Terror of the shadow

A day out in the fringes of Malkuth is never predictable and very rarely forgiving.A few scattered tribes were all that remained for a once great nation that spanned continents.Of course they only had stories from the mouths of their Elders to rely on for a history of their people,and stories glow less and less reliable with each telling.It had been far too long for anyone to truly remember what had happened.All accounts concur,however,that their misfortune was caused by someone they called the SHADOW MAN

Some days were calmer than others though.Today was one of those days.The sun hid its face behind a mess of stringy clouds,though it rarely did so for long.The hunters only had a few hours at best before they had to retreat back into their hovels.The trip was always risky, but if these parties failed to come back with any food, some people back at the village may never live to see tomorrow.

"Any idea where we might be headed Torreck?"a voice grumpled from beneath a gas mask.

"Once we get to the top of this hill we might.I want to see if my macrobinoculars can spy anything from up there, " a young man replied, face hidden by a similar mask. Every panting breath echoed through the mechanical filters.

"And if we dont find anything?"the boy said.

"I think we will. The scouting parties got back three wekks ago. Wouldn't whatevet it was be long gone by now?"

"They could be. But i'm hoping it was the site of some sort of grazing area. Which means meat and vegetables, which we sorely need."

"What makes you so sure we'll find anything?"

"I'm not sure of anything. But im just hopeful. Laban

"What good does hope do?"

Torreck stopped his ascent and looked back at his partner.

"Everything,"Torreck said."Look, i know youre new here, kid but you need to understand that everything we've built out here was done on hope alone. Hope of a brighter future. Hope that the Territes will stop leaving us out here to starve...."

"Speaking of Territes..."said Laban, looking up at the pale blue sky. A thin line of white pierced through the clouds, led by a dark black dot--aircrafts contrails.

"Territe scout ship,"Torreck said. "Probably trying to map out settlements."

"Can they see us from all the way up there?"Laban asked.

"Probably," Torreck said. "Their tech is prrety good. Look at the stuff we've managed to scavenge...the Territes are decades ahead of all that.

"It's still better than what we had at our old camp,"Laban said. "We thought we were lucky because someone found a compass once. But you guys have all sorts of tech. Macrobinoculars, energy-staffs,shield generators--"

"You just need to know where to look. And stick with a group,mare than anything.

Thats why our clan has lasted so long.We work together."

The two cleared the peak of the hill, gladly taking a rest and sitting themselves down in the dust. The wastelands of Malkuth, ruddy and desolate stretched out endlessly before them. They say that these valleys and mountains were once lush and teeming with life. Green trees had towered overhead, providing shade and shelter for all manner of animal life. That was eons ago, though before the supposed curse of the SHADOW MAN.

He couldnt remember the first time he had heard those words. They were just as much a part of the life of a Malkuth as were the sands and ghe firery sun. He had simply grown up knowing the shadow man. His parents would tell him stories, but never often. It seemed that a dark reverence sorrounded all his tales.

"What are we running from mother?"he had once asked, when he was still very young.

"We run from him,"she replied.

"From who?"

"From the shadow man." Her voice lowered to nearly a whisper as she uttered his name.

"Yes," Laban said..."I know that. But why?"

"Because he is evil."

"What does that mean?"

His mother sighed."He is the one who caused the sun to burn so hot and the oceans to boil away. He is $
the reason for your uncle's death, @1 do you remember the time we found a small river? And the ground around it was covered in green grass?"

As it was, Laban did remember, and still remembered to this day. He could never forget it. He had never seen anything like it before, or since. He remembered sitting  under the shade of an old tree, mostly withered and leaning heavily to one side. They left when the whole thing dried up,and all the grass crumpled away into dust.

"Yes, I remember," Laban told his mother.

" Well, the whole world used to be like......"

Imediately....the ground shaking...causing them both to fall in a thud. Laban saw something speed fast between them as the ground was still shaking. It was his worst fear..The shadow man.

He looked at his mother only to realise a lifeless body on the ground. His eyes became watery as he yelled out "Mom!"

He realised what had happened. His mother had been killed, a merciless stabb in the stomach her eyes wide open and as she took her last breath...she said, "I love you" and breathed her last.

Laban, full of anger and stress, shouted, " I will find you shadow man, and i will kill you, you will serve the same sentence as my mother has you beast!"

Just then he felt a sharp pain on his neck, and when he touched it...he felt blood gushing down. He looked behind only to see a silhouted figure of darkness. He knew who that was, the shadow man.

"Why?why did you have to do this?" Laban asked in a whispery voice.

"Because, my tale was never to be told."

The shadow stabbed him in the stomach and he died right there, and in a bloody handwritting, he wrote

      THE TALE OF THE SHADOW SHOULD NEVER BE TOLD, EVER!