《Orc Calamity》


 1 A Painful Life

    Pain... It flooded his mind, making it difficult to breathe, thus difficult to scream. Only grunts were issued through his hissing breath.


    "Listen to that! He sounds just like a pig! Looks like a pig, sounds like one... He even smells like a pig! I, this young master, declare you are a pig!"


    Laughter erupted from those that were surrounding him, and silence from those that watched from afar... The Teachers of the school found that the clouds in the sky today to be very interesting attracting all of their attention.


    "You only have yourself to blame piggy for breaking my brother''s arm..." Then with a laughing sneer, "In fact, break his other arm!" A command was given, "Don''t break his legs though... I want to make sure he can walk away least he greases up the street with his fat. Heh."


    The nasal voice of an older boy laughed from on high, as Phillip looked up through tears and anger to see another foot slammed into his face.


    It wasn''t long before pain... It again flooded him, as he felt the same sensation as his right arm now flooding him in his left arm.


    More laughter ensued, and now another nasal voice called out, now younger than the other, but sounded of the same litter, "Next time you come to class you better ask my permission to come into the room, least my big brother find your fat displeasing again... Who told you to hit I, your father, when scolding you? Talking to Holly is something only men can do, not something for pigs! It''s for your own good that you know what you are...! A pig!"


    Soon darkness took over, and Phillip''s vision changed to a different day...


    He laid on his bed for many days, as his older sister nursed him back to health. Two broken arms weren''t an injury easily healed, and unless she donated to the church then... Healing tonic would only be saved for others.


    "Lean up, Phil... Eat this. It''s good for you and will help you heal." He heard Charlotte ask in a soothing voice.


    "Please, Sis... Your health isn''t any better than mine! Please don''t make me eat this! You should eat it instead."


    "Brother, hush... Just eat this; make sister happy." Charlotte said with a smile, as she blew on the spoon a few times to cool to soup to feed her brother.


    Phillip took a spoon full...


    "Chicken! No! We don''t have the money for this!" Phillip wanted to spit it back out into the spoon, but his sister had already withdrawn it... There was no way he could waste this food, so he reluctantly swallowed.


    "Meat will help you heal. Shhhhh, Shhh, shhh. Get big, stronger, and healthier... Then you can help Sister get better!"


    Phillip looked up into the loving face of his sister... His only family in the world. Working herself into sickness, and now so poor, that no doctor or priest would see them... So was the life of the slums.


    Phillip only attended that damn school, because of the free food, and the chance to get leftovers to bring home to his sister...


    His sisters face had a similar look to his own, but was thinning, but still pretty. Her wheat colored skin, though now paling to illness, told of a life of work outside. He had always wondered how his mother gave birth to his sister who was like a doll... And then birth to himself who was like a large pig... Fat... Rotund... Ugly...


    "Don''t show that face, dear brother... I know what you''re thinking. Don''t let those people get you down. They don''t know you as I know you. They know you are strong, so they are jealous! Smart, and Strong! One day... I know you will the one on top. Now eat more."


    Another spoon was given, in this soft dream-like place, his vision slipped again into darkness to another view... A... Terrible view...


    Fire... It illuminated the night... That night many years after his school, after those bullies that had become more than noble''s sons... The fire had spread fast and without regard.


    Phillip had finished his work for the day in the fields, heard the news... All of the strength he could muster, he ran... He ran until he couldn''t breathe... Until the pain in his sides was so sharp it cut his wind, and his vision blurred. His head buzzed.


    His home... In flames...! All the homes! All of the slums! Burning! He took his hard shoulder and with his weight behind him busting into his home of flames. His two-room home of him and his sister... But...


    It was too late...


    The fire had consumed and did not give pause to wood, cloth, or... flesh...


    Seeing the remains... He retreated from the burning home, coughing, as the smoke filled his longs from the sharp breath of horror inhaled.


    With the sensation of falling, a powerful blow to the head brought Phillip from his nightmare and back into the real world again... His self-proclaimed nightmare.


    Taking in deep breathes, Phillip reached to the back of his head to feel, and pull the hand back, as he looked up from the floor next to his broken bed.


    In the first signs of the twilight of dawn that poured through the slits of the window... As expected, his hand reflected red.


    Phillip laid there, as his breathing returned to normal, and the pain of his head increased, he finally gathered the strength to sit up, with the feeling of sticky liquid running along his back.


    "Haaa~ That dream again..."


    Phillip roused himself to his feet. as he walked outside with a bucket in hand to the slum''s water pump. It was early, and there was already a line. He could only lumber over to stand as the twelfth person in line. He could easily bully his way through with his impressive height of two meters, but what difference did it make.


    He stood with his head drooped, thanking the fact that blood clotted and the feeling of the stickiness on his bad no longer continued down, as the line slowly advanced.


    While being two meters tall, with his posture, and habit of sinking in, he mostly resembled a cube in the eyes of the residence, who harbored mistrust of this behemoth neighbor... He was not pleasing to the eyes, and that air of depression that hung over him did not make others want to approach him, to find him otherwise.


    Finally, his turn, he pumped his bucket of water and splashed it over his head. Then pumped a second, and walked off, while under the curses of the others.


    He could hear them as he walked, "You son of a pig! You know ONE BUCKET is the limit!"


    "Who does he think he is with that depressing air... It would be better for all of us if he just died... Save space and air..."


    "And the smell!" Someone added as they all laughed at the misery of one to make the masses of poor feel better about their equally terrible situations.


    After lightly wiping his head, and his body off, Phillip brushed his teeth the best he had, with one of the limbs snapped off a nearby brush.


    He looked at his reflection in the murky water of the bucket to his teeth. Large, white, strong. These were his best-looking assets.


    "Every morning... Just like you said, sis... Haaa~" Phillip sighed again, today was going to be another melancholy day. That dream would haunt his mind for the day until he beat it back down into the cracks of his mind. He would then be good for another week or two.


    He looked up at his bed... [It seems that I''ve broken it again... I''ll see about getting some spare boards from the stables, if I can sneak them away.] Phillip remember the last lash he got last time for this, at least he got to keep the wood pieces they didn''t know about.


    As the sun shone over the horizon and the first true rays of light scattered over the lands, Phillip sat just outside of his home in the small area that could be a makeshift backyard. He searched for the feeling that was taught in school. That elusive feeling of Qi.


    [Focus Phil, focus... Feel the air, feel the sun... Concentrate on the qi of the heavens. Feel~]


    Though concentration was hard when he heard the same things said the same ways from the same Passersby day after day.


    "Look at the oaf... Still trying to feel qi at his age... He should stop wasting his time, and head to the fields early with us."


    "No kidding... Just because he works as a squire now, he thinks he''s better than us. Did you hear this morning?"


    "No, what?"


    "He took TWO buckets of water! Two!" A thin man held up two fingers to emphasize his point.


    "Two! Seems like that must be the high life of a squire."


    "Didn''t you two know?" A third voice, a female voice, chimed into the conversation.


    ""Know what?"" Two voices overlapped


    "He only got that job because of his fat body. He looks good sitting there, but he can''t cultivate! He might be a squire, but he will never be a knight. They use him like a coolie!"


    "Doesn''t he already work as a coolie?"


    "Yeah, but I guess being called a squire is a perk for a pig like him."


    "I guess so... We commoners should just go to our jobs." Laughter rang out from the distance, as the voices became too hard to understand due to space between them increasing as they walked.


    [Concentrate... Haaa~ Concentrate on the feeling of the sky, the sun, and the heavens...] Phillip continued, just like every morning... If he could just feel qi, then his life would turn right side up! Being a real knight could be more than a wish and a dream!


    *******


    Scrubbing the armor, oiling and maintaining the equipment, washing the flags, and banners, and cleaning up the armory... All in a day''s work for Phillip, as now that the hard parts were over, he finally had time to feed and take care of the horses.


    He approached his master''s, Lord Godalming''s, horse named Mourning Time... Phillip always liked this name...


    [At least the horses don''t judge me.] Phillip fed Mourning Time, and the other horses of the stables, and then began to groom them in earnest, as per his daily routine.


    A voice picked up behind Phillip, as he continued to curry the horses.


    "Have you ever seen a Squire this old?"


    "He''s like what? Twenty-Four?"


    "More like Thirty, Hahaha!" The second voice thought himself funny.


    [...Just leave me alone...] Phillip thought to himself, as he could hear the two voices getting closer. All this life he tried to life by the passive words of his sister, and believe in karma... Even if karma hadn''t been delivered yet.


    "Isn''t this Piggy?"


    "I told you it was going to be him!"


    "I just didn''t believe you! How did he make it to squire???"


    "No, the real question is how is he STILL a squire!"


    "Hahaha!" The older voice laughed.


    "Piggy, why are you still deluding yourself into thinking you can become a knight. Go back to the fields, actually go back to the sty where you belong. Hahaha"


    Phillip continued to ignore them.


    "Hey Piggy, your betters are speaking to you. Why don''t you turn and squeal for us like you use to... Big brother just became an ArchKnight! So, you should show some respect!"


    [Ah... An ArchKnight...] Phillip thought longingly while continuing his work and ignoring the pair of boosting asses behind him.


    Phillip wasn''t even a true squire, only because of the strength of his body was he allows to become one, but he remembered the ranks taught in school.


    Commoners, Squires, Knight, ArchKnight, Knight Rulers, Knight Authorities, Knight Virtues, and Knight Thrones... In the lands of the Human Empires, and his Empire, The Kingdom of Chadia, everyone revered Knights, and the power they wrought. They were the last and greatest bulwark that protected the Kingdom''s of Humanity from the numerous rampaging Orcs, among other notable beasts.


    "I said pay your respect Piggy!"


    "Forget it, little brother... I don''t need the respect of a pig. It would only lower my status. Let''s go to the Blushing Maiden Inn... Today''s visit will be on Big brother... We can request your favorite... Holly. Hahaha"


    The two voices soon parted, and the large block brush in Phillips'' hand crushed, as he broke it in anger. He remembered long ago after the brother''s Dunkirk had their fun with Holly from school... She was thrown into the Blushing Maiden Inn... The most prosperous brothel of the City.


    Phillip knew the two only played that girl to near death because he liked her... And there was nothing he could do... He found out that they already had their way, after near two months later... If only his arms didn''t get broken, maybe he could of...


    Phillip shook his head, as he left the stables, and returned his equipment.


    It was time to go to the fields, while the sun was still in the sky.


    Even in the fields, he endured the whispers of the other field hands at his expense.


    As the sun dipped, and the sky turned to black, did he retire from the fields with the others...


    Two copper coins were given to each worker, as the left.


    Phillip took the small tied bag from his side, he called a change purse, to deposit his earnings. He now had thirty coins, and not a day too late. Tomorrow was the last day of the month, and rent was due.

 2 Just Another Day in Paradise

    Phillip trodden to his next job, at the warehouses. Thanks to his size and stamina he could work like this all day, and today, he was thankfully going to get paid.


    He slogged and sweated for the evening under the glow of the magic lamps that illuminated the warehouse, and the wagons they stocked, him and a team of other coolies. He worked for the largest trading company in the city and kingdom, Central Eve Trading Company.


    Phillip ignored the envious gazes of the other coolies that he long became accustomed too, as he picked up another stack of four crates of potatoes. With 50lbs each, the other coolies loathed Phillip for being a showoff, and thought he got paid more, though he received the same wages as the rest.


    The whistle of the nightshift blew, and the light winds swept across the warehouse compound, as this was payday!


    All the coolies, including Phillip lined up to get paid, though Phillip with his size lumbering was near the end of the line due to fatigue.


    The line moved slowly, and now it was finally Phillips turn in line, all the coolies, from his team, all twelve of them had a strange smile, including the accountant that was paying out everyone''s two-week work. The ones that were standing to the side that had been paid and the few behind Phillip.


    Phillip held out his large hand, when he something knock into his back. With his hand held out, he looked behind him to see a coolie pushed into him. At this time, a slanky coolie walked over, and the accountant stealthily handed him a fist of coins, and then slunk back quickly, while the obnoxiously loud coolie that bumped into Phillip did his best to apologize for knocking into him.


    "I said it''s alright... Alright... Thank you... But it''s alright." Phillip repeated, with his hand still stretched out.


    Then his hand felt heavier than it had ever been on payday, as he looked back up to see the accountant smiling strangely right before he yelled out.


    "STOP!"


    "What?" Phillip wasn''t sure why he was just shouted at, so he continued to hold out his hand to the accountant to take back the excess.


    "GIVE THAT BACK!" The accountant yelled again.


    "Then take it... It''s not mine, I just want my pay." Phillip said, as he began to get agitated


    "Hey! We all get paid here! Don''t act cause issues!" A guy near the end of the line yelled to the front, unaware of the plot unfolding.


    Phillip distracted turned his head to yell back, as one of the coolies to the side darted up and knocked the hand of Phillip scattering the large amount of copper coins in his hand sending them flying across the yard.


    The other coolies in line broke and started to gather the coins, as the accountant yelled more, and the other coolies barked at Phillip.


    With one coolie taking a swing bringing this conflict to another level, Phillip finally snapped and started to fight back. One coolie was picked up and tossed into the side of the building that had the window for payout, causing the accountant to cower behind. Two more coolies rushed to his legs to bring him down so the others could deal with a toppled opponent, but they were disappointed when a hard kick sent one rolling along the ground in an odd position, not natural for human bodies.


    At this time the compound guards rushed forward, three in total for a reason for the commotion.


    "What''s going on here!" The lead guard yelled.


    "He reached over and took a large hand full of money, and refused to give it back, and then the others tried to make him, and now he''s start to beat them." The accountant accused, and as the guards turned, he took a bit more out of his drawer for himself... After all he had to reward himself for a job well done, why else did the other coolies think that this big oaf got paid more. He got paid more, and the coolies would get rid of someone they disliked. It all worked out in the end, as the accountant believed.


    With the guards rushing up behind Phillip, he twisted his waist sending another coolie flipping through the air to land like a kite with his string cut.


    "Stop you!" The guard bellowed.


    Caught off guard, Phillip turned to see the guards, and as he was about to open his mouth, he was pushed forward by the last four coolies taking this chance to push him down. This served to push him into the guards, which sent the later into a fury as two of them was near crushed under the weight of Phillip.


    "FUCKING PIG, GET OFF ME!"


    "GIVE BACK THE MONEYS, OAF!" The standing guard snapped out his lightning rod. These rods were carved by craftsmen from the Lightning Cord Root Trees. These trees were stroke by Lightning, and the magical properties of the tree retained a trace of that lightning. This wasn''t a rare resource, but it was difficult to find craftsmen that could handle it. It became a very popular item with law enforcement of all levels.


    As Phillip got to a knee from falling on the two guards, the third guard struck him with his rod, sending the shocking force through his body, as he quivered.


    With the other guards, now angered from being near flatten, they snapped out their rods, as the three of them began to beat Phillip in earnest, and now with the force of lightning behind the blows, it wasn''t long before Phillip cowered on the ground like a prawn, quivering.


    After exhaustion sat in, the guards stretched their backs, as they called to the accountant, "Hey, Charles... How much did he take?"


    The accountant already counted the draw and did the math of how much he handed the Oaf, how much he handed the coolies, and of course his cut.


    "He took two crowns and four pence worth... A hundred and twenty-four pence coppers in total!" The accountant pointed his accusing finger as the curled Phillip on the ground.


    One of the coolies had gotten back to his feet, and casually walked over and kicked Phillip in the face, as he laid on the ground as hard as he could. A sweetness spread through his mouth, as the numbness began.


    The guards captured the coolie, and pulled him back, giving him a few lashes of their rods to subdue him. Now with the guards here... If anyone was going to do the beating, it was them, and not before.


    The guards began to take everyone''s accounts.


    Phillip spat from his mouth three teeth... With a shaky hand he reached out for his teeth on the floor not believing they were his... His most precious possession, his good teeth... The same he brushed every day, and took care of because his sister said he should keep good teeth and have a good smile for her...


    He spat another mouth of blood, and used his hand to touch his bottom teeth, and found they corresponded to the three he seen on the ground... His two bottom canines and an incisor, though he didn''t know these names, he knew what they looked like...


    "Ahoy... Lookie here, Bruce. The fat pig has a coin strap." A guard spoke out, as Phillip no longer had time to think about his teeth, if felt his coin purse being pulled from his side, he reached out to grab it back, "No! I need rent."


    "Then you shouldn''t have been a thief." Another rod struck Phillip in the arm, causing his hand to lose feeling, and failing its mission.


    After a few more rods to Phillip from the guard for good measure, they took the reports of all the coolies, the accountant, and made their decision. They enlisted the aid of the coolies, and drug Phillip to the entrance and tossed him out of the warehouse compound.


    He laid limply in the street, as he squeezed out the words, "My teeth..."


    "Haha, what about them?" They all turned and went back in... No one would care about the firing of a coolie, and they should thank them for not chopping off his hands. The guards now had a new mission... Recover all the moneys that was flung into the yard, with interest.


    A head guard turned to the other, "Frank, get the City guards to remove him... We can''t let him block the entrance with his fat."


    With a nod, the other guard went to send a message.


    Fatigue sat in, as depression took hold. His eyes closed, and darkness took him yet again.

 3 Only wanted when Needed

    "Ay, boy! Ay, BOY!"


    Phillip twitched, as his mental faculties began to work again.


    "Hoy... Boy, you''re in luck. Your lord has decided to bail you out."


    Phillip looked to where the voice was coming from, as his blurred vision filtered to a manageable level to understand his situation. He found himself in a small jail cell. He laid half on a bed bunk and half on the floor. It seemed that he was too heavy for the police to heft in a more respectable position, at least they tried...


    The door swung open with a metallic squeal, as the Officer waved his hand for Phillip to come out.


    Phillip made it to his feet, as he held his splitting head. He stumbled out of the cell, and into the narrow hallway, in the dimness of the jail quarters of the Police house.


    Being led out of the jail quarters, he met with his fellow squire.


    "I don''t know why Lord Godalming bailed you out, but he should have left you to rot." A naseled high noble voice drifted over from a brat named Simon.


    Simon was a short thin boy, 15 in age. He came from a noble''s home. The Drakes Family. Though he was conceived as a bastard with a maid of the family, his father claimed him and found he had talent in cultivation... This led to him becoming a squire of Lord Godalming, just last year.


    "Thanks, Simon," Phillip said sincerely, as he rubbed the back of his head.


    "Don''t thank me, you stupid oaf. And you know you need to refer to me as Young Noble Drake!" Simon pointed his finger in Phillip''s face.


    "..." Phillip remained silent.


    An older Officer walked up from the side office as he spoke to Simon.


    "Young Noble Simon, please inform Lord Godalming I would love to have dinner with him and his upon his return."


    Simon, with a large fake smile, replied, "Of course, Sargent Leoss. Lord Godalming also wanted to ask when you came if you could bring your family''s prized upside-down pineapple cake."


    The sergeant guffawed a few times before replying, "Not a problem."


    Simon waved on Phillip, as they left.


    *******


    Lord Godalming stood fully armored, as he directed his servants when Simon and Phillip approached.


    Lord Godalming was an impressive meter tall, though still slightly shorter than Phillip. His armor was a solid silver with gold inlay. At his side was his sword called dawnbright. A family heirloom passed down.


    With a sweep of his large gold cape, Lord Godalming turned awaiting the approach of his squires with a frown on his face.


    Simon was the first to greet. "Your lordship is always impressive in his full armor. It amazes me that your prestige increases even more than when your lordship wears his noble vestments." He ass licked as hard as he could, as taught by his mother.


    "As always you have a good eye, Simon!" Lord Godalming beamed a smile, as who didn''t enjoy compliments. He then turned to Phillip, "Boy... You smear my name. Stealing from Central Eve, and then getting tossed into the street like trash. If it wasn''t for the urgency of my latest mission, I would have left you to ponder your situation within the District jail." He reprimanded.


    As Phillip had become accustomed to such scolding, he could only meekly nod his head, as he knew it would be a waste of his efforts to explain himself. His lord was always right, even when he was wrong... A lesson he learned the hard way, least he lift his shirt and reveal the lashes that had now turned to scars.


    "Alright, no more dwelling on the past. I''ve already taken care of the stolen funds from Central Eve, and paid the Authorities, so you will have no more problems, but your lost monies are your own fault. Let that be a lesson not to take money from others, and if you are going to do such things..." Lord Godalming took a step forward so that only he and Phillip could hear, "Be smarter about it, and not get caught, lest my reputation sink again because of your stupidity."


    Lord Godalming walked away, as he shouted out his orders to those around him, "Alright folks! This isn''t an ice cream social! I want everything packed within the hour, and horses at the ready. We have ourselves a potential vampire outbreak, and I''m not going to answer the pope for a failing in my duty!"


    After Lord Godalming pointed his finger out what he wanted, Phillip found that he really was sprung simply so that he could do the heavy lifting and make the packing faster. Cases of Holy Water, Heavenly Relics, offerings to the Neighboring Kingdom, and Currency.


    Phillip hefted, heaved, and carried for an hour nonstop to complete this matter, as many servants carried these items in the threes and fours, while he alone lifted them to load.


    The wagons were set, and Lord Godalming has already arranged his servants that would accompany him, including Simon.


    Lord Godalming approached Phillip, as he spoke, "This time I''ll be taking you along as well. There are simple bandits along the road. It will be a good time for you to test your metal against some simple foes. If none appear, that''s for the best, but I could always use a hand with the unloading. To that end, I have a set of armor for you to wear. It might be a bit tight but do the best you can."


    "Of course, my lord, but... Do I have enough time for a shower...?" Phillip asked hesitantly. One of the perks of being a squire was to use the open bathhouse they had, though he only got to use it once a month, and only when no one was around.


    "Boy! This is an opportunity and you wish to waste it with water?! No amount of water is going to clean you, so just get along! Suit up and be back as soon as you can! If you don''t make it back in the time allotted, then I will simply leave!


    "...What about my home... I have to pay rent today... and..."


    "...You got fifteen minutes and counting."


    Phillip decided that it might be nice to leave this place for a while... As for his home... What did he really have that was his? He could always replace it. It wasn''t like he actually had the money to pay rent but was hoping maybe Lord Godalming would be generous enough to help, but that was stupid to assume.


    He quickly wiped himself down and found the armor as directed by a servant. The servant sneered at him, as they left.


    Not caring for the reaction, Phillip was thrilled to actually put on a suit of armor for the first time in his life.


    Though he noticed that the helmet was rusted, and the faceguard couldn''t be lifted... In addition, the helmet interlocked with the chest armor, making it where he couldn''t move his neck due to the rusted nature. The Armor was a size too small, at least the chain mail was easy to fit. When he was done, he felt like a sausage stuffed into a can. He stiffly walked to the side and lifted a sword. He could tell it was a dull practice sword that was used for the young men when they entered for the first time.


    [I guess I''ll call you ole'' rusty.] Phillip felt some joy for the first time in a long time with this and tied the sword to his side with a strip of old cloth as the sword didn''t have a sheath.


    Now decked with a helmet, chest armor, gauntlets, he lacked leg plates, shin guards, and greaves... But he felt that he was for the first time. Strong.


    He took long strides to load up on the wagons, just as Lord Godalming called out to head off, not aware if Phillip was with them or not.


    Phillip sat to the side in the near-empty caboose of the wagon train.


    "Why the hell did they put me back here with the pig!" Simon moaned as Phillip saw that he too was decked in armor. Though his shined like silver and was etched in many placed with his Families seal.


    Phillip saw the many seals, and couldn''t help but think, [It''s not like people won''t know you''re from the Drake family, so why encrust it everywhere...] He furrowed his brows, but Simon couldn''t see his expression for Phillip''s helmet.


    Phillip still feeling dizzy from his encounter, and fatigue washing over him, in its usual faction, he laid down on his back on the floor to take a nap, as Simon drew his armored plated feet back.


    "Don''t get your stink on my armor! Fucking listen to me when I talk to you pig! COMMONER! LISTEN"


    Simon''s voice became distant until at last... The sweet sweet goddess of sleep came to take Phillip into her embrace, to what Phillip thought was only one of two places of peace... Sleep and Death.


    The wagons left, and through the city, many commoners showed respect to the wagons that bared the crest of Lord Godalming. Out of the front gates of the walled-in Capital City of the Kingdom of Chadia.


    With dust trails left in their wake, as the wheels turned, so did the wheels of fate equally turn to bring about a change in the world...

 4 Marauding Orcs

    Phillip would wake up when a heavy bump in the road caused his bucketed head to slam against the floor of the wagon. He would lift his head, and survey. Seeing nothing changed, he would go back to sleep. Though hearing his stomach protest, he simply didn''t have the mood to look for rations. It wasn''t his first time going without eating... He still hurt from head to toe, so he wanted to continue sleeping. A cheap trick he learned when he was younger... Sleep heals. He remembered that he slept for almost two months with only waking a few times when his sister roused him to eat or to relieve himself...


    "...Sis..." Phillip twitched in his sleep, and every so often and would mumble something about his teeth and sister.


    Three days later, it was battle cries and screams of servants that jolted him awake. Feeling much better in his body, but a bit of weakness due to lack of food, he got to his feet, and jumped out the back of the wagon, when he found that Simon was already missing.


    "Orcs?!" Phillip shouted shocked, through his teeth it sounded funny when he raised his voice now with the absence of his bottom two canines.


    In that brief look over the wagon train, Phillip could see the broad shoulder, tall, and muscle packed greenskins... Those greenskins was the common name, he also saw Orcs with tan skin, some with a reddish hue. They wielded mighty axes and were mostly bear on their upper bodies. It was amazing that the few guards hired by Lord Godalming were slashing them with their swords, and other than getting a roar out of them, it seemed not to stop them!


    He looked to his lord fighting with the Orc, as best he could. He was swift in his actions and was expertly piercing the vitals of each order than charged him. He didn''t slash at his enemies, as much as he fenced with his swordplay. Simon was to the side dancing around with an Orc until another Orc slammed him in the back sending the small armored brat flying through the air, as the Orcs laughed at his misery.


    To Phillips horror, Lord Godalming was finally rushed by a mob of Orcs as they drowned him in brawn. As a massive double-bladed ax lifted into the air, Phillip knew that his lord was going to be killed, and his only chance to be a Knight was going to die with him.


    Finally, back in his frame of mind, he sat out to save that god-awful lord, not for him, but for himself.


    With his nerves taut, Phillip finally gave himself permission to use all of his strength. Never in his life had he ever brought his full strength to bear against any living creature, but today, with his 150kg weight behind him, he charged.


    Slamming into the back of the nearest Orc knocking him over, as he continued to get to Lord Godalming.


    It seemed that double-bladed ax paused in mid-air, as the Orc looked over to a half armored unstoppable force coming.


    Two Orcs gathered to the side jumped to intercede, but with the dull practice sword draw, Phillip wacked the head of one Orc causing him to become slack-jawed and fall to the ground with brains spilling from his cranium.


    The second Orc dodged the hit and brought his mace to bear on the chest of Phillip, knocking him down with a caved chest piece of armor.


    Phillip watched as the Orc with the double-bladed ax gave a savage grin, as he realized why this half-armored fighter charged... It was for this shinegot...


    The Orc brought his axe down, and with the sharp sound of splitting steel, and that sickly-sweet sound of juicy flesh splitting. Lord Godalming died with his eyes still open in disbelief... With one question in mind... The marauding Orc reports were supposed to be forecasted to be low... why...?


    Phillip rolled over to his stomach to get over, at the time another mace blow met his back slamming him into the ground.


    With a low grunt and a mouth of blood, Phillip spat and grabbed the leg of the Orc that came next to him.


    With his large pudgy hand, he pulled on that leg sending the Orc toppling.


    Phillip crawled on hands and knees, and got both his hands on that Orcs leg, as he shouted to vent his anger.


    "CRACK!!!!"


    The Orc''s leg now bent to an odd angle, as the bone ruptured the skin sending dark red blood spraying.


    Phillip got to his feet, with the help of the Orcs Mace, as he used the mace to pound his own chest, as he yelled, "COME ON! COME ON! AH AH AH!"


    The grinning Orc looked to the half-armored fighter, and a strange smile crossed his lips over his tusks.


    He spoke in the Orcish language, as the other surrounding Orcs mobbed Phillip. Dogpiled by the Orcs, Phillip was punched in every part of his body. With his head rattling around in that metal bucket until darkness came and embraced him again...


    [...Sis... I... come....]


    *******


    Soon light flooded into his field of vision, as his stomach would no longer allow him to stay unconscious. Phillip roused himself, as he rolled to his butt to sit up.


    "Oh ho! You''re awake little fellow?"


    Phillip heard a gruff older voice, as he peered through the slits on his helmet. As he couldn''t turn his neck, he moved his body to see where the voice came from, and then discovered he was in a cage.


    Being jostled, he looked through the bars and found the scenery moving.


    "You''ve been out for a few days... Thought you were dead. Glad you''re not... The others refuse to talk to me, so I hope that you will."


    With his body twisting, Phillip saw an old skinny Orc sitting in another cage right next to his.


    He was a brownish red-skinned orc. So skinny and unusual to how Orcs were betrayed he looked like death with his bones barely covered by skin. Phillip could tell that at one time he must have been a massive warrior as his bracers and belt were large... Now hung off of his arms and waist as if to threaten to fall off.


    "Is there anything to eat?" Phillip asked as he fumbled around.


    "Well, they don''t feed passed out and dead, but take mine... It''s not like I have much appetite, but I don''t know how a human will feel about Orc rations." The old Orc threw the harden nut bread through the two cages. It landed in front of Phillip with a small bang. Phillip picked it up and gave it a glance. It looked like bread, but it was lots of nuts mashed together and cut into a bar.


    Not caring and just wanting to eat it, Phillip went to take off his helmet. Phillip tried to twist the helmet off... Take it off directly, but try as he might... It would not detach from his chest armor.


    [Hell! AHHHH] Phillip put in his bit of strength and only managed to press in the sides of his helmet, but, even though dented, it would not release.


    "Calm down there. If you can''t take it off, that''s fine. Just break the bar up and put it through the slits on the mask. Even an old Orc like me can tell you''re too weak to get that off your head." Though the old Orc said that, he marveled at the amount of strength this human displayed even though he knew for a fact he hadn''t eaten in days, as he had witnessed this firsthand.


    Phillip grabbed the bar up again and crumbled it. He leaned back and shoved it through the slits of his helmet until the pieces fell into his waiting maw.


    Like this, he was able to consume this dry ration.


    "You''ll have to wait until later for more."


    Phillip attempted to nod but do to his helmet and armor he grunted a few times to acknowledge.


    "Let''s introduce ourselves. My name is Jukzuk Blacktongue the Trader..."


    Phillip could hear the sorrow in the voice of the old Orc when he said his name, as Phillip said his own, "My name is Phillip."


    "..." The old Orc gave a strange look.


    "What?"


    "Last name? Title?" The old Orc pushed.


    Phillip laughed a few times, "I have neither a last name or a title... Hahaha, why would I have those!"


    The old Orc thought for a moment then realized, "Human, no... Phillip. Phillip, you come from a poor background, but... How haven''t you made a title with your strength?"

 5 Learning about the Calamity

    "Strength? What strength...?" Phillip said as he turned his vision to look through the bars seeing that the landscape started to become rockier and more desolate looking.


    "Phillip, as much as I know money is power... So is physical strength! He who has the bigger fist makes the rules!" Old Jukzuk sprayed saliva.


    Phillip wanted to shake his head but wasn''t so he just spoke, "Then you get mobbed by others and then beaten. Strength comes from money, and with money comes numbers."


    "Not if you''re strong enough to take them all down... Phillip, as much as you think that humans are about money, they are more like Orcs than you believe."


    Phillip wondered, and finally asked, "Where are we, and why are we caged?"


    "Asking this only now?" Jukzuk laughed, "We are captives of the Speartooth Clan. They are taking us to the one place that I''m the most hated.


    "Where?"


    "My home." Old Jukzuk looked longingly into the air before looking back over to Phillip.


    "You don''t know much about Orcs. Do you boy?"


    Phillip grunted.


    "Let me tell you, that my last name Blacktongue should have told you everything you need to know. The Blacktongue Clan was the largest Orc Clan in all of the Shattered lands! Alas... Now with my grandfather''s death, and my brother''s fall... It''s little more than a puppet for another Clan."


    "What clan?"


    "The Cavekiller Clan... Sneaky Orcs... Orcs and the words sneaky and deceitful should never be in the same sentence." Jukzuk spat in the cage in disgust.


    "But what can I do... I''m known as the Trader." Jukzuk followed up.


    "What''s wrong with being a trader?"


    "Phillip, in the Orcish Language the word Trader and Traitor are the same word. Orc Merchant bands are known as merchants because they sell wares but to other Orcs... If you are like me, then you buy and sell between Orcs and Humans. That''s why they call me Trader or Traitor because I''m a traitor for selling or buying from humans."


    "I... See..."


    "To answer your question, the Speartooth Clan roams the countryside rampaging on humans and orcs alike, and for their spoils, they sell them to whichever Orc clan wants them at the time. It seems the Blacktongues have need for slaves to fight in their slave pits."


