The colour of the armband - Evolution

01.

Amidst the shifting sands of the deep desert, where the wind whispered ancient melodies and the dunes concealed countless secrets, a new and unprecedented threat emerged radically but also expectedly in a very twisted way. The Elephines were emerging near the tribes. 

 

A race of colossal, elephant-shaped beasts; their tusks were not of bone, but of gleaming metal that reflected the harsh desert sun and their eyes glowed with an otherworldly luminescence that spoke of intelligence and a purpose unknown to the tribes apart from killing them. These giants towered over any living creature the desert tribes had ever known or heard from the other planets and their appearance heralded an era of turmoil and dread.

The first sighting of the Elephines came on a night when the second moon hung full and low, casting an eerie light over the dunes. A small caravan from the tribe of yellow armband Nahr, known for their trade in precious spices, had camped near the dunes of Kala. The night was tranquil, the air thick with the scent of desert heat, until the ground beneath them began to tremble. Initially, they dismissed it as a minor quake, not uncommon in this part of the desert.

However, the quakes grew more intense, and soon, the shattering silence of the night was filled with an unearthly trumpet, a sound that resonated deep within the bones of those who heard it. It was a sound both powerful and mournful, a song of a faraway land echoing through the emptiness of the desert.

The seasoned traders of the Nahr tribe prided themselves on their composure, but the hair on their arms prickled with a primal fear. As the trumpeting grew closer, punctuated by the tremors that shook the very foundation of the dunes, even the most experienced caravan guard felt a tremor of unease run down his spine.

Then, from the darkness at the edge of the oasis, the Elephines emerged. Their bodies, covered in thick, silver-grey hide that seemed almost to shimmer in the moonlight, were immense. Each one towered over the tallest sand dunes, their heads scraping the underside of the star-dusted night sky. The ground shook with each of their steps, a rhythmic thud that vibrated through the very core of the desert.

The caravan's dogs, usually unflappable beasts of burden accustomed to the harsh realities of desert life, were seized by panic. They shrieked in unison, their necks thrashing wildly, tails under their bellies ready to flee into the night, disappear into the labyrinthine dunes like phantoms.

The merchants and guards stood frozen, their faces masks of terror and awe in the pale moonlight. The Elephines moved with a deliberate grace, their enormous legs surprisingly silent despite their size. Their eyes, large and luminous, glowed with an intelligence that belied their bestial forms. The light emanating from their eyes seemed to pierce the very souls of the humans, laying bare their deepest fears and vulnerabilities.

In the ensuing chaos, the Elephines lumbered through the camp, their massive forms dwarfing the flimsy tents. Tents were ripped from their moorings, poles snapping like twigs, and precious cargo was scattered across the sand like discarded toys. The humans, tiny in comparison, could do nothing but run. Those who tripped and fell were trampled underfoot, their screams swallowed by the vast emptiness of the desert. The survivors, adrenaline coursing through their veins, fled blindly into the night, the colossal forms of the Elephines a terrifying silhouette against the moonlit sky.

Those who managed to escape the initial onslaught stumbled back to their home tribe, the settlement of Nahr, the yellow armband tribe, a collection of mudbrick dwellings nestled amidst towering red sandstone cliffs. They arrived breathless, their clothes tattered and faces streaked with dust and tears. Their panicked reports sent a wave of terror through the tribe. The elders, wise men and women with skin etched by the harsh desert sun and eyes that held the accumulated wisdom of generations, had never heard of such creatures. Fear, a chilling serpent, coiled itself around their hearts.

“That was too close,” creamed Norm on top of his voice almost in hysteric condition. He was still wearing the same cloths from the attack with traces of blood on them.

“They knew, and you don’t get it, they knew.” He continued.
“That’s impossible and you know it.” Said in a more calm voice a man behind him.

“Arel, I’m telling you they knew. This is a pathway we follow for moons and nothing has every happened. That’s why we follow it. Because nothing happens.”
“And yet here we are,” another voice said.

“Norm, these are animals. Gigantic yes. Lethal yes but still animals. They don’t think and they don’t know. Perhaps we made a mistake. Perhaps we left a smell behind. Perhaps the ones before us did leave something and put them on our trace.” Arel tried again.

“The tribes are worrying,” said an old man from the consul. “And they are a bit suspicious...”
“We are the victims here and they are suspicious?” Norm screamed.

But the truth was that the sudden arrival of the Elephines into the pathways had shattered the fragile trust that had existed between the tribes.

Mart, the grizzled leader of the yellow armband tribe, paced the cavernous hall, his weathered face etched with worry. Sunlight streamed through cracks in the ceiling, illuminating the anxious faces of his warriors.

