Warlord Hom looked out across the dunes of his beloved Kr’sd’thai, watching the flames from the tower atop Stab Mountain.

Dark is the heart that beats within my loins thought Warlord Hom without speaking. The sun of my fathers sets now, but when it rises again, the wizard Tocad will be upon us. Warlord Hom rested his hand on the hilt of his six-bladed axe and stared into the sunset.

Had it been just a few years ago when he was still a boy? Then, Tocad was a myth, a being for stories. The called him “Tocad the Tripod” and made light of his carbon fiber body. “Hurry, to your studies!” his mother would yell, “Else Tocad the Tripod will hold you aloft like a camera or camcorder!” Warlord Hom, then just known as Young Hom, would always laugh. “Nothing will take me from the sands of Kr’sd’thai, mother!” he would shout back, “I will be the greatest Warlord our kingdom has ever seen!”

Now, looking at the rising smoke, Warlord Hom wondered. Am I man enough? he asked himself. Do I have what is in me to overcome all obstacles and conquer Tocad’s heavy-duty 3-way photo/video panhead with quick release plate? Warlord Hom could not answer his privately asked question. He could only keep staring at that smoke.

Tomorrow the battle for Kr’sd’thai would begin.

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