[thomas2]

Shas'el Au'taal Y't'saum means member of the fire caste, noble/ knight, member of Au'taal sept (planet of Au'taal), one of flames
Shas'el Au'taal Y't'saum name starts different and will change because Tau names show rank and achievements
Here's part one to download: http://www.mediafire.com/?4yx4hmdfi33

La'kunas was dripping in blood. The Orkoid hordes had attacked for a day and a month, and reinforcements were few and far between. The milling squad around him took the breather to re-charge their pulse carbines, that had kept them alive for weeks. His blade was cracked and dent, stained forever with Orkoid blood. Another wave attacked. The same breathless, restless attacks were happening again. Hundreds of pouring Orks, guns drown out all noise, mighty Kans and Nobs towering over them. But this wave was different. La'kunas could feel it deep down. This wave would kill him. The numbers weren't different. It was something else.
'A Warboss, A Waagh.'
The insane Ork cries richosied across every surface, chilling La'kunas' blood more than hails of bullets. Rather than going round obstacles, they went over them. Instead of cowering at every volley, it spurred them on. Rather than a un-organised collection of bullet sprays, it was unrelenting un-organised spray. Pulse blasts cut down Ork after Ork, burning flesh and shattering bone, mocking all excuses for armour, blasting through Kans, smashing Nobs. But this was no longer enough. They got closer and the squad worried. La'kunas soon calmed them, but their fire-power was tainted by this, haphazard shots dealt little to no damage, and one Tau wandered from cover, and was shot down. La'kunas desperately ran for his carbine, but Ork bullets found him, and his shoulder flared with pain. He grabbed the carbine, and dived into cover, bullets bouncing off the ruined wall. He fired thrice, all causing another Ork to drop. But then they closed. La'kunas cut the first clean in half, but after this there was no time for fancy tricks like that. The second was decapitated in one clean blow, with force that left La'kunas shivering. The third was brutally disembowelled, the only strike left following a duck to avoid a rusty choppa. From then on La'kunas was always surrounded. A spinning cut, followed by 2 point-blank pulse blasts sent four Orks over, and a precise stab into a Kan's workings caused it to begin to explode, and La'kunas jumped out the way as two Orks flew, burning, overhead. Then the warboss strided up. La'kunas was too slow. The Ork's Klaw was too fast. The whole of La'kunas' chest was ripped out and he died in agony....

 

[Dirge Eterna]

Short and sweet, seems like a "short story in the codex" kind of thing. Very visual.

-Dirge

 

[thomas2]

That's not all of it, it'll be a similar length to the last one. Did you not notice that the thread is called 'Saga of Shas'el...' and the character, now dead, is La'kunas (La is a low Tau rank, normal soldier, while Shas'el is a commander). Also anyone who read the first part will know the character whose Saga it is was called La'kunas, but became a Shas'ui (sergeant, or in a suit) at the end with the new name Ui'y't'saum, which I hoped people would realise quickly.

 

[thomas2]

I'm not surprised but still a bit unhappy over the lack of replies.This probably has to be many people not going all the down to 40K fiction, or just reading better stories like the fantastic Erebus or being put off by my possible use of poor plot devises, but don't worry, I haven't slunk down to the icy depths of a dream sequence or virtual reality. All will be revealed...

La'kunas was dead. It was beyond doubt. His entire chest was ripped out. But he was not the only La'kunas to die. Two had died in as many days. One the mighty Aun'la T'au Kunas'nan, died soaked in blood of unnumbered greenskins, and under the piles of bodies the only thing still with a connection to him left on the field was his honour blade. One which was sent flying, landed point down in a high up pile of rubble, and the tattered rags of a banner of T'au resting upon it, billowing out in the wind, untouched by milling greenskins. The second La'kunas to die? Shas'la Au'taal Kunas'nan, pierced right through by an Dark Eldar blade. But from his smouldering ashes a spark still burns on. It took light and like a phoenix from the flames Shas'ui Au'taal Y't'saum has risen and none shall stand before his wrath. The word of the Greater Good shall be on his lips, the armour of faith in the Ethereals and the Tau race resides in his lesser, mortal armour, and in his hands the fate of entire worlds shall rest, as shall the myriad weapons of the Fire Caste, and shall destroy all who oppose the greater good, alien, and renegade alike, and his impact shall shake the galaxy. But none of this is known to him. This is his story.

 

[thomas2]

Anyone reading this? It appears not... Still I'll put the next part up anyway.

Y't'saum cradled his precious pulse rifle. Another fight. Were was his fire? The foes? The privative Orks. Y't'saum had no quarrel with them. He tough deeply. 'Only anger saved me last battle and only it can save me again'. While pondering this, Y't'saum gave support to his new squad, all Au'taals like himself. The Orca landed. The door opened out to a twisted, horrible mess of bent metal, crumbled buildings, and corpses, so many many corpses... Y't'saum was no stranger to battle but this was his first fight in a desolate battlefield, not where the greater good quickly prevailed, but a devastating, bloody stalemate. 'These bodies. They are the fuel of my fire and greenskin blood shall spill, and shall wash away any way this could be seen as a defeat, such shall be its quantity!!'. And Y't'saum started a practice that lasted his entire life, to vow to whatever or whoever was his motivator, his fire, that he shall avenge it. And it would be so as he vowed to every Tau that died that they would have twice their number in Orks killed in vengeance. This is when they came, in numbers and strength horrifying.

 

[thomas2]

I know why no-ones replying! You want action!! WAR!! Prepare for your want to be fulfilled as the battle begins!!:victory:

Y't'saum steeled himself for the coming assault. Greenskins clamoured like rats over every surface. Y't'saum sprinted to the nearest defendable position, a partially ruined building. His squad loyally followed him, pulse rifles hanging from long-broken windows like flags saluting a army. But whether the Tau or the Orks would be the saluted one at the end of the day was known to no one. Garish pulses were thrown from the weapons ends. The effects were deadly, but Y't'saum killed as many as the rest of the squad on his own. Heads exploded in crimson bursts, chests were stripped to the bone and massive amounts of shots turned legs and arms to paste, putting Orks out of the fight. The shooting wasn't undisputed. Ork bullets thundered in mass numbers, their morale effects far more deadly than the sheer inaccuracy. Bullet thumped against the solid bricks, bouncing off(how do you spell richosay?) with various effects, at least one Ork was felled by their own bullets. By now many of the more damaged mobs began to lose confidence, and much of their numbers were slinking away. But this was not a victory yet. The now gore splattered wall had more to deal with before the day ended. A mechboyz creations marched up the hill the ruined buildings. The ground shook and they bulldozed through all the rubble in their way. The next wave had arrived.

 

[Luciferi]

Mann. That's so good.
You should've made it a lot longer IMO though.
Still ace job

 

[brutus]

This is great, no a massive fan of the Tau as a rule(alot of friends play) but this is a great piece. As Dirge said, it has that instant emersion factor and that's hard to find. Great work
Brutus.