Cataclysm: Dragonborn

Prologue

"So.... why exactly did you immigrate to Demacia in the first place?"

"Shut yer trap and wait for the order..."

Piercing green eyes strayed to the older, darker skinned man. A frown darkened the green eyes. "Still no dice?" The elder man ignored him. "Still no dice?" He spoke slightly louder as he repeated himself, but the man continued to ignore him. He grunted inaudibly and shrugged and sighed. "How much longer are we going to wait? Half of these damned tales have simply been fool's errands. How do we know this one is any different?"

"We wait until the captain tells us to stop waiting." The darker of the two pulled off his helm to scratch at a fresh scar that decorated his temple, running from the crown of his head, down across his ear, and ending just behind his jaw line. "Now shut up and keep watch, before I report you to your daddy."

Hidden amid the rocks along the edge of the desert, the pair of men were hunkered down, taking shelter from the sun and the slashing winds that crested the sands. Green eyes responded with an unintelligible grunt, but he shut his mouth and dropped down amid the rocks. He crossed his arms over his chest as he continued to look out over the desert landscape, kicking his legs out. He brushed long brown hair from his green eyes, glancing left and right and then scratched his head in frustration.

"What am I watching for anyway?" He muttered, gesturing out at the sand dunes as the wind that whipped across the top of the ripples of unbroken tan. "All I see is sand. All I've seen for the past two weeks has been bloody sand!" He looked over at the man who sat next to him. He didn't appear much older, but the hardened flesh around his eyes betrayed the fact that he has seen too much in too little time. Black hair hid the crease in his brow, the dark skin pulled taunt over the deep scar that ran from his hairline to his jaw. He held a gloved finger up to his lips and looked out towards the sands of the desert.

As if on cue, two rocks, each not much larger than his fist, stacked one on top of the other, started to rattle. One could have been forgiven for missing the rattle at first had there been any noise at all, but with only the distant howl of the wind to be heard, the rattle came as a welcome sound, breaking the constant silence.

"You shouldn't have been watching obviously..." The second man, visibly older and more seasoned, said with a wry grin breaking onto his face. The wrinkled flesh, tightened by the sun and too much tension, betrayed his age. "You should have been listening." He pointed to his ear and winked, patting the younger man on the shoulder, a scowl appearing on his young companion's face as he ducked down and set about collecting his belongings. He threw his dust cloak over his shoulders, pinning it in place with a small clip. Decorated with light blue stone, it took the shape of a circle with a feather running around the side and top, flaring away from it, with two more feather-like shapes below it.

"Wha-..." The younger man said, his eyes going wide as he watched the smooth, round stone rattle, the vibrations getting more and more violent.

"We're moving! Come on!" The older man shouted, ducking out from under the overhanging rocks and sticking his head up to look over the top of the rocks.

"Holy..." The green eyed soldier froze, staring up at the towering monster as it lumbered past.

"Damn, it's a big one!" The darker skinned soldier tossed his sword, shield, and pack up onto the rocks and then clambered up behind them, sticking a hand down. "Hurry it up, kid!" The younger man grabbed his arm and was hauled up onto the top of the rocks, the sunlight blinding him for a brief moment. He raised a hand to shield the sunlight from his face and his jaw dropped as he watched as a monster as large as a mountain strode directly towards him. He felt his knees go weak as he watched the great beast come thundering forth. It easily stepped over him, its long, slow steps carrying it hundreds of feet with every stride. It had wrinkly brown skin and thin, long front arms for gripping and maneuvering. Its back legs were rippling with muscles as it took a stride over his head, its foot, easily forty feet across, crashing down into the sand dunes. A long tail covered in spikes swayed overhead as it took another long stride.