The Elephines had become the unwelcome focus of their lives. Not a surprise there and an expected blunder but somehow never ....expected. They thought that if they don’t think about them they will never come close to them. Yet they had come and they had destroyed and worst of all they had killed.

These colossal, metallic beasts had ravaged the once-lush dunes with their trade pathways and destroyed everything including two carrier sonic beasts. Mere rays, their traditional weapons, bounced harmlessly off the Elephines' thick hides. Fear hung heavy in the air, a suffocating weight threatening to crush their spirit.

Riza, a young hunter with sharp eyes and a fierce spirit, spoke up, her voice carrying a tremor of defiance. "We cannot afford to be beaten by fear," she declared. "Their size may be daunting, but we are resourceful. Perhaps the answer lies not in our rays, but in the Elephines themselves." Her gaze flickered to the massive tusks that curved from the creatures' faces. Nobody said a thing.

"Have we examined the composition of those tusks? Are they made of some strange metal? Maybe a specific element could be their weakness."

A murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd. Riza's suggestion, bold yet simple, offered a glimmer of hope. Arel seemed to agree with her because he moved closer to Mart.

“Mart. She’s right. She might be young but you know how it is, from the crazy and the youth...” and he left his sentence unfinished but the meaning full said.

“And who you were thinking for the mission, Arel? You?” Mart snapped.

“Why not. I’m not that old and Riza will be there to protect me,” Arel said with a smile. A smile that had disappeared from Riza’s face and strangely had appeared in Mart’s lips.

“Sure,” he said without any second thought. “Why not.”

02.

A mix of emotions played across Riza’s face, fear, apprehension, and a flicker of steely resolve. But she followed Arel in his quest knowing that there was one at least person in the tribe who wished that he would never come back. The thought made her look back at Mart’s smirk. And they left.

The silence after Riza's whisper stretched taut, punctuated only by the distant snuffling of the resting Elephines. Arel traced the outline of the nearest creature with a calloused finger on the map he'd hastily sketched. "They're unlike anything I've ever seen," he finally admitted, his voice low.

Riza lowered the spyglass, her brow furrowed. "Runes? Are you sure? They looked faint, almost like moonlight etching on metal."

Arel knelt beside her, peering through his spyglass. He let out a low whistle. "They are definitely runes, glowing with a faint, ethereal light."

The discovery hung heavy in the air, a chilling twist to their already precarious situation. These weren't simply monstrous, metallic beasts; they were marked, imbued with some unknown power. The question now loomed: by whom, and for what purpose?

Arel broke the contemplative silence. "Runes could mean different things depending on the culture. Protection, control, even destruction. We need to figure out what these symbols mean before we proceed."

"Perhaps they are remnants of a lost civilization, a forgotten language etched onto the Elephines as a mark of ownership or purpose." Riza whispered. "Or maybe they are a curse, binding these creatures to a malevolent will." She added after a long silence. Arel smiled.

“Let’s camp here tonight,” he said while unfolding his sleeping bag on the sand and covering with sand part of it. “To keep the smells inside,” said to Riza making a funny move with his back.

Riza didn’t laugh. Truth sad she was really afraid to make any sound. The size of those tusks and their power. This was worst than her worst nightmares and then some more. But she didn’t say anything. She was also proud to be chosen by Arel to help him in this mission. The legendary Arel, the man who had survived the tribe wars and the commerce-mercenaries from the planets. The man Mart hated and feared and that for Riza was an achievement on its own.

The next day became more tense, cautious movement, meticulous observation and focus on the runes. Arel was watching every single detail while Arel was keeping records to everything Arel thought of worth to record.

The following led them through treacherous dunes and hidden canyons, their movements often cloaked by the relentless sun and their constant fear that the monsters would smell them. Arel meticulously charted their path, marking potential ambush points and blind spots within the Elephines somehow erratic movements.

Riza the same time spent every spare moment studying the runes through the spyglass. She meticulously sketched them onto worn parchment, comparing them to forgotten languages she'd encountered in texts she had seen n her tablet. Frustration gnawed at her. The symbols were unlike anything she'd encountered before, their elegant curves and sharp angles seemingly defying categorization.

The second sweltering afternoon, as the shimmering heat waves distorted the very air; Arel emerged from a scouting mission, a grim look etched on his face. "There's a lone Elephine, separated from the herd. It seems injured. I don’t know how and when it happened but it did and perhaps this is a chance for us to get a closer look."

This could be our chance. Riza thought. This might be the reason we are here.

