The Invaders by Chulla

[Keeper Of Lore]

The Invaders

Chulla - January 17, 2006

Chapter 1: The Arrival

Chulla waded through the marshes, moving slowly and steadily
toward the figure in front of him. Making sure to make as little
noise as possible, he pulled a long throwing spear from the
basket on his back that his mother had woven of the local reeds.
The wolf in front of him perked it's ears up, and Chulla worried
that he had been detected, crouching down lower. Suddenly, Chulla
noticed the same thing that the wolf must have: A thunderous
noise coming from the east. This noise was different though, this
was no spring storm approaching, this was something else.
Suddenly out of the jungle a group of strange beings on top of
some creatures.

underous noise coming from the east. This noise was different
though, this was no spring storm approaching, this was something
else. Suddenly out of the jungle a group of strange beings on top
of some creatures. The beings, at this point yelling in some
strange language Chulla couldn't recognize, were mostly a sort of
a pink color, many being mostly devoid of hair except on their
head and face. They were also, Chulla noted, extremely short. One
in particular stood out. He wore a long flowing robe and carried
in his hand a large staff that ended in a shining round gem. The
creatures they were riding were large four-legged creatures, most
of them a dark color with the exception of the one that the
robe-wearer was on. The one he was riding seemed larger than the
other and was pure white in color.

Upon finding the wolf, the robed one raised his hand to the rest
of those with them. He pointed to the wolf with his staff, and
fire shot from the end. The wolf burst into flames and ran
straight toward the water. The group of strange beings seemed to
laugh and run off again, deeper into the jungle.

Chulla was running as fast as he can toward the village. There
was something very strange about these new creatures, and he had
to tell someone. He burst into the small building that he, his
brother, and his parents used for their home.

"Zuta'jin! Zuta'jin!" Chulla called out in his native language as
soon as he burst through the door.

"What is it brother?" Zuta'jin replied, obviously upset from
being disturbed from the potion he was putting together.

"I saw something out there...Something new. Some new creature.
They were small and pink and they walked on two legs."

"I told you Chulla, they're called Ogres." Zuta'jin said,
referring to the few local groups of Ogres that the Darkspears
begrudgingly shared the Islands with.

"No no, these were different, much smaller than Ogres. Plus, they
could conjure magic."

"Magic hmm? Perhaps you'll want to talk to Sen'jin. He'll know
what you should do."

With that, Chulla took off through the village, running toward
the large hovel that Sen'jin, leader of the Darkspear Tribe
inhabited. Stepping in through the door, he immediately drops to
his knee, bowing before Sen'jin.

"Great Sen'jin, I have something to tell you." Chulla spoke in a
calm manner, full of respect and admiration for his idol.

"They're here already?" Sen'jin said without turning to face
Chulla.

"Who?"

"The ones I saw in my vision...The ones who have come with no
purpose beyond destruction..."

[Keeper Of Lore]

Chapter 2: The Attack

“Humans, they’re called. I don’t know where they come from; the
vision just told me their name,” Sen’jin continued slowly.

“What else was in your vision?”

“I saw our villages all burning. I saw our people being
slaughtered. There was only a small group of us left and we were
cornered. At that point a great green fist came in and smashed
the Humans. It spoke to me in a strange language that I
understood; it said ‘We are here to save you.’”

Chulla nodded slowly and began to speak when from outside the
sound of drums began in the beat that signified danger.

“I’ll get the women and children out; you take the soldiers and
hold them off as long as you can. Don’t risk your lives for too
long, just long enough to get out of here. If my vision is
correct, we will not win this fight.”

As Chulla ran out of the hovel, he called out, telling the
warriors to prepare for battle. The scouts said the force was
still about a mile off, so they had a little bit of time to
prepare. The village was abuzz as civilians ran around packing up
their essentials and soldiers gathered up throwing spears.

By the time the civilians had begun to exit the village, the
Human force was almost upon them. As Chulla looked out over the
invading force, he knew that there wouldn’t be much of a chance
for the Darkspear. The Humans numbered anywhere from 150 to 200
strong, while the Trolls had only about 50 warriors on their
side. The front group of humans wore large metal armor that shone
in the sun. Behind this front group were a number of people
mounted on their beasts wearing robes. Chulla recognized the
robe-wearer he had seen earlier. He appeared to be more ornately
adorned than the other robe-wearers; his staff had a larger gem,
his clothes were brighter, and his was the only beast that was
pure white. He seemed to be the one ordering the company of
soldiers.

As soon as the Human force got into range, Chulla gave the order
to open fire. Spears flew through the air with a zing, but most
just bounced off of the Humans’ armor harmlessly. The humans
charged and immediately began killing everyone they found with
ease. It was only a few minutes before Chulla gave the order to
retreat. The Witch Doctors placed down magical totems to slow
down the Humans as they chased after the fleeing Trolls.

As Chulla looked behind at the village where he was born, he saw
the robe-wearers casting spells that caused the buildings to go
up in flame. He knew this was far from over…What he didn’t know
was how many of his friends and family would have to die before
Sen’jin’s vision came true…