Unnamed Story - Prologue/Ch. 1

A thin blanket of darkness began to drift down from the heavens; first as a teasing peek, then a slow fall. Carefully sewn corners draped over the horizons of the planet, covering all that lied beneath in ceaseless shadows. The blazing sun had laid itself to rest. All that remained in its absence was the night.

Stretching vast beneath the blanket existed a veritable wasteland. Dunes of sand taller than any man riddled the desolate landscape, some growing while others shrank at the slightest whim of the whipping desert winds. The occasional carcass, newly dead or no more than bone stained the surface of the mahogany sea. Only the largest of stones, brazen of plant-life, and deadliest of animals dared to live amongst the harsh environment; and even then, their presence was rarely noticed. By light, the endless expanse of the desert radiates heat, scorching all that come into contact. Even the massive stones littering the sands seem to shrink at the slightest taste of the sun’s rays. By night, however, the temperature drops immensely. The entire desert takes on an eerie, other-worldly calm when the sun sinks below the horizon. Then, and only then, can the wasteland’s creatures survive their chosen habitat.

From horizon to horizon, all that existed were the ethereal sands, glowing white by light of the moon. As the blanket of night began to settle more firmly against the landscape beneath it, the sands started to shift.

Shadowed figures began to rise beneath the brilliant sea of white. Limbs covered in darkness thrashed amongst the sands, flinging the only source of light from their forms. A thin cloud of glowing fog hovered above the wasteland for a time, as beings of dusk continued to thrash and flail within. The creatures of the night had awakened.

The cloud of dust began to settle reluctantly amongst the wasteland, revealing a veritable army of shadowed figures standing in formation against a sea of white sands. Rays of moonlight carefully studied the creatures, revealing heavily polished suits of armor as they were reflected back to their source. Radiant metal adorned each of the creatures, contrasting against the wasteland surrounding them.

One of the figures treaded against the current of the sea, visibly struggling against the weight of its armor as well as the encompassing sands. After only a few moments of struggle, the creature stood before the entire assembly of its brethren. With a gesture of its limbs and flash of the reflecting moonlight, it proclaimed against the formerly undisturbed silence: “Onwards, men!”. A hearty cheer rose amongst the assembled creatures, as bodies and limbs flailed madly among the fickle light. The entire amassment of beings trudged off behind their leader as one, leaving a wake in the sea as they moved. Undisturbed silence once more reigned among the sands, save for an occasional “There’s sand in my ass…”.