    Phillip listened, but as he listened her head a few Orcs riding along on the backs of reptile-like creatures. They were talking to each other and gestured to him.


    Phillip furrowed his brows and wondered what that was about.


    "Can you teach me Orcish?"


    "Oh? Not that I don''t mind, but why?"


    "Those Orcs are talking about me." Phillip made comment.


    "Yeah, I was listening. Pretty impressive."


    Phillip gave a questioning grunt.


    "They said that you''re the one that broke an Orc''s leg with your bare hands. That''s the strength I was talking about. They also mentioned that the Speartooth Chief should be getting five large gold coins for you."


    "I don''t like they can talk about me, and I don''t know what they are saying..."


    "I don''t mind, and it''s not like we don''t have time. It''s going to be another two months before we make it to the Blacktongue Mountains."


    *******


    The slave caravan rolled on slowly into the wastelands, known as the Shattered lands. The lands to the west of the Human settlements. Phillip learned Orcish quickly and was soon able to speak with Jukzuk in the Orcish tongue without many problems, in the course of six weeks.


    *******


    Phillip grabbed another bar of nut bread called Hard Mash by the Orcs, and stuffed it into the slits of his mask, as he ate. It seemed that him breaking that Orc''s leg gained him some respect by the Speartooth clan, and they provided him with more Hard Mash than the others. He would share this Hard Mash with Jukzuk, while Jukzuk would teach him.


    "You know something I''ve never understood about you humans," Jukzuk said as he took a large bite of Hard Mash in the Orcish language.


    Phillip grunted as became his custom.


    "Your women... Why do you not have women fight? Do they not make up half of your population?"


    "They do, but women are weaker than men. They are taught to be smart, but not to fight."


    "Smart?"


    "Yeah, smart. They run businesses, districts, cities... But they do not fight, as they are weaker than men... Isn''t that so with Orcish women?"


    Jukzuk laughed, and then coughed on his Hard Marsh. It seemed a lot of laughter erupted in the area, as the other Orc that was listening too began to laugh.


    "No, stupid! Orc women are strong! They are as strong and as savage as Orc men. In most cases..." Jukzuk looked around and seen no women, he spoke again, "Are more cruel than Orc men."


    "But... I haven''t seen any Orc women on this trip." Phillip said in wonderment.


    "I don''t know. Perhaps the Speartooth are fighting somewhere. One second... Hey!"


    Jukzuk called to one of the riders nearby that had been a long-time listener to them.


    The rider on the lizard came closer to the cages on the wagons, and asked, "Wot?"


    "Where are the Orc Women? This youngling wants to see one."


    "Owie... I wish... Touch times for the Speartooth, old traitor." The Orc rider was friendly enough, though this was the first time he had heard him speak to Jukzuk.


    "What? You guys have a war going?"


    "No..." The Orc rider shook his head, "We get our women from a few small tribes in our area..." The Orc rider shook his head again, "The Batslammer Clan descended last year. You should know what that means." The Orc rider no longer spoke, and then back to his place.


    "Ah..." The old Orc Jukzuk shook his head as well.


    "What''s the Batslammer Clan?" Phillip thought it was a funny name.


    "A bunch of deranged Orcs that ride on dire bats from the high mountains of the Dark Spires to the North of the Shatter Lands. They only come out for three things... Women, food, and battle. It seems that they descended on the tribes under the Speartooth clan. They lost many of their women."


    "But aren''t the Orc Women strong?"


    "Youngling, if the Batslammer clan descended on us right now, then you would be taken away by them as well. Even with your strength, what are you to a bat rider of the Batslammers???" Jukzuk sneered in a rare event.


    "Why all the hate?" Phillip asked.


    "You mean ''Why am I showing disgust?''" Jukzuk corrected.


    "Yes. Why are you showing me disgust?"


    "I know you humans cultivate, but do you know that Orcs cultivate as well?" Jukzuk spoke this in Common.


    "..." To date, there was never a morning on this trip that Phillip didn''t try to sense the heavens and cultivate... This was a topic he knew well, even with his lack of being able to...


    "Yes... I know." Jukzuk replied in Common.


    "In Orcish, it''s called, Strengthen, not Cultivate." Jukzuk continued in common, and then returned to Orcish.


    "To Strengthen means to build up the body. To gain physical power, unlike you humans where you draw power from the skies and heavenly bodies, We, Orcs, draw it from the ground and the mountains, the fires, and lava, from the ice and tundra, from the winds and rain."


    "You draw it from the earth?"


    "Yes. We use this to Strengthen. You, humans, have the squire, Knight, ArchKnight and so on ranks?"


    "We Orcs have that too, but We call them, Fighter, Warrior, Champion, Lord, Warlord, and at so on... At the very top... We have the legendary Calamity." Jukzuk whispered these last words in orcish, as he slid to his side of the cage nearest to Phillip.


    Phillip mimicked Jukzuk, and asked, "What is... Calamity?"


    Jukzuk looked around him, as if he was speaking a secret, "I like you, so I will tell you. You must never speak this to another human, though I''m sure some humans know..."


    "You have my word on my honor," Phillip spoke the orc phrase for swearing.


    The old Orc nodded in praise of Phillip''s usage and then began telling him.


    "Calamity is called that because he is the Calamity of all his enemies! These lands didn''t use to be shattered. It was the Orc Calamity that shattered them all those eons ago. It''s said that the Orc Calamity can, with a single swing of his axe, cleave the lands in two. With a stomp of his feet raise mountains, and with a punch of his fist create lakes and oceans. The current ancestor to all Orc is the last Calamity. It is said that he fought with the Human God, and in the last battle killed each other in the last blow. The world is shaped from that battle. These lands shattered, and the island nations separated from each other."


    Phillip drew in a breath of cold air. Such power! A fist for oceans? A stomp for mountains?!


    "All Orcs are descendants from the Calamity... We will rise again when the next Calamity rises and will take our place as the rightful ruler of this world." Jukzuk said with a bit of worship in his eyes.


    Jukzuk did not doubt that to be true, even though he was human. He also wanted to see how the Orc Calamity would be like... He had heard of the Human God, but he performed magic... Phillip liked the physical displays of power said in the words of Jukzuk.

 6 Slaves upon Arrival

    The wagons finally stopped at the basin of a large mountain that was covered in many many black bushes and capped with snow with its lofty top scraping the heavens above.


    "Traitor. Human. We''ve arrived." The same Orc rider came to the side and spoke to them as a courtesy.


    "Thank you, brother." pounded his fist into his chest where his heart should be, as common practice for Orcs as a sign of respect.


    The Orc rider looked oddly at the half armored human, as he finally smiled and spoke, "You learned well. My name is Gojul Speartooth. It was good to meet you this trip. It is a shame that you are human and slave. Maybe in the next life, we can be real brothers." Gojul shook his head.


    Phillip grunted in response, with an approving sound.


    "Chief should be done with the deal soon. Here is some more mash as a going away gift. Out of all the slaves here, you two were the most entertaining."


    As Phillip and Jukzuk were on their own wagon, Phillip could see other slave wagons, but couldn''t see who were in them. He estimated that there must be at least fifty slaves in this caravan.


    It wasn''t long before the deal was made, and the cages were unloaded with the slaves still inside. As the Orcs took each cage, they placed a large stitched leather hide over them to block their view.


    When next the cage was open, and Phillip crawled from the cage and into another holding area with more slaves. In this cage, it was all humans, and low and behold... Simon was among them.


    He looked worse for wear with his armor dingy and dirty. Dented, and hacked. He still had crusted blood on his head. He sat in a daze on a makeshift bench in the area.


    Simon looked up to see that it was Phillip, and a burst of joy raised up, as he shouted, "I was just getting bored PIG!"


    "Huh?" Phillip didn''t understand... He had been treated as an equal for two months and now this boy was calling him names.


    "That''s right, pig! Where were you when the Orcs attacked!? Huh?" Simon continued.


    As Simon ranted, two Orcs came by the prison and looked into each of the cages. They heard an angry voice, and they came to the cage that held a few slaves including Phillip and Simon.


    The first Orc shook his head, "Humans know nothing of their situation. Caged and they still fight."


    "Chief Blacktongue... The humans have gained their lands and power through such methods... Can we really point fingers?"


    Phillip heard the voices and turned to see the two Orcs.


    The first Orc was taller than him and just as wide. He was a true greenskin and had deep-set eyes. Large massive tusks, and a scarred bare chest. His black leather pant shined in the dim light of the prison, and he wore two black bracers, one on each arm.


    The second Orc was a shorter, and thinner Orc. He wore a bone-colored leather robe, with many strange runes set it. the arms of the leather robe were cut out showing off his dark green arms, that almost looked black they were so green.


    Phillip walked to the change, and gave an orcish greeting with a chest pound, "This one greets his chiefs."


    Both were surprised that the half-armored human spoke orcish, as they looked at each other to see the shock in their eyes. Then a light in their eyes shined, as the Orc Chief spoke, "You must be the one that traveled with Jukzuk the Traitor."


    Phillip grunted in his usual way.


    "You speak well for a human." The Orc nodded approvingly.


    The humans whispered behind the back of Phillip, "What''s he saying?"


    "Why can he understand them?"


    "He must have led the Orcs to us!"


    "The damn traitor!" A few angry whispers circulated, unknown to Phillip.


    "Honored Chiefs is there a way for me to not be a slave?"


    The two looked at each other and then nodded...


    The Chief spoke, "It''s not like it''s unheard of, but it is difficult. We have bought you slaves to fight in the slave pits for entertainment to the clan. The champion of the slave pits can receive honor and glory. Become a champion of the slave pits, and We will grant you your freedom. However, be warned... Your travel back to your human world is up to you, and your life and death after freedom is your own problem."


    "Many thanks." Phillip pounded his chest again in honor.


    "Hmmmm... Uvog, is this the human that broke the Speartooth warrior''s leg?"


    Uvog, the second orc rubbed the stubble on his chin, as he spoke, "Should be... The one that broke the leg traveled with Jukzuk, so it has to be him."


    The Blacktongue chief nodded, as he called down the hall to a guard. The Orc came to him, as the Blacktongue chief spoke, "Open this cell and take out that armored one. I wish to test something."


    The Orc guard fumbled with the large black iron keys until he found the one for the cell.


    With the Orc guard, two other large guards flanked him to discourage the malnourished humans from trying something funny.


    "Come out here for me, Armored one." The chief asked with respect.


    Feeling strange by the address of respect, Phillip stepped out of the cell and stood near eye level with the Chief.


    The Chief, in turn, sized up Phillip and laughed.


    "You have to be the largest human I''ve seen. Test your strength against mine and see if you are worth the honor."


    The Chief held out his thick hand and arm.


    Phillip wasn''t a stranger to this custom, as even humans had arm wrestling, but according to Jukzuk, it was called Testing one''s honor to Orcs.


    The chief put his left arm on his waist, and took his position, as Phillip did the same. With a mighty slap to the two hands locked. One large green hand, and one large pudgy tan hand.


    "Call it Uvog."


    "One, two, Go!"


    And at the sound of Go, the green veins stood up on the thick arm of the Blacktongue chief, as they corded up his arm like vines on a tree.


    Phillip''s armored gauntlet issued steel straining sounds, and his forearm bulged from inside, as his muscles expanded with his use in strength. It seemed that his arms would burst out of the steel shell if it increased any more.


    The Humans watched from inside the cell, the Orc guards marveled, and Uvog''s eyes bugged.


    [A human that can near match an Orc in strength?!?] Uvog thought to himself. He knew that the Chief wasn''t using his full strength... But this display was impressive.


    "You should be very proud armored one. No human has been seen by this Orc that has this kind of strength, but! This level isn''t enough to best this Chief." And with a mighty push, the Blacktongue chieftain slammed Phillips hand in the opposite direction, winning the challenge.


    "Your teacher, Jukzuk the Traitor should have taught you that Strength is everything to Orcs, and Honor is held by Us Blacktongues... For your strength and show of honor, you will have your own cell. While still a cage, you will find that it is more accommodating."


    The Orc chief sent Phillip with the guards under his orders, as he looked into the cage of weak humans, and spat on the ground...


    "They will not last long, but it''s always fun to watch them fight each other... Orcs on Human fights are always so boring... I think that the armored one will be a good match for Orcs when he gets done with all the humans. What do you think Uvog?"


    "I''m interested in him as well. A Human with an Orc''s strength ridiculous. This could come back to bite us in the ass."


    "It could, but even if he became our enemy, wouldn''t you like to fight someone like him?" The Chief gave a savage smile.


    "Yes. Yes, I would." Uvog agreed without hesitation.


    They both left the underground prison, not bothering to see the rest of the slaves, as they had already met Jukzuk.

 7 This is...

    Phillip was led by a pair of guards out of the underground prison to above ground level. Phillip for the first time saw a true Orc clan settlement. The Blacktongue structures were square with rounded edges. Made of stone and wood, some were low, while others were towering.


    Led by the guards Phillip came upon what would be known as his dwelling. It was a large home looking place. At the entrance were two large thick pillars of wood made from solid tree trunks. Phillip didn''t know the wood type at the moment but would later know it as ironwood. These pillars held up the archway also made of thick timber. On both sides of this arch were two rounded stone walls. That had slots cut for lookout, windows Phillip thought. Various square stone slaves pierced the ground with Orcish writing.


    Phillip knew how to speak Orcish, but had no idea how to write it, so these cravings remained unknown to him. He looked to the roof of the building and seen it was, from his view, covered in straw in the main section down the middle, with leather on the sides stretched taunt by more timber attached to the roof.


    These were certainly a far cry from the human homes he had seen before, with their perfect right angles, cut stone, and processed wood. This home, like all the others in the settlement, was made with a more... earthy? feel... Again, Phillip would find that this building style was considered more primal in nature.


    The guards walked to the front of the open hall of this home, though it would be closer to call it a small mansion. They grunted to indicate to Phillip to go in...


    Phillip wasn''t sure who he was going to meet here, considering that he just meet the chieftain of the Blacktongues. He felt that the chief would stay someone larger. Maybe he was more humble than he expected. Maybe this was the place of the shaman that Jukzuk told him about.


    The guards took their place by the doors, as Phillip entered into the dwelling. He didn''t see any other Orcs or servants. He went from room to room in search of the boss of this dwelling. There were two bedrooms, a cooking area, a basement, two accesses to the roof, a large hall in the middle for guests, a bathroom, and a small area out back that led to a small barren plot of land that was fenced in with large spikey timber, creating a barrier.


    After coming back in, Phillip attempted to scratch his head but met his helmet instead. Shrugging, he went back to the guards.


    "Ummmm, Brothers... Where is the boss of this dwelling?" Phillip asked in the orcish tongue.


    Both guards looked at each other with a bit of laughter in their eyes, as the guard on the right spoke, "You are, for now."


    Phillip, gave a questioning grunt, as the guard went on, "The chieftain has given you this dwelling for now, and until you either die or, haha, become the champion of the slave pits."


    Phillip gave an acknowledging grunt and walked back in... As he stood in the main hall in a daze.


    This was... This was... This was amazing! This place was easily ten times bigger than his shack in Chadia, and it didn''t smell of rotting boards! It had the odor of earth, and a clean smell of nature... How great this was. Phillip went straight to the bathroom. He attempted to pull off his armor but found that the most he could get were the gauntlets off... He could get his helmet off, as this was his tenth attempt... It just wouldn''t come off.


    Phillip shrugged, as his armor clanked, as he found some wash clothes. As he explored the bathroom, he found... WATER! There was a water pump inside, INSIDE, the bathroom of this dwelling. He just... It... WOW!


    He pumped the water into the tub below and used the water to wipe down his body. While he was doing this, he found that there was some type of soft rock like substance. He grabbed it from the side and looked it over. It crumbled in his hand at a squeeze, but it had an earthy husky smell. It smelled good, though. Like steel and trees...


    Phillip felt that this must be what the nobles called... Soap.


    Thinking a bit more and with some testing. Phillip walked out of the bathroom, while still armored on his chest and head, like a million gold coins.


    He walked casually to a large couch made of leather inside the main hall and laid on it while letting out a long sigh.


    [This is it...] Phillip thought, [This is the feeling I want.]


    While thinking that this was the life he wanted, Phillip slipped into the best sleep he had since his sister passed.


    The next day Phillip was awoken by chatter at the front doors. Finally, he heard a loud bang and sat up wondering what was going on...


    With a large stride, Phillip stood up preparing to receive the guest, unknown on what or who it was... But what came into his field of vision shocked him.


    For the first time, in the flesh, he observed a jade green female Orc.


    She was tall... Taller than any woman he had met in his lift, but only a head shorter than himself. While she clearly had the figure of a woman, with the peaks where they should and the valleys in place, she was also packed with muscle.


    Her exposed arms and legs even showed some vascularity showing her veins over muscles. Wide shoulders with wide hips giving her a savage hourglass figure. She had sharp eyes, with a simple smile hanging on her lips with two small petite tusks showing.


    She was decked in armor, but not a full bodysuit. She had pauldrons on each shoulder that were spiky, and a mouthguard at the top of her chest armor. The armor for her chest stopped there to reveal her bosom that was wrapped in leather and descended down to where it exposed her green belly.


    Around her waist was a type of armored belt that had a simple cloth hanging from it with Orcish runes. she didn''t have leg armor, but two spiky armored shin guards that looked evil. She came to a stop in front of Phillip, as she stood in front of him with bare feet. No armored shoes.


    Phillip looked her up and down a few times, and to his surprise... He liked her. He liked to look at her.


    "So, this is the human that can break an Orc''s leg?" The female Orc laughed.


    Phillip still gawked, as he eye licked her.


    The female Orc''s brows furrowed, as she felt his gaze on her lusty places.


    "Just because I can''t see your eyes doesn''t mean I can''t feel them on my body. You''re a large lustful human... To lust after an Orc." This female Orc knew that only the most perverted and perverse of humans lusted after Orcs, male or female. The sense of aesthetics between the two races was large, but there were those that bridged that gap.


    "Oh, I..." Phillip wasn''t sure what to say. He really did like this Orc looking woman but after a moment, he thought it was the only female Orc he had seen... Did they all look this good, or was she the beauty of their race? He had no point of reference, so he kept his mouth shut.


    [Maybe I am a pervert... How come I never knew...?] Phillip thought but kept those thoughts to himself.


    "What? Got something to say, then say it!" The Orc put her hands on her wide hips, as she narrowed her eyes.


    Taking a deep breath, Phillip heeded the words of Jukzuk. He pounded his chest, and spoke, "Hello, my beautiful sister. I am known as Phillip. It is good to meet you."


    It was her turn to be speechless. Her hands fell from her hips, as she felt slightly muddle-headed, as she finally spoke, "I knew you could speak Orcish, but... I didn''t know you could speak so well."

 8 Why are you so strong!?

    Phillip grunted in the usual way, as the female Orc decided to look him over again. He was large and impressive. Thick arms, thick legs, broad chest with a round belly. He was clearly fat, but massive muscles laid underneath. She alternated from feeling turned off by his pudginess, but also aroused over his thick muscles. Even though he was much paler than any Orc she knew, he was clearly more tanned than any human slave she had seen... Just what did he look like without that helmet???


    Phillip waited patiently for her to respond, and after she had her feel of looking at him, she spoke, "This sister''s name is Hellie Blacktongue." She pounded on her own chest, causing her ample bosom to jiggle.


    Phillip struggled to keep his eyes where they were meant, and with sheer will managed.


    "Say... How strong are you?" Hellie asked out of the blue, as she walked next to Phillip.


    Phillip stood perfectly still, as he wasn''t sure what she was going to do, but also not to scare her away... He liked this female''s attention.


    "I''ve always been stronger than other Humans my whole life."


    "Really?"


    "Yeah... I use to work all kinds of manual labor jobs."


    "Can you show me?" Hellie smile became broad, as she touched Phillips arm, as Phillip felt a shock run through him from her casual fingers rubbing him.


    "How do you want me to show you?"


    "Let''s test your honor." She walked to the front of her and held out her arm to arm wrestle.


    Knowing that men and women were basically treated equally in the Orcish clan, Phillip took Hellie hand softly. He might have been arm wrestling with her, but that didn''t mean he had to treat her roughly.


    "You count it. I don''t want to hurt you." Hellie said as she was intreated in the way that Phillip took her hand.


    Phillip grunted in confusion but did it anyway, just like he heard Uvog.


    "One, Two, GO!"


    Without his gauntlets on, his arms swelled, as the muscles within corded up. Under his fat flesh, massive veins crawled along like worms supplying the sweet substance known as oxygen to those greedy cells. Well fed on Mash for the last two months had also increased Phillip''s massive strength from his malnourished state. It was unknown how a starving man could be fat. A point of conflict with him by the many people of Chadia.


    "Oh?" A savage and surprised smile appeared over those petite tucks.


    More surprising was that she was trying not to use all her strength but at the same time... She felt that if she didn''t put in a bit more effort she would lose!


    Seeing that he was doing far better at testing his honor with Hellie, than the Orc Clan Chieftain, Phillip put in more strength!


    His exposed arms started to turn red from the strength he was mustering, as this one his second time he tried to use all his strength! Shaking Hellie from her surprise to shock, as she no longer hesitated, and slammed Phillip''s arm winning the test.


    Phillip withdrew his hand, and rubbed his right arm, wondering how he lost...


    [It seems she was playing with me...] Phillip thought, as he grunted bitterly.


    "Don''t be like that," Hellie laughed heartily, as she slapped Phillip on his butt, as she took a few steps in front of him. Still thinking about how strong Orcs were, he wished he could cultivate when he heard what she said next.


    "It''s not a shame to lose to me. I take it you''re a Knight among the humans?" Hellie asked as she attempted to comfort Phillip.


    "...No... I can''t cultivate..." Phillip gave a depressed grunt.


    "What?!?" Hellie knew herself best! She was a Champion among her peers. This made her the equivalent to Archknights among the Humans!


    "Why are you so strong!?" Hellie then blurted out.


    Phillip shrugged, "Been like this since I can remember."


    "Really...?" Hellie wanted to think more, as there was something more to this, but she couldn''t figure it out. As she was getting a headache, she decided to talk to her smart sister... She could figure out anything.


    Phillip grunted sadly.


    "Well... You are naturally strong. That''s a boon, right?" Hellie continued to comfort.


    "Perhaps." Phillip went over to his couch and sat down. Hellie walked next to him, and she thought to herself. Not sure why she wanted to make this Human feel better she called out to him anyway, "Hey, lusty Human, look here."


    As Phillip looked up, he saw Hellie pose provocatively, showing off her ample bosom.


    Most of Phillip''s worries were washed away at this site, as he tried not to show how much he was enjoying himself. Watching his reaction, Hellie laughed a bit.


    "Lusty Human, I''ve already heard from the Clan Chieftain that if you win, you will be set free... How about if you get stronger and win, then you can see if you are stronger than me... If you can best me, then I will be yours... How does that sound?" Hellie gave a flirty grunt.


    Phillip heard the orcish words but wasn''t sure he was hearing them correctly. He said in a daze while thinking it over, and if they were what he really though. How he wished Jukzuk was here to talk to about this. He had no idea Orc Courting rituals... Not that he knew Human courtship all that well, either. Phillip could say this was the most interaction he had with a female since... Well, since Holly. Painful memories washed back into his mind., while he continued to stare at this fine body in front of him.


    Hellie watched as the armored human became silent. Feeling his gaze on her parts, she laughed again, knowing she succeeded in her objective. She left with a sashay in her step, as she left some words behind, "I''ll be watching you in the slave pits lusty Human... Please win me some money. This beautiful sister likes to drink." More laughter was heard as she left.


    Hellie left, and instead of going to the burrow for drinks, she went straight home to talk to her sister, Demze, the smart sister.


    Phillip sat on his couch wondering how to get stronger. Perhaps it was wrong to like an Orc as a human, but... He liked her and felt a connection of some sort... Maybe he was just a perverted human.


    Phillip shrugged and laid back down.


    *******


    Hellie entered into her large home, turned the corner and burst into the first door on her left. With a loud slam, the door reviewed the inner room. This room looked to be filled with countless books in both Orcish and Common languages. At a table, one could see a female Orc, whose face appeared to be exactly the same as Hellie... Except her posture and demeanor were different. The room was so full of books, there were books everywhere. On the floor, on the table-like desk, on bookshelves, and piled on the large bed in the middle of a side wall. Where and how this female Orc slept was a mystery to anyone that didn''t know her.


    Without looking up, the Orc sister spoke, "Hellie, just because you beat another Lungzard in a drinking contest is no reason to bust into my room every time. You can wait until we all eat together to tell me."


    "No sister! Better! I met the human that broke the Orc''s leg."


    "The Legbreaker? I knew you would go! So, what''s he like, where does he come from, who is his lord, and what does he do?" Now with her attention, she turned in her seat that was at her desk, where she was pouring over various books."

 9 Hes got to be an Orc

    Hellie scratched the back of her head, "I don''t know most of that."


    "..." The Orc sister glared at Hellie.


    "What?"


    "WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT! You obviously saw him, so why don''t you know anything! I knew I should of talked to Midka instead! Ahhh!" The Orc sister picked up an old book from her desk and sent it flying across the room, where it hit a pile of stacked books sending them toppling to the floor.


    "Don''t be like that, Demze... I know some things..."


    Hellie''s sister Demze propped up her head on her desk with a bored look, as she waited for her sister to spill what bit of dribble she found out about the Legbreaker.


    Hellie went over to Demze''s bed and brushed some of the books off onto the floor, as she took a seat at the edge, "So... He''s... Different than most Humans."


    "He was physically strong enough to break a grown Orcs leg... I''d say that already makes him different, but go on..." Demze waved her hand.


    "He... Looks at me with lusty eyes. He''s a lusty human, Demze."


    Demze''s hand slipped where it was holding her head. As she recovered, she asked, "He what?"


    "I can feel his eyes roaming me the same way as the others do. I''ve never had a Human make me feel like that." Hellie nodded with certainty.


    "Interesting. Very interesting." Demze rubbed her left tusk in thought.


    "Yeah, and he doesn''t... Look as bad as I first thought." Hellie said feeling slightly confused.


    "Oh?"


    "Yeah. He''s... Kind of fat, but he isn''t??? I''m not sure. He has massive muscles under all of that weight. I tested his honor, and I could see his muscles bulge. Even his veins pushed his fat out of the way to expose themselves. So weird." Hellie spoke while thinking.


    "Fat over muscles? What does his face look like???" As Demze spoke, she went to a corner and collected a few books, and went back to her desk. She flipped through these books quickly.


    "I don''t know. He wore his helmet the whole time."


    "Really? What color is his skin?"


    "Like... Pale, but tan? I don''t know... It''s not really classic human tan or Orc skin brown or red... Definitely not green."


    "You said you tested his honor... What kind of Knight is he?" Hellie continued through her book.


    "Well, that''s just the thing!" Hellie made an exaggerated expression with her arms, "He has the strength of at least a Knight, but he can''t cultivate! By his own word, he admitted he can''t"


    [He''s an Orc!? He''s got to be an Orc...] Demze thought to herself, as she thumbed through a book she received about the bondage of Orcs in Human empires.


    "Hellie, did he say what he did back in the Human Kingdoms?"


    "He said he did a lot of manual labor," Hellie admitted freely while tilting her head.


    [Slave... How can I use this?] Demze tapped on the page that showed a fat looking Orc on the page, with his teeth missing. She had read that Captive Orcs would have their bottom tusks removed as humiliation and a way to break them, even at youth.


    "We need to see his face," Demze spoke aloud.


    "Well, I take it he''s always ready to fight. He wore his helmet and chest armor the entire time I spoke to him. It seemed he might have woke up like that."


    [A moving cage???] Demze thought too much, [I can use him... Cousin thinks he can gain full control of the clan.]


    "I can''t wait to tell Midka about him. He''s so interesting. I plan to bet on him in the slave pits!"


    Demze rubbed her tusk a bit in thought, "Go ahead and bet everything on him if he fights human''s that have no cultivation. He will always win."


    "I thought so too!" Hellie clapped her hands together.


    "In fact... Borrow money, as much as you can! Place it all on him. Every round he fights a human without cultivation."


    "Oh? Are you sure to borrow? Such a large bet might spook the bookies."


    "Don''t worry about that. I will send some of my servants to spread some words about the Legbreaker."


    "I''ll leave the thinking to big sister, as always! I''m going to go find Midka!" Hellie clapped her hands again and stood up.


    "I can save you the trouble. Midka will be coming home late. She''s still practicing with Uvog. She''s at a critical moment." Demze advised her sister to stay her place.


    "Critical?"


    "Yes. In her Shaman training, she will be tested to see what element will speak to her."


    "Oh, that''s great! I hope she gets fire! Then she will be able to roast meat whenever we want!" Hellie was happy for her sister and looking at the idea of how to improve their living.


    "Not only is that a grave misuse of the elements, but we have flint and stone for that..." Demze shook her head, as she facepalmed.


    "In that case, do you have an idea of what I should do?" Hellie was at a loss now.


    "Tell me if you are attached to this Legbreaker."


    "I... Umm... Yeah. I know I shouldn''t be, but I am strangely attached to him. Why do you ask?" Hellie was so honest, that she never thought to not say how she felt... At least not to her sisters.


    "This can be a good thing. With that, I know what you need to do. I need you to go start a drinking party on the other side of town at the ''Old peon''s sty'' bar. Have as much fun as you want. We will make the money back with the bets, but don''t sleep around. I want you to keep your lust to yourself. Maybe that ''Human'' will have a better opinion of you if you don''t act like a slut for a few weeks."


    Disregarding the slut comment, Hellie agreed, "Demze, you know I haven''t slept with anyone since I became stronger than Slugga. If he can''t beat me, or anyone for that matter, then they don''t have the right to this body. Hump!"


    Shaking her head, Demze knew her sister well but still didn''t agree with her sister sleeping before being declared wife of the strongest. It wasn''t a problem with the strongest, but there was a system in place. What if the next strongest takes place, and he only wants virgins...


    Interrupting Demze''s thoughts, Hellie had already left for the bar named leaving behind a simple phrase, "See you tonight, sister!"


    Demze laughed to herself...


    [Ole'' Sharog Rocksmasher thinks she can muscle into my area with her little bit of coin and influence... See how Hellie turns your bar into a mess!] Demze laughed to herself, as she went back to reread the book concerning enslaved Orcs in the human kingdoms.

 10 The Aftermath of the Peons Sty bar

    Intense crashing sounds woke Phillip from his sleep, as he rolled up from his leather couch. He looked out the windows and seen that it was clearly night, and the moon was providing its bit of light. He heard smashing sounds, followed by a slurred female voice, "Hooow iz it there izn''t aaaaany more meeead inz your place, Legzbarka."


    [What in the shit?] Phillip''s armor clanked as he moved to his kitchen area, as he saw various articles of his new residence broken on the way in... As he passed the entrance, he saw both Orc guards were laying unconscious on the ground, showing the whites of their eyes. Phillip paused, and seen their chest''s still rising and falling... Thankfully not dead... Why not dead? He didn''t want to be blamed!


    He turned the corner to see pieces of armor laying all over the floor... Why did this armor look familiar... and seen shattered glass and his kitchen in a very different state that he seen this morning?


    In the middle of this spanning chaos was a muscular green Orc was rummaging what Phillip could think of was a food locker.


    Recognizing the one raiding, he called out in anger, "HEY! HELLIE! HEY! WHAT THE HELL!" As he rushed up to her and pulled her arm from the back.


    She spun on the spot, as she lashed out, smacking Phillip in the gut causing him to take two steps backward, and a sweet taste to feel his mouth, "Who da fook iz dis tin-can?"


    Phillip swallowed down that sweet taste, as he gawked at Hellie. She was standing only wearing her leather chest wrap and cloth loin panties... Shaking himself again back to reality, as he yelled, "Hellie! It''s the Human you met earlier! This is my place! Why are you busting up my place!?"


    "Hooman named?" Hellie put a finger on her lips, as her hand slipped, and she pointed out to Phillip as she staggered.


    "Phillip! Damn it!"


    "Phil?"


    "AUGH! LEGBREAKER!"


    "OOOOOH! Iz you? You know... Ice went too yous burrow... Yous have no mead..." Hellie giggled.


    "Hellie, why are you so drunk!?"


    [What in the light god... Orc Calamity? Someone! SOMEONE''S NAME DO I DO WITH A DRUNK FEMALE ORC!] Phillip lamented in his mind.


    "Ice juss went to party a bits..." She giggled again with her slurring as she became unsteady on her feet, as she turned an odd shade of green to almost a white look.


    Phillip had never been drunk, but he had seen people that were, and this look...! This was the look of puking!


    "To the Bathroom! TO THE BATHROOM! NOT HE-"


    Too late... As Hellie hung her head, and the contents of her stomach spilled.


    Phil was thankfully to the side, as she backed in time, but was able to see the multicolored tide of fluids... He had no idea what these colors meant... He wasn''t so sure he was thankful for the moon to illuminate this scene before him.


    Hellie seemed as if she was going to fall, but Phillip was able to, with his strength to support her, as he helped her to his bathroom.


    She continued to empty her stomach into his bathtub until she could no longer sustain her actions.