The surge of adrenaline was a physical thing in Riza's chest, a pounding counterpoint to the frantic whispers of her mind replaying Arel's plan. Her heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs, threatening to burst free. With each cautious inch forward, the spyglass felt slicker in her clammy grip. Every primal instinct screamed at her to retreat, to find the safety of distance. But the gnawing need to unravel the secrets etched on the colossal beast's hide, propelled her forward.

Just as the dunes shifted beneath her weight, revealing a sliver of the intricate runes, the injured Elephine twitched its massive head. The movement was almost imperceptible, a tremor in the mountain of sand-encrusted metal, yet for Riza, it was a deafening knell. A guttural growl, a sound that seemed to tear its way from the depths of the earth itself, ripped through the tense silence. Panic, a cold and slithering serpent, coiled around Riza's heart, squeezing the breath from her lungs. She stumbled back, a strangled cry escaping her lips.

The Elephine lumbered a few halting inches, its metallic flanks groaning under its immense weight. Sand avalanched down its wounded side, leaving behind a trail of exposed wires and sparking circuits. Arel, who had been providing silent cover a few feet behind Riza, cursed under his breath, a string of words that would make a sailor blush. Their meticulously crafted plan, honed over countless whispered conversations and tense debates, lay in tatters. Just as the Elephine lurched forward, its head swaying as it tried to lock onto Riza's location, a guttural roar echoed across the vast expanse of dunes.

The sound was unlike anything Riza had ever heard. It wasn't a challenge, a primal declaration of war, that sent shivers down her spine despite the scorching desert heat. The Elephine froze, its head swivelling towards the source of the challenge. A sandstorm brewed on the horizon, a swirling vortex of dust and debris that seemed to writhe with an unseen energy. From within the maelstrom, a colossal shape emerged, its form obscured by the swirling sand.

Arel's hand shot out, grabbing Riza's arm. "Back! Now!" he hissed, his voice tight with urgency. He didn't need to explain. The raw power emanating from the approaching sandstorm was undeniable, a force that could crush them both like mere insects. Adrenaline lending her unnatural speed, Riza scrambled back towards the rocky outcrop they had used as a vantage point. Arel followed close behind, his movements surprisingly agile for a man burdened by his heavy pack.

They reached the relative safety of the rocks just as the sandstorm collided with the Elephine. The impact was like a battering ram slamming into a fortress. The colossal beast shrieked, a sound that scraped against Riza's eardrums, as it was thrown back several feet. Sand rained down on them, stinging their exposed skin and momentarily blinding them. Riza huddled against the rock face, her arms wrapped around her head, praying the rock overhang would hold.

The sandstorm raged for what felt like an eternity, a relentless assault that threatened to scour the very dunes from existence. Slowly, almost reluctantly, the intensity began to wane. The swirling vortex started to dissipate, revealing the aftermath of the clash.

Riza cautiously peeked out from her shelter. The world was an alien landscape, transformed by the storm's fury. The once pristine dunes were now a chaotic jumble of sand ripples, dotted with scattered debris. The Elephine lay on its side, half-buried in sand, its metallic hide dented and scarred. But it was still alive, its single functional eye glowing with a malevolent red light.

A figure emerged from the dissipating sand cloud, its form obscured by the swirling dust. As the dust settled, Riza's breath hitched in her throat. It was another Elephine, but unlike the first, this one was unlike anything she had ever seen. Its metallic hide was a polished black, gleaming even in the fading sunlight. Intricate patterns, glowing with an ethereal blue light, pulsed across its surface. It moved with a predatory grace that belied its immense size, its every step purposeful and silent.

The black Elephine approached the downed beast, the red glow from its eye seeming to lock onto its counterpart. A low growl rumbled through the air, a guttural conversation between titans. Riza exchanged a glance with Arel, a silent question hanging in the air. Were they witnessing a battle for dominance, a preordained clash between rivals?

Suddenly, the air crackled with energy. The blue patterns on the black Elephine flared brightly, and a bolt of pure energy lanced out, striking the downed Elephine square in its chest. The impact sent a shockwave through the dunes, causing Riza to retreat under the rocks and cover her head.

03.

Soon curiosity won and Riza peeked through a narrow gap between the rocks, the red dust still swirling in the aftermath of the energy blast. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic counterpoint to the ringing in her ears. The shockwave had ripped through the dunes, sand raining down, momentarily burying the hulking forms of the Elephine creatures.

As the dust settled once more, a desolate landscape greeted her. The once smooth expanse of dunes was now marred by craters and ripples of disturbed sand. The downed Elephine, the one with the dull, rust-collared hide, remained motionless, its red eye extinguished. It lay sprawled, a lifeless monument to the fury of its opponent.

