Well, this was an unexpected idea for me, and this episode is pilot of this series. If I got good vibes from this I'll continue this...

" Tell us a story! " a child with gold lock lock said.

Another one pleaded; " Yes! Tell us a story Rammus! "

Under the clear moonlight of clear Shurima skies, a bunch of children were sitting around a small campfire. The woods were burning as bright as the stars in sky. Souls of elders…

" No! " The armadillo answered with his gruff voice. " I'm tired. "

" Or out of stories. " Finn, eldest of the group replied with a smirk on his dark features. He was not there to listen stories, he had his fair share of it when he was a child, but now his sister wants to listen one. "Huh, Rammus? "

" Of course not! I'm tired. Come back tomorrow! "

Finn rolled his eyes. " Oh, spare me from lies. "

" You do realize that I'm the protector of your little town, don't you, boy? "

Shrugging, Finn said, " And we are making the best beer in the whole Shurima. So that's basically making me the protector of your insaitable thirst. "

But before Rammus could answer, young Asa, a girl with raven hair and matching eyes, crept to armadillo and hug his left leg. She couldn't be older than three and was the favorite of armadillo. " Rammus! " She chirped. " Story! "

" Asa I… "

" Story? " Little girl replied. " Pleaseee! "

" I… ah… " The armadillo tried to find an answer.

" Go on Rammus. " said Finn as his smirk got wider. " Tell her there is no story tonight. "

Asa was quick to take hint. " No story? " she said with doe eyes. " Rammus? "

" All right… " Sighing, Rammus accepted defeat. Though his body was shielded with a legendary shell that nearly nothing could break open, his heart was wide open and it was particularly weak against children.

" Yaaaaay! " They all said in an unison before a complete silence, and wait for Rammus began to talk.

A thousand years ago, when Shurima was still reigning over the world, and I was a young armadillo I was living in the desert. Between the scorching sands, there was no one but me and cobras. No human except the passengers. No armies since Shurimans were of afraid of offending the spirits with their loud voices. Plenty of place to roll around if I may add. Oh, how I loved rolling under the sun and let it warm my shell...

In those days, this town was nothing but a well between the ever-shifting sands and the songs of the desert tribes. Here, sits deep in the sands, deep enough to no one venture near. Surrounding area was crawling with sleeping Brackerns so no one could dare to travel past but me. Seldom travellers sometimes found their way to it, I carried them sometimes to it, but generally the well was alone just like me.

But one a night, a night of drinking, after I return from a nearby town, I see someone near the well. Being a young armadillo, drinking was my favorite activity besides rolling at that time. At first, I thought she was a wanderer who found her way to there after coming that deep in the desert for elder souls know why.

Note that, as now I was not fond of humans then. Brash, stupid, violent, greedy and quick to forget hospitality but easily become hostlie… And I especially don't like those who cross to my territory. I don't kill them but I also don't like them.

So I watched her from a distance. Something was off with her, I could sense it. She was wearing fine desert silks, blues and yellows, but all of her clothes were tattered. There was no horse or a camel nearby to her, nor any footprints on the calm sands. It was like reality spit her out near that well! Could she be a spirit, mischievous and free? Or worse, a desert demon?

I kept watching her from away. I accept about feeling fear when looking at her. The idea of a fight, soiling the sands with blood, mine or hers, disgusted me. I was young and there was not many dents on my shell nor in my heart.

But, as the minutes turn to hours, she didn't do anything. No shimmering lights, no dancing wind on the sand, no nothing. Only the sobs of an afraid cry. It won't be the first time a spirit acting like a human to lure me in, but something in my guts told me she was not lying. That soft sobs were calling my help, and I believed she was geniune.

Quickly, I rolled to her. In those days, I was still foreign to humans. Some of them could heard stories in a bar over a drink, but mostly they had no idea about what I was and thought me as one of the spirits lingering to the great desert.

Her expression changed to an utter fear, even worse than before. Eyes grew to size of saucers while long lashed still wet with tears of sadness and her mouth opened for a scream but nothing came out.

" Calm down. " I tried to said that in my most soothing voice. But since my voice was gruff and my accent was rough it only served to make her fear worsen. Poor thing, she must've thought that I was the death she was waiting for.

" W-w-what are you!? " she asked when she finally managed to talk. It was then I completely saw her face. Her skin was a bit darker then caramel, hair was darker than the starless nights itself. " Get away! "

" My name is Rammus. " I didn't move since she was afraid more than she ever needed. And tried to not to feel offended. " What's yours? "

It was a while before she answered to me. I'm not blaming her, if someone approached me in the middle of the night, I would've act with care too.

" What do you want? " she asked, a bit calmer but still on the edge.

" Merely wondering what you're doing here. This is not a place for lone damsels. Or somewhere one could reach easily. "

" … I am carried here. "

We kept talking, mostly me asking about who was she and she asking back the same questions to me. Don't worry, I won't bore you with that painfully long conversation.

After an hour or so I learned her name was Zafira. She was the sole daughter of a tribe leader and, wait for it, escaped from her own wedding. Her father wanted to give her to another tribe leader but she was in love with one of his fathers sworn warriors, Fili.

Not wanting to mix up with tribal politics, I had good reasons for it, I offered her a carriage to the nearest town. I had a friend named Veil that days, a wind spirit who was indebted to me. Finding it was no hardship and since Veil had an interest in humans convincing him to help me was even easier. It took her in a form of enraged sandstorm and under the moonlight brought to the town I was saying.