    The smell was suffocating! It was like blood and chemicals! Phillip knew what grog and beer where, but what in the hell was mead, for it to smell like that.


    He ran the tub with water, as it flushed out into the drain, carried by gravity out of the home and into the wastes behind the burrow.


    Hellie was sitting on the floor of the bathroom, as she hazily looked up to Phillip in his armor.


    Finally getting the smell mostly gone, with the contents now flushed. Phillip got one of the washcloths and wet it under the water. He used it to wipe Hellie''s face, and the spittle, among other things, from her lips.


    Feeling the cool sensation on her face, she slightly became more coherent, but it was mostly an alert drunk.


    Her eyes squinting at Phillip enjoying his care, as she asked, "Legzbarker... Do you like me?"


    Phillip paused...


    [Do I like her? What does that even mean?] His memory surface of Holly so many years ago... He liked her, but how did that turn out.


    A pained look crossed his face, but this was unknown to Hellie.


    "I... Don''t dislike you..." Phillip finished with her face and slapped the washcloth next to his own he had used earlier.


    He stood up to ask, "Why did you come to my home to tear it up drunk? Don''t you have a home?"


    "Ice have a buuuurrow, but didn''t want to dizturb sista... Sista smart. Sista always thunking bout tha fucha, and my udda sista iz still training az a shaman... Ice don''t haz anyone to help me... heh."


    Phillip was struck in the heart... Even though, she had two sisters... Both were busy and no one was there to help her... And she came to him. He didn''t understand why she would trust a Human... A Human slave no less, but he could understand no one to be there for you.


    It was a rare feeling he felt... Someone... Someone looking to him for help. It made him feel... Wanted.


    "Alright you, come on. Let''s get you to a bed. You can sleep it off here." Phillip''s home, known as a burrow by the Orcs was a nice place, and had a bedroom, even if he slept in the foyer on a couch.


    With his help, he hefted the heavy Orc lady, and took her to his bed, and helped onto the bed. It was a straw bed, that had a fitted sheet to cover the stray, considered to be middle class by the Orcs.


    Just as Phillip helped her into the bed and had just lifted her legs to get in the bed, Hellie reached up and pulled Phillip into the bed with her.


    Phillip wasn''t exactly sure why, but he had a feeling stir inside of him... Phillip would be a liar to say he didn''t know what that feeling was... He had seen some other Human females that attracted him, but he would never approach them... Not after Holly.


    In his usual way, he forced down his lust, as he attempted to get up, he felt his waist was locked by Hellie''s powerful legs. He found that with the strength of his legs, he was pressed hard against her. A felt a pleasant sensation below him.


    Swallowing hard, he called out, "Hellie let go of me." He didn''t know if a human sleeping with an Orc was taboo for the Orcs. Not something that he ever asked Jukzuk but hearing Hellie talk about Lusty Humans... he didn''t want to be one in the middle of a Clan, as a slave.


    As Phillip struggled, Hellie undid her Leather chest wrap, exposing herself to the night air.


    Phillip''s mouth went dry, as he was able to see a pair of jade green peaks glisten in the moonlight, as she stilled his struggle. He swallowed hard, as he found that there was no spittle to swallow.


    Phillip''s hands itched, and as the approached, they turned into wolf claws. He was going to see if those vulgar field hand''s words were true.


    Just as his wolf claws were about to pounce, he heard a long loud snore.


    Startled, he looked up to see that the lustful expression that Hellie had was now replaced by a mouth hung-open sleeping face, with another snore issued.


    Phillip carefully backed away, as he detangled the Orc ladies'' legs from around him. He placed her on the bed. He took another good eye full of those jade peaks, as he turned to walk to the kitchen. After cleaning up the best he could, he walked by the entrance and saw the guards were still out.


    Phillip stood for a moment in thought. He then went to his kitchen and filled two jugs of water. He went back to the two guards and spilled a bit of water on each.


    They groaned, as they held their faces, and sat up. As they came into bearing they looked up to see the Human Slave lording over them. They both pulled their maces readying themselves to attack. Not sure why Hellie, the Chieftain''s adopted daughter, knocked them out, but they weren''t going to let this Human dispose of them.


    Phillip held both his hands up with the water jugs in hands, as he spoke, "Brother Orcs, I''m sorry. It seems Hellie knocked you two out as she came in... It seems she was drunk."


    The first Orc grunted as he spoke, putting away his mace, "No wonder..."


    The second Orc put his mace away while holding the front of his head. In the moonlight, it appeared his right eye was swollen shut, "Damn... Why did she have to hit us... We would of let her in..."


    "Brothers have some water." Phillip held out the two water jugs.


    The first Orc took the water jug and smelled it. Seeing that it was fine, he chugged it. Seeing the second Orc chug, he too took the water jug and chugged alongside.


    "You guys need some more?"


    "No, I''m good... Just what I needed." The first replied as the second grunted to concur.


    "Say... Can you not say anything about Hellie knocking us out?" The first Orc asked, rubbing the back of his head, with a sour expression.


    "Hellie knocked you out? Why don''t I know about it? I heard you two got in a fight over something and resolved it yourselves. I never seen you knocked out." Phillip replied with a smile in his voice.


    "My names Gnarg Stonetrower," The first Orc replied.


    "And mine is Gnath Stonethrower," said still rubbing his face.


    "If you need anything just come in, or say something. I''ll help you out."


    "Human... You know you are a slave right? We are here to make sure you don''t get away." Gnarg spoke shaking his head.


    "And?" Phillip said as he walked back into his burrow. He made his way to his couch, weary of finding his bed filled with powerful, but beautiful Orc.

 11 The Morning After; A Ladys Contradiction

    The light of the sun cascaded across Hellie''s face, as her eyes fluttered slightly, and then squinted. She threw up a hand to block the suns rays that seemed to pain her eyes.


    [Agh... My head... I haven''t drunk that hard in- Wait...?] Hellie noticed she wasn''t in her room.


    [Who''s room is this? Wait... That''s right! I took the party to tin can''s place!] Hellie then panicked, as she looked down to see her breasts were exposed and her chest wrap was thrown to the side.


    She quickly checked herself, [Oh no! Did he take me!]


    After checking herself, and mentally feeling her body''s state, Hellie sighed in relief, as she fell back down on the bed. Though after her sigh of relief, a contradicting sense of frustration crept into her heart.


    [Wait a moment... Why didn''t he take me?!] Hellie thought. She knew for a fact that the tin can human was a lusty human. She could feel his eyes, and she vaguely remembered bits and pieces of what she did last night.


    She got up and put on her chest wrap. Walked into the hall, and into the foyer. She then saw the suspect... Suspected of being stupid!


    She walked over and kicked Phillip, who was asleep.


    Jolted awake by the pain in his flank, he cried out. He screamed out, "Sister!" in common.


    Hellie didn''t understand common, but then seeing he was awake asked in Orcish, "Aye! Am I not good enough to be bedded?!"


    Phillip quickly got himself together and noticed Hellie in front of him in her underwear. His eyes wondered for a moment, as he thought to himself.


    [At least she''s sober... I think...]


    "Answer me, you Lusty Human. I know you want this." Hellie gestured to her body, feeling his eyes again.


    "I don''t think I understand," Phillip replied trying to formulate his words in Orcish.


    "I know I came here last night. I also know I was drunk. While I am glad I didn''t get taken by you, I also have to ask why you didn''t! Do you think I''m not good enough, or did you take me for a whore, disdaining me!?"


    "..." Phillip processed the words in his mind, but the Orcish words he knew she was saying didn''t make sense to him. Not that he didn''t understand, as even in Common, it wouldn''t make sense to him.


    Hellie kicked Phillip again, though not as hard as she first did, hoping she didn''t hurt him the first time.


    "Let me get this straight." Phillip crossed his arms, while still sitting on his couch, now in a bad mood... Ever since he met Jukzuk, something changed in his mindset.


    "You are happy I didn''t fuck you, but now you are mad because I didn''t fuck you... Am I getting you right?"


    "You don''t... You don''t have to use such vulgar words." Hellie spoke with a shy tone, but her fierce look did not change.


    The word fuck was the FIRST-word Jukzuk taught Phillip... With every other nasty word in the Orc Language and the way to scold. Phillip didn''t even know how to scold in common until Jukzuk helped him learn. This was part of Phillip''s change of mental state. He was grateful beyond words to Jukzuk.


    "Regardless of words... Do you want me to fuck you or not? Pick one!"


    "ONLY THE STRONGEST ORC CAN TAKE ME!" Hellie stomped hard and shrieked.


    At the sound of this voice, Gnarg and Gnath looked at each other. They continued to look forward... They both had the same thought.


    [[The next set of guards... PLEASE HURRY AND REPLACE US!!!]]


    Phillip stood up, and looked straight in the eyes of Hellie, "I''M HUMAN! SO, WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT IT!"


    "Oh..." Hellie felt her anger draining quickly... She knew... She really knew he was human. She even thought about how he was a lusty human. In the heat of the moment, she spoke the strongest orc... Why did she treat him as an Orc... Even when she called him human??? At any rate, she wasn''t going to let this slide.


    "Get out of the stupid Slave pits, and take me! My offer from yesterday still stands! I don''t care if you are a human, orc, or a damn filthy goblin! I expect you to become the champion of the Slave pits!" Hellie spoke harshly, as she turned around and began to search for her armor pieces. If past experience taught her anything... It was somewhere near the kitchen or food storage... Where the mead was kept.


    Phillip dropped his arms, unsure how to continue... What does she actually want???


    [I need Jukzuk...] Phillip could only think.


    Hellie found her armor, and put it on, as she came back to Phillip, who was dully standing in the foray.


    "Well? Are you?" Hellie snapped to Phillip.


    "Yeah... I guess."


    Hellie felt her anger boil over at this limp reply, as she reached out and slapped Phillip''s Helmet, causing it to vibrate his head. Phillip experienced a feeling he hadn''t had since he was very young... He was actually angry! Very angry.


    He reached out and stopped Hellie''s second slap, grabbing her by her right wrist. Hellie, in turn, used her left hand, which was also stopped by Phillip''s left hand.


    Hellie then began to use her massive strength to pull from Phillip. As she pulled back, she felt the massive pudgy hands of Phillip''s tighten down like a vice. She found that his arms turned increasingly reddish, and those wormy like veins rose again.


    She attempted to resist more but found that as she put more power into it, the more she wasn''t able to budge this human. She now felt enraged, and with all of her strength lifted both of her arms, lifting Phillip into the air.


    Unbalanced, they both stumbled with Phillip falling on top of her.


    After a few moments of wrestling on the ground, both Hellie and Phillip heard a throat being cleared.


    "Ahem..."


    The two froze and collectively looked to the source near the entrance.


    Jukzuk stood there with one eye closed, as he spoke, "I only wanted to see how you were doing Phillip... But I can come back another day."


    The two felt water wash over their anger, and they detangled. Hellie then stepped forward and greeted, "Uncle, it is good to see you."


    [UNCLE?!?]


    "The last time I saw you, you were still a youngling. You have grown into a splendid female and warrior." Jukzuk opened both eyes and beamed a smile over his tusks.


    "This little girl needs to see her sister. Have a good day, Uncle." With this, she threw one last look at her tin can and then left quickly.


    Jukzuk saw Hellie leave, and then turned to Phillip, "Hoy... Phillip... Do you plan on laying with an Orc?"


    Phillip rubbed his helmet as his head ached from that slapped that vibrated it, but spoke with honor, "...Is that wrong...?" Phillip did want to know, as he, himself, knew he wanted to last night...


    "...Well... Some think it''s wrong, but there are no Clan rules to it... The social stigma though... I''m not sure you can live with... Also, if I''m led to believe... She''s only into the strongest. Why is she even here?"


    "She... Got overly drunk and came to my place and raided it."


    hearing this Jukzuk tried to keep a straight face for all of eight seconds, before bursting into laughter!


    "You lucky son of a bitch!"


    Question marks filled Phillip''s mind.

 12 To the Slave Pits

    "What do you mean Jukzuk?" Phillip couldn''t help but ask why he was a lucky son of a bitch...


    Jukzuk looked behind him, now feeling that little Hellie was far from them, he turned back around.


    "Take a seat, Phillip."


    Phillip did so without question, as he waited.


    Jukzuk sat down on the couch, as he turned to Phillip and asked a few questions about Hellie. Jukzuk put on a smile while listening to the antics.


    "I''m not sure how or why, but you have caught little Hellie''s interest in you. If you like Orc ladies, then she might be one that you can pursue." Jukzuk said with a bit of interest.


    Phillip''s mouth was open, but this was lost of Jukzuk as his helmet covered his face, but then he squeezed out, "I-I''m not sure about that... She wants the strongest Orc... I can''t be that..."


    Jukzuk looked up a bit in thought, "But you can be the strongest?"


    Phillip said with a bit of sadness, "I can''t cultivate... You know that..."


    "Ah, yes. But you are physically strong! You don''t have to cultivate to be powerful. You have a brain in that bucket you call a helmet, right? Use it!"


    Phillip felt shocked, as he looked up to Jukzuk, "But... But is that honorable to win that way?"


    "Honor? Do you think it''s honorable to be smashed? In truth, We, Orcs, do pride ourselves on strength, but we also believe in winning. So if you win by brain instead of brawn... Who cares? It''s a shame that more Orcs don''t think this way, but there are many that do. Those that do... Are usually the leaders, the chiefs, the Warlords!"


    Phillip felt he was enlightened again, "Thank you, Jukzuk. I was stuck thinking..."


    "I''m not going to lie Phillip. There will be a point where you must have Cultivation, but that doesn''t mean without it you are at the bottom of the barrel. You just need to climb up with your strength. Only you will know when you get there if you can''t climb higher." Jukzuk popped Phillip on the shoulder of his metal armor.


    Phillip grunted.


    "As for my niece... If it''s you then I don''t mind having a human nephew. Though having half-Orc children has always been an odd affair."


    Phillip felt his face become hot thinking about children... He never ever entertained the idea that he could be a father one day. Even having a wife would be a dream, but he couldn''t help but ask, "What''s wrong with half Orcs?"


    "Ah, well... Sometimes the child will take after one parent or the others. While their traits are mixed, like rounded ears or skin tones being slightly off color, the point is the cultivation methods. Half-Orcs will either be able to practice human cultivation or orc cultivation, but not both... In some rare cases, neither."


    "Oh."


    "It would be a shame, if you had a son that could only cultivate as a human. He would be alienated by both Orcs and Humans."


    Phillip mused about how he was treated and concurred. That wouldn''t be a good place, but he would protect him if he had too... His own... His own flesh and blood...


    Phillip felt his eyes get misty thinking about flesh and blood... His sister.


    "Well Phillip, I''ve come to wish you luck. In a week you will be in the slave pits. I have other business I need to see and can''t visit you in this time."


    "Alright." Both Jukzuk and Phillip stood and gave each other an Orcish goodbye.


    Phillip mused as he walked to his backyard, and under the remaining morning sun sat down and attempted to cultivate again.


    *******


    A week later Gnarg called out to Phillip, as he walked to the foyer. He knew that Phillip was outback in the plot of land behind the burrow cultivating.


    "Hoy! Phillip, it''s time. I''m here to escort you to the slave pits."


    Phillip sighed... Another failed day at cultivating. He got up and walked over to Gnarg, as he gave an Orcish greeting common among the same age, as they gripped each other''s forearms in a handshake.


    Gnarg laughed loudly, as he looked left then right, as to check for anyone listening, "Hellie hasn''t been by since last week... Did you make her angry?"


    Phillip grunted as he had no idea.


    Gnarg gave a disappointed grunt, "I didn''t want to make mention, but my brother keeps nagging me... So, let me give you some advice. Hellie for all that she is... Is seen as the beauty in the hearts of many Orcs. It is best if she doesn''t pay you a lot of attention... Least they smash you in anger. A slave has very little rights, and no one would moan at your death, even if the Clan chief would hate you died, he wouldn''t punish anyone."


    Phillip thought about it... His ideas on Hellie didn''t go too far, after his talk with Jukzuk... Even if she liked him, what could he do about it... He didn''t want to have children that would be treated like him. Maybe he would find a wife and move to the middle of nowhere one day. Make a farm and live his life with his woman and children tending to the land.


    That would be the future, and that future wasn''t today. Phillip grunted in acknowledgment.


    Hearing that Phillip understood, Gnarg let out an equal grunt, and he led to the slave pit arena.


    At the entrance to the side for guards and personnel, Gnarg pointed, "Go down there and speak to Ragnath. He''s the arena manager. He will direct you. Make sure you don''t... Offend him. He''s a bit different than most Orcs."


    Phillip wondered what this meant, but grunted, as he walked down the path into the underground hold.


    As he entered the smell of earth, aged blood, metal, and sweat filled his noise. The staggering smell was enough to make him miss a step, but he pushed on. He wondered if he could keep his head on while smelling this but found that he quickly became accustomed to the smell.


    Seeing what appeared to be a guard, Phillip approached and gave an Orcish greeting, "Brother, do you know where I can find Ragnath?"


    "Hoy? You must be the Legbreaker. We''ve been looking forward to the slave pits starting again and to you most of all. They say you are as strong as an Orc. Is that right boy?" The guard chuckled as if he didn''t believe the words he said.


    "I don''t know, brother. I just know that if I don''t fight, I die."


    Startled by the response the guard let out a large laugh, "GOOD WORDS!"


    He then looked over this armored tin can again, checking his build. He nodded to himself, "Follow the part to the left and you will meet Ragnath. He''s the large red Orc... Honestly, you can''t miss him, but whatever you do... Don''t make mention of the knife that sticks out of the side of his head. Oh, and don''t piss ''em off."


    Phillip mouthed the words knight in his head, before he grunted, and followed the path.


    As he approached another dimly lit area, he saw a large red Orc pointing his finger and yelling Orders to other Orcs. From what Phillip understood it was preparing for the show that was the Slave Pits.


    Phillip walked up and called out, "This brother greets Ragnath!"


    The large red Orc, who was a head taller than Phillip turned to see someone with a Metal helmet and chest piece.


    "Are you the piece of shit they sent me, called Legbreaker?" The large Orc lumbered over, with his rotund mass. He was as fat as he was tall. His fat rippled as his mighty steps fell. Phillip looked up to see that just above his forehead stuck out a knight that was buried into the Orcs head. He wore a brawler''s harness that was near hidden inside of his fat, as his fat ooze around the edges to almost conceal it. For pants, it was just a big pair of armor pleats. Phillip felt a murderous feeling from this Orc... Not something he had felt exactly before, but knew it was what Jukzuk called... Killing intent.


    [Just how many has this guy killed to have such a think Killing Intent, that even I can feel it without cultivation?!?] Phillip thought, as his back became cold.


    "...What are you looking at slave maggot?" Ragnath felt a gaze on the knight in his head.


    "I''m impressed. I''ve never seen an Orc as large as you!" Phillip responded quickly.


    Ragnath stopped in his step, before laughing like a lunatic, "Really?"


    "One of a kind! I take it you were a former slave pit champion!"


    "Hoy? How do you know? Who told you?" Ragnath stopped laughing, as he narrowed his eyes into slits in his fat face looking down on the tin can human.


    "I can tell by looking. That killing intent is massive! I don''t need no one to tell me!" Phillip grunted.


    "By looking? By feeling? Haha! Alright, HAHA ALRIGHT!" Ragnath laughed as he slapped his fat thigh.


    "Since I like you, you go out last! Remember Legbreaker, the last fighter seen is the one that leaves the impression. You have to put on a good show. It doesn''t matter if you live or die, but as long as the show is good for those that watch! THAT''S YOUR PURPOSE! Do you understand, Legbreaker?"


    Phillip grunted while he felt relieved. He was only guessing he might have been a slave champion. He looked like he was powerful at one time, but went to waste... Who else would slave here if that was the case? If he was wrong, he hoped it would flatter him... It was ''true'' then great, if not...


    Phillip didn''t wish to think about it, as he moved to his cell provided to him.

 13 First Kill; First ill

    Phillip sat in his cell. The dirty floor was stained repeatedly by blood, giving it a monochromatic red kaleidoscope pattern of chaos. He lifted himself to look to the side, to see a gate, that he assumed would lead to the arena.


    He could faintly hear the clashing of battle outside, the cheers, the boos, and the screams of anguish and battle cries of victory.


    Collecting himself from this, he looked to the other side of the cell and seen a cage of weapons. It appeared to be locked from the outside and wondered how it worked. He couldn''t think of anything, the only weapon he ever used was a sword.


    Phillip furrowed his brows... He hated the sword. It emphasized speed and skill. It wasn''t a problem for Phillip to brandish strength, as he could use a blunt training sword to slip a training dummy. He even wondered what happened to the rusty sword he was given last time.


    Shaking his head, he pondered while looking at the blood caked blade in the iron cage. His eyes drifted to the weapons next to it. A Mace, a chain and mace, and two different kinds of axes... One big Axes, and a pair of small Axes.


    [Axe.] Phillip thought within his mind. He remembered the axe swing that arced and reaped the life of his Lord. He should be mad or at least angry that over Lord Godalming''s death... But Phillip felt nothing, but loss.


    [I live better as a slave than I did when I was among them... Was I any better than a slave then? Maybe being a slave now is actually a higher class than being poor...] Phillip wondered within his mind, as he continued to stare at the pair of Axes.


    [Should I...? Try an Axe?] Phillip wondered.


    Then he heard Ragnath voice, "Hoy! It''s your turn Tin Can. Kill or be killed! Life or Death! It''s in your hands, but make the crowd cheer no matter which you pick!


    Startled, Phillip never thought about it...


    [I''ve... I''ve never killed anyone...]


    As Phillip heard the outside gate pop and click. Cracks of daylight began to spill through, into the dank dark holding cell. To his left, the armored cage of weapons popped open, allowing retrieval.


    Phillip took a step and placed his hand on the hilt of the sword for a moment before he moved to the big Axe.


    He pulled the Axe from the cage feeling the weight in his hands, and he gripped it tightly in both his hands. This was a normal large bearded Axe, but it felt good.


    "Stop being in a daze and get out there!" Ragnath''s voice boomed through the cell. Phillip jumped before he moved out of his Cell and into the arena.


    Through the slits of his helmet could see the massive stands. Only now did he realize just how large the population of the Blacktongue clan was... There must have been five thousand Orcs in the stands. He could see clearly the Blacktongue Clan Leader, and the Shaman called Uvog standing next to him. Surprising Phillip the most was sitting next to the Orc Clan Leader on a lower seat was... Jukzuk!


    [But... I thought was a slave too?] A feeling of shock but also relief washed into his heart, as the roaring of the announcer''s voice rang in his armored helm.


    "THIS FOLKS! THIS IS THE HUMAN CALLED LEGBREAKER! THAT''S THE ONE IN THE RUMORS! DID HE BREAK AN ORC''S LEG? DID HE PISS HIMSELF WHEN THEY PULLED HIM FROM UNDER A WAGON HIDING?!? WE DON''T KNOW WITH THE RUMORS BEING THROWN AROUND, BUT TODAY! TODAY WE SEE IF HE CAN HOLD...! HIS...! LIFE...!"


    Phillip heard the cheers, the boos, and the scorn of the crowd. He searched the crowd and among them... He saw... Hellie. She was cheering loudly, while her cheers were in line with the others, it was what she was saying that brought a lot of attention.


    "WOOOOO! COME ON, LEGBREAKER! MAMA HERE NEEDS MEAD MONEY! MY TIN CAN IS A KILLER CAN! COME ON!!!! KILL FOR MAMA!" Hellie screamed over the other Orcs, while Phillip saw another shocking sight. A thinner female Orc was grabbing Hellie trying to pull her down to her seat. Her face... Phillip squinted with his fat face inside his helmet... Her face looks the same as Hellie''s... Sister? Twin Sister???


    The gong was sounded, and it vibrated the arena. Phillip heard this before each match and knew it was his turn. He finally looked to his opponent. It was another human who held a sword. This human had a muscular build, and he had seen him in the cage when he was first sent after arriving on the wagons. He stood a head shorter than Phillip but had a lanky build. He was bare-chested with armored bracers, leather pants, and leather boots. His stubble on his face showed many days of neglect, and the brown strikes on his body showed the accumulation of dust and dirt that ran with sweat, unbathed for days.


    He heard the human speak in common, "The traitor!" The human spat.


    "...What traitor...?" Phillip asked as they squared off. Phillip was using what little training he received as a squire to fight, though he had never actually fought before.


    "I heard from the others... Leading Orcs to attack us, humans. Orc lover, ha... I heard the one called Simon speak of your fat. Seems your schemes with the Orcs run deep."


    "...???" While Phillip was trying to process what this human was talking about, the human charged him with his sword swinging.


    "Honestly, Jukzuk... Why are you so attached to that fat human?" The Orc chief leaned down to ask while sitting on his throne.


    Jukzuk watched the fight unfold, "Because I have a feeling about him..."


    "Oh? What feeling is that?" The chief said.


    "I don''t feel it''s good to say if he dies in the arena... We will see if he can live through this first." Jukzuk said grimly, as he prayed to the elements Phillip would be fine.


    The Orc Chief grunted, and changed the topic, as he watched Phillip block another attack of the enemy human with that large Axe, which the chief thought was a good choice of weapon, "Hoy... Jukzuk have you thought any more on what we talked about... About... The Promise of the Calamity."


    Jukzuk shook his head, "Varbuk... You are already hailed as the chief of the Blacktongues... Why do you wish to raise that ancient weapon...?"


    A crazed zeal shot from the eyes of the Orc Chief, "I need that Axe! With it, I can solidify my rule over the Blacktongues! While I sit here, you know there are those that don''t wish for me to sit here! Furthermore, with my hands and that Axe, I can bring the Blacktongues back to the glory they once had and reclaim our ancestral homelands!" He yelled in a whisper that only Jukzuk could hear.


    Jukzuk didn''t pay attention as he watched Phillip''s fight take a turn for the worst.


    Phillip was blocking the attacks of the human, but his knowledge of the Axe was near absent.


    The Human lifted his metallic bracer to catch the sun, a trick this human used when he was a bandit on the roads. The sunlight from behind him bounced off of the bracer and into the slits of the armored oaf, while the human smirked.


    Phillip blinded by the light and his lack of experience, the human slipped under his guard, and with as his blade bit deeply into Phillip''s thigh spilling blood.


    Pain... That familiar friend. The only friend that stayed by his side turned again to greet him, but unlike before where he just embraced his old friend... Phillip yelled in rage!


    "I AM NOT TO BE FUCKED WITH!" He yelled in Orcish! His shout vibrating his helm, shaking his head, but echoed out drowning the crowds cheering and jeering.


    Phillip slung his hand and Axe at an angle, not intending to use the blade of the Axe, but using it as a board to slap away a fly!


    His arm and Axe slammed into the arm and left side of the human, as he fell to the ground sliding two meters away.


    Clenching his teeth in anger, Phillips hot breath issued through the holes of his grim grimace. He stepped heavy, hard, and fast to the side of the human. In the same way, he saw that Orc execute Lord Godalming... He emulated that swing, that arc that reaped the life of that man that thought himself important.


    Lifting the Axe above his head, it came into that arc.


    Into the chest of the human all the way down to his stomach splitting the middle cavity open, blood burst forth, bone splintered, and white organs showed through the sides of where the Axe embedded itself into the chest. The blood splattered across Phillip''s hands, arms, and chest. His helmet was speckled red.


    Phillip looked into the eyes of the human he just killed. He watched his face that was anguished, with his eyes open, as the light in them dimmed and then dulled. He stepped back to watch the inner organs squiggle out. That hot metallic smell rushed up and found its way into his helmet.


    A sour taste rushed to his throat, as the crowd''s cheers faded away. His vision darkened as he remained looking at the steaming pile of meat in front of him that was once a person, but now flayed.


    Phillip shaking himself off, he ran to his hole in the wall that was his cell. He collapsed on the reddened floor, as that sour taste erupted from his mouth and flowed through his helmet''s slits.


    He continued until there was nothing left within his stomach, but juices... And even then, he continued until he dry heaved.


    Jukzuk from the stands stood up and sighed...


    "Hoy...? You don''t want to take back our lands?" The Chief spoke to Jukzuk.


    "It''s not that... I need to speak to the Legbreaker. It seems his first kill has taken a toll on him."


    "First... Kill? Ah... Ahaha.. HAHAHAHAHA!" The Orc Chief began laughing madly, "He''s never killed?! How do you KNOW!?"


    "He ran from his kill... I should say, he fled.... Excuse me." Jukzuk left his seat.


    The Orc Chief calmed down and patted his chest where he almost began to cough from laughing, but his eyes narrowed watching Jukzuk leave.


    "Let go of me," Hellie commanded her sister, Demze.


    "You can''t go. There are reasons."


    "I don''t give a damn. He''s hurt, and I can fix him up. You know I''m good at triage."


    "So you are, but they will get someone else to do it. It''s not a good look for you to do it! Think about your status."


    "Didn''t you hear me?" Hellie shrugged off Demze, "I don''t give a damn about that, or us being the adopted daughters of the chief! I''m going to go help him." Hellie stormed away.


    Demze shook her head, watching all the orcs in the surroundings watching their Orc Goddess concern for a... Human.


    Many faces that were thrilled by the kill, were now contorted into displeasure.

 14 Remove the Helme

    Jukzuk asked Ragnath, while Ragnath humbly opened Phillip''s cell. He walked in, and patted the heaving Phillip on the back, as he spoke, "Phillip. Breath. It''s alright. It''s important. Breath."


    "I... I can''t... It''s... Blood..." Phillip continued to cough and belch strong acids up.


    Hellie heard the voices and made her way over. Ragnath at the edge saw the one of the Orc Princesses and backed away without a word.


    She found her target and walked in to see the tin can on all fours with yellow bile seeping out of his helmet.


    "DID THAT HUMAN USE POISON!?" Hellie''s voice echoed into the other cells, as many heads popped up, but none of them could see into Phillip''s cage.


    "Hell-Hellie?" Phillip continued until darkness took him into her embrace, and he slumped to the side.


    "Calm down, girl. Phillip''s just... Coping." Jukzuk raised his head, "Ragnath, is he done for the day?"


    "...coping...?" Hellie shifted from foot to foot.


    Ragnath shook his up and down to indicate yes, while his fat jiggled on his face.


    "Let''s take him to his burrow..." Jukzuk bent down to pick him up, as Hellie spoke, "Let me carry him."


    Jukzuk brows furrowed, but he chuckled, "I know what you are thinking, but please leave the Man some pride." as he slung Phillip over his shoulder, "We need to get him home quickly. We can bandage up that sword wound as well." He noticed blood running down the leg of Phillip.


    As Jukzuk and Hellie left quickly, they came across Demze''s frail frame.


    Hellie spoke, "Sister? Why are you here?"


    "I want to see this Legbreaker too... Where are you taking him?"


    "Too his burrow, come on."


    Demze sighed and followed along.


    As the three walked out from the underground lair of the arena, the Orcs leaving the upper arena going home or going to the gambling house to collect payment couldn''t help but watch Jukzuk the Traitor, followed by two of the three Princesses of the Clan leaving... With the Human called Legbreaker!


    Demze called over another female Orc and whispered quickly to her. Demze took the idea that Hellie yelled of poison and spread it through this servant of hers.


    Like wildfire, all the Orcs believed the treachery of Humans using poison... Poison had no right in the arena. On the battlefield, alright, but the arena... Many spat, and decided that they would bet on this human, Legbreaker, next time.


    They still stared with envious expressions as the two princesses moved out of site.


    *******


    Jukzuk greeted Gnarg and Gnath at the doors with a grunt. They both saw Phillip knocked out, but still alive, as they heaved a sigh of relief. In this week, they learned that this human was better than most Orcs.


    In the foyer, Jukzuk laid Phillip on the cold stone floor. Hellie already knew the layout of the burrow, and when to collect the first aid. Demze simply walked to the couch, sat down, and crossed her slim green legs, while propping her chin, as she observed Phillip with interest.


    Hellie came back and between her and Jukzuk, they cleaned Phillip''s sword wound. Hellie personally stitched it and wrapped it.


    Jukzuk saw the care of Hellie''s, he shook his head, as he didn''t understand... Why out of all the Orc did she take a liking to Phillip... Unless...


    "...Remove his moving cage..." A bland voice sounded behind Jukzuk. Jukzuk turned to look at Demze slightly surprised.


    "Don''t look at me like that... You think so too, right?"


    Jukzuk nodded, "Niece is, indeed, well read. I think so as well... I also think..."


    "Me too." Demze agreed, the two of them leaving Hellie guessing at what they were saying.


    Jukzuk turned back to face Hellie, "Go tell one of the guards to bring me some tools. Metal sheers, a hammer, a metal chisel, and anything else they think of..."


    Hellie thought the smell from tin can helmet was fierce, so she nodded, and left quickly.


    Without looking back, "If he is... What are your plans? Don''t say you don''t have any, because even ghosts wouldn''t believe it." Jukzuk spoke looking down at Phillip.


    "...Can I actually tell you? You have to remember your title is ''The Traitor.''"


