Ok, here goes again. This time I had Landrav's help. He braved the first draft and gave me so many awesome sugjestions on how to improve the story that I cant thank him enough he even took it apon him self to correct my horrible spelling. What can I say? So once again, thanks Landrav.
Kaloth was also kind enough to make some very helpful critiques of my story as well. I have revised it again to fix some weak parts that he pointed out. I hope you really enjoy this version.
Thanks Kaloth for your help. Some day I may actually become a writer.
Enjoy:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5517709/The Desert
"Maleki! Wake up, child. Wake up!"
Maleki lay on a bed of grass made just for him by his master. He lay curled up in a ball with his snout tucked under his tail and his paws holding his tail tight as it were is most precious possession. He was covered from snout to tail in red fur with red-orange, brown and white markings around the face and on the belly. His tail was red on top and faded to white on the bottom. He stirred but really did not want to wake. He had just completed a mission and just wanted to return to sleep. The mission to save the people of Japan and the world from the nuclear reactor accident really drained him. At least 2000 years of sleep would be nice to let him regain his strength.
"Maleki, wake up..."
Maleki kicked at the figure that was disturbing his sleep.
"Maleki!" The figure became annoyed. His good and faithful servant and most loved child was being rude. "Get off that bed Maleki. I have another task for you and it is not time for sleep. Duty calls and you...”
"Yes master, I'm up." Maleki shook his head trying to dispel the spider webs that hung pregnant in his mind. Perhaps the radiation took more of a toll than he thought. He actually felt ill. "Master, I feel ill. I think it was the radiation."
"Yes, Maleki, it is, but you will soon be over it.
Maleki remembered that he was immortal, but he also remembered that the One True Being did not make him impervious in order to guard against arrogance and promote humility. Protection and judgment were Maleki's purpose and he needed to be able to connect with the humans under his care. He could not afford to be distant from them. The One True Being made Maleki for His own good purposes and if Maleki did not always understand those purposes, at least it was all part of his Master's plan.
The One True Being, the one without cause, is himself the cause of all--the one immortal conscience without beginning or end, outside time and space. All life in all the universes are the One True Beings children. All was spoken into existence by His woof for His good purposes. Earth has always been a problem, though. Right from the beginning, man has been a rebellious child. Given free will, men chose to pursue their own purposes and became arrogant and prideful. Through this they released evil onto themselves and caused their planet and themselves to be cursed. The One True Being even gave them a path for their redemption, but so few accept His gift. Most condemn themselves to death for the simple lack of humility. After giving His gift he returned to his realm and created the guardians. These soldiers would be His instruments to watch over and protect the wayward children of earth.
“Maleki, I need you to return to Earth. A tyrant has decided he would rather kill his country's citizens than grant them freedom, and he has the ability to do so despite the noble efforts of others who would see his people released from his tyranny.
“He has been storing up arms for 40 years and he has no conscience. Today will be the tipping point. If he and his army are allowed to continue, every man woman and child will be murdered. Only those loyal to the tyrant will remain.
“Maleki, I want you, your brothers, and sisters to go back and protect my children and their cities from the tyrant. You will stop his henchmen and deliver them judgment and, for those that want it, forgiveness. Go do my bidding.”
Maleki grabbed up his tail and ran his paws down its length, smoothing the matted red fur. Maleki shook himself, opened his jaws, and let out a mighty yawn. His coat was ragged and matted on one side from his sleep.
“Master, I sure could use a grooming.”
The One True Being smiled at his child and stirred up a wind that gave Maleki's fur a good ruffling. Maleki picked up his helmet and put it on his head. The helmet shown of purest gold and fit snugly around his ears which he moved about as he threaded them through the holes in the helmet. He hefted his sword and admired its balance and perfection, then sheathed it. Maleki's shield was the last item he picked up and the most ornate and elegant. It was pure gold with precious jewels encrusted around the outer circle with the crest of the guardians in the center. Maleki mentally preparing himself for the journey that he was about to undertake.
Maleki was not fond of this particular type of mission. He preferred to work with his brothers and sisters, but this time they would be spread all over the country. Each would be on his or her own. Most likely Maleki would be involved in hand-to-hand combat this time as well. Soldiers would need to be subdued individually, and not all would go down easily. Humans may not be that strong, but they are smart and have created mighty weapons capable of inflicting much pain on Maleki if he got complacent. He had to be on the top of his abilities today. In his mind the battle was already beginning when he told the One True Being to send him there while he stepped forward.
