Jemriah
The blood giant stood with his collosal sword. Looking over two strangers who disturbed his sleep. His sword,now, above his shoulder.
"Don't suppose we have much of a plan?", jemriah said.
Jorath nodded. "Stay behind me".
The giant was a walking citadel of thick armor plates bolted and chained together. Each step shook dust from the air. His sword which was long as a watchtower now dragged once across the stone, shrieking, then lifted. The blade caught the light and burned like a second dawn.
"It shines? Looks like some sort of spell?, jemriah said, now standing behind jorath.
The sword was still in air. Shining.
"Move!", jorath screamed.
The giant brought it down with all his might.
The ground split open with a thunderous crack. Stone burst upward in jagged shards, the shockwave throwing both jemriah and jorath off their feet. Jemriah rolled, ribs screaming, while jorath slammed his sword into the ground to keep from being swallowed by the widening cracks.
"Jorath, we need to climb the blade".
Jorath released his sword at once and nodded.
As the giant hauled his blade free, jorath sprinted straight toward it. He leapt, caught the flat of the sword with both hands, and was carried skyward as the giant raised it again. Wind tore at his cloak. The world spun beneath him. He ran along the blade itself, boots skidding on steel slick with old blood, and drove his sword down into a seam between armor plates at the giant's wrist. Black-red blood spilled, hissing as it touched the hot metal.
The giant roared and shook his arm violently. Jorath was flung aside, crashing into the ground in a tumble of bone and dirt.
Jemriah was already moving. He crouched in low, sliding beneath the sweep of the massive blade as it came around again. The massive sword soared through the air, cleaving a stone pillar clean in half behind him. He rose at the giant's feet and struck at the leg, slashing at straps and joints where the armor overlapped. Sparks flew. His blade bit deep, and blood ran down the giant's greaves in heavy, trailing streams.
The giant stamped, screaming.
The impact flattened the ground, turning stone to powder. Jemriah barely rolled away as the foot came down, leaving a crater where his head had been.
The giant now furious swung with both hands. The sword smashed into the earth again and again, each blow splitting the ground further, cracks spreading outward, swallowing rubble and pillars alike. The air filled with dust and the taste of iron.
Both of them nodded and pressed on.
Jorath charged the sword as it struck the ground, climbing it once more, higher this time. He used the embedded blade as a ladder, slashing into the giant's forearm, then his shoulder. Each strike was answered by a howl of pain, each howl shaking them both.
Below, jemriah circled and went for the legs again. He drove his sword behind the knee, twisted, and tore free. The giant staggered, armor grinding, balance lost for a second.
That second was enough.
Jorath on the blade leapt, plunging his sword into the gap beneath the giant's helm. Steel punched through flesh. Blood poured down the armor like rain.
The giant stumbled, his gigantic blade slipping from his grasp, and the mountain like creature fell backward to the ground.
Jorath landed with a grim smile. He and Jemriah exchanged a single nod. silent, certain, and struck as one.
Immediately dropped their swords and started running towards their enemy.
"Arghhhhhh!"
Their fists crashed into the giant with all the strength left in their battered bodies, hurling the iron-clad mountain backward toward the yawning, black pool.
The giant plunged into the deep, and the water rose to meet him like a tsunami, rearing upwards before collapsing in a thunderous fury. In the settling roar of it all, Jorath and Jemriah stood still, then slowly let out the breath they had been holding.
They both looked at each other and started chuckling.
"You have truly become a knight", jemriah said. "Better than me, perhaps".
Jorath nodded. "All thanks to the armour and sword that father provided".
"Even if one tries to break it", jorath continued. "It won't. Unless someone happens to have a celestial weapon".
Jemriah's smile faded.
He nodded faintly and looked around.
"Finally found the tomb".
Jorath smiled. "Now we have to put together these murals into a story. That is what it is trying to tell I-"
"Is that king foren!", jemriah said pointing towards a mural.
The mural had a king with two more knights behind his back.
Jemriah knew of them.
King foren, a king who betrayed his kingdom and ran away...
Two of his companions, janeran and gennis who had fought their last war.
