Arak Nerub

[Bullroarer]

Arak Nerub, the king of Nerub, slept as the willows around him withered and died. He had fought so many battles, but now he wanted to rest. Even the the living dead get tired once in a while. He looked upon the willow trees, dying like so many others in the world. He was a nerubian and to him death came naturally. Even at birth Arak was a killer.

He wondered if his sacrifices had been worth his lot. He had once been an honorable king of the Nerubian people. His wrath was harsh, but he still had his dignity. He served his queen with loyalty and by some unknown grace, she never ate him. Arak had betrayed his people for power, but now he knew his lot.

He was no more than a slave to the scourge. Every iota of power he owned was controlled by the scourge. He may have been cruel in life, but he had once had pride. He had pride in looking into the icicles every morning and knowing that he was the claw of the queen. Now he was a monstrosity, rotting just like the willows around him.

The willow on the other hand served no. The willow had no master. The willow may have been dying, but Arak would be dying forever. The willow could feel moisture and feed upon the minerals of the earth. Arak would never taste flesh again. Arak could never feel lust for a female. Arak could never rest upon tundra grass. Arak could never agains sip the blood of his enemy.

The willow stood there, mocking him. Mocking him with the fact that it still possessed life and he would never drink from the nectar of living flesh. Even a lowly plant was higher than Arak. In blinding rage Arak got off the dead earth and charged at the willow. He roared in his great Nerubian voice. His horn smashed into the trunk and splintered the wood in half.

The willow just lay there, not screaming nor crying. The seeds were spilled all over the earth. Arak could never again pass his seed on. The willow would still live. Through the seeds, the willow would still live. Even in death, the plant was still greater than him. Shamed, Arak left the territory still wondering if the willow was still mocking him.

[Nio the Namless]

You know I find the Nerubians so interesting. They have a sort of loose conection with Mayan culture but many other more bug realated ... cultural traits (from what I know)


Hopefully I can keep up with this one

[SuRReAL OrC]

Awesome. Another great story (started) by Bullboy.

[Bullroarer]

The priestesses hung their heads in silence as Valdurna held the egg sac before them. The body of her mate, recently slain would be used to feed the nymph growing within the sac. The greatest of doctors and priests throughout the city had predicted the birth of a strong warrior child. She prayed to the statues of her gods for a female, but it was only a mock ceremony. Few denizens of Azjol Nerub believed in higher deities.

The priestesses gathered around the egg sack and mother. They began to shrill in their dark Nerubian voices. They made no sound, for Nerubians used sign language to communicate. Verbal language was only for the high of caste. They swayed to the power of the moonlight as it entered through the caves.

Valdurna would soon present the child to her queen. The idea of becoming one of the queen’s favorites excited the old Nerubian female. She had once been a warrior and she would raise the child in her footsteps. Her daughter would rule as general of the armies as Valdurna once had.

Every high caste family feared the birth of Valdurna’s child. They had hoped the old female would never reproduce. The birth of Valdurna’s daughter would upset the political infrastructure of the entire Nerubian society. Not many Nerubians ever achieved the rank of General of the Armies. Every mother in Valdurna’s family had achieved that title. The colony she had come from was one known for warrior-queens. Valdurna’s mother was the great Queen Shara Okar, winner of a hundred battles.

Not many other females could reproduce outside of the queen. The Nerubian Empire was made of one central Queen and a few minor queens. These queens produced lesser workers and others to create a society. Sometimes members of one colony were sent to others on word of the Hive Mother, the Central Queen. Nerubians had a hive like mentality and only the queen and minor queens had such rights. Lately the creation of children had been rather slow, thus all minor creatures of noble blood had been given a sample of royal jelly from their queen, giving them the ability to give birth.

She had always she had been born a queen, but now she had been given Queen’s royal jelly and a male sacrifice. This was a most joyous occasion for her. Her bloodline would live on, even though she was not royalty. How many low caste workers must have envied her? Many of her priestesses kept a distance. They knew that after child birth a female Nerubian may seek out other food sources for the nymph.

The egg began to crack. Signs of life began to emerge from the hardened shell. The dome of the egg split as limbs began to emerge. Valdurna’s eyes glowed with glee as the thing from within emerged. There was no love, not like that of a queen and all her subjects. The child was born for political reasons.

She watched in horror as the child dropped to the floor. Horrified, she roared, “What is that?”

“That would be a drone nymph.” The priestess announced in unison. Valdurna would now be humiliated. Her first and only chance to reproduce had been blown. She had produced a male, a drone. A male’s only purpose was to create and then become food substance. This was a grave mistake.

“Remove it from my sight. As far as all shall be concerned I have failed to reproduce. Make sure no one finds out about the child. I have already fed, so take the child to ocean and set him adrift.” Valdurna turned away from the mewling creature. This was the worst night of Valdurna’s life.

“Do you wish for a name before it is set among the tides?” The priestesses asked in one voice. It was considered to be an unholy thing to kill something unless it had a name.

“Call it Arak, for it is a mistake, now remove it.” Valdurna bellowed. Arak in ancient troll tongue meant mistake.

[Bullroarer]

Arak moaned and cried just like any other infant as the priestesses carried him. The infant nymph’s body was wrapped in a soft blanket made of webbing. The priestesses hungered for his flesh, but they dared not disobey Valdurna’s orders. The winter landscape echoed with the swooshing sound of wind and snow. There was nothing, but an endless area pure white. The sun was blocked by thickness of the blizzard and with every step the child continued to screech. Its exoskeleton was still young and unprepared for the cold. With every flake he felt like screaming.

He screamed for his mother with a shrilling sound, but it was ignored. He wanted his queen. He wanted to be fed because he was hungry. He wanted someone to feed him. He wanted to crawl back into the safety of his egg where there had been warmth and nourishment. One of the priestesses had enough of his moaning and with one heavy claw she struck the nymph on the skull.

The creature was silent. He stopped screaming and fell unconscious. The Nerubian priestesses stood at the edge of a glacier, which stood hundreds of feet above the crashing waves. There was an endless blue bordering the ice and the rage of the storm consumed them all with bitterness. The priestess dropped the infant into the blue. It was silent as it fell with the snow flakes. They could hear no sound of splash as it hit the waves due to screaming of the storm.
***

A centaurian female stood besides the shore weeping. She had lost her beloved daughter to might of the Night Elvin sentinels. It seemed that every tauren, dryad and elf hated them with such great loathing. She wept and wept for her child, but there was no answer. The unseen forces or force that governed the worlds stayed silent as the centaur wept. The light brown sand sifted as the tides began creep up her hooves.

She could not live any longer without her child. She looked over the tides and dove into the water. She wanted to join her child on the other side of life and death. She wanted to drown herself in the depths of ocean itself. She craved death after all the pain she had endured. She had suffered so much at the hands of so many beings. Perhaps she would now rest in peace.

Then felt something moving near her face. She opened her eyes and within the dark she could feel something close to her hands. She grabbed it and it felt soft as well as alive. It was small and barely breathing. Her instincts told her to protect the creature. Some sort of internal voice made her believe that what she held in her arms was needed to be saved.

She started to kick with her legs again. Against the heaviness of the water and the pressure in her nasal cavities, she pushed. The surface just barely within reach of her hands became closer with every kick. She started to feel the creature in her arms suddenly stop breathing. She knew in her gut that she had to save it. With a final burst of strength she popped through the surface. In her hands was a child, but not a centaur child. It looked sort of like an insect. Her first child may have been taken, but now she had another chance to be a mother.

[Mark Romaneck]

Im glad im not the only one who likes Nerubians out there

Nerubians are inspired in the the nubian culture, they once tinked that these were the Egyptians.
But they aparently they arent, for while Egypt was conquered by the Romans, the Nubians did what no Culture in Africa had, challenged the Roman leguions and not only did they challenged them, but they also beat them.
The Romans decided that the Nubian Ground was not worthy and let them be

The culture that is inspired by the Aztec/mayan culture would be the Naga, not the Nerubians

Now I really doubt that Nerubian Males would not have political power, for you see how would you explain Anub´Arak? he was a King you know, he wasnt in there to breed, and as far as im concerned the Nerubian Web Spinner ( a mercenary in War III) has quite a male voice, so I doubt that Females are the Core of Nerubian civilisation
Maybe only some royal blood Males are the one destined to Rule, and maybe it has some Lion-like society, a Group of Males that reproduces with some Females and defends the pack (in this case civilisation) of Big treaths, such as Hyenas (Ice Trolls?) or other Lions (Undeads?)
The Females are there to gatter Food, reproduce and raise the Young bloods
And of course there are the Low males, those who do the worst task, such as scout for new territories and fight the lower treaths, and of course play with the children or entretain the higer males and females

Now as far as I know (wich is little) the Nerubian Kings that became Crypt Lords, DID NOT betray their people, instead Ner´Zhul broke into the Nerubian Crypts and desecrated them.


But hey then again its just a Fanfic, so keep it up, dont let my silly coments interrumpt your story Bull Roarer.

[KrewL RaiN]

This is a relly cool story, kepp up the good work Bullroarer :y-thumbsu

[Bullroarer]

Maya loved the Arachnid child as if it were her own. She raised it as she had raised her first child, although the arachnid baby had trouble with digesting grass. Maya had to collect large insects such as beetles and millipedes to feed it. There were many challenges, such as forcing to become outcaste among the centaurian clan. Maya was forced to raise her son by herself, because of the resentment from her clan mates.

When the child was sick, Maya tended to him until he was well once more. When the child was injured, Maya covered his wounds. When the child was thirsty, Maya would travel long distances to gather water. She trained him and taught him, but still not sure whether it was capable of intelligent conversation. She knew so little about the arachnid, but sometimes she could see a look in his eyes. As if it was staring into the very pit of her soul.

One day she decided to enter with the child into a market place. Like most other markets in Kalmidor, the one near Maya’s woods were run by night elves and dryads. She knew she was taking a risk, but she needed information on what her baby was. She needed to find herself a book. Carefully feeling the few gold coins at the center of her pouch, Maya approached the center of town. Night elf women stood erect as she walked by. The night elves were similar to humans in feature except they had lavender skin and pointed ears. They were the dominant species on the continent and contained a society of warriors as well as druids. The armored women kept an eye on her at all times. Ever since the first centaurs murdered their father, a Keeper of the Grove, no night elf or dryad ever turned their back on a centaur.

She could feel the hate resonating within the elves. As she walked by with the child huddled in a small ball of cloth beneath her right arm, she began to see other angry faces. A tauren mother pushed her children back as Maya passed by. Taurens were great big hulking beasts. Their heads were bovine while the rest of their body was similar to a large ape like creature. Taurens were the sworn enemy of the centaurs and just from a glance of they, Maya could detect loathing.

As Maya slowly made her way through the eyes of all the creatures, she bumped into something hard. She looked up to see a Keeper of the Grove. The Keeper had an elvin body with lower half similar to a stag. One of the arms was shaped like a tree and upon the head was a pair of antlers. Of all the things a female centaur feared, the greatest was an angry Keeper. “Well hello there lady.”

“Please milord. I beg you to let me pass.” Maya whimpered, fearing the worst. She knew in her heart what the Keeper was thinking. It made her heart freeze up.

“To pass, you have to pay the fee.” He said with amusement. Maya gave him the pouch, but she knew that was not what he meant. The sentinel guards stood by and did not notice. They didn’t care how centaurs were treated. As the scent of the centaurs hormones began to fill the air. Maya began to cry a little.

