Graveyard of Shocktrooper Division 665

The one thing many would not expect to find walking in the woods is a statue of a 14 or 19 foot bull-like humanoid. However, with at least twenty standing amid high grass and gnarled trees in the deep wood was definitely something hard to ignore, and truly a sight to behold. For nearly four hundred or so years, the stone monoliths stood tall and motionless with twisted emotions painted upon their faces; with weapons raised or in battle positions. They are not the result of a bored artist’s work, they are in fact what remains of the doomed Domescan Legionaries that were ambushed by the Beijionese in the year 2282.

They have stood still over the centuries, many having broken or weathered away due to the elements. Bird excrement and moss covers others, and there were a few where the trees themselves had grown around the frozen bodies, absorbing them in the process. To look at them is to look at the past, as they are what remains of a rare race that has mostly slipped into legend with their numbers having dropped over the centuries. They were the Minotaur Troops of Abdel Adham, the unfortunate sods of Shocktrooper Division 665.

One of these poor creatures were encased in a thick layer of moss, standing a little over 14 feet, their attention seemingly turned towards an army that was no longer there. The foot troops were either rotting beneath the statues or crumbling into dust these days:



He is the most intact of the Division, and the most life like. His expression partly lost in the mess of moss, his arm reaching back to something jutting from his back:



A large, two handed cleaver clung to his back in an unseen tear away sheath. The blade is massive, too big for a typical human to use.  Infact, it would take a human of considerable strength, like a Scardian or Beijionese man to wield it with both hands. However, in life, this creature was able to hone the skills of this heavy, long blade with one arm. Given his body and muscle mass, it was no question however that he could. One could easily tell this beast was male, from the rather massive bulge between his legs behind a flap turned to stone. Minotaurs had little use for physical armor, for their bodies were made of thick fur, fat and muscle- they could shrug off most damage with their brutish bodies, making them excellent Shocktroops for Abdel’s Legions.

He was a decorated warrior, Xynarak the Undefeated. Second in command of this unit, he had turned his head to his troops, to rally them and press them forwards when the mages of Beijio stoned them, petrified them- turned them to the slate grey stonework they are today.

Crack…

The petrified body of Xynarak began to crack a little. In the middle of these dense woods for countless centuries, one supposes that even magic stone could not withstand the test of time…

Crack…*crumble crumble*

The statue began to form several fissures across his mossy body, bits of the statue crumbling due to a low humming. A baleful wind had began to blow from Asrond, as a massive tower began to erect itself, several miles in the immense forest. It could be felt, even this far away!

For the next, several days, the statues began to crumble at an alarming rate. Xynarak’s body was mostly shards held up by years of petrified decay…

*crumble crumble-CRUNCH!!*

”Mmmmph...hrmmmmmmm…” a low muffled groan emanates from the statue following large chunks of stone falling away… revealing a tufts of thick, brown fur! The fur was rippling, the muscle of taut flesh was moving beneath the stonework, followed by further muffled, bestial groans. Powdery rock clung to the thick fur as more of the stonework began to fall away! There was a momentary silence, before the statue’s right arm broke free! The weakened stone crumbled, falling away as the massive creature swung his arm free of its mossy outer shell!

”GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!” Cried the beast within, as the shell around him finally exploded off his muscular body! He flexed his thick arms, bigger than the torso of a Scardian Highlander, his equally thick legs kicking off the stone work that rooted him to the forest floor! Stone dust bellowed around his body, the Minotaur menacingly taking an earth rumbling step forwards from the dust cloud- revealing a massive hoof that had bits of curly brown fur rising up his leg.

“UGHHHHHhhhhh…” Xynarak groaned, his voice dry as he pulls himself from the debris cloud. Stone covered his eyes and head like a helm, which he grabbed with his right hand, pulling the stone shell resembling his upper skull and horns and tossed it into a nearby tree, shattering it. His thick black mane swung behind him as he stumbled forwards. The beast shook his massive head left and right, shaking free of dust and debris left from his container! He caught his head, and felt dizzy, his legs weak and body heavy. It was like being born again. “Ughhh…” he continues to groan, winking open his large eyes, bellowing clouds of dust from his nostrils. He smelled like shit…



“Vymak?...Khatruk..? Khufarak?” He called out, to fellow Minotaur, his eyes dizzy. He couldn’t hear the enemy… but they surely were still in battle, no? He rests a massive hand against the side of a tree for support, the other still clutching his throbbing head. What happened? I saw a massive bright red light from the trees, the Beijionese’s Samurai’s and Ninja’s were screaming charge! I was looking back, to call for Tevak and Vokod, when I saw Wunbur freeze up- he tried to remember, before his blinking, beady black eyes finally adjusted to the sight of a fellow Minotaur, an expression of twisted pain upon his face jutting from the tree trunk! Startled, Xynarak took a step backwards, hearing something crunch under hoof… Looking down, he saw the fragments of a Minotaur like statue crumble into dust among the high reeds! He looks back up, and noticed that the Mino in the tree was also a statue!

“W-wha?!” He growled, reaching back for the massive ragged cleaver on his back, pulling it away, a two hand grip on the long blade as he turned his massive body left and right. Where am I? He couldn’t recognize the terrain. They were in a middle of clearing before he blacked out, but now they were in a grove of trees and high reeds. A swampy feeling between his hoofs made him sink a little in the thick mud. He looks around, more statues. All looking oddly familiar…

“This…” He rattled, his tail swaying behind him his nose ring clinking against his upper teeth. “These statues… Vymak!” He shrieked, noting one of the minotaur statue’s disembodied heads jutting from the tall grass. A massive tree had fallen over his statue, smashing most of it into dust. His head peeking out halfway from the mud… He blinked, looking around. He could see the tattered remains of Abdel’s Warning, his battle flag of black and green… the statues were all in similar positions, but the location was all wrong!

He drops his blade into the mud. “This can’t be... “ He looked at his body. He could see the powdery stone, the layers of moss and bird shit caking into his fur now. They were petrified? By the enemy?! “Those cowardly Beijionese bastards…” He gripped his large fingers tightly. Did they move them out here? Perform some sort of odd experiments on them while they were trapped inside their own bodies?! There has to be more… can’t just be me, can it?! We are Abdel’s Division 665!! He thought, with a trembling body.

“EVERYONE!” He exclaimed, causing birds to rise from the overgrowth and trees around him. “ANYONE?! SOUND OFF!” He cried out again. There was a long silence, not even the animals in the undergrowth made so much as a squeak. Nothing but the statues and himself in this field. He looked to the sky… half expecting to see something odd, but it was blue. Daylight. He could see a faint beam of red in the distance as well, like some sort of flare stretching to the heavens. He was half wondering what it was, but shrugged it off. He needed to press further, maybe he was only the last to wake up? They still had a mission after all. They came to sack Beijio after all… perhaps the rest of his unit were up ahead!

He sniffed the air, then snorted, sneezing out dust. “Urggg…” He grumbled, rubbing his stony snot onto his furry right arm. He couldn’t smell anything but his own stench and stone. He reached down for his trusty blade, yanking it from the squishy mud before he trudged forwards. “I’ll make them all pay…!” Xynarak exhaled, smashing his way through the tight wall of trees ahead of him. He didn’t know how long he had been petrified, but surely he couldn’t have been the only one to return...

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