    "...That hurts, Demze... I remember the day you three were born. I was there. I helped clean the amniotic fluid from you''re face personally that day. I held you while your mother held Midka, and your father held Hellie... We swaddled you joys... And... You call me this today." Jukzuk''s eyes became red at the corners, but his face remained passive as if he was talking about the weather.


    Demze looked down to the floor, and her usual resting smirk wiped off, "Uncle... That year when father died... You weren''t here... You only came back now. I needed you that year... We, three, needed you that year."


    "I''m back now, Little Dem-Dem... I''m back now." Jukzuk sighed.


    "I know... I''m... Just give me time."


    "All the time you need, but I can''t help you if you don''t tell me what your plans are... And I know you''re plans include him." Jukzuk pointed to Phillip who laid on the floor.


    "If he''s what I think he is..."


    "Then tell me."


    "...I plan to marry him and use him as my puppet..."


    "..."


    "What about Hellie?"


    "...What about her?"


    "Are you going to share? You know your Sister likes him, even though..."


    Hellie came flying in with tools, and tossed them beside Jukzuk, while she asked, "Okay, how do I help!"


    Jukzuk had Hellie oil around the base of the helmet, and he attempted to unscrew the helmet. Seeing that it didn''t give, he studied it a bit, and then he began to instruct Hellie to hold the side of the chest armor, as he began using the metal sheers to slowly cut open the armor.


    Sweat beaded up on Jukzuk''s face, as he continued. It wasn''t that he wasn''t strong enough, but the control not to hurt the flesh underneath the sheers that worried him. In a rare show of affection, Demze went to the bathroom and returned with a moistened washcloth and dampened the forehead of Jukzuk. Jukzuk did not pull his attention from his work on Phillip''s armor, but the edges of his lips curved upward.


    Finally, Jukzuk made it to Phillip''s helm. He nicked the bottom of the helm where it was rusted in place, and with a bit more oil, now in the groves of the helmet from the nick. Pressure, then more oil, until finally, it gave with both Jukzuk and Hellie''s combine strength, though restrained not to rip off Phillip''s head, did the helmet gave.


    They finally screwed the helmet off, and all three looked upon the face of Phillip, each with a different set of emotions.

 15 The Helmets Off!

    "By the elements...! When was the last time he shaved?!?" Hellie asked looking at the bearded figured after the helmet was removed.


    Jukzuk furrowed his brows... No tusks.


    "...Uncle..." Demze called from behind Jukzuk, as he grunted to acknowledge.


    "Open his mouth. We need to see his bottom teeth." Demze instructed.


    Jukzuk grunted and searched the matted, food crusted, and bile-filled facial hair for Phillip''s mouth until he found it. He pulled his bottom lip and found that Phillip was missing his two bottom canines... More specifically, his tusks!


    "As I thought." Demze put on a proud face, as she nodded, while Jukzuk''s brows unfurrowed.


    "What''s going on? What did you think? Why is he missing teeth?" Hellie asked confused.


    "Sister... Do you know which teeth he is missing?"


    "I don''t know much about human teeth, so I don''t know..."


    Demze shook her head, "If they were Orc teeth?"


    "His tusks."


    Demze nodded, while Hellie still seemed confused.


    "Haaa~!" Demze sighed, while Jukzuk spoke up, "He''s an Orc Hellie."


    "WHAT?!?"Hellie covered her mouth after he outburst.


    Jukzuk smiled, as he knew it was time to clean up Phillip. He leaned Phillip up, as he was about to tote him to the bathroom to wash him up and come back to give him a good shave.


    As Jukzuk leaned Phillip up Demze asked in a strange voice, "What''s... What''s wrong with this back!??!" Her high voice laced with shock was unusual for the calm Demze that both Hellie and Jukzuk looked as well.


    Jukzuk''s brows slammed together, as Hellie proceeded to cover her mouth again...


    Demze slightly dazed at the two''s reaction then asked, "...Can someone tell me if he''s diseased..."


    Hellie''s eyes reddened, as she looked over Phillip''s back, "That''s no disease, sister... Those are scars."


    Demze turned her gaze back to Phillip''s back to see the gnarled flesh. Rows of long raised scars that pitched like lightning on his back showed years of whipping. At the end of each of these scars showed indents into the flesh. It appeared to Demze to appear a macabre display of shooting starts and spiderwebs made of flesh.


    Jukzuk spoke slowly under his breath, "I''ve seen scarring like this before... This is the work of the cat of nine tails... A whip with nine lashes and a cat''s claw at the end of each. It whips and then at the end of the lash pulls a chunk of flesh or cuts it... It''s the cruelest punishment by the humans..."


    "...I see..." Demze''s eyes remained on Phillip''s back, as he was hefted by Jukzuk and taken to his bathroom.


    Hellie looked to be deep in thought, which shocked Demze when she took another look at her sister. She couldn''t help herself, as she called out to Hellie, "Sister... Just what are you thinking about?!?"


    "He said he was human... So, I don''t understand..."


    Demze shook her head again, "I''m sure it''s to be as cruel as they could be. I''m not sure why, but he said he couldn''t cultivate. I have a feeling they told him at a young age he was human and showed him how to cultivate as a human... Orcs can''t cultivate as Humans, and vice versa... He never could and used this as a means to keep him beat down. This has been done before in history. I never thought I''d meet a thrall."


    "Thrall?"


    "Unlike regular Orc Slaves, Thralls have their tusks removed, and are raised from childhood until adulthood that they are human. They are exploited for labor and are never used as fighters. They have... Bad lives from what I''ve read, but... I never thought..." Demze left her words trailing at the end, remembering the back she saw.


    Hellie then heaved a sigh of relief.


    Demze tilted her head, "What are you happy about?"


    "He''s an Orc! Do you know what that means?"


    Demze giggled, "Yes. I know what that means, but that wasn''t going to stop you, to begin with... Was it?"


    "...I don''t like talking to you sometimes... You know that...?" Demze stood up to leave.


    "Where are you going?"


    "Mama needs to collect our mead money!"


    "Come straight back after you collect the money!"


    "Pfft, no! This mama is getting mead to celebrate a new Orc to the clan!" Hellie laughed loudly as she left quickly out.


    "DAMN IT HELLIE! LISTEN TO ME!" Demze screamed as she heard faint laughter in the distance.


    She felt back into Phillip''s couch sinking deep into thought... Now that she knew for a fact that this new man was actually an Orc... She could put into action the plan she worked on a week ago...


    [Adopting me was the worse decision of your life... My thrall is going to cleave you in two...] A cold smile etched across Demze''s beautiful frail face.


    *******


    Water splashed across Phillip''s face, as he came too...


    "Hoy! Boy! You up?" Jukzuk called out to Phillip.


    Groggy and sick on his stomach, Phillip rose to a seated position on the cold stone floor of his bathroom. He looked around and noticed that his helmet wasn''t on.


    He felt around his head and chest and heaved in relief!


    Jukzuk grunted, "Yeah, I''m sure you feel better with that gone."


    "Yeah."


    "We need to clean you up, boy," Jukzuk called to him, as a boy. Phillip puzzled for a moment, as in the Orcish language boy meant young Orc.


    "Boy, we need to clean the stink of vomit from you! Hellie and her sister are here! Do you want to keep looking back in front of these two beauties?!"


    Phillip getting motivated, and with assistance from Jukzuk washed down, and cleaned up.


    When Jukzuk got down washing Phillip''s hair and face, he backed off to let Phillip handle the rest, as he stood to the side. He looked out and didn''t see anyone, and felt there was no one that was close enough to hear them, as he began to speak, "Phillip..."


    Phillip paused to look up to Jukzuk, as he grunted. He could now nod in the human way, without his helmet, but new habits were made, and grunting became his way.


    "Do you think you''re human?"


    "...What kind of question is that, Jukzuk???" Phillip went back to washing.


    "I couldn''t help but see your bottom tusks are gone."


    "...My what...?"


    "Did you know your mother or father?"


    "...No..."


    Jukzuk shook his head, "You were a slave of humans, as an Orc, boy... I can only be thankful that the Elements and the Calamity returned your people."


    "Jukzuk, you''re not making sense." Phillip finally stopped his actions, and climbed out of the tub, as he wiped down.


    Jukzuk threw him some clothes he prepared before he woke Phillip up. After getting dress, Jukzuk grabbed Phillip by the shoulders, "Boy! Did you never notice? You weren''t like other humans!? Did you not notice you were lied too!? You can''t cultivate?! YOU''RE A THRALL! YOU WERE AN ORC IN BONDAGE!"


    Phillip dazed as Jukzuk shook him... He thought about it... He was different. He was already treated unfairly... Always hated... Always discriminated against... Always punished...


    "I''m-I''m an Orc?"


    "YES!"


    Phillip''s bushy face relaxed. It seemed like a large wash of relief came over him. He wasn''t sure if he was an Orc or not, but the more he thought he wasn''t human... The better he felt. Humans had tormented him his whole life, and to know he wasn''t one of them... Release!


    "Phillip... There is something we need to talk about."


    Phillip smiled under his beard and bushy face; his eyes crinkled. It was good that Jukzuk could see this smile. Phillip hadn''t smiled for just a little over ten years. It was a wretched but sincere smile.


    "Two things... We need to take you to see the chief... And... I need to teach you quickly how to handle female Orcs."


    "I... I get the Chief, but what about female Orcs?"


    "You''re an Orc... You don''t call them female Orcs... Unless you want to piss one off... If you are human, that doesn''t matter, but as an Orc, you call them Orcess. This is the name for female Orcs in Orcish!"


    "...What''s the difference...?" Phillip didn''t understand why this was a point.


    Jukzuk changed to common, as he spoke, "What happens when you call a Human woman, a female, or a bitch?"


    "...It''s disrespectful, and she gets angry..."


    "That''s the same thing with Orcs. ''Orcess'' is the proper term for what human''s call Ladies."


    Phillip finally grunted in understanding.


    Jukzuk changed back to Orcish, "Good. Now let''s get you a shave. We need to see what your face looks like... Figure out what clan you came from... It''s obviously either a cave clan or a swamp clan due to your skin tone... Maybe a mix."


    Jukzuk grunted while thinking, as dragged Phillip out of his bathroom, and back to the foyer.

 16 A New Shave Look

    Dragged into the foyer by Jukzuk, Phillip finally got a good look at Hellie''s sister. Her face looked just like Hellie''s, but instead of that sexy smirk that hung on Hellie''s lips... This Orcess had a calm smile, but with intelligence flashing in her eyes. Phillip felt that her eyes reminded him... Of people... Humans, and not like other Orcs.


    Jukzuk took the opportunity to introduce Phillip, "Boy, this is my second niece, Demze."


    Despite his reservations of the look in her eyes, Phillip gave her an orcish greeting.


    Beating his chest, "Hello pretty Orcess." Phillip said with no sense of shame. If Phillip knew how this translated into common, he would need a face as thick as two city walls to say it.


    In common he would be saying, "Hello beautiful lady," but with the greeting, he gave this further translated into, "Hello beautiful lady, I''m interested in you." Phillip did not know this, Jukzuk knew he didn''t know, and as he was about to correct Phillip, Demze spoke, "I''m interested in you as well."


    Phillip''s questioning face peered through his bearded faced.


    "One moment." Jukzuk interrupted what Demze was going to say, as he brought him over to the side and explained what just happened.


    Phillip now turned slightly red all over, as he returned.


    "I didn''t mean to offend you." He spoke with his head lower.


    Demze laughed, "How did you offend me? I, too, am interested in you. The feeling is mutual, but I have a question."


    "What is it?"


    "Can I cut your hair?" Demze asked tilting her head looking between Jukzuk and Phillip.


    Jukzuk sighed, and waved his hand, as he spoke, "I need to go speak with the chief to make arrangements for him to see the boy. I''ll be back in a few minutes." It seemed as he spoke to Demze, as he turned to Phillip, "Boy, mind your manners. I''ll be back in a few moments."


    Jukzuk left, as Demze rose, as she instructed, "Bring a chair. Is your shaving kit in the bathroom?"


    Phillip let out a grunt that spoke simply, "I don''t know," as he moved to the kitchen to get a chair from the bar where he imagined Orcs would eat.


    He brought it back and sat down. Phillip hadn''t had his hair cut by someone since... His sister.


    He would always cut his own hair; however sloppy it was.


    Demze came back with a leather kit. She walked over to the couch arm and rolled out the kit. Taking out the scissors she began work on Phillip.


    While she worked, she asked questions, "Can I ask you some personal questions?"


    Phillip grunted as he didn''t really care.


    "Did you really not know you were an Orc?" Demze asked what she really wanted to know.


    Phillip grunted again, as he spoke, "I never questioned it. I was never told I was human either. I just assumed. I wonder if my sister was as well..."


    The wording and tone that Phillip used when saying sister caused Demze to pause, but knowing that the sister was no longer around, caused her to feel her own heart squeeze before she quickly brushed it away.


    "Now that you know... What do you plan on doing?"


    "Depends on the chief, I suppose..."


    Demze''s eyes narrowed, as she asked, "Well, most Orcs have lofty dreams of becoming the strongest and ruling. Do you wish to rule?"


    "Rule? Never thought about it." Phillip grunted.


    "Really... I see, but you have to admit the allure to rule is large. Just like for humans, Orcs want to become rulers as well. Power at the end of the day is everything."


    "Well, Sister Orcess... I can''t cultivate. So power isn''t much in the way for me. I''ll be happy if I can just stay in this house, I mean, burrow."


    Demze''s eyes dulled slightly, but then changed as she thought a different way, "That too has its merits." Demze had snipped given Phillip a good cut on top, and with


    She left leaving Phillip feeling strange about the questions. Her questions didn''t feel like Hellie''s. Hellie''s questions felt free and playful, even willful, but that was it... Demze''s questions felt loaded and with purpose... Maybe even with a hint of malice. Phillip thought it odd that she would want to mistreat him, but he was no stranger to mistreatment and kept his guard up.


    She came back with a hot towel and placed it on the face of Phillip. Phillip felt the warmth in the towel and enjoyed this sensation. This wasn''t something he had ever had.


    "How did you get the towel hot?"


    "Firestones."


    Hearing Phillip grunt cluelessly, Demze continued, "A shaman that is favored by the elements of fire imbue their power into a special gemstone. This gemstone is what heats the water. It only has so many charges until it runs out of power, but it''s usually good for a year before it runs dry unless you abuse it."


    "There is such a thing?" Phillip was amazed.


    "Indeed. Our sister Midka is in her final training as a Shaman. In the next few days, she will find out what Element will favor her. With their favor, she will pass from initiate to adapt and a true Shaman."


    "You must be... Proud of your sister." Phillip said with a bit of sadness laced in his voice.


    Demze picked up on this and tied it back to his previous words.


    She took the hot towel from Phillip''s face, as she used a type of cream on his face to shave him.


    No words were spoken during this period of time, but Phillip kept looking into Demze''s eyes, as Demze would stare back.


    Finally completed, she got the, now warm, towel and wiped him clean. She stood bad admiring her work. It had been years since she had done anything like this... Not since...


    Demze shook her head and got Phillip to go to the bathroom to look in the mirror.


    He looked at himself in the mirror.


    All the hair that had always covered his face, even before his helmet was cut back, and swept backward. He had sideburns that came from the side of his face down to the angle of his jaw, as thick and hair as it has been before, but now in a jagged design. He was clean-shaven chin and neck. No more neckbeard.


    He felt... He looked pretty good.


    [So, this is what the people in the tavern called a ''new shave look.''] Phillip thought as he returned back to his foyer.


    As the time he was lumbering back into the main hall, Hellie came in from outside, and waving a sack of jingling coins in her hand laughing hysterically, "Sis you are not going to believe the payout! ELEMENTS! I''ve never seen Braga so angry before. I had to fight him and all his g-"


    Hellie dropped her bag of coins, as even a few of those coins jumped out from the impact and rolled on the floor.


    Phillip startled by the sound of the dropped money looked over to Hellie who stood in the doorway of his burrow.


    "I...Ummm... Hi." Hellie spoke slow and low.


    "Ummm. Hey Hellie. Welcome back."


    "Leg-Legbreaker!?" Hellie squeezed out.


    [Elements, he''s handsome!] Hellie screamed in her mind!

 17 Possible Clan Origins

    "Sister Hellie, what''s wrong?" Phillip lumbered over and collected the few coins that jumped out of her bag.


    Hellie standing there in a daze, received the collected money back.


    Demze chuckled on the coach, as she knew what was wrong, as even she thought Phillip was very handsome.


    "Sister come sit down and let Us all have a good... Look at the Legbreaker, while We wait for Uncle... Jukzuk to return."


    Hellie nodded absentmindedly as she went and sat beside Demze.


    Phillip sat in the chair where he got his hair cut. It seemed that Demze already cleaned up everything while he went to look at himself in the mirror... That was... Fast! Maybe he took too long...


    Demze reached over and pushed up on Hellie''s chin, as she chuckled. She knew what Hellie was feeling because she too felt a certain way looking at Phillip. Orcs weren''t known for looks, but at the same time, there were Orc aesthetics that everyone agreed on.


    Phillip''s face looked far better than any Orc in the Blacktongue clan currently, however...


    Hellie felt her chin being pressed, as she swallowed. She then roamed her gaze over the rest of Phillip. He was still that large fat man, err, Orc she met. While he was fat over muscle, she felt it was a shame that such an Orc had such a physique.


    "Tin-can have you ever tried to train?" Hellie asked, out of nowhere.


    "Train? You mean cultivate?" Phillip asked as he wasn''t sure.


    "No! TRAIN!" Hellie made a bicep pose, showing the peak of her biceps in jade green.


    "You know. Moving weights? Sitting under a waterfall? Climbing? Anything???"


    "...Humans don''t really do that... They cultivate." Phillip shook his head with a slight laugh. He felt a rush referring to humans as something that wasn''t him. It felt surprisingly good.


    "Cultivate? Well, I cultivate, but you see this?" Hellie stood up and flexed her abs. She then turned and lifted her red cloth that draped of her armor around her hips, and flexed her hamstring to her gluts...


    Phillip couldn''t help himself... Ever since that day that Hellie hooked her legs around his waist, he thought of her often. He tried hard the first few days not to think of her... But... His fantasies got the best of him, and now seeing her in person...


    A bad smile hung on his lips, as he watched with gusto as Hellie showed off each of her muscle groups.


    Demze watched Phillips face, and the lewd look in his eyes.


    Demze spoke up with an annoyed tone, "Stop showing your hard ass to him. I know you have no shame in your body, but at least consider me sitting here!"


    "Oh." Hellie''s mouth made an "O" over her tusks, as she sat down again.


    "He got the point when you showed off her legs, but you didn''t have to continue. Have some situational awareness."


    "Situ-what?" Hellie wondered out loud.


    "Doesn''t matter." Demze shook her head.


    Phillip''s bad smile was wiped away the moment Demze spoke, and he went back to his usual stone face he wore when he was among humans.


    "We need to get you some new teeth." Demze broke the budging awkward atmosphere.


    Phillip gave a questioning grunt.


    "You know to replace these." Demze pointed to her tusks.


    "Oh, I''ve never had tusk," Phillip spoke the truth.


    "I know, but we can get you some." Demze nodded.


    "Oh?" Phillip thought about it... He had never had tusks, ever... Should he get some... But did that mean he was-


    "Just got back from the Chieftain!" Jukzuk shouted while laughing on the way back.


    The group looked to Jukzuk, as he came next to Phillip, and slapped him on the shoulder. Contrary to Jukzuk''s expectation... Phillip didn''t jiggle, as Jukzuk''s smile became wider.


    Looking down at his face, Jukzuk was startled.


    "Hoy..." He walked around to the front of Jukzuk with his back to his two nieces.


    Phillip looked puzzled, as Jukzuk thought a bit more.


    "Boy... How much do you know about the current Orc clans or orc history?"


    Phillip grunted a "Nothing."


    Jukzuk shook his head, as he paced a few times around the room.


    Even Demze seemed to not understand, let alone Hellie or Phillip.


    "Jukzuk... W-"


    "I''m your Elder, boy. Until we figure a proper place for you, call me such."


    Phillip remembering how Orcs spoke to each other, he nodded.


    "Elder Jukzuk, What''s wrong. I don''t understand."


    Jukzuk sighed, as he came to the others, and spoke, "Test your honor with me, boy. I just want to see one last thing."


    Phillip nodded and during the test Jukzuk noted Phillip''s skin turning red, and his bulging veins. Jukzuk won the test but didn''t hurt Phillip either.


    Phillip felt neither bad or good about this test, and only want to know why Jukzuk was acting so... Stern.


    "As I thought..."


    "Thought what... Uncle?" Demze asked she couldn''t stand the waiting any longer!


    "Demze... Tell us about the Burningfist Clan." Jukzuk asked.


    As if a light went off in Demze''s mind, she sat up straighter, but now when she looked at Phillip, there was also a hint of fear, "The Burningfist Clan was destroyed by the Human''s about six hundred years ago. They were known for their warriors'' rage and their shaman''s mastery over fire... The reason for the clan name... They were strange Orcs, that claimed to trace their blood and lineage to the Orc Calamity, and from him, they had perverse healing abilities. Before a battle, they would smear the backs of their arms in oil and set them on fire. It would continue to burn and heal. It was said that the fire actually caused them to heal! Some of the more crazed Orcs would set their whole upper body on fire. As it burned, they healed, but what could be more terrifying than a Clan of Warriors charging you? A Clan of Warriors on fire that won''t die!"


    Phillip sucked in a breath of air! Being able to be set on fire? Heal through burning up?


    After a few moments to process this, Jukzuk spoke up, "Boy, you don''t know it... But in my travels, I''ve seen an Old Orc from the Burningfist Clan. Can''t be more than a dozen of them left. I remember one thing about him that was strange. Anytime he used his strength, his skin would turn red and his veins would wiggle like worms. Tell me how that sounds like."


    Phillip looked at both of his arms, when Hellie jumped up from her seat, "LET''S SET HIM ON FIRE!!!" She squealed with glee.


    Phillip jerked back with, "WOT?!"


    Demze started cackling, while Jukzuk shouted, "No, you foolish girl! What if I''m wrong?!"


    "Oh..." Hellie slumped back down, as her armor rattled.

 18 Is that a big deal?

    Beads of sweat formed on Phillip''s brow. Hellie was truly too impulsive!


    Demze was truly amused by the expression of this thrall, as she chuckled some more.


    Jukzuk coughed again, "But there is only one problem."


    The other three looked to Jukzuk, "While it''s common for thralls to put on weight like you have boy... It''s not normal to carry it all in your belly for an Orc. Orcs put weight on all over. You saw Ragnath, right?"


    Phillip thought back to the Orc that ran the underground he saw earlier this morning. He looked to the outside and seen that the sun was beginning to drop behind the mountain, as night approached.


    Phillip grunted to acknowledge Jukzuk.


    "That''s normal... You aren''t. There is a clan though... That puts on weight like you do, that isn''t normal to other Orcs."


    Phillip grunted as Orcs seemed to be far more diverse than he first thought... Where Humans humans, and Orcs orcs???


    "Demze." Jukzuk looked over to her.


    She tilted her head wondering where he was going, as Jukzuk spoke, "Have you read up on the Nightbone Clan?"


    Demze looked up for a moment, and then spoke, "Can''t say that I have... Who are the Nightbone Clan?" She asked in frustration.


    "Oh? Then maybe you know the clan that splinted from them, The Skullblade Clan?"


    "Ah!" Demze made a shocked face, and then looked to Phillip up and down.


    "But I don''t see it?!" She exclaimed.


    "You know the Skullblade, and their progenitor clan the Nightbone Clan for their massive sizes." He looked to Phillip, and commented, "Boy, a Skullblade is twice as heavy as a Blacktongue, and packed with more muscles than a Bull! It''s just that if they quit training for a few months, they turn to fat guts!"


    Hellie''s eyes blazed a flame of passion, as she jumped up, "WE CAN GIVE HIM THE HELL TRAINING!"


    "Wot?!" Phillip blurted again.


    "That''s a great idea. Better than setting him on fire." Jukzuk nodded.


    "Oh, he needs to train anyway, and learn cultivation." Demze nodded.


    "I can teach him how to cultivate too!" Hellie put her hands on her hips and nodded proudly.


    "Oh, no you don''t!" Demze exclaimed!


    "Why not?! I have better cultivation than you do, and I know how to train! Look at how much pudge you have on you! You can''t compare to me! Look!" Hellie slapped her tight abs, showing off.


    "You know how to train, but you couldn''t teach a wolf...! AND Who wants a hard-bodied hussy!" Demze spat.


    "TIN CAN DOES! DON''T YOU!" Hellie pointed to Phillip, who was watching them squabble, but now his back turned cold as both of them glared at him.


    Jukzuk saw Phillip being pushed between them, and was about to help when Phillip opened his stupid mouth, "...I think Orcess Hellie looks very nice..."


    Jukzuk then facepalmed, as he turned around, shaking his head.


    Demze''s face twisted into an angry visage before her face reverted back to normal. Phillip felt strange that her face just slackened back to a normal expression, but her eyes still looked the same... Still angry.


    Demze nodded a few times, "I''m glad that you find my sister still good-looking despite her being a hard-bodied bimbo."


    "SO, I''M A BIMBO NOW?!" Hellie stomped hard.


    "But you should know that she''s not a virgin," Demze said without shame, though her cheeks flushed, despite her cool expression.


    "Is that a big deal?" Phillip asked as he looked around them.


    Whatever point Demze had floated out of her mind, while Hellie''s face slackened, as this was one of the few things that Demze beat her down on all the time. Jukzuk felt slightly off by Phillips respond... Did he like his women like that? Wait...!


    Jukzuk turned around, as he asked, "Let me ask you. If you are interested in an Orcess and she has already been with another Orc... Sexually... You don''t mind this? Wouldn''t you prefer her to be... Pure?"


    Phillip reddened on his own. This wasn''t something he really ever though... He never really had time to think such things and to be asked this felt slightly happy. He had the luxury to entertain such thoughts now!


    Phillip shook his head to clear his thoughts as he spoke, "What happened in the past isn''t my business unless it''s made to be my business... Considering where I''ve come from, who am I to request that of an Orcess? As long as she would remain faithful to me when we get together... Why should I be concerned with her past?"


    "What a good, ''Why should you be concerned with the past!''" Jukzuk clapped his hands once while nodding.


    Demze felt dazed, while Hellie smiled widely!


    After a moment, Demze arranged her garments and stood up. It''s getting late. I need to return home, to prepare for tomorrow. Good night everyone." As she walked by Phillip, she placed her soft jade green hand on Phillip''s shoulder, as she spoke, "What happened in the past... Comes to haunt us in the future."


    She then quickly left, as if fleeing.


    Phillip thought about what she said... He understood being haunted.


    "It is getting late. Boy, I''ll come back in the morning and take you to see the chieftain." Jukzuk spoke and took a look at Hellie, then bid them both good night.


    Now left in the foyer with just Hellie, Phillip didn''t know really where to put his eyes. Every time he looked at Hellie, his eyes would roam her body, and he knew that wasn''t a polite thing to do.


    Hellie giggled, as she took a few coins out of her bag, and walked over to Phillip, "Take some of these."


    "Huh?"


    "I got this betting on you. I still have more money to collect. So, don''t worry about it. You can use this to buy things you will need, like mead. You can always use more mead." Hellie nodded.


    "Are you sure?" Phillip looked at the gold coins, and then to Hellie unsure. He knew Orc Money was different than Human Money... Orcs had Gold, Silver, and Copper coins. That was it. The metal told of its value and was needed when the Orc Tribes were scattered with no government to back a currency.


    This was nine Gold coins! That''s nine hundred Silver coins!!!


    "Don''t worry, and let me give you some advice, Tin can." Hellie''s expression became serious.


    Phillip likewise listened to what she said next.


    "Tomorrow when you mean the chieftain... Be respectful, and don''t cross any lines. Remember whatever Uncle Jukzuk tells you, but... Make sure you get the most Ghost Berries you can! Remember this above all else! THE MOST!"


    "What are Ghost Berries?" Phillip asked wondering why that''s so important.


    "They are what makes Blacktongues Blacktongues!" Hellie stuck out her tongue, and instead of a red or pink tongue... Her tongue was solid black!


    It didn''t repulse Phillip but at the same time...


    "I see. So, they make me a Blacktongue?"


    "They are the power of us, Blacktongues! Ghost Berries only grow in these mountains, and only we know how to grow them! Eating them makes you stronger, even if you do nothing. The more you eat the stronger you get... They do have a downside... If you ever stop eating them, you lose all the strength they give you."


    [Sounds like enslavement... By fruit.] Phillip thought to himself.


    "...Tin can..." Hellie softened her voice, as she leaned next to Phillip''s face.


    He could feel her breath on his face, as she spoke, "I was happy when you said you didn''t mind my past."


    Hellie left quickly, but the warmth of her lips on Phillip''s cheek was left in her wake.


    Phillip rubbed his face, feeling the smooth shave. He took in a deep breath. It really did feel good to be out of that damn helmet. He got up and lumbered to the coach, and fell into it, as sleep came to claim him again.

 19 The Third Sister

    "Boy...!" Jukzuk called from the foyer, looking around, he did see hide nor hair of Phillip. He had already checked the bedroom and house, as he heard a grunt in the backyard.


    Jukzuk walked to the back of the Burrow, as he saw Phil sitting.


    "Boy, you can''t cultivate like a human... Why are you even trying???"


    "Oh..." Phillip''s eyes snapped open, as he turned to look behind him at Jukzuk, as he spoke again, "Old habits..."


    "Well, diligence is good. When you finally can cultivate... I have high hopes! I, also, have a question for you."


    Phillip got up and came to Jukzuk. Phillip was just slightly taller than Jukzuk but was twice as wide.


    "When we talked before... You''ve been alone for a long time, aye?"


    Phillip grunted.


    "I know it might be a sensitive subject, but... You have no more family? No lovers?"


    Phillip grunted again with the meaning of no.


    Jukzuk nodded a few times, "Phillip... My mate... She died many years ago, and I was never able to produce an heir."


    Phillip watched Jukzuk eye''s turn slightly red betraying his calm voice. He might have sounded like he was talking about someone else''s life, but his eyes... They told more of how he actually felt.


    Jukzuk paused slightly looking to the rising sun of the morning, before continuing, "I... I don''t know, but I wanted to ask... If... If you would allow me to adopt you to be my son."


    Phillip''s mouth hung open... His thoughts left him...


    Hearing the silence, Jukzuk turned his head to see Phillip''s astonished face. Contrary to what he expected, Phillip looked more surprised, than hating the idea.


    "Can you take this old Orc as your father?" Jukzuk asked, again.


    "Father? I... I don''t know what that means. I don''t know what a mother means, either... What would that even mean to me?" Phillip finally came back to his senses.


    "...I..." Jukzuk shook his head, and then cleared his thoughts. He reigned in his emotions, and then spoke, "It means I would care for you. Put your interests above others, and above mine. Teach and Guide you. Well cutting the crap, I would become your family."


    "...Family..." Phillip''s voice choked slightly, as he remembered his sister.


    "If you don''t... I mean... I understand. You may be too old for wanting a-"


    "Yes." Phillip nodded.


    "You don''t mind?" Jukzuk asked again.


    "You''ve already been the one in my life that has taught me more than anyone else... Even... Never mind. So, I can already consider you family!" Phillip hit his chest a few times to emphasize his point, as taught by Jukzuk.


    In response, Jukzuk smiled widely over his tusks, "This morning, I''ve come by to take you to see the chieftain. There We will talk about how to treat you. Being a Thrall, the Slave Pits, and becoming a member of the Blacktongues. Now with your acceptance, I plan to adopt you openly. Let me teach you how that works."


    Jukzuk went over with Phillip on how the adopting process went, and then he finished, "You will also get a new name."


    "New name?"


    "You can''t expect to keep your Thrall name. You''re an Orc; you should be named as an Orc."


    Phillip thought about it and felt... This was great! It would be best to get rid of anything doing with those... Humans.


    Phillip simply nodded, and with a smile hanging on Jukzuk''s lips and his back straight, they left the burrow, under the eyes of the guards, to the Chieftain''s mound.


    *******


    Phillip lumbered behind Jukzuk, who seemed to be in high spirits, as Phillip took in more of this Orc City.


    These large buildings didn''t tower quite like the Humans, but they were extremely wide! It seemed to him, that humans built tall, and Orcs built wide. As he came to the front of the Chieftain''s mound, it was a vast residence. It was as large as the warehouse he used to work in... Just why was his place so large?!?


    Jukzuk spoke to the guards of the Chieftain''s mound, and shortly thereafter an Orcess came out to greet.


    Phillip''s mouth fell open for the second time today... She was... SHE HAD TO BE HELLIE''S AND DEMZE''S THIRD SISTER!


    [Her... Her face looks the same! Exact same!] Phillip could only think within his mind.


    But... Phillip saw her eyes had red pupils, almost like fire dancing in her pupils.


    "I hear you have already met Demze and Hellie. Looks like you can see that this one is their sister. My name is Midka." Midka introduced herself.