Maleki stepped into a desert just outside one of the humans’ cities. He was about a thousand meters away from a line of tanks and mortar cannons. The tanks and cannons were firing on the city, most likely following radioed directions, attempting to soften the rebel defenses and kill the rebels. Maleki immediately found a rock where he could place his shield and did so. He set it facing away from the city, and immediately a luminescent dome formed over the city, emanating from the shield. The dome undulated with brilliant violets, reds, yellows and greens, forming patterns of resonant standing waves along its surface, dissolving into chaos only to form again shortly after. Almost immediately, shells that were destined for the city began to strike the dome and explode. Each time one did the dome would shimmer and sparkle as the energy of the blasts found its way around the dome only to reach and be absorbed by the shield.
Maleki turned and sprinted for the city which was about 2 kilometers off. He would have covered this ground quickly, but had to find and subdue the tyrant’s solders as he went. As soon as he smelled a soldier he dropped to all fours, reeled in the direction of the smell, and picked up speed. Maleki quickly closed on the soldier until he was about 50 meters away. He slowed his pace and became quiet. He snuck up behind the soldier until he was close enough to leap. He leapt on the soldier and knocked him to the ground. With one mighty paw he struck the soldier and rolled him onto his back. Maleki placed one paw on the soldier’s chest and held him while he bit down on the soldier’s weapon and wrenched it out of the soldier’s hands with a single twist of his head. The soldier was petrified with fear. His body reeked of the fear as this deamon wolf like creature stood over him pinning the soldier to the ground. Maleki moved his face closer to the soldier’s until he was snout to nose with him. Maleki stared into the soldier’s soul with piercing eyes.
Maleki wrinkled his brow and breathed a breath into the soldier’s face, and immediately the soldier’s gaze turned distant. In the soldier’s mind his life was laid out before him. Every nuance was visible—every shining moment and every shameful crevice. The futures of the rebels he was fighting were also laid out for him to see. He saw how he would bring such promise and hopes and dreams to an end if he were to continue. The man before Maleki was overwhelmed. He was ashamed of what he saw and the guilt ripped at his being making the man want to hide his face from this creature that was peering right through him.
He realized that his entire life had gone in the wrong direction and that he did not really did not want to do what had been command to do at all. He had been sold out by a tyrant. His children were the same age as the rebels that he was sent to kill. They probably went to the same college, but he was commanded to kill them and show no mercy.
Now that Maleki had showed him the fruits of his deeds he was now shown the heart of the One True Being. Light filled the soldier’s heart as he was forgiven. The soldier began to sob and weep, and Maleki embraced him warmly. Maleki spoke softly and reassured the soldier.
"You are a good man. Put down your weapons and walk away. The One True Being will lead you from now on." The soldier reached out and embraced the daemon creature and sobbed.
He felt as a lifetime of shame and guilt had been taken from him. He stood up and dropped his guns and ammo. He took his radio and tossed it into the desert. Slowly he turned toward the city and began to walk. He would join his son soon. The soldier had much to tell his son.
For most of the day this pattern—subduing and forgiving—repeated over and over as Maleki subdued and judged each man on the battlefield. Unfortunately Maleki would encounter soldiers who had a very different attitude. One such man was a squad sergeant who Maleki had tackled behind his squad hiding in a hole. Maleki took him down quickly and the man was terrified by the wolf daemon beast that had pined him. Maleki did the same as he did with the rest but when the man was shown the truth about his life and what he was doing, he was hateful and unrepentant. The sergeant saw his life pass before his eyes and all he felt was hate, but when he returned to the reality of his situation he became even more terrified than before as he saw the expression in the face of the wolf daemon change. It took on an expression of pain and sadness and then resolution.
Maleki hated this part of judgment because because he knew what would come next for the poor man. Maleki would, in a single bite, remove the man's head and end the his existence on earth. The One True Being would deal with the that man directly. That is a fate that every unrepentant soul would face eventually, and for these men that time was now.
As the day moved on fewer and fewer of the tyrants soldiers remained. All who remained made a run for the edge of the city and beyond, only to stopped by the dome shield. Cornered, each succumbed to Maleki and either was freed or perished, but all succumbed. Now that all the solders inside the dome were subdued, Maleki walked through the dome and took off toward the tanks and mortar cannons. As he ran towards the armament he unsheathed his sward, raised it, and aimed at one of the tanks and cleared his mind. A great bolt of lightning reached out from his sword with a crack of thunder and struck the tank. The tank exploded and the thunder filled the desert. Again and again lightning struck, and each cannon and tank was raised from the desert until none remained.
When Maleki arrived the tanks and cannons were thrown around like toys, each blown apart as though their very atoms had been loosened from their grip on each other. Soldiers lay dead or wounded everywhere. Maleki visited each one and looked into their souls as he had done with the others. What he saw determined how the One True Being would deal with them.
