Hiii's Stand Against Belok
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Published 3/11/2023An intrepid African warrior, Hiii, puts his courage - and fate - to the test as he attempts to confront the malevolent cannibal warlord, Belok, in the dark and cursed lands of Sub-Saharan Africa, in order to end his tyrannical reign and save his people.
I can still remember the day I first set foot in Sub-Saharan Africa.
I had seen it on the news plenty of times before, but never imagined that I would actually be here to see it with my own eyes. The poverty, the anguish, the war and famine…but I was a warrior. Born into a proud tribe, my father taught me everything he knew about fighting and protecting our tribe. He was a great warrior, who walked the earth with dignity and honor. He died defending our homeland when the green demon Belok and his armies showed up one night and killed everyone they could find. My mother was one of only a few survivors, who told me what happened while I was away at my grandfather’s funeral. She told me that he was an old man from our village who had lived for over one hundred years and had traveled far beyond our lands to learn from other tribes. His knowledge was vast, and he sought nothing more than to share his wisdom with all. He didn’t believe in any gods or demons, though there were many villagers who worshiped him as a holy man because of his vast intelligence.
He knew that Belok would return someday, but nobody believed him until it was too late. All of our people were slaughtered that night, except for those who hid themselves in the nearby caves. Nobody has returned since then to bury them, so their bodies lie rotting in their homes along with the rest of the animals who have also died off due to lack of food and water.
Belok's demons left behind nothing but death and destruction as they ravaged our lands searching for all of us who escaped into the caves below. They killed almost every animal they saw, leaving their corpses to rot wherever they lay dead; they destroyed every living thing they found, including plants and trees which they burned in great piles leaving blackened scars in the earth where they once stood; they stole anything of value they could find, raping our women and children as well as torturing anyone unfortunate enough to cross their path; and lastly, they forced everyone captured into slavery to serve them as laborers until death overtook them. The demons were never satisfied with anything they did, always acting like spoiled children throwing tantrums over any little thing that didn't go their way.
This is why I am here today: I want to stop them once and for all! Few people have ever made it back after escaping into these lands; most died out here trying to make their way back home or were hunted down by Belok's monsters for sport. But if I can make it back alive with help from whatever gods are out there willing to listen to my pleas then we might finally see an end to this senseless war!
It took weeks just to get here through all this countryside...it looks like no land on Earth that I've ever seen before! Thick forests cover everything around me except for a few clearings in between where small villages lie scattered throughout the land like islands surrounded by endless oceans! The villages are ruled by various chiefs who hold absolute power over those within their domain; but Belok rules over all of them with an iron fist! It is no wonder why nobody is willing to go against him...they can't even feed themselves without Belok's permission! So instead of doing something about it these poor villagers just sit around waiting for someone else to save them from this oppression!
The only people willing to stand up against Belok are those who live in these remote villages hidden within the jungle...they do whatever they can to survive without his constant interference in their lives! They trade things among each other not unlike how we used to trade things with each other back home before Belok's invasion...they even help each other out without asking for anything in return! They don't seem very powerful on their own, but if enough of them band together then maybe there is hope after all...maybe some of them will be willing to join me when I finally make my way back home once I've finished my task here!
I hadn't left camp until darkness fell upon the land, so now I'm walking through these dense woods after having set up camp farther away from any village than most would dare venture into alone. My journey takes me deeper into these woods in search of certain herbs that will hopefully cure illnesses caused by diseases brought on by exposure out here...there is no telling what kind of hell awaits me once I finally make it home so I must be prepared for anything! The moon is shining brightly above me tonight illuminating my path through these dark woods where sounds constantly echo through the windy voids between trees overhead creating strange sounds that keep me alert at all times...and occasionally scare out loud whenever something really strange happens! But tonight I appear safe from harm so far...I can feel confident that nothing will try attacking me tonight since there isn't much light getting through these thick trees above me blocking out most moonlight too! Good thing too because if something starts attacking me now it could be pretty bad because most creatures like hunting during nighttime when you can barely see what is approaching you until it is too late!