    Phillip''s eyes wondered, with his mouth open... If Hellie was a hard-bodied athletic Orcess and Demze was a frail, skinny, and intellectual... Then Midka was a curvy seductress! She wasn''t fat, but her peaks rose where they should, and valleys formed as they were to be... She had wide hips and a large bust!


    She had long hair that flowed down from her head all the way to her mid thighs, past her backside. It was a deep black, like Hellie''s and Demze. She had a slight black leather hood on her head, that came down and formed strips of leather that covered her breasts just so slightly, leaving a wide breadth of flesh on both sides. Her shoulders were clad with more leather, and her waist and lower region were covered by a black cloth that draped to the floor but exposed her legs and feet. This black cloth that draped was secured by a black leather cord around her middle. This cord had several pouches hanging from it on both sides of her body, and various bits and bobs could be seen... Including an Orc Skull. Phillip could see her exposed stomach, and while not hard abs like Hellie, she had abs, but there was a softness of flesh to them. He couldn''t help but notice two black strings that came from her lower region of black cloth and on both sides of her hips and loops behind her. Phillip could only guess it was something like an undergarment... But it was exposed...?


    Jukzuk looked over at his soon-to-be son, and chuckled, as he elbowed him in the side. Phil shut his mouth, as he grimaced from the blow. He had seen many Orcess on his way over, but they all paled before Hellie and Demze... Especially Hellie, but now that he saw Midka. Phillip now knew what the true form of pure beauty meant for Orcess within the Orckind.


    Midka laughed, "Legbreaker, it''s not proper to stare at an Orcess. Remember this for the future, please."


    Phillip nodded his head.


    Jukzuk sighed in relief... Hellie had a temper, Demze would brood, but Midka... He shuddered again, as he led Phillip inside following behind Midka.


    Phillip swallowed hard watching the tight black cloth of Midka''s lower half as it stretched over her backside. As her hips sway the black fabric became taut, revealing the curvature and leaving little to the imagination, as the black lines over her hips became intoxicating!


    Another sharp elbow to the side, sobered Phillip again, as he heard a whisper from Jukzuk, "Unlike Hellie, Midka does not like to be stared at... Keep your eyes to yourself. Wait for Hellie and eye lick her, she would like that. Don''t... I repeat, DON''T do that to Midka!" He yelled into a whisper.


    Phillip retracted his eyes and decided to look around everywhere but the curvaceous female in front of him, as he grumbled in his mind,


    [Why would nature birth such an Orcess if I''m not supposed to look! Do the mountains and forests get pissed from being looked at?!?] But Phillip wouldn''t breathe this, due to Jukzuk''s warning.


    As he looked around, he saw many Orcess coming and going. They performed various chores and talking in groups. Some lounged, and others were doing arts. This was Phillip''s first time seeing anyone paint, though he heard of it, and seen paintings before.


    Phillip leaned down and whispered to Jukzuk, "Why''s there so many Orcess here?"


    Jukzuk chuckled, as he whispered back, "These are the concubines of the Chief. With power comes women, but remember boy... With women comes trouble."

 20 Lets Settle this with the Spirits

    Phillip never thought about womenfolk being trouble before as He never had time to think about such things, but after watching Hellie and Demze last night... He nodded his head quickly.


    Seeing that Phillip understood, Jukzuk called to Midka, "Midka, seeing you today means you passed the final stage?"


    "Yes, uncle. I was granted favor by Ya''Sar, the Fire Tyrant." Midka spoke with a smile in her voice, as Phillip listened closely.


    "Fire Tyrant...!" Jukzuk shouted in a whisper, taking in a deep breath.


    Phillip gave a questioning grunt, as Jukzuk whispered to him, "There are four main elements, Fire Air, Water, and Earth... Then the secondary elements, the children of the main four are Lava, Lightning, Ice, and Wood. While the Secondary are stronger than the main four, they do not have the versatility as the main four... And with Midka here... She was favored by a Tyrant of Fire. Elementals come in tiers like knights or warriors... Tyrants are at the top!"


    Phillip didn''t know what all this meant, but knew it meant that Midka must be very powerful with the elements! If he thought of it like priests from the Humans... This must mean she was as powerful as an Archbishop, second only to the pope! Could she really be that strong!?


    After a while of walking through the large Chieftain compound, Phillip felt that he walked into a different area. The decor changed, and the rooms opened to larger areas. Now in the center of the mound, Midka, Jukzuk, and Phillip walked into a large throne room like area. The walls were covered in skulls of various unknown beasts. Some of which Phillip could only guess were big lizards like the ones that pulled their wagons, but... With more teeth, while others look to be giant skulls, and... many many Orc Skulls. Perhaps... Conquests? The floor was stone but covered in many thick fur rugs that were sawn into each other blanketing the entire area.


    At the back, was a large chair, that was made out of black stone, and seated on it, was the large Orc he met in the prison cages! Phillip could tell right away this was the Orc Chieftain!


    Surrounding him were other Orcs. On the right side were many harden warrior looking orcs with massive weapons and large armor, male and female included, with two wizened Elder Orcs, both male. Phillip looked among them and saw Hellie was present. She smiled back at him with a sultry grin, as she noticed his gaze.


    Phillip then looked to the left side and seen many others that dressed in similar garbs as Midka. As Jukzuk came to a stop he held Phillip back from walking anymore, as Midka continued and joined those on the left side. She greeted an Old Orcess Elder named, Uloth. She took her place with them.


    Phillip saw Midka''s face again, and she smiled back with a warm, but an indifference. Standing on the right and left of the Chieftain''s throne, stood Uvog, who he also met in the prison, and Demze.


    Jukzuk whispered to Phillip, "Boy, walk until you are twenty paces from the throne and kneel. Then answer when you are spoken too..."


    Phillip grunted to Jukzuk to let him know, as he stepped closer to the middle of the throne room. When he first met this Orc in front of him, he didn''t feel the pressure he did now... He could only think that the pressure he felt now was due to knowing he was the chieftain, or maybe it was because there were so many other Orcs watching him. All around the room, the various Orcs, both on the left and right were whispering to each other. Their chatter and grunts were something that Phillip couldn''t make out, but he wasn''t stupid enough to not know it wasn''t about him... The thought to be former human.


    Phillip kneeled exactly twenty paces from the Chieftain''s throne, and bowed his head, not looking up.


    The Blacktongue chieftain laughed, and as he laughed the throne room became silent, except for the occasional grunt, "We meet again boy, but this time it''s very different than last time."


    Phillip didn''t say anything per the instructions of Jukzuk and only listened.


    The Chieftain nodded his head approvingly, "Your appearance in the arena yesterday... Most satisfying. I''m surprised though..." The chieftain squinted his dark green eyes as he surveyed the room, and his gaze ended on Demze.


    Demze could feel the chieftain''s gaze on her back, but she did not turn her head.


    The chieftain then looked back to Phillip, as he spoke, "I wonder how many Orcs here know of the axe swing you performed? Hoy, Uvog. Do you know?"


    Uvog grunted a yes, "That was the finishing axe move of the Speartooth Clan. The Chopping Block, the Speartooth call it. Cleaves through armor, once their foe has been pushed down, per the Speartooth Clan''s method of fighting."


    "And Uvog... In your years of experience, how well did this boy execute the so-called "Chopping Block?"


    Uvog cleared his throat, "I''m not expert on the Speartooth thems-"


    "Answer to the best you can Uvog..." The chieftain interrupted.


    "I''ve only seen it done better once before, and for an Orc with no cultivation to cut the middle out of a human, with a single chop... It was a bloody and exciting spectacle."


    "So boy... I can''t help but wonder..." The chieftain looked around the room again, "That you were smuggled in by the Speartooth as a human, bot purposes that may or may not be known. Now answer me... Are you Speartooth?"


    Phillip felt beads of sweat forming, as he heard the conversation... He only executed that move on a spur of the moment! What was this?!


    "I am not Speartooth. I am not any Clans."


    "HOG SNOTS!" The chieftain slammed his right fist onto his stone throne.


    Phillip felt the pressure increase on him... Was this just the room, or was this from the Chieftain?


    "Chieftain Blacktongue... May I speak on his behalf?" Jukzuk asked in front of those present.


    The Chieftain slummed back in his throne, as he waiting for Jukzuk to intercede, "What does the Traitor have to say on the behalf of this... Orc."


    Jukzuk approached and stood next to Phillip, exactly twenty paces from the Throne, but he did not kneel. Something everyone in the room noted, even Phillip. It did not seem to displease the Blacktongue Chieftain.


    "I can confirm a few things, as I was sent here by the Speartooth with this boy," Jukzuk explained.


    "I know what you wish to say, as I''ve already heard it, but what makes you think that he wasn''t a plant before you met him? Can it be a coincidence that the Speartooth put you and him next to each other?"


    "Yes, it can. This boy didn''t know anything about Orcs, the Language, the Culture, his heritage, or even his parents. This is all the malice of Humans on Orcs! Look at his mouth! They removed his tusks! Made him think he was Human! Even told him to Cultivate like a Human, KNOWING he couldn''t! All in an effort to turn an Orc into a Human slave... NOT AN ORC SLAVE, BUT HUMAN SLAVE!!!" Jukzuk roared, as the pressure around Phillip lessened to a great degree.


    Jukzuk continued, "It is not wrong to have slaves, as the powerful are always right... But it is wrong to dishonor them... It is wrong to disrespect them... But these humans! NOT even allowing him the honor of knowing his people... TO know his race! And now... He finds himself among us! We Orcs! He has come home to his people... And the first thing you do is accuse him of being an enemy! Chieftain Blacktongue... Even you must know your limits!"


    The Chieftain sighed, as he knew he lost the word game. He could continue, but it would only hurt his image. He would have to investigate more...


    The Elder Orcess next to Midka took a step forward, as she spoke in a raspy voice, "Chieftain Blacktongue, if I may."


    The Chieftain grunted to acknowledge she may speak.


    She turned to look at Jukzuk, "This boy has no name, correct?"


    "That''s right, Uloth." Jukzuk spoke the full words, instead of grunting to prove his point.


    She then turned to look at the Chieftain, "I have a way that might ease the Chieftain''s mind, and name this boy."


    The Chieftain sat straighter in his seat, "You mean to summon spirits?"


    Uloth nodded her head, "Yes. With Uvog, Midka, and myself. We can call them. Midka is now powerful enough to assist us."


    "And what must we give in return for them to hear our calling?" The Chieftain asked.


    "We can make an offering of mead, meat, and dead-coins."


    "...Take from the treasury what you wish for the dead-coins... We will settle this for good, and if they name this boy. Then this will be for the best. No Orc of the clan has been named by the spirits since the time of... Proceed."


    Uloth nodded and gathered with Uvog and Midka. Servants were called to gather the materials, all the while Phillip continued to kneel...


    [When can I stand up... My knee is starting to hurt...] Phillip wondered.

 21 The Black Duo Heed the Call

    Phillip was finally told to back up, and with Jukzuk, he moved near the entrance of the room, as the others Orcs moved to the very edges of the throne room. In the center, the three shaman''s over the ritual, Midka, Uvog, and Uloth set up a circle and made their offerings. With Gutturally chanting, the Offerings burned into ash. The meat... The mead... Even the odd-looking coins that looked to be made of metal... They too burned until they were ash.


    At the height of their chanting, the torchlight on the walls all around the throne room drew to the middle of the Offerings, as the light extinguished, and darkness took over the room.


    Finally, Phillip heard Orcish that he understood!


    Uloth called in a raspy voice at the zenith of the ritual, "Great spirits of the beyond and the past, heed our call! Please send one that can show us the truth and honor, if it can be allowed."


    The smoke of the Offerings began to form shapes in the air. The three performing the ritual, Midka, Uvog, and Uloth sucked in a cold breath, as the temperature plummeted within the throne room... Two shapes were forming above the Offerings into larger and larger creatures!


    The three backed up, as they watch on as the smoke and ash took on the form of a large Wolf and a large Panther.


    As the smoke and ashes rose into the air, they condensed into semi-solid objects. While still transparent, they appeared solid enough to touch.


    As the two spirits became more real, Uloth shouted, "Everyone quickly kneel! VARBUK KNEEL!" In Uloth''s panic, she called the Blacktongue Chieftain by name. Slightly angry, but knowing he shouldn''t disrespect a spirit if it was powerful enough to scare Uloth... Even if it had been twenty-two years since she performed a ritual of spirits, he didn''t want to risk it.


    The Blacktongue Chieftain rose and with heavy steps, he took five steps to descend from his Blackstone throne, and kneel on the floor with everyone else.


    Now in the center, Phillip could clearly see the Wolf and the Panther.


    The Wolf was large and bestial. Long fangs that looked sharp, though still illusionary. In his inky black-eyes, a cunning look could be found, both rich in malevolence and intelligence.


    The Panther was large but sleeker. More graceful, but crueler. A playful cruelty at the contrast of the Wolf''s malevolent cruelty. Black slick fur covered it, and its green eyes shined in the darkness of the throne room, like emeralds in the night.


    "You have called, and We were sent." The Wolf spoke with a male voice and in Orcish with a heavy and solemn tone.


    Uloth on her knees spoke up again with a shaky voice, "This little one greats the Black-Eyed Wolf, and his-his mate the Black-Hearted Panther."


    A playful feminine voice rolled out from the Panther, "I''m surprised that you know of us. Do you know much? I''m curious."


    It wasn''t just the Black-Hearted Panther that was curious...! All of the Orcs present wanted to know more about these two, but the ones that were most startled were the ones that had seen a ritual of spirits before, The Blacktongue Chieftain, Jukzuk, Uvog, Uloth, and some of the older Orcs present!


    This wasn''t normal... This wasn''t normal at all! The ritual of spirits would summon ancestors and on the rare occasion an elemental or spirit of the wild... Those that had seen this before knew at this moment that these spirits were not any of the ones they had ever seen... They were... Something else.


    "Th-This little one does not dare to slight the Black-Hearted Panther. Even this small one has heard of both of your names... I just-"


    "Just?" The Wold spoke, "What?" The Panther finished.


    "I thought you myth... This little one begs mercy!" Uloth became low, as she spoke with her voice now filled with a helpless and powerlessness. These were spirits she could not control, and they would only return when they felt like it. This was the same as biting off more than one could chew. At this moment, she could not figure out how their humble offerings would summon these two! It wasn''t possible for such offerings to attract them... Even the powerful Spiritcall Clan would be hard-pressed to summon them, and that was only if these two spirits FELT like it!


    "I can''t help but notice that you didn''t answer my question." A keen light flashed through the green eyes of the Panther.


    "Yes, yes! I''ve heard of the Black duo! The Black-Eyed wolf and his wife the Black-Hearted Panther! The pair married by the Deamon Sultan himself!"


    A burst of soft purring laughter sounded by the Panther, "Funny you mention him, the one that sleeps within chaos was the one that sent us, but go on... What else do the Orcs remember of us?"


    The three shamans felt their minds collapsing... The... The one that sleeps in chaos sent you! THE DEAMON SULTAN SENT YOU!?


    Recovering quickly, as not to anger the spirits, Uloth continued to speak through it was harder now as her voice became strained, "Of course, Of course! I remember the tales! The Black duo, generals of the Deamon Sultan, the one that sleeps within chaos! They reap the battlefield of lives like a farmer reaps his crops. The Calculating and Ruthless Black-Eyes; the Volatile and Deadly Black-Hearted! As the ancient saying goes, Mortal enemies when first met, mates forever after. Who says love can''t bloom on the battlefield!"


    A period of hush fell over the throne room, as the Orcs savored the story. How powerful! How imposing! They came because of HIM! Some of the Orcess present sighed with feelings of the love between the Black duo. Some of longing, others with regret, and still some with want...


    "It seems our tales haven''t been forgotten by the Orcs, husband."


    "So it seems. Little Orcess, We know why you have called, but the ritual still demands the proceedings. State your business, so We may return to His Court."


    "Yes, of course! This little one is named, Uloth. We have all gathered to call upon the spirits to prove if this Orc is of the Speartooth Clan or what clan and if he is without a name... Can you... Can you name him...?"


    "Which Orc... There are many present." The Black-Eyed Wolf solemn smile contained many teeth. The Orcs present wanted to slap Uloth for this ritual, but none had the strength to do so, or the cheek to follow through... This Wolf looked hungry for violence, but the smarter Orcs could see that it was the Panther that hid her blood lust well.


    "This is fine. This was already decided by the Deamon Sultan. Bring him forward, so that we may look at him." The Black-Eye wolf spoke forcefully.


    Uloth looked behind her, and with her eyes telling Jukzuk to send the boy, or else. Jukzuk already knew and had told Phillip to stand and walk forward and kneel again.


    Phillip felt this was all too unreal. He had heard of things like this before, even as a human, but to see it... To come face to face! This was another matter altogether.


    He lumbered forward and kneeled beside the other three. Midka was next to Phillip, as he kneeled. She lifted her eyes to study his face. Earlier he was pressured by the Chieftain, but now he looked to be just fine... Why, as she wondered in her heart? Why before these powerful spirits that even her Master wouldn''t speak out, and relied on his Wife to speak... Why was Phillip so steady? She felt that he was much more mysterious than she first thought.


    Uloth seeing that Phillip made his way and kneeled, she spoke out again, "This is the boy. Is he Speartooth, and if not... Then what clan?"


    The Wolf and Panther turned their eyes to the one called forward, and as Phillip felt their eyes pass over him, he felt pin prickled all over his skin. It felt like he was being bitten by many ants as they looked over him.


    The Wolf and Panther nodded to each other, as the Panther spoke, "He is no Speartooth. We can confirm this."


    "But." The Wolf spoke, "He is much more complicated than that. For what Clan... He will learn on his own."


    Demze sighed in relief as if the remote possibility that he was a Speartooth thrall, and everything was a coincidence... She wouldn''t be able to explain. Actually, no amount of explaining would help her. Was he actually Burningfist? Nightbone? Skullblade???


    Hellie seemed dazed by the whole spectacle, but she felt a closeness with the Panther... It even felt like when the Wolf was talking, the Panther looked over her and smiled.


    "Then... Then could we ask you mighty ones to bestow a name on this boy?" Uloth pushed forward with the ritual''s procedure.


    "Yes. We both have thought long, and hard." The Black-Eyed Wolf spoke, as the Black-Hearted Panther, finished, "And we have decided that his name will be..."


    ""Enduring Mountain.""


    The two spoke together as if one.


    Uloth mouthed the name, "Xa''Gun."


    Phillip on reflex spoke out, "Thank you."


    The three shamans, Midka, Uvog, and Uloth hissed in a breath of cold air! Only the shamans were supposed to speak directly to the spirits!


    It seemed the Wolf and Panther smiled, at least the corners of their mouths curved upwards.


    The Panther then spoke, "A word of advise, if I may."


    "We wouldn''t dare to look down on advise given by the Black duo!"


    "Then..." The Panther turned to look over Demze, as her flesh seemed to experience the feeling of being numb, "Do not forget to enjoy life, We are Orcess. We can never be certain if we will be alive for the next moment." She then turned to face Hellie who was kneeling on the right side, as she felt the same numbness as Demze, but that same feeling of a kindred spirit. The Panther continued, "Your own drinking and fighting, nor your own need to keep things a specific way."


    Finally, the Panther''s gaze fell on Midka, "To notice when there are... More things to enjoy. Listen to your hearts."


    The Wolf then spoke to Phillip, no... He spoke to Xa''Gun, "Xa''Gun... Remember to let the monster out. Do not fear it. Do not run from it. It. Is. You. And you are it. Embrace it, revel in it. If you can''t those you care for will suffer for it. Looking into your eyes I think you already know this, even if you haven''t put it to the fact."


    "When you become lost in it," The Wolf reached over and pulled his wife close to him, and stare into his wife''s eyes "Your heart and soul will find you when it is time."


    As these words lingered in the air, the magic that summoned them released, and the smoke and ash dispersed releasing the forms of the embracing Wolf and Panther. The torches on the walls instantly reignited refilling the room with light, as if a great storm had passed.

 22 Explain this...

    As the Orcs in the room rose from their kneeling position, the Blacktongue Chieftain shouted, "Can anyone tell me what the hell that was?"


    Uloth rose and spoke, "For whatever divine reason... The Black duo, generals to the Deamon Sultan, came upon our call."


    The Blacktongue Chieftain had returned to his Blackstone throne and sat back down, "I don''t know anything about spirits. Uvog, explain this where I can understand."


    "Of course, Chieftain." Uvog gave a meaningful look to Uloth. She, in turn, helped Midka rise from her kneeling position.


    Taking in a few deep breathes to calm his nerves, he spoke to the Chieftain, and of course through within the room, "One may not know it if one isn''t a shaman... But, two key points."


    The Chieftain furrowed his brows, as he turned to look at the newly named thrall, Xa''Gun.


    "The Deamon Sultan is thought to be the creator... Of everything. Some debate if that''s true or not, but what we do know is that his other name, he who sleeps within chaos, makes his home in the center of all things. His court is one that lulls him to sleep and calms his nerves, least he wakes in a bad mood... And we are all destroyed without knowing why... Think of him as the Chieftain of all Spirits."


    Many Orcs mouthed the words, "Chieftain of all Spirits," including the Blacktongue Chieftain.


    "And he sent those two? Why...?" Spoke but with a bit more fear laced inside his voice.


    Uvog looked to Uloth again, and she mouthed a few words. Uvog nodded, as he addressed the throne room again, "We can not know for certain the reasons for the spirits. To predict them is to predict the stars, why the rain falls, or the sun rises, it is too hard for us to know."


    The Chieftain sat on his throne as he brooded for a few moments. The Orcs in the room took up their former places, and only Jukzuk and Phillip, now known as Xa''Gun stood where they were before.


    After his brooding period, the Blacktongue Chieftain spoke again, "Has this happened before?"


    "We only know of one, but only spirits know if they have done it before... We know of the Great Warrior that made the name of the Batslammer tribe known to all." Uvog said slowly.


    "Tell me more." The Chieftain sat up straighter.


    "A hundred years ago... It was said that the Great Shaman of the Batslammer Clan, Lugrub the Lunatic performed an evil ritual through blood rites... And summoned the spirit of the Pain-Drenched Bat. The Pain-Drenched Bat favored an Orc Warrior of their Tribe, that you may have heard of named Balp''Wot. I believe I do not have to speak further about the tales of Balp''Wot."


    The Blacktongue Chieftain nodded, and the way he looked upon the newly named thrall, Xa''Gun changed. His look that once contained mistrust, now contained the same look at a craftsman would look at his tools.


    His voice took on a more merry note, as he called to the room, "So his name shall be Xa''Gun as given by the Spirits!"


    Many nodded within the room. The left side of the room that held the shaman''s all had a look up their faces. This look spoke, that it was already decided, so why did you open your mouth?'' But none of them dared to breathe this aloud.


    "Come forward and kneel again, Xa''Gun." The Chieftain called out.


    Phillip, now Xa''Gun, rose and lumber back to his position he was previously, though now there was no longer any pressure. Phillip, no... Xa''Gun liked his new name... He spoke it a few times in his mind pronouncing it... ''Za-Gun.''


    It felt so good to be rid of that Human name... All it ever had done for him was to bring him pain.


    "Jukzuk spoke earlier that the Human''s removed your tusks. We can replace those. They lied to you about cultivation, We have it. They wasted your talents. We will not, but as the saying goes... There is no free feast! We bought you as a slave, and you are still a slave, but you are an ORC slave! My deal still stands the same as the day you arrived. Win the slave pits league, and you may gain your freedom."


    Xa''Gun then thought about Hellie... About the Ghostberries, as he then grunted in a questioning way.


    "You disagree?" The Chieftain furrowed his brows. Jukzuk glared at Xa''Gun from behind, wondering why he would speak out.


    "This one agrees with your deal." Xa''Gun nodded, "But... Is it possible to request for some Ghostberries?"


    Hellie smiled widely seeing that her Tin-Can listened to her words.


    The Chieftain''s face eased up greatly hearing this, and even chuckled, "Haha, Ghostberries? Slaves are not supplied Ghostberries, but I''ll give you further incentive to win the slave pits and assist you in winning. How about this! For each slave you kill. I will grant you one Ghostberry. Since you already killed one this morning. I will give you one Ghostberry. What says you?"


    "This one is most appreciative." Xa''Gun gave an orcish salute pounding his chest from his kneeling position.


    "Good. Very good. If there is nothing more, you may leave Xa''Gun." The Chieftain finished, with a slight smile hanging over his tusks.


    Jukzuk finally spoke out, now that the major business was taken care of, "I have something that I wish to ask Xa''Gun before the Blacktongue Chieftain and the Tribe if you will allow."


    "Oh?"


    The Chieftain furrowed his brows... Just what did Jukzuk want at this time? He felt that Jukzuk would be spoiling his mood of potentially acquiring a new warrior that could expand his region...

 23 Adoption by Blood Rite

    Jukzuk walked to the side of Xa''Gun and asked his question.


    "Xa''Gun, you are among your brothers and sisters but do not have a true family and no surname. Will you take my surname and become my son, as I adopt you as your father?"


    Even though Xa''Gun knew this was to happen, it still plucked at his heartstrings. He held back his tears, as he fell to both knees.


    "I, Xa''Gun, take you as my father!"


    Jukzuk continued as he drew a small stone dagger from his waist, as Hellie approached, "Where no blood was before, blood flows now!" Per instructions of Jukzuk when he got here. Hellie handed him a small cup of mead. Jukzuk took the dagger and stabbed into his left hand. He squeezed the wounded hand into the small cup of mead until it turned crimson in color. He then offered the cup to Xa''Gun.


    "I drink of my father''s blood to become his child." Xa''Gun drank the metallic and bitter mixture down, while Jukzuk smiled with the wrinkles on his face tightening up.


    "Rise, my son."


    "Yes, father." Xa''Gun stood up with the help of his new adopted father.


    The chieftain remained silent watching the ritual take place, as he drummed his fingers on the arm of his throne.


    "Blood is thicker than water..." He mumbled... "I can use this." The chieftain sneered into a smile, as he stood up from his abode, and thrust his right arm into the air!


    "BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER! BLACK TONGUE! BLACK TONGUE! BLACK TONGUE!"


    Incited by the chieftain, the other Orcs within the great hall also howled, "BLACK TONGUE! BLACK TONGUE! BLACK TONGUE!"


    Jukzuk frowned for only a moment before it returned to a wizened smile. He decided it wasn''t good to rain on the parade of his own son. Today his son got something he always wanted... A father.


    "If the chieftain no longer needs us... Let''s go home and have a family feast. We''ll eat at your burrow since your still under arrest until the games finish."


    "I will do as you say, father." Xa''Gun felt choked when saying, father. Even in another language... The word father was hard to say.


    The Chieftain stood up from his throne, and lumbered down, as the Orcs parted for his passing. He held out his arm to Jukzuk.


    Jukzuk eyed the extended arm for only a moment, before he slapped his own, and embraced the chief''s arm in a brotherhood handshake.


    "Blood is thicker than water, Jukzuk." The Chief spoke slowly and articulated his words.


    Jukzuk sighed, "Yes. Blacktongue, Blacktongue... Blacktongue."


    The Chief pulled Jukzuk into a full embrace, as he whispered into Jukzuk''s ear, "Calamity''s Promise... Blood is thicker than water..."


    The Chief released Jukzuk, while the grim face of Jukzuk reflected back to the chief.


    He, Jukzuk, neither confirmed or denied, as he reached out to Xa''Gun and helped him up.


    "Let''s head-on, the Chief has many other things to discuss, and I''m sure the shamans are going to be buzzing with that last visit. Jukzuk spoke looking to Midka. Midka smiled bitterly, as she spoke, "Yes. I should remain behind."


    The Chief noticed Xa''Gun, this newly minted Blacktongue''s gaze toward Midka. While Hellie was a wild card, and he knew that Demze wanted his throat... Midka was much more... Willing to work for the clan than her own interest.


    The Chief snapped his fingers to Uvog, who was still contemplating their latest visit. He snapped from his meditation, to briskly make his way to the side of his chief.


    A few words exchanged, and in turn, Uloth was called by Uvog.


    While Jukzuk was speaking to Midka, Uloth came forward and interrupted.


    "Midka," Uloth called out softly, as Midka, Jukzuk, and Xa''Gun turned their heads to hear the older Shaman, it was at this time that Demze and Hellie approached.


    "Yes, Teacher?"


    "Run along with your family. Welcome your Uncle''s son. It''s not every day you get new family, and who knows what it might pan out to become." Uloth nodded, with a smile.


    Midka tilted her head, but agreed, "If Teacher says it''s alright, I''ll obey."


    "Good, go on... Uvog and I will work on the details. When you finish tonight, please return to me. I wish for you to transcribe the words spoken today for the future."


    "Yes, Teacher." Midka nodded.


    "Well then..." Jukzuk eyed the Chief, who smiled back, as he turned and left with Xa''Gun following. Hellie and Midka followed, as Demze glanced at the Chief, and followed as well.


    Uloth turned to Uvog, "Since my apprentice has gone off to make merry, I expect you to do her work." Uvog sighed while looking at the chief, and slowly nodded.


    The chief in turned laughed, as he went back to his throne to hear the next issue his clan had for today... Seating in the slave pits no doubt, and the recent sacking of a certain pub visited by Hellie.


    *******


    At twilight, Xa''Gun greeted Gnarg and Gnath, the Stonethrower brothers guarding his burrow, as he walked in first, as instructed by his father, Jukzuk. Since it was his home, it was Xa''Gun to walk-in first, it would be different when he would get to visit Jukzuk''s home.


    Xa''Gun went to the coach and flopped on it exhausted. Though he didn''t fight or perform heavy work, he felt that he used every ounce of his energy.


    Midka and Jukzuk entered and sat on the couch across from Xa''Gun in the opened living room.


    "Hellie and Demze should be back soon with food and drinks," Midka spoke to break the ice.


    "Anything would be fine at this point... Even some more of those bars would be fine." Xa''Gun spoke slowly.


    "You can those bars! How many have you eaten now?" Jukzuk laughed, slapping his knee.


    "Not enough." Xa''Gun laughed, his tongue touched the spaces in his teeth, thinking about how they would replace them...


    "What bars?" Midka didn''t follow.


    "That''s right, you''ve never eaten Hard Mash." Jukzuk chuckled.


    "What''s that taste like?"


    "Bad... But it fills a hole."


    "Oh? Do you have any I can try?"


    "What would you want to try Hard Mash?"


    "Just to see it''s taste," Midka explained to Jukzuk.


    "Son, you got any here in the burrow?" Jukzuk asked.


    Xa''Gun popped his head up, at being called son, "Yeah! Yeah, I do. Hold on!"


    He got up and quickly went to his actual bedroom, where he threw most of his stuff. He also couldn''t sleep in here... Least he be reminded of Hellie.


    "...I would of went and got it if you''d have told me." Jukzuk rubbed his head, while Midka giggled to herself at Xa''Gun''s antics.


    In a few moments, Xa''Gun emerged from the back, with a hand full of Hard Mash Bars.


    He passed one to Midka, offered one to Jukzuk, who turned him down, and he then sat back down on his couch.


    Xa''Gun stuffed his face with a few bars.


    "Son, it''s not like Hellie and Demze aren''t coming back with food, haha! You don''t have to eat those anymore." Jukzuk chided with a laugh.


    "Yeah, I know, it''s just... I''m hungry. I''ll just whet my appetite."


    Midka took a bite of the hardened bar of pressed dry foodstuffs, as it crumbled. The bitter and rancid taste spread throughout her mouth.


    "BLAGH!" Midka spat but realize this was most, unlike a proper Orcess. She took out a small cloth from her pouch and spat the rotten contents into it.


    Jukzuk laughed louder and harder than usual. It had been many years since he had been back in the presence of his niece Midka, and many more since he saw her lose her composure.


    "You ummmm.... You going to finish that?" Xa''Gun asked as Midka blinked her large eyes at him, while Jukzuk howled with more laughter.

 24 Mead is life

    Hellie and Demze walked into the burrow together. Hellie weighted down as she carried a large barrel of mead under one arm, and a sack of meat in the other. Demze carried the coin purse...


    Hearing the howls of laughter, they both entered the foyer, "What the hell happened here?" Hellie asked as she put down her items.


    Xa''Gun looked up with a face full of Hard Mash, "Midka doesn''t seem to like Hard Mash?" Xa''Gun grunted and shrugged.


    "...Why is she eating Hard Mash?" Demze interjected as she moved quickly to the Kitchen of the Burrow.


    "She seemed interested," Xa''Gun replied, after brushing off the crumbs on his face with his large arm.


    Demze returned to hand a cup of water to Midka, who took the cup up and drank large mouth fulls as if to cleanse her pallet.


    Hellie seeing that Midka was alright, then joined Jukzuk in laughter, while Xa''Gun looked up perplexed.


    Demze glared over, as she spoke, "Not everyone has the stomach for Hard Mash..."


    Xa''Gun shrugged again, as he didn''t really know what to do.


    Helpless, Demze shook her head.


    Jukzuk got his last chuckle in, as he stood up to inspect the barrels placed on the floor by Hellie. Slapping his calloused hands together as he rubbed them, he asked, "And what fine brews have you brought tonight?"