"I have Heard of them", jorath said. "Another one of amberia's victims. Janeran wanted to be rich and gennis wanted to be the greatest knight. King foren promised them both. Then, one day foren went mad, he tried to pursue the tombs of past. Ancient go-"
"Are you completely mad?", jemriah said. "Everyone knows what happens to them if they mutter names of past. You call them old gods and only if you actually pray to them, you certainly do not".
"It is true, is it not? Foren went mad. He betrayed a god. Amberia visited him and he became obsessed with her".
Jemriah nodded. "I recall them vaguely. He disappeared and never came back".
Jorath blinked his eyes. "Have you heard what happened after?"
"Aramzir was the one who attacked this kingdom. He did not take this kingdom under his banner and he too disappeared. Aravan village was formed five years after the kingdom got burned. No one wanted to stay here as everyone thought it was cursed. That is why I came here. No one could have followed me here", jemriah said.
And after that jorath has founded jemriah here. He liked to travel. One day, he came to aravan village to search for the tombs and found nothing. He confirmed that a tomb is here hidden in forest. And second time he found his brother who forsake the capital and went to permanent exile, by his own choice. Jorath promised him not to tell anyone. So, after that jorath kept on coming to sover. Feasts and what not. They had such a good time together that even jemriah had lost his will to say no....
"Why did you wait for years? For the tomb i mean?", jemriah asked even though he knew.
"Power. I wanted enough of it. Begged father for years. Finally he gave me this armour that is unbreakable and a sword that can break even ships", jorath said. "I know how dangerous this tombs can be. Trust me without this armour, we would have been meat for that giant".
Jemriah shaked his head. "This power. Every one of our brother is mad for it. Even you who i thought to be sane".
"I like only adventures brother. But adventures are not what you hear in tales or songs of bards. No, not even close. They are filled with dangers that I did not even know. I watched bones come alive in "skullspire".
I fought "triskel" in howling castle. I was mauled by a "nightclaw" in shadow roads of Morvax. Me and my companions were attacked by "bone cleavers" in kingdom of ashbound. As, if that was not enough I lost all my companions to those filthy bastards. Then I call upon capital to help. No, not even a knight came to my aid. Everyone was feasting and busy in whorehouses and what not. I went to frost kingdom all by myself, slew a dragon and then claimed that kingdom under my banner. Only then did father manipulated me saying "it was a test for your own good", i spit on him and his words! I spit on my brothers and everyone... No one was where for me when I needed them, then why should I? Why do you expect me to show mercy? I swallowed my pride and accepted father's blessings. Then I went hard galloping and hours upon hours of beating the stroms and krakens, i reached here for the tomb. So, I can finally overthrow my father and become the king of capital!"
Jorath sighed. His anger was not directed towards jemriah. He knew. But his anger was directed towards their father. Towards the capital. That would do him no good.
"I understand. I always have. Since we were little, you used to go to taverns and hear stories of kings and their adventures. I know. All of it. But destroying father would do you no good. I learned that hard way. You should not do the same mistakes I made".
Jorath smiled. "Then come with me. You failed and you think I will too? Then come with me. Take the power from tomb and then we will attack captial... We can... I know we can".
"You think it's that easy? Must I remind you that father has thousands of knights under him. Several kingdoms have sworn allegiance to him. He does not have power but he can give power. You know it and I know it. This folly must end now".
A loud rumbling reverberated through water.
Several pillars which were broken now healed themselves, forming a new tomb.
The tomb changed. Stone shifted and spread, pillars rose one by one, and what had once been a grave became a vast tomb large enough to house a small kingdom.
"Wait. Is this the kingdom that king Aramzir attacked?", jorath asked.
Jemriah nodded. "Yes, forenhold. Kingdom of king foren".
Jorath smiled. "We might have done something. Unintentionally".
World of sumaka through eyes of triskel-
We are a tribe that comes from past. We are made from powers of God. Three legs, three arms and three heads. We are superior humans. We can think more. We can fight more. We can do anything that humans do but better. Bone cleavers are our sworn enemy. Even if one of them comes to our howling castle, we take the chance to show them who truly is the most brutal.
One day, we are going to attack ashbound with our tridents. We hope one day these bone cleavers will cease to exist. We are the true creation of God. Not them, not anyone.
But the triskels. We have blood of ancient gods.