The endless skies of Karanos held a crimson hue as the sun was setting on Arkus, towering hardened sandstone spires were casting long shadows upon the sandy dunes. Wind was carving it's way through the sand, creating all manner of patterns in the fine grains. Three sandstone spires reached up into the sky, and almost triangular shaped, smooth platform in the middle of these spires. A male Warlock, dressed in fine red and black robes stepped into the platform, his long black hair billowing in the wind whilst having a slight malevolent grin on his pale face. His elven ears twitched as his eyes fixated on something, his grin faded as it seemed he became filled with anger. Burning red flames appeared in his palms, as opposite him was a Paladin; a female one at that. Dense and heavy armour covered all of her body, she was clearly a high-ranking Paladin due to the certain arrangement of sigils donned on her shoulderpads, possibly a captain of sort. A small slot for her amber eyes was cut out from her helm. She stepped forward in aggression as her silver and gold-lined sabatons slammed against the sandstone platform; wielding her heavy shield in her left hand, whilst equipping a greatsword in the other. "You're a long way from that filthpit you call your 'city'..." She said with an arrogant tone, while she angled her blade towards the Warlock, "... and you've come all this way... just to die."
The Warlock roared as he unleashed a blast of powerful flame towards the Paladin, she swiftly ascended her shield to cover herself for protection; but the projectile was destroyed halfway through making it's way towards her as an entity dropped down from above; it rose from it's kneeling position as it was facing the Warlock, flames enveloped it, but soon dissipated into black smoke. It was a Blademaster, an Orcish, and a very pissed off one. His teeth baring as veins pulsated though it's grey skin, the sound of him inhaling and exhaling was the only sound in the dunes as his shoulders rose up and down, he was tall, very tall, taller than both the Elven Warlock and the steel-covered Paladin. A kilt around his waist as well as leather straps going over his shoulders and around his torso; this was presumably for holding his weapons, however he was unarmed. His piercing green eyes staring directly at the Warlock. "Go back to where you came from. BOTH OF YOU!" he bellowed at the top of his voice as he cocked his head towards the Paladin whilst pointing at her.
The Paladin stepped forward, lowering her blade before saying in a calming voice, "Leave Blademaster, this feud does not concern-"
"Shut your mouth, Paladin bitch!" He growled. "You are tresspassing on OUR territory, and you will NOT bring your petty feuds to our lands!" His dark voice echoed through the valley.
The Warlock stomped forward, clearly distressed from being deprived of a good fight, "As the uhh.. 'Paladin bitch' was saying...", the Warlock came face to face with the Orcish Blademaster as he turned back around, grunting in the process before looking down at the scrawly caster. "This does not concern you; now be a good dog and go back to whatever cave you were hiding in, do so and I may give you a treat later."
The Warlock had just made a huge mistake, the Blademaster roared as he kicked the Warlock in the chest; winding him heavily as well as sending him backwards into the wall, he was temporarily incapacitated. "Enough of this! Let's get this over with." The Paladin yelled before charging straight for the Blademaster, she swung downwards to try catch him off guard; the Orc gazed over his shoulder as he rolled to the left, and her blade clashed into the sandstone. The Orc managed to land a blow on the Paladin, striking her helmet with his heavy fist; clearly denting it. She stumbled to the right as a small trickle of blood came from the bottom of her helmet. Even unarmed, the Blademasters were still incredibly dangerous. The Orc attempted another swing, but she lifted her shield quick enough to deflect; a large amount of skin was ripped from his knuckle as he struck the barbed shield. In a fit of rage, the Blademaster grabbed ahold of the shield and ripped it from her grasp, still dazed from the blow to the head, she attempted to jump backwards, but the Orc had different plans with the shield, instead, he uppercut her with it, dealing another potentially deadly blow, as well as knocking her helmet off her head. The sound of metal clanking echoed as her helmet was scattered across the floor; her golden hair was let loose as her lip had been split open from the first initial strike. She arched over, her eyes set on the Orc as she gripped her greatsword with both hands, before unleashing a battlecry and sprinting straight for the Orc; she gave an arcing swing from the left, whereas the Blademaster had angled the shield that it'd scrape and hit the nearby sandstone pillar, which it did; it gave a metallic ring as the blade shattered, a fragment of which shot directly into one of the the Orc's eye. He batted her hand away as the hilt was thrown across the floor, and jabbed her in the stomach with the shield with immense force. The Blademaster tossed the shield aside as as he grabbed ahold of the Paladin's throat and lifted her up, all with one hand; the Orc's strength could not be matched by anyone within the Council nor the Order. She gasped for air as she reached behind her on the back of her armour, a hidden compartment of sorts? She pulled out a jaggal bowie knife and pierced the Orc's wrist. He reeled in pain as she was dropped back on the floor, she gave a powerful leg sweep, and the Orc fell onto his back; the woman rushed towards the Orc and onto her knees, and she drove the knife into the Orc's throat before he could react.