    Hellie calmed down when the talk of alcohol came up. "We got two barrels! We got Grak''s Famous Melomel Mead and Peon Sty''s Finest Mead. Funny enough that gave us both Barrels for free!"


    "Obvious from what happened there." Demze laughed with some mischief laced within...


    Hellie shrugged, as she popped the top of the barrels to smell the alcoholic and spiced mead''s aroma.


    "Ahhhh! This is what mama has been looking forward to all day!" Hellie sighed and spoke with relish, as she rushed to the Kitchen for a tankard.


    "Get me a Tankered while you''re in there!" Jukzuk yelled toward the Kitchen.


    "...Yeah, yeah!"


    "I''ll go prepare the food. Demze, please assist me."


    Demze''s head drooped, as she followed behind Midka, just as Hellie emerged from the Kitchen with three tankards.


    Hellie went over to the barrel and scooped up three tankards full, as she passed one to Jukzuk and Xa''Gun. She couldn''t wait any longer, as she drained her tankard.


    Xa''Gun looked at the thick mead in his cup, and to Jukzuk and Hellie.


    "Son, what''s the matter?" Jukzuk asked.


    "I''ve... Never had mead before... Smells funny. Burns my nose." Xa''Gun replied.


    "Never?" Hellie asked in shock, as she filled her tankard again.


    "No... Never." Xa''Gun thought back to how he barely afforded food, and sometimes it came down to rent or going hungry... Rent always won.


    "Tin-Can, this is the best! This is the lifeblood of Orcs everywhere! NO ALL OF EXISTANCE!" Hellie passionately spoke.


    "I wouldn''t go that far, but I would say that it is in fact one of the finest things in life. Drink it, and see how it does you. Everyone feels alcohol differently." Jukzuk motioned.


    Hellie looked on with bright eyes, while Jukzuk had an encouraging smile. Seeing both pressuring him, he steeled himself and drained his tankard in one go like Hellie.


    "Whoa, there son! I just said it does everyone differently!" Jukzuk.


    "I only did it like Hellie did... Is that wrong?"


    "Hellie has experience... Too much, actually..." Jukzuk shook his head.


    "Hey...! Never enough..." Hellie smiled over her cute tusks again, as she got another tankard full.


    "When''s your next match, Tin-Can?" Hellie asked out of the blue.


    "That...?" Xa''Gun was at a loss, he didn''t remember much about his last match...


    "That would be in three days." Jukzuk took a large cut of his mead, as he spoke.


    "Oh, good. I''ll bring over my weights and see if I can get that Ghostberry." Hellie spoke out her plans, "We are going to get your strong. I''ll also bring a weighted dull axe so you can pratice your ''Chopping Block.''"


    Xa''Gun grunted questioningly.


    "I don''t know, it''s your technique." Hellie shrugged.


    "Whatever works," Jukzuk laughed.


    Several Tankards later and Hellie''s words began to slur, while Jukzuk paced himself, though his complexion took a darker appearance with a flushed face. Midka and Demze were nearing the evening''s feast completion, Xa''Gun looked over the drunk Hellie with a slightly amused face.


    "Hmmmm? How are you feeling, Son?" Jukzuk asked.


    "A bit of a buzzing feeling in my head, and my top lip feels like it''s a bit too small."


    "That''s it?"


    "Hmmm... Maybe a bit warmer than usual... Why?" Xa''Gun followed up.


    "How much have you drank? Seems to be a bit more than me, right?" Jukzuk continued.


    "Ummm... Let me see..." Xa''Gun counted on his fingers, and then, "About eight tankards... Speaking of which, I need to go." Xa''Gun stood up and paced quickly to his bathroom.


    Jukzuk looked on with an amazed face, "Orc has some amazing tolerance."


    "What goods ish tolerance. Thatsh takes all the fun out of drinking." Hellie giggled, as she drank another cup.


    "You''re going to be too drunk to eat, or worse, dear niece," Jukzuk warned.


    "I''ll eat when I wakes up. Imma go nap, heh." Hellie stood up and left.


    Jukzuk watched her sway around the corner to the hall. He rubbed his chin in thought for a while. Noticing that Xa''Gun was taking a little too long, a thought struck him. He put down his tankard on the low table between the two coaches, as he rose to follow the same path that Xa''Gun and Hellie took.

 25 Gauging Interest - Not a Chapter

    If you wish to just get the TL;DR skip down below.


    =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


    Voidmirage, the Blind Idiot God here!


    How is everyone?


    Personally, I''m hoping each and every one of you is doing well!


    Over the last few months, I''ve been having my fair share of... Difficulties. Health issues being number one among all the things I''ve had to deal with, but not the only issue, so to speak.


    I started Orc Calamity as a side project, in the way back machine, as something to write in my spare time. My main novel that I work on is called ''Wholly Undead,'' or WU for short. You may or may not be a reader of it. It''s a very different read than OC here.


    Prior to this last year, I was very prolific in writing. Now, I find it hard to write a chapter a week, let along two weeks. I''m trying to build myself back up. During the time that I haven''t updated OC here, I''ve been posting a bit on WU, as my main novel. More readers seemed interested/invested in it, and I felt it was a priority. Not to mention that it didn''t feel that OC got a lot of buzz, but I do thank everyone for praising it that has been kind enough to leave comments and reviews!


    I do plan to write more OC, though the update speed will be very slow unless I see there is a larger interest, which leads to the TL;DR below.


    All in all, I''m posting this "NOT A CHAPTER" to gauge public interest. Leave comments here with your thoughts, opinions, and concerns for OC, and your wish for me to write more. More importantly, to write more frequently, as in the least a chapter per week or more, if I can build back up to it.


    =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


    TL;DR


    Tell me you like OC, and the more readers that proclaim it here in the comments, the more likely I am to update more OC on a more regular basis.


    If you''d like to speak to me personally, or would like to drop by my server


    My Discord handle is Voidmirage#3619


    My Discord server invite: discord.com/invite/3YQVvaJ


    As always, thanks for reading!!!!!!

 25 A Family Feas

    Jukzuk stepped to the bathroom door. Sure enough, he heard Xa''Gun and Hellie inside,


    "Hellie, I-"


    "Shhhh, shhh, shhhhhhh... Yous don''t have ta say none-shing. Mama knowsh dat ya want dish...."


    "W-Well, Yes... If you don''t mind-"


    [I don''t want to be that father, but Hellie wouldn''t want to be loved while Xa''Gun hasn''t become champion yet...!] as he quickly opened the door. Thankfully it wasn''t locked.


    "Hey, son! You still alive in here- Oh?" Jukzuk sounded shocked to see Hellie''s thighs around Xa''gun''s hips, as she was on top, both still in clothes though. Jukzuk couldn''t help but notice that his son had to large handfuls of Hellie''s bottom, as she was seated on him. If nothing else, his son had good taste.


    "Ummm, this is exactly as it looks like..." Xa''Gun hid nothing, as he reluctantly removed his hands.


    "Wah? Uncle ish ruining my fun. I''m shleepy any way," Hellie leaned forward on top of Xa''Gun''s large stomach, as she let out a loud snort with the rising and falling of his fat belly.


    "Now, that''s funny, haha!" Jukzuk laughed loud, but it didn''t seem to cause Hellie to stir.


    "A little help here... Father?" Xa''Gun asked, while now he didn''t know where to put his hands now. Where he wanted to- He shouldn''t, and where he was supposed to- He didn''t know.


    "Let''s just move her to a bed." Jukzuk nodded.


    Phillip rose, with Hellie still on him, as he scooped her up.


    "And what help did you need?" Jukzuk stopped his approach to help lift Hellie. Hellie wasn''t a small Orcess with all her muscles. She weighted a lot more than she looked, but Xa''Gun lifted her easily.


    Xa''Gun grunted, as he sidestepped Jukzuk and walked out of the bathroom to his room.


    He laid Hellie down softly on his bed... One more time of this, he thought, and this will become her bed, huh? Something he heard the fieldhands talk about.


    Jukzuk watched and waited for Xa''Gun to come back out of his room.


    "Let''s go eat something. Midka and Demze should be done by now. We''ll save some for Hellie... Okay, We''ll save a lot for Hellie."


    *******


    At the kitchen island table, a large platter of different foods was mounted and heaped surrounded by five plates.


    Midka looked up to see Jukzuk and Xa''Gun enter into the large area Kitchen come dining room.


    "I was just about to call everyone... Xa''Gun, if you could lure Hellie in here with some mead, that''d be great." Midka sounded sweet but tired.


    "I just laid Hellie down for the night... Seems she got too deep in her tankard." Jukzuk spoke before Xa''Gun could.


    "I was afraid of that when she brought those two barrels... Any left for the rest of us?"


    "There is still three-quarters of a barrel of the Peon''s Finest Mead," Xa''Gun commented.


    "Damn it, Hellie! I wanted Grak''s mead... Ugh!" Demze stamped her foot.


    "Well, I''m a bit guilty as well, but the Peon''s Finest Mead is pretty good," Jukzuk spoke, as he took his place to the left of Xa''Gun who had just picked his spot.


    Demze sighed, as she spoke, "Yeah, but I didn''t want to drink Sharog''s personal mead..."


    Midka looked over to Demze, as she reached and grabbed a number of items from the mound of food upon the stoneware platter for serving, "I heard you sent Hellie to smash up her bar... So that''s not just hear-say, huh?"


    "Oh, dearest sister, you know that our sister Hellie loves her mead... It isn''t my fault if she gets a bit wild." Demze spoke, as Jukzuk handed her a tankard of the mead she questioned.


    "You know, that I know-" Midka started in on Demze, before being cut off by Jukzuk, "Alls fair in love, war, and mead, Midka... Let''s just dig in." As the Demze and Jukzuk followed the lead of Midka to fill their plates.


    Xa''Gun had been quiet during this exchange, as he continued to eye the mountain of food that laid layered upon the stoneware platter. He had no idea what half of the items were, but it looked and smelled fantastic!


    Large amounts of sausages, hog shanks, ribs of some beats that were arranged around the platter, various different types of green planets stewed in fatty greases to be spooned next to the platter, and a Jar of pickled eggs with a two-pronged for to fish them out.


    He continued to sit there looking at the large amounts of food, that the three had taken and began to eat. Jukzuk cracked a joke about a human merchant, that Demze snickered and even Midka snorted at, as she failed to remain passive.


    "Son, you didn''t fill up on Hard Mash, did ya?" Jukzuk with his ruddy face turned to see why Xa''Gun hadn''t dug into the pile of food.


    "N-No... It''s... Just-" Xa''Gun looked with this reddened eyes at the three faces that looked back at him, Jukzuk, Midka, and Demze.


    "Oh, I see," Jukzuk spoke with a weak sigh, as he reached over and got a large amount of food to move it to Xa''Gun''s plate. After toweling off his hands, he patted his adopted son on the back.


    "It''s alright, son. We''re family now... nothing can change that, and even if we were all to die tomorrow, we''ll still be family in the grave. This is to celebrate you as my son and me as your father!"


    Xa''Gun thought of his sister... She was gone, but she was still his sister... Still his family... Just like his father here, that adopted him.


    A rare emotion of happiness budded within Xa''Gun, as he produced his wretched smile, and gave a grunt of understanding and cheerfulness. He had watched the others eat, and so grabbed up the hog shank by the bone, and bit into it with a massive bite, as he rendered the flesh from bone.


    "There you go! Even without tusks, that''s a damn good bite! Remember son, always protect your teeth... If you don''t have teeth, you can''t eat... Then you die. Hahahaha" Jukzuk laughed loudly with inebriation, as he sat back down to continue eating.


    Xa''Gun nodded, as he continued to eat. He had never eaten meat in such amounts! In fact, the last time he had meat was when his sister was still alive! It was good! It was too good! He closed his eyes as tears spilled, as he continued to eat and savor the tastes of the spices that he didn''t know the names. The fat of the meat that melted in his mouth, and the various greens that were fresh and hearty.


    Late into the night, after the last barrel of mead was empty, bones were strung on the table of the kitchen, and pleasant conversation had dwindled down to snoring, Xa''Gun sat on the steps that led to the back area of his burrow, watching the stars.


    "Mind if I sit here?" A sweet, but firm voice issued from behind Xa''Gun, as he turned his head to see Midka standing there with her hood down.


    He grunted in approval, as Midka sat next to him, but with the space of an Orc between the two, as she took gazed at the stars. After he had a moment to look at her profile, he went back to looking at the stars that shined in the night.


    After a long period of time of watching the stars, Midka broke the silence, "Xa''Gun... What do you believe in?"

 26 Its all about the Clan

    Xa''Gun pulled his eyes from the stars again to look upon Midka''s profile, it was eerie how her face, Hellie''s and Demze''s were exactly the same, but the contorting of their expressions caused them to look different to each other at only a glance.


    After his brief pause, Xa''Gun grunted out, "Believe in?"


    "Yes. What do you believe in?" Midka continued to look at the stars, as she traced the constellations in her mind, per her tutelage.


    Xa''Gun fell silent, as he looked down at the ground searching for some answer in his mind.


    "Everyone has something to believe in... I''m sure you are the same."


    "...Why do you want to know...?" Xa''Gun grunted as he asked a question to buy more time to think.


    "Why not? If I know what you believe in, then I might be able to provide you guidance... I also would like to know what my dear baby sister is getting herself into..."


    "Wot? I thought you were of the same litter?"


    "I was born first, then Demze, then Hellie," Midka gave a light laugh, as she continued her star gazing.


    "I see... Don''t seem to be much different in a few minutes."


    "That''s not true at all." Midka''s laugh now turned to silver bells of giggling, "Let me ask you, Xa''Gun... If you gave your enemy a chance to attack you for a second, do you think that second doesn''t make much difference?"


    "Hoy?"


    "That''s right. Seconds, minutes, and hours... Days, months, and years... They make a difference. How many seconds you spend doing something... You never answered me, so I''ll answer my own question."


    "I believe in the clan." Midka''s voice turned serious from its more fun tone.


    Xa''Gun then looked to the left of him to some of the flickering flames of the other burrows... It was late into the night, so only one was still lit for each burrow. It appeared the torches were snuffed for the streets hours ago.


    "Yes. This clan. My father, his father, and so on. My mother, her mother, and so on... All for the clan." Midka continued, "Xa''Gun... There is nothing more important than the Clan... Even family. Without the Clan, there is no family, no orc... No one."


    "Clan over everything else? What about the poor? The slaves? other clans?" Xa''Gun asks.


    "There are no poor among the Orcs, Xa''Gun... If an Orc has strength, then he can feed himself. There is always work to be done. There will always be war with other clans."


    "...I don''t understand..." Xa''Gun''s knowledge learned from the humans did not translate into whatever system the Orcs had in place.


    "All you need to do is believe in the clan. You don''t have to understand, only do. If it''s hard to learn, take your time, and just pledge to the cause. As long as the clan is strong, We are strong. Orc is strong; Clan is stronger." Midka said with her bosom rapidly rising and falling, catching Xa''Gun''s eyes.


    He grunted in response.


    "I told you what I believe in, to give you an idea of what I''m asking... So again, what do you believe in?" Midka continued.


    Xa''gun remembering his adopted father''s words pulled his gaze from those curvaceous mounds that peaked above her shaman''s robe.


    "I... Never had time to think... I guess... Survival..." Xa''Gun''s tongue rubbed the spaces in his teeth, as he thought of his sister...


    "Survival is good. We Orcs are not strangers to this concept. Banished to these shattered lands after the great war. Those stupid humans thought We would wither and die, but We held onto our clans and those clans found their places... And We are still here. So survival is good, but now... Xa''Gun you have a clan... The Clan will ensure you survive as long as you are with the clan, but first... You must get out of the slave pits."


    Xa''Gun turned his face back to the stars, as well... He grunted in agreement.


    [Yes... I must continue in the pits...]


    Midka stood up and dusted her bottom and robes, "It''s getting very late, and knowing Hellie... She will drive you into the ground tomorrow. Go get some sleep."


    Xa''Gun again grunted as he looked to where Midka stood, but all that was left was a small pile of ashes and the smell of sulfur.


    "..." He stood up and looked around. Xa''Gun then walked into his large living room with both his couches, and found that the smell disappeared.


    He rubbed the back of his head, as he lumbered down the hallway, and looked into his room. Hellie was still sleeping with half of her body hanging off his bed. At some point, she pulled off her chest wrap again...


    Xa''Gun didn''t bother to cover his eyes, and he walked into the room. He gazed at those hard abs and contrasting smaller but still soft breasts of Hellie.


    After standing for ghost knows how long, Xa''Gun lifted Hellie''s arm and leg that were hanging off the bed and put her back on top in a better position. At the bottom, he had noticed a thin sheet. Xa''Gun grabbed it and covered Hellie lightly. It was summer, and the nights were a lot cooler... That and the amount of sweat she had that caused her mounds to glisten like prizes in the moonlight would cause her to catch a chill, or so thought Xa''Gun based on stories he could barely remember from his Sister.


    He turned and left the room to check on his father, Demze, and if Midka was still here.


    After Xa''Gun turned the corner, Hellie opened one eye for a moment, before she closed it and smiled widely over her petite tusks, as she turned to her right side to continue sleeping.


    Xa''Gun stepped to the doorway of the second bedroom of the burrow, to see Jukzuk sleeping away. He looked the rest of the room over and didn''t see Demze...


    [She didn''t say she was going home???]


    Jukzuk started to cough in his sleep in a nasty fit, as Xa''Gun was about to walk away. He quickly went to the side of Jukzuk, to ask, "Are you okay?"


    "W-water..." Jukzuk coughed again.


    Xa''Gun quickly came and went from the kitchen with a tankard of water. Upon his return, he was met with more coughing, as Xa''Gun provided the water to Jukzuk, who drank large gulps. Finally, he let out a long sigh, as he smiled with his sleepy eyes to Xa''Gun.


    "Thanks, son." Jukzuk handed the empty tankard to Xa''Gun and patted him on the shoulder before he slid back into bed and closed his eyes.


    Xa''Gun stood there... This felt like... A lot like his sister.


    [Is this... Family...?] He shook his head, as he took the tankard back to the kitchen and put it in the wash area. He walked to the center area and stretched. Too tired to continue his search, he fell into his usual sleeping place, one of the couches, and before long his mistress of sleep took him away from the world.

 27 Training Day

    A hard slap to Xa''Gun''s stomach snapped him from the soft embrace of sleep.


    "Come on, it''s time to start Mama''s Hell Training!" Hellie spoke in an even more excited state than usual.


    Xa''Gun opened his eyes to stare into the smiling face of Hellie, as he rolled up from his lying position on the couch to be seated, as he attempted to wake.


    "Come on to the back, I got everything We need to start!" Hellie walked passed Xa''Gun, and as she did so, Xa''Gun''s groggy half-awake state was swept away as his eyes followed her undulating hips.


    Hellie stopped at the back door of the burrow to look over her should to Xa''Gun, who was still sitting on his couch, "Are you coming?"


    "Not, yet... I-ER!" Xa''Gun got up quickly and stretched releasing a loud grunt, hoping that Hellie didn''t understand or didn''t hear.


    Hellie smile changed slightly to a mischievous smirk, but she didn''t make comment as she walked out of the door. Xa''Gun watching her walk out the door, sighed in relief.


    "Ahem..." Xa''Gun heard a throat being cleared behind him, as he turned quickly to see Jukzuk staring at him with one eye closed.


    "Be a bit more subtle with an Orcess... Thankfully Hellie doesn''t mind forward-thinking Orcs, but you can''t be like that with other Orcess. Understand?"


    Xa''Gun grunted in understanding, knowing that his mouth slipped while he was sleepy.


    "Also, son... You need to become more aware of your surroundings... This is the third time I''ve walked-up on you, and you didn''t know it."


    "...Wait? Three times?"


    Jukzuk nodded and walked past him as he exited to where Hellie was in the back courtyard.


    Xa''Gun stretched his head, as he followed. Stepping into the area he noticed odd-looking tools of various sizes.


    "Hey, Uncle!"


    "How is little Lili doing this morning?" Jukzuk asked as Xa''Gun looked at the sky finally realizing that the sun hadn''t come up...


    "Uncle! Gezzz... No ones called me that in ten years!" Hellie stamped her foot but was clearly in a good mood.


    "Hahaha! What''s wrong little Lili? Don''t like your name?"


    "Uncle! You know that''s not my true name!"


    "I''m calling you that anyway, so get used to it again! Haha," Jukzuk laughed, while Xa''Gun walked to the large tools on the surrounding grounds.


    "Fine! But what''s Xa''Gun''s nickname then! I''m not going to be the only one here with one!"


    "Oh, That''s a good point!" Jukzuk rubbed his chin in thought, "I know... Gun-Gun!"


    Xa''Gun grunted to look up after being talked about.


    "Hahahaa!" Hellie held her sides! "Yes! Let''s call him that!"


    "Wot? What about mountain-moutains?"


    "No, son, haha" Jukzuk shook his head while laughing, "Orcs like to have nicknames to use between close family and friends, "These are always picked by their elders, and yours is not Gun-Gun."


    "Oh...? Okay..." Xa''Gun nodded his head.


    "Be happy. It means you''re cared for." Jukzuk continued.


    Hellie finally calmed down as she pointed to the tools, "Let me explain these first. Proper use will make you strong. Oh, Uncle, can you go get the Ghost Berry?"


    "Hmmm... I thought you already had it... Alright. Be careful while I''m gone. This should take me about an hour." Jukzuk grunted as he turned around and walked with a bit more pep in his step than the days before, though his back was still hunched.


    "Alrighty then. Just you and me now Gun-Gun, haha." Hellie put her hands on her wipe fit hips.


    "Oh?"


    "A trick I learned from my smart sister."


    "Trick?"


    "Yeah, how else can I show you some things." Hellie laughed, as she approached a toll that looked like a large double-headed hammer.


    "These Xa''Gun are called the Mountain Lord''s tools, but honestly, We just call them weights, for short."


    "Why are they called Mountain Lord''s tools then?"


    "Old story about some orc on a mountain to become a lord. Demze can tell you better if you can get her to talk."


    Xa''Gun grunted to understand.


    "The best part here is that using them is super simple. All you got to do it pick it up... and put it down."


    "Wot?"


    "That''s it, but the special trick is doing it, like, a lot. I mean like alot-alot. Everyday type a lot."


    "Oh, so I just pick it up." Xa''Gun walked over to the large barbell and beat his back to lift it.


    "No! Nonononono!" Hellie approached quickly and slapped Xa''Gun''s large hand in mid-air that was attempting to grab the bar.


    "Never with your back!"


    "Oh, then... Tell me how, if you can."


    "Mama''s going to teach you. I might not be smart like my sister, but I know my way with these tools, see?" Hellie stroke a front double biceps pose showing both of her shapely well-defined biceps.


    Xa''Gun nodded and grunted to express his approval.


    Hellie walked around the barbell and to the side of Xa''Gun, "Alright, so you have to squat and-" Xa''Gun listened to Hellie''s explanation, as she positioned his body like he was a mannequin.


    "Then you grab tight here, and then you stand up with this bar." Hellie continued, "This is only a little bit of weight to learn the movements, but I''ve got more pilled to the side."


    Xa''Gun listened seriously; even as Helli''s body brushed up against him several times, he concentrated on the movements. He effortlessly moved this small amount of weight.


    "Alright, so do that a few more times, until you think you got it." Hellie watched as Xa''Gun continued.


    [He''s a fast learner... Well faster than me...] Hellie thought to her self, as she eye licked Xa''Gun.


    After learning dead-lifts, Hellie taught Xa''Gun various other exercises such as the military press, shrug, etc.... Though the Orcs named the exercises by different names, the movements were the same.


    After learning the barbell and the dumbbells, Hellie showed Xa''Gun something of his interest since he walked out.


    The large round black stones, five in total.


    Hellie walked over to the largest stone slapping it on top, "These here are lifting stones, called Balls of the Mountain Lord."


    "...Like those balls...?"


    "Exactly, hahaha" Hellie laughed at the crudeness, though her complexion turned darker from blush.


    "But there are like five of them here..." Xa''Gun countered.


    "Then he must have had a lot of balls!" Hellie continued, as she held her sides.


    "...What do I do with these then..."


    "You lift them, like the bar, but these are harder because of the shape!" Hellie went to the third one and lifted it pretty easily into the air.


    "See." Hellie put it back on the ground.


    Xa''Gun grunted in understanding.


    "I had to get Stonethrower brothers to roll them here... If only I could get them to bring the stands." Hellie gave a dissatisfied grunt, unlike an Orcess.


    "Well, I just pick these up and down too?"


    "Pretty much, but you can also carry them for so many meters," Hellie nodded, and then pointed to the smallest, "This one is called Useless, this one is called Weakling, this one is Half-Orc, this one is full-Orc, and that would is double-Orc."


    "How much do they weigh then?" Xa''Gun questioned.


    "Oh, well, that''s 23kg, that''s 54kg, that''s 100kg, that''s 154, that''s 308kg." Hellie finished with a smile. It took her a long time to memorize these measurements.


    "Why are the numbers so uneven?" Xa''Gun asked another question.


    "Ummm... Ask Demze later... Come here and pick up the Useless stone like you lifted the barbell." Hellie commanded.


    Xa''Gun grunted as he walked over, and gripped it between both his large hands. He easily lifted it and held his arms in front of him.


    "Well, as least you aren''t useless, though I never thought you were to start..." Hellie nodded, as she pointed her finger to indicate to put it back.


    Xa''Gun dropped the stone without much thought, "Hey! Don''t drop ''em like that. They might break or chip!" Hellie walked over and checked the stone.


    Xa''Gun rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry."


    "Don''t worry about it, just don''t do that again, ya know." Hellie sighed, as she continued, "Let''s just skip to the Full-Orc." She again pointed.


    Xa''Gun reached around the large black stone that was as large as his belly. He gripped tightly and began to lift...


    He found that the stone weighed much more than he thought, as he continued to struggle. His arms turned red along with the rest of his complexion. Veins rose up across his legs, thighs, chest, arms, and back, even a small vein on his forehead bulged forth.


    The Stone only lifted about 10cm from the ground, before Xa''Gun put it back down, as he huffed and puffed. His lungs searching for air. He fell to his bottom on the soft dirt.


    "Hmmm... I thought for sure you could lift a Full-Orc Stone..." Hellie tilted her head to wonder, as an idea came to her mind.


    After a few minutes of rest, Hellie spoke, "Gun-Gun... Try again... I want to see something."


    Xa''Gun grunted as he didn''t know what she was after... He already tried and the Black Stone whipped him, but he did as she asked.


    He got back to his feet and attempted to lift the stone. His skin had retained much of the red color, but it again intensified to the reddish hue he had previously when attempting this feat just a few minutes before...


    "Gun-Gun... If you can lift that waist-high... I''ll lock lips with you."


    "Oh?" In surprise, Xa''Gun almost dropped the stone that was just a couple centimeters from the ground, but when the information finally processed, his veins that pushed against the surface of his skin engorged to mountainous propositions... Almost like there were snakes under his skin that pulsated...


    Hellie marveled at Xa''Gun''s vascularity even though he was very fat. Surprise surfaced on her face, when the Full-Orc Stone lifted further into the air, as Xa''Gun straightened his back with shaky legs and tremors all over.


    "That''s good, go ahead and drop it!" Hellie went to the side of Xa''Gun and helped him lower the Stone.


    Xa''Gun went to one knee before he collapsed to his back as he attempted to draw in as much air as his lungs could. His belly fully extending up and down to pull and push in the vast amounts of oxygen that his body so desperately needed.


    "I-Ha-Didn''t-Ha-Think I could-Ha-Lift it!" Xa''Gun breathed in and out as he spoke, closing his eyes.


    After fifteen minutes passed and Xa''Gun''s breathing turned mostly normal, he continued to lay there with his eyes closed.


    It was at this moment, that Xa''Gun felt a soft pair of lips cover his own...

 28 The Story of the Ghost Berry

    Time seemed to still, as the soft pair of lips that covered his own started to nibble. A little at first, and then a lot later. Hellie''s lips continued to nibble on Xa''Gun''s. She straddled Xa''Gun as he laid on the cool morning ground, as her lips began to wander from their initial landing.


    Xa''Gun could feel Hellie as she kissed and playfully bit along his, now, stubbled chin and down his neck. His hands once again found their way to hold Hellie''s firm rear.


    Jukzuk greeted the Stonethrower brothers, as he walked through the burrow and to the backyard to witness Xa''Gun and Hellie.


    [That boy loves ass.] Jukzuk shook his head, as he was more of a boobs Orc, but understood the appeal never the less.


    Hellie bit into Xa''Gun''s neck with a passion, causing a slight bit of pain, but it only caused Xa''Gun to use his weak hands to kneed the well-toned gluts of Hellie.


    "..." Jukzuk looked to the small pouch in his hand, and back to the pair in the yard.


    [Well, they''re both sober... I''ll come back when I hear talking...] Jukzuk turned around and went to the kitchen to make something to drink.


    Xa''Gun''s hands slid up along Hellie''s curves up around her waist, as she shivered from the sensation. It was at this moment, that it seemed that Hellie woke up from her pink dream, as she lifted herself at the waist to see the bad smile of Xa''Gun and the mark she left on his neck.


    "I-Ummm..." Hellie wanted to continue, but she made a deal with Xa''Gun... More importantly, she promised herself to never commit the same mistake she had before least she be teased and bullied to death by Demze.


    Hellie''s complex expression also woke Xa''Gun from his aroused state. It was a good thing that Hellie was straddled on his midsection and not his lower half.


    "We should see where Jukzuk is... It should be about time for him to come back with the Ghost Berry." Hellie spoke, as she lifted herself off of Xa''Gun.


    "Y-yeah..." Xa''Gun tiredly got up from the ground and dusted himself off.


    "Hoy, I''m here." Jukzuk walked to the backdoor, with a tankard in hand.


    [That was faster than expected... I hope this isn''t a quick shot problem...] Jukzuk thought as he stood in the door frame.


    "Oh, f-father. Welcome back." Xa''Gun beat his chest.


    Jukzuk took a drink of mead, no doubt brought by Hellie or her punks early this morning. His eyes quickly fixed themselves on the reddening bite mark on his son''s neck.


    "Ahem... Marked him so early, have we Hellie?" Jukzuk closed one eye, as he cast his gaze to Hellie to the side.


    "I-Ummm, it just sort of happened, ya know, hahaha" Hellie forced a laugh, with her hands on her hips. Her act of confidence was lost on Jukzuk as he saw her green skin darken from blush.


    "Uh-huh... Well, I wonder what Demze will think." Jukzuk laughed, as he fished out the berry from the small pouch he brought.


    "What about Demze???" Hellie''s eyes narrowed.


    "You''ll have to ask her about that." Jukzuk threw Demze under the carriage, instead of his son.


    "Son, come here, and get a taste of madness." Jukzuk decided to move on, without continuing the wagon train wreck of a conversation.


    Xa''Gun lumbered over tiredly, as it seemed lifting the full-Orc stone took more than he thought, though he shifted himself as not to expose his blood pressure.


    "But before I give this to you, all Blacktongues must know the Origin of Ghost Berries." Jukzuk held the sinister berry in his hand. If one looked close enough at it, he would see that it had small wiggling vines, almost like it was alive. Around the berry also gave a strange wafting dark aura.


    Looking at the strange berry, that was told to him to be the thing of most value among the blacktongue, Xa''Gun could only wonder who had the guts to eat this thing first.


    "I want to hear it again too, Uncle."


    "Alright, Lili, Gun-gun. Sit down and listen to a quick tale of Our ancestors."


    Xa''Gun and Hellie sat on the ground, as Jukzuk took his sit in the door frame, as he continued to hold the wiggling berry of darkness.


    "These blacktongue mountains were called something before We occupied them. There were the mountains of madness. Touched by a daemon spirit of the court of chaos itself! This daemon spirit has no name, no face, and no origin, but he was here all the same... We do not know his name, so We call him the anonymous daemon, or the Unknown Spirit. His madness seeped deep into these mountains, and for many years those that wished to pass the double mountain pass... ended as corpses to feed the flora..."


    Xa''Gun''s interest was peaked. It had been since Jukzuk told him of the Orc Calamity, that he heard a good story. Hellie listened with her own interest, even if she has heard this story many times before.


    "The dead spirits of those that died to the madness of these mountains feed the plants, and it was one planet that grew plump and rich... Which would later be named the Ghost Berry Bushes. It was these berry bushes that took root into the soil and drank deep the madness and spirits that lingered. So much so, that these berry bushes made safer the passage of the double mountain pass."


    Jukzuk looked at the wiggling berry in his hand, as it seemed it wanted to crawl off his calloused hand and back to the dirt.


    "We were the first Orcs, the Blacktongues, that learned how to navigate the mountains safely. It was no longer the corrupting madness left by the anonymous daemon that slaughtered travelers but the ghostly vines that issued forth from the bushes on the mountain hillsides. At that time, We were not called the Blacktongues... We were called the Blackruined Clan."