While Maleki was attending to one soldier who still lived and would walk away from this tragedy another soldier who still was conscious and in possession of his weapon raised it and shot Maleki. Suddenly Maleki felt a searing pain in his back and his tail went numb. He spun around and suddenly was filled with grief. His tail had been shot clean off. Maleki leaped on the man that had shot his tail off and ripped the weapon from his hands he bared his teeth and growled at the man in anger but stopped short of killing him. Wounded and shaken, he returned to the other man and finished his task. He then returned to the soldier that shot him and dealt with that man. He could have lashed out at this man but instead he held back his own emotions and gave the soldier the chance to repent that he deserved. It turned out that the soldier was redeemable and was dispatched off to the One True Being where he was greeted warmly. Maleki nursed his wound, picked up his tail and tucked it away.
Now that the tyrants soldiers in the field were subdued, One final battle remained. Maleki looked around him self and spoke to the One True Being. “Alright its done here, send me on.”
Maleki took a step and was immediately outside of a bunker next to his brothers and sisters. They looked anoyed as though they had been waiting there for a while, but then the looked amused. One noticed and then another that Maleki had lost his tail. Maleki was ashamed and angered. He barked out and order to hide his shame. “Lets get going, we have one final task to complete.
There was no time to deal with the soldiers here, instead the One True Being would do so. Most of these men were hand picked anyway and probably would not repent so the task here was to just the tyrant and deal with him. A pitched battle ensued. Bullets flew and swords struck their victims as the brothers and sisters sliced their way through the tyrants deferences.
Once they reached the bunker entrance, Maleki blasted the bunker doors with the lightning from his sword. More resistance was met once inside the bunker Men loyal to the tyrant fought to the death. Each one gave up his life for a man that did not deserve it. Each one sold out him self to a tyrant who felt no gratitude what soever.
Inside the bunker the brothers and sisters fought their way forward room by room until they reach a comfortable looking inner room. The room was decorated in fashion reminiscent of a plush mansion not the bunker that it was. This room was clearly the home of a man use to luxury and opulence. Cowering in the corner behind a large piece of furniture was the tyrant and the last vestige of his personnel column of soldiers. Four men surrounded the tyrant who was shaking uncontrollably where he knelt. Maleki's brothers and sisters make quick work of the soldiers. Each one died quickly and with much bloodshed. Maleki picked the tyrant up by his coat so that his feet hung uselessly below his shaking body. The tyrant began to plead for his life. Maleki growled at him baring his teeth. He lifted his other paw and prepared to take the man's head off, but Rah, one of Maleki's brothers stopped him.
“Stop! Remember, he is to be given a chance.”
Maleki checked his emotions. He pushed down hard and managed to control his anger. Disgusted with what he had to do, he put the tyrant down so that he was standing on his own feet but he did not let go of the man's coat. He drew the tyrant closer so that they were face to snout and looked deep into the mans eyes.
The tyrant was terrified. He was surrounded by daemon creatures that had just killed all of his hand picked troops. The one that had captured him and now was staring into his eyes seamed to be able to see strait into his soul. Surly he did not have long to live and ne never expected that today he would face death. Death is adversary that is better run from rather than faced. Only fools faced death and that is what he paid all those fools to do in his place. He was too afraid of death to ever come to terms with it.
This daemon creature looked deeper into his eyes and seamed to breath a breath into his face and immediately he was faced with his entire life. He saw how little he had loved, how many times he had turned coward, and he saw every innocent life that he had taken. Every hope and dream that he had taken was laid bare for him to see and experience. He observed every death that he had caused but instead of remorse he felt fear. He knew that this was not forgivable and started flailing in an attempt to again cheat death but this time there was no escape.
Maleki held on to the writhing human and with one quick swipe of claws sent the tyrant to deal directly with the One True Being.
Maleki dropped the tyrants lifeless body and turned to his brothers and sisters. Together they returned to their realm that day having completed an incredible and harrowing journey. Many souls were saved, and many met their just ends. The rebels prevailed and the tyrant fell.
Maleki settled for a good long sleep after the One True Being restored his tail chided him for not keeping an eye on what was going on around him but praised Maleki for a job well done and thanked him for saving the One True Being's children. Maleki felt foolish for such a lapse but was glad the humans were safe from the tyrant now. He quickly fell asleep and dreampt dreams of flying tails. He chased after them, and his whiskers twitched in his sleep while he tried to catch them.
The One True Being watched Maleki and felt a warm place in his heart for this child. He blessed his child and left Maleki to attend to another universe that was giving him pause.
The End.
