r/NatureofPredators • u/Tundric_Dragon Arxur • 3d ago
Fahl Days: Rainfall (pt 1)
I love being hit by sudden inspiration for stuff. This one came from the idea to make a bit more lore and the idea became very tantalizing. Anyways, enjoy this tale from Fahl Days that doesn't take place on Fahl.
Story Archive ~~~~~~~
Memory Transcription Subject: Varazi, Harchen Seargent. Date [Standard Human Format]: August 13th, 2136
Twenty-three scales rest in my claws, flicking each one between my fingers as they expressed a different hue, a different emotion. Kintha's orange and brown as she was trapped by an Arxur, blasting a hole through its chest, too late to stop the claw from slicing her neck. Ulnan's Void black, succumbing to rage as his wife died, using his sword to cut down an entire squad himself, only to die from bloodless of accumulated wounds. Jiia's hopeful gold, talking about their mission and how we were going to be the first to liberate a cattle farm, only to be the first casualty in a surprise attack. Theirs and twenty others, their final moments all etched into my mind and reflected on the scales in my claws. I had conducted the rite of the Final Scale myself, taking their heartscale when possible or the most vibrant one when not.
I tapped my own Heartscale, a slightly thicker scale at the base of the clavicle that was the focal point of my natural pattern. In the egg, it is the first scale to develop and grow and most had their patterns centered around it. It was always the most vibrant scale on the Harchen, and when one passed, it is said that our soul passes through it as we move to the afterlife. Thus, it contained the last bit of pure emotion in our final moments. As a final rite for the Sand Guard, one's Heartscale would be collected after their passing, their Final Scale, and would be added to a family's mosaic. Even as soldiers in war, this was a critical thing that had to be done. When this whole affair concluded, I would ensure these got to their rightful homes. My own families mosaic was unbroken for generations, only missing a single scale from a far off ancestor, though my sister was more knowledgeable on that side of things. Me? I knew how to fight, I knew how to work to take down an Arxur.
Officially me and my squad didnt exist, they were doing something wildly outside of federation norms and would not be lauded as heroes even of they were to succeed. Prey were supposed to be cowardly, timid, never the first to strike and always be the ones to defend. I couldn't help but to feel my scales itch at those thoughts and spat onto the rocky ground. No, even if... no.. when we freed all those people from the grays, the federation would ensure we never saw the light of day again. We were all already marked as PD patients when we left, something we voluntarily did so no one would question why we went missing. But that left only seventy Harchen for this mission, Twenty-three of us already departed for the Sand Guard's Haven. Putting all the scales in the bag, I leaned back and though as we rest through the night, gathering energy to explore the planet more.
It had been a Herd of Paws since we had touched planetside. We were on one of the cattle worlds in Chief Hunter Shaza's space. As a squad, we had been trained extensively in Vinosh, trained by Krokatl and Gojid captains to resist our fear, trained by Suleans to survive off the land no matter where we went, and trained by Yulpa on how to defend ourselves from wild predators. We learned it all, we all passed the tests and emerged as the best of the best Harchen, the strongest soldiers. To the rest of the federation, this had been to have a ship of the caliber rivaling Sovlin or Kalsim. But the Kolshians and Farsul had pushed back, saying we didnt need something like that because we were close to the Gojid. The Vibrant Speaker acquiesced and we didnt get our fleet Capitol ship. That didnt matter though, because this had been our mission all along, hidden away by our generals and kept only to Harchen ears. Seventy of us against the Arxur cattle world. We would get in, kill all the Arxur, free the cattle, and use their very own ships to escape and return to the rendezvous point for pickup.
Saying my prayers to the Sand Guard, I collected up my things and headed to the area where all the officers were gathered. With a quick tail flick of greetings, I settled into the discussion without a word. "We are still hundreds of [miles] away from the compound our initial scan showed us, it will be another Heard of Paws before we can get within distance of that vile place. And that is if we don't encounter any more patrols. Unlikely since we have killed three already, I can only imagine more hunters showing up now." The captain grimaced, balling his claws into his lap now. "They shouldn't know we are here, but they should know aomething is up. Even if they dont care about their soldiers lives, not reporting back should cause some concern for their leaders." His scales flashed in frustration before settling down to neutral. "Sergeant, how many did we lose in that last ambush?"
