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Amidst a barren landscape of ash, dusty winds and black lava rock, a father and two sons marched towards the very heart of their ancient homeland. They were Saurkin, the dinosaur people, a brutal race who valued honor and the strength of the warrior. The eldest son was Archano Ruahz, 130 years of age, he marched behind his Father with his younger brother at his side. The skies were waking to a new dawn, shedding light on the dead land which scarcely supported any life. To their South stood a lone volcano, a massive obelisk circumvented by this charred landscape, discharging black smoke into the air. At this distance they could see an assembly of old stone buildings situated on the side of the volcano covered in black and gray, becoming more decrepit the closer they approached to the rim.

"Father, why are we coming here of all places?" Archano spoke out. Neither one of the Saurkin had spoken to each other for several days. Archano's Father, Vanos, an old Saurkin of 180 years did not answer and kept his eyes focused on the ruins in the distance. Archano thought to ask again, but then he reconsidered, remembering that is was better to never to cross his Father. His younger brother Knuvos walked up beside him and made silent eye contact. Knuvos looked uncomfortable and just as confused as Archano was. They had left their home city of Effete with no explanation, only the cold commands of their now silent father. What is wrong with him, Archano thought.

"Knuvos." Vanos called out, his voice was sharp and commanding. "Do you know of this place?"

Knuvos regarded Archano with another confused look, then turned to his Father and answered in a respectful and soft manner. "Yes, we are in the ash-lands, near Rokonok Volcano."

Vanos stopped in his tracks, clicking his left sickle claw on a lava stone. One clawed hand firmly grasping the pommel of the katana at his waist. He turned in a quick motion and faced his son. His black eyes meeting those of his son's, cold and emotionless. "And of the ruins?"

Knuvos looked away, trying not to show his growing discomfort. "This is where our clan's ancestors built their home."

"Good of you to remember your teachings." Vanos turned back towards the ruins on Rokonok and continued marching, his sons continued following loyally. "This was where the great clan of Achillo placed the first stones in the history of our people. The city of Renus was both our home and our stronghold, the clan grew and had no equal. Not even Clan Deinon could match our numbers and military might. It was forever known in Saurkin history that we of Achillo could never be defeated, never shamed, never dishonored." He started swiping his free hand in quick grasping moments, his claws cutting the air. "Eventually we experienced all three when the great mountain Rokonok erupted. Half our ancestors dead in only minutes. Our rivals were quick to secure this moment of opportunity, all but Clan Deinon, who merely laughed at our humiliating defeat. Over four hundred years of peace, humiliating and powerless peace. Our days of glory met an end with half of our ancestors, gone with only a pitiful legacy. Being forever from then on at the mercy of our enemies."

Archano was becoming impatient now. He had studied his clan's histories, as did his younger brother and he hated it as did the rest of his clan. Members of clan Achillo had to carry this event in their history with them everywhere in the Saurkin continent of Reliloess. The earth itself deemed them weak others would say. "What is the point of all of this Father. The blow was many years ago, but the wound still aches."

"Halt your tongue Archano!" Vanos snarled, he was baring his teeth now. "I will not tolerate your impatience now, not here." He snorted. "We have come here to pay our respect to the dead. A tradition we must all respect and hold on to. We must never let the dead, our dead, be only remembered for their defeat, but for their power and their strength."

Archano stayed quiet after that, he knew at this point that he should only speak when spoken to by his quick to anger Father. They continued to make their way towards the ruins on the side of the mountain. The terrain started to climb drastically and the noxious smell of sulfur began to fill their nostrils. Ashen dirt gave way mostly to coarse lava rock and the group had to weave between massive boulders the closer they came to the Volcano. They eventually came to a gate made of cut black stone, a remnant of the ruined city. Here the boulders gave way to a path roughly carved into the rising face of the mountain.

It was a little past midday when they reached the first of the ruins. Here they could now see the simple architecture of the buildings. Round red stones stacked on top of each other and sealed in place by a green mortar akin to the color of the pebbly skin of the Saurkin who lived here long ago. Each building was covered with faded paint. A large section of a lonely and cracked wall depicted a scene of a large battle. Saurkin warriors charging at each other, katanas and spears in hand and armor made of thick bone plates. The background showed a tall forest of ferns and conifers, eyes of the Tyrant lineage of Saurkin watching behind the foliage as those of the smaller Raptor lineage engaged in battle.

"The artists of Clan Achillo recorded all the great battles we engaged, not one depicted defeat." Vanos explained, he eyed the faded painting, taking in the details. "This must have been one of our conflicts with the Clan Veloc, savage like us in those old days. Being too headstrong lead them to lose many of their numbers in only a few battles." He turned and continued up towards the largest standing structure of the ruins. "Come with me my sons, there are more important paintings than those of war that you must see." His voice was somber, and was beginning to lose it's usual sharpness.

