- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
The vermin are searching for something, I am sure of it, Forlumee reasoned. As silent as we have been, it is inconceivable that they would not know of our presence here. Yet they still linger, their actions proclaiming their intent but still keeping us in the dark. What do they seek? Are they attempting to set up a camp? Or perhaps a command post?
Forlumee inched towards the archway that led to where the voices were originating. Their strange dialect had yet to make sense, despite the many seasons the war between the two races had raged. The Sangheili High Council had scoffed at the idea of capturing some of the invading heathens to learn their language, deeming the action beneath them. Aki Forlumee wasn't one to question his superiors decisions, but at the moment he found himself wishing they had chosen otherwise.
Shifting the spear to his left hand, Forlumee pushed around the archway and headed straight for the group of invaders standing with a strange devise in the middle of a back alley. One of them turned and was taken aback by the sight of Forlumee charging at them with a spear, and spoke fast to the others. Curved blades were pulled from their robes and they assumed a defensive position. The Sangheili had the advantage over them with his weapon, as he had learned from experience that while these creatures possessed crafts that could sail in the sky above his home world and shoot streams of fire, they were weak against combat on the ground. He was still wary however since while it would be little effort to eliminate one or two of these creatures, fighting four would require caution.
Forlumee's hands molded to the spear and he crouched low, keeping his legs apart. The Sangheili as a species possessed great balance, their hoof-like feet bestowed them with unfailing grace, and their legs were double-jointed which gave them superior leg strength. Tensing his body, Forlumee held the spear slightly below his chest, the sharpened blade on the end held out. His face was a mask of impassiveness, and he kept his eyes hard as they pierced into the aliens.
One of the creatures broke its stance and charged Forlumee, it's blade held high. The Sangheili remained firm as he watched the alien grow closer, and begin to swing the blade it held through the air. Reacting swiftly, Forlumee swung the spear across, knocking the creatures arm aside. As it stumbled forward, he flipped the spear around, and slammed the butt end of the shaft against the creature's skull. A satisfying crack filled the air as the body slumped to the ground, and Forlumee resumed his stance.
The remaining invaders looked unsettled, and without preamble they charged at the lone Sangheili. In a surprising motion, Forlumee turned and began to run back from where he had come. The aliens, thinking they had the advantage, began to chase.
Come fools, hurry to your death.
Slowing his pace, Forlumee glanced behind him to see that one of the aliens had begun to pull away from the other two. His speed would prove to be his undoing.
As the gap closed between the two races, Forlumee slammed his feet down to the ground, stopping himself mid-stride and pivoting he bent down to the ground, holding his spear at an angle so the blade pointed upwards. The alien could not stop himself in time, and was impaled upon the spear. The blade fell from his hands and clattered to the ground while it thrashed weakly. Tossing the spear aside with the creature still impaled, the Sangheili scooped up the blade that had been discarded. The remaining two creatures had stopped their charge, and were beginning to realize the peril of their situation.
"Run as far as you wish vermin," Forlumee sneered. "You will die this day, and so will the rest of your kind."
Almost as if they could understand the words he had spoken, the creatures turned and began to flee. Forlumee was faster nevertheless, and their bodies soon joined the others upon the ground. He cast aside the enemy's blade, and walked back to where he had left his spear. The creature had passed on in the time it had taken to kill the other two, and Forlumee spared it no second glance as he ripped his spear free.
What is it that these creatures were doing? Forlumee asked himself as he strode towards the device that the aliens had been attending to. Bending down he picked it up off the ground, studying it intently. It wasn’t much larger than his palm. The devise was spherical in design, and glowed with a strange light. A series of incomprehensive writings were written below the strange light. They appeared to be a string of triangles, lines, and dots. The dialect was unfamiliar to Forlumee, and he decided he would hold onto the device for now, and would turn it over to the High Council once the remaining vermin were exterminated.
Forlumee started off down the alley, but was stopped when he heard heavy steps coming his way. Pressing himself flat up against the wall, he moved down to the corner and waited, spear poised at the ready. His attack was held though, when two Sangheili warriors appeared.
“Commander!” one of them ground out as it panted.
“What is it? Has something happened?” Forlumee asked, the exhausted state of the warriors making him somewhat nervous.
“In the Council Chamber, we’ve found something,” the other warrior explained. “You must see it.”
Forlumee felt a pulse of heat come from the devise he had taken from the slain invaders, and his free hand flew to his side and pulled it out. The strange light had risen in intensity, causing spots to fill the Sangheili’s vision. Forlumee replaced the devise and turned back to the other two warriors.
“I will come.”
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“Excuse this unworthy one, your Holiness,” a minor Prophet spoke from behind the High Prophet of Law. “The ship has received a signal. We have found the structure.”
The High Prophet of Law nodded absentmindedly and responded, “Keep me informed.” His gaze did not leave the front of the bridge, where it had stayed for such a time that the others were beginning to grow uneasy.
There was a sense of urgency amongst the Prophets inhabiting the Forgotten Legacy, yet no one knew what it was they were expected to do. Leadership had fallen onto the shoulders of the High Prophet of Law as he was the most aged of all the Prophets that had escaped their home world before the purging and cleansing began. His motives however, aside from the blind faith devoted to the Forerunner heritage, was a mystery to all others. None could seek solace in his words, and yet there was not one of them that dared open their mouths to oppose him.
High Prophets possessed abilities that reached far and beyond what could be accomplished with physical limitations alone. Their minds were of such a breed that they could cultivate the physical morphology to the environment. Objects moved with simple motions was mere child’s play to those of the hierarchy.
Their purpose on this world would remain a mystery to the Prophets however, and all of the Sangheili but one.
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The arrival at the Council Chamber, the site where the High Council members would meet and converse over the direction of the Sangheili culture, was timed at the exact moment the alien ship appeared above the city.
Forlumee had shouted an order for the Sangheili warriors gathered around and inside the chamber to retreat, but it had come to late. The ship sent a wave of fire washing over the chamber, burning the ancient structure down in a hail of rock and clay. Those that had been inside or close to the chamber had been killed in an instant.
Rage burned within the Sangheili Commander, but he forced himself to remain calm. The vermin scum that had ravaged his home would pay dearly for this atrocity, but he would first need to be given the opportunity.
That opportunity would have to wait however, since the alien ship began to fire at the surrounding buildings and homes. With his death literally moments away from falling upon him, Forlumee made a split-second decision. The ruins of the Council Chamber had only been attacked once, and if the words of the Sangheili warriors could be believed, something existed beneath it.
“Everyone into the Council Chamber!” Forlumee bellowed. His warriors stared back for a moment before understanding hit them and they rushed for the collapsed structure. The Sangheili Commander waited until he was sure all of his warriors that were alive had heard and begun to execute his order.
Pumping his legs hard Forlumee charged towards the wreckage of the ancient structure. The alien ship had understood his intention however, and Forlumee could almost feel the flames from their weapons closing the gap between them. His continued performance as a field commander proved useful however, for his repeated physical activity had kept him quick.
With a final push, Forlumee leapt into the crater that had once been the Council Chamber, and was pleased to note that his assumption had been correct. The alien ship had impeded its course and avoided his destination.
Tumbling down through melted rock and clay, the Sangheili Commander freefell for a long moment, his eyes wide as a vast underground lake opened up below the crater. He had only a few moments to revel in its beauty, for he quickly plunged into the water. The disorientation that enveloped him quickly faded and he swam upwards, breaking the surface loudly.