were fierce and brutal machines, each was a huge crossbow loaded witb a giant spear-like missle with tips treated to, a red hot, 800 degrees farenheit. The catapults were adjusted by Clawn engineers to be deadly accurate, and wielde a near molten 500 pound boulder, capable of taking a large chunk out of a castle wall or completely devastating a small army.
"Fire one" rang out from the entire area, a giant steel tipped bolt was hurled at the castle wall, a second after the command. The castle guards were taken completely by suprise as they rushed to fend off the invaders. However, their crossbows and longbows were no match for the Clawn's armor. "Quickly," commanded Ferus, "ready the catapults and send the archers into position!" The Clawn archers were holding back the soldiers, when "launch one" rang through the crowd and a giant, fiery ball of rock was flung through the air making explosive contact with the castle wall. A massive hole replaced the small breach left by the ballista's bolt. Soldiers from both sides rushed towards the hole to assume their offensive or deffensive.
A fierce batlle raged between them that would determine the fate of the castle, for if the Clawn raged past the castle's defences the castle would quickly become overrun and fall. The Clawn had a huge military advantage over Arx-Telum's soldiers. The castle's king Byron the powerful, was a short-tempered old fool. As soon as he found out about the breach in the wall, he ordered all his troops there, leaving none to defend the interior of the castle. This was a huge folly on his part. Clawn can thrive in unbearable heat, harmful chemicals, devestating amounts of radiation, little or no radiation, little or no atmosphere, and different extremes of light from none to high amounts.They also were covered in claws from head to toe, like hair on a human's skin. Their most effective offensive advantage is the ability to spit molten rock at their enemies by sollecting the minerals internally through the air. Their extreme intelligence caused them to create and perfect steel at an early time. Treated with the heat from their own molten breath these weapons were highly effective against the enemy's crude iron weapons. Finally they had strength five times that of a human, this allowed them to drive weapons through enemy walls and fire arrows fast enough to break the sound barrier.
"Archers release your arrows!" commanded Ferus. A volley of arrows that darkened the sky impalled Arx-Telum's mass of soldiers. "Follow through!" shouted he. Clawn heavy infanry plowed brutally through the forces of Arx-Telum leaving a temporary gap in the defending forces. "Quickly," yelled he with haste, "get to the breach!" Light infantry swarmed into the castle followed by heavy infantry and archers. Soon after the Clawn armies filled Arx-Telum, the castle fell. Ferus's plan was truly ingenious.
"Ferus your genious plan paid off, the advantage of the Clawn were put to use. We slaughtered every man inside the castle and called it our own." said Mortis. Ferus completely ignored the fact they just put a castle that outnumbered them to ruins. "This victory is only one of many to come, my friends. Soon every single castle across the land will fall to our feet. Our people will rule with an iron fist. From this seed we shall flourish!" proclaimed Ferus "Raahhh!" A thunderous chant followed and the music of the Clawn was played. Flourish they did, multiplying into the millions, making improvemnts to their forces to make them the most effective army in the land. They repaired Arx-Telum and made made massive improvement, making it a starting fortress worthy of remembrance.
Among their improvements was the development of the beserkers. These were a group of warriors trained in every form of combat possible possesing twice the strength of an average Clawn being. This enabled them to wield two swords used by heavy infantry at once. It was impossible for the Clawn before them because of the sheer weight of these weapons. This made them a deadly addition to the Clawn militia.
The heavy infantry and light infantry alike wielded swords not unlike broadswords of the time, however they had steel claws lining the edges of the sword. They also developed a way of using heat treating on each other. By this process their skin became an armor in itself. This made it virtually impossible to kill a Clawn soldier by any sword but his own. The Clawn were given a set
of armor that complimented their reptilian jaws. This set of armor was plate armor developed at Arx-Telum using the intelligence of the Clawn.
