Meteors crashed to the ground and ash fell from the sky as fires burned. The ground shook and mountains rumbled. Lightning flashed as waves crashed against the shores. Lava spewed from the ground as the ground tore apart. Bones of now dead dinosaurs littered the ground. There were no signs of life at all except for one small creature. It was an old ory, Starseeker, the very last of her kind. A few months before, she had just been enjoying time with her family. Her grandchildren were playing in the sun, her children watching them as others gathered food. She had watched the start, seen the signs, and now she will see how it all ends.
The first sign was the earthquakes. The first quake wasn't concerning, terrifying of course, but not enough to force them away from their home. The earth shook each day after the first quake, causing fear within them and the neighboring dinosaurs. The magnitude of each quake got stronger and stronger until one day the ground beneath the orys tore open, swallowing a few of her children, her mate, and any dinosaur that was in the area of the newly made fissure .The elder had sustained a few injuries from the event, but had kept her life.
Then the tsunami came. After being forced to move from their home, Starseeker and whatever was left of her family went out seeking for a safe place to make a new burrow. Later on that day she had looked out over a meadow towards a nearby beach. The water had started to draw away from shore. Starseeker watched as a large wall of water in the distance moved quickly towards them. The elder and her family tried to quickly run away, but to no avail they got engulfed by water. Starseeker was swept further inland, hitting whatever lay in the path of the strong current. Struggling to stay afloat, she got separated from her family and swept away. After washing ashore she glanced around, worn and beat up, with no sign of her family she limped up the side of the mountain and joined up with a herd.
After the tsunami, storms ravaged over the now broken landscape. Rain began to pour from the clouds that gathered above. Lightning struck the ground near Starseeker singeing the ground beside her and the herd that took her in. The wind howled as the rain grew heavier. After crawling into her burrow, she sat at the entrance watching the storm rage on outside. She watched as the water began to rise and listened as her herd began to panic. A tornado formed in the distance moving away from them. A second formed as the valley below submerged under water. The water continued to rise until only the upper parts of the mountains remained. Starseeker watched helplessly as lightning struck a few members of the herd, killing them instantly. As the water grew higher, the herd was forced to move to higher ground and a third tornado formed. Cold, wet, hopeless and frightened, Starseeker and the herd watched as the storm raged on through the night.
The fourth sign was the eruptions. After the flood, the earth continued to tremble. The continuous earthquakes caused a chain reaction of volcanic eruptions. By now the ory was now alone again, the rest of her herd having died off from the lack of food. Starseeker watched from the entrance of her burrow as the earth continued to break open each day. Lava spewing from volcanoes that had long been dormant. Ash filled the air darkening the once bright and beautiful sky. The once beautiful lush green landscape around her was now a burning wasteland. Starseeker still hoped that there was someone out there. Someone like her, still fighting for survival. She looked to the sky as the thick ash cloud let in one final ray of sunlight.
The last sign was the meteors. A few days after the volcanoes erupted, Starseeker had remained deep within her burrow, occasionally coming up to scavenge for whatever was left. She never did find anything but the remains of dinosaurs who never survived. It pained her, knowing there was no one else left. A small part of her wished, even hoped that there was someone still out there. She wondered why she was still alive, what kept her going? Blinking away her tears, Starseeker ran back towards the safety of her burrow. She stopped and glanced up just as a blazing rock streaked through the air and crashed miles away from her. She looked towards where it had crashed looking confused. She watched as more meteors began to fall from the sky, a few landing too close to her. Starseeker started to run towards her burrow again as more continued to fall. A meteor crashed right next to her, the impact sent her flying backwards, falling unconscious after her head hit a rock.
After waking up, Starseeker glanced around. The surrounding area was burning and filled with smoke. She weakly stood up and limped as fast as she could up to the highest peak. Once she got to the peak she looked back to the land below. Lava flowed like blood, ash sprinkled down like snow coating the land in a blanket. Lightning crackled, volcanoes roared. Starseek quickly went into her burrow, finding it hard to breathe. As the old ory went deeper into her burrow, she knew before morning came, she too would be gone. The burrow was nice and spacious, with tunnels carefully dug out. As she went deeper, crystals started to line the walls. Some crystals were big, others were small, each one giving off light as she went deeper. Starseeker followed the tunnel until she entered a large room. The large room was made to be like a temple, relics and crystals of different colors were neatly placed around the room. In the middle of the room sat five skulls of the titans. These 'titans', had been the biggest dinosaurs ruling the earth before the end came. Starseeker had placed four skulls in each corner on top of a dirt shelf and the fifth was placed in the middle. She had surrounded each shelf with a different colored crystal. Each color represented an element; fire represented by a rex skull, wind represented by a ptera and tropeo skull, earth represented by an apa skull, water represented by a krono skull, and death represented by a velo skull. As the earth shook again, Starseeker curled up looking weak and tired. One day the ground will stop shaking, the land will heal and new life would form. She knew one day this beautiful temple would be gone and forgotten, but she hoped before then, that someone would find and preserve it for a long as possible. With one final breath, Starseeker closed her eyes and fell into a deep eternal sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As time went on, the ground stopped shaking and the sky began to clear. As the land healed, new life began to find it's way back into the beat up land. Trees began to sprout as other plants began to grow. Rain fell from the sky slowly filling up ponds and rivers. With this new life, dinosaurs slowly began to return to this once forgotten land.
Starseeker watched from the underworld with the titans beside her. She had met the titans before their home was destroyed. Once in a blue moon, they would emerge from the underworld to roam the land above. At first the dinosaurs above had been scared, given their size and how they appeared. Sometimes the titans would fight when challenged, other times they would pack up and tell stories of the past.
She knew Phantom, a tropeo, and her mate Vulture, the ptera, loved challenges. Phantom and Vulture were both known for their skill in combat and riding storms. The apa, Gaea, was known for being a kind and gentle giant. Always watching the small dinosaurs around her feet and making sure she didn't accidentally kick them when she moved. The krono, Cascadia, was the ruler of the sea before her death. She was feared by many for her speed and strength. The rex, Vulcan, was one of the last known titans alive before the meteors came. Known for being the ruler of the land, he was also one of the fiercest hunters in his time. The velo, Seth, was Starseeker's best friend and was known for his trickery. Seth, before his death, had helped gather the skulls and make the temple for them all.
Starseeker looked at the titans and smiled.The titans and their guardians were buzzing with excitement. Tonight they would return to The Forgotten Realms. When morning comes they would return to the depths of the underworld and wait another ten years before emerging again.
The ground rumbled, the sky darkened and the gates to the underworld opened. Vulcan lifted his head up and let out a deep throaty roar, announcing that they were coming.
