Fallen Crown (Orc Destiny Volume II) (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

by Jeremy Laszlo

Striding across the camp, he grunted and nodded to those of his clan, letting them see his restored face and chest, hiding his hands within the armor he carried. Approaching his tent, he ordered the captains that came to guard him to gather him some boots and gloves. Come nightfall, he had clans to conquer.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  When night came, and the land grew dark despite the millions of stars in the sky, Gnak summoned to him his captains. Giving them orders to seek out those clans farthest from camp, he sent them on their way with specific instructions.

  “Go camp, say need see chief. Talk chief, all clan. Tell chief, Gnak order come. Bring clan too. No come, chief afraid Gnak. No come, chief weak,” he explained.

  Gnak knew such an insult would bring them to him. He did not have enough time to go camp to camp before many packed up and moved on. No. This was the proper way. While his captains were out insulting those farthest away, Gnak could visit the camps nearer to their own. It was a simple plan, and as such Gnak thought it had the best chance for success. Watching his captains depart, he stalked about the camp seeking something difficult to find anywhere. He was looking for someone loyal to join him. He knew the goblin chief would come, but doubted the small man could hold his own against a clan of Orcs if he needed to. Instead, he wanted at least a pair of sturdy Orcs to watch his back lest he be attacked while confronting a chief. Then it occurred to him just who he sought.

  It took Gnak less than an hour to find the Orc he sought, and locating the former chief he was glad to see the man before him had recovered much from the starved state that Gnak had met him in. The man had forsaken pride and asked for help, despite the life that his people lived. Beyond that, Gnak had saved his life and the lives of his whole clan. No deeper loyalty could exist as far as Gnak was concerned. Asking the Orc to join him, and bring another who was loyal to him, he was assured of the man’s loyalty when he agreed with determination plain on his face. Less than a quarter hour later, and Gnak was walking out of camp accompanied by a suitable pair of Orcs and the goblin king. No one had invited the goblin, but nonetheless he had joined them just as they exited the town. Gnak assumed the goblin had a network of goblin spies in his camp. He couldn’t help but wonder how he could put them to use.

  As the night progressed, Gnak and his companions traversed the sand for nearly four hours before approaching the first of the camps that night. It was small in comparison to their own, and even before entering the camp it was obvious that something was wrong amongst its tents.

  Like most Orc camps the sprawling gathering of tents held to no particular design, the tents having been placed at random, and from within the camp the sounds of shouting and ringing metal rang again and again as they were joined from time to time by an anguished scream of pain. Drawing their weapons, Gnak led his men into the camp cautiously to find dead Orcs strewn at random amongst the tents. Working their way to what they presumed would be the center of the camp, they found there a larger gathering of Orcs than any anticipated, ringed around a group of combatants. So preoccupied by the fighting in their own camp this clan was, that none noted their arrival and as such Gnak strode right up to the gathering to watch the commotion.

  From inside the ring of Orcs three massive members of their race fought savagely, seemingly all against each other with no two working together. Looking closer, Gnak realized that all three wore different markings, and the styling of their personal garments was each different. Here before him was something he had not anticipated. Looking past the growing ring of Orcs to the opposite side of the tent camp, he could see a sizeable force. This clan was being invaded by not one other but two other chiefs, who now sought to claim it for themselves. Gnak thought it might be amusing to watch them all fight until only one remained, but then decided against it. Here and now he could stop the three from killing one another, and by doing so it would save Orc lives. He knew it was the right thing to do. What he did not know, was how to approach the situation. Then the idea hit him.

  Leaving his companions behind, Gnak began to push and shove his way to the center of the ring. Though it took several minutes, a growl, and three angry snarls, he made his way there and stepped into the opening, where the three chiefs battled. Instead of diving into the fray as those watching expected him to do, instead he turned and addressed the crowd surrounding him.

  “Know Gnak,” he shouted, banging his own gloved fist against his breastplate. “Gnak Chief, Gathos clan. Gathos mighty. Gnak mighty. Have magic!”

  Then, turning, he made a big show of waving his arms and chanting some nonsense before pointing his open hands at the three chiefs who fought before him. All three froze as the gathered Orcs looked on in mixed emotions of disbelief and fear, their jeers and insults silenced.