Specially designed machines of war called saudibili were constructed. These were the most heavily armored vehicles of their time. The saudibili were very advanced in engineering. This modern vehicle had the purpose of an armored transport, however it was equipped to destroy as much of the enemy as possible. Each saudibilis was between 2 to 3 stories high and included deadly features. Hundreds of arrow loops were carved in the six inch thick maple that composed the vehicle. An underside of metal spikes attached to a steel plate was installed. These metal spikes were contantly raised and lowered. The speed of this was determined by the speed at which the vehicle was moving (these plates were also used as floor platforms for the side entrances). These vehicles were dropped from ramps to supply their speed. All vehicles had to obtain a speed of 60 mph (this caused ramps to vary in size because of the different terrains of their battles. Spikes were added to the front of all saudibili for contact with castle walls. These spikes allowed them to be implanted into or destroy a castles walls. Another feature was the mangonel catapults constructed on the tops of the saudibili. These were the exact style of the catapults used to capture Arx-Telum, although these could be operated without being manned from the outside.
Fatalis-Arcus was their next destination. This was a bold move for Fatilus-Arcus was a much more powerful castle
Arx- Telum. This castle had a great strategic location. Located in a mile deep crater, this great fortress was only navigable by a tunnel that was lined with constantly gaurded arrow loops. To most inhabitants on earth at the time taking the castle was an impossible feat, for even if they managed to get past the deadly tunnel they would have to fight a mighty castle that spanned 200 acres. Also Fatilus-Arcus had trained army 100,000 strong. It was an impossible feat for those who defined all things not possible.
These were no normal earth beings. They were ruthless creatures with a bloodlust. They were a people who would go to any length to cause pain, suffering, and death. They were a relity of myth and legend. They
everyones dream and nightmare at the same time. They were led by the very symbol light and darkness, changed by the storm he recieved a scar on his left eye. These creatures went by one name, a name that would come to be feared throughout the universe, CLAWN.
-DS-
In an isolated forest in the middle of France the Elves returned from a battle with the Dwarves in Norway. Although the Elves not admit it, they had suffered a terrible defeat. This was the first defeat the Elves had faced since their war with Arx-Telum. The Elves had now seen defeat and they were not taking it well.
Celsus Balarto, king of the Elves, was the hardest hit with the defeat of the Elves. "How!?" exclaimed Celsus, awestruck, "How could we be defeated by such a primitive people?" A tall, slender young Elf stood up. "Sir," he said, "our archers could not penetrate their armor."
-DS-
Meanwhile in the mountains o Norway the Dwarves were also contemplating. King Ogden of the Dwarves wanted to know about the new plate armor. "Where did you get it?" Ogden asked. Two small hefty Dwarves walked forward. "A group of scouts and I saw piles and piles of sheet metal. We simply brought it to be made into armor," They replied. "And, just where did you find this strange sheet metal?" Ogden asked, "We found it a little ways off of Arx-Telum," they answered.
Ogden found this strange. Byron never mentioned any new project with plate armor.
-DS-
The Metallia were in the middle of their raids on the humans. They were the most primitive of races but in some ways the most advanced. For example, the Metallia did highly intricate series of raids on the humans to get supplies. On raids they pilaged and burned, but never killed. Even then they would only raid small villages. Yet they lacked the intelligence and strategy to start a war.
In another perspective, they were able to construct a society far more advanced than any of the time. The Metallia automated everything in their daily life. They had a warrior assembly line. This was key to their development. The Metallia's society consisted of a series of 13 castles. Each castle connected to the other by suspended stainless-steel catwalks. The society was based on a hexagon with three castles on each side and one large castle in the center. An elaborate moat of mercury made each castle a seperate island. Everything was stainless-steel but the
moat, from the arrows to the very ground. Everything including the metallia were automated by geothermal energy.
Though the Metallia weren't capable of starting wars, they could easily defend themselves. Every castle featured automated arrow loops that matched the strength of an arrow fired by a Clawn archer. The mercury besides being toxic in itself created a gas lethal to most beings. Catwalks could be tilted sending all using it into the mercury below. This would force the attacking party to navigate the slippery metal terrain. Even the Metallia themselves were a defence. All Metallia were robotic.
Their society was unspeakable beautiful, but to the returning warriors it was an everyday sight. They one by one dumped their spoils into a hopper built into the center castle. Some being directed to the center castle barracks.
