Sanctuary: Safe Haven

Stormbringer's arrival was like the breaking of a storm that had been brewing for centuries. The portal shimmered violently, and out stepped a beast that hadn't walked the world in ages—a dragon whose kind had been hunted to extinction by the gods themselves. Stormbringer's kind was considered too powerful, too dangerous, and their existence was snuffed out to maintain balance.

But now, one of the last of his kind had emerged from the swirling crimson rift, a relic of a bygone era.

Canna's heart clenched with a mix of awe and urgency. As the behemoth dragon took his first thunderous step onto the battlefield, the ground trembled beneath his immense weight. Stormbringer stood at a staggering 190 feet, his presence dwarfing everything around him.

His scales, an interwoven pattern of black and deep crimson, shimmered like molten armor, each one edged with razor-like protrusions that seemed to slice the air as he moved. Jagged horns twisted from his head, framing a visage of fury and menace, while his wings unfurled with a deafening crack that echoed across the battlefield.

Stormbringer's eyes blazed a searing red, glowing like the embers of a dying star, each one filled with an ancient wrath that had simmered for millennia. His maw, lined with rows of jagged teeth, could tear through the toughest armor as if it were paper. Lightning danced along his scales, crackling with barely contained energy, as if the storm itself was alive within him.

Canna, feeling the pressure of Stormbringer's presence, knew they had little time. "We have to end this," he muttered under his breath, the anxiety evident in his usually unshakeable voice. As if sensing his master's unease, Stormbringer let out a low, rumbling growl that reverberated through the battlefield, shaking the hearts of all who heard it.

"Retreat, now!" Canna commanded, his voice cutting through the cacophony of war. "Stormbringer is enraged!"

The order was immediately relayed across the battlefield, and Canna's subordinates sprang into action. The sanctuary's fighters, still reeling from Canna's earlier scream, quickly moved toward the red portals that blinked open across the scorched earth. There was no hesitation—everyone knew that an enraged Stormbringer was a force that no one, friend or foe, wanted to be caught near.

Meanwhile, Grakthar, still defiant despite the overwhelming odds, locked eyes with Stormbringer. The massive orc warlord, whose power and ferocity had once seemed unmatched, now felt like a mere speck in the presence of the ancient dragon. With a roar of defiance, Grakthar charged, his massive war axe raised high. But to Stormbringer, it was like watching an insect blindly fly into a roaring inferno.

Stormbringer's gaze followed Grakthar, and with a disdainful snort, the dragon reared back. His chest swelled, scales glowing brighter as he drew in the surrounding energy. Then, with a thunderous exhalation, he unleashed a concentrated torrent of fire and lightning. The blast ripped through the air, a fusion of searing heat and crackling electricity that turned everything in its path to ash.

Grakthar, who had once towered over his enemies, was engulfed in the inferno, his figure lost in the overwhelming blaze. There was no fight, no clash of titans—only carnage and chaos as Stormbringer's wrath incinerated everything it touched. The firestorm swept across the battlefield, melting armor, stone, and flesh alike.

The orc ranks, once 1.5 million strong, were obliterated in seconds, reduced to nothing more than charred remains. The sheer force of Stormbringer's breath tore the earth asunder, carving deep furrows into the ground and vaporizing anything unfortunate enough to be caught in its path.

The dragon moved with a terrifying grace, each step bringing death and devastation. He unleashed wave after wave of elemental fury, fire, and lightning intertwining in a deadly dance that set the very sky ablaze. There was no reprieve, no mercy. Orcs who had survived the initial onslaught tried to flee, but there was nowhere to run.

Stormbringer's wrath was all-encompassing, and every blast of his breath consumed dozens more.

Canna's forces, following his urgent command, poured into the red portals that offered their only chance at survival. Even the most battle-hardened warriors were wide-eyed with fear, knowing that staying even a moment longer would mean certain death.

One by one, the sanctuary's fighters disappeared into the safety of the portals, but not before casting one last glance at the battlefield that had become a hellscape. Continue reading at empire

For Grakthar's army, there was no such escape. Stormbringer's rage was unrelenting, his fiery breath scorching the ground into molten slag. Even if the orcs had been twice their number, it wouldn't have mattered. Stormbringer was an apex predator, a living calamity that no mortal force could hope to stand against.

When the last of Canna's warriors had safely retreated, Stormbringer's assault finally ceased. The battlefield was a smoldering wasteland, littered with the twisted, charred remains of what had once been an army. Nothing was left standing; the landscape had been utterly reshaped by Stormbringer's fury.

His eyes, still glowing with the fires of wrath, scanned the ruin one final time before he lifted his head and roared—a sound so powerful it seemed to shake the heavens themselves.

This was no ordinary roar. It was a declaration of dominance, a primal scream of victory that echoed across the entire war-torn land. It was a sound that would haunt the memories of all who heard it, a reminder of the day when an ancient terror was unleashed upon the world.

With a final snarl, Stormbringer folded his wings and turned back to the portal. The battlefield was silent now, save for the crackling of flames and the distant rumble of thunder. As the massive dragon stepped through the crimson rift, the portal shimmered and closed behind him, leaving nothing but scorched earth in his wake.

The war was over. The enemy had been obliterated, and Stormbringer's fury had reshaped the battlefield into a monument of ruin. All that remained was the memory of a beast that should have never returned—and the silence of a world forever scarred by his wrath.