I would never have believed it, had I not seen it with my own eyes. The spectacle was a mad absurdity even for that ragtag bunch known as the “Blood of the Sand.” I should start by saying, their reputation for fearlessness is well-earned. As is their penchant for mad, displays of said courage, bordering on the suicidal. \n\nThey were five that day. Each stripped off the blood-red regalia that marked the tribe, and took a seat atop a shield of one he had felled in battle. The ritual masters sat at the base of the cliffs, each beating a great drum, it’s base dug deep into the earth. The rest of their number crashed their weapons together in time with the percussion, adding to the din. They shouted “Shah Neshen!”\n\nAfter a time, the earth began to shake. I could feel it in my very bones. And that is when I saw it… the great wave on the horizon. Something was coming.

The chosen

Devourer, Part 1

The five pushed against the rocks, sliding down upon the great shields toward the sandy arena. As the wave approached they readied great spears, each one lashed to a cable at his waist. Then the ground gave way.\n\nWhat I saw that day shook my very soul. The body of the great serpent rose from the sands, maw agape, its endless mass blocking out the very sky. But the madmen never faltered. They continued to ride the cliff face, oblivious to the danger. They cried out to their many and varied gods – to Tyr and Ares, to Anhur and Donar – as a cheer went up from the assembled throng.\n\nAnd I realized, that I was screaming, too. Not with the ecstasy of the congregating lunatics, but with a horror beyond comprehension.

A mad dash

Devourer, Part 2

The first of the riders reached the sandy arena, hurling his spear toward the hulking mass of the Devourer. The beast paid him no heed. Instead, it turned at its apex, yawing maw now directed back at the earth, and dove back into the unknown abyss from which it had emerged.\n\nThe ground shuddered again, and my teeth and bones rattled as an opaque cloud descended over the flatlands. Calmness returned, and oppressive silence blanketed the clifftops, as all eyes stared intently into the settling dust. At long last, the sands calmed, leaving behind nothing but the dunes. \n\nAll eyes turned to the chief, who seemed to shrug slightly. That was when I understood. Their deaths were expected— the warriors were to travel the underworld and find a path off the island.\n\nI turned to record my observations, and when I looked back— they were gone. All of them. We must have an alliance with these Blood of the Sand, if we are to succeed in our efforts.

Blood travelers

Devourer, Part 3

The sandswept and sunscorched desert in the West, and the last known home of the Ancients

Trial of the Devourer Chapter - NWGuide Database of Lore

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