The bundle in her arms exploded and the nymph screeched its first battle cry. It cried with such a moan that all eyes turned towards the odd creature. Maya had never seen the child act so violently. There was a rage within the child that made her tremble with fear. The eyes so mysterious, were filled with such viciousness and hatred. She wondered if her blessing had been a curse. The eight-limbed creature stretched out its fore arms menacingly. It was covered in a hideous transparent exoskeleton and one could easily see the guts inside. Before the Keeper could react, the spider jumped upon its neck and injected two sharp fangs into the neck

[SuRReAL OrC]

Cool,I love Nerubians too.....but I don't think they use fangs....anyway, go on. :y-thumbsu

[Mark Romaneck]

O they do, hae you never seen Nerubian Warriors (ho 750, armor 2 I think, medium melee unit)
and of course the little broodlings (who have 200hp, 0 armor and quite weak)

those 2 use fangs

[Nitara]

What's with everyone insisting on calling Anub'arak Arak'Nerub?

[Mark Romaneck]

so far nobody

[Bullroarer]

The child was torn away from his hospitable mother. After he had gouged the Keeper, he was shot by a dryad’s arrow. The venom had caused him to fall into a deep sleep. His last thought was his mother being taken away by a group of purple mammalian creatures with soft purple skin. In his dreams the child could remember the cold above the waves. He resented the heat with all his heart. He wanted the snow flakes grace his exoskeleton and the hard ice to flex his legs on.

He awoke to find himself in a cage. There were several other creatures around him. Many of them were so scary and strange. There was a mammalian female with avian feathers in a cage to the right. Another held a big male fishlike creature with crocodile scales. It was also confusing and interesting. Were they food or enemy? The child had barely begun to develop, but he could distinguish the two. Everything was either a way of acquiring food or using him as food. His adoptive mother had been a good source of providing food, but he wondered what these creatures would do for him.

He was alone in a dark must wagon. His only companions were a crowd of unusual creatures. Some of them were small enough to be food, some were around his equal size, and some were large enough to be enemies. He could smell the air around him as turned from side to side. As he swayed, he realized that his ligaments could not move. They were covered in a cold shiny material. The creatures holding him had trapped him in a sort of strange form of webbing because this webbing was not sticky.

The child screeched as the wagon bumped up and down. The screech was that of pure rage and hatred. Many of the large mammalian creatures stood back in their cages. The child wanted to be free. Boundaries made him enraged. He screeched loudly in such hatred. He wanted blood and freedom. Mostly he just wanted to feed. His final screech was so loud that the driver stopped.

A squat tusked mammalian came out. He had a small build and did not seem to be very threatening. The tusked creature’s green skin flared up as he picked a long hard form of webbing. It was very long and sort of reminded the child of a long-tailed lizard. He was a bit amused until the green creature started attacking. First it began by biting him with its tail. The strange enemy began striking for no reason. Every fling would create more blood. The tail came lashing out of the mammalian’s hand and caused the poor child to bleed all the way to their destination.

The child was then moved to a smaller cage with the other creatures. So many cages and so many broken spirits This was simply an abomination. There was simply no room to move around. Everywhere, he would find another creature nearby. It was frustrating and it made him simply want to snap. Everyday in the cage he would watch as young mammalian nymphs would come and throw fruit at him. Naturally the child did not care about the mammalians. He wanted the open blue and the freezing snow. His heart yearned for escape. The roar that was in his belly would call to him from every night after that night. He was fed very little and his stomach was empty. He wanted to rip the other cages and feed upon the flesh inside.

[Nio the Namless]

Interesting, though did the infant drift at sea, or was the centaur near the frozen north or is this a colony of Neurbians in Kalimdor?


Keep in up bull

[Bullroarer]

The child slept and in his dreams he could hear voices. They called for him, they yearned for him. He remembered when he was thrown away from the ice. The months spent in hibernation until his body floated into the arms of his adopted mother. A part of him still yearned for his adopted mother. His dreams became vague and then a powerful voice thundered and a face began to appear out of the darkness…

Snap. A whip struck the child on the skull. The stinging feeling he got from the weapon surprised him slightly. His rage was great, but his pain was mediocre. The tiny green mammalians, known as ‘goblins’, dragged his cage upward and began to haul him. The other creatures looked at him with great sadness and pity.

The cage was dropped in the middle of the arena, which was surrounded by a large audience of large purple mammalians. They were all screaming out loudly and banged upon a barbed cage that surround the arena. The child made no sound as another cage was lowered. Within was a huge four legged mammalian. It had a sort of blackish brown fur and it had a huge set of jaws. It barked furiously and was nearly half the child’s size. Many voices sounded from the audience.

“My money is on the spider abomination.” Yelled one of the elves.

“The pitt bull wins with the first bell,” another answered.

The large metallic object rang and the cage door was opened. The monster roared as it bolted out. It was small, but the rage within the creature was a little horrifying. The young child tried to scurry away, but the thing bounded in front of him. The beast lowered its head and growled at the spider. He wanted to fight.

It launched itself at the witless spider and grabbed on with his jaws. The pain was excruciating and the child went screaming throughout the arena like a mad beast with the creature hanging on to him. He crawled up the arena metal fencing and rolled around in the dust, but still the creature’s bite was tearing right through the arm.

It was as if metal was being shoved through the child’s exoskeleton. He turned in every direction to bite his opponent back, but his neck could not reach the enemy. The beast began to tear at the child’s body by shaking its thick and muscular neck. The child could sense that the beast wanted to feed.

The child wanted to be free. In a fit of rage he grabbed the monster biting his limbs. Using the incredible muscles in his left arms, he tore the beast off. One of his right arms was still inside its mouth. With his remaining strength, he threw the beast against the cage walls. The force of the impact made the walls bend and killed the beast immediately. The fight was over and all the mammalians were cheering.

The child was still scared. He screamed and screamed until he finally unleashed his feelings by uttering his first vocal words, “MOTHER!!!” Then entire crowd stopped cheering.

[BraveLiver]

The child's a Nerubian, right?

[Bullroarer]

The goblins muzzled the child after his outburst in the arena. The child became aware of his strengths as he grew. He no longer wanted love. He no longer craved to be nurtured by a mother. His life became mundane and pointless, but he still lived. He did not know why, but he still felt a calling. His dreams kept him from going insane.

At night he could hear the other beasts moaning and crying in self-pity. It made him sick to his belly that these creatures could be allowed to survive. He wondered why they didn’t just kill themselves if they hated their lives so much. As far as he was concerned, the less fighters in the arena, the more food his masters would have left. He did not care about their suffering. As far as he was concerned, the weak should die and the strong should become stronger.

One day a wild boar like creature was dropped in his cage. He knew boars were fierce and he had fought many inside the arena, but this boar was different. It was a two legged mammalian life form. It was a quarter bigger than the arachnid and about half the size of a human. It walked erect and had skin like fire. The mane that streamed down the boar’s back glowed like fire and his eyes were a deathly green. The tusks poked out of the elongated snout and hung threateningly.

The child was not ready to fight now, for he knew it was foolish to cause a ruckus outside an official match. The goblins would punish him severely. He merely held up his guard against the strange boar creature, waiting for a reaction. The boar glanced downward and took a step back. The boar creature sat on the other side of the cage. Both Arachnid and pig just sat there for hours, simply staring at each other.

“Well how do you like your new mess mat?” The goblin, Varg, said as he lashed his sharp whip on one of the child’s limbs. Ever since he lost one limb to a mutt, Varg, had been extra hard. The goblin took a lot of pleasure in the suffering of the caged beasts. The arachnid wondered whether Varg struck others simply because he himself was beaten by his father every night. The arachnid did not fear Varg, but he loathed Varg. He remembered how Varg had once poured acid over his exoskeleton. The burn marks still covered the arachnid’s shell.

The spider wanted to rip through his cage and kill the goblin. He wanted to tear of his muzzled and feed upon goblin meat. The spider wanted to fight with goblin and to butcher the green bastard. The putrid smell of the goblin’s breath made the arachnid think of rotten meat. The breath of the goblin actually made the child even hungrier. Varg had prevented him from eating any form of meat with the ridiculous muzzle and had fed him with small bowls of lamb’s blood.

“That there is a juvenile quilboar, full grown beasts grow bigger than humans. The crowd wants something new. You’re my prize jewel in this arena. Pound for pound you’re the best at your weight. You’re going to take me places. You and this quilboar. So tonight we are going to have a tag team match up my friend. Get used to your room mate, since he is going to be your partner from this day on.” The goblin chuckled ridiculously. Just looking at that fat throat bounce up and down made the child desire for blood.

“You want to get me don’t you, well here is your chance. Go ahead, I dare you.” Varg laughed. The arachnid had enough. He ignored the steel walls and rammed towards the ugly green creature. His head collided with the metal of the cage. His temper began to flare towards Varg. He hated being a slave. He hated loosing all his dignity to such a putrid creature. He heated the feeling of being less than others. Mostly he just hated Varg.

“You want to tear those bars down and get me. Well, I’m never going to let you have the chance. You’re never going to be free. You are going to be mine for as long as you live. You are my property. You should just surrender and make things easier on yourself.” Varg rubbed his fingers together.

He wanted to grab Varg and smash that smug look upon iron. He was abused severely by Varg in the first stages of infancy. The arachnid simply wanted to burst out of the cage and make Varg pay for the last seven years. At a young age Varg would force the arachnid to fight dog after dog. Later on the child was attacked by two hounds at a time. Naturally the child would be beaten by the pair of hounds and the beaten body of the young spider was carried off into the back. The spider was also forced to swallow a piece of vegetation as a punishment from Varg. The child could still remember the way the vegetation almost poisoned him He remembered how Varg had stood there and laughed. He swore sooner or later he would escape and not even Varg would ever find him.

[SuRReAL OrC]

I love how you expose the seedy underbelly of the NE. Good job.

[BraveLiver]

I must have missed it, but where's the NE?

[SuRReAL OrC]

'Purple-skinned mamillians'? That live in Kalimdor? Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.

[BraveLiver]

Oh, there it is. I was only looking in his last post.

Lol, gouged a Keeper.

[Queued Handle]

I hate to reply without reading the entire thing, but I read the first installment and it was quite good, almost living up to the title I heard Bullroarer was bequeathed with. Well, I plan on reading thise whole work, and will get back to posting in this thread then.

[Bullroarer]

The arena was alive with hundreds of mammalians from all over the continent. There were mammalians with horns, mammalians with tusks, reptilians with gills, amphibious vagabonds, but mostly the purple skinned mammalians. The spider child sat with his partner in their cage. They were shouting for the spider child by the name Varg had dubbed him with, The Arachnid. Every time that name was uttered the spider child would cringe in disgust.

He peered through the bars to see Varg at the head of the crowd. The spider child was always furious before a match, but this time he had to worry about the safety of his partner. If anything happened to the inexperienced quillboar, it would be the arachnid’s punishment. If the spider did not have the muzzle, he would have screeched in frustration. The cold lifeless muzzle made him groan every time he tried to move his jaw.

The gates opened both the spider child and his quillboar partner stepped onto the flat, sandy arena. The spider waited for the other cage to open. The crowds always enjoyed group battles, for it drove them to the point of blood lust. The mob was simply sickening and enjoyed the butchering of two lesser beings. He waited as the steel cage doors began to creak. The smell hit both the quillboar and spider in the face before the image appeared.

Out popped a giant hound, known as a dire wolf. It had a shaggy black fur coating and teeth that were as dangerous as knives. Behind came a doglike creature, but this one had blue fur with black spots. The spider knew it to be a gnoll. Both creatures stood with much power as well as rage. Mammalians may have been physical weak in strength, but they had incredible endurance. The gnoll and dire wolf howled as one into the night sky. It was a cheap trick to liven the crowds. The spider child glared at Varg’s smiling face. Even without a muzzle, a dire wolf or gnoll could be impossible to defeat. Now the spider had to fight two while looking after a young quillboar.

