It was two hours, only two hours before Khan wanted to go back. The heat was unending. Relentless and unforgiving. It made him sweat up a storm. But, that wasn't the worst part. No, the worst part was when the sweat stopped coming. He hadn't realized how much the stinky, putrid liquid had cooled him until it was gone. Then, he wanted to go back. But, he couldn't. No matter what, he couldn't go back. This is my chance. Raleisa's cocky mercy is going to lead to his demise. He thought as he trudged onward. Where was he going?
North.
Where he knew that many developed kingdoms were. He had read stories about such kingdoms. Well, not stories per se-- they were more like records. Records of trades and previously established alliances. All forgotten by the masses. Why? Well, it was all due to Raleisa's reign. When Raleisa had first established his rule in Nactin, he cut off all of Nactin's contacts, trade routes, and former alliances.
"Crafty demon. I'll give him that much." Khan said, bitterly. A sudden and horrific stink permeated the air as soon as he said that, and he keeled over from the potent smell. What the hell? But then, having smelled enough dead bodies in his life, Khan realized what it was. That's good. Dead animal-- that means food. As if the universe was signaling him, his stomach growled like a lion and he sighed. Yeah yeah, I get it.
He trudged up two more relatively small sand dunes before coming upon the body. It was in a bowl. Well, at least, what Khan would describe as a bowl. Really, the "bowl" was a large pit of sand with high dunes surrounding it. And within that pit lay the half-eaten carcass of a--
"Dragon. A real, bronze dragon. Huh." Khan thought out loud. It wasn't large--in comparison to other dragons of course. But, in reality, it was a massive beast. One that had gone too far from its pack. Khan slid down the sand dune he was on top of and walked up next to the dead dragon. Yep. That's definitely where the smell is coming from. He thought as he pinched his nose, disgusted by the putrid smell of the dead. But he knew one thing. This is food. Whether I like it or not, I'm going to have to eat dragon tonight. Then, he could feel the weight of his legs, giving almost. As if gravity had suddenly become stronger. He was tired. And, he decided to lay down next to the dragon, and take stock.
"What the hell do I have?" He asked. He kept his eyes trained on the dead dragon. Half of its face had been eaten to the bone. But, it was not a large beast that ate it. No. Even then, Khan could see the millions of bugs chewing on the dragon's flesh. That's problematic. They're eating my meat. Its body was also littered with bugs. It had suffered certainly. He could saw large scars, stricken across the dragons pierced wings and body. Probably a fight with another dragon. He reasoned. But, it wasn't recent. If it was, I would've seen traces of some battle on the way. Or perhaps, a sandstorm passed through and covered the destruction of battle. Either way, it seems to have been dead for a while.
Suddenly, the bugs all leaped up into the air and flew off in a massive, black horde. The nightmarish scene startled Khan for a moment, but as soon as they left, he finally understood. Their all nytrons. They eat dead animals like scavengers, in massive hordes. Khan thought, recalling the passage he had read about them. Or, actually, the passage Ali had read to him.
...
"They like big animals. They chew them up in hordes. However, nytrons always flee at the first sign of imminent danger." Ali had said. Khan was listening, absently mindedly while leaning against the stone wall of their house. He was too focused on his plan. His scheming. But, Ali, insistent as always, strived for his brother's attention.
"Would they think I'm dangerous?" Khan asked, not really paying attention. He didn't care about the bugs. But, he was glad that Ali was in good spirits. Despite what had happened to Ali's friend. Poor Abdullah.
"No. No, they would probably just ignore you brother." He said, giggling along with his words. Khan raised an eyebrow at him.
"They would definitely be afraid of me," Khan said. Ali let out a roaring laugh as he looked up from his book. Of course, Khan doubted the validity of his words. But, he didn't say them because he was particularly offended. No, he just savored his brother's laugh. It's not like it was rare, but it always lit up Khan's day. It made him smile, at the very least.
"They're afraid of big, intimidating beasts. Like sand wolves or dragons." Ali explained, still laughing. Khan feigned shock and betrayal.
"Come on. I'm pretty intimidating, aren't I?" Khan asked, standing up straight. But Ali shook his head.
"Brother, you're as scary as a mouse."
"Mice can bite, you know?"
"Really?" Ali asked, his curiosity peaking. Khan walked towards him.