A slender, but firm build with only
icy blue eyes, stainless-steel, and armed with only a spear, this was a metallia drone. Only one of the Metallia broke this description, the leader, or zant, Sutor. His only differentiation was a human voice and purple eyes. A Metallia drone rushed in. "Master," he said, "a creature beyond our recognition was seen outside the kingdom."
-DS-
Orcs scrambled around frantically. They had been simply harvesting lumber. After about an hour the forest had suddenly been set on fire. More logging oppurtunities had brung more Orcs through the Original Abyss in Cantoon (their original planet) to help the war effort, which did not help the problem. Trees all around the confused and frightened Orcs fell on unsuspecting victims. Groan, Crack, Thud, a tree crushed an enslaved Ogre. The crackling of the flames almost drowned out the cries of the dying Orcs. The sound of a dying Orc was severely unpleasent. It sounded like the barking of a seal. Very soon it was hard to tell whether it was a bone or a twig snapping under the foot of an Orc. "Quickly," cried an Orc harvester, "alert the king!"
A group of Orcs ran to the castle. When they reached it they were met by two castle guards. "We need to see the king!" cried one of them. "The king is dead," replied one of the guards.
Chapter 2
Word of War
"King David," said a servant, "we have not received word from Arx-Telum. All of our messengers were killed." David sent the servant away. The loss of Arx-Telum was now realized by David. He decided he must notify all allies, including the Elves and the Dwarves. "My servant, come forth," he called. The servant hurried back into the room. "Bring me three pigeons," said David.
Arx-Telum has fallen and King Byron killed. My spies discovered that a group of creatures called Clawn killed every person inside, man, woman, and child. All messengers sent to Arx-Telum have been killed. Beware these creatures, for they will stop at nothing to destroy your kingdom. Report any battles with Clawn to me.
David the Protector
He wrote three copies of the note. "Send one pigeon to George the Gallant, one to Celsus Balarto and one to Ogden." said David. "Yes, my liege," replied the servant. The servant took the notes and hurried off. "I can only hope word spreads before something terrible happens," said David to himself.
-DS-
"Fire! Fire at the forest!" cried a disorientated Orc in the distance. A Clawn archer walked slowly away from the forest. He had tested his new ability on the Orcs. The ability to light any arrow when his bow was fully drawn. He was the culprit behind the sudden forest fire. He was now on his way to notify Arx-Telum of his dark deed.
The Clawn archer was halfway
toward Arx-Telum when he saw a man. "Who are you?" he asked. The Clawn archer grabbed his bow and drove it through the man's body. He watched the man fall to his knees and
start chocking on blood. Finally the man fell motionless to the ground and his blood seeped into the soil. The Clawn archer started to laugh softly in a deep hoarse voice that echoed in the silence. Still laughing, slowly growing louder, he pulled his bow out of the man's abdomen and headed on his way.
"Open the gates!" shouted a Clawn castle guard. The Clawn archer entered the castle and spoke to Ferus. "The forest has been cleared. You may proceed as planned, sir," said the Clawn archer. "You are dismissed," replied Ferus. The Clawn archer left the room and shut the door. As he left, Ferus turned to a group of Clawn soldiers behind him. "Construct a tower on the lands of the cleared
forest," commanded he. "At once, sir," they replied.
They briskly exited the castle with weapons in hand and laden with armor. When they got outside they were met by a small army of 50 Orcs. The group of Clawn soldiers needed no command. A Clawn archer shot a flaming arrow into the chest of one of the Orcs. He was knocked into the air, his body twisting and flailing, until he fell to the ground, dead. His body slowly caught on fire, many of the attacking Orcs suffered the same fate. Another Orc was killed by a lethal kick to the face. Still others were killed on contact with the Clawn's breath of molten rock. After about 30 Orcs were killed, a horrifying event occurred, the Clawn soldiers went into a blood rage. When in this state their pupils shrunk until they disappeared completely. A berserker tossed both of his swords at the chest of a nearby soldier and they went cleanly through with no resistance from his armor. The berserker retrieved the swords from the Orc's chest and viciously ate the body. The other Clawn also were also starting to feed on Orkish flesh, ripping them apart while still alive. All attacking Orcs were now dead. The area reeked of death. The group of soldiers was covered in blood as they returned to their mission.
