(Kinda silly but what the heck)

Midnight on the eve of the new moon, a young initiate knelt with the other lo-chakras, or `nameless ones,' in ritualistic obeisance before Tol-Durak. His lo-chakra-shin-ber, 'nameless spirit opponent,' knelt next to him, as deep in the same trance and ready to receive the final dose of fire beetle powder from the ancient shaman. Already on his way to the place known as `the battleground of the spirit,' having performed the cleansing naked mountain gauntle and a week-long fast, their meditative journey out of the tangible world was near completion.

The young initiate was unaware of the acrid smells of burning pitch from hundreds of torches, the rusty earth of the red `dum-hai' with which his father had painted his entire body, head, and hair, and the sound of the drums of war and fate beating in unison to the chanting ur-chakras. He saw nothing but the dais, Tol-Durak, and the shin-ber. He was chanting, with the others, an involuntary motor response that he was not only unable to control, but at this point unable to hear.

Tol-Durak appeared as a shining figure wreathed in flame, holding flame in his hands, and he bent to touch the flame to the initiate's lips. The intiate breathed in the flame, which burned without heat and cleansed his spirit and vision. A doorway appeared, and he stepped through without hesitation, into a mountain forest clearing softly carpeted with grass, sunbeams reflecting off fresh dew-drops, and a single moss-covered boulder at the other side of the clearing. As he bent low to touch the grass, he discovered his hands had disappeared and in their place, large padded claws of a the mountain Orgg, a bear-like creature of nasty temperment and ravenous hunger.

The Orgg reared up on his hind legs again and sniffed the air; a scent of danger - but what? Within seconds he knew, as a large spotted Murgg lept onto the moss-covered boulder, howling the scream of challenge that curdled the blood of women and children caught unawares in the forest. More agile though not as large and strong, the deadly cat sprang instantly towards the Orgg, claws aimed at raking the eyes and fangs ready for a swift bite to the neck. This Orgg had learned about Murgg from his father, though, and anticipated the attack, sidestepping at the last minute and extending a paw to swat the Murgg at the point when it should have hit his neck, and sending it spinning to the side. Murggs have a great sense of balance, though, and this one was up with nary a tumble, but bleeding from a gash in its flank. The Murgg circled, trying its best to hide or shrug off the limp its bleeding side was inflicting. It screamed again and sprang for a second attack. This time, instead of side-stepping, the Orgg flung itself on its back, catching the Murgg in mid-air and used the Murgg's momentum to back-flip up and over on top of the Murgg. A swift blow of a paw larger than a common man's head, and the Murgg shuddered and lay silent. Its claws had raked the Orgg's chest during the maneuvre, and dark blood had begun to drip from the ragged wounds, but the Orgg knew it was victorious, and sated its hunger on the flesh of the dead Murgg. Murgg forgot that Orggs can roll, virtually like a ball, thought the Orgg as it finished its gruesome meal and licked some refreshing dew off the grass.

Suddenly sleepy, the Orgg cleaned its wounds with its large, sticky toungue and lay down on the mossy, sunny rock to rest. After an eternity of senseless bliss, he woke to find himself lying not on the mossy rock but on the hard, dusty ground of the village centrum. He stood up, somewhat shakily and still dizzy, then winced a bit at the pain in his chest; a series of nail-like runs raked down, hair matted with clotted blood and dust. Looking around, he saw the shin-ber lying in a heap on the ground, its head twisted around in a most unnatural but brutally satisfying position. Other of the lo-chakras stood or slept, though most lay in similar, twisted and bloody heaps. The ur-chakras still circled the centrum, leaning on their drums, and some still lightly beat and chanted as various surviving lo-chakras wakened and rose to their feet to be greeted and interviewed by the high priest as he walked the inner circle, shaking his staff and passing on the names to the new ur-chakras.

Tol-Durak approached, and the lo-chakra instinctively assumed the position of obeisance. `Rise, lo-chakra, and tell me what you saw,' commanded the priest, and so received the lo-chakra's tale of the Orgg and the Murgg. The priest raised the shook his staff of skulls, as he had with the others, and said `welcome, ur-chakra Orgg Hammerhead.'