    Jukzuk nodded a few times, in thought before he continued, "We descend from the same mother clan as the Nightbone Clan, though no one today would admit it. So Son, you being of the Skullblade Clan of the Nightbone Clan, might be destiny.


    Xa''Gun grunted in confusion.


    "All things are one, son. Things tend to be a circle, even in eternity. A cycle if you will. Perhaps it''s just your turn to come back to the fold. Well... Excuse this old Orc for thinking out loud."


    Jukzuk went back to his story, "The Blackruined Orcs, so-called that, for their fall from grace due to the end of the Calamity... We were nomads until we came to the Mountains of Madness. So driven there by Our Orcess Seer... Ma''Tera. Your ancestor, Hellie."


    "I know, uncle. Midka got her gifts, not me." Hellie said with a hint of sadness, but only she and her sisters knew why.


    Jukzuk nodded again, "But her blood still flows within your veins, so does the blood of many warriors, lords, and warlords flow. You are gifted with strength of body... Never disrespect it."


    Hellie grunted in agreement, as Jukzuk nodded knowing she understood, "We, the Blackruined tamed these mountains. Learned the secrets of the Ghost Berries. Ate of their madness, and grew powerful because of it. We great so powerful that We owned most of the east until our hubris was brought low by the combined efforts of the human nations."


    "It was the human nations that learned the secrets of our Ghost berries, and Our weapon the Promise of Calamity. They soon cut our armies off from the supply of Ghost Berries, and with the weakness of withdrawal, did they fall before the human nations, again combined effort. One clan against all the human nations of the east... Glories and sad."


    "Son," Jukzuk offered the berry with his hand outstretched, "Eat this berry and think of our clan. Know that what this berry holds isn''t just power, but legacy and madness. Never believe the power delivered is forever, but only borrowed... Least you are cut off from it and weaken like Our armies of old. Use the power granted to strengthen your body and Cultivation... Make it your own. As when I am no longer, and no one is there to save you... Only you can trust your body and the blood that flows within..."


    Xa''Gun took the squirming berry into his hand as it tickled his palm.


    "Chew and swallow... Close your eyes afterward, and feel the effects.


    Xa''Gun didn''t have to be asked twice to close his eyes to these nasty little berries, as he popped it into his mouth. He felt it tickle, again, in his mouth, as his teeth came down.


    A burst of juice, so sweet that it seemed to overpower him, causing to shake his head.


    "Don''t spit it out... Swallow quickly." Jukzuk urged as Hellie watched from the side.


    Xa''Gun swallowed quickly and was left with a sour after taste, as he continued to close his eyes to feel the result.

 29 The Taste of Madness

    Xa''Gun kept his eyes tightly closed, as the roaring sounds of his blood passed through his ears, as it seemed to cut off the sound of Jukzuk talking, and Hellie to his side.


    No longer could he hear the birds in the surrounding mountains, or the running stream of water far behind his burrow.


    It was then, that he felt heavy. A pulling feeling in his stomach that threatened to slam him to the ground, but he kept his balance as he was seated upon the ground.


    In the darkness of his closed eyes, visions came quickly... Some much too quick to be understood, but among those, he could see mountain ranges, deserts, flatlands, the cracking of ground, chasms... Lava... molten and rising... Roaring fury of the land itself... A rumbling earthquake that would rupture the world in half with the sleeping beast inside...


    Xa''Gun''s breathing increased!


    [This raw power of the earth! The lands itself was fury itself!]


    [Xa''Gun...]


    [Huh?] Xa''Gun wandered in his mind, as he continued to watch the wonderful and terrifying sense of the power of the lands this world was made.


    [I am that which you stand upon... I am that which all creatures must submit to... I am that which holds everything... from vast oceans of water to the flames and fury of my mouths that pour forth my lava...]


    It was this last hypnotic cracking voice that brought on a vision of a tidal wave of molten fury. Lava made into a living wave of wrath as it rose upon the horizons and swallowed Xa''Gun!


    [Remember the power of the mountains, the ground, the land itself... Remember, let the monster out...! Remember! REMEMBER WHERE DO YOU RUN WHEN THE LAND BECOMES YOUR ENEMY!!!]


    [I...]


    [AM...]


    [GUN''DUNAH!]


    Xa''Gun''s eyes snapped open as the bright light of the sky seared, and he quickly blinked.


    "SON! SON! CAN YOU HEAR ME!" Jukzuk''s panicked voice filtered in, and his rough hand slapping Xa''Gun''s face brought back fully.


    Xa''Gun grunted to let Jukzuk know he was okay.


    "By the elements, Tin Can don''t scare me mama like that!" Hellie patted her large bosom, as she showed concern on her face.


    Xa''Gun noticed he had fallen back on the dirt. He sat back up, as Jukzuk leaned back to give his son some room.


    "What happened?" Xa''Gun rubbed the back of his head that had a hint of pain.


    "You ate the berry and promptly passed out, haha!" Jukzuk let loose a laugh knowing that Xa''Gun was fine.


    Xa''Gun grunted in confusion, as he asked, "How long?"


    "Oh, not more than a few seconds. Scared me more than anything, haha. It''s not rare for that to happen the first time. Never happens a second time." Jukzuk laughed a bit more, as he dusted off some of the first from Xa''Gun.


    "Felt like forever... Haha." Xa''Gun gave a wretch laugh, showing how unused to laughing he was...


    "Forever? Why...?" Jukzuk asked, as his hand paused.


    "I guess I was just seeing things. After I swallowed the ghost berry, I started to see things. Was crazy, haha."


    Jukzuk''s voice turned more serious, as Hellie covered her mouth, "Son, what did you see? Did you hear anything?"


    Xa''Gun looked between the two faces, one serious and one shocked, as he grunted in affirmation, "Yeah... I saw mountains, land, and lots of fire spouting rocks. The land was red and moved like water in places, and I heard a voice that said it was Gun''Dunah."


    Jukzuk stood suddenly, "You''re sure it said it was Gun''Dunah."


    Xa''Gun grunted again, as he was sure.


    "Hellie, run get me some parchment and ink! Quickly!" Jukzuk commanded his niece, who jumped to her feet and dashed off into the burrow.


    "...Is this good...?" Xa''Gun couldn''t help but ask.


    "Son... Ghost berries sometimes cause visions, sometimes they just cause hallucinations... But I know for a fact that this world has a name, and its name is Gun''Dunah. The name that was told to the first Orc that ever lived! So this isn''t just fevered dreams... This is a vision!"


    "Uncle, here! Here!" Hellie passed him a scroll and an oily red substance in a rock-like container.


    "Tell me everything you remember! Quickly before it fades." Jukzuk unrolled the scroll and dipped his think calloused index finger into the bloody red ink.


    Xa''Gun went over what he saw and what bit he heard, though he agreed... Some of the details started to fade like a dream.


    Jukzuk wrote orcish runes down detailing his son''s account of his vision, and after confirming what he had seen, he fell back down on his bottom in the door frame.


    "I don''t know if this is good or bad, son," Jukzuk commented.


    "Does it mean anything?" Xa''Gun couldn''t help but ask, as Hellie slid herself closer to her Tin Can.


    Jukzuk looked over the writings on the scroll he just recoded, "Where do you run when the land becomes your enemy..."


    "You can''t," Hellie added to Jukzuk''s mutterings.


    "Maybe... Maybe I''m the monster, you can''t run from... Just like the Mountains... Like my name..." Xa''Gun muttered as he looked at the ground.


    Jukzuk let out a questioning grunt.


    "I... I mean... Well, those black spirits... The wolf one told me to let the monster out and I''m it... And then whatever this was said the same thing... Let the monster out... Am I the monster?" Xa''Gun rubbed his lower lip feeling the spaces of his missing teeth through the thin skin.


    Hellie leaned on Xa''Gun''s shoulder and rubbed his arm, "We are all monsters, Gun-gun."


    "Well... Being a monster is a matter of perspective, if you ask me, son." Jukzuk rubbed his chin while looking at the scroll.


    Xa''Gun asked, "What do you mean?" emphasizing his curiosity.


    "Well... Does the one wolf consider another wolf a monster in the same pack? Or does the rabbit that runs for its life from the wolf on the hunt consider the wolf the monster? Does the wolf consider us Orcs monsters when We hunt them? Do we consider the evil spirits monsters when they hunt us? See... Perspective." Jukzuk concluded, as he rolled up the, now dried, scroll.


    Xa''Gun rubbed his head, "My head hurts more than just the fall..."


    Hellie nodded, as well.


    Jukzuk went into deep thought weighing the pros and cons of his next choice, but after deliberation, he couldn''t help but decide the pros outweighed the cons.


    "Hellie..." Jukzuk''s tone took on a more solemn note.


    Hellie, in turn, grunted in acknowledgment.


    Jukzuk ignored Hellie''s unbecoming of an Orcess grunt, as he continued, "Gather your two sisters for tonight again... I hate to call them back to back... But Demze is well learned, and Midka knows much of the spirits... I think-No. I know with the three of you together, We can come up with more than what we know now."


    Hellie nodded, as her two sisters were very smart. Demze knew worldly knowledge, while Mikda knew otherworldly knowledge.


    "Well... Go on then. I''ll stay here and keep training Gun-Gun."


    Hellie rubbed Xa''Gun''s arm one more time, something he only noticed now before she got up and headed out in a hurried pace.

 30 Understanding the Heart of the Matter

    Four hours after Hellie left, Xa''Gun laid stretched out on the ground upon damp dirt, wet from his sweat.


    "Sorry, son... I might not be as good looking as your intimate, little Lili, but I''ll have you showing results in half the time, hahaha" Jukzuk laughed while sitting in the back door frame of the burrow.


    Xa''Gun huffed, "What''s an intimate?" He asked as he didn''t understand the orcish word.


    "Oh, guess I didn''t teach you that one. You know how a mate is to a wife for humans."


    Xa''Gun grunted his understanding.


    "Then intimate is human for girlfriend. Something just before what humans call fianc¨¦e, but more than just a friend."


    "What''s fianc¨¦e in orcish?" Xa''Gun asked mixing common and orcish words together to ask his question.


    "We don''t really have a word for that, but if you wanted one, it would be your promised-mate, which is as close as you can get," Jukzuk spoke after a moment of thought.


    "...?!?" Xa''Gun let out a hard grunt in confusion, "What intimate?!"


    "Yours..." Jukzuk lifted his hardened hand and pointed to his adopted son''s neck, "She already marked you... Wait... OH? AH! AHAHAHAHA!" Jukzuk held one side as he started to howl with laughter.


    Xa''Gun used all the strength his body had left to sit up, as he touched his neck that Hellie playfully bit.


    After what Xa''Gun thought were a few awkward minutes of just listening to his father laugh, Jukzuk finally calmed down. He rubbed his old tired eyes of the tears, as he spoke up, "That little girl, hahaha, She marked you and didn''t ask or tell you anything! Hahaha, I just can''t, hahaha."


    "What does this mean???" Xa''Gun had a feeling, but he wanted a full explanation out of Jukzuk before assuming anything.


    "Hahaha, I take it she got a bit too excited and marked you as hers. That mark means you have a girlfriend in common or intimate in orcish. However, you want to know it; call it, if other Orcs see that, then they''ll know you have one."


    "Wait... I saw other Orcs and Orcess... I didn''t notice anything like that???" Xa''Gun talked quickly.


    "Hahaha, well they fade with time, of course. It''s only a small bruise of sorts."


    "No, no, no! I mean, wouldn''t Orcs and Orcess have them all the time... Like-"


    "Calm yourself, son, hahaha, No. Haha, It only takes seeing it a few times for other Orcs to know or get the idea. Some lucky orcs have a lot of them if their mates are very, ahem" Jukzuk coughed into his hand, "Excitable, say like little Lili."


    Xa''Gun grunted, but still sounded unsure.


    "Is Hellie a problem? You seem to like her and you get along well with her." Jukzuk finally calmed down enough to speak without laughing.


    "Well, no... I mean, I like her a whole lot actually..." Xa''Gun rubbed the bandage on his leg from where the human slave''s sword bit into his thigh. It seemed his hard training caused it to bleed through the bandages.


    "What''s the problem then?" Jukzuk pressed the question, as he found the antics of the young orcs amusing.


    Xa''Gun stopped rubbing his leg bandages, as he looked up to his adopted father, "It''s... I mean... Isn''t it a bit too fast?"


    "Fast...?"


    "And Hellie... She''s..."


    "She''s what?"


    "She''s really beautiful," Xa''Gun spoke while looking down at the ground.


    "...That''s a problem?" Jukzuk leaned back to understand. Out of all the concerns that his adopted son could have, this was one of them???


    "Well, yeah... I mean... I''m just me... I don''t look all that good, and... I''m weak, so why would she even express interest in me, to begin with..."


    "Well, Dem-dem expressed interest, as well." Jukzuk pointed out.


    "Well, she wants to use me, so I understand that," Xa''Gun confessed.


    "Oh? You know?" Jukzuk was taken back. This thick lug could figure out Demze''s intentions when most Orcs males couldn''t figure her out.


    "She looks at me with the same eyes as my human masters... The eyes of someone that just wants to use me."


    Jukzuk nodded, as he spoke, "There is no one that does anything without a self-serving purpose."


    Xa''Gun mulled the thought over in his mind, as he asked, "Even you?"


    Jukzuk sighed, and nodded again, "Yeah, even me."


    Xa''Gun looked up in wonderment waiting for an explanation.


    "A few reasons. For one, I''m lonely. I already told you that, and I see a lot of potential in you... Even more now that some many strange things are happening around you, haha. Seems to be a fun time. A few of the other reasons will have to just sit tight with me for a little while. Knowing them now wouldn''t help either of us, but when the time comes, I''ll tell you the rest. Just know, that I really do have your interests in mind, if not because of self-satisfaction." Jukzuk explained after a huff of breath.


    Xa''Gun grunted his understanding, "Hellie?"


    "Oh? I think she likes you because of the way you look. She might not be as smart as either of her two sisters if you look at learning, but she''s surprisingly keen. She''s a great judge of character in most situations, when she doesn''t get in her own way, haha. But she has some of the best hunches and gut feelings of anyone I know... At least she did when she was younger. Seems in recent years, she might not listen to her guy as much as she should." Jukzuk closed one eye, as he thought aloud.


    Xa''Gun listened intently wanting to know more.


    "Anyway, you need to go inside and bathe. Contrary to humankind''s expectations, We bathe far more than they do." Jukzuk got up, as he walked over to his son, and helped him to his feet.


    "I noticed... Why is that?" Xa''Gun had this in the back of his mind, ever since he saw the burrow''s bathroom.


    "We, orcs, workout a lot. We sweat and get dirty. The places we live, like these moist mountains, also become breeding grounds for infections and rashes... Best to wash the muck off. Go ahead to the bath. I need to see an old friend." Jukzuk patted Xa''Gun on the back, as they walked inside.


    Xa''Gun grunted that he understood, as he walked to the bathroom.


    "I''ll be back by the time those three show up." Jukzuk walked out, as he was saying.


    He greeted the two Stonethrower brothers, as he left.


    [I feel I thought of made mention of something, but I can''t remember.] Jukzuk thought to himself as he was making his way back into the heart of the settlement, forgetting to tell his adopted son, that he might want to cover his neck from Demze and Midka.


    Jukzuk shrugged, as he hummed a war song, as he continued.

 31 I hate you so much

    Xa''Gun salted the warm waters that filled his bath. He then wiped his body, and with a douse of water from the overhead spigot, he rinsed off.


    He slipped into the warm waters and closed his eyes for a time, enjoying the cozy sensation.


    The sun began to hide behind the mountains in the early eve, as Xa''Gun opened his eyes to find he had dozed off. Thankfully, he did not slide further in, least he inhaled water.


    Getting up and out, he stepped out of the bath with his right leg, as a sharp pain in his thigh brought a sharp clarity to his mind from his previous sleepy state. Looking down at the angry blade wound on this thigh that dripped a small line of blood, Xa''Gun shrugged. He wiped off and put on his newest loin cloth. He had a number of them provided by Jukzuk along with clothing. What Xa''Gun wanted most of all was armor... This would have to wait until after his next match, as told by Jukzuk.


    Xa''Gun didn''t understand the wait but didn''t argue, never the less. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, as he headed to the foyer where the aid kit was left by Hellie after she held bandage him last time.


    Feeling the pain more pronounced in his thigh since soaking himself in the bath, Xa''Gun could only wonder if the salt made it better or worse. After all, it did seriously sting when he entered.


    [Maybe I can ask fa-] Xa''Gun walked up to his pair of couches, as he paused to stare down into the eyes of Demze.


    Demze smiled, "Seems you''ve become very comfortable here."


    Xa''Gun nodded, though he reddened slightly to be seen only in a loincloth, this was his burrow. More importantly, he didn''t really care for the feelings of this Orcess. Her eyes, her way of speech, her actions... They all told of hidden purpose and agenda.


    He lumbered over to his couch opposite her, as Demze couldn''t help but notice the love bite on Xa''Gun''s neck.


    Xa''Gun then sat down, as he reached for the aid kit. Demze narrowed her eyes in thought, as she watched as he got the kit and haphazardly wrapped his thigh.


    "Xa... Gun... That bruise on your neck... Just where did it come from?" Demze smiled again.


    Xa''Gun looked up to notice her eyes did not smile, much like the time he complimented Hellie.


    As he stared at Demze, with hands just now finishing his wrap. He tied it off and tore off the remainder with pure strength.


    "Just what does it matter to you where I got it from?" Xa''Gun spoke in a bad mood, it seemed that he had been influenced by his adopted father.


    "Do you know what that bruise means?" Demze pointed to the spot.


    Xa''Gun grunted that he understood.


    [That fast hussy...] Demze dropped her head and massaged her temples. Xa''Gun didn''t understand the change of attitude. It seemed that Demze went from being angry to having a headache.


    "Do you have any mead here... I could use a drink." Demze finally looked up with tired eyes.


    Xa''Gun nodded slightly, as he decided to go get it. As he got up, Demze rose and followed him into the cooking area of the burrow.


    He opened a barrel that was brought that morning. It seemed a few tankards were already missing. No doubt Jukzuk''s partaking involved.


    After getting a Tankard and filling it. He turned around to see Demze sitting at the table. He handed her the tankard and got his own to fill. After he filled his own tankard, he heard behind him, "Another, please."


    Demze handed the large tankard back to him.


    Xa''Gun gave a questioning grunt, be Demze remained quiet. He shrugged as he refilled it and handed it back. As he took his seat at the table to wait for Jukzuk, Hellie, and Midka to show up, he witnessed Demze downing the tankard again.


    He remembered just yesterday she drank only a little, but today she already downed two tankards? Was she just thirsty?


    Demze''s complexion took a darker hue, as a few minutes of time passed between the two in silence. Xa''Gun didn''t say anything. Demze didn''t say anything, and the awkward atmosphere passed like that until Demze slapped her hands on the table as she stood up.


    "What''s so great about my sister, huh?" Demze snapped, with a slackened, but angry face.


    "Wot?" Xa''Gun questioned this new look of her... Why did her emotions change like the wind??? Was it her emotions or just her facial expressions. Was she just a bad drunk like Hellie???????


    Demze went around the table to the side of Xa''Gun as she touched the wound on his leg slightly, as if to caress it.


    "Is it because she''s got a fit body? More experienced? Shit... Is it because she''s just plain dumber than me? Elements I love her, but why do all the Orcs want to fuck her so badly?" Demze drew circles on Xa''Gun''s thigh, circling the wounded area.


    "...She''s just her... She''s not you." Xa''Gun spoke the best he could to answer the question.


    "She''s just her, huh... And what am I? I have a pair of breasts... I''m just as jade as she is, and I''m smarter! I can guide you. I can make you into the most powerful Orc that has ever sat upon the throne of these mountains!"


    "I-" As Xa''Gun was about to decline, he heard Demze ask, "Can you look that way before you say something stupid?"


    "..." Xa''Gun wasn''t sure what he was supposed to see, but he turned his head to look to the other side of the cooking area.


    Nothing of interest was found, but a sharp pain was felt on his neck. Startled, he stood up knocking Demze to the floor.


    "Ah...!" Demze landed with a hard thump on her hip.


    Xa''Gun slapped his neck where it stung. Demze looked up to see that the deed was done, as she smiled with a slight drunken look.


    "I won''t go down so easily... You like me; you just don''t know it yet." Demze giggled stupidly.


    Xa''Gun felt the spot that stung slightly, as anger rose slightly. She had placed a mark on the other side of his neck to match Hellie''s... This was not just a provocation to Hellie, but honestly...


    "WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?" Xa''Gun stomped heavily on the floor of the burrow. Despite being part of the ground that made the area, the cooking area shook.


    Demze laughed again, "I said it before, but mostly because I want my sister to know that I have an interest in you too."


    Xa''Gun angrily stepped forward and grabbed Demze roughly by the shoulders, as he lifted her into the air to his eye level. Her feet dangled in the air.


    "I DO NOT LIKE YOU!" Xa''Gun yelled.


    "And I hate you''re so stupid and ambitionless... I hate you so much." Demze smiled as she didn''t fight back.


    "THEN WHY!"


    "Because I want you." Demze snaked her arms around Xa''Gun''s hands, as she easily contorted out of his grasp. Latching onto Xa''Gun''s large chest, she placed her face next to Xa''Gun''s ear. She spoke softly, "I hate you... I really hate you a lot... But I want you, and I need you," She purred as she nibbled his ear.

 32 Swear before We star

    "Dear sister, you should consider the time, date, and place." Midka walked through the door frame with her usual sassy walk, quickly followed by Hellie.


    "What the hell?" Hellie exclaimed seeing her sister, Demze tightly attached to Xa''Gun.


    "Heh... Seems we''ll need to continue this another time." Demze released her grasp around Xa''Gun, as she slid down his torso, and back to the ground.


    Midka took the same place she had the night before, before propping her head looking bored, but her eyes ping-ponged between her sisters and Xa''Gun. If one looked closely enough, one could see her brows ever so slightly furrowed.


    Xa''Gun, now speechless, wasn''t sure exactly what to say. Why did he feel bad that Hellie had found him and Demze together... It wasn''t his fault!


    Hellie barked, "Continue what exactly!?" As Demze went back to her seat, she lifted her tankard to see the empty bottom, and shrugged to Hellie, "Whatever that needs to be continued."


    "A-are you drunk?" Hellie tilted her head seemingly forgetting about Demze and Xa''Gun.


    "I''ve had a couple of tankards." Demze nodded.


    "...???" Hellie was filled with questions, as she approached Xa''Gun who was still standing stupidly within his own cooking area.


    "Demze... Uncle Jukzuk said he needed to consult with us... So why would you knowingly become inebriated, hmmm?" Midka shifted her focus to Demze, as she narrowed her eyes.


    "So, I''ve had a few tankards... Hellie gets shit faced all the time." Demze made an exaggerated arm movement to give emphasis, but it only came across as being exceptionally drunk.


    "Language, dear sister, language." Midka scolded.


    "Oh, please... Am I took brash for my prude of a sister, hmmm? A few well-placed words have never hurt anyone." Demze countered.


    "Your image... It hurts your image, Demze." Midka frowned, as she added, "Are we sure that Xa''Gun here likes foul-mouthed Orcess?" Her gaze naturally shifted over to Xa''Gun, as her eyes focused on the two love bites... One older than the other, "Especially seeing as you have already marked him all over."


    "He likes Hellie, so if he likes her, then he''s not going to mind any harsh words said, considering how Hellie is." Demze laughed loudly.


    Hellie rubbed the place on Xa''Gun''s neck that had just been marked, as she turned to her head to look at Demze, "And how am I, huh?"


    "Brash, rude, crude, floozy, hussy, the list goes on really... Should I go on?" Demze smirked as she leaned back in her chair.


    "I am not!!!" Hellie almost wanted to cover Xa''Gun''s ears, as she took a step into Demze''s direction.


    "Quiet down, you two. Demze''s drunk... She''s just being Demze. Hellie sit down, would you? You''ve already touched him all over... Xa''Gun, would you like me to serve the mead?" Midka spoke softly, but sternly over Demze''s drunken laughing and Hellie''s outrage.


    Taken by surprise, Xa''Gun gawked for a moment. He felt a footstep on his toes, as the bit of pain came to him, as he noticed Hellie took her foot off his toes, and she looked up at him.


    "I-Ummm... I got it." Xa''Gun turned and collected some of the cleaned tankards from yesterday.


    Midka nodded, as she looked from Hellie to Demze. Demze smiled and made an innocent shrug.


    Hellie wandered to her seat that she sat at yesterday.


    Xa''Gun turned to pass the tankards to Midka and Hellie, only now noticing how they sat. Midka on the far right, Demze in the middle, and Hellie on the left. He would sit on the other side of the table with Jukzuk.


    Hellie drank her tankard in one go, while Midka took a simple sip, as she had done last night.


    A few minutes of silence passed within the cooking area, as it had been so before the coming of the other two sisters before the silence was broken.


    "So, you and Demze are intimates now?" Midka took another sip and then asked Xa''Gun.


    "Pfft..." Xa''Gun coughed into his drink, "No..."


    "Oh? Well, looking at the ring of marks around your head like a necklace, and you two glued together when I first arrived says otherwise." Midka took another sip of her mead.


    "It''s only two marks..." Xa''Gun touched the love bite left by Hellie.


    "Perhaps I... Exaggerated a bit, but I can''t help but notice them... You work very quickly to seduce my sister. I guess it makes sense with the way you look at Orcess." Midka continued.


    "Wait, This mark is from Hellie, but this one is from Demze... This one isn''t my fault!" Xa''Gun now touched the sore mark left by Demze. She bit a lot harder than Hellie did, as to leave a mark quickly.


    "Oh?" Midka looked to Hellie, as Hellie turned her face away from both her sisters.


    "Son, don''t you know humans had a saying, ''Don''t kiss and tell?''" Jukzuk gave a light laugh, as he entered into the cooking area.


    Xa''Gun grunted he didn''t understand.


    "Maybe it''s not a northern kingdom expression." Jukzuk shrugged, as he got himself a tankard to fill, as he spoke, "Seems this afternoon has been full of fun. Girls, have you been playing nice with little Gun-Gun?"


    "Little Gun-Gun?" Midka mouthed, as Demze laughed loudly.


    Jukzuk turned around and took a long cut from his tankard.


    "What kind of nickname is mountain-mountain?!" Demze laughed much louder than usual, no doubt the mead got to her.


    Jukzuk took his seat, "And Dem-dem is better? Isn''t that right little smart-smart."


    Xa''Gun grinned, as now he understood what Dem-Dem meant. When Orcs spoke names, they sounded like names... More than the sum of their parts. It was only when the name was broken down did it sound like words.


    "Well, I am... It was a good nickname." Demze stoped laugh, as she slid back down in her seat.


    "Then if Demze is Dem-Dem, and Hellie is Lili, then is Midka Mid-Mid? Pretty-Pretty?"


    "Haha, no. She''s Middy. Isn''t that right, Middy?" Jukzuk turned his head to see Midka''s reaction. He wasn''t let down, as she darkened up in a blush.


    "No one has called me that in a very long time, Uncle," Midka confessed, as she drank a bit more mead.


    "What''s middy mean?" Xa''Gun wasn''t sure about the wording.


    "Just a non-sense word... She tried to say her own name as a child, and that''s how she would say it, hahaha. She would say, "I''M MIDDY!" I was so cute. There were times when all three sisters would play together that it was so cute that it hurt my heart to watch." Jukzuk spoke as he drank, but Xa''Gun noticed his eyes turned red while talking. His voice... Calm as always, but it was always his eyes that reddened.


    "Uncle..." Hellie spoke softly.


    "Ah, We better get on with the topic this evening, before we get any further into our tankards than We already have... Dem-Dem seems to have already had quite a bit..." Jukzuk grunted to show his point, as Midka nodded.


    "I''ve only had two," Demze confessed.


    "And you have the tolerance like I do..." Hellie glared at her sister... She hadn''t forgotten the mark on her Tincan...


    Jukzuk disregarded the small amount of banter, as he spoke up, "Before we start... You three must swear you will not speak of what I''m about to read to you, or what We discuss tonight... Swear it!" His stern tone carried a heavy air, as he demanded an oath.


    The three sisters each took an Oath on their Element... Hellie swore to the four winds, Demze swore to the rivers of the mountains, and Midka sword to Ya''Sar, the Fire Tyrant.


    "Good, good, good..." Jukzuk nodded, as he began. "Well..." Jukzuk pulled out the scroll he wrote up following Xa''Gun''s fevered dream, and then read it to both Midka and Demze.


    "..." Both remained silent after the few minutes of listening to Jukzuk, and then Xa''Gun filling in a bit of the memory he still had.


    "And you are sure... one hundred percent positive, the world is called "Gun''Dunah," Midka asked.


    "Yes. In my travels... It was something I worked on, so to speak." Jukzuk closed one eye and responded.


    "Then Gun''Dunah would be the World Spirit," Midka added.


    "The world spirit? Why would the world spirit contact some unknown orc for fun?" Demze said curtly.


    "What the hell? That was nasty, Demze." Hellie spoke in defense.


    "No offense... I mean, I really didn''t mean for it to sound like that, but... My point still stands... Why didn''t it contact him when he was with humans? Hell, why didn''t the world spirit do something when he was raked by the humans for years on end... Why now??? Doesn''t make much sense, if you ask me." Demze concluded.


    "What if it has to do with the berries?" Hellie couldn''t help but think out loud.

 33 Favored by the World?

    "Well, the berries help, but they don''t usually bridge a gap so wide like this... Most orcs that have visions have some type of spiritual training..." Midka added as it seemed she agreed with Demze.


    "Oh..." Hellie rubbed her head in confusion.


    "If it was the berries, then every orc would be hitting visions left and right, hmmm?" Demze spoke, as she laughed at the concept.


    "No, no..." Jukzuk made a point.


    The three sisters quieted down, as they looked to their uncle, "I think Hellie might be on to something. I mean it''s obvious, but at the same time, it''s not... But perhaps we just need to look at it differently. It''s not the time, place, or berry that''s the thing... Maybe it''s the orc." Jukzuk concluded as he cast his vision sideways to his adopted son.


    Xa''Gun grunted in confusion.


    "I''m not sure, but I''m almost positive it''s got something to do with your ancestry," Jukzuk spoke looking to Xa''Gun


    "I still think we should set him on fire..." Hellie got up to get another tankard of mead.


    Xa''Gun perspired, as Demze laughed.


    "...I can arrange that..." Midka smiled widely.


    "Stop that... All three of you," Jukzuk shook his head, knowing the girls were poking fun at Xa''Gun. He wasn''t sure, but he felt there was some dark secret his son held that included fire... Did it have to do with the Burningfist Clan, in some way? Doubtful, Jukzuk shook his head again to clear his thoughts.


    Jukzuk turned in his seat and grunted to Hellie with his tankard in hand. She got the hint and refilled his. As she stood, she also refilled Xa''Gun''s and returned to her seat with her own.


    "Let''s focus on not the why, but on what to do," Jukzuk spoke, after downing half his tankard and wiping his mouth.


    "What do you mean?" Demze didn''t follow. It was just some fevered dreams, what difference did it make?


    Midka furrowed her brows, as she picked up on the snarkiness laced within Demze''s question, "I know you disdain that which you can''t see, dearest sister, but it''s there all the same."


    "It''s not that I disdain it, it''s that I can''t rely on or trust in it."


    "It''s that you can''t bend it to your will like everything else you so wish."


    "You act as if ''guarantees'' are a forbidden clan rule." Demze folded her arms.


    Midka opened her mouth and then closed it again, as she shook her head at Demze. She then quickly turned to face both Jukzuk and Xa''Gun, "If Xa''Gun here was a shaman, I would say that his dreams or visions, what have you, indicate he''s favored by the element of earth. The world spirit named itself to him. In all the works of the clan, I''ve never heard the name of the world spirit... Which leads me to ask again... Uncle... Just how did you come across the name, and why were you looking for it... As far as I know, dear uncle... You''re no shaman."


    "..." Jukzuk became silent at the direct question for a moment before speaking, "In my travels..."


    Midka knew for sure that such occult knowledge was not just found simply by traveling, but by seeking it... Why her uncle refused to speak... She would ponder later for herself.


    Jukzuk slapped Xa''Gun on the back, "Son, this is good. If the elements favor you, you could become a Shaman!"


    "At his age?" Midka questioned.


    "Well, Middy, it''s not like he was here to start at your age." Jukzuk laughed.


    "Ha... The best he could do now with the favor of the spirits is to become a Shamanrai, and earth isn''t seen as the best element to be favored to be a Shamanrai."


    "Hoy? What''s a Shamanrai." Xa''Gun asked the table.


    Jukzuk nodded, "Rai as in smith. Shamanrai lack the fierce magicks that Shaman can wield, but they are able to forge weapons and armor that are imbued by the elements. Powerful Shamanrai can use their elements to not just bestow different powers, but enhance different aspects of the wielders."


    "Like Enchanters among the humans?" Xa''Gun couldn''t help but compare.


    "More or less. At the end of the day, it''s the same, but the way and how are different." Jukzuk concluded.


    "Well, We have to know for sure he''s favored before bothering a Shamanrai to take him as an apprentice." Midka pointed out.


