The Unbroken Codex

The Culling

(A heavy iron spear slams into the dirt at your feet. The dust settles to reveal a towering Orc, his skin the color of polished obsidian. He wears armor that looks like a mosaic of jagged, mismatched steel. He does not look at you with pity, but with a hunger to see if you will break.)

"Pick it up.

"You think yourself a warrior? You, who grew up under the shade of green trees? You, who drinks water whenever your throat is dry? You are soft. You are clay waiting for the rain to wash you away.

"I am Iron-Clad. My armor is forged from the blades of men and dwarves who died cursing my name. My skin has not felt the cool of a shadow since I was a whelp. I serve the Mantle of the Warlord, not the meat that wears it.

"We are the Unbroken. We are the Sun-Eaters. We do not die in straw beds. We die screaming defiance at the gods, so loud that they must let us in to the Endless Saga.

"The Dune-Kral has looked upon this pathetic gathering and seen... potential. Or perhaps just meat for the beasts. It matters not.

"This scroll is the Law of Ash. Read it. Learn the weight of the chains you wish to wear. If your heart is still beating when you finish, step into the light.

"The Sunken Sands are hungry. Feed them, or become the feed."

The Tablets of the Black Sun: Law of the Unbroken

Motto: Serve the Mantle. Burn the Weak.

I. The Trial of the Sunken Sands You are nothing until you survive the sand. To join our ranks, you must undertake the Trial of the Sunken Sands.

• The Casting: You will be cast into the Obsidian Wastes.

• The Blade: You will carry a single blade. No water. No shield.

• The Duration: You must survive for one full moon cycle.

• The Tithe: You cannot return empty-handed. You must bring the trophy of an alpha predator—a Stonehide Lasher, a Cinder Varg, or a Great Scorpion.

If you return, you are reborn. Your old clan ties are severed. You become Sand-Born.

II. The Hierarchy of Ash

The Sand-Born (Recruit) You have no name. You have no armor but hardened leather. You are the dust. You fight to earn your steel.

The Iron-Clad (Veteran) You are the wall. Your armor is "Saga-Forged," built piece by piece from the "trophy steel" of worthy opponents you have slain. A warrior with rust on his chest is a warrior with no glory.

The First-Sand (Commander) You are the spear. You command a company. You hold this rank only as long as you can defend it. Any Iron-Clad may challenge you to The Proving, a ritual duel for your rank.

The Dune-Kral (Supreme Commander) He speaks with the voice of the desert. We follow him because he is the strongest. If he falters, he falls.

The Hearth Guard (The Honored Elders) Those who have fought too many wars to stand in the shield wall, but have proven their worth in the Challenge of Succession, take the "Hearth Vow." They are the untouchable advisors, the grandfathers of the legion.

III. The Three Laws of Combat

1. The Unmaking: A kill is meat. A victory is spirit. To truly defeat a worthy foe, you must perform The Unmaking—shatter their shield or disarm them before you strike the killing blow. Humiliation breaks their lineage.

2. The Heart-Gift: If an enemy fights with the fury of Morgrath, do not let their strength rot in the ground. Cut out their heart and consume it. You take their spirit to the Endless Saga.

3. Mercy is Rot: To spare a weak enemy is to insult them. To beg for mercy is to taint your own steel. We do not accept the surrender of cowards.

IV. Protocols of the Legion

The Greeting

• Challenge: "Sun scorch your path."

• Response: "And ash pave yours."

The Oath of the Brand Upon surviving the Trial, the Brand of the Unbroken—the Ashen Laurel—will be seared into your right shoulder.

• Recite: "My skin to the sand. My blood to the sun. My soul to the Mantle. I am the iron that does not bend."

V. Funerary Rites: The Soul-Forge

We do not bury our dead in the cold earth like the Primal Orcs.

• The Pyre of Returning: We burn our fallen to release their spirits to the Endless Saga.

• The Legacy of Steel: We do not bury good steel. The weapon of a fallen Unbroken is taken to the Forge-Thanes of the Sun. It is melted down in the Soul-Forge and folded into a new blade.

• The Truth: You will wield the steel of your ancestors. You never fight alone.
  

VI. Crime and Punishment

The Straw Death To die of old age or sickness is the ultimate shame. It is oblivion. If you are too old to fight, you must seek a death worthy of a song.

Exile (The Cutting) If you bring dishonor to the Mantle—if you flee, if you show mercy to the unworthy—you are not killed. That is too easy. The Brand of the Unbroken is crudely cut from your flesh. You are named "Green-Stained" and cast out, nameless and godless, to wander until the sand takes you.

The sun is rising, whelp. Do you have the strength to eat it?

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