The bell rang and the well coordinated team of dire wolf and gnoll advanced upon them in a circular fashion. The spider knew very well that this was just an attempt to drive them into a corner. The quillboar on the other hand seemed to be falling for the trick and backing up. The spider child had no choice, but to provide a distraction. He rushed the wolf head on. The wolf was nearly three times the spider’s body weight, but the superior strength of the spider, combined with acceleration at, which was traveling was enough move the great black beast. The collision of the two sent the wolf flying into the air. Unfortunately it landed on all four limbs without a scratch. The tackle had obviously enraged the beast.

The spider then felt something heavy jump onto his back. It was the gnoll. The gangly creature had taken the opportunity to circle around and ambush from behind. The enraged spider spun around, but was unable to shake off the abomination. The gnoll quickly latched onto the shoulder of the young spider. The force of the gnolls jaw pressure was unimaginable. The creature was tearing right through the toughest of the spider’s exoskeleton.

The spider collapsed as blood started to trickle out of the shoulder. The spider felt as though he could not even move. The wolf growled as it slowly came rushing in. The spider knew the wolf’s behavior. The animal would go for the neck. The young spider stood their facing death and he wished his muzzle were no longer on his face. The wolf’s paws hit the earth and with every step the spider’s heart would thunder. The crowds were mad with insanity as they saw the wolf coming in for the kill.

A red bolt of fur and tusk came charging through the arena. Finally the quillboar was doing something useful. It lowered its tusk as it ran. It was ready to ram the wolf with two imperial teeth. The wolf saw it coming and changed directions from my spider child’s neck. The wolf may have been primitive, but it understood what tusks can do to any beast. It leaped as the boar rushed in. The wolf was able to dodge, but not before the boar cut it near the underbelly. The gnoll let go of me and made a huge mistake.

The foolish gnoll turned its back on the spider as it rushed to help the wolf. This moment gave the spider enough time grab the gnoll by the head. The gnoll had lost all chance of victory. The spider’s incredible muscle power was enough to snap the gnoll’s neck as if it were a twig. The sound of the snap sent a chill down the crowd and they became silent. I turned to see the quillboar partner fighting fang to tusk with the wolf. It was a pathetic battle, for the wolf was always dodging and biting the boar near the abdomen. The quillboar was becoming exhausted. The spider wanted to let the quillboar suffer a little, but then it remembered how the quillboar had saved him from the fangs of the wolf. The spider came scuttling in to offer the quillboar some aid. The lonely wolf understood that its partner was dead and realized the battle had become two upon one. The wolf gave a false growl and trotted away in defeat,

The spider lifted the quillboar upon and nodded in respect. The two may have not become friends, but in that moment they understood each other. They had shed blood on the field and they were both slaves. They may have loathed one another, but at that moment a bond had developed. No words had to be said and both creatures could read the other through the eyes alone. Varg lashed his whip and both contenders returned to their cages.

[SuRReAL OrC]

Awesome. Stupid Gnoll. :lol:

[Bullroarer]

The years passed by and the quillboar became a more skilled partner. The arachnid and boar never spoke a single word to one another as seasons passed, but they grew to understand each other. They understood each other through a form of body language. Their relationship was similar to two bitter brothers, neither liked the other very much, but both felt a need to help the other at certain times. When one was in pain the other would grip the wound until the blood coagulated. When one was sick the other would offer a small cup of blood or bit of water. When one was enraged, the other would wait until the temper simmered down. The quillboar was probably the closest creature the Nerubian ever had to a friend.

One day while Varg was drunk, he came back to the cage with a dwarven made assault rifle. The quillboar turned to his arachnid roommate and gave a look that spelled trouble. The both nestled down on the straw of the cage as Varg began to curse under the influence of rum. The spider did not like the smell of alcohol. Every time the scent came his way, Varg did something stupid.

The arachnid curled himself into a small ball. He did not wish to attract the goblin’s attention. Varg had made a new lash made of a metallic rope. The new lash could rip skin and damage exoskeleton. The arachnid breathed loudly as he heard Varg holler outside. A prayer was made by the spider creature, but he did not know to what he was praying to. The spider had never had a culture, a religion or family. The only thing the spider had was the arena and Varg could easily take away even more.

“Gonna show that old buzzard…” Varg rambled in his drunken stupidity. The quillboar was slightly worried, but he had enough courage to lift his head. That mistake cost the quillboar everything. Varg was startled and the weapon was fired. Flames spat out of the machine and the sound of the bullet striking the quillboar’s skull echoed. The quillboar touched his forehead and felt the blood trickle down. He looked at the spider for a long moment and then smiled. It was a type of smile the child had never seen.

He blinked once and then crumbled onto softness of his straw bed. His heart made no sound and his eyes were empty. There was nothing left of the quillboar, except his physical form. The spider just sat there on the floor with head upon the ground. He waited for Varg to get completely consumed by his drugs and fall asleep. It did not take the goblin long to find a tent to lye his back.

The spider stood up and touched the cold flesh of the boar. The stillness of the proud beast was slightly disturbing. The fire that burned with in the animal’s eyes had burned out into nothing. The long mane from the back was lifeless and empty. The creature that had often given the spider good company was lying upon his back. The spider had always see death on the arena, but this death truly disturbed. It was as if a piece of him died with the boar.

The spider nudged the boar a little to awaken the beast. The animal did not move. The spider’s universe had always included a boar, but now the boar was no longer a part of that universe. The boar’s heart no longer thundered. A grim silence filled the cage as the spider inspected the poor pig. The boar’s very skull had broken into pieces like a melon. Chunks of grey matter mixed with redness of blood. It was sort of strange that there was not that much bone.

The boar was the closest thing the spider had to friend. They had spilled blood together on the battle field, thus they were blood brothers. There was no moaning, but there was a soft sadness. A part of the spider, which he had taken for granted, was now less than dust. The corpse was no different from a stone or a shard of glass. There was no fire, no passion, and no heart. The corpse was just vessel and the spirit the spider had witnessed on the battle field was gone.

He had questions, but the answers were too complicated for him. The spider had never once considered his own mortality. He wondered if he would also become a grim lifeless shell. The moonlight beamed through the bar gates, giving the boar a gentle look. The pig seemed peaceful and happy underneath the light of the moon. The spider could not understand, but he could no longer look at the corpse.

Picking up large piles of straw, the spider covered the boar’s body. He kept on piling straw after straw to cover up the corpse. The dead body horrified him and for the first time in his life, the spider knew what it meant to be afraid. He began to pile more and more of the straws in an effort to cover it all up. He simply did not want to see the lifeless face, which tormented him. He did not want to see the eyes of dead boar reflecting back an image.

When the boar’s body was completely covered in straw, the spider honored his partner by gently sliding the boar’s bowl in front of the pile of straw. The spider watched the straw pile and wondered if creatures could rise up from their death. He wondered how wonderful it would be to live without death. He waited and waited for the boar to rise up, but the boar never did.

[SuRReAL OrC]

That poor quillboar! :cry:

[Bullroarer]

One Monday morning, the spider began to drink his daily blood. So many years of being denied flesh, he began to wonder if he would ever taste flesh again. The blood was poor and from the body of a crow. The very taste of such meat made the spider cringe, but he knew he needed the blood to survive. Life was so cruel in that way. He hated Varg, yet he needed the goblin to survive. His muzzle would make him a prisoner of Varg forever.

The spider put down his bowl and rested his shoulder against the cage. His cage was separate from all the other beasts, for he was Varg’s favorite possession. He grunted as he saw a wild tiger being dragged into one of the tents. The spider hated battling tigers, for they often wounded him. The great white and black mammalian would probably be the spider’s next opponent.

The spider felt disgusted with his way of life. He wanted to be free, so he slammed his skull against the bars out of frustration. The impact shook the cage and made the spider’s skull ring, but he noticed something strange. A piece of his muzzle was hanging loose. The spider realized that the cage bars were made of stronger steel than the muzzle. He began to bang his skull against the bar excitedly. He banged until the muzzle broke free, and he could finally open his mouth as well as his mandibles.

He was still trapped in a cage, but now his most formidable weapons were free. He put the muzzle back on, the best he could to make things seem as though nothing happened. He waited in his cage until Varg came back with his whip and key. The spider had a secret smile hidden under the muzzle, but Varg couldn’t see. The goblin was always arrogant and it had a price to pay.

He whipped the spider upon the head with the metallic chords. The stings left a bloody mark upon the spiders head, but years of training had built him up to endure such pain. In a way, the spider enjoyed pain. Pain made him feel alive and partially hungry. The sight of his own blood aroused an animalistic craving within him to destroy. He waited and Varg struck him again, but he barely noticed. The spider would have stayed for another ten lashes, but he had other things to do. The only reason he never tried to kill Varg before was because he needed the blood to live.

As the spider crawled out of his cold steel prison, he became a free beast in his heart. He didn’t really care watching Varg pull out his pistol. The spider had his own weapon. He would finally taste flesh after years of drinking blood. He would sink his fangs once more into the warmth living tissue. He would once again feel the thumps of a heart beat as it approached death.

“You’re going to learn how to fight on two legs today. This is going to make a very rich…” Varg was beginning to speak.

“No.” A strange deep voice came to Varg’s ears.

“Who said that?” The goblin pointed his pistol around to find no one other than the spider.

“It was me.” The spider took of his muzzle and hung it in front of Varg to see. The goblins eyes grew wide with terror. The pistol began to shake a little, but the spider quickly batted the weapon away. He could see the fear consuming Varg from the very thumping of Varg’s heart to the sweat dripping down the forehead. The spider could see goblin drowning in his own fear. The smell of urination began to mix with that of the sweat. Varg was too afraid to call for help and wake the others up.

The spider grabbed Varg by the neck and lifted him near his mouth. He plunged his grown fangs into the goblins flesh. He felt the goblin struggling in his grip as the poison filled the creature’s body. He could hear Varg whimpering and it added to the pleasure. The flesh was very salty and not as sweat as the spider had hopped, but it was still meat. When Varg was finally incapacitated, the spider did not drain his blood. He ripped through the goblins rib cage with one of his claws. The blood splattered all over the spider and there was a sound similar to wooden door being broken. The spider’s claw felt around the chest cavity. His claw moved passed the lungs, the liver and the esophagus. His claw moved passed the appendix, the stomach and the intestines, until it found the still beating heart. The spider could feel the warmth coming from the organ as well as the steady beat. He ripped out the still beating organ and crunched it in his jaw. He dragged the body into a nearby forest, close to the tents, so he could finish the meal. No point in letting good food go to waste.

[SuRReAL OrC]

Whoa. :bigclap:

[KrewL RaiN]

pwnage w00tzorz :y-crazy:

[BraveLiver]

Cool. I wonder what's next?

1 problem: (I get this one ALL the time) Spelling mistakes. Only 1 or 2, but they're present.

[Bullroarer]

That night the spider slept by himself in the darkness of the trees. His mind wandered beyond the cold forest to a land of pure ice. He had come here before in his dreams, but never had it been so clear to him. There was nothing, but a curtain of white snow flakes blinding his site. He felt the frigidness of the land, but he himself was not cold. The ice was more suitable for him, almost as he were born to be with the ice. A strange sort of familiarity came to him in the tundra.

