The Tales of Strax

Strax is a fictional character famous for his god-like strength, so much so that his axe has become a symbol of strength. In the Tales of Strax he travels the world to destroy all kinds of evil, wielding his mighty axe to help with his battles. The stories were written by an author named Tyron between the years 31,400 and 31,480. Tyron based the character Strax off what he believed to be a true hero. Not everyone agrees with his views. Seen below is an example of one of these stories.

### **Strax and the Sixteen-Legged Serpent**

There was once a sixteen-legged serpent called Redall. Redall mysteriously appeared from within a mountain and terrorized everyone. He ran through villages and ate people as well as their homes and animals. He would have eaten the entire world if Strax, the strongest man in the world, didn't step in to put an end to this beast.

A runaway found him and warned him of the coming danger. Strax vowed that he would destroy this serpent before he killed anymore people. He hunted Redall down and found him resting atop his mountain. Strax climbed up the mountain and stood before the serpent who had killed many. The serpent sensed an unwelcome presence and woke up. He snarled at Strax immediately when he saw him. Redall roared loudly at him but Strax stared down the beast and refused to run away.

Redall saw that he wasn't going anywhere so he lunged at him but Strax jumped out of the way of his attack. Strax swung his axe and hacked off one of the serpent's many limbs. The serpent cried in pain and turned to lunge at him again. Strax jumped onto its head and held on. The beast writhed underneath him and swung its head back and forth to throw Strax off but the hero's grip was stronger than steel. Strax sat up and raised his axe high above his head, prepared to end the serpent's life right then.

However, Redall jumped and when he landed, Strax's axe flew out of his hand and down to the ground below. He was distracted by that and lost his grip on the beast as well. He got flung off the beast's head and landed on the ground beside the beast. Redall stood up on his back limbs like a centipede and glared down at Strax who scrambled to his feet. He clenched his hands into fists and ran for the beast by himself. When he got close, the serpent lunged at him again but he dodged and grabbed one of Redall's limbs and tore it off with all his might.

Redall screamed in pain and became angrier. He tried to knock Strax over with his tail but instead Strax grabbed his tail and with all his strength he pulled and began to swing the beast around. He stopped and let go of the beast and watched him fly off the top of the mountain and fall to the ground below, screaming all the way down. He looked down and eyed his axe at the bottom of the mountain. He climbed down the mountain and jumped off about mid-way to the ground. He grabbed his axe immediately and ran for the beast who was recovering from his long fall. When Redall saw Strax towering over him with his axe, he began to roar in protest, but he was too weak to fight back. Strax cut him off by bringing the axe down at the base of his neck, bringing an end to this beast forever.

He stepped back now that Redall went limp and caught his breath. He chopped up the rest of the beast's body and threw it into a fire so he would burn and never return.

He told the kingdom that he had slayed the beast and the kingdom celebrated the end to their torment. They bestowed Strax with many gifts which he accepted humbly. He told them if they ever needed his assistance again that he would be glad to help. He then went off to continue his journey, prepared to do battle with evil again in the future.