Archano entered the darkness of the large, still standing structure first since he carried an oil lantern. Its entrance was partially blocked by lava stone but the Saurkin could squeeze through well enough. The air was musty and large paintings of old Saurkin warriors and clan leaders lined the walls. Archano looked at these portraits with wonder while his father and younger brother came through the small opening. He had never come to these ruins before, yet he was always taught of their history by his mentors. There was a certain admiration growing within him for these paintings, they invoked a feeling of pride. All his life Archano was angry that all the other Clans of Saurkin stood above his. He spent many years with his father when the other Clan leaders convened in Sun City, the capital of Reliloess held by the Clan Deinon. Clan Achillo always spoke last, and had the least amount of influence when it came for the Clan leaders to make political agreements. He was always angered by the incessant sneers and disregard for his Clan's defeat. Here, Archano could see that there was once an era where his Clan, the Clan Achillo ruled with no equal. Back then, they would never tolerate such insolence.

"What is this place?" Asked Knuvos as he entered following Vanos. "Is this a temple?"

"It is indeed" Vanos answered, he too was viewing the portraits on the wall. "This was where our ancestors would have their likeness painted as they passed on the tanto of leadership to their next of kin."

This caught Archano's attention, taking his eyes away from the painting to look at his father. He noticed his father's age was beginning to show. Saurkin of the Raptor lineage were known to live well into their two-hundreds unlike the Tyrants who could live for longer. But here in the darkness of this ancient temple, with the orange glow of Archano's lamp, he could see his father's face without fear of angering him. Scutes that were once a vibrant red were dull and becoming gray, green highlights now faded like the portraits on the walls. A once full and stoic face was becoming sunken and frail looking.

"Archano." Vanos pointed a clawed finger down a short hallway that ended in a flight of stairs. "Lead us downward." His voice was soft...

Archano nodded slowly, not sure what to think at this moment, but he followed his order immediately. Walking towards the end of the hall, they passed several portraits, some in better condition than others. Then they began their descent down winding stone steps that led downward into more ruins. Floor after floor of stone carved from the volcano contained rooms that housed more portraits, generations of leaders both males and females recorded from history. Some portraits were accompanied with skulls, rusted weapons, urns of dried herbs and spent candles with melted wax spread on the floor. As they passed the fifth floor, there were noticeable changes in the portraits. After the eruption, the portraits lost their depiction of pride and power with those who were painted. There were scowls, teeth bare, a showing of fire in the eyes and pain in the soul. The stairs ended, they then walked down a hallway and the portraits ended, the last depicting Vanos himself in his youth.

"My sons, sit." Vanos commanded, both Archano and Knuvos sat on the carved stone floor. "All the leaders of our Clan, male and female, young and old. They are the ones who shaped our history, created a legacy that would be felt in the years to come." He reached inside a pouch that was slung over his shoulder, revealing clay jars and painter's brushes and handed them to Knuvos. He then revealed a Tanto, decorated with large feathers of gold, black and turquoise, the emblem of the Clan Achillo. Those who held these Tantos were known by all as the leader of the Clan. He handed it to Archano. "We pay our respects to them, and we continue the traditions of the past. My sons. You both have matured and learned many lessons over the years you have existed. Lessons of respect, honor, and humility among others. It is now time for you two to ascend." He looked at Archano, "Archano, my eldest son, you will take my place as leader. You will be the one to guide the Clan Achillo to days of glory." Vanos then turned to Knuvos. "My youngest son Knuvos, you will be Archano's second voice, his advisor in the years of his leadership. You may not be the true leader of the Clan, but you will hold a title of great honor that all Saurkin will respect." He now sat down on the ground with his sons. Archano and Knuvos looked at their father with awe, they no longer were afraid of disrespecting or angering him.

"...I never said this often, and as my twilight years begin to darken I realize that I should have said this more." Vanos then bowed his head, a gesture of great reverence. "I am proud of who you both have become. The Clan will prosper with your combined leadership and my last command to you both is this. Knuvos, take the ceremonial paint in your jars, and paint your brother's portrait as so to preserve his likeness with the rest of our ancient kin." Knuvos stood up, opened the clay jars and began painting his brother's portrait on bare stone. There was a child like enthusiasm in his movement. Vanos looked at Archano. "Archano, never forget your lessons and keep your emotions from making you thoughtless. You are leader of Clan Achillo now, your legacy will begin here and now."

"I am... Honored father." Archano finally spoke, his voice quavered a bit, the emotion of the moment was getting to him and it was hard to hide it. Archano and his father sat there in mutual silence as Knuvos continued his portrait work. Knuvos was taking time to be detailed with the paints and hours passed, Archano and Vanos meditated and payed their respect to their ancestors with prayer.

