- The picture is from TikTok, and the idea to write something inspired by it also came from TikTok (@penn_wisee). -
The game: Write a story around the picture.
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The Hunt
The Sandwalker's agreement with the villagers was for this Shadow, but the man, understandably so, felt cheated. This creature was nothing like the rest of its kind, he faced before.
It's body was stockier, it's claws sharper and longer and it moved with a speed that defied the laws of this world, raising enormous walls of sand across the flat terrain of the dessert.
But it didn't attack him.
Other Shadows lunged themselves at everything they spotted and deemed food-worthy. They were closer to a wild, hungry animal than anything else. Their instincts guided them and for that reason alone, the Sandwalker never worried about an encounter before. They were easy to outplay and therefore even easier to kill.
But not this one!
He could have sworn, that the creature before him was thinking and waiting for him to attack first. And since he believed that standing around would accomplish nothing, he drew his sword from its scabbard, and after a false glance to the right, he charged the Shadow from the opposite direction.
The creature was unfazed by the distraction attempt and disappeared before the sword could find its target. In its wake leaving a blinding wall of sand. The Sandwalker was standing helplessly with sand in his eyes, as the creature's left arm claws tore through his back.
He had to admire the Shadow's intelligence, but he had some tricks up his sleeve and had no intention of going down easy. The next swing met with his sword, after an elegant twirl to the left. His eyes remained closed, to prevent further contamination, but his years of experience meant he was aware of the situation around him.
The falling sand started to settle and the shadow creature's face was mere inches away from his own. So while he was using all his force to keep the monster at bay, with a flick of his left wrist he rotated the hilt of the sword, which in turn shined bright with a gold light. The next minute, the concentrated power beam burst out of the weapon and into the face of the Shadow, making it recoil with an otherworldly scream.
When the hunter opened his eyes, the creature fell over with a loud thud. A hole where once its torso was.
"What a waste of holy energy. That's gonna cost me you fiend" said the man as he gathered the evidence needed for his bounty payment.