Demons of the Past Chapter 1: The War
Noise. That was what he remembered most.
The noise of hordes of Rahkshi swarming all around, with staves bared and eyes glowing bright red, ready to fire.
The noise of thousands of Skakdi joining the fray, eager to cleave all those who would stand in their way.
The noise of legions of Skrall, ready to fight and die in service to their new powers.
The noise of all the Toa and Glatorian heroes that could be gathered to defend the villagers.
The noise of two titans locked in a back-and-forth struggle, shaking the planet with each step they took.
The noise of a planet engulfed in a single battle.
Tempos bobbed and weaved through the fighting, hacking and slashing left right, never stopping. He couldn’t stop. If he stopped he would die, just like anyone else who stopped. If you’re always moving, you’re harder to hit, you have more momentum, more power to each of your attacks. And so the battle for Spherus Magna became a blur for Tempos, a mixture of hot desert air, dried Rahkshi carcasses, and protosteel flashing and swinging. Clang! A parry to the left. Shing! A slash on the right. A quick combo of three sword swings and another Skakdi fell to the ground. Tempos just kept moving, kept running, always conserving his momentum, just like he had been taught. If he needed to block, he would follow up with a counterattack that conserved his momentum.
He saw a flash of red for just a moment and instinctively hit the ground, sliding towards his next foe. The laser beams that shot over his head proved his instincts to be trustworthy. The yellow Rahkshi brandishing its spear ahead of him had to take a moment to recover its energy from firing the laser beams. Just a brief moment, but for Tempos, a brief moment was all he needed. Tempos used his mask to slow down time around the Rahkshi, giving him enough time to get in close enough to use his sword. The Rahkshi was unprepared for such an attack, and after a brief skirmish, one more Kraata gave its final screech before it shriveled up and died.
Tempos had to keep moving to stay alive. Running through the battle, cutting down any Rahkshi and Skakdi that got in his way. Scanning the fray for any trouble, he caught sight of an ally in dire need of assistance. Just like that, the only thing on Tempos’ mind was saving a life. The singular focus gave him the strength to save a comrade from death. Leaping into action, he swung his sword in a horizontal arc, emitting a wave of energy that cut through Rahkshi. As the other warrior collapsed to the ground, exhausted and accepting defeat, the Skakdi fighting him raised his hook-blade to sever his opponent’s head. As he swung his blade down, Tempos blocked the blow with his own blade. The Skakdi turned his head in shock to look at the new combatant. Tempos, with a furious expression, snarled, “You won’t kill her.”
Tempos threw his blade up and brought it back around to slice through the Skakdi’s body. This Skakdi was a more formidable fighter than the Rahkshi, though, and blocked the slash. A brief duel ensued, the clang of the two swords ringing through the air against the cacophony of the larger battle. Tempos blocked the Skakdi’s savage attacks, constantly looking for an opening to strike back. Seeing one, Tempos swung his sword horizontally, knocking the Skakdi’s blade aside. Using his momentum, he spun his body, throwing his left arm around the Skakdi’s neck. Swiftly bringing the Skakdi to the ground, Tempos ran his sword through the Skakdi’s chest.
Drawing his sword back out, he looked for the other warrior. He found them, and rushed over to their side. “Get up,” he said, “Toa do not give up so easily.”
“Guess that’s why I’m a Glatorian,” she responded, out of breath.
“Today we are one. What is your name?”
“Kilatar.”
“Well Kilatar,” Tempos said while picking up his sword, “it’s time to rejoin the fight.”
She picked up her twin axes, weapons designed to shred flesh apart. As she hefted them up, she looked out to the distance. “That’s a lot of enemies that want to kill us”
“Don’t worry. We just have to keep them busy.”
And with that the two warriors charged the enemy forces, determined to live to see the end. Slashing through hordes of Rahkshi as though they were made of fabric, dodging laser beams and staff strikes left and right. Flowing through the battle, the two came upon a battalion of Skrall engaged in combat with a lone Toa of air. The two looked at each other, nodded their heads in agreement, and rushed to aid the Toa. Tempos was about to strike at the nearest Skrall when he felt a sudden impact on his left shoulder.
And then he awoke from his dream.