The black Elephine stood dominant, its polished black surface a stark contrast to the ochre of the desert. The intricate patterns on its hide pulsed less intensely now, the remnants of the blue glow clinging to the etched lines. Its red eye, the sole source of colour on its obsidian body, surveyed the fallen with cold indifference.

Arel, his face pale under the darkening sky, scrambled closer to Riza. "What… what was that?" he rasped, his voice barely audible over the ringing in her ears.

Riza shook her head, unable to form words. They had stumbled upon a battle, a clash between titans far beyond their comprehension. These weren't the lumbering, sand-eating creatures they knew from their desert folklore. These Elephine were new; beings moving with a deadly grace, wielded unimaginable power, and somehow communicated in low growls and crackling electricity.

Silence settled over the scene, broken only by the mournful wail of the desert wind. The black Elephine began to move, its massive legs sinking silently into the disturbed sands. Riza watched, mesmerized by its predatory grace. It reached the downed beast and paused, scrutinizing the lifeless form. Then, with surprising agility for its size, the black Elephine lowered its head, its trunk wrapping around the rust-collared creature’s tusk.

A surge of adrenaline shot through Riza. Was it… attempting to revive its opponent? But the hope was quickly dashed. With a powerful jerk, the black Elephine tore the rusted tusk free, the sound like the tearing of metal. It raised the tusk high, the red glow from its single eye seeming to bathe it in an ominous light. Then, with a roar that echoed through the canyons, the black Elephine hurled the tusk into the distance. It disappeared over the dune, swallowed by the gathering darkness.

The black Elephine lingered for a moment longer, then turned and began to walk away. Its form, silhouetted against the blood-red sunset, seemed to carry an aura of power and loneliness. Riza watched as it disappeared over a rise, a solitary king retreating to its solitary kingdom.

Arel finally found his voice. "We should go," he said urgently. "This place… it doesn't feel safe anymore." But his voice died soon, there was more movement in the dunes. Somebody was coming running fast.

"Black armbands," she whispered, the words barely audible over the harsh rasp of the wind whipping sand across the endless dunes.

Arel, his weathered face etched with frustration, cursed under his breath. "This is not my day," he muttered, his voice tight. Glancing around, he confirmed their predicament, the approaching figures were unmistakably clad in the dreaded black armbands, the most ruthless scavengers in the planet.

They watched as the three black armbands stalked towards the enormous carcass that lay sprawled amidst the dunes. They circled the creature, their guttural voices carrying no meaning through the howling wind.

"They are three," Riza hissed, her voice barely a whisper. "Three and the mighty Elephine, and we're only two with two measly ray pistols. Not fair."

Arel squeezed her hand, his touch a brief comfort in the tense silence. "Just keep quiet, Riza. Don't let them know we're here."

The black armbands reached the Elephine's massive head, dwarfed by the creature's sheer size. They knelt, their figures silhouetted against the relentless sun, their voices a low murmur that danced beyond the reach of Riza and Arel's hearing.

Riza broke the strained silence, her voice tinged with disbelief. "Oh my god, Arel, they're...mourning it! The Elephine!"

Arel's eyes narrowed. "So now the mystery with the runes is solved," he said, a slow understanding dawning on him. "I always knew we were underestimating those dune rats."

"Mutants, you mean," Riza corrected, a shiver running down her spine.

"Mutants, yes, but not stupid. It seems they've figured out a way to communicate with the Elephines. The normal Elephines! Gods, what am I saying?" Arel threw his hands up in exasperation.

This revelation sent a jolt through Riza. The black armbands, feared for their brutality and scavenged ways, had seemingly formed a bond with the most fearsome creatures of the planet. The implications were staggering.

"What do we do now?" Riza asked, her voice laced with fear. Their initial mission, a simple salvage operation, had taken a drastic turn.

Arel pressed his lips together, his mind racing. "We need to get out of here. And fast. We can't take them on,  not with these rays against a mourning party with obviously unknown tech." He glanced at the setting sun, painting the sky in hues of orange and red. "Nightfall is coming soon. That's our best chance."

They huddled in silence, their eyes glued to the black armbands. The scavengers continued their solemn ritual around the Elephine, their whispers seemingly filled with a strange reverence. As the last rays of the sun dipped below the horizon, shrouding the dunes in an eerie twilight, the Reavers finally moved. They stood, bowed their heads one last time towards the colossal carcass, and then turned and started walking away, disappearing into the encroaching darkness.