“Come to me.” A voice echoed through the darkness. It was a voice that echoed in every limb in his body and every corner of his mind. It was a voice dark and foreboding, yet it made him draw closer to the unknown. The voice inspired fear within him, yet it also commanded his will. It was as if he had no choice, but to be drawn to the voice. It made him reel in shock.

“Come to me.” The voice echoed through the spiders mind even louder than before. It reverberated through the ice and the skies themselves. The voice itself seemed to strain under the awesome will of the voice. The snow cleared, thus all the spider saw was the darkness of the night, the gentle light of the mid-night stars shining against their pitch black canvas, and the clear mirror of the ice beneath his claw. The spider heard the voice and he felt fear.

“Come to me.” The voice roared through the ice and seemed to come from below the feet of the spider. The ice cracked and splintered into giant glaciers. Everywhere around the spider, the cracks appeared. The giant holes seemed to form in every direction. The spider had no way out. Then he started to feel the ice beneath him break. He looked below to see his horror. The ice crumbled and he fell into the abyss.

Through endless darkness the spider fell, but he could feel nothing. He could feel the cold air rushing by him as he fell. He kept falling and falling, yet there was no ground. There was no earth for him to land on. He wondered how long it would be before he hit solid footing, but he was a bit too impatient. He kept on falling through that darkness for what seemed like an eternity, until a giant claw plucked him from the air.

He raised his eyes to see something incredible. It was another one of his kind, but much larger. The creature must have been the size of a hundred large boulders. The small spider easily fit at the end of the larger one’s claw. This spider had a brilliant purple carapace on its back and fangs that gleamed like moon light. It had mammalian like hair sprouting out of the head and its upper half was similar to a mammalian female.

“Who are you?” The small spider whimpered. He had never whimpered in his life, but the sight of the creature made him feel fear. She simply radiated with power and danger. He was simply overwhelmed.

“I am your master Arak. You must come to the lands of ice or you shall suffer at my hand. Know that I am your queen and I know everything you think as well as do. You cannot escape me. Now come to me.” The queen demanded of the small spider. He felt like rebelling, but for some reason the words could not come. He was completely at her mercy.

“How dare you think such a thought? You shall learn to respect me. Now go.” She bought down the large claw in front of the small creature. He had never anything that huge move that fast. The claw moved like lightning and made a sound like a bull’s tail. The weapon cut into his face and made the spider scream in pain.

He awoke from the dream with a giant cut upon his face.

[SuRReAL OrC]

This would've been funny:

d00d j00 h4b b1n pwn3dz0rz kakakaka!

omfg j00 h4xX0rz0rz 1m r3p0r71ng j00






Guess not, eh? :lol:

[Bullroarer]

The spider child could hear the voice driving him forward over the sea. The spider child was now the size of a full grown male dear and his upper body had segmented, thus resembling the abdomen of a male purple skinned mammalian. His jaws were sharper, his body was covered in thick hair between the joints and his limbs were covered in a hard exoskeleton. The yellow transparency was gone and in its place was a hard carapace of bluish gray.

He had never really considered himself a person. He had always considered himself just another being, similar to a dog or feline. He never had a name to identify himself and so he had identified everything, including himself, as other beings. The idea of self or ego had never entered his mind. Now that Varg no longer existed, he had a name. He remembered the words of the spider in his dream. He knew his name to be Arak.
***

I have been caste out to sea once more. The voice in my mind is always screaming and tormenting for me to come. I had to leave my dense jungle of food and plenty. I had been forced to steal myself a boat and row towards the icy north. I knew the female in my dream was real, but I do not know how. She had managed to carve a gash upon my face without even meeting me. Her voice was a constant ringing in my ear. Even now as I row my boat I can hear her calling to me. “Come to me. Come to me. Come to me.”

I can hear that nagging voice as I suck the flesh of the dead boar upon my tiny vessel. As the blood drained out of the boar I could hear the voice speaking to me, telling me to go on. It was driving me to my rage. Not an hour passes by that she does not call out to me. Perhaps I am going mad like one of the bird women in a cage next to mine. She always screeched and talked to herself.

Then there is a part of me that knows I am not insane. If I were insane, then how did the scar appear upon my face? How did I feel pain, when I should have felt nothing? The spider in my dream and mind is real. She calls to me especially when I am asleep. In my dreams I occasionally see her face and massive girth. Usually I just feel her presence. It is as if she owns me and I am no more than a toy to her.

I wish I could stop rowing my boat into the vast unknown, but her voice would only get louder if tried turning back. I had no choice, but to follow the command. I could not fight a creature in my dreams any more than tiger could sprout wings and fly. She commanded me, and what was more humiliating, was that I had followed. I had left one master and now I was at the control of another.

Was this my destiny? Was I forever doomed to be a slave from one creature to another? Must I always be forced against my will to do as others say? I had had enough of Varg, so I killed him with such ease. Every time I thought about killing the creature in my dreams, I would have a nightmare about my first battle as an infant against the pitbull. Even today I still cannot forget my first battle. I could still remember the crunching of my exoskeleton. The laughter of the audience still lived within the depths of my mind. I could still remember myself crying for a mother.

The waves of the ocean bounced me up and down, making my stomach churn. The illness I felt over the water and in my belly was only minor. The pain within my skull was forever roaring a vicious tune. It was like music that one cannot stop. The endless repetition of the same message over again several times; made me want to stab my own head sometimes and rip the words out of my very mind.

The thought of suicide made a tingle rise up my back. If I jumped into the waters now, I would prove nothing. Just because my life had no meaning as a gladiator, should not have meant that my life as freed slave should be meaningless. If this female spider was forcing me to come to her home, then so be it. I will go to her home and show her what happens to those who bother me in my sleep.

Committing suicide would only mean that I allowed her to force me around. I was being pushed around and this time I had different muzzle. My new muzzle was not made of steel or copper. My new muzzle was made of threats from creature of dream world and who spoke in my mind. I am no longer just a fighter, I am Arak. If there is one thing this queen must learn, it is that none shall use Arak.

I was a being of my own free will, yet I had chosen to become a slave once more because of dreams. I grinned at myself for a moment thinking of his odd predicament. How sweet was such irony? I had sworn that neither bars of steel nor tips of spears would ever make me a slave and that I would never be tamed again. Life had given me a cruel hand, then another cruel hand and then another cruel hand. Cruelty was probably the only constant thing I had in my life. It was cruel when I had first been thrown away, it was cruel when I he had been taken from my adoptive mother, it was cruel when I lost one of my limbs to a mutt, it was cruel when I had lost my freedom, it was cruel when I had to fight to live, it was cruel when I lost the one companion I ever had and it is cruel that I now be dragged upon this watery world in the name of some arrogant queen who lived in my head.

This was obviously some kind of joke upon me. My life had been a gull with a broken wing. Forever I was trying to fly, but with every leap I would crash upon the earth with nothing to show for my efforts. My whole life I had struggled to survive, to make sure that I could live just one more day. I sometimes remembered my centaurian mother and how she coddled me. For some unknown reason I wanted that type of love. Perhaps if I had never felt that love, I would never have yelled at the arena, thus I would not have been muzzled.

Where ever I go now, I know that there is no love. It is simply a feeling that I have in the depths of my chest. A type of dryness wells up in my lungs when I think about it. I am going to a world I shall be a slave once more. The emptiness that I felt cannot leave me. I once tried to fill the emptiness within me by filling it with food, but the food could not fill the unhappiness within me. I had become a glutton and Varg had to starve me to get me back into fighting form. I had tried to fill the emptiness within my by focusing on victory. I won fight after fight, sometimes two on three, but in the end my emptiness came back. The emptiness within me was always returning. There is one good thing the emptiness does, for it drowns out the voice of the queen in my head. It only lasts a few seconds, but if I concentrate hard enough on the emptiness, I can drown out the queen’s voice for a few beautiful seconds and her roar becomes a mere mewl. I would rather feel empty inside than hear that voice. I curse my centaurian mother for teaching me love, for if I had never felt love, then I would not have this emptiness. Physical pain was bad, but the pain caused by love made my very innards twist. How I hate love.

The boat began to rock as the skies of light blue were covered by the haze of dark clouds. An ominous flash of light appeared from the heavens and followed by the crack of thunder. The seas churned and the waves began to rise. The sounds of gulls above my head disappeared and an ominous silence followed. I lifted my head from the boar, with my blood still dripping from my fangs. After everything that has gone wrong in my life, must I know be subject to wrath of a thunderstorm?

Can I not have just one single chance to rest? I am forever tormented by other creatures, and luck, must I now suffer from the wrath of nature. Where is the balance within all this chaos? Is this how it must be, that those without power are tossed in the tides and those with power can do as they please. I simply cannot take much more of this. How can I stand when everything else is trying to push me down? Is there someone out there who wants me to suffer for the rest of my life? Is there some force out there I wants me to be broken.

I feel my temper fall as my temples are cooled by the gentle sprinkling of rain upon my head. What point was there in thinking about my pain? There is nothing I can do to change the circumstances of events. I cannot go back in my life and change the outcome of my future. I wish I could simply stop thinking and rest, but that confounded voice is still there. The voice mocks me, just as nature mocks me with its drizzle. It mocks me and shows me how small I am in comparison to the world. It shows that I am just a tiny spider and it is a vast ocean.

Then the rain started to kick up a pace. The water poured into the boat at an alarming rate and smothered both me and boar. I grabbed a nearby pail and scooped up the water inside my boat. A small wave crashed over the bow and completely knocked me of my feet. I was hurled to the side of the boat, with water trapped up my nasal. I stood up again and another wave bashed into me and knocked me to my side. My hairs and carapace are completely soaked and I feel much heavier. The taste of salt licks my tongues with every move I make.

“Krahhhh, krahh, krahhh.” I coughed the water out of my mouth and nasal over the side of the ship. The taste of so much salt still hung with my mouth and my belly felt so heavy. I reached into the water below and began feeling around until I touched something metallic. I picked up the pail and scooped the water in and tossed it out. I repeated this process over and over again as the crack of thunder sounded over my head. A giant sized wave began to rise and I stood there in shock. None of my muscles wanted to move at that moment. The wave crashed down and I was completely thrown off my boat. I was flying through the air maybe twenty foot paces.

Then I stopped flying and plummet back into the depths of water. I was now submerged in water. The water traveled up my nasal and gullet once more. The darkness covered my eyes and I could not see anything. I moved around much more slowly in water, but was able to swim. My nose breached the surface, and began to cough. Then another wave came in and buried me under five paces. I struggled back up to the surface with water filling up my lung. My tired muscles kicked as hard as they could.

[Bullroarer]

I breached the surface once more, coughed up the water, and I could see my boat a few years away. Struggling once more, I moved through the waves the best that I could. Latching myself onto the edge of the boat, I pulled myself. The waves pushed and the boat rocked, dunking me below the surface again. The boat lifted me up and I hauled my self back into the boat. The pail was gone to get rid of the water. I began to use my powerful muscles to push the water out. I put my claws into the water and with a great heave, I tossed the water out. With strength unknown to a mammalian bipedal, I thrashed the water out of the boat. It seemed as though I was going to sink and then I saw another wave coming in. The wave must have been over forty foot paces high.

It was a colossal wave, almost five times wider than the last. Gripping the sides of the boat and wrapping a leg around the boar, I waited. The wave carried the boat higher and higher into the air and flung it through the night sky. The water was thrown out as boar, spider and boat went flipping through the air. I felt as though he were being ripped in two with the boar’s weight going in one direction and the boats weight going in another direction.