She withdrew the knife and stood, the dark blood of the Orc seeped onto and soaked into the sand. She cracked her back and neck whilst stretching her limbs; as powerful as Blademasters are, they are reckless, and with a single unseen strike they can be taken down. Her gaze turned itself onto the Warlock, which was still gasping for air, the Warlock was attempting to bring himself to his feet, but kept on sliding back down. The Paladin wiped the blood on the cloth of her tabard before storming over towards the Warlock, grasping him by the wrist to drag him onto his feet, readying the blade in the other hand; the Warlock had different plans, he angled his palm towards her face before unleashing another powerful blast directly in her face. She screamed as she stumbled backwards, the fire burned away her skin and hair; she still however had her grip on the Warlock, and drove the blade into his stomach and leaving it there. The Warlock teleported a short distance behind the Paladin, ripping the blade out from his body to prevent it from dealing more damage; the Paladin however was still groaning in pain, it was time to finish her off. She reached our her hand, growling and covering half of her face with her other hand. The powerful Warlock unleashed a torrent of superheated flame from both his palms, which first enveloped her hand, melting away the metal, the leather, and then her skin; the fire wrapped around her as it burnt her alive, she collapsed onto the floor and onto her stomach. The Warlock began to walk forward, still unleashing a beam of fire on the Paladin, her screaming stopped as her carcass was enveloped in flames. The Warlock stood straight, then looked down at his body, the immense cut in his stomach resulting in a huge loss of blood; and to prevent any more being lost, he ran his finger along the wound, cauterizing it. He'll need to get back to Xanderath quickly if he were to live.
A sense of victory filled the Warlock as he gazed around, the Paladin's burning corpse, and the Blademaster's- Wait. Where did his body go? There was a visible pool of blood, but no body. Fear filled the Warlock as he turned his head in every direction to see where he was, then he appeared in the distance... a gaping wound in his throat as blood still dripped down his chest, his eyes burning with the fires of rage, baring his blood-soaked teeth as his veins glowed with an eerie red hue. The sun was nearly set, for both the Warlock and for the day. The Warlock began to panic as he limped away in attempts to run away from the Blademaster who was in a Blood Frenzy, a final act to inflict as much damage as possible, they are neither dead nor living, they are outside the cycle; though their time is limited before they finally kick the bucket. The Orc unleashed a terrifying roar as he began to charge, kicking up sand in his wake. The Warlock didn't want to look back, all he was doing was muttering something himself, if it isn't him praying to the Gods that the berserker doesn't catch him, he should be. The Blademaster knocked his shoulder, spinning the Warlock around to face the deathly Blademaster, he slammed the Warlock by his throat and pressed him against the jagged sandstone pillar. Locked in his hold, the Blademaster began to tear at the Warlock's flesh, reopening the stomach wound that the Paladin inflicted, but doing so much more; his stomach was ripped open as his intestines were torn from his body and strewn across the floor; while the Orc was biting chunks of his flesh out of the Warlock's throat. More internal organs were thrown about as blood splattered everywhere, the Warlock's incomprehensible wheezing as he stared up at the sky, clawing at the Orc's grip. His limbs were next, an immense force pulled on the Warlock's left arm, his flesh, tendons and muscles tore as it was ripped from his body and thrown elsewhere. Finally, the Orc applied incredible pressure to the Warlock's skull with both hands, caving it in and crushing it; everything was splattered against the pillar. The Warlock's lifeless and desecrated body collapsed to the floor, and the burning rage in the Blademaster's eyes had faded as he too collapsed onto his back as his life ended.
This is a war that has been going on for decades, and it has yet to cease. The Council of the Damned fight against the expansive Order of the Three Lights, and the Blademasters fight with the highest bidder. Three lives, all of each different origin, entered this place, and none of them left to go back home and see their family. Never underestimate your enemies.