They were now approaching
Muldanor, kingdom of the Orcs. "We have reached our location," said a Clawn heavy infantry. There it was. Bodies and smoldering tree trunks littered the ground and not a tree was left standing. A Clawn archer suddenly saw a bird, carrying a parcel, flying past. With his keen eyesight and shot it down. This was the pigeon to George the Gallant, king of Fatilus-Arcus.
Construction of the tower took only seconds because of the tower only seconds because of their ability to control magma. This ability also allowed them to construct a stone structure almost instantly. They used the blackened trees to construct the top floor. After all was finished, they raised the flag of the Clawn.
"Our work is complete, let us return to Arx-Telum," stated a Clawn light infantry. Two Clawn archers stayed behind to keep watch, while the rest of the Clawn soldiers headed back to Arx-Telum, while on their way, they thought, Why not entertain ourselves along the way?. The party of Clawn destroyed everything in their path with their molten breath. An Elf suddenly was spotted in the charred remains of the forest. A berserker ran to the Elf and drove his claws through him, twisting his arm while still inside the Elf's body to make the Elf's death as painful as possible. Once he finally died it started to rain.
The Clawn's cry could only be heard in anger, bloodlust, or death. This was the cry of the velociraptor. This cry sounded throughout the area as all the Clawn soldiers but the two in the tower started to die, and as they died a terrible sizzling sound was heard for water was like acid to them, dissolving their flesh. When Clawn died their flesh turned to molten rock and their skeletons glowed of fire as they sunk deep into the ground without leaving so much as discoloration of the ground.
-DS-
Word spread as fast to the other species of the land as fast as it did to David's allies. The Metallia were one of these
species. Sutor had recently received a message from Niger Mortis telling them to join forces with the Clawn or die along with the rest of the planet. He finally decided he had no choice.
"Double production of warriors," Sutor said. "Yes as soon as possible, master," replied Sutor's servant. "Also," Sutor said. "Yes, master?" urged the servant. "See what plans Niger Mortis has for us," said Sutor finally. "Yes, of course, master," replied the servant.
-DS-
The Elves reported a scout dead to David the Protector and thus all allies were called to arms. The Dwarves were the first to answer the call to arms. The Elves were second. George the gallant had not received the note about the Clawn and felt no need to call to arms, and thus didn't.
David the Protector, the Dwarves, and the Elves all stationed spies throughout the mountains, for they felt no where else was
safe from attack by the Clawn. These spies reported the advance and development of the Clawn. They did not realize that this could not stop the doom of Fatilus-Arcus.
-DS-
Unbenounced to the Clawn, the Orcs had announced a new king. His name was Grimlock and his green skin, black hair, and shadowed eyes were found among every Orc. He also had a skull painted on his face which gave him the name Grimlock. The Orcs were building their civilization stronger than ever before. All this still unknown to the Clawn, for now.
-DS-
Over time the Clawn inside the tower at Muldanor multiplied to fill every post. They also constructed catapults at he top of the tower. They had sent word to Arx-Telum that all but they had been killed. Even though the Clawn tower at Muldanor could easily defend itself the Clawn did not know that Orcs still resided at Muldanor.
The Clawn archers, while at their post, saw a strange e creature in the distance. They found the creature similar to them. It was a huge reptilian beast that had a breath of fire and could fly. "What should we do with it?" asked one of them. "Kill it," replied
another. He shot down the dragon with a single flaming arrow. Four of them ran to retrieve what was left of the burning corpse to be examined at Arx-Telum.
Chapter 3
Obstacle of Empire
"So it was the Clawn who degraded us. 2,666 Orcs killed at the forest and the 50 killed in an attempt at revenge. Not to mention our forest and brethren in ashes. We will have our revenge. They will pay for their precious tower with their lives. We attack at dawn!" proclaimed Grimlock. The Orcs gathered up all supplies that could be found. All able bodied Orcs were called to arms. They also armed Ogres, all enslaved by the Orcs, with weapons made from Clawn steel. They were now ready for battle. "It is time to reap what you have sowed Clawn," said Grimlock to himself.
