Rogue Desert (Location E)

[Max Dirks]

The Rogue Desert, though its generic wording is said to be named after Althanas' infamous Kylin Rogue, is located in the southeastern corner of the map. It is the largest area on the map and its filled with sand dunes and plateaus. This area is connected to the Oberon Plateau in the north, and to the Magi Forest in the west.

This is Amaril Torrun's starting location.

The tournament begins at 3:00 PM CST. Good Luck!

[Amaril Torrun]

A hard breeze pushed itself across the Rogue Desert, stirring up the loosest particles of dirt and sand. Rolling over the seemingly endless dunes, the wind touched on the faces of an army, allowing them a momentary comfort. With the passing of that breeze, the sun reverberated its heat back on the men and women, cleansing their bodies of excess salt and water. At the front of the sweat drenched force, stood the leader of the Split Breed army.

The heat was paining him more harshly than any soldier on the field, burning the insides of a body that thrived off of chills. If they were forced into battle in the forsaken desert, he doubted that he’d last very long. He couldn’t let himself appear to be weak in front of the massive force he led however, and fought all urges to fly to a colder climate. Instead he turned to the three generals behind him, giving Kataneen and Hector a chance to finish up a conversation.

“So, do any of you disagree with my decision?” He prayed with every fiber of his being that none of the generals would challenge his desire to get out of the desert as fast as possible.

Hector was the first to open his mouth, as was beginning to be the norm. “Yeah, getting out of this hell hole is fine by me. Lead the way commander.” The last part was said somewhat sarcastically, but Amaril didn’t care.

Hector couldn’t be blamed for not putting his trust in such an inexperienced leader. While the general of The Mercs had grudgingly decided to follow the half-dragon’s lead, his own experience on the battlefield would be a much greater determining factor in his actions. During the first round of the tournament, he had acted rashly, splitting his men up from the rest of the army and putting them in the front lines of any danger they came across. Luckily, yet eerily, they had come across no enemy and the Split Breeds were declared victors by default. Now however, he would keep his head and at least listen to his leader’s words, if not obey them.

“My men are ready to get out of here as well, Amaril.” Darith looked back to his fellow draconians, most of whom were laying in the sand with arms across their faces in order to block the sun.

Amaril looked at Kataneen, but already knew her answer. She would follow him anywhere on the battlefield. “Alright, let’s go then. Hector, send two of your fastest runners to go ahead of us and scout the area. Darith, send one of our flying companions into the air to do the same. We don’t want to fall into a trap.”

Hector opened his mouth to say something, but stopped before any sound came out. He hated the idea of possibly sacrificing his men, but knew it was necessary. Sending a draconian as well helped to ease the tension, and Darith showed no hesitation in calling forth one of his men. The swordsman general, not wanting to appear weaker than the draconian leader, did the same and called forth two names.

A bit of sand flew into Amaril’s eye right before giving the instructions to the scouts. Reading into the half-dragon’s mind, Kataneen stepped forward to instruct the men, allowing her leader to rub the irritated organ. “Move ahead and search the area. We are leaving the desert behind and we do not want to come across the enemy unexpectedly. Travel in haste, so that you have ample time to return and tell us of anything you find.” The men and the draconian nodded and took off at once.

Left behind, the rest of the army started to make preparations to leave. The three generals and their leader decided to head for the Oberon Plateau, an elevated land that would be quite defensible if they got there first.

The placement of the army was a bit more difficult due to Hector’s refusal to put his men on the front lines again. Kataneen found her force out in front with very little choice in the matter. She explained that the faoi were slow walkers and would slow everyone else down, but Hector remained unconvinced. His men followed in second, and Darith’s miniature force would march behind the rest. Two officers from the Mercs and the Draconians were to travel with their leaders. Three of Kataneen’s children would march alongside her, acting as her officers.

The leader of the army marched in front of everyone, gaining the respect of some and being called a fool by others. He wasn’t concerned with what the army thought of him at the moment. Instead he focused on the idea that he would soon be gone from the desert that was very quickly beginning to kill him.

((The entire army is moving from area E to area B. The flying draconian scout and on of the human scouts is heading to area B. The other human scout is headed toward area F. Both of the human scouts are rogues from the Mercs division.))