I must admit, I really didn't care about that girl so I forgot her for the rest of the night. But in the next day, after returning from an another heavy drinking night, guess what, she was sitting next to that well again. At first I thought Veil had been playing with me. You know the spirits, especially the windy ones… But Veil knew me better and he must been aware that playing with me never ends well for the spirits.

Then I remembered how I never asked her how she escaped, what happened to Fili or how she came here. Yes she said she had been carried here, but how? Magic? If there was any I would've sensed it.

Zafira was still reluctant about talking with me, but I managed to learn how she travelled in the desert. Seems, it was a work of those impish wind spirits. Before her marriage she was praying loudly to elder souls for an escape. I imagine a passing spirit heard her then thought acting like a god could be fun. Little bastard… She was remebering a loud hurl of wind and when she opened her eyes, she was here. She said Fili remained in the tribe, as a warrior still.

Whomever that spirit was, it seemed having too much while playing with Zafira. I took one of the spikes on my shell, broke a fraction of it then added that piece to the necklace she wore. It would mark her as one of my kin and keep the spirit away. At least won't let it carry here around like a ragdoll.

Something interesting happened next night. No, she didn't popped out near my well again but someone was waiting for me. An unexpected visitor. A man, tall and dressed with black rugs was standing. Everything on him was ripped from here or there. He was holding a naked sword in his right hands, as his eyes, red and burning with ethereal light, looking at me. When I saw those eyes, I knew he didn't came for a talk, but a dance…

I rolled to him, my spikes up front, like the wild desert wind. There couldn't be more than thirty paces between us. I was surely about to hit him. But then, something that never happened before, happened. He managed to dodge me by sliding at the last moment.

When I stopped, I saw him standing still. Elders, I still can't forget the shock I felt. Someone managed to escape from my shell. Thinking he could be extremely lucky, I tried again, only to fail again. That moment, I realized conventional fighting won't beat him, so I stood up. His face was not visible, but he was smiling, I could feel it.

Running towards me, he slashed with the sword in his hand. Quicker than a lightning in the clear skies. Luckily he never fought with an armadillo before, so he missed and hit my shell. I jumped to him, turning my back to his body at air, tried to cut him with my spikes. But he jumped back at the last moment.

Then he rushed again, but I was ready now. Ducking under the sharp metal, I rendered his move useless and threw some of my spikes. He blocked spikes with his sword, moving insanely fast.

It was certain he was not a spirit or a demon. Not a normal one at least. " What do you want? " I asked.

With his sword, he signed me. I could nearly taste the hate in his burning gaze.

We kept fighting 'till the sunrise without even stopping for a breath. He was faster than anything I ever seen and so was I. We both had our unique styles of fighting me dashing and turning while he was dancing. And at the end neither of us couldn't manage to bring other one to his knees though we got close to it sometimes.

But when the sun began to ascend in the sky, his black form disappeared without a trace. I was surprised, since I didn't think he'll left once the night had ended.

My guts were telling me something was wrong. This… man, he was unlike the other spirits. No help from the nature he had while fighting. He was fast as a wind spirit, but had the fiery aura of an ash spirit. On top of that he carried a sword and fought with a distinctive discipline, a thing that no spirit could ever hope to have it.

It took a while for me to remember Zafira, the girl I found beside the well. While I was not certain, I thought I could see a faint connection between her and my silent assailant. So I rolled to the city where Veil had left her. Maybe, she could give me a tip to solve the mystery of the last night. Why did a spirit attacked me?

With ease, I found her in the city, since she was sticking out like a sore thumb with all the admirers circling the inn she was staying.

But she was just surprised as me about the events. No, she didn't see someone clad in blacks. The spirit who carried her to the well in the first place was a female, she said. But she added, her lover, Fili was a genius at fighting. This was how he became a guard of the cheftain, ultimately led him to appointed as the guard of Zafira.

" This Fili. " I said while drinking a cup of sand beer under the prying eyes. " Did you seen him? "

" I didn't, not after I've escaped. " She answered. " He must've been looking out for me. "

Which was a sensible thought but I wasn't so sure about that. Guessing how the things ran in the desert between the tribes, if Fili had not escaped at same night, there was no way Zafira's father left him alive.

" Where's your tribe resides? "

" North end of the desert. " said Zafira. " Near to the Ra Kam. "

This was bad news. I really hoped she was coming from some nowhere from the desert and not from Ra Kam. Translated as the God's Rest, it was a place filled with oasis' . The tribe that reigned over the Ra Kam, always accepted as the kings of the desert by other tribes. They had power to rival Shurima'n lordlings with their magic.

Means, this situation was getting more and more messed up with each passing second.

Without even drinking the whole of my cup, I got onto my feet and left the inn, rolling. I needed to find Zafira's tribe, to see what was happening over there. She didn't had the answer I was seeking but maybe her father did.

It took me a full day and night to reach Ra Kam. Hell, what a ride it was... When I got there, I saw the tribe was not in sorrow with the things that happened. There were tents everywhere, people were walking around the oasis' and guards were patrolling. As expected, all the guards were wearing white and yellow not black. I rolled closer, to see if something was off, but no, everything was fine.

Being an armadillo, I am patient by nature. This is one of the key elements of being an armadillo. And that patience helped me that day, as it did before and after.

I got cozy between the sands and began watching. Morning became noon, then evening followed it, but I kept watching.

At night, when the stars ascended to the sky, the spirit in blacks appeared again. Although he was standing far away, I could see him signing to me. At first, I waited for him to get closer, honestly fighting with him was fun, but the spirit was standing still. Curious, because the night before I didn't remember him being so shy.

Then, as he came he disappeared. I was starting to wonder if he was leading me to this place, Ra Kam...