The door to the tavern opened and with the ringing of a small bell a man with golden hair and a large scar stretching from his right ear all the way down to the left half of his chin walked towards the bar, sat down, taking off a sand coloured hooded cloak and signalled to the bartender, a rather bear like and burly beastkin, to take his order. The man, after asking for a beer and handing the bartender 2 small translucent white crystals, took out the leather-bound book attached to the right side of his belt above a scabbard containing a sheathed longsword. The time was around noon, with the heat of a desert sun bearing down on the sand many people had taken refuge in the desert settlement's tavern, the atmosphere was slightly jovial considering the somewhat apocalyptic state of what once was a planet dominated with a single sapient species.
"oi Auro, quit writing in that shitty journal" a clearly drunk man with short blue hair exclaimed "any leads about who or what ya were before the shattering?"
"Ed?" Auro asks - looking up from the map he was drawing on "why are you here?"
Ed slurring, "yes or no idiot"
"still no, that's a third of the south section of the misty peaks I've searched to far, even that supposed 'fortune teller' you told me about turned out to be a bust" Auro sighed "anyway, you still haven't told me what your doing here I thought you moved to that northern desert city 2 weeks ago, Delrith was it?"
Ed took a swig of his beer, "their booze was no good" … "and all those nobles were sooooo stuck up, thinking they knew it all"
"you and your booze Ed, you two should really get married" Auro chuckled
"shut it mystery man"
"say something original Ed that insults more overused than those flame wisps you summon"
"don't you dare insult my flame spirits, how long have you had that fancy sword of yours, what did you call it again … Fractine or sumin"
"its Fractaline you illiterate contractor"
"at least i know what my edict is supposed to do. Anyway Auro, where you gona look next?"
"since the rest of the third peak is way outa my league with all those giant crystallines roaming about I'm planning on going up the fourth peak to check out that 'city of the clouds' - maybe the monks there have some answers about what those glyphs all over my left side mean"
"count me in, I'm need some more money and I've been bored outa my mind since Delrith"
"il be leaving tomorrow a bit after dawn, meet me at the western gate then"
Standing up after finishing his pint, Auro began to walk towards the door until he felt a grip on his back.
"oi humie, hand over them crystals you got and we'll forget that ya bumped into us" a voice growled.
3 large ogryn - one of them grabbing him firmly by the shoulder stood around him. At well over 2 metres tall, wearing a myriad of animal skins or pelts for clothing, and with large grey clubs covered in teeth or spikes they looked rather imposing considering that they towered over Auro, being several heads taller than him and significantly more muscular than him.
"sorry gentlemen, the rest of my funds are in my tent. Ill have to decline your request"
"don't lie little humie, Gahz over here saw that fancy pouch of yours full of shiny white crystals so hand em over and you get to go back to that tent of yours in one piece" the ogryn sneered while gesturing to the smaller of the two behind him.
"ah my apologies" Auro exclaimed, "I did not recognise that you three are ascended? are you perhaps pugilists?"
"I'm glad you recognised it"
Auro sighed signalling to the bartender, "no wonder, it would make sense that you decided to try to rob me despite my reputation since you were thinking with your triceps instead of that thing you claim to be a brain"
While the three ogryn looked shocked, the now dejected looking bartender flipped a switch under the bar causing the four to disappear and a space in the floor of the tavern begin to open revealing a large underground arena with Auro and the ogryn populating it.
The leader of the trio, known as Krog now visibly red from his original pale green, shouted, "YOU LITTLE HUMIE I'LL TURN YOU INTO PASTE" as he pulled out his club and broke into a run with the other two following his lead.
Pale ghostly red pugilist flames covered the three and their weapons while they rushed in, covering the distance of several metres every stride, while Auro, smirking, drew Fractaline. The blade was dark, almost black and had a web of glowing white cracks along its blade as well as a black gilded crystal embedded in its simple hilt. The blade seemed ancient and mysterious with its edge seeming hazy and blurred almost appearing dull. Auro brought the blade to a high position on his left and stepping forward performed a two-handed strike while mouthing something in an unknown tongue.
The three ogryn, who were still metres away from Auro were initially confused but continued to rush in, their clubs raised above their heads one-handedly, looked confident in their victory until the blade that they saw in Auro's hand suddenly shattered into five pieces, each of them rushing towards the respective vitals of the ogryn and being firmly embedded in either their chest, head, neck or stomach.
The two smaller ogryn instantly fell to the floor, likely due to both shock and the sudden pain, while the leader, Krog, continued to rush in thinking the still grinning Auro to be open for a devastating counter. Dashing sideways, Auro transitioned the now 'broken' Fractaline into a side guard while again mouthing something unintelligible causing the shards embedded in the smaller ogryns to vibrate and then fly rapidly towards Auro.
Krog, who was still unaware of Fractines shards flying towards his exposed, back swung his club towards Auro in a tremendous downward ark as the 'metal' shards pierced through him, his eyes rolling backwards, and the shards reconnecting with the rest of Fractalines blade in time to block the ogryn's club which had lost significant momentum due to its owner's sudden death.
THUMP
As the ogryn leader blead out on the arena floor, Auro cleaned the blood off of the surface of Fractine using the ragged ends of his cloak, sheathed it and proceeded to liberate anything of potential value the ogryns possessed before Auro heard a familiar soft voice,
[The Planar Record bares witness to your victory. Your legend grows thicker.]