-DS-
"Tonight we will kill! Tonight we will dominate! Tonight we will conquer!" shouted Ferus, "Go now, kill for Clawn! Kill for dominance! Kill for Empire!" Such a roar of voices was heard that it could make a man bleed from the ears several miles away. A booming march, perfectly in rhythm, began. An army of soldiers marched forward carrying unlit torches and were playing the music of the Clawn while chanting was heard throughout. Ferus and Mortis marched right marched right along the mass of soldiers. They would arrive at Fatilus-Arcus with 200,000 men.
-DS-
"Master," said a Mettallia drone. "Yes," replied Sutor. "Mortis wants us to join his army in attacking Arx-Telum," said the drone. "We must follow his orders, we have no choice. Send an army of 50,000 bearing the Metallia flag to Fatilus-Arcus," said Sutor. "At once, master," replied the drone.
The Metallia were put in line. "Forward, march" The assembly of Metallia moved forward with robotic accuracy. Flapping in the wind was the mystical blue moon of the Metallia. They would not arrive until nightfall, but they would come. This would be the factor that would make Fatilus-Arcus's Doom imminent.
-DS-
"Catapults!", rocks were hurled so fast that they caused whatever part of the towers wall they hit to collapse. 40 Clawn archers rushed out to defend the tower and "launch one" was heard. A fiery boulder of rock soared through the air landing with an explosion of rock and fire. The Clawn archers ran forward and Orc spearmen readied themselves. Their spears were broken and the Clawn archers killed the Orc spearmen.
They started to attack the army as a whole and "launch two" rang out. A second fiery rock was released, this time it came to a crowded area and it landed sending Orcs flying in
all directions. "Fire at will!", catapults fired the loads they were bearing and the entire tower collapsed.
Even though Clawn were still brutally killing much of the Orcish army, the Orcs were confident they had won. "Death to Clawn" was shouted five times over. They could never have been more wrong. Hands started to rise from the rubble. The Clawn archers rose up unscaved. They joined the attack on the Orcs and soon there were few left standing.
Grimlock stood up. "Release the Ogres!" commanded Grimlock. They wielded war hammers made from Clawn steel. Hundreds upon hundreds of Ogres were released from their chains. Clang, a Clawn archer was caught in the gut with a war hammer and killed.
The Orcs still had a setback for every soldier killed three Ogres were lost.
When all was over, all Clawn were dead, for they did not retreat and fought fiercely until their death. "We have won my fellow Orcs. The age of the Orc is here. We will replant our forest and reclaim our lands. Now that we know our enemies weakness we will eliminate the Clawn and reclaim our lands!" proclaimed Grimlock. Little did the Clawn know the Orcs were almost as ruthless as they.
-DS-
The time had finally come; the Clawn had reached Fatilus-Arcus. A horn was sounded and the music of the Clawn played as the sound of marching became ever closer. They entered the underground tunnel that led to Fatilus-Arcus and headed for the mighty castle. As soon as the Clawn entered the tunnel, arrows were released. The arrows were reduced to splinters by the Clawn's armor, so the archers left their posts to warn George the Gallant. The march of the advancing Clawn army shook the stone walls of the tunnel.
"My liege, look outside!" yelled one of the archers. The king rushed to his balcony to look outside. "Oh my great God almighty," he gasped. A huge mass of Clawn soldiers was pouring out of the tunnel. There were only 600 yards between Fatilus-Arcus and the Clawn. Their numbers were unheard of. The music of the Clawn stopped and thunderous chant followed. "Hu-hah Hah-hu Hu-Hah Hah-hu..." They were quickly silenced by Niger Mortis himself. "Go forth and kill in whatever way seems fit." said the great one. He thrust his fist in the air and a lightning bolt struck it snaking its way around his body. Then he punched forth and a lightning bolt shot forward with the sound of thunder. Several men fled away from the spot just in time. That section of wall exploded sending chunks of rock into the air. "Who are these demons from hell," George said shocked.
After that moment the Clawn began their attack firing a catapult. "Launch one", A huge, near molten boulder pummeled the castle. Clawn archers shot down the fleeing soldiers and the women and children behind the walls of Fatilus-Arcus started to cry. Grapples were hot through the air with a sharp whistle. They caught hold of the wall with a clunk and the Clawn started to climb the ropes. They had no need for saudibili. Resistance from the soldiers was futile, until a soldier threw a bucket of scorching hot water at a Clawn spearman.