Knuvos was finishing his brother's face when a quake from the Volcano caused him to fall over. Archano and his father tried standing up, but the tremor was growing in magnitude. A terrible sound of shearing stone blasted their ears and the rock beneath the Saurkin gave way. Archano fell, his lantern was lost and he could feel cold air rushing around him in pitch black. His stomach heaved and almost instantly he met a hard surface and lost consciousness.

...

He awoke in a daze. His head was swimming as he tried to get a grasp on his situation. Archano felt around the darkness, feeling the ground. It was soft like tilled soil. He sat up and winced as pain shot through his torso. Sniffing, then holding his breath he began to feel down his ribs with both hands, he grunted loudly bearing his teeth when he got to his lower ribs. Several were broken. After what felt like ages had passed, Archano's vision began to slowly adjust to the darkness. He could barely see, but enough to determine that he was in a vast hallway with a ceiling that reached far higher than he could make out. There was something very, very off about this place and it made Archano cautious. The walls were not curved, nor did they show any signs of damage or natural formation, they were flat as paper. Feeling the wall closest to him, he could feel elaborate shapes he could not visualize indented into a glossy surface.

Upon drawing his clawed digit completely through one shape, a dull silver light began to stream down both directions of the hallway he was in. The light came from extraordinary glass like stones that formed a honeycomb pattern both at the top and middle of the walls on both sides of the hallway. Though the light was dim, Archano welcomed it as he could now see his surroundings, but he was met with a discouraging sight. He had landed on a raised level of dirt and dead plant matter but towards the center of the hallway was more glossy flat stone and a limp body. Archano stood up, his head still woozy and walked towards the body and rolled it face up, it was Vanos. Digging a calloused knuckle into Vano's neck, Archano searched for some sign of life and found none. Without any thought of it, Archano simply stood up and walked away from his Father's body and started looking for his younger brother.

Knuvos was lying face down in the same raised dirt as Archano had landed in. Blood was slowly seeping from his nostrils and several cuts covered his hands, legs and face. As with Vanos, Archano dug his knuckle into Knuvos's neck, but this time he found a sing of life. Archano was taken aback by this and stood up watching his brother's body, then he quickly rolled him on his back and began to gently slap Knuvos's snout. "Knuvos, wake up..." He slapped his snout again. "Wake up now!"

Knuvos started coughing and wheezing. His saurian eyes opened slowly, clearly in pain. "What happened Brother... where are we?"

Archano did not smile, but he put his hand on Knuvos's chest, glad he was not dead. "The stone beneath our feet collapsed and-" He coughed into his other hand and specks of blood dotted it. "I... do not know where we are. This place is strange, I could not see until I felt a carving on the wall and the lights on it began to shine."

"Help me up Archano." Knuvos said, "We have to see if Father is alright"

Archano helped Knuvos to his feet, all the while his younger brother winced in pain. "Father is over there." He pointed to Vanos's corpse, "I felt for his pulse, but it is gone... he is dead."

Knuvos did not say a word, he walked slowly to the body of his father and slumped to his knees and curled over the body. He did not cry, he did not make a sound, but his body trembled as he held his forehead to Vanos's.

Archano watched Knuvos quietly and allowed him some time before he broke the silence. "We have to go now Knuvos, we need to find our way out of here." Knuvos stood up, closed his eyes for a brief moment, looked back at Archano and nodded slowly. The two brothers began to walk in one direction down the massive hallway.

With no sunlight, neither of the Saurkin could tell which cardinal direction they were heading towards, there was only this long foreboding hallway. The carvings on the walls all danced elaborately around them, their detail and true meaning a mere enigma to both Archano and Knuvos. Archano simply ignored the carvings after a small effort of trying to understand them, but Knuvos was far more curious. The shapes intertwined with each other, a smooth tessellation that depicted both foreign and familiar forms. Some looked like fortresses, geometrically perfect and symmetrical with towers rising towards several spheres higher on the wall. Amidst the spheres were what could only be described as faces or masks. Lines running across the forehead and cheeks, solid eyes ringed by smaller dots in curving patterns. It was almost as if these faces were watching the Saurkin as they made their way down the hallway.

"Look!" Archano broke the silence and was pointing down the hallway. A red light could be seen further down the hallway. This made Archano relieved, perhaps they could finally be out of this mysterious place. All their attention was focused on the red light, which was growing more clear and vibrant as they made their way towards it. They quickened their pace as much as they could and soon they could see what was casting this light.