With a stroke of luck, they hit the water without going upside down. The water began to fill the boat up again and lightning colored the sky. The heavens screeched and the winds howled. I simply could not take any more of this. The waves bobbed up and down with me on it. The boat rose and it fell. Rising and falling, but all I could do was hang onto the boar while water began to enter the vessel. Clinging to the floor of the deck I raised my head once more.

“Why are you doing this to me? Am I so disgusting to life itself, that I must be battered by the very elements. Am I so hideous that not even Mother Nature wants me to live? Well I defy you. I don’t care who you are, whether it be some mammalian, a spider queen or nature herself. I am not going to die. Do you hear me?” I cried out to the heavens like a mad beast.

“I survived the depths of the ocean when I was thrown away as a child. Yes I still remember that day in the back of my head. I had survived in the Arena and won battle after battle. Most importantly, I survived under Varg!!! I did not come through all this pain simply to be drowned on a boat!!! Do you hear me?” The clouds glowed blue and the crack of thunder boomed as if to answer me. The water was filling the boat and I knew that if I did not get rid of the wait soon, I would sink and drown.

“I will not drown like a dog! I will do anything to survive and you shall not stop me.” I was driven completely mad with rage. Soaking wet and battered I grabbed the giant boar, my only source of food upon this boat. With my aching muscles I pulled and pulled the boar to the edge of the boat. Grabbing the body with three claws, I lifted and strained with all my muscles. My energy was low, but my rage was kept on rising. I finally was able to pick the dead beast of the deck. My joints ached, but I was able to sling it over my shoulders. Then with a final burst of energy I lifted the boar into the air with three claws. Holding the boar as the waves bobbed me up, I yelled back at the elements, “I will not die!”

With a giant heave, the boar was flung into the water. I watched as my meal floated away and in the darkness of the pouring rain, I struggled to go back to splashing the water out of the boat. All through the night the clouds thundered and the winds howled, but I kept on pushing with all my guts. Drenched and tired, I pushed on as the wind began to die. As the thunder began to rumble less and a yellow tint began come from edge of the ocean, I collapsed upon the deck.

[KrewL RaiN]

Keep it up, this story is cooooolz0rz

[Bullroarer]

I awoke with a gigantic pain in my skull. I had wanted to sleep a while longer, but that voice kept on driving me awake. The sun was in my eyes and there was a heavy chill in the air. The coldness felt a bit comfortable, except for the joints of my body, which were covered in ice. Everywhere, there was ice. Great chunks of frozen water bobbing in the water near me. Some of the chunks were as big as whole herd of oxen.

Shaking off the dryness from my eyes, I began to look around. My boat is gone, and so is the water. I do not know how I got here, but I do know that I had nothing to with it. The queen must have done this. She may be just a figment in my mind, but she is real. Her presence fills the air all around me. She makes me quiver with word in her sentence and every sound in her word. She is my darkness in my life and she is the thorn, which is embedded in my thorax.

“So you have finally come to me?” The voice comes once more, but this time it is not from within me. The voice comes from behind me. I turn around to see a spider creature just like my own water reflection. I know her face from my dreams and it send a chill down my exoskeleton, but the chill is even greater than the cold of the ice. She was very massive, not as massive as my dream, but almost the size of ten giant bears put together. My body was only the size of a large wolf. Her very shadow blocked out the sunlight from my eyes and I wondered how she could have snuck up on me. Her exoskeleton was a shell made of blue and green. Her long sinew spider legs raised her body high above the ground. From her head sprang long black hair that swayed around her neck. Her upper body was mammalian in a way just like me. Perhaps we are neither arachnid or mammalian, I wondered. Her upper body claws moved in front of me like deadly scythes and I could see the saliva coming from her mandible jaws. I could feel her hunger.

“Why have you me here and where is my boat?” I roared rebelliously. I may be afraid this large creature, but I refuse to be put down by creature. She has manipulated me. She has humiliated me. She has dragged me across a question. I know that every right to answer. I deserved to know why I was being put through all of this. I look upon the surprised queen. Her mandibles are still moving hungrily in front of me. Those sharp dangerous weapons lolled with saliva that splattered green upon the ice and melted it. The breath of such a creature was murder upon my nasal. She seemed as though she could move her gigantic girth upon me and seize me for a light snack.

“I have bought you here, because you belong to me Arak. Yes, I know your name just as I know the names of every other creature born Nerubian. I can hear your thoughts Arak as I hear the thoughts of all others of our kind. I can make the drizzle become a monsoon and I can make the seas carry a servant back home. I know everything about you Arak. I know about your toss into the ocean, your unusual upbringing and your time as an arena warrior. You life intrigued me. I did not think you would survive my little storm. When you did survive, I knew you were a worthy slave. I bought you across miles of water. You should be grateful for me to end your journey. Your boat was destroyed after I bought you here.” She spoke in the most arrogant voice and rasped loudly as she spoke. She picked me up by one of the legs and dangled me above the air.

“I belong to no one.” I bellowed out loud. How dare this creature drag me across the world simply to have a new toy to play with? I have been a slave for too many years and it sickens me to the belly. Part of me had always wished that I would never be put back in the cage again. Part of me wondered whether I would ever again attain my freedom. In a burst of stupid rage, I attack her with all my fury, but she hardly even turns in my direction. With a flick of a claw I am sent in a wall of frozen snow.

“You fool. With a mere thought I can make you do as I wish. You shall obey” Her voice grew cold and I backed down.

[Bullroarer]

“You have the queen’s favor. That is good, for it means your going to go somewhere.” Camelo said. She was my teacher in how to become a proper warrior. Six months had passed since I met the queee. I had chosen one slavery, over another slavery and it sickened me. I now live in the home of my blood, but my people make me want to vomit my food. They are all slaves to the will of our queen. Every thought, every movement was made by our queen. I had tasted freedom before and being forced into this sort of life was never my intention. I was vermin now, but vermin at least had freedom.

“Shut up and put another slab of ice on the pile.” I roared as I pushed my body to its limits. Lying down upon my back with several slabs of ice held above my body was quite excruciating. The Nerubians, my people, were a race of warriors and by orders of the queen I was to be trained. My training was more like torture. It was exoskeleton cracking, muscle bending and organ wrenching torture. I used my upper three limbs to push up the slabs of ice.

“If you keep pushing yourself like this, you shall burn out of energy.” Camelo said incredulously. I hated her and I hated the queen. Camelo liked that and wanted to tame my fire.

“PUT THE SLAB ON NOW!!!” I roared.

She dropped another heavy slab ice upon the pile. I was now holding at eight slabs of ice over my body. The weight and pressure made my back muscles ache. My neck was incredibly stiff and I could feel the pressure within the innards of my skull. My arms were slightly shaking, but still I held onto the slabs of ice. I felt the ice coming closer and closer towards my chest. If it dropped, I had a good chance of damaging my armor.

“No more child, you are not even an adult. Your time shall come, but no Nerubian child can do eight giant slabs of ice over his or her chest with four upper limbs, but you have three.” She said with her with her cold factual voice. She knew nothing about me and she was telling me about my strength. She had no idea how hard my limits were. I was more than what she believed and I was more than what her queen believed.

“Put another slab on.” My voice squirmed passed the mandible jaws. My very elbows were quaking from the sheer pressure of the heavy weights upon me. My very heart was beginning to thunder and run.

“No more for today, you can hardly even stand eight slabs, how do you expect to survive nine?” She said calmly. Her passionless voice made my rage surge up a notch, but I kept myself from insulting her.

“I am not going to… surrender.” My vocal chords began to strain as well and my speech began to stutter a little.

“I have seen many brash young Nerubians like you. You all think that you can do more than your body can allow. You cannot accept your limitations. Fool, only the queen has no limits. You may be a special servant of hers, but you are still a servant to her. What do you wish to prove with all of this bravado? As soon as you truly accept the queen with your heart, you shall find your place.” Her voice became even harder.

“I don’t care about your…queen. I don’t care about your advice. I…don’t need you. I don’t need anything. All I need from you, is to shut your trap… and put on another damn slab.” I bellowed as my breath became short.

“Ah, to be young and restless? I remember when I had that sort of fire, but I learned to calm it down. A warrior must fight without emotions in his or her heart. He or she must become like the land, cold and harsh. A warrior must remove himself from fire and become one with the ice. A warrior must feel absolutely nothing. Passion, fear, love, hate, anger, sadness, and all other emotional garbage must be removed from the body. Remove yourself from your feelings and you shall conquer you feelings.” She answered, but I did not look.

“Don’t tell me how to feel.” I growled, as the blood vessels in my body began to bulge.

“Why not? Your feelings are like everything else in our world. They belong to our queen. Must you blind, that you cannot see that our queen loves us. She places us under her command to keep order. She connects us all as one. Give into the queen and you shall find your happiness. The queen can guide you and she can give you the strength you need. She is the source of our power and she alone can give us what we require. Open your eyes young one. Most Nerubians your age have come to understand what an honor it means to be one with the queen. Her will is for us to obey as the snow obeys the wind.” She spoke again in that insufferable monotone voice.

“Shut up and pile on another slab.” I squirmed some more as I pushed up. Tears came running down my eyes.

“I can feel your pain Arak. It is a sign of your weakness. A true Nerubian accepts pain. Pain makes us stronger. Without pain we become weak. You will learn to relish pain. You will make pain part of your life. Pain shall be a part of your very existence. A warrior who feels no pain from within can feel no pain from without. Think of how strong you could become without your pain holding you back?” She continued

“I told you to shut up and stop TELLING ME HOW TO FEEL!!!” My squirming had turned into a bloody roar. My elbows pushed up forward and the giant slabs of ice went flying over my body. They literally flew off my body and crashed themselves upon the walls of the cave. My trainer simply stood their, unemotional as usual, but I could have sworn for a moment that her face had shown a bit of surprise.

“For a three limbed Nerubian you did incredibly well, but next time you feel the sudden need to show off your strength, I will punish you even harder.” Her voice echoed as I panted for air. My very body was feeling helpless and exhausted. I need water running through my veins. I looked up at Carmelo with both hatred and rage.

“I know what you are thinking. I do not need the queen’s mind to tell me what is written in your eyes. You want to attack me. Well you can forget about it. Only one-twelfth of my students have ever taken a swing at me, but all have failed. The remaining eleven-twelfths knew not to challenge me.” She said me and what drove me insane, was that she was right. I was thinking about taking a swing.

“Shut up I bellowed.” As I took my razor claw and slashed at her. She moved like the whirlwind of the ice and swerved right behind me. She latched her claws around my waste and with one jerk she threw me over her head. She slammed me neck first into the ice. If my body had been made of bones rather than armor, it would have been snapped.

“Now do you understand why I tell you to accept your limitations?” She said as she hoisted me back on my feet. I simply could not take her voice anymore.

“I DON”T HAVE LIMITATIONS!” I roared out loud and I felt a primal instinct rising through my body once more. I looked at her and for a brief moment I could see some sort of fear in those eyes. I could see myself reflected in the image of her eight eyes. My claw was moving faster than I had ever expected. Her claws were coming up to block, but they were simply to slow. All I could see was her face.

Skreeeek. A small cut had been made on her face.

She gave a sight and looked back at me. “None of my students have ever succeeded in touching me, but I swore to the queen that you would be taught obedience. I applaud you for making the cut, but insubordination cannot be tolerated.” She said. She then moved in and began to give me a real beating.

[SuRReAL OrC]

Gogogogogogogogo Arak!!! :bigclap:

[Inquisistor7]

Ths story is very good. The only complaint I have is that there are occasional grammatical mistakes. Nevertheless, please continue to grace us with your prose.