Riza and Arel waited for a long time, their breaths shallow in the stillness. Only when the first stars emerged in the inky sky did Arel dare move. "Alright," he whispered, "Coast is clear. Let's go."

They emerged from their hiding place, their every step crunching on the cold sand. The Elephine loomed over them, a massive, silent sentinel. Riza couldn't help but glance back at it, a sense of unease gnawing at her.

"Do you think they can actually control them?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Arel didn't answer. He didn't want to speculate. The possibility was too horrifying to contemplate. All he knew for sure was that their mission had just gotten a whole lot more complicated. They needed to get back to their outpost, warn them about the black armbands and their newfound connection with the Elephines.

04.

A stunned silence lingered after Arel’s departure. The flickering firelight cast long, accusing shadows on the faces of the gathered tribe leaders. Mart slammed his fist on the rough-hewn table.

“Coward!” he roared, the word echoing off the cavern walls. “He’s scared, afraid the new threat will shatter his dream for united tribes!”

But the anger in his voice lacked its usual conviction. Even Mart saw the logic in Arel’s argument. The Black Elephines, were a threat unlike any they’d faced before. Their arrival, in addition to the new discover of the black armbands controlling the other Elephines, was bad news for all the tribes in this desert planet.

A wizened woman named Era, her face etched with the wisdom of many moons, finally spoke. “Yet, Arel is right. We cannot stand divided against this new threat. We must unite.”

Mutters of agreement rippled through the room. Era was an old woman with a glorious past and very respectful present, the one who remembered the ancient stories of past alliances, of battles fought and won together. But whispers of doubt also arose. Trust, once shattered, was a fragile thing.

One of the younger warriors, a brash youth named Kai, voiced the unspoken fear. “How can we trust them? Last time we tried to unite, they betrayed us, stole our herbs, used out pathways!”

“Those were different times,” Era countered, her voice surprisingly strong. “The red armbands may have been led by a greedy leader, but their new leader is different. I know her from the past, she values peace, just like Arel.”

The very mention of that woman sent a tremor through Mart. He hadn’t forgotten the fiery young woman who had challenged his father, the previous yellow tribe leader, in her youth. She had nearly brought peace between the tribes then, before her father’s untimely death reignited the old hostilities.

Mart’s gaze locked with Era’s. “Are you suggesting we trust some idealistic pup with the fate of our people?”

“Is there another option?” Era countered, her voice laced with a hint of steel.

Mart bit back a retort. He knew she made sense and a lot would hear her. The Black Elephants posed an existential threat. Alone, each tribe would fall. He may not agree with Arel’s methods, but he understood the desperation.

Arel had stormed out of the council tent, the air thick with the acrid scent of burnt lamp oil and the lingering echoes of Mart’s callous words. The late afternoon sun beat down on the dusty encampment of the dunes, casting long, accusing shadows. Riza materialized beside him, her brow creased with concern.

"Arel," she began softly, her voice barely a whisper above the desert wind. He stopped, his jaw clenched tight, and turned to face her. The worry in her sapphire eyes mirrored his own turmoil.

He ran a hand through his sand-dusted hair, the worry lines on his weathered face deepening. "There's no time, Riza," he said, his voice rough. "We can't just sit here while those... those things are out there."

The "things" he referred to were the Black Elephines, the new version of the colossal, obsidian. Monsters that had appeared from nowhere. Their arrival was an unprecedented event, a chilling harbinger of a world gone horribly wrong.

"We have to warn the others," Arel continued, his voice gaining urgency. "The red armbands, the blue, the purple, everyone. This isn't just our problem, it's a threat to all of us."

Riza nodded solemnly. The fragmented network of tribes that dotted the harsh desert planet with the two moons and the two suns, held an uneasy truce, their rivalry outweighed by the necessity of cooperation in the face of the unforgiving environment. But Arel's words triggered a flicker of fear within her. The last time they had attempted a large-scale gathering, tensions had flared, nearly erupting in bloodshed.

"The council won't approve," she said, her voice laced with doubt. Mart, the hotheaded leader of the Sand Hawks' rival clan, the Dune Wolves, had voiced the dominant sentiment in the council – isolationism.

“Well they are talking about it, but you know ...Mart...” he said letting her imagine the rest of the sentence.
“But...” She dared say.
Arel's eyes narrowed. "Then we go around them," he declared, his resolve hardening.

And that was the last time Riza saw Arel. The next morning they all woke with Era’s screaming. She had found Arel’s body beaten and hit badly in the outside of the walls.

“The black Elephines,” state Mart confidently and ordered to close the gates permanently and shoot anything moving outside the walls.

THE END?