As time passes and morning begins creeping along across the horizon I catch sight of movement coming towards me from somewhere behind me ahead on my trail...I don't want whoever this is following me getting any closer so I duck behind a tree hoping whoever this person is won't notice me hiding here close by just yet! Moving cautiously forward I get closer until I'm close enough where I can begin eyeing up whoever this person is based on what little information available from behind this tree trunk here...it appears as if this person is walking upright like myself instead of on all fours like most animals do when moving about sets off alarms inside my head warning about possible danger lurking nearby! Not wanting take any chances right now especially not knowing what kind of danger lies ahead somewhere within these dark forest depths surrounding us both right now...I quickly leap out into view surprising whoever this person is staring straight back at me while holding a spear ready at his side pointing straight at my direction when suddenly he jumps backwards screaming loudly while dropping his spear onto the ground right next him causing him to trip over himself falling flat on his face now directly facing me as we're both staring each other down right now face-to-face while standing opposite one another across this small clearing inside these vast forest depths!
He looks surprised by my sudden appearance just as much as I did upon seeing him standing there looking straight at me holding a spear pointing directly at my direction ready to kill whoever jumped out at him from behind these trees somewhere nearby earlier without thinking twice about it earlier before realizing that it was someone else he wasn't expecting anymore than he expected somebody jumping out at him suddenly without warning!!! As we stare each other down wondering what exactly happened neither one having expected meeting someone else halfway deep inside these dark forest depths between two different villages located deep within these dense woodland regions filled with dangerous creatures lurking everywhere around us waiting eager for unsuspecting victims such as ourselves!! Neither one realizing how dangerous this situation could become until we're both standing face-to-face staring each other down ready to attack each other depending on whose first move makes first either killing or being killed based solely on emotion rather than thought process which would certainly lead us both straight towards certain doom whichever one initiates first!!!
For several minutes we slowly stare each other down trying cautiously looking past each other's eyes trying reading body language trying finding hints hidden within facial expressions trying understanding intonations & meanings attached behind words spoken aloud while trying deciphering meaning behind body language movements choices made while facing one another during such moments keeping eye contact while simultaneously searching deeply within ourselves trying interpreting whom exactly we're looking at based purely upon appearances using experiences gained throughout our lifetimes making educated guesses rendering judgments determining whether or not we should trust letting our guards down allowing lowering defenses taking risks trusting allowing lowering inhibitions --- deciding which one has more experience out here surviving picking one winner based solely upon appearance choosing whether or not we should go ahead and attack each other should we decide we're enemies or if we decide we're friends should we choose to trust allowing lowering inhibitions risking everything should either determine whether or not we're considering helping each other out getting along instead making friends rather than enemies somehow deciding whether or not helping someone begins with trusting someone when meeting someone halfway deep down inside ancient unknown dark forest depths between two different villages located deep within these dense woodland regions filled with dangerous creatures lurking everywhere around us waiting eager for unsuspecting victims!!!
After several minutes have passed neither one having made any moves slowly staring each other down slowly searching deeply within ourselves quietly keeping eye contact slowly analyzing everything sighted while looking past each other's eyes silently listening intently watching body movements silently observing facial expressions silently observing choices made while facing one another during such moments silently listening intently staring each other down silently reading body language movements silently examining facial expressions silently interpreting meaning hidden within words spoken aloud silently interpreting meaning hidden behind body language movements silently interpreting meaning hidden behind facial expressions silently contemplating interpretations meanings attached behind words spoken aloud silently questioning oneself inwardly wondering if perhaps meaning hidden behind words spoken aloud may be different than what words spoken aloud mean outwardly speaking perceived meanings decided meaning behind those words spoken aloud honestly interpreted honestly chosen honest reflections carefully questioning oneself inwardly wondering if perhaps meaning hidden behind body language movements may be different than what body language movements mean outwardly moving perceived meanings decided meaning
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