As Krael's feet touched the sands of Klentrada that would have killed a lesser being, he thought back to his goal. To kill a Krayt Dragon, earn respect and honour from those who he told of his feat, and bring the Dragon's Pearl back to his superiors as a trophy and proof of his strength and devotion. If he failed, he was to be stranded on this inhospitable, death-trap of a world, or be slowly and painfully devoured in the gut of Beast, slowly bleeding out from the jagged and deep tooth marks he would be given from the battle. He would eventually succumb, but his armour would prevent the beast from granting him a quick and painless death.
As the consequences of failure flashed through the Brute Captain's mind, he became suddenly more aware of the sun beating down on his maroon skin, as his large, and numerous claw-shaped scars began to glow a crimson. He stopped, and looked back, his footsteps in the sand all but disappeared in the subtle northerly breeze that he had barely felt touch the crimson hide of the large Baedurin. Slowly becoming more aware of his surroundings, the sun beating down on him, causing a light sweat to break. He gritted his teeth together, grinding them slightly as he faced forward again, and kept walking.
After a long walk in the blazing sun and gentle breeze, Krael came upon a small outcropping of red rock from the sand, accompanied with the large hole that was the tell tale sign of a cave within. He had travelled far from the mining station, and had seen little wildlife upon his way, and now as he looked around, he saw piles of bones from various creatures, some he faintly recognised the shape of from previous battles in the arenas. They were natures warning signs, a ward that pushed the wildlife of the planet, however thin and far between, far from this place. It would explain why the lair of the Dragon was so far from the mining facilities. It had awoken from it's nearly four month hibernation in the cold period to an empty stomach, and no food nearby. So it had travelled to find prey, crippled it, and brought it back to its lair to feast.
Krael was aware of the heat of the cave system, the very thing that had caused the Krayt to awaken. So instead of entering the burning hot pit to face certain death by exhaustion, heat stroke, or his blood literally boiling, he turned, stepping into the shadows cast by the rock formation, and reached to his back, drawing his large halberd. The metal of the pole was comforting, despite the burning hot temperatures it had reached from being exposed to the sun for so long. He turned, and planted the bottom of the halberd in the sand, waiting for the beast to return. With any luck, it would soon return from hunting, and he would have the element of surprise as the beast came back with an animal in its maw. It was better to fight a beast with hopes of a full stomach than a starving beast that saw him as its next meal.
But Krael was patient. And he had settled his doubts, and came to a conclusion on his life. He did not fear the consequences of failure. If he was too weak to defeat the Beast, he would survive, then he would hunt the wildlife of the planet, and force himself to become stronger, and keep fighting the beast until one of them succumbed to the cold relief of death. Gods willing, he would be the victor, and he would trek the countless tens of kilometres back to the mining facilities with some part of the damned beast as his trophy, and he would claim transport home. He would father another generation of Draelvasier, naturally born with the mixed genes of a mother and father. If he was too old to father young, then he would dedicate himself to training the next generation personally.
This was not to be mistaken for self doubt, however, as he had also come to another conclusion.
He would claim the Dragon's Pearl as his trophy, even if he had to reach into the beast's living gullet and sort through the stones himself.
| [member=Primal Architect] |