He died a horrible death that was as painful for the enemy to see as it was for him to experience. Unfortunately the other soldiers did not witness what killed the Clawn spearman. Fighting seemed useless, so most soldiers ran for their lives. The Clawn simply hunted down and killed those that fled. Mortis had taken to using his lightning ability numerous times on the castle and on soldiers. When night had fully shown its face, the Clawn lit their torches. It was a horrid scene to see a Clawn soldier attacking torch in hand.
After a quarter of Fatilus-Arcus' soldiers were dead the Metallia arrived. When George the Gallant saw this he could see no more. He went to the keep and returned to his quarters. The Metallia drones awaited Ferus's instructions. "Flood the castle," commanded he. They climbed up the ropes and joined the attack.
The Metallia were not ruthless like the Clawn, but knew how to fight. Three soldiers of Fatilus-Arcus decided they needed to take a stand. They bravely sole three weapons from the attacking Clawn and fought their way out of the castle, taking the women and children with them.
The battle lasted through the night and the clashing of swords echoed throughout the castle. The Metallia army was soon destroyed after they were led into a trap by the soldiers of Fatilus- Arcus and fell to their destruction. Fatilus-Arcus fell but not all of Fatilus-Arcus' people were killed, for now. Clawn heavy infantry scouted the castle hunting down all people inside, sparing no one.
-DS-
"Why did we flee? Why not stay and fight!? Not run like cowards!" shouted a muscular bald man. He wielded a Clawn bow and had a red stripe painted from the top of his head, down his back. His name was Paul and he was furious.
"We had to flee, or we would have been killed along with the rest of the soldiers still at Fatilus-Arcus. You saw that our weapons were useless against those demons. What good would we do dead!?" argued a brown haired man of fair size. His name was John and he was leader of the three soldiers. He wielded a Clawn heavy infantry sword.
"I agree with John. We could not take on that army with only three men. We surely would have perished." reasoned a rather slender young man with black curly hair. His name was Peter he was the spearman of the group.
This small band of warriors called themselves the freedom fighters. They had only one purpose: to rid the land of these creatures and their allies. However, they were not yet powerful enough to accomplish this feat. They hoped to recruit more warriors into the freedom fighters. Their goal for the number of freedom fighters was 100,000 men. They also decided to use the enemy's weapons, for they seemed to be the only effective weapon against the creatures.
"We must return to Fatilus-Arcus," stated John. They dared not take the risk of entering through the tunnel, so they tied a rope to a sturdy rock and slid down. "We will enter through the side," said John. "I fear no demons! Let us enter through the front!" demanded Paul. "No!" said John shouted back, "This way is best," They approached one of the side doors. It was locked. "Let me pry the door open," remarked Paul. "Of course," replied John. He grabbed the armored glove of a fallen solder of Fatilus-Arcus. He grasped his bow and began to pry open the door. The wood started to splinter and the doors finally flew open. The castle looked horrid.
Blood spattered the walls and scorch marks were everywhere. A Clawn heavy infantry pulled his sword out of the carcass of the soldier he just killed. "Hraaaggh", John charged forward, jumped in the air, and decapitated the soldier. His head fell to the ground and his body collapsed. There was a sizzling sound as his flesh turned molten and his skeleton sunk in to the ground, along with his now molten flesh. Peter was stunned. Even Paul was a bit shaken. "Come, there are many more where he came from," said John.
They continued deeper into the castle. As they were walking they saw horrifying sights of the dead tortured soldiers of Fatilus-Arcus. They ranged from a dead soldier pinned to a wall by a Clawn heavy infantry sword, to a corpse in flames from the flaming arrow of a Clawn archer. "Is this the fate you wanted!? Had we stayed here we would be among the dead!" yelled Peter angrily. "I do not fear death!" Paul snapped. "You should!" Peter scorned. "Let us not bicker! We are fellow warriors and we fight for one cause! Let us put our anger aside and continue!" said John.