"I'll show you!" Khan bellowed and Ali gave a cheery scream, running away from him. Of course, Khan chased him back into the house and caught him relatively quickly. Tickling poor Ali all over, no matter how much Ali told Khan to stop. But, much like Ali was laughing earlier, Khan roared his laughter. And the two brothers, laughing as they wrestled one another, received a downcast look of confusion from their mother. Who, simply rolled her eyes and moved along. Just another day in the Amir residence.
...
Khan didn't know why that memory had fully resurfaced. Perhaps it was nostalgia or the longing for home. Either way, he attempted to focus on the important part. Nytrons run away from bigger beasts. Which means I'm in big trouble. Khan backed up against the dragon upon this realization. Keeping his eye trained on the dunes surrounding the sandpit. And his ears peeled for any sort of noise. But he heard absolutely nothing. And, for a second, he though the Nytrons had simply made a mistake. Perhaps they became full. He thought though he doubted that sentiment.
CRUNCH! CRUNCH! The noise finally came. It was loud and rapid. As if looping over and over again. Which means, whatever's coming, there's more than one. I need a weapon. Something. He thought as the sounds approached closer. He quickly turned around, looking for anything, any bone he could use from the dragon's corpse. The exposed bones from the body and face weren't gonna work. Too big. But the teeth--they looked promising. Khan immediately ran over to the face of the dragon and grasped one of it's hard, sharp yellow teeth. The one he had grasped wasn't particularly large in comparison to the others, but it was enough. About the size of a knife actually. And, still sharp. He grabbed it with both hands and pulled. Nothing. He could feel it tug, but it wouldn't come off. He tried again. Nothing. He tried a third time, this time pulling with all the strength he could muster while pushing his feet off of the dragon's half-eaten mouth. Finally, the tooth came loose and Khan fell over. He picked himself up, not bothering to rub the sand off as he surveyed the fraught situation.
Sand wolves. 5 of them. Their fur was, as the name entailed, the color of sand. Their eyes, however, were red. A maroonish color that stood out from other creatures. They had surrounded the sandpit, standing atop a singular dune adjacent to Khan. And they were hungry. He could tell. Their stomachs were caved in as if they had been dented like metal. They growled like lions and the one at the front, the one Khan assumed to be the leader, roared. The Alpha's face was scarred. But it was an old scar. One that ran down the center of his face and over his nose. Khan raised the knife--no, the tooth outward, and smiled. I'm going to die. Great. He thought. His sarcastic thoughts, oddly enough, put him at ease. The wolves made no move. No, they instead growled and roared. But their roars were wretched and insufferable. Not like the roars of beasts like dragons or lions. No, their roars were shrill and hoarse. Khan almost felt bad for the wolves. But the sentiment fell away as soon as they descended. They were slow, cautious creatures. Waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce. Khan thought of running away-- climbing over or going around the dragon. And then trudging up the dune behind him. However, he knew that would be a stupid move. As soon as I turn my back, they'll go for the kill. No, I need to stand my ground. Hopefully, if I kill one or two, the others will run.
Suddenly, an idea flourished in Khan's mind. He slowly backed away from the wolves as they approached him. Until Khan back reached up against the dragon's mouth. He proceeded to take slow, careful, meticulous steps up the dragon's head, keeping his body faced towards the wolves. Whose growls became more invigorated and louder. They were hungry. That was certain. But, Khan was hungry as well. He hadn't had that much experience with fighting. His fight against the demon was a desperate, stupid fight. He had only blinded the demon with an underhanded trick, and only for a few seconds. He didn't know swordplay or any form of martial arts. But, his will to survive, surpassed that of the wolves. He knew that. Well, he hoped that.
Khan stood atop the dragon's head and slowly, he sidestepped his way atop the belly of the dragon. It wasn't too far from the ground, height-wise. But, the wolves would've been able to jump up from where they were stood. So, the quickened their pace. Surrounding the dragon in the blink of an eye. Yet, they didn't seem to care about the mighty, dead beast. No, they only had a hunger for Khan. They were certainly bigger than the average-sized wolves. The alpha was certainly twice Khan's size. While the others were only slightly bigger than Khan. But Khan attempted to dig up the same rage he held against Raleisa. He attempted to nullify his own fear.
Thoughts of the demon came to mind. The demon who so brutally killed Khan's brother and sister. Kill him. Make him pay. To do that, you need to beat these guys. You need to survive. You need to win.
Kill every last one of them.