[Bullroarer]

“Hold still, let me take a look at that arm.” Jiriana’s voice said as she held my bruised limb. I had gotten into a small rumble with another Nerubian warrior. The more I lived in their icy world beneath the sun, the more I learned. I learned never to insult an experienced Nerubian warrior’s battle skills. My people were a very confined people in this ice prison. All of them were happy to be slaves to bullying queen and all of them had no interest in the outside world. They didn’t share my ambition, my desire or my rage. Jiriana was one of the few who understood.

Jiriana was a Nerubian female with long bluish black hair. Her exoskeleton was a nice bright red. She had the markings of a warrior. I may have been the size of a wolf, but she was the size of a big ram. She was heavier, and older, but she treated me with more respect. I do not know how to explain, but she seems to be very different once I enter a room. She seemed to be very curious about me and my attitude as well as my history.

“So you once broke the neck of a raging frost tiger?” She asked trying to break the silence and trying to make a little small talk.

“No it was a night elf tiger. It is similar, but slightly more aggressive. Since I was muzzled, they had to chain the beast to a pole. I was able to jump on and wrap the chain around the neck.” I answered back.

“It must have been harsh living under Varg?” She said kindly.

“I lived.” I said abruptly. I really did not want to talk about Varg. His name made my anger surge. She probably felt my rage in the air, but it only served to heighten her curiosity.

“Why do you let rage control you?” She asked.

“Why do you let your queen control you?” I answered back.

“Arak I meant no disrespect.” She said apologetically. She seemed a bit guilty for a moment.

“Well, I guess you are correct.” Seeing her upset did not make me feel correct. Perhaps I was developing a disease. “Rage is what has kept me alive. My anger towards Varg has kept me alive all the years of my existence. My hatred towards Varg allowed me to ignore my pain.”

“I sometimes feel similar emotions, but I usually ignore them. As a child I was taught to hold everything within. I was taught to keep emotions inside, until I was of adult age.” She said sadly. “I sometimes wonder what it must be to be like you Arak. You freely express yourself despite age.”

“Well I sometimes hope to have more control” I blinked a little, and I was beginning to feel very uneasy.

“Arak, how old are you?” She asked.

“About two years under your age.” I answered back, feeling my joints tighten a bit. Then a strange, yet unknown scent entered my nasal.

“You may leave now Jirian.” Camelo’s voice came from above. Camelo had the uncanny ability to follow me without my notice. I really did not enjoy the company of my trainer. As soon as she dropped down silently, Jirian left the tunnel silently.

“What is it that you want?” I roared.

“You have finally come of age?” She smiled wickedly.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked.

“Do not play coy with me. I could easily sense your feelings as well as Jirian’s. You were thinking of mating with her.” She chuckled a little bit.

“Your words mean nothing to me. Just get out of my sight.” I said sharply.

“You are one of the prize males in the colony. The queen herself asked me to raise you. Do you not know that most Nerubians cannot reproduce? Do you know that Jirian can never produce eggs? You should be glad I saved you from the dishonor of having mated with something so low.” Camelo snickered and then she continued, “You do realize that there are plenty of lesser queens and high ranking females who would enjoy having you for a mate, including me.”

”So I can be eaten like all other Nerubian males after mating. Believe me I know your traditions, and I have done my share of learning. I will never give my life to anyone and if I did, it would not be you. I care nothing for these archaic traditions and if I choose to pick a female that cannot reproduce to be my mate, then I will do so.” My anger was grinding against my nerves.

“You will belong to me Arak. Did you really think the Prime Queen chose you to be her mate? You are one of her grandchild or great grandchild, she controls us, but she does not create eggs anymore. For some reason, after Valdurna gave birth to you, she stopped laying new eggs. She has left that to females such as me. Your purpose is to give something to our army, though I don’t know what the queen thinks you can offer our warriors. You see, I have been very loyal and she has agreed that when you are no capable of battling in the army, then I can have you. Whether you accept it now or later, it makes no difference. You are destined to be mine.”

“The queen may control my body, but never my heart. You think that after I can no longer fight then you can take me, well then you should give up your hopes. I will never stop fighting.” I raised my eye lids.

“You say that now, but soon the fight will be knocked out of you. Then you will not have a choice.” She said as she left me alone in the tunnel.

[Bullroarer]

Next Chapter

I walked in a world without any solid footing. There was nothing, but fog that covered my very limbs. I went through out this place, but it seemed as though I was moving through circles. There was only a little light, but it seemed to come from everywhere. Perhaps I was dead and my trainer had finally chosen to slay me. Perhaps this was the afterlife?

“I believe you are looking for me?” A voice murmured from behind. I turned to see who was speaking to me from my behind. To my surprise it was a Nerubian of Web Spinner creed. He was about one-third larger than me, but he carried himself with pride and dignity. His voice was familiar as well as his face, but I could not understand why. His armor was a darker black than my juvenile level exoskeleton. His back also had spider designs upon the back.

“I am only looking for a way out of this place.” I grunted at the fool.

“I have tried to get out of this place for a long time, but I have never been able to in my life.” The older spider responded.

“What is this place?” I asked in a bit of confusion. The older spider seemed a bit more relaxed than I was, yet there was a great fire hiding behind the great black orbs. He turned to me with a sort of grin.

“This is where choices are made Arak. You can try to make sense of things, or you can accept the confusion of the world and move on. You have always been here Arak, looking for answers.” The old spider replied, he arched his head a little and I could see his lithe body.

“This is the first time I have been here and how do you know my name?” I growled.

“I may have not lived to see your birth, but I always knew who you were. You are so much like your mother, always wanting answers and fixed problems without taking the time to look. Arak, you may never realize this, but I am one of those whom you have yearned for. Your years of torment and pain were not in vain child. They helped shape the creature you are. I have watched you from the distance in the darkest of shadows and I am proud. One day you shall leave this place just as I did.” The creature looked at me as though his very eyes could pierce my soul. Only the queen has ever done that, but her eyes caused me fear. The big spider’s eyes gave me warmth.

“You knew my mother? Wait a moment. You said that you have never escaped this place in your life. Now you say that you have left this place?” I questioned.

“Yes, every word is correct. My time ended the very day your time began. You are different from others of the Nerubian race. I am glad that you are different. You have no idea how proud it makes me that you alone are the first to go against the queen’s will. You should awaken child, it does no good to spend too much time in search of secrets. Your time awaits Son of Arad. How unfortunate I cannot come.” He gently patted my head and turned away.

“What do you mean your time ended the day I was born and why can you not come with me?” I boomed.

“You shall learn later.” The other Nerubian laughed.

“You are just a liar.” I growled. “If you really had known my mother, you would know her name was Valdurna, not Arad.”

“I was speaking about your father child.” He laughed and his claw slapped the ground.

“You know my father?” My curiosity surged all of a sudden.

“After all that I have said, you do not know. Maybe we shall talk about this on the other side of the river. Now it is time for you to awaken.” He said as he turned.

“Wait, do not leave me. What do you mean the other side of the river?” I roared, but the fog devoured him and I awoke to find myself in my cave once more. It was just a dream.

[Bullroarer]

Next Chapter

“Nice, very nice.” The queen said as she paced around me. It has been many years, but my body has finally the final step of change. My exoskeleton was neatly chiseled and glistened like obsidian. The hair upon my head had been completely shaved off and had been painted red with a yellow spot on the top. My once hairy legs had become smoother and sleeker. My jaws had reached maximum growth and would easily put a white tiger to shame. I was the size three large bears mottled together. For years I had been trained ruthlessly by Camelo to become stronger and faster. After so many days of torture beneath the icy world, the queen had begun her inspection.

“So are you ready for battle?” She asked the gigantic queen nibbled a bit on her claws. She was understandably nervous, since I had created a mental block years ago. My mind was strong, disciplined and focused, thus the queen could not read a single thought passing between the crevasses of my mind. I could attack her, but I knew that I was no match. I could runaway, but her trackers would hunt me down. I was still a slave and all the years of training under Camelo were only to make me a better slave.

“I thirst for my enemy’s blood.” It is a common warrior saying among the Nerubians. I personally do not care for Arachnid blood, for it was not half as salty as that of a mammalian. I have no choice, but to obey this pompous queen. I had play calm and dutiful like any other Nerubian. All I am now is a weapon. I am the sword, but the queen was the wielder, and Camelo was the blacksmith.

“Then leave my chambers and do not return until you bring forth to me my enemy’s head.” She smacked me across the thrown room with the back of her claw. It was a show of strength and power, to show who was in charge. The body language could be translated into a very few words, ‘I am stronger and I own you.’
***

Amunyet, the commander of the armies stood atop a large chunk of ice. She was a lithe, green shelled Nerubian warrior with a large frame. She bore a scar upon her head that probably went a few centimeters into her brain. Her claws were exceptionally sharp, but her exoskeleton had dulled in both color and edge. She was nearing the end of her life span as many of the warriors. Me and a few other Nerubians were locked within steel cages. We were to be released upon Amunyet’s order.

A small group of mammalians seemed to be building some sort of base within the ice. These mammalians were quite tall, standing upon two legs. They had very long hair, which stood up. Their skin was blue and their hair was white. They also had extremely giant tusks. According to many of the murmurs around my cage, these creatures were known as Ice trolls. Many of the fanatical Nerubians considered this an abomination. Others considered it an insult to the queen’s rule. Some even believed this to be this to be some sort of joke.

Amunyet signaled me to come forward. The steel door was opened and I was let loose. Nerubian warriors slipped and jumped out of my way as I slowly walked up to the great warrior. I could hear the others whispering behind my back. They called me monster, and animal. My days under Camelo’s training had caused numerous problems for the denizens of Azjol Nerub.

“Well Arak, it is time for you to test your shell.” She said. Amunyet’s eyes were clear. When I looked at her, I saw no fear. She was indeed a brave warrior as well as a zealot for the queen. If only she knew the queen as I did. Her composure was relaxed, but her claws were ready to cut out my throat at the slightest wrong movement. She began to speak again after a brief moment of silence, “Let us see what you have become over the years?”

I did not speak to her. To speak in anger was to show weakness to the enemy. I merely averted my eyes to the group of trolls settling down for camp. I searched deep within my emotions as I had done during training. My rage was the source of my strength. Camelo had taught me to harness the power of that rage. My emotions were simply an armory of weapons waiting to be unleashed upon the world.

I closed my eyes and there I saw the fire. Everything I ever hated in my life was bought back from the recesses of my mind. The images of Varg, my centaurian mother, the wolves, the pittbulls, the gnolls, the muzzle, the cage, Camelo, the queen and other things passed through my thoughts in the span of a few seconds. The enormous fire that forever burned away the darkest of shadows lived within me. The fire that lived in the hearts of all sentient beings, but only opened by a few began to fester. I could feel my entire body being consumed from the inside by an internal volcano. My exoskeleton felt like completely falling apart as more and more hatred grew within my soul. Steam began to come out of the joints in my exoskeleton and the ice beneath me was beginning to liquefy.

I opened my mouth and a burning hot flame came screaming out of my gullet. The flames surged forward and the ice trolls looked in shock as the fiery blast came plowing forth. The inferno melted snow as it quickly came forward. The blast completely covered all of these creatures. They had stood absolutely no chance against the power of my flames. Several of the Nerubians behind me stepped back in fear. Amunyet simply stood there with her eyes wide open. Only the Prime Queen had ever shown such awesome power.