They approached the keep and decided to rescue their king. In the corridors to the kings quarters they saw nothing, no blood no bodies, nothing. Because of this they presumed the king to be alive and well. "Peter, open the door," said John. Peter walked over to the door and pushed it open. Gorge the Gallant lay dead on the floor, dead, and next to him a lead Clawn archer and two other Clawn archers stood. Peter was so shocked he dropped his spear. The Clawn archers turned toward the disturbance.
Flaming arrows whizzed through the air and Peter grabbed his weapon, ducked, and rolled, just in time. Paul shot an arrow at the Clawn archer on his right and killed him. He dove out of the way just before two flaming arrows imbedded themselves in the wall where his head had been. Peter snuck up behind another Clawn archer and thrust his spear into his back. The spear went straight through and protruded from the chest of the Clawn archer. Peter pulled his spear out and he fell to the ground. Only the lead Clawn archer remained. He shot flaming arrows at a rapid fire. The Clawn were intelligent beings, he knew now who was leader. So he unloaded all his arrows on John. John was nimble; he dove to the side, but was not quick enough. “Aaaaahhh!” he was shot with a flaming arrow in the thigh. His keg caught on fire.
“Help me!” he cried, “The fire it burns!” He was running around frantically and the Clawn archer barely missed him on several accounts leaving his arrows imbedded in the walls around him. Peter and Paul put him out while still dodging arrows. John pulled the arrow out of his leg, ran, leaping in every direction dodging every arrow shot at him, and killed the lead Clawn archer with a slash across the chest. The lead Clawn archer fell dead to the ground with a sizzle and the freedom fighters were victorious. “Look near his armor!” pointed out Peter. Next to the empty armor of the Clawn archer, was a book. John walked over to the book and picked it up. “Why do you torment us? Read!” said Paul impatiently. “Paul you need to have patience! I am going to start reading now,” John replied.
Clawn were created on the moon Io. On Io they were formed from the magma of the rock and dark matter to create the beings five in total. The five split in two and became ten, for this was how they reproduced, like a virus. The band of ten ventured to Jupiter, but they could only propel themselves with their arms. After ten years drifting aimlessly through space they reached Jupiter unharmed. They still had a long way to travel. They entered the atmosphere; however their target was the core.
It took them two years for them to finally reach Jupiter’s core. At the core, ten became twenty and the group of twenty started to work on the core. They used their abilities of molten rock to make ¾ of Jupiter solid, however it was fairly unstable. This instability caused geysers of magma to shoot up in places and sections of rock to collapse into the magma. All the volcanic activity on Jupiter caused the ground to display a reddish glow. It reminded the Clawn of Io.
After a year of living on the planet, their bodies became hardened from the intense pressure experienced on Jupiter, the other hardships also contributed to the Clawn’s great resilience. The Clawn did not have the need to feed, but instead the need to kill. The Clawn had completely filled the Planet by the end of the year. Groups of Clawn excavated the core and found a metal that was extremely durable as well as a blue liquid fuel the Clawn called glun.
The Clawn built one large kingdom and chose Niger Mortis to rule as king. One castle housed all the Clawn of Jupiter. Niger Mortis placed towers equipped with powerful telescopes in four locations. Over time, some Clawn left the castle to create establishments across Jupiter, however most stayed at the castle.
One more year passed with perfect prosperity, then the time came when the Clawn needed to satisfy their hunger to kill. For several years the Clawn conquered their neighboring planets, but it still was not enough. Mortis appointed a trusted heavy infantry as general named Ferus Rector and he used the towers he placed to locate the planet Mars. The Clawn were to spend this year preparing for war. Seven months and an event happened that affected the Clawn forever.
Mortis was inspecting the kingdom and it started to rain. This was acid rain and it did not bother him, however the lightning bolt that struck him did. The lightning engulfed his body and he was in excruciating pain during the event, however he was not dead, it merely left his left eye scarred. The Clawn constructed ships they had built from metal and glun in previous conquests, and prepared for takeoff. They were now ready for war.
The Clawn reached what the thought to be Mars after only eight hours, because of their shortcut through the Original Abyss. They found Mars to be distinctly differ
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