One of the wolves, a smaller one, jumped onto the dragon's body. Almost slipping off before sinking its claws into the dragon's flesh as it climbed up and faced Khan. It attacked in the blink of an eye, leaping towards Khan, it's fangs sinking into his arm. He cried out in pain. Thunderous, outlandish pain. But, despite the pain, he raised the dragon's tooth and struck the wolf. The tooth pierced the wolf's body, but it did not let go of Khan's left arm. He stabbed again and again until finally, the wolf loosened its grip. But not entirely, as it still clung to Khan's bleeding arm. His eyes became teary. He wanted to scream. But he remembered his anger. And he pushed every other emotion out.
He lifted his foot back and drove it into the beasts head. It jerked up from the hit, and Khan drove the bloodied tooth into its eye. It finally let go. But he didn't. He pushed the wolf on its side as it growled and struggled. But he simply took the tooth out once again and drove it into the wolf's second eye. Blinded it snapped its jaw at the air, trying to latch on Khan once again. But Khan simply kept stabbing. Until the creature let out a small whimper, and it died. He heard a growl behind him, and he turned. Two more wolves had made their way atop the dragon. One of them was considerably large and the other was slightly shorter than him. But both were bigger than the one Khan had just killed. Not good. One was bad enough. Now I half to kill four more. He thought as he raised the tooth again. Surprisingly it had kept its shape, sharp as ever. The sand wolves looked angry. One of their comrades was dead. But, Khan could see something else. A sliver of fear. They didn't attack immediately as the other wolf had. No, they were hesitant. And Khan decided to play into that.
Despite his weakened state, he roared. He screamed and yelled in every which way possible. Fear me. I killed your brother. Fear me. He yelled and yelled. Until he almost lost his voice. But the effect of his yell was evident. The wolves still hadn't attacked. He grinned like a madman. And, he charged. He didn't know what else to do. He had hoped that the wolves would run. But their hesitation would have to suffice. His left arm was limp and blood flowed out of it like rain. Yet he ran as fast a demon. The wolves met his charge at the last moment. The larger one attempted to pounce on Khan while the smaller one simply sprinted towards him.
He ducked under the jaws of the larger one. It fell behind him, giving him a few seconds to face the smaller one. It attempted to snatch his waist. He dodged right, almost losing his balance and falling off the dragon. But, he regained it quickly as the wolf swung it's head the side. Knocking Khan down, behind it. It leaped atop him, and he saw his opportunity. As it came atop his body, he held the tooth towards the sky. It pierced the wolf's stomach, but it didn't kill the beast. No, it writhed and struggled atop the tooth as it bore its weight atop of Khan. But, he was stronger. At that moment, he was stronger. He raised the wolf up high as he stood, and he threw it back down, slipping his tooth out as he did so. Immediately, he could feel the repercussions of using such explosive strength. His right arm exploded with pain while his left arm became practically unusable with its already devastating wound. But, Khan did not relent. He drove the tooth into the wolf's stomach and tore into the wolf. Its guts spilled atop the dragon as the larger wolf leaped up once again, clearing his dead comrade. But Khan was already ready for the larger beast. He dodged right, out of the wolf's jaws. And, as it landed, he kicked its body with all the force he could muster. The beast fell from the dragon's stomach and landed back on the sandy floor.
It stood relatively quickly and attempted to climb up the dragon once again. But, both the wolf and Khan heard a howel. Khan turned to see the alpha, calling for the other wolf. The wolf climbing the dragon leaped off and ran back to the alpha. Who eyed Khan with a fiery gaze. One that wanted vengeance. But couldn't take it. He recognized that gaze. And, as quickly as the wolves had come, they left, running over the dune and across the desert. Smart move. He knew I wasn't worth the risk. After all, he lost 2/5 of his pack. Khan thought still smiling. Before his vision began to fade. The blood. I need to stop its flow. I need something, anything. He gazed at the two gaping holes in his left arm with panic was stricken across his face. But he tore off his loincloth shirt and cut it in two. Wrapping both clothes tightly around his wound. He refrained from yelling in pain. Actually, no. He couldn't yell. He had already screamed his heart out, trying to intimidate the beasts.
Will they be back? He thought as tightened his makeshift tourniquet. But, he doubted it. For now, at least, he was in the clear. Finally, the loincloth was able to stop the flow of blood. But his body felt weak. Too much strength had been used. He needed rest. But, he didn't want it yet. He knew that with the wolves gone, the bugs and nytrons would come back and contaminate his food. So, he slid off the dragon. With one wolf in hand. Dragging it along, Khan trudged up the dune and went as far away from the dragon as his legs would carry him. Before the sun finally beat him and he fell. His strength was sapped. His arm hurt like hell. But he was alive. That was something. That was something.