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Windhammer, Copyright Wayne Densley 2008 All Rights Reserved
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463
 In a detonation of light and sound the crumbling ruins of Kal Murda disappear in a blinding wash of energy. Thrown to the ground by the force of the explosion you feel the stones beneath you turning as if the world is realigning itself upon a new axis. Quickly you raise yourself from the cobbles and find yourself encased in a sphere of shimmering blue energy, a transparent shell through which the village of Kal Murda is transformed.
Gone are the devastated buildings and debris strewn streets. In their place you see Kal Murda on the day of its destruction, alive with townsfolk and troops engaged in those last few moments of desperate struggle before the settlement was overrun. In the sky overhead a barrage of stones and metal canisters rain down upon the defenders, and against the far eastern gates you can hear the terrible pounding of hammers as the last defences of the town are assaulted. You do not not how it can be, but the stonewood is making you witness the last hours of Kal Murda.
As you watch the eastern gates fail, coming down in a thundering crash upon a number of hapless troops desperately attempting to hold them closed by brute strength alone. Through the splintered opening a wave of Hresh warriors fall upon the few men brave enough to stand against them, and as they fight dozens of Jotun wielding massive hammers set upon the buildings and structures of the town, crushing all who might cross their paths.
Above it all surges the sound of battle, the harsh crash of metal, and the screams of the dying. For you it is too much, the sight of the villagers being shot down as they try and escape a vision that you would never have sought willingly. But as you witness these last moments a thought grows in your mind that what you see is no simple reflection of past tragedy. You can smell the smoke of fires spreading through the town, and hear in all its gruesome detail the sounds of the battle raging through the streets. By the time the fighting reaches the central square you realise that what you are witnessing is not a mere representation of the past, but the past being relived by all those who took part in it. Without understanding why, you sense that what you are seeing is the same event somehow being replayed over and over again, the souls of the dead unwillingly participants trapped in a cycle that they cannot escape.
Within the hue and cry of the battle a single Jotun warrior breaks from the melee and moves purposefully towards you. He is dressed in the ornate armour of a General of the March and as he advances he points the end of his long-handled hammer directly at your face. You cannot be sure but it appears that he can see you.
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If you do not wish to risk any interaction with the Jotun warrior turn to section 445. If you are prepared to wait and see what the huge creature's intentions are turn to section 489.
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This book, and its associated books and other documents in the Chronicles of Arborell series are the intellectual property of the author, Wayne F Densley, and all rights are reserved by him. Windhammer is best viewed at 1024 x 768 resolution. Any questions regarding the Chronicles of Arborell can be answered by emailing the author at densleyw@shoal.net.au
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Windhammer, Copyright Wayne Densley 2008 All Rights Reserved
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