Abysstrider's Road

Nathan had seen the Abyss before. He had seen its denizens, the Abysstriders and Abysswalkers, and had even lived to tell of it. But he was not looking forward to seeing them again. They were fierce, unforgiving, and quite frankly, terrifying. The Great Kingdoms of Battle would never be able to truly defeat them as long as they had their citadel and city at their disposal. And so Nathan was tasked with the impossible - he was sent to the First Great Kingdom of Gratia to warn them of the impending doom that was the Abyss, and to swear fealty to them should they accept his warning.

Nathan sighed as he looked down at his map. So far, he had travelled for days on end and all he had gained from it was a sore backside from sitting on his horse. He sighed as he looked around him; nothing but rolling hills for as far as his eyes could see, with a couple trees here and there. He had expected more greenery along the way; after all, Gratia was known for their lush forests and bountiful fields of crops. Perhaps those were reserved only in their cities?

He shook his head. His thoughts were beginning to wander again. It was almost time for him to make camp when he heard his horse neighing loudly in what sounded like terror. It started to rear up before charging in the opposite direction at full speed! Nathan cursed loudly before jumping off his saddle and starting to run alongside it while dragging his horse's reins behind him. Unfortunately, the horse's panic seemed contagious and soon Nathan found himself running for his life just like it!

As soon as he passed over the crest of a hill, he came face to face with his pursuer: a massive creature unlike anything he had ever encountered before! It resembled a mountain goat with an imposing frame covered in shimmering metallic scales that protected its skin from harm. Its feet seemed rooted into the ground whereas its horns seemed razor sharp enough to slice through steel! Its most impressive features, however, were its amber eyes that glowed with an eerie light which illuminated its entire body and made it easy for Nathan to spot it against the darkening night sky above him!

"Screams & Blood!" Nathan swore under his breath as he continued running while keeping an eye on the monster chasing him down. The sun was almost fully set when suddenly a group of small creatures emerged out of nowhere right in front of him! They were humanoid in appearance but their skin shimmered just like that of the giant monster chasing him down! They opened their mouths wide before letting out ear-piercing shrieks which caused Nathan's ears to ring painfully! He fell onto his butt as well as disorientated by their shrieking cries but managed to get back onto his feet when one of them charged towards him while swinging its oversized cleaver wildly at him!

Nathan dodged out of the way just in time by leaping backwards onto his feet while simultaneously shoving one hand into one of his pouches on his waist belt while pointing another towards the charging creature! Just before reaching him, however, it suddenly stopped mid-charge right in its tracks before falling onto its knees with a loud thump beside another one who had already fallen onto its knees previously! Both creatures struggled briefly before going still while steam seeped out from between gaps in their armour-like scales which had been pierced by holes created by whatever spell Nathan casted upon them!

The third creature continued shrieking loudly until suddenly collapsing onto its knees with a loud thud whereupon its armoured scales opened up revealing soft flesh underneath which quickly turned purple and blackish before decaying away along with its armour-like carapace which crumbled away into dust afterwards!

"By all that is good..." Nathan breathed raggedly as he watched debris from broken trees raining down from all sides from where three massive boulders crashed down onto some of the smaller creatures who didn't have time to move out of their path in time before getting crushed by them! The rest fled back towards where they came from moments ago which caused Nathan's heart skip a beat when he spotted several dozen more lining up along both sides of a narrow valley leading towards flat plains ahead of them while two others stood atop large rocks overlooking everything below them while pointing towards something further ahead of them!

Nathan cursed yet again under his breath before turning around just in time to see that towering monster approaching him while closing in fast despite having taken some damage earlier than expected following this brief skirmish! He held one hand close against his chest while channeling what little magical energy remained within him into preparing one last spell which would hopefully turn this tide around once again!

Unfortunately, fate seemed cruel today because if Nathan did manage to cast this spell then it might have been possible for him survive... However... Fate decided otherwise by throwing yet another boulder straight towards him at high speed which crashed straight into him before sending both himself as well as that towering monster crashing down into the valley together after being pulverized into smithereens before impact...