(I'm just holding this off until I finish my PM with Balast. Sorry, Sura.)

Balast swivelled and simply rolled so the sword was below him and attempts to use his weight to drive the blade into the scorpion's back just behind the head.

As sand rushes about them, a cacophony of dry thunder, Raelis feels his sword twang against the armoured creature with seemingly little affect - but as he is thrown, viciously, into the air, he sees that he is wrong. The beast, a giant scorpion, bled all over the white sand. Raelis was thrown roughly ten meters; the creature looked at him, its eyes filled with hate.

Sura emerged from his protection and aimed to sever Balast's sword hand using bladed sand, rising up from under Balasts shoulder.

As he flew through the air Balast drew on his own power.

As Balast struck the soft sand, his body wracked in a general, throbbing agony, there was a deeper, much harsher, pain - as he rolled, something extremely sharp had slashed his sword arm clean, leaving the detached arm (and sword) several meters behind him. Black blood gushed from the wound, and Balast struggled to escape.

As he scrambled through the sand, bleeding and shaking, there was a light -

- a shattered Realm - the death of Law - a cracking sound -

And, perhaps to Sura's despair, Balast was gone.

(Balast - continue in Litheris)

Sura finally had time to breathe. He headed for his temple to rest.

The pyramid was cool, even under the blistering heat of Desolace's sun, and the dry dust and looming gold was a comfort to the God of Sand.

Its time Sura familiarised himself once more with Akhenaten. He walked its long maze-like corridors, running his fingers across the walls as he does so.

The pyramid was a constant reminder of a job unfinished - he was still  yet to access to the Tomb of Thunder. Despite this anxiety, however, he was relaxed, almost calm.. it was always this way in desperate, gloomy Akhenatan, the temple of the lost.

He waited until he felt 100%. He'll need it for what is next.

A few hours passed, in silence. Sura lay there, his energy recovering..

When he awoke, there was a gathering of mist above him. It swirled in a beautiful fashion, finally coming to rest as a deeply familiar face.. that of the Dreaded Lord himself.

"Sura.."

Sura couldn't believe his eyes. He was cautious that this was trickery. "My... Lord?"

The mist resonated with occult force, the shifting image of Osiris-Ra incredibly frightening and vivid.

"Sura.. Sura.. tell me, General, have you found.. my scepter..?"

"I... may have. There are barriers. Both physical and my own mental barriers.". Sura wondered... "Lord, how are you manifesting here?"

"I.. I come from.. from the silent realms, of death.. death and others.. Sura.. can you - can you do something for me, General .. ?"

"Anything, lord."

"I.. I need.."

The mist faded. With a hint of despair Sura realized that the Dreaded Lord was gone.

Sura was motionless for a moment. He then kicked into gear. He concentrated on his temple and the area around it. The sand beneath Akhenaten would disperse, slowly sinking the pyramid beneath the ground until he met terrain that was not sand.

Everything shook and rattled, a loud roar filling Akhenatan as the pyramid fell. Hours passed - Sura did not have the power or energy to do this quickly, but eventually a bank of stone was hit and the pyramid stopped its descent into the ground. An eery silence replaced the crashing.

Sura then reached out to all the insects of Desolace. "Sand dwellers of Desolace, i require you all to help move my peoples remains to my temple immediatly. I also suggest making your way beneath the surface - i fear intrusion on our land."

Sura once again took his rest.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:57, Tue 26 Jan 2010.

Sura did not get a response from the insects of Desolace; it seemed that he was too deep down even for them, and the worms of the place were not speaking to him.

Sura exited his temple, creating temporary tunnels until he was a little closer to the surface. He then repeated his message.

Many hours passed - rising up in the sand was a much, much slower process. Sura felt his strength weakening with every inch of movement. As he reached the top, however, the entire pyramid began to shake violently. There were vicious crashes and soaring roars from above. Chipped stone fell from the ceiling. The roars continued.

There was no answer from the insects.

Sura rushed back down through his tunnels, back into his temple - letting the sand coollapse once back inside.