NA: I'm sorry it is another short one, but the story is just getting started so expect longer ones in the future.
My feet pounded in time to my racing heart beat, on the glassy ground, my steps kicking up little clouds of glass dust, their older brother was right on my heels. The storm of broken glass was massive, Spanning a mile or more just behind me. Running from the storm, it sounded almost epic. It didn't feel epic, it felt painful.
The storm had already broken what little aura I had in reserve and large long lacerations stretched across my back. My lungs felt like they were filled with needles, to say nothing of my Bare feet, running on broken glass.
How long had I been running? I didn't know. a few minutes, an hour, surely it hadn't been more than 4 hours. It didn't matter, it was still on my heels, so I couldn't stop. I would just have to outrun it.
A beowolf jumped out from bind a hill, it's claws lashing out for me. Without breaking stride, I leaped to the side and drew my weapon. Two short Spears, the shafts just longer than my arm.
it fell into the storm, it's shrieking cries sounding out behind me as it was torn to shreds by the storm. There were probably more of them. At worst a whole pack of them.
On high alert, I looked around, just able to pick out their black fur against the brownish sand and glass. They were coming closer, probably trying to avenge their fallen comrade. Fighting them would be a dangerous game, dodging their attacks, without being consumed by the storm.
The first one reached me its claws reaching out trying to turn me into mincemeat. I ducked sliding on my knees the claw flashing above my head. I pushed myself to my feet and sprinted, the storm sending its glass minions to cut at my back. A shard of glass sliced my back yet again, another bleeding wound, better add it to the list.
Three more Beowulfs came before they figured out that fighting me was bad news, each one got a glass lobotomy for their trouble. They began to run away, normally I would hunt them to the last, but considering the little glass storm on my ass, I let them go.
The storm began to die off three hours later, I slowed from, running from my life to a moderate jog. Eventually, it died completely, Leaving me in the desert twilight. I fell to my knees to exhausted to move, my god everything hurt, my aura began to recover from the abuse the wounds on my back slowly healing. I fell face first into the glass and slept.
A sound pulled me from my sleep, I pushed up into a fighting stance and pulled my weapons off my back instantly alert. I threw myself to the side, avoiding a massive ursa claw I turned facing my opponents. Three ursi, seven Beowulfs. I charged the beowolfs first ducking under a claw, a glass spear appeared in its neck, a claw flashed past me as I dodged. They closed in around me. I launched myself forward slamming a spear into the eye of one of them, then kicked off its disintegrating body, I twisted mid-air slamming a foot in the gut of another beowolf. Landing I thrust upward into its neck. Pain flared in my back and I stumbled forward. Exhaustion was making me sloppy. I turned and threw myself backward ignoring the pain in my back and my bit down on the beowulfs neck, sweet black blood spilling into my mouth, it stumbled back and fell. I glared down the remaining three beowolfs, wait where are the ursi? On instinct, I lunged left, a massive claw landing where I just was.
A grin passed over my face, this was going to be fun. I charged, a blood curtailing battle cry was ripped from my lips. The ursa swung its massive paw, I jumped onto it, a glass spear slamming into it, I drew a second spear and thrust it into the beast's eye and into its brain. It toppled like a stack of bricks. The other ursa swung its paw, I dodged around it, slid between its legs and jumped. I wrapped an arm around its neck and stabbed into its head. Before it could fall I threw myself from its back at a beowolf, spear point slamming into its muzzle. It toppled me on top of it and rolled to a stop.
Sluggishly I pulled myself to my feet, exhausted. The adrenaline that kept me fighting starting to flag . The final beowulf eyed me cautiously, I bared my teeth at it, still stained with the black blood of its fallen brethren and it took off into the night.
I fell to my knees thoroughly exhausted and slept.
Hunger gnawing at me was what woke me this time. My eyes opened to the blue sky, the sun just above noon. I pulled myself up, aura removing aches as soon as they showed themselves. I needed food, a familiar scenario. Upon first glance, there was little food on the glass planes,and less water. But one could find some if they knew where to look. I looked around, rolling hills of glass surrounded me.
I stumble over towards a large 'rock', there was really no rocks bigger than pebbles here, it was just a large piece of sandy glass. My fingers slid underneath the edges of the glass and heaved, the glass rock was yanked from the ground revealing smaller glass shards, some sand and nestled like little gems where small beetles.
I kneeled down and began eating my creepy crawly breakfast. It tasted better than you might expect, they were crunchy, yet satisfying . My hunger 'sated', there was always a gnawing emptiness in his stomach, but now it wasn't overpowering.
Now, water was harder, back at base I had a glass bowl that had probably been filled by the storm but that was probably miles away when the storm hit I had to flee. I made my way back to where I had slept, and fought last night, and found a set of bloody tracks leading to the spot. I was fairly sure I had run in a straight line, I sighed and began to walk. It would probably take me all day to get back to base, but I could survive without water for a few more days.
Hours later I crested a hill, to find something profoundly wrong for this desert wasteland, it was a small piece of civilization. There was a large, but shallow glass bowl that could hold at least a gallon I took a long drink from it and sighed as the warm water worked its way down his throat, then, another, and another.
After I had drunk my fill I glanced left. On first glance, it appeared to be a small oddly shaped hill, with a piece of fabric on the side, but it was so much more.
I pushed aside the ratty piece of fabric to reveal a small cave like room. In the center was a small stack of animal and grimm furs, my 'bed'. Off to the side was a small makeshift chair next to it was a large stack of snake-like grimm leather sewn with grimm bone that would become my next set of clothes. The set I was currently wearing was getting ragged, even before last night. Now it was in shambles. I sighed and pushed the fabric door aside to let in light, and picked up a needle I had made from the bone of a small animal and began to work.
Hours later the light failed me, but it was finished. In the twilight, I donned the snakeskin shirt, grimm bone covering the chest area, and the lower arms. The pants I put on second had no grimm bone plates, they would only impede movement. Finally, I donned the last piece of armor, a helmet made of the skull of a deathstalker, it was surprisingly light.
Years ago I had figured out how to preserve the bodies of grimm by infusing aura into them just after death. After that, I began to incorporate the incredibly hard and light material into everything from my clothes to my weapons. It had probably saved me more than once.
I got up from his chair and peeked out the door flap, the sun was setting. It would be a new moon tonight. The grimm were most active on the new moon. I would not sleep tonight, tonight was a night for action. I stepped out of my little house, and walked a fair distance, before sitting down, legs crossed I drew both of his spears and set them down, one on each side of myself, and closed my eyes, and focusing on my heartbeat, calming it to a slow tempo. Then I waited for them to come.
Hours later I was covered in black blood and cackling madly as I tore the grimm to shreds. There corps beginning to pile up faster than they dissolved. They were the title wave, and me the shore, they threw themselves at me, only to be repulsed back into the sea.
They would pay. They would all pay for what they had done. To me, my family, and everyone they had killed. I will make them pay! I will destroy them all. These were my thoughts as my cackling laughter echoed into the night sky.