    "...That''s true... Could you perform the test?" Jukzuk asked hopefully.


    "Honestly... I could, but I don''t know how accurate it would be... I would have to refer to my master."


    "Uvog is always so busy with clan matters... Is it possible to ask Uloth to assist?" Jukzuk probed.


    "I can ask, but you get no guarantees," Midka added.


    "Just like everything with you Shamans," Demze spoke, as she stood up.


    "I''m going to go lie down." As she staggered out of the cooking area. It seemed that the mead had taken its share of her mental faculties.


    "Yeah. Let''s eat a bit, and then call it a night." Jukzuk nodded as well, as he downed the rest of his mead. He got up and checked the food locker, and decided to cook up the blood sausages that were gifted to him during the midday.


    *******


    Fire... It illuminated the night... That night so many years ago... The fire spread fast and without regard... It cared not for who or what it consumed as long as there was fuel to feed.


    Phillip heard the news after finishing his day of work in the fields. His pulse quickened, air filled his lungs, and blood pumped throughout... His limbs obeyed, if not without some protest in the form of searing pain in his side and blurred vision.


    His home... In flames...! All the homes! All of the slums! Burning! With all of his weight, he slammed into his home of flames. The door busted open to his two-room home of him and his sister... But...


    It was too late... It was always too late...


    The fire had consumed and did not give pause... It did not care that it ate wood, cloth, or... flesh, though it seemed the fire spared bone.


    Seeing the remains... A small half-charred skeleton within the remains of the burning home...


    He retreated from the burning abyss that became his home, coughing and in horror. He must go back... He must save her remains...! If nothing else, but to spread the ashes among the flower fields! He must! He must go back!


    "XA''GUN! WAKE UP...! DAMN IT, WAKE UP ALREADY!"


    "WHA!?" Xa''Gun nearly jumped off his couch in the foyer of his burrow. His heart still pounding with the sound of the ocean in his ears.


    He could barely hear something about her head hurting so early in the morning and never again.


    His vision slowly came into focus, as he saw Hellie''s face. He reached out and grabbed her and held her in his arms as if she was going to get away. He just wanted to hold something that reminded him of his sister...


    Demze was suddenly pulled into Xa''Gun''s embrace. He held her tenderly as if she was the most precious thing in the world. Her hangover didn''t seem so bad, as she hesitantly closed her eyes and hugged him back.

 34 Feelings in the Dark

    Xa''Gun held the precious female creature in his arms for an unknown amount of time.


    Calming down, he breathed in deeply the smell of her hair... Wait...! This wasn''t Hellie... Hellie smelled like the morning breeze... This smelled like the fresh waters of a running stream.


    Xa''Gun gently pulled away from the Orcess in his arms to look at her face again and looking into her eyes... "D-Demze?"


    "You were... You were having a nightmare..." Demze spoke sounding shyer than usual.


    Xa''Gun grunted in understanding, as he put Demze down on the couch next to him, as he sat up. Feeling many muscles in his body silently scream at him, from the previous day''s workout.


    Demze looked at Xa''Gun''s silhouette in the darkness, backlit by the moonlight of the early hours.


    Feeling Demze''s eyes, Xa''Gun grunted in question.


    "...What kind of nightmare where you having...? If... If you''ll tell me." Demze''s voice trailed off.


    Xa''Gun looked into Demze''s eyes but didn''t see that usual cunning look that they possessed... He remained guarded, never the less, "Hmph... Why do you want to know?"


    Demze looked down at the floor, into the darkness that was the burrow, as she spoke, "I''m... I''m, too, haunted. It''s not every night... And... Thankfully, it''s gotten better in recent years, but I dream of terror... Xa''Gun... In my dreams, I''m powerless. I can only watch the same things happen over and over, and I''m never able to do anything to prevent it... I can''t stop it from happening... Every damn time."


    Demze sighed, "I''m sorry... Maybe I''m still a bit drunk, but... No offense, but what could scare an oaf like you? Did someone steal your piece of meat when you were a kid?" Demze laughed.


    "No, if you really want to know. My sister died in a fire..."


    A long paused passed, as Xa''Gun huffed his breath, and continued, "I wasn''t there to save her... She was of poor health. By the time I made it to our home, she was... She was..."


    "What was her name?" Demze asked interrupting, as Xa''Gun felt a slim hand pat him on the lower back.


    "Char...Charlotte... Her name was Charlotte." Xa''Gun sounded choked but cleared his throat to mask his feelings.


    "We can build her a shrine... I can help you. That way, you can pray to her spirit... Maybe your thoughts will reach her, and in turn, it can console you in some way." Demze added.


    "I didn''t even get a chance... I-I couldn''t get her body or ashes back. The damn city removed us... Relocated me and all the other slummers to another place... Wouldn''t let me in... They beat me until I couldn''t move, and then just dumped me on the side of a road."


    "...Wait... What did they do with the burnt ruins?" Demze asked probingly.


    Xa''Gun glanced as Demze before responding, her voice took on that cunning sound, but he answered it since he spoke thus far, "They got rid of the ruins, and built a bathhouse."


    "...You know that was planned, right?" Demze spoke again.


    "Wot...?"


    "The humans burned down the slums to get rid of them, and then built what they wanted to in its place." Demze placed a finger on her lips while thinking out loud.


    "No... No, they couldn''t have done that. Why would they do that, they could just move us... It was just slums."


    "That''s right... It was just slums, so who cared, amiright? If I can think of it... Someone there thought of it too, but no one said anything... Silenced? Maybe."


    "Wait..." Xa''Gun searched his memories. Many of the people of the slums that didn''t die in the fire, died in hand fulls, or just disappeared in the months after... He thought it was just more bad luck, and hoped it didn''t find him, "Many did die after that, others missing... I just... Thought it bad luck."


    "No... They were killed or paid off depending on usefulness, and the city got a new bathhouse. Humans killed your sister, Xa''Gun... Always, always, always remember who slights you. Never let them get away with it." Demze''s voice hardened at her talk of revenge.


    Xa''Gun remained in thought for a moment before something touched his mind, as he spoke, "I''m not dumb or an oaf, Demze... ''What happened in the past comes to haunt us in the future.'' That''s what you told me. Who slighted you? Or should I ask... What dreams haunt you, Demze?"


    "...I... I can''t answer, you, that... At least not right now..." Demze fidgetted now that the talk shifted back to her.


    Xa''Gun let out an angry grunt, "I told you mine... And it''s not something I''ve ever told another being in existence... And you won''t tell me?"


    "Listen, I know it sounds bad... But I just can''t tell you... I... Haven''t gotten my... Well, it''s better if you don''t know, at least not yet... Maybe one day, I''ll tell you."


    "If you like me, like this damn mark that throbs on my neck, then you''ll tell me." Xa''Gun stood up to his impressive height.


    "...I... I can only tell you a bit... My two sisters and I are adopted by the current Blacktongue Cheiftain. This is because our father was killed. Midka and Hellie weren''t there, but I watched our father die, and I also watched our mother grieve to death... That''s what haunts me... Are you happy now?" Demze''s anger flared now that she exposed a part of her heart.


    Xa''Gun remained silent for a while, just standing in the darkness, as Demze sat on the couch.


    "No... I''m not happy." Xa''Gun turned to walk out the backdoor to the back courtyard, as he left Demze sitting on the couch with these words, "I wished that never happened to any of you."


    Demze watched the shroud that was Xa''Gun leave, as she closed her moist eyes in thought.


    *******


    Xa''Gun sat down on the soft earth, as he was about to feel for the qi in the heavens. It was just a moment before he felt that Demze might have been right... He was stupid.


    Xa''Gun laughed, as he got back up and walked to the barbell that held two large stones. He remembered the day before Hellie told him that these two stones where 30kg apiece. Making the total amount to be 60kg.


    Xa''Gun squatted and lifted as Hellie taught him, and lifted it to waist high. He did this several times, even at the protest of some of his muscles. Jukzuk told him that some muscle pain was fine, but always react when it''s sharp pain... Never let it hurt with sharpness.


    After warming up, Xa''Gun put the bar down, as he slumped on the cool morning ground. The sun''s rays started to peak between the mountains and through the valleys. He listened to the sounds of nature, and then the rousing of the Orcs in the distance getting up to start their day.


    He got up and looked at the bar again... It felt too light. He went over the other stones brought. He rolled them over to the bar, and took the metal spring clips from the metal bar, and put the stone weights on the bar, and clipped them again, so they wouldn''t move.


    If memory served him... The total weight should be 90kg... He lifted and found that it gave some resistance... It seemed to him that his skin still did not turn that red color like when he strained himself. His veins didn''t bulge. Xa''gun stood up, thinking about when he did hard labor, it was rare that he would have that action. He would never lift more than he could...


    [Maybe that''s it.] Xa''Gun thought... He must lift more than he should...


    Again, he undid the bar and rolled the largest stones he had in the yard for the barbell. He attached them, in addition to the stones already on it, and then counted up how much this was...


    [Ummm... That''s 90 plus... well that''s 120, and added it... carry the one... 210kg...] Xa''Gun wiped his forehead of sweat. If it wasn''t for Jukzuk telling him he must not the numbers to improve, he would just move the weight. He wondered what it matted as long as he could lift bigger and bigger if the numbers were going to get bigger and bigger.


    He shrugged. Walked to the bar, gripped it, and squatted to pick it up.


    "Tin-Can! Don''t do that, without someone to watch!"

 35 Too much; Too fas

    Xa''Gun let go of the bar, as he stood up to see Hellie striding out of the backdoor of the burrow. She stood in front of him, with her hands on her hips.


    She was wearing her simple leather chest wrap, and a leather belt that draped a red loincloth that flapped in the morning breeze as she stood before him.


    Hellie smiled at Xa''Gun''s male attention before she cleared her throat, "You can''t lift big while you''re alone. You can hurt yourself, without anyone to help you." Hellie then approached Xa''Gun''s left and rubbed his arm, as she looked up at him.


    Xa''Gun grunted, "... I''m just used to being alone..."


    "I''m here now... Ah, Uncle is here too! And there are my two sisters, I''m sure would help you if you needed." Hellie quickly added on to her speech.


    Xa''Gun grunted, as he closed his eyes and bowed his head.


    [Yes... I might not be free, but I''m not alone...]


    He opened them again, and asked, "Can you watch me then? I want to see if I can lift this."


    Hellie looked at the large bar and tilted her head counting up the weights. It took her a bit longer than Xa''Gun, but she came to the number of 210kg...


    "Tin-Can... The Full-Orc weight stone is 154kg, and you almost killed yourself to pick it up, this is 210kg!"


    "Yeah... I know." Xa''Gun nodded.


    "...But... Why not just pick up the Full-Orc again?"


    "I don''t know... I wanted a quick challenge this morning."


    "No, no, no... Too much; too fast. You can attempt to pick this up at a later date. When you can lift the Full-Orc and feel fine, then you can lift this much. You''ll only hurt yourself... If you hurt yourself, then you have to take time to heal, and then you can get back to training. This just waists time... Always slowly lift weights... I just wanted to see if you could lift a Full-Orc. That was a baseline of sorts. Now that I know that''s basically your limit, you don''t have to push that limit again for a while. We work with that number."


    Hellie finished, as she put her hand on her head.


    Xa''Gun grunted in question.


    "Just a hangover... I shouldn''t be talking and thinking so much so early in the morning after drinking so much." Hellie confessed.


    "You know... Humans say that too much alcohol is bad for you." Xa''Gun commented looking down at the bar he wanted to lift.


    "...Yeah, well I''m sure those pale fuckers have a lot to say about a lot of things... Leave my mead out of this, ha." Hellie gave a short laugh before she went to the side and sat down on the Half-Orc weighted stone.


    "Well, I remember it was called poison." Xa''Gun continued.


    "Uh-huh... Everything is poison, Gun-Gun... Mead is my poison of choice, so leave it to me." Hellie continued to be defensive.


    Xa''Gun grunted and said no more.


    Hellie and Xa''Gun worked most of the morning hours together. He finally got to feel his muscles strain, his skin turn red, and his veins wiggle after pushing himself on the weights. It seemed to him, that this only occurred when lifting something that was just about too much to lift or he couldn''t lift at all. This reaction occurred when he talked Hellie into lifting the Full-Orc weight stone again, but not when he lifted the Half-Orc weight stone.


    *******


    Jukzuk walked into the backyard to check on Xa''Gun and Hellie. He woke up earlier and decided to give them time to bond and workout, while he cultivated in silence.


    "Hoy. Looks like little Lili put you through the wringer. Good job, girl." Jukzuk laughed, seeing Xa''Gun laying on soil damp from his sweat. He nodded to himself, while Jukzuk knew how to get the most out of an Orc''s body to train... Nothing could compare to the pulling power of an Orcess on an Orc''s ego to push harder in training... The power of the female was in full effect, in this regard.


    "F-father..." Xa''Gun asked while laying on the cool soft ground.


    "Hmmm?" Jukzuk grunted in question.


    "When can I learn Cultivation? Do I have to work out before I learn it? or do I have to not be a slave for that?" Xa''Gun questioned.


    "That''s something I''m working on right now, actually. In fact, you''re not too tired to visit someone with your old orc, are you?" Jukzuk asked as he continued to look at his adopted son.


    Xa''Gun bent at the waist, sat up, and grunted, "Can I leave like that? Thought I was still a slave..."


    "Already got it cleared with the clan chief." Jukzuk nodded.


    "...And what did that cost?" Hellie looked over, as she narrowed her eyes.


    "Meh, nothing for now. This is all to build up Xa''Gun to winning the slave pits. We''ll have to pay later." Jukzuk answered, but didn''t.


    "...You know how he is..." Hellie spoke, before thinking, "It''s been a few days since I was home, I better show back up before he asks." Hellie stood up to leave.


    "He?" Xa''Gun grunted as he watched Hellie walk past.


    "Yeah... You don''t know?" Hellie stopped to look at Xa''Gun.


    "Wot?"


    "The clan chieftain is my and my sisters adopted father." Hellie shrugged and left through the backdoor, sidestepping Jukzuk, who sat in the door frame, and into the burrow to leave.


    "...wot...???" Xa''Gun asked Jukzuk, now that Hellie was gone.


    "It''s a long story," Jukzuk sighed, "It''ll make sense later. Story short, their father, my brother, was defeated. Varbuk then became the Clan Chief, and took my brother''s mate and adopted the three sisters as his own daughters." Jukzuk''s eyes turned strange as he spoke... Almost like a deep-seated hatred, before returning to normal.


    He slapped his knee as he stood up from his perch on the back step, "Let''s go meet an old but good friend of mine."

 36 A fine Orc

    Xa''Gun wore a leather hood that covered his face, as he lumbered behind Jukzuk through the winding streets on the Blacktongue Clan City. Xa''Gun would later learn of its name of Hellhar or the City of Strength.


    Xa''Gun took a few steps faster behind Jukzuk to speak within earshot, "Why do I have to wear a hood, f-father?"


    "Maybe I should have spoken earlier, but it was a condition to allow you to come out of your burrow. Just leave it on until I tell you to take it off," Jukzuk spoke, as he turned at the corner road leading to the City markets.


    Xa''Gun grunted in understanding.


    After another turn and a straight away, Jukzuk spoke, "Look up at the sign, son."


    Xa''Gun could see Orcish runes on the sign. The runes were large and carved from stone suspended by chains above the entrance. The sign showed three symbols, A fist, a half-circle with horns, and a cleaver.


    "This means Hellhar Butchery. We''ll teach you the written word sooner or later... Let''s go in." Jukzuk grunted and walked into the storefront that was busy with Orcs coming and going.


    Inside Orcs were shouting for cuts and the types of animals, where staff were getting them and handing them out for coin as fast as they were being filled.


    Jukzuk quietly walked to the side of the counter that led to the back, as he waved to an older Orcess. This Orcess had long red hair, unlike the normal black that Xa''Gun had most often seen. She was tall, slim, and muscular. She wore a large white butcher''s apron and carried a cleaver with her.


    "Old Zukky, if you''re looking for Gorzoc, he''s in the back waiting." She smiled with mischief, and then went back wet market and continued to carve orders, as she handed the meat cuts to various attendants that sold them to the Orc patrons.


    Jukzuk smiled, as he led Xa''Gun to the back, and out of the shop to an open area behind the butchery. Outside stood a tall and wide Orc. As Jukzuk and Xa''Gun approached, Xa''Gun found that this Orc was just as tall as he was...


    "Old Zukky, I was wondering if you were coming today." The Orc spoke without looking behind.


    "Damn it, Zokky... The sun has just passed a bit overhead, it''s not like I''m five hours late!" Jukzuk''s tired voice seemed to spring forth with a bit of life, as she scalded the large Orc.


    He large Orc turned showing that he was an aged Orc but carried an impressive air. Tall, wide shoulders, a thin waist, and massive legs like tree trunks. No part of his exposed skin had fat... It appeared to Xa''Gun that this Orc was carved out of some stone, which Xa''Gun noticed was most interesting. Unlike most of the Orcs, this large Orc had a gray-colored skin, as if someone drained the color from him, almost ash gray. He wore a large white butcher apron, like the Orcess inside the shop, but he wore bracers on each wrist. His right arm was covered in a sleeve of tribal tattoos from the shoulder to the bracer. He was currently smiling, but it was ridged. He had the eyes of a predator, with bushy brows. in his nose, he had a bull ring. He had two large tusks and two smaller ones right next to them on his bottom lip.


    The large Orc held out his hand to Jukzuk, with Jukzuk slapping and embracing each other''s forearms in a handshake of brothers.


    After letting go, Jukzuk spoke, "This is my boy. Xa''Gun, this is Gorzoc Bloodletter. Best axeman and butcherer this side of the east and west of the Blacktongue mountains!"


    "Damn, Zukky! You''re going to make this old Orc blush, hahaha!" Gorzoc''s belly quivered in muscles, as his loud laugh rumbled the surroundings.


    "Ah, you know you love the praise. Gorzoc, this son of mine is named, Xa''Gun. Son, remove your hood, and introduce yourself." Jukzuk finished.


    Xa''Gun removed his hood, as he stepped forward and beat his chest in greeting to an elder.


    "You''ve taught him well. Be proud of your name, Xa''Gun. Not everyone is named by the spirits... Yes, your father was kind enough to fill me in on some details. Now, boy, you don''t mind if I look you overdo you?" Gorzoc asked out of nowhere, or at least to Xa''Gun.


    Xa''Gun looked to Jukzuk, who in turn, nodded and grunted his approval. Xa''Gun thus agreed, while Jukzuk walked over to the steps that led to the area behind the shop, and took a seat.


    Gorzoc stepped forward and used his large fingers to pull down on Xa''Gun''s eyelids, as he looked in his eyes. He let go and pulled his lips apart as he looked at his teeth. He grunted seeing the missing teeth in Xa''Gun''s mouth. He let go, and then turned Xa''Gun''s head, as he pulled his ear slightly at the tip, and looked down into it with the help of the sunlight. He did the same for the other side. He let go and lifted Xa''Gun''s arm as he ran his hand down Xa''Gun''s arm feeling the structure.


    He walked behind Xa''Gun, and with his thumb and two forefingers felt either side of Xa''Gun''s spine from the bottom to the base of his neck. Lastly, he bent down and slapped Xa''Gun''s Calves.


    Xa''Gun grunted in response, with his brows furrowed. He felt that he had been thoroughly fucked with, and if not being asked to begin with might have triggered some fight or flight response.


    Gorzoc stood back up and walked to the front of Xa''Gun, as he cocked his head and raised one brow in thought.


    Minutes passed, until Jukzuk finally broke the silence, "Well?"


    "...There is a lot of potential here... He''s been through one hell of a hard life, that''s for sure. Boy, how much meat did you eat as a child?" Gorzoc asked randomly.


    "...Maybe once a year..."


    "You''re kidding."


    Xa''Gun grunted in response.


    "Well Old Zukky, I believe you have the base for a Warlord."


    "Really?" Jukzuk asked hopefully.


    "Yes. He clearly has no cultivation, but I can fill his blood pumping in his body even from here. There is much-hidden power within him. He only needs to learn Cultivation, and he could be able to catch up to his peers in a year. With the right amount of ghost berries... Maybe half the time." Gorzoc raised one brow, as he spoke.


    "Then would you teach him your ways?" Jukzuk stood up from his seat on the back steps.


    "Ah... Zukky, you know I retired from mentoring since my youngest daughter came of age." Gorzoc laughed.


    "Well, when was the last time you''ve seen such a fine orc. His age? No cultivation? Like clay to be molded. Think about it. When they ask who was his Mentor in cultivation or the martial ways... He would say, The Butcherer of the Bleeding Gates, Gorzoc!" Jukzuk coerced.

 37 To the Slaughterhouse

    Gorzoc grunted a few times; thinking over the proposal.


    "Boy, because of your father, I''ll give you a chance. Let me ask you a question then... If your answer is to my liking, then I''ll take you on as my last disciple." Gorzoc squinted his eyes and craned his neck to look better at Xa''Gun, as he spoke.


    Xa''Gun grunted in agreement.


    "Alright, boy. Let me ask you then... What is best in life?" Gorzox folded his arms over his butcher''s apron and drew himself up, as he stared down on the top of Xa''Gun''s head.


    Xa''Gun looked to the ground in deep thought. He pondered the question. He hadn''t had much time to think about it, but he had a few ideas. He looked to Jukzuk, as Jukzuk looked into the sky, as if not to sway his son''s answer.


    After a few minutes of pondering and silence in the backyard, Xa''Gun spoke, "To find a wife, settle down, and have young. To watch them grow old, and to die in peace."


    Gorzoc raised both brows as he listened. Slightly surprised, he looked to Jukzuk, who in response shrugged.


    "Boy... I have to tell you, that was not the answer I was looking for..." Gorzoc unfolded his arms, as he propped them on his hips, in a wide stance.


    Xa''Gun grunted while he thought about how can you get an answer to just an open-ended question.


    "What I wanted was to see your enemies crushed, to see them fall at your feet. To take their possessions, and hear the lamentations of their Orcess. That is what I believe is best."


    Xa''Gun didn''t make any sounds as he heard these lines.


    "BUT... I can not say you are wrong... Because I am doing exactly what you said. I''ve retired from the battlefields... I found my wives, and I had my young... I watched them grow with pride, and I run this shop with my family. So, you are right. Perhaps, even a warrior needs a rest at the end of his days." Gorzoc grunted a few times.


    "I should write that down, ''Even a warrior needs a rest at the end of his days.'' I''ll put that in my next book." Gorzoc turned around and walked away, presumingly to write down what he just said.


    Xa''Gun watched him leave in the distance, as he turned his head to Jukzuk, "Did he just leave?"


    "Gorzoc is very eccentric, but if you ask me... He''s the best Axeman anywhere you can find. I think he''s going to agree to take you on. This would be a boon!"


    Xa''Gun grunted again, as Gorzoc came out from another door to the side. It seemed he went inside and came back around.


    "Alright, boy. I''ve decided, I''ll take you on. I''ll teach you what is best in life in your early years. Remember what you just told me for the last of your life. Understand?"


    Xa''Gun grunted per usual.


    "You should thank your father. If I had known he was going to con me into taking a new disciple, I would have turned him down." Gorzoc looked up to Jukzuk.


    "And I knew, you wouldn''t necessarily turn down my son, seeing his condition.


    "Right, right, right. I would have refused to even see him. You got me this time, but you still owe me." Gorzoc continued.


    "Wouldn''t Gun-Gun here be better to spout your name be payment enough?"


    "You know as good as I do, it would only cause people to give him more respect to drop my name... Payment Zukky."


    "Fine, fine... We''ll work something out." Jukzuk sighed and agreed.


    Gorzoc grunted a few times in agreement, as he turned his head back to Xa''Gun. "Alright boy, Did your father ever tell you what you were going to do here today?"


    Xa''Gun grunted a no.


    Gorzoc shook his head, "Figures. Your father is a great Orc, but he loves to be mysterious. But, be that as it may, he tells me that you killed your first enemy a few days ago on your first arena match. Is that right?"


    "Yes," Xa''Gun answered officially.


    "How''d that make you feel?"


    "...Sick..."


    "I''ve heard that you performed the Speartooth Chopping block, and bisected the enemy. I take it you got a good feel of those inners, huh?"


    "...Yes..." Xa''Gun felt queasy remembering the scene.


    "Yes. That''s life. This skin that binds us to form, holds much blood, bile, tissues, meat, and organs. It''s sometimes hard to look at an Orc, Human, or animal to only know that under that skin is the same as everyone else... Meat, blood, and bone. Nothing more... Nothing less." Gorzoc rambled on in poetic tones.


    This didn''t help Xa''Gun''s sore taste in his throat.


    Gorzoc noticed that Xa''Gun''s skin took a sickly tone to it, and nodded his head while looking at Jukzuk. Jukzuk nodded back silently.


    Gorzoc looked back to Xa''Gun, "Alright boy, what you''re here today is to get used to the smell, the feeling, and the sight of blood, meat, bone, and death."


    Xa''Gun grunted in confusion.


    "This is a butcher shop... Meat doesn''t just spout from the ground. We raise livestock and butcher them. Come with me. I''ve got three pigs left to slaughter today. We need to get going, while it''s still cool. We don''t want to butcher them in warm weather." Gorzoc turned and walked further back.


    Jukzuk got up, and placed his hand on Xa''Gun''s shoulder, as he spoke, "This will be hard on you, but do the best you can. This will make your next match easier... Remember son... If you falter... Even for a second... that''s all that it takes for your enemy to kill you." Jukzuk patted Xa''Gun on the shoulder again and walked forward.


    Xa''Gun thought for a moment, then followed behind.


    *******


    Gorzoc led the way, followed by Jukzuk and Xa''Gun into a large back courtyard. Xa''Gun could only wonder just how large this compound was as it was a moderate-sized storefront... Seeing a small farm of hogs behind the large skeletal looking barn, Xa''Gun wondered what they were coming to do.


    After walking a large ribbed barn, Xa''Gun was hit by the pungent smell of metal.


    "What''s this barn for???" Xa''Gun asked.


    "This is no barn, boy. Hahaha, this is a slaughterhouse. I''ve been told you spent time among the Humans. Surely, you''ve seen these among them." Gorzoc laughed while he explained.


    "Can''t say that I have... I worked in fields and loading shipments mostly... Some tavern work and cleaning duties... Took care of horses, too."


    "Husbandry of horses is a noble job, even for Orcs. I, myself, prefer raptors over horses, but horses are indeed elegant." Gorzoc grunted while he spoke.


    The proclaimed slaughterhouse had a dirt floor and contained many hooks that hung from the ribbed ceiling. The sides of the walls were large ribs that looked to be bones of some large creature. The walls appeared to be stretched leather that covered them from the outside. It seemed much cooler inside than outside. In fact, Xa''Gun could see his breath when he breathed, like in the winters of the north. There were a set of poles that drove into the ground that were taller than both him and Gorzoc, with chains hanging from them.


    Gorzoc stopped, and turned to Xa''Gun, "You may have guessed by the name and what I said earlier, but today We are going to slaughter some hogs and process the meat."


    Xa''Gun grunted as he wasn''t exactly sure what to do...


    "Old Jukky, you want to help, or are you going to watch." Gorzoc looked over to his old-time friend.


    "I''ll watch over my son for now. I''ll be there to catch him if his knees give."


    "Ah. You dote on him too much, already! Hahaha." Gorzoc laughed.


    "I don''t want to hear that from the Orc that faced down a Double-Mouth Rex for his Oldest Daughter''s Dowry." Jukzuk laughed as well, but with a different purpose.


    "..." Gorzoc shut his mouth, "In that case, Old Jukky, can you at least fetch the hog for us? I''ve already cut three from the sound waiting. Send one in, and I''ll execute it to show the boy... After that, It''ll be his turn." Gorzoc asked, as he walked to the side and picked up a large Executioner''s Axe.

 38 Life is Hard

    "Boy, watch close, as I''m going to show you once. Your father will guide the hog through the slat there." Gorzoc pointed to a small side door next to the one that Jukzuk left through.


    "The trick is killing it before it knows it..." Gorzoc grunted, and pointed Xa''Gun to stand to the side to watch, as he moved to the side in anticipation.


    Gorzoc took his stance raising the Axe high overhead. Xa''Gun watched as the Executioner Axe paused overhead. He marveled at how it was so steady. It did not waiver, nor look like it held weight despite its massive appearance.


    It wasn''t before long, some huffs and snorts were heard before a large reddish colored hog entered through the slatted door. After it fully entered into inside, it was then that Gorzoc brought down the axe.


    Xa''Gun watched as the hog''s head was cleanly severed, and rolled slightly. The Hog''s body dropped soon after, and blood gushed from the neck.


    "The big thing to remember is to chop right behind the skull and before the shoulder. You''d mess up bad if your axe bites into that thick meat there. You may not cut through, and you would only serve to cause the hog to suffer... This ruins the meat, boy. Remember to never play with your food, prey... Or enemies... Always kill them swiftly..." Gorzoc put his axe back on the wall. He then moved over to the decapitated hog, as he spoke. He reached up and pulled down to chains with hooks. He used these chains with hooks to piece into the back legs of the hog.


    "Boy, collect me some of that wire over there. I need to make sure while We have him in the air, he won''t fall down."


    Xa''Gun saw the wire he pointed too, and provided it, as Gorzoc showed Xa''Gun how to raise the hog into the air. With the chains attached to the room, Gorzoc was able to move the hog to a different spot.


    Gorzoc placed a large washbasin under the hog as the blood continued to pour out.


    "No part should be wasted, boy, even blood has use." Gorzoc watched the basin fill.


    Jukzuk''s voice echoed, "You ready for the next one?"


    "Count thirty, and send it in."


    A loud grunt was heard from outside, confirming that Jukzuk understood.


    Gorzoc went to the wall and picked up the axe again. This time he walked to Xa''Gun and put it into his hands.


    "Alright, boy... Your turn. Know that I''m being harsh, as the smell of blood has permeated this area. You must kill this next hog quickly. A hog''s nose is more powerful than any wolf or orc could ever dream to be... The shaman''s magics can only do so much, so when it enters... Bring down the axe." Gorzoc finished, as he pointed to the spot he was previously, only minutes before.


    Xa''Gun walked past Gorzoc as he took the large axe from his hands. The weight of it brought his hands lower than expected. This was an immense axe. It looked musth larger up close than in the hands of Gorzoc. He stepped to the spot that Gorzoc had earlier.


    He tightened his grip around the axe''s handle, and raised it overhead, as he saw before.


    Gorzoc, to the side, noticed the stance, and a slight smirk showed on his face. Just as he was told, the boy seemed to have good eyes. He mimicked his stance near perfectly... But what about the swing. With the smirk on his lips, Gorzoc narrowed his eyes in wait... Soon, he would know if this boy would be worth his time.


    Xa''Gun felt his heart speed up. It''s rhythmic beating sound increasing to almost drowning out the incoming sounds of the next hog. It''s snorts, puffing, and huffing of air, and a squeal could be heard signally that it would be soon before it emerged from the slate, like the one before.


    Time seemed to slowly wind, as Xa''Gun''s grip ever tightened on the old handle of the executioner axe in his hands, as it wobbled in the air overhead. Sweat beaded up on his forehead; not from exhaust, but from nervousness.


    Xa''Gun saw how easy it was for Gorzoc. He almost didn''t pay mind, as he had seen killing before... But now that the axe was in his hand...


    The hog emerged, as the swine gazed on its surroundings and the smell of what last occurred made itself known to the animal.


    Xa''Gun, in that moment, looked into the inky black eyes of the creature. He felt at that moment the creature realized its impending demise.


    "SHINK"


    Xa''Gun heaved in and out. His hands still gripped the handle...


    The hog''s head separated in the same arc as the last.


    As Xa''Gun heaved, he watched the eyes of the hog dull. It was the same look as the eyes of the man he killed. It was Death that claimed it. That dull gaze, as if its eyes were looking into the next world...


    "Good show, boy!" Xa''Gun heard the booming voice of Gorzoc over his roaring heart. Watching the blood pumping out of the hog in beats. Gush... Gush... Gush... Xa''Gun blinked hard several times and felt a sour taste rise in his throat.


    "Don''t get soft on me now boy... Re-rack the axe, and put that hog on chains! We''re wasting blood here!" Gorzoc''s voice changed from praise to a commanding tone.


    Xa''Gun shook his head a few times and did as instructed.


    Setting up the hog to bleed out next to the last one...


    The next hog to come through was a blur to Xa''Gun. He only remembered raising the axe and lowering the axe... The in-between seemed to be missed, but the job was done all the same.


    Jukzuk opened the door and came back in... "How''re you doing there, Gun-Gun?" He asked with a touch of tenderness in his voice.


    "You spoil him too much, I told you. He''s fine." Gorzoc slapped Xa''Gun on the shoulder.


    Xa''Gun felt a sour taste rush to his mouth which his swallowed back down, as he became a shade paler.


    Jukzuk sighed, as he knew the next part was going to be even harder on Xa''Gun... But it was necessary... Life was hard, thus the Orc had to be harder.