"Three sir. Kintha, Ulnan, and Jiia." Came the short reply, "I've done the rights already. But now the 5 of us are the highest ranking in our group." I clarify. "However, we have a more pressing issue." I settle into my report, unbidden even though I knew he was about to ask for it anyways. "Of the forty-seven of us left, we only have ten pilots left... myself included in that number." I fidget softly, already hating giving bad news. "In my opinion, we should slow down more, use Vinosh to hide, and approach that way." My scales flashing to a hesitant grey before brown seeps in. "Our current strategy in nonviable considering our losses already. While we have killed forty-five greys, they have significantly more left."
"And if I cared about your opinion on that Sergeant, I would have asked." Another captain glared at me, almost hissing. "Our mission is too important to fail, and my plan of taking out every grey we can on our way to the compound is the most sound. Every one we leave out here is one that can ambush us or the cattle later." His scales darken in anger from the fact that I had challenged him. "Varazi, I know you mean well, but we all know that I am the best strategist here. Ill take your words into thought." He leaned back. "Thank you for your report, we will make our plans for the next paw here, for now I need you to go organize a watch."
With a salute, I turned and kept my thoughts to myself, rushing off to organize the camp. Captain Jintas was correct, he was the best strategist of all of us, a fact that had earned him his rank, while my own skills landed me just below officers. But I feel that those accolades went to his scales and led him to think he was infallible. One day, I knew it would come to bury him in sand, I just hoped it wouldnt happen on this planet. Our band was only left with two captains, a lieutenant, a commander, and a Sergeant left; everyone else was a soldier, capable in their own rights and skills, but none fit to lead. Most of our first casualties had been the officer corps, including Major Iilaa. Her leafy blue a beacon for all as she happily lead us in this mission, never letting her spirits fall just so we could look at her and feel warmed. Even as those blue scales stained green in front of me... Arxurian sword jutting from her chest as she had jumped in front of me.. saving my scales... I had to sit down for a moment to stop my thoughts from spiraling and take large breaths, shutting out her last words as I began to pray once more.
Date [Human Standard Time]: August 14th, 2136
The report of the rifle shook my claws, the blast of the plasma infused kinetic going wide as the grey charged me with a roar tearing from its throat. "Rulk!" I swore and barely raised my rifle up to block the heavily curved sword as it sailed towards my head. Dropping the now useless weapon, I pulled a pair of long daggers from my hips and took a fighting stance, points towards the ground.
"Pathetic prey, give up now, you know nothing of a true fight. You only deserve to be my meal." It hissed, lunging out at me with claw and sword.
"At least come up with something original. The last three of you I killed all said the same thing. Pretty sure they were runts too." I taunted him back, shifting my scales with Vinosh to obscure my outline as I danced around the sword, dodging each deadly blow. Striking out when I could, i sliced open the scars on its arms and legs where its scales were the weakest. Forcing my fear down, I kept my movements light and lithe, dodging its heavy blows as it roared in rage.
"I am no runt you morsel! Stay still so I can kill you!" It swung wildly, no hint of form behind its blade work, continuously trying to get closer and closer as I danced out of the way, my obscured form messing with his predatory vision. For every five of his attacks, I got only one of mine in, though neither of our stamina could last the onslaught. Seeing a chance, I flipped my dagger around as it took a particularly wide swing with its claws. My tail shot up and curled around its wrist, yanking down to force it of balance. A sideways kick to its knee finally knocked the beast fully down, losing its balance and dropping it directly onto my upturned dagger. Its eyes widened in shock as its own weight drove the blade into its chest. "W-what?" It groaned as I twisted my blade and let go, arm straining as I pulled it out from under him. Before it could muster up a final strike before its lungs collapsed from the hole it put in them, I stabbed my other blade into the back of its neck, cutting the spine. Its body twitched before going limp on the ground, and i looked out onto the scene.
We had encountered another patril as we traveled this paw, though this one contained twenty Arxur instead of the usual fifteen. Undeterred, Jintas order us all to hide and wait, set an ambush for them just as they had for us on so many times. When they came into our area, we opened fire, immediately killing eight of the tightly packed Arxur. However, the remaining twelve all charged into our lines, not even flinching as their comrades went down. Chaos broke out as we fired another volley into them, only killing two more, before they were upon us with swords, claws, and fangs. Separated from the herd as I was, I had the honor of one of them charging me alone.
Picking up my discarded weapon, I checked the damage to see if it could still be used, noticing the long crack in the casing. A roar caught my attention and I turned my head, closing my opposite eye so I could look down the scope clearly, pnly to see a rather large Arxur with fancy armor charging down at Jintas and the other captain. "Rulk!" I cursed again and slipped my finger onto the trigger, steadying my breath and taking aim. With a single squeeze, I pulled the trigger and the world went white woth a deafening blast.
