The trees swayed with the passing of the wind, carrying with it a sense of dread. Birds grew restless atop the branches and flapped their wings, taking off in a manner that rustled the leaves wildly and gave rise to the calling of the animals, as the first streak of light appeared across the horizon.

  ‘KIKIKIKI! Do you really think you can beat me in a battle of strength?’ asked the ape-like humanoid creature. His opponent, look-or should I say, faced it and simply responded to his boastful question with his finger signalling ‘No’. The man stood, towering over the beast, with a plain mask covering his face and a clown-hat which was worn on his head. His hand, was thick with muscles and where his left hand should be at, down from the forearm onwards, a metallic one took its place. ‘Can’t speak, human?’

  He stood still.

  ‘That did it!’ It leaped forward with its claws out and down at him. He remained static. ‘FOOL!!’

  SLASH!!

  Its head dropped to the ground, its veins and nerves severed. A moment later, its body followed the motion. And several moments later, blood began to flow out from the stump. And these happened, because of that split second when a blade, so fast that it escaped the piercing light, lunged out at the beast’s neck. ‘Y-You c-call-ed m-my name?’

  Further deeper into the woods, hiding among the bushes and trees, there lied a creature in its slumber. Or, to be precise, unconscious. Layers of hair spread across its skin and a pair of tusks sprouted at the sides of its stout. A strong gale blew past the forest, sending a shiver down the trees and grass, as for once in ten years, it, at last, opened its eyes.

  On the other hand, deeper into the woods, there lied a small hut, or should I say, a tent made of leaves and branches, that stood in the middle of the bare land, surrounded by trees casting shadows over it. With the rising of the sun, the flame that lit the pile of woods at the centre slowly grew weaker and died out.

  ‘All hail the Lord-’ shouted a lady with the upper portion of her face, above her mouth, hidden behind a long beaked mask. With elegance, but shrouded with tremendous force, she stabbed a blade made of bone into the flesh of the dead animal lying before her. ‘MY ASS!’ Her eyes glimmering with a spark of anger, she said, ‘Your doom is here.’

  Meanwhile, in a place where its inhabitants feared and fretted daily for the coming of the storm that would bring with it a huge wave of sand. One sweep alone, would cost the lives of many who lived tiringly under the scorching heat of the sun. Even the breeze that never seemed to take a liking to the place, could not bring a smile on the people’s face. A living hell, most called it, or to paint a better image of it, a dessert.

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  ‘Don’t you ever get tired?’ a boy asked.

  To which the heavily cloaked figure replied, ‘I wish I could, but my body is no longer the way it should be.’

  The boy scratched his head. ‘Sounds complicated.’

  The cloaked figure laughed at his response before saying, ‘Long words short, kid! This body is… not mine.’ As expected, the boy tilted his head to the reply and got his hair ruffled, before hearing, ‘Soon, you will get it.’ And, a laugh softer than previously.

  And, back in the kingdom, a slightly average-height girl, walked among the buzzing crowd, with her head up to the sky. Gazing at the birds that flew over her and at the clouds that floated past her. Her attention was only snatched away after bumping into someone. ‘Hey! Watch where you are going, miss!’

  There was a quick shift of colours in her eyes, from black to red then, back to the original, before lowering her chin and looked at him. ‘My apologies.’ A smile drawn across her lips. In the past ten years, she has learnt to blend in into the environment. The way the people lived their monotonous lives every day, the fastest shortcut into gaining a small amount of money to survive on and also, what not to say to avoid suspicions. Her arms were no longer the skinny like in the past, instead, they were thicker and denser, covered with muscles after years and years of training in seclusion. The hair that used to reach her shoulders upon being let loose could now touch the ground with ease. She was taller by centimetres and her eyes had a sharper look to them than those of the hawks. ‘It won’t happen-again.’

  And, that man was never seen again.

  THUD! THUD!

  A finger with more flesh than usual, tapped the crystal ball softly. A pair of eyes from a few steps away watched intently as the tribe’s mage focused its attention to the glass-like sphere, in hopes of getting a glimpse of their tribe’s next action for better days to come. It was almost close to a minute when suddenly, the old ogre cried out in joy.

  ‘What did you see, Azke?’ The other asked.

  ‘The wait is over and the time is now. Fetch the archers! Gather the fighters! IT IS TIME TO MOVE. TO- ‘

  Its lines were cut in, as the ogre rose from its seat and flexed its muscles, causing the tattoo on its shoulder to bulge in and out, muttered, ‘Attack the humans.’ It grabbed the large blade leaning against the wall of the tent and walked out. Within minutes, the horn was blown. Hundreds of the green creatures halted their tasks at the sound and the tribe’s blacksmiths instantly heated up the furnace and threw into it blocks of steel. A grin curved across a lip. ‘At last, I am back to work!’ Rushing out to the main tent were the ogres who had always wanted to satisfy their hunger for wars once more, after the supposedly first Tribes’ War centuries ago, a tale of a fierce battle between all tribes, that was passed down over the generations in many versions. There was the version of the humans enlisting the aid of the Titans to crush their forefathers and there was also the version of the ogres winning the war but decided to give up on it because of their forefathers’ wish to reclaim the times of peace before the beginning of the war.

  ‘-And that, is why the humans succeed in building a large kingdom. But worry no longer, for the fate of our tribe shall be restored to its rightful place. Azke, our mage, has foreseen our victory should we come down on the humans as soon as possible. There’s a hole in their defence, a weakness behind their strength, that we should lay our hands on. Open your eyes and grab your weapons! Seven days later…’ It paused for a second as the tension in the atmosphere began to dense over the minutes. ‘We fight.’ And, deafening roars and cheers filled the air.