Archano and his brother Knuvos entered a wide domed room. The vaulted ceiling was impossible to see, other hallways came to this chamber to their left and right. Several stairs led to a lower level where at it's center was a amorphous pylon silhouetted by two windows behind it. These windows were where the red light came from, swells and flows of lava percolating over glass that looked as though it should have shattered. The whole chamber was bathed in an orange glow from this astonishing source of light, all except for the black pylon, towering over the Saurkin ominously.

"I don't like this." Knuvos said. He was looking at the pylon which stood above them, filling him with a sense of dread. He turned to Archano, "Brother, we should leave, try to find another way out of here."

Archano wasn't even aware of his brother's presence, all that he could think of was the pylon. He could barely see any details on it and he began to walk closer to it. Something within the back of Archano's mind was telling him to listen to his brother, but he was compelled to approach this awesome silhouette. Knuvos called out and put a hand on his shoulder, which sent Archano into a blind fury. He struck his brother's chest with his elbow, sending him back and falling to the ground coughing and wheezing violently. Archano came ever more closer to the pylon, beginning to see small details come out of it and raised his hand slowly. With a little hesitation, he touched the pylon and felt a pulse. Turning around slowly, Archano saw his brother, frozen still, a pained expression cemented on his face and a clawed hand pitifully reaching for his brother. Archano then turned to look at the windows, the lava was still and unmoving like his brother.

An alien voice echoed in his head. "Progeny of our creation... Animator of our Legacy... Hear these cautions... Feel these fears... See the consequences."

"What!?!" Archano could still hear the echoing words in his head. He twisted his head left and right rapidly as his sight began to leave him. Panic was taking control of his body, but his movements were slowing and there was little he could do now.

His vision came back, but now he was in another place. On a hilltop, he could see the capital of Reliloess, Sun city. The entire city was ablaze, the sun was low in the West and the sky was blood red. Beasts, made half of scales and horns and half of machines descended from the sky encircled by fire. They dropped into the city and now Archano could hear it. The screams of the dying, the clapping of rifles firing, the roars of the Tyrants. He could also smell it, a hideous stench of decaying flesh and harsh chemicals that made him want to choke, but he was not in control of his body. His head bowed, looking down the hill to find the mutilated corpses of other Saurkin strewn across the fields, making him sick to his stomach.

One beast dropped down in front of Archano, it stood twice his height and looked down on him. Scales, horns and plates covered what was organic, half a face and arms, upper legs and the majority of it's tail. Metal looked to be grafted into the rest of the body, claws that could cut rock on the hands and feet. A sickle on the tail, wings of blades that stretched far on both sides of the beast. Half the face was metal, expressionless, save for the single colored eye that contracted as it peered at Archano. A hand lifted up, bringing with it a wicked cleaver like blade that fell to strike at Archano, his vision blurred and he lost his mind in terror. He could see now, he was back in the domed chamber with the pylon, but he was curled on the ground, shaking and whimpering in fear. It took quite some time before he came out of the shock and he managed to groan: "Why?"

The voice in his head echoed again, but this time Archano could see two lights like eyes coming from the pylon. This time, the voice was stronger: "You alone now know the fate of your world, a fate that can be prevented by a one and true leader. We now know your past Archano, we can see into your mind and also into your people's history. You can be the savior of this world you live in. The redeemer of the great Clan Achillo."

Archano stood up shakily, he looked back up at the pylon, its eyes looking back at him. "What must I do?"

"We possess the means to your victory, the unification of your people under your absolute rule... But you 'alone' must do this..." The eyes looked away from Archano, and to his brother that lay on the ground, breathing slowly

Archano looked at his brother, then down at the ground in front of the pylon. He pulled out the tanto his father had given him earlier which was secured to the back of his waist. Sliding it out of the sheath, he stared that the blade for a moment, the orange light of the lava in the windows causing it to gleam. He shook a bit, then breathed deeply, then turned towards his brother, walking quickly towards his battered body.

Knuvos looked up and saw his brother, a blank look covered his face. "Archano? Archano! No!" He shrieked, but after that he was silent, his throat sliced open by the ceremonial tanto of Clan Achillo.

Archano looked down at his brothers corpse, the crimson blood flowing from the gash in its throat, eyes lifeless and dull. He then cleaned the blade with a piece of cloth from one of his pouches and sheathed the blade. He turned his head back towards the pylon, the eyes faded. A slot in the foundation of the pylon opened up and the voice came back to Archano's head.

"You did well. Take this device and we shall lead you out of this place. Now you will begin to unite your people for the terror yet to come."

The device was smooth, black and cylindrical. A shape like the face's on the walls was carved into it and a handle coiled out the backside. Archano grabbed the device and began to walk down the hallway that was to the right of the pylon. A smile of daggers cut across his face.