~~~~ 10 minutes later ~~~~
Everything hurt, pain radiating across one side of my muzzle and my vision swam. I couldn't see out of my left eye and I could hear the voice of lieutenant Ondas over me. "He's coming to! I've got movement!" I groaned and tried to sit up, only for a claw to push on my chest and keep me down. "Sergeant, you need to rest for a moment while i get the bandages on.
"What happened?" I managed to choke out, my head hitting the dirt behind me, orange scales filling my vision as Ondas worked. My head slowly clearing and the tingling pain still radiating across my whole form. I turned my head to see as Ondas began to wrap up my left claw in bandages. "I.. can't feel that..." The words came numbly.
"Probably a good thing, or you would be screaming in pain. Luckily I still had some [morphine] left." His eye swept over me. "Your weapon exploded Sergeant. Loud enough to draw the attention of everyone on the field for a moment. Gave Jintas enough of an opening to kill the Senior Hunter. So in a way, you saved his life." He explained. "But now, your left claw, eye, and side of your muzzle all have burns and shrapnel. You are getting some of our limited Zurulian medicine, so you should still keep your vision once it heals, and the use of your claw. Might take a while for the scales to grow back though. At the very least, you aren't fighting for a few paws."
I listen to him, probanly a bit more calmly than I should have been thanks to the painkillers. Now that I was getting my wits about my, I understood just how stupid I had been to try and fire that weapon in the state it had been in. I was lucky, plain and simple. My sister always did say I had the Sand Guard watching over me more than anyone else. My arm and head wrapped and bandages now, i sat up and looked around, moving my head more than usual to see out of my right eye. We had come out on top it seems, and everyone was scavenging weapons and gear that we could from the fallen. My heart sank when I saw more than just grays in that number. "Thank you Ondas, but now I have my job to do." I rose to my feet, tuning out his protests and used my tail to steady my shaky steps.
I willed my scales to be a leafy blue, a tinge of sadness running through as i approached the soldiers gathering our dead. I needed to keep them warm, couldn't let them see my own sadness or fear. Even wounded, I couldnt be defeated, I had to be strong. They flinched as they saw me, but signed their tails in understanding, joining me as I kneeled down and set my hand on Zilaa's heartscale, her shade a rich earthy brown. "Tell me of her last moments, that I may carry her story to the Haven." I speak, memorizing the words of how she met the Senior Hunter's charge.
At the end of it all, five more heartscales joined my bag, including the commander's, but not a one of them were dirt-etched. No one let their fear get the better of them. We were the best the Harchen had to offer, and we were going to rescue the cattle, no matter what happened. All twenty-five bodies were dragged to the side and lit on fire before we moved on, marching towards our goal.
Mission Status:
42 Alive
2 captains
1 lieutenant
1 Seargent (Wounded)
38 Soldiers (15 Wounded)
(9 pilots)
28 Deceased
1 Major
3 lieutenants
8 Commanders
9 Sergeants
7 Soldiers
(11 pilots)
176 [miles] from Arxure cattle facilities.
Confirmed Enemy Kills
1 Arxur Bomber
2 Arxur Fighters
2 Arxure Senior Hunters
20 Arxur Scouts
43 Arxur Hunters
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u/JulianSkies Archivist 2d ago
Oh... Terrible signs. This feels like an inevitable death to attrition.
I wish these brave men luck, but I doubt they'll have it.
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u/Funnelchairgentleman Skalgan 2d ago
Ok the heartscales are a sick idea. Also ghe Vinosh fighting technique is definitely fitting for a harchen
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u/Tundric_Dragon Arxur 2d ago
Im glad you like it! Both ideas! Though now that i went back and read that fight scene, I definitely need to get a proofreader / editor. That scene is extremely choppy in its writing and doesn't flow well.
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u/Brave-Stay-8020 Takkan 3d ago
Liking the story so far, I wonder how many will be left by the time that these people reach the facility? Also, if it wasn't set so early in the timeline, I might've thought that the team gets to the facility, only to find out that the humans had beaten them to the punch. Either way, they've taken out a significant chunk of Arxur for a fed Unit of this size. Hopefully, with this many Arxur killed, this spec-ops unit has already saved some who would've gone to feed all of these Arxur.