“I must go find a head for the queen. I would like to be alone for a while.” Amunyet looked at me for a second. She did not trust me, but the words of the queen always ruled the thoughts of Amunyet. She and the other Nerubians did nothing as I walked into the base of burned troll corpses. I predicted that only forty eight trolls had been present during the event. I moved around the corpses looking for a good head. Unfortunately so many bodies were burned beyond recognition.As I sifted, I found a bundle wrapped in wool. I touched the soft bundle, which smelled like roasted goat. I peaked inside to see the face of an infant troll. It was a child wrapped in a bundle just as I had once been. It was a child, which had been dealt a cruel. It was a child just like I had once been. I looked upon a melted pool of ice to see my reflection. I had just killed an innocent child. I have always killed, for it was my nature. One of my first acts in life was killing a Keeper of the Groves. I had slain numerous hounds and other powerful beasts. I slew Varg, my tormentor. I was a killer, but why did the death of this child bother me so much?

[Inquisistor7]

Your skill is very worthy of praise. This story's descriptions of Nerubian society and the development of Arak are all well done.

My emotions were simply an armory of weapons waiting to be unleashed upon the world.


Nice use of metaphor.

[Bullroarer]

“Arak, you have been lying here for the past seven days. Even the strongest of Nerubians require food and sustenance.” Jiriana came to visit me in my cave beneath the city of Azjol Nerub. I had spent a while just sitting here on my thorax ever since the destruction of the troll encampment. What difference does it make if I killed a thousand troll infants? Killing was a part of existence, the elder Nerubians would say. The weak must die so the strong may live on and the offspring will be even stronger. It was my code, yet the code now made little sense. What if I had been that troll child? What would have happened if my fire had been extinguished before it had a chance to burn?

“Jiriana, I have been feeding from a hole below the ice. The queen gave me a cave with pool of squid and eel.” I rolled to my side so I would not have to look at her. It was embarrassing enough that I felt pain over the death of a mere troll, but to be hounded by Jiriana was only adding to my frustration. She was very close to me, perhaps the closest companion I have ever had. She made me feel things other than hate and anguish.

“Arak, don’t you dare turn your back. I want to know why you are torturing yourself like this and if you don’t tell, I will beat your black shell until it turns gray.” She grabbed me by the back of the head and yanked me off of my feet. The pressure on my skull was enormous. My body may have grown, but so had hers. She was still about 1/3 larger than me. Her claw scrunched together so tightly, I thought my head would explode. She may have been very quiet and polite, but once angered, she could raise some trouble.

“I am not in the mood right now. So go away and let me be. Go away and let me sleep.” I yanked myself out of her grip and flopped back down on my slab of granite. I curled my head with my claws upon my ear holes. My level of rage was beginning to rise once more. I simply could not tolerate her persistent questions always hounding me.

She grabbed me with all four of her upper limbs and made me face her eye to eye. I saw my own reflection in those eyes. I saw how Jiriana must see me now. I had never seen myself like this before. It was almost as though I were some other creature. I looked and I saw something I did not want to become. Her voice became very serious and almost cut through me like a solid knife, “What if I choose not to go away? Are you going to strike me Arak? If you want then go ahead and strike me.”

“You think I won’t!” My voice became completely absorbed in rage. I raised my claw and looked at Jiriana. She stood there and faced me without even moving. My claws could penetrate metal, yet she stared at me without any fear. I raised my claw even higher. I was going to prove to her how strong I was. I took my claw slowly put it back to my side. For some reason I did not strike her.

“Well go ahead and strike me if that is what you want?” She baited me, bud I just hung my head there in shame. I had lost my edge. I had become weak. I could not even strike a lowly, non-reproductive, worker/warrior class female.

“I can’t.” I said meekly. I broke down into tears. Very few Nerubians ever do such a thing after the nymph stage. I have never sobbed in my life and the total loss of control had overcome me.

“Because that is not who you are Arak. It is not who you can ever be. You actually care about those around you. You are not the Queen, you are not a general and you are not a Noble. You may have Noble blood, but at heart you are just like your father.” She answered.

“Only Nobles can give birth.” I growled. How could she possibly know what was happening to me now and how could she have known my father.

“Not your father. There was a reason the Queen gave him to Valdurna. Your father was a mutation. He was the first worker with the ability to reproduce. Your father could not throw webs, or slash or spray poison. Your father was a worker. You are the product of the Prime Queen’s experiment.” She said right into my face. Her eyes never wavered. There was no sign of deception.

“No. It cannot be. I cannot be a mere worker. Do you know the power that I wield? It is completely preposterous that I could be born of a worker.” I roared. The words felt empty for in my heart I knew that she was not lying.

“I knew your father before you were even hatched. I was only a nymph then, but I knew him. Your father was a worker.” She nodded her head.

“So that explains my weakness.” I grumbled. I was the spawn of a mere worker. I was the son of a mutation. I was the son of a freak. This explained why I looked different from all the other Nerubians around me.

“You’re wrong Arak. Your father’s blood does not make you weak. It makes you stronger.” Jiriana answered. That night I told her about my life and I told her about the troll child. She stayed beside me through the hours and listened to my tale. Any other Nerubian would have called me weak, but she did not. I felt a weight being taken off that night and I felt as though I had found someone, whom was more than a friend.

[Bullroarer]

Crack! Camelo struck me with one of her claws. I never really knew how strong she was until now. Somehow she found out about Jiriana and was now driven completely mad with jealousy. The Queen had promised me to her, but instead I chose another. The look on Camelo’s was pure loathing. She had worked for years for the chance to mate with me and increase her status in Nerubian society.

“You simple, idiotic fool. Do you realize what you have done? No one will want to bear children with you now that you have already lowered yourself to the level on a non-reproductive. Honestly how could you do this to me, after all the training I put into you. After putting up with your insufferable temper tantrums. How could you deny me my one chance to get of this life? Do you honestly know what it is like to train young imbeciles like you how to fight? Do you know how rare a reproductive male is among the Nerubian? Damn you.” She screeched and picked up an iron, then whacked me in my head once more. KLANG! The cold metal almost decapitated me.

“You worthless little snit. You impudent bastard. You took away my one chance. My only chance. The Queen promised you for me and this is how you repay my hard work and sacrifice. Without me you wouldn’t even be able create smoke. You would still be some cheap gladiator from a mammalian amusement park. You would still be nothing. Now your reduce yourself back to nothing by becoming a mate of something like Jiriana?” She took her iron rod and began to swing it at me again. Her ravings finally got inside my own mind.

As the metal came down, I grabbed the heavy steel with my own claw. Camelo’s eyes widened as I stood back onto my own feet. “Don’t ever utter Jiriana’s name in my presence. Don’t ever even mention her name when I am not in your presence. I am the Prime Queen’s Monster and you are just a trainer. Not even the minor Queens nor the Generals of the Prime Queen tell me what to do, let alone you. Your nothing, but a jealous fool, who thought she could control me and make me like one of those submissive drones the minor Queens have. Do you think I forgot every whipping and beat down you gave me. Well guess what, you can no longer thrash me like a juvenile. If you ever even look at me and Jiriana, I will kill you, literally and you know that I could do such a thing in broad daylight. You know that if I did such a thing in front of the entire Nerubian population, I would not even get a slight punishment.”

Camelo’s eyes widened in fear. She could see that I was no longer the weakling she used to torture. She tried to strike me again, but I lowered my head beneath her blow. I latched onto her legs and lifted her girth into the air. Then I tossed her through the air. She actually flew through the air and slammed into a heavy wall of ice. Slowly she slid down until she touched the floor. I snorted, and bolted out of the room.

“Bitch.” I grunted.
***

“Your majesty.” I answered as I entered the throne room. Upon my arrival, the healer spiders left me alone with the elderly creature. I had no idea what was going on, but the Queen’s health was in very bad shape. I truly felt pity for her. She may have been very ruthless to me, but I always respected her power. It was sad to see such a mighty creature laid low by sickness.

“Arak, I am dying. My time is very short.” She murmured in a very low tone. I knew the Queen had been sick for a while, but no one expected her to be dying. She seemed so drained and her exoskeleton had turned dull. She had lived centuries, yet now she seemed to age by the moments. It was as if someone were draining the very essence from her.

“That is sad my Queen. Truly I feel a loss.” I answered.

“You are a terrible liar Arak. I know that you hate me with utter loathing. When you first came to me, I saw the disgust in your eyes. You are probably angry that you are not the one to finally end my life, ruh ruh ruh.” She chuckled and then her chuckled turned into a throated cough.

“Is there a reason why you have summoned me, oh Prime Queen?” I turned my head, for she had just seen right through my lie.

“I want you to have a gift.” She said tenderly. On her death bed the Prime Queen’s personality had changed drastically. She did not seem menacing at all. Slowly she gave me stone jar that smelled very sweet.

“What is it?” I asked curiously.

“It is my royal jelly. Any female that digests it will be able to reproduce and will gain all the power that I once had. I know of the choice you made Arak and I believe Jiriana will make an excellent ruler.” She wheezed.

“Thank you so much.” This was the only gift I have ever received in my life. Had I not loathed the Queen so much, I might have embraced.

“Do not thank me. Just promise you will find the assassin who poisoned me. I should have lived another century or two, but fate has other things in store. Go now and leave me to die alone in peace.” She motioned with her claw and thus I left her presence with the royal jelly in my claws.

[Flak]

One reason I find it hard to reply to your stories is because you never respond to what we say.


Hell, it was a good installment either way.

Keep it up.

[Bullroarer]

Keep it up. THanks Flak dawg

Your skill is very worthy of praise. This story's descriptions of Nerubian society and the development of Arak are all well done. Thanks for the praise. I don't know whether I am worthy, but I do believe my skills are getting better. Your skills are improving as well Inquisistor

Gogogogogogogogo Arak!!! Arak Nerub rocks. Thanks Surreal orc

Keep it up, this story is cooooolz0rz I am going to keep it up Krewl Rain

Cool. I wonder what's next? You shall see Liver that is Brave.

[Inquisistor7]

Thanks for the praise. I don't know whether I am worthy, but I do believe my skills are getting better. Your skills are improving as well Inquisistor



Your humility is very impressive. Thanks for the compliment, by the way.

Anyway, this installment was good, as always. I think it is quite obvious that camelo is a selfish prick. The only thing that I don't comprehend is why exactly the Queen thinks Jirianda will make a good leader. Perhaps I am missing something.

[BraveLiver]

I think that Elaine kinda slipped in sexuality into others' stories. She apologizes and offers a deadly lapdance. :g laugh:

[Flak]

Interesting that the word brothel be mentioned in my story after all this time.


No, BL.

Elaine DOESN'T hold sway over our minds.





'sides, I'm about those buff orcs. They just REEK of masculinity.

[Bullroarer]

“Camelo stand aside.” I said as politely as I could outside my cave. Apparently she knew what was within my jar. Camelo’s eyes were filled with a sort of envy and cruelty I had never seen before. She had the desire to become a queen and the fact that Jiriana would receive the honor over her made her even bitterer than before. She had the eyes of an old cat watching its owner feeding a younger kitten. Her emotions were of no concern to me. She was just another obstacle in my path.

“I will kill you before I let someone like her become our next queen. You have no idea how much I served the Prime Queen. I deserve it ten times more than she does.” She growled like she-wolf. I almost pitied her, but then I remembered all those days of torture. My small puddle of pity evaporated back into clouds of loathing. She was my enemy. She probably thought she would rule Azjol Nerub and have me as a submissive slave.

“I know you would try to kill me, just like you are the one who poisoned the Prime Queen.” I answered back as her eyes widened in horror. She was completely thrown off balance by my statement. Her reactions were so predictable.

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” Her speech and voice stumbled as she babbled with her lies. Camelo never had much ability to lie.

