Thalmudak

Description

I almost fainted when Tok uttered the name Thalmudak! That smelly, crazy ogre claimed to have personally seen Queen Nerea unearth and resurrect the Athanatoi and saw their leader pledge allegiance to her. If it weren’t for the Athanatoi marauders we’ve encountered, I wouldn’t believe the corpulent fool at all.

I remember spending entire nights reading stories about the Athanatoi, about how they were torn from their distant world against their will and how, with false promises, they were recruited to fight for the Thaumaturgists against the Forgers. Thalmudak, their leader, fascinated me.

It was said that he let enemy survivors go, even tending to their wounds after battle. Poems and songs have been written about him. That he breathes the same air as me today fills me with both terror and awe.

It was inevitable and yet something that should never have happened. Aran and Thalmudak, face to face. The battle of the millennium. Thank goodness the Titan Forger left Thalmudak badly injured beforehand, because otherwise Aran wouldn’t have made it out alive.

I still have to pinch myself to make sure it wasn’t a dream. I admit I wished for Aran’s victory, but I enjoyed the confrontation and I know that I will remember it as long as I live. Here is my illustration of the noble and brave Thalmudak, king of the Athanatoi!