Some reading material

File Under: Extended Story
Here now, to have some reading material in my absence, here's some lenghty reading for 'ya. No, it doesn't have to make sense.

Chapter 1: The Beginning Unleashed

For hundreds of years, most of the sand dunes were never touched by any creature of the earth. The Duma Valley was a long, rolling valley covered in sand dunes of tremendous size and length. And yet, one of the most impressive sights belonged to that of a rock formation. It was as if someone took a great wall and split it down the middle, leaving a great chasm. Certianly there were far taller heights than these walls, but it was certainly a fall that would spell out great harm, or possibly, even death. One would wonder upon seeing the chasm for the first time how deep the chasm once was before sands were blown in over the years.

On a normal day, there would be only a few brave souls trekking through the valley, known for it’s horrendous heat. Few who set out to conquer ever came back, either falling prey to a lack of preperation, or as a victim of the elements. But today was a much different day. High atop the two walls were lookouts, wearing full army garb. They continually scanned the horizon, looking for their target.

On nearby dunes stood foot soldiers, waiting for a signal from the watchmen. Lieutenant Hiro Teal waited for the inevitable, pacing back and forth in front of the troops on his brown horse. It was a modest horse, certainly not one that’d you would expect from a man with such as reputation as Hiro Teal’s. But it had speed, and he would need that later. Only a few officers had horses, the rest waited on their feet, feeling the full effects of the fabled Duma Valley “Death Sun”. Beads of sweat poured down continuously along their face.

They were in a venerable position, in a less than ideal climate, based on information from an untested source. He, or she, Hiro wasn’t too clear, had come into a government office in heavy disguise, and handed them a piece of paper, on which where the writings of an exact day and location, and saying only two word, “The Nomads”.

The Nomads, as they were called, were a group of individuals who went around in army-like fashion and pillages villages and towns. And each time they appeared, they increased in strength. Last time they were sighted, they were almost as full-army strength. But airplanes still in the developmental stages, and eyewitness reports spotty at best, there was no clear way to predict where the Nomads would strike next.

Even more troublesome, the Nomads seemed to have an official uniform. They wore no headgear, and few decorations. They all wore loose-fitting Khaki shirts, and matching army pants, but even a child glancing at a group of Nomads would reckognize that they were made the same. And so far, no one could track down where the uniforms came from. None of the men were clearly identifiable, and in terms of the first times the Nomads were sighted, there was no upsurge in people reporting missing loved ones. These men came out of nowhere, with military expertise, in uniform, and began to successfully destroy every village or town they came in contact with. The worst attack happened in the small ocean town of Piurt, in which the Nomads killed 302 men, women, and children, with chilling expertise. It was the first massacre documented across the globe in over 40 years.

And now, the army of Toprik had a chance to meet the Nomads head-on in a true military battle. 4-star General George Lujz was present, and was constantly giving out orders to the troops. Rarely was there a word of inspiration, a rah-rah rally, or anything of that sort. Not because General Lujz couldn’t give troops inspirational messages. He had become a media darling thanks to his rallying cries. No, today, he wanted the troops to understand that there was no room for failure. These were merciless shadow killers, and not a single murderer was to escape the battle. The senseless killings ended here.

Hiro Teal glanced up again that the lookouts ontop the walls. Behind the army-issue binoculars were eyes focused with determination, focused on finding the Nomads, whenever they may come into view. They had already gone through 3 45-minute rotations, and it was another 10 minutes before they would need to switch lookouts once again. Hiro looked down, and his eyes met that of General Lujz. The General’s expression was that of a hardened warrior, one who had been through one too many wars. Dispite his commanding presence, one look into his eyes and you could feel the fear running through his veins. They were an unknown army, who’s fighting methods were relatively untested. And wherever they battled, they won, with very few casualties. Hiro shared his fear, but he had a different determination than the General. He didn’t just want to see the army severely weakened, or, best-case scenario, defeated. Hiro Teal wanted to survive. He paced around on his horse a while longer, reviewing the restless troops. For all they knew, this source was a fraud, and the Nomads would never show.

Most of the foot soldiers were nervous enough about the mission. But they nearly went into shock when they heard that General Lujz would be spearheading this battle personally, on-field. Most were in awe of his very presence. And maybe it was the fact that the two of them had a fairly strong friendship, or that he had worked with him before previously, but Hiro Teal felt didn’t feel any different with the general around.

“If we make it out alive,” Lujz started to say to Hiro. “I’ll suggest you get a promotion,” he said with a bit of a smile. Hiro returned the smile. “Only if it means I get to take one of your stars.” The two of them trotted off on their horses to an area away from troop’s earshot, but still in view of the lookouts.
“You’re awfully calm today, Hiro. Most soliders are so tense you could whisper “boo” in their ear, and it’d give them a heart attack.”
“Sir, quite honestly, I’m ready for whatever’s about to happen. I can’t plan, and I can’t predict. The only thing left to do is to prepare, and I’ve already done that. I figure, I’m as set as I’m going to be. It’s just a waiting game from here on out.”
“They say that the best leaders are calm in the fact of battle, Hiro.”
“Aren’t you, George?” Hiro looked over at his comrad. The generals eyes were still full of fear, uncertain of what was to happen.

Suddenly, soldiers started yelling, and notes were being dropped down from ontop the wall. The two men rode on over to see what the lookouts found. They rode up to a young soldier, so young that he probably lied about his age to get in, and waited him to read what was on the note that he just picked up. “Nomads spotted, Northeast direction.”
“We’re positioned in the right spot then.” General Lujz said, with a boost of confidence. General Lujz rode around, giving new orders to the troops. Hiro stayed at the base of the wall, getting more information from the lookouts. He caught one note, read it, and immediately shouted questions at the lookouts. They confirmed what was written on the note. Hiro suddenly looked extremely displeased. He rode to catch up with Lujz, and stopped him in the middle of a speech.
“They’ve grown.” Hiro warned.
“How much?”
“They rival our army in numbers.”
“How can a group of unknown individuals become almost as big as our army? Something doesn’t make sense, Hiro.”
“No, sir.” confirmed Teal. Just then, a soldier ran up with a new note. “General?” said Hiro, his voice full of surprise and horror. “The lookouts say that, based on what they’re witnessing that, well… There’s no end to this army.”
“No end?” laughed Lujz. It wasn’t real laughter, the type that comes when a child tells one of the greatest jokes ever known to man. This was the laughter put on by a very nervous man.
“No end.” Teal repeated, stone faced. “The army has become much bigger than our own.”
It took only a second. The face of the celebrity general, the 4-star general who had earned his title through many years of hard work and public service, was now very much afraid. His face dropped, and beads of sweat - not from heat, but from fear - starting to drip down along his cheeks.
“We’ve got some of the largest battalions in play here, Hiro. You’re saying that they outnumber us?” As he was asking the question, Hiro received another note, which he quickly read. “Yeah,” he said, looking at the new information. “I would say that.”
“How much longer do we have?”
“About 6 minutes.”
“Just in time for the lookouts to be changed,” the General said, looking at his watch.
“Just in time, sir.” Hiro said, looking with care at his friend.

General Lujz ignored all other officers, and talked only to Lieutenant Teal. While others were running around giving orders left and right, the two of them began to discuss last-minute changes in the strategy. There was no way if what they had now would work. They had the troops spread out across the field, with the strongest contigent of troops in the middle. They were hoping they could corner the army, and attack them down below, while they maintained their advantage up ontop the dune hills. It was a simple plan, and there was no guarantee that a more complex one would do any better.

But whatever strategy they had planned, it wouldn’t be good enough.

Chapter 2: The Nomads Arrive

The soldiers stared at a distant cloud of sand over the horizon. With the numerous tall sand dunes, it was difficult to accurately judge just how far away the Nomads were. Close enough to be spotted through binoculars, and now they were seeing signs of their arrival. Signs of their death.

Hiro knew this, and that’s what scared him the most. Most of his men would fall prey to these legendary ghost, this army without a nation. And as selfish as it felt, he wanted to make sure that, at the least, that he survived. He wanted to be able to talk about specific troop movements, about their strategies. The soldiers would conduct most of the battle. For Hiro, it was an opportunity for new intelligence.

For General Lujz, for once in his life, he didn’t know what the outcome of his battle would be. He watched as the cloud of dust came closer and closer. The scouts reported that most soldiers were on horses. His men were on their feet. Disadvantage number one, he thought. The Nomads were more than likely confident. The Toprikan army was not. Disadvantage number two.

They could now hear the soft noise of the hoofs racing across the sand. The scouts were reporting that they were splitting up, taking the lowest areas possible. Some dunes were too unstable, or too steep, for their steed to climb. If the horses couldn’t get to the top of the dunes, then perhaps they weren’t at a disadvantage, the general mused. Maybe this would work out after all. After all, he had won more battles than any other commanding officer in Toprik. Why wouldn’t he win this one? After all, they were just a bunch of unknowns. If they died, would anybody care?

Hiro could see on the General’s face that he was thinking happier thoughts. Dillusional, but happier. The other commanding officers were sitting up straighter than any person has ever done before. They looked like the heroic paintings of explorers and officers seen in children’s books. They didn’t care about actually working to make this battle a victory, only hoping that it would turn out in their favor, so they could claim the glory. What were they thinking when they selected these men to dispatch out on this field? Hiro suddenly felt very much alone. If push came to shove, he would have to be the one to take charge of the situation.

The soldiers suddenly gasped in horror. Across the dunes right in front of them, over the very tops of them, came the Nomad soldiers themselves. Their horses were making fightful cries, as the warriors let out battle cries. Hiro steered his horse up a dune quickly, and stood by his men. Their guns were ready, and quickly aimed at the Nomads.

“Hold it, hold it…” commanded General Lujz. It had been a tradition of honor for the Toprikan army never to fire the first shot in the battlefield. The soldiers watched as the Nomads neared the bottom of the dunes. Hiro leaned forward to get a better view of the soldiers. The General watched as well, fascinated by the sight. Suddenly, with a deafining noise, the two men standing on either side of the General dropped dead, shot by the Nomads.

“FIRE!”

And thus the Nomad war begun.