“Means: you were very close to the Prime Queen and I bet she hardly ever read your thoughts and emotions. You are also in expert in assassination because there are not that many poisons that would kill a Prime Queen. You have are also well known for serving the Prime Queen her food.” I lifted my mandibles at her. I was being cocky and arrogant, but it was worth the expression on her face.

“Motive: You knew that I was becoming more favorable to the Queen. So your position was being threatened. The respect people once gave you was being given to me instead. All that ever mattered to you was social status.” I continued in the monotone voice she used to use upon me.

“Opportunity: While I was talking the queen before I massacred those trolls. You were able to sneak in and plant the poisons. You knew the Queen would have her full concentration on me and not you.” I kept on tearing through all her lies and enjoyed watching her squirm. If she were a mammal, she would have been covered in sweat.

“Evidence: After I left the queen, I immediately expected you of being the killer. I find several clay jars with murloc skin venom. Everyone knows you collect the stuff. I once a murloc fight a gryphon in Varg’s arena. I watched the gryphon kill the beast then die after eating it. No one else knows what type of poison killed the queen, but I do. Anytime I wanted, I could reveal you.” I whispered and Camelo seemed dazed and in a trance. I knew she would now attack me. Her behavioral pattern was easy to read.

She jumped at me with the intent to kill. Now I could tell people I was only defending myself. My jaws open and the flames come out. I cannot see her through the flames, but I hear her scream. When I close my jaws, I see nothing, but a pile of ash and a few workers staring at me. Camelo had been incinerated beyond the point of recognition. I have wanted to do that ever since I first learned how to use a breath of fire.

Anyway, this installment was good, as always. I think it is quite obvious that camelo is a selfish prick. The only thing that I don't comprehend is why exactly the Queen thinks Jirianda will make a good leader. Perhaps I am missing something. The Queen didn't, Arak did and she respects Arak's decision.

[Bullroarer]

“Arak, please help!” Jiriana cried as the transformation began to take its effect. She was slowly transforming into a Prime Queen. I held one of her claws as she began the metamorphosis. Had I known that this would be such an intense situation, I would never have given her the jelly. I cursed myself under my breath as I held my mate down. She screeched as longer legs suddenly burst out of her old legs.

“Get out of here you fools, before I burn you alive!” I roared at the healers and seers that were surrounding us. They all heard the stories of what I had done to Camelo. One glance from my dark eyes was enough to send them all out of the entrance. I returned to holding Jiriana down as she began rip out of her old exoskeleton. How could I have ever done such a thing to her? No one had ever told me what it would be like to transform.

“Please Arak, please stop it!” She wailed as her back began to bulge. Her rear seemed as though it were about to explode. There was blood all around us. I could taste her terror in the very that I breathed. It was the most sickening taste I could have ever imagined. All that Jiriana had done for me and I did this to her, I deserved death. I could actually see some muscle tissue poking out in some of the areas of her body.

“I wish I could, but I don’t know how.” I tried to comfort her as best that I could. I have never been much a religious person, but if any deity did exist then may it bless my mate. If there is any sin that she is suffering for then may I suffer for it instead. I made my silent prayer in my mind and watched as her bottom exploded with entrails spewing out everywhere. I closed my eyes and held her tightly, for I was afraid of watching. I could just hear her screams through my ear holes.

“You can open your eyes now Arak. The transformation is complete.” Jiriana’s shrilly, yet tender voice entered my ear holes. My eyes opened once more and I saw Jiriana’s new body. Her fangs were much larger and her exoskeleton had become blue as sapphire with splotches of green for a pattern. She was larger than the former queen and her claws seemed like the beaks of hawks. She seemed to move with a brilliant red aura that was coming out of her of her magnificent skull.

“Are you alright?” I asked quietly. The pain was gone from her eyes, it was as if she were in whole different world. Little stars began to crackle all around and all of a sudden she disappeared then reappeared right beside me. She made little men out of puddles of water and then wolves from the very shadows around me. She made a giant swarm of insect appear around us and then they all turned into white flowers.

“I am more than alright Arak. I can feel so much arcane magic simply pouring out of the cracks of my exoskeleton. No wonder the queen could order you around so easily. I could disappear and reappear in Lorderon. I could go from Azeroth to Kalimidor anytime I wanted. I can hear the thoughts of all the Nerubians.” Then she stopped and stared at me longingly. “I can hear all their thoughts except yours. May I please look within your mind?”

I wondered if I should share my mind willingly with another creature. The former Prime Queen had gone inside my mind and used my own thoughts to torture me. I was a bit hesitant, but I agreed by nodding, “You may look inside my mind.”

Her thoughts melded into my thoughts. I could feel her consciousness floating around in the crevasses of my head. I was one with her emotionally, physically and mentally. In a way, I felt as though we were one creature. She knew of the pains in my life and I felt the emptiness in hers. Her arms spread wide and I was taken into her embrace. If I could spend an eternity feeling as I did right then, then I would gladly do so.

[SuRReAL OrC]

Fire...breathing.....Nerubian! :bigclap: :bigclap: :bigclap:

[Bullroarer]

My life had reached the highest point it had ever gone. The Nerubian eggs came and I had become father to several thousand Nerubian infants. I am now called upon as Anub’ Arak. Most importantly I was with Jiriana, my queen. I would simply spend hours with her in a tower of the underground city with her. In our private place away from all others, I would become one with her in my mind. Every thought and emotion of joy, she could simply make it arise once more in my soul.

Those were the good times, but then the good times ended. They came from the shores of the iceberg. Walking freaks of unimaginable creation, they came through our empire. They came in human corpses, Nerubian corpses, elvin spirits, and dragaon corpses. They had allied themselves with the nemesis of the Nerubians, the gargoyles. It was not long before they were joined by corrupt human sorcerers. They made steal contraptions, which could fire dead bodies like weapons. Most horrible of all were creatures made from the different parts of other creatures. These monstrosities had the limbs of humans, dwarves, elves and other mammalians all put together. Their very bellies had a giant mouth opening wide. These creatures even caused me to grow a hint of fear. These creatures were ABOMINATIONS. These foul creatures mutilated my people more than all others. Our webbing, insect clouds and venom could barely even harm them.

As my people fell, I had no choice, but to separate from the queen. I know that I am going to die. It is strange, but I still think of that quillboar that shared my cell. Death was the destination of all creatures. Part of me wanted to rest, but another part wanted to live. I spoke nothing of this to my soldiers. I did not want them to know how I felt. True, I was not zealot. Now that I had felt the joy of life, I did not want to loose it.

The earth trembled as we stood our ground, awaiting death. Then I saw the Abominations come over the hill. They were so utterly hideous with their mismatched limbs and bulbous size. Every time they walked, blood would fly out in every possible direction. Some of the soldiers in my unit actually trembled in their armor at the sight of the Abominations.

As soon as they came within one hundred yards, I released my flames upon the first line of troupes. Nearly eight Abominations were fried instantly, but there several others still marching forward. The remnants of the once proud Nerubian army look upon me with hope and I bellowed. A battle howl came from my people and they began to fire their swarms of insect upon the bloodthirsty Abominations. Our weapons did some damage, but still they continued, as if pain meant nothing.

They charged into us with mighty blades of rusted iron. They began to battle with my people in terms of metal vs exoskeleton. Claws slashed, blades thrashed, and fangs tore open chunks of meat. One unlucky Nerubian was swallowed whole by the belly stomach of an Abomination. We hacked, bit and fired for all our strength. How unfortunate that the Abominations mostly suffered minor injuries. One Nerubian cut the heads of two Abominations off, but then he was cleaved in two. I battle for all I was worth, even though my body was weak from the magic loss.

Screaming I yanked one of the creatures in front of me and threw him upon his own companions. I couldn’t see anything clearly with all the blood in my eyes, but I could hear my people dying all around me. Then all the moaning stopped and I realized that I was alone. I don’t know whether I killed seven Abominations that day or if I had killed twenty three, but I knew I was beat. Bleeding from my knees to the giant gash on the side of my neck, I continued the struggle. I was a killing machine, using every trick Camelo had ever taught me. I battled and battled until the loss of blood made me fall. There I thought for the queen.

I lay there helpless, like a baby thrown into the ocean. My body filled with terror I had never known as the Abominations stopped their bloody hacking. My mind was dazed and I was unable to make a clear vision of the world around me. I could hear the voice of the master of the Abominations, Nerz’ Hul. I was given a choice between eternal life and death. I thought about my mate and I wanted to live to see her again. I made my choice. Now I wish I had chosen my death. Now I am Anub Arak, the Crypt Lord. I am a puppet to these creatures for all eternity and I wish my queen shall never see me again. This is my life now and every moment I live is a living nightmare. I have one wish left and that is to die. I am now nothing more than a mere mockery of life. I have nothing else left nor will I ever gain anything. I have reached my destination in the hands of my master, Nerz’Hul.

[Bullroarer]

Well I know this story was not much, but I would like a review.

[AlarStormBringer]

I haven't had time to finish it all yet. I need to find out where I left off and then continue from there. From what I could tell when I read it, it was quite a bit better than your previous works in certain ways. It may've been small, yet for some reason I found it more.. intruiging.

[SuRReAL OrC]

Cool. I liked this chapter.

[Inquisistor7]

Well Bull, I would be happy to oblige and provide a review. I am far from being a long time member here, so I haven’t read all of your works so I fear I cannot say how much you have improved. I will, however, provide what I can in the way of a review.

1. Concept: I for one was intrigued with the basis of the story, namely that of Arak’s development. What was perhaps most novel about this story was that it came from the perspective of the Nerubians, of whom not much has been written.

2. Character Development: Arak’s character was well done and I for one could feel for him and his plight. Also, he comes across as a lonely individual seeking out companionship (going back to his childhood and all that). Another thing of interest to me was that, despite his desire to better himself and be free of constraints he still yearned for someone to depend on. As far as the other characters go, well I cannot think of much to say (in a critical sense). Of course the other characters are not going to be as well developed as the main character, but I still could get a solid sense of who they were.

3. Style: Truly, this story was well written overall. The transition between third and first person perspective seemed a little abrupt at first, but in my opinion it allowed for a better look into Arak’s character. Now, as far as descriptions are concerned I cannot complain. I mean, I never had any trouble getting a clear picture in my mind.
-Literary devices: Metaphor and similes were now and again used (if memory serves), and they didn’t feel superfluous. As far as themes are concerned, I was struck by Arak’s determination to survive and attempt to make his own path, which ended in a most unfortunate way.

4. Grammar and spelling: There were at least a handful of these errors in each chapter, and even though I could make the sentence out those errors still slipped me up a bit. Did these mistakes cause great harm to the story? not really, but they disrupted the flow at least a little.

5. The Ending: In my humble opinion, the ending of a story is crucial to its enjoyment. To be honest, this story’s ending felt a little awkward. I mean, it brought things to a close, but it didn’t seem as thorough as previous chapters. Maybe it is just me, I don’t know.

So, overall I enjoyed this tale. By the way, if you want me to be more specific about any of the above then just let me know and I will do what I can.

[DriftingSpirit]

Bullroarer, now that after a year's planning, I am officially ready to make this into a campaign project. But before I begin, I wish to know what are your expectations.

[DriftingSpirit]

Through out the whole story, Bullroarer never made clear who was that old male spider that was talking about Arak's parent. Maybe this would be a good time to tell me who was that old nerubian telling Arak about Arak's dad telepathically.

[Ferrous]

Yeah, there are a few mistakes, and the installments aren't always connected. But the writing is superb. I'm thoroughly enjoying this....

One thing though - Varg must've been quite the sharpshooter to get a head shot while drunk :y-huh: