The Guardian
Legends and lore surround the cursed Valley of Myrr. One legend speaks of a monstrous creature that roams the Valley jungle, consuming all who enter, sneaking into villages, stealing children, and tormenting the locals. According to lore, the creature travels like a shadow, with the strength to lift entire homes off the ground. It fears no man nor weapon. It is a phantom of the darkness.
Perched atop a rocky cliff sat a magnificent beast looking over his jungle kingdom. Thick horns cover the beast’s head and spine with cascading armored plated scales along its back. Unique horn growths extend like tusks from its face and snout. Deadly defensive horns grow along its arms and legs. This creature also possesses several anatomical features that are unique to its reptilian nature.. The creature’s prehensile tail allows it to anchor its body to the thick vegetative growth of the valley, giving it an advantage of travel through the difficult terrain. But the strangest anomaly of this unique reptilian beast is the large upper body anatomy, equipped with opposable thumbs. An advantageous trait for life in a near vertical landscape.
This magnificent creature supports the existence of a legendary creature the locals call The Ruundyr. He is one of many.
The guardian of the Valley looks over his jungle kingdom. He knows and watches everything that goes on within his valley. He is the protector of the wildlife, the steward of the ecosystem, defender of nature’s way. Humans are far too careless to respect the valley, and dragons corrupt the unique balance of life within the wilderness. He believes it is his responsibility to protect his world from outsiders, a true guardian of the Valley of Myrr.
The Ruundyr is not interested in hunting at the moment. He received the necessary proteins and nourishment from an early morning meal and thanked the valley for the life it provided him. His attention shifted to observation. If he is to protect the valley as a guardian, he must observe all that transpires within.
The Valley of Myrr expands far beyond the horizon. A complex and intricate network of canyons, valleys and mountain peaks, all leading to one central location. The mountains extend far up into the air, creating deep valleys with steep cliff-side walls, creating a unique tiered look across the vast landscape. Trees, bushes and plants grow abundantly, covering the geometric rock walls with vines, moss and growth, sustained by the rainy and humid climate.
The Ruundyr sniffs the air with a snort. He turns his head, adjusting his view of the Valley before him. He hears something moving in the foliage. The Ruundyr glances down and sees a large snake slithering through the rocks and bushes below him. He doesn’t mind. The snake could not harm a beast such as the Ruundyr and he wishes the serpent a successful hunting venture.
The guardian of the Valley glances to the south, observing the serene morning. He detects a small herd of mountain deer traveling through. Looking farther, he spots several trolls climbing a tall tree to feast on some honey. The intelligent Ruundyr makes a note to himself to watch the growth of the trolls. Trolls are not a threat to the ecosystem. If their numbers grow too quickly, they hive together in clans, which will threaten the nature of the valley.
Several jostling trees draw the attention of the Ruundyr. The size of the trees indicates an extremely large animal. This does not worry the Ruundyr. It seems to be one of his brothers, in need of a scratch on the back or the rough bark of the tree to clean its horns. The Ruundyr twists his head westward when he sees a dark object scurrying along the ground. The Ruundyr leans forward, hoping to identify the animal. It looked like a giant grey-black insect with long spindly arms. Yet the insects in the valley do not grow that large.
Then he sees the dark gray scales and the lanky wings of a dragon as it crawled up and over a large rock face. It was one of the vile underground dragons of the valley. The Ruundyr leapt from his cliff-side perch, descending quickly through the brush and vegetation. Grasping onto the large trees and vines, the magnificent beast climbs down the face of the Valley, using its strong gripping hands and prehensile tail.
The Ruundyr efficiently and quietly draws close enough to get sights on the strange-looking dragon. He needed to get close enough to observe, while under the cover of perfect stealth. He couldn’t risk the small dragon hearing him approach. Patiently, stepping closer and closer to the dragon as it scurried along the ground, the Ruundyr prepared to pounce.
The Ruundyr stopped.
Two other gray underground dragons joined the first. The Ruundyr outnumbered all three of the dragons in size, strength, and ferocity. Yet the Ruundyr knew only stealthy attacks worked on the gray dragons. They possessed a power that causes great pain, paralyzing his ability to attack. He knew he could overpower one, maybe two, but three could be dangerous.
The Ruundyr held back and followed with extreme stealth. He waited for the perfect moment to attack, otherwise, he himself could be the victim. The three dragons scurried along the jungle floor. The Ruundyr followed closely. Then stopping, the dark dragons looked around, then crawled into a cavelike opening along the cliff side.
The Ruundyr sat a moment staring at the open darkness of the valley cave. Though not entirely dragon, his mind equaled that of any intelligent being.
“What are those dragons doing?” The Ruundyr thought to itself. “I thought most of them were dead. Eradicated. These vermin, like insects, always come back. They never leave. They only cause pain. They only cause death.”
The intelligent beast sat for a moment in thought. “If more survived than I realized, there could be more. Underground. Making more. I hate their underworld. I hate the darkness they live in.” The guardian stared at the cave a moment in thought. “Too long I have roamed the surface, not knowing what goes on below. I hate the darkness. Although I must know. I have to know. I must protect this world.” With a huff and a snort, the Ruundyr crept into the open cave, entering the darkness.
Beneath the valley of cliffs and thick vegetation, an underworld of caves, caverns and tunnels expanded deep into the mountains. Traveling through the underworld of the valley required a heightened sense of direction. A maze of random corridors and tunnels expanded both vertically and horizontally, creating an elaborate hidden underworld of the valley. The magnificent beast spent years mapping out the intricacies of the underworld, learning and memorizing the unique structure. He learned to navigate through the underworld as easily as he could in the upper valley. The smaller dragons often climbed through much smaller openings and tunnels, but the Ruundyr ruled the valley, the guardian of all that lived there. He forged paths when necessary. He needed to see everything.
The Ruundyr slowly crept through the underground network of caves. He could not risk being discovered by the vile underground dragons.
“Those dragons shouldn’t be here. Yet they still live. Maybe their powers grew?”
The guardian stopped. He caught up to the writhing, dark dragons slithering over the rocks deeper into the darkness. The Ruundyr kept a safe distance. A surprise attack had to be perfect. Risk of failure increased the deeper they descended, as more dragons could come from any room, corridor, or tunnel. The dragons emerged into a wide-open room, joining several more dragons of their kind. The Ruundyr located a spot in the darkness to observe.
“There are more. How many dragons live down here? They only desire evil…”
Then several unusual dragon looking creatures entered the room. They looked dragon yet walked upright on their back two legs. They hunched over with a thicker upper body build, with small vestigial wings. Their front legs looked more like human arms than dragon legs, toting a myriad of rudimentary weapons with them.
“… and they’re creating more abominations.”
The dragons and mutant dragons spoke in a strange language the Ruundyr could not understand. They acted excited. The cluster continued to talk. The Ruundyr thought about using their distraction to his advantage. He felt the urgency to launch an attack before the situation escalated any further, regretting he didn’t act sooner.
“I could use the darkness. I could take down several before they even know I’m there. They are distracted. If they don’t see me, they won’t use their powers. If I am fast, I could stop them before they use their powers. Quick and quiet. A bite, several claws and a kick, and my tail could handle the rest. Although the risk would be great. If they capture me, it could be my end. I can’t go back to their dungeons. The ambush must be perfect.”
Before the Ruundyr could react, the dragons scurried into an adjoining corridor. The Ruundyr held a moment to keep a safe distance, then followed. The group of dragons and dragon mutants traveled past several other rooms and tunnels, shouting in their strange language while the Ruundyr held still. He watched as more and more dragons and mutant dragons emerged from different tunnels and caverns.
The Ruundyr realized the good fortune his hesitation brought him. “There are many! More than there should be. How are they doing this? How are they increasing their population and their creations?”
The Ruundyr heard a shuffling noise from behind and quickly leapt through several large openings to a pathway above to avoid detection. More dragons and a growing variety of mutant battle dragons carrying weapons all seemed to move in one direction. The Ruundyr looked around, examining the options of tunnels and corridors. He believed he knew their destination. To avoid detection by the growing crowd of dragons, the Ruundyr followed a separate path, hoping to find a better way to view their activity.
The Ruundyr could hear the growing commotion, but followed a path that kept him safe from the sounds. He knew his path would lead him back to the dragons, yet for the moment, he traveled in silence, away from the dangers of the underworld dragons.
*CHIRP*
The Ruundyr paused.
Then he heard it again.
*CHIRP*
The Ruundyr ran towards the sound. Inside a large room, he found a massive turtle like beast. Thick armored horns grew along its back, with several facial horns and a long spiked tail.
“CHIRP, CHIRP!” it called out to the Ruundyr. The beast of a turtle looked thin and weak. Two large shackles clasped around the turtle’s back legs.
“The evil dragons. They torture them. They must be starving this one. They hate these brothers more than the rest. Their powers don’t work on them, so they torture them with fires, axes, spears, and starvation. They only cause pain. They will kill this one.”
“CHIRP, CHIRP!”
“I know.”
The Ruundyr looked at the shackles that wore through the thick armored scales, cutting into the skin of the monstrous turtle. The Ruundyr turned to face the turtle beast with a snort and a growl. Then, stepping in close to the turtle beast, he leveraged one of his tusk horns from his upper jaw into the shackle, grabbed each side of the shackle with his hands, and pulled. The turtle creature squealed from the pain.
SNAP!
The shackles fell to the side. The Ruundyr approached the other leg and repeated the same sequence.
SNAP!
“CHIRP, CHIRP! CHIRP!”
At last free, the beastie turtle ran around the room in circles. The Ruundyr approached the beast. He leaned his head in and gave a quick snorting huff and a slight growl. The beast of a turtle responded with its chirping noise.
The two monstrous beasts left in separate direction.
“He will feed, he will grow strong. He will find the others of his kind, he will find his elders. He doesn’t need my protection. It’s a wonder the foolish dragons captured him to begin with.”
The Ruundyr continued to follow his path, leading him back to the activity of the dragons and mutants. Then, upon emerging in an upper level of an enormous cavern, he found them. A crowd of the dark scaled dragons, and multiple clusters of the mutant battle dragons.
“There are so many of them. Where did they come from? How did they get here?”
The Ruundyr shifted to get a better view. The dragons and mutant dragons cheered at something or some unseen event. A large dragon-looking creature lay dead on the ground, bleeding from a massive puncture wound.
Then, letting out a deep bleating bellow, a massive thick-skinned animal stood snorting and shaking its head at the fallen giant battle dragon. Horns grew from the beast’s head, with a long horn jutting out from its nose. It grunted and snorted at the chanting dragons, digging its hoofed feet into the dirt and gravel.
“Where did they find that animal? It’s not one of them. It’s a nature beast.” The Ruundyr held a moment in thought as he looked onto the scene of dragons chanting and shaking their weapons. “These dragons they hate everyone. They hate everything. They curse nature, they destroy nature. I need to save that animal. I cannot allow them to torture more of nature’s creations. But how?”
The Ruundyr jumped to a level above, looking for a plan of attack to free the giant nature beast. He knew if he planned his attack just right, he could get help from the powerful animal, and hopefully escape before the dragons could use their strange powers.
The battle dragons and the dark dragons shouted and cheered, drawing the attention of the Ruundyr. Emerging from the darkness of a massive cage, walked a gigantic mutant dragon creature. It looked dragon, yet appeared void of scales, with a pale green and pinkish diseased looking skin. It walked upright on two legs, with an upper body build resembling that of a humanoid being with large muscular arms carrying a massive spiked weapon. Gigantic cranial horns protruded from the back of its skull, with random growth of horns along its back. The small and sunken eyes of the horrific creatures gave it a skull-like look. It purred a rasping gravely breath, then let out an abominable screeching roar.
The large horned nature beast dug its hoofed feet into the ground and bellowed an echoing battled cry charging into the massive creature. A battle of giants erupted. The Ruundyr knew that in the natural world, not much would threaten an animal such as the thick-skinned horned animal. Most natural predators would run at the sight of such a massive nature beast. The animal’s instinct told it to attack. In nature, it dominated its territory and feared no other living creature. Whatever these dragons created feared less. Though a formidable force, the nature beast faced a challenge beyond its abilities.
The gigantic battle dragon moved fast and agile for such an enormous creature, dodging out of the way of the horned animal’s onslaught. The strength of the battle dragon appeared beyond anything the Ruundyr witnessed in the underworld. The evil dragon monster grabbed the nature beast by the horns and rolled it do the ground, unleashing an attack with its crudely built spiked ball and chain weapon.
The Ruundyr looked away. He hated the violence of the vile underground dragons. He could do nothing to save the animal. The Ruundyr’s heart raced, anger surge through his soul. “Why do they hate so much?”
A loud shrieking roar rang out from the victorious battle dragon. The cluster of other mutations and dragons cheered.
“Why do they find joy in pain?” The Ruundyr lowered his head. “I must stop them. I spent too much time above. I should have been better. I should have kept the Valley safe. I must eradicate these vile vermin that destroy.”
Then the Ruundyr noticed a change in the noises from the cluster of dragons and mutants. Turning back to the scene of violence, he saw them. The gigantic battle dragon, the clusters of dark dragons, and the groups of smaller battle dragons looked directly at the Ruundyr.
Run.
The Ruundyr burst into immediate action, leaping upward through the tunnels and corridors. He could hear the loud shrieks and chanting of the battle dragons. He needed as much distance as fast as he could to avoid the strange powers. If they slowed him down, the monstrous abomination would finish him. Faster, faster he ran, darting through rooms and tunnels, turning randomly, switching up his path, ever moving upwards out of the underground world. He knew their tunnels; he knew the way. As long as he kept moving, he could find safety.
The Ruundyr leapt through an opening to the daylight above. He paused a moment, catching his breath. The foolish gray dragons possessed strange powers, but they moved slowly and could not travel as fast as he could. The battle dragons, though much faster, lacked any form of intelligent problem solving and would never solve the riddle of the underground maze.
“Safety?” The Ruundyr thought. “How can a world remain safe when such hatred and violence thrive beneath the unknowing world above?”
The Ruundyr took a deep breath.
“I can no longer do this alone. I need help from the others.”
The Ruundyr looked down into the valley, then up to the top of the ridgeline. “I could risk everything. More dragons may come. They might send worse dragons and destroy everything I fought to preserve. I will jeopardize the natural order of the valley. But I cannot protect the valley alone.”
“I must warn the humans.”