  Walking up to the three battling chiefs, Gnak pointed to one and, removing the sword from his hand, he became animated again just as Gnak pressed one of his own blades to its throat. The Orc, confused by its non-moving opponents and the blade pressed to his neck, could only watch as Gnak then reanimated one of its foes who came charging towards him to end his life. Throwing the Orc he held at his blade to the sand, Gnak froze the rushing attacker once again, and striding around the creature he removed the sword from its grasp before wrapping one arm around its throat, and pressed the point of his blade to the side of its neck. Then he let it reclaim its body. The Orc, still in mid stride, choked itself trying to finish its step before registering Gnak and the blade at its neck. Enraged, the Orc swung back over its own shoulder, trying to pierce Gnak with a blade that was no longer in his hand. Even missing the blow and realizing that his weapon was gone the Orc lashed out again and again trying to remove Gnak, until finally Gnak had had enough.

  Freezing the Orc once more, Gnak, strode back around the creature as the crowd watched on in silence.

  “You see? Gnak take life,” he said, motioning to the frozen Orc now directly before him. “Gnak give life,” he then added, pointing to the would-be chief who remained watching from the ground. “But no take Gnak order, Gnak kill. Gnak punish.”

  With that he returned the Orc’s will just as he bashed him in the mouth with one armored wrist, as blood and broken teeth sprayed from the creature as he registered Gnak entirely too late. Spinning away from Gnak, he kicked the Orc in the back, driving it to the ground with its peer. Then, leaping atop the man as he tried to rise, Gnak stood atop his back and head as his arms thrashed about the sand, his screams muffled.

  “Gathos clan learn much. Learn new ways.”

  Then he stepped off of the Orc’s back, allowing the gasping man to roll over and breathe once again.

  “No fight Gnak?” he questioned the Orc, who spat blood and teeth before he could reply.

  “No fight. You chief.”

  Nodding his acceptance, Gnak turned to the final combatant who still stood frozen. He was the biggest of the three. The best muscled, too. He had scars on his arms and face. Signs that he liked to fight and prove himself. This would be the one Gnak had to make the example out of. Gnak released him.

  Watching as the giant Orc finished his strike that was met by nothing but air, the brute turned and registered Gnak standing between him and his two prior foes. Roaring his defiance the brute lunged, but Gnak anticipated his move. Diving aside Gnak lashed out at the passing brute, slicing the side of his knee as he passed. Both of them spinning to face one another, each charged with a clash of steel as their blades met. Letting himself be shoved backwards, Gnak used the moment to pull forth his second blade.

  Stepping forward to engage his enemy he swung his left blade in a low arc aimed for the Orc’s thigh but stabbed out with the second blade towards the Orc’s injured knee. The other Orc saw both of his attacks and, instead of attempting to dodge, which would have ended in injury, the beast leapt straight up into the air and kicked Gnak in the chest driving him back once more. Gnak faltered.

  No sooner did the brute land once more than it charged as Gnak stumbled backwards, but it was just a ruse to draw
the larger Orc in. Falling backwards as his attacker leapt towards him, Gnak raised both of his blades as he landed upon his back. Down the larger Orc came. Slapping the Orc’s sword aside, Gnak stuck the other blade between the Orc’s ribs and rolled to the side as it fell. Hitting the sand beneath it with a thud, the larger Orc drove Gnak’s blade through its chest to protrude from its back.

  Gurgling, the beast of a man placed both his palms upon the sand and pressing upwards he pulled free of the soil below and rose, Gnak’s blade still sticking from is chest. Not believing what he was seeing, Gnak dove towards the large Orc and kicked at one of the brute’s legs, trying to bring it down again, but the Orc sidestepped, thwarting his plan. Rolling back to his feet, Gnak turned just in time to see the large brute hurl its blade at him, end over end. Jerking his head aside he felt as it glanced off his head, taking part of his newly formed ear with it. Damned Orc… that one was new.

  Having had enough, Gnak charged the now unarmed Orc, but instead of clashing with the titan once more, Gnak used another, much easier option. Lunging aside at the last minute, Gnak reached out with one gloved hand and grasped at the blade protruding from the Orc’s chest as he passed. Wrenching it aside as he veered away, the large Orc screeched unnaturally just once before its knees buckled and it fell upon its face in the sand, its heart destroyed. All around the massive Orc, the sand darkened with the pooling of its blood. But still Gnak was not done.

  Turning to address the crowd, Gnak pointed at the large brute dead beside him before he began talking.

  “Know Gnak. See Gnak power. No hear Gnak order, Gnak no let you die easy.”

  With that, he grasped the Orc’s essence and locked it back in place as the Orc twitched slightly before it began to rise. Many in the audience gasped, knowing that what they saw was not possible. Then, seeing he had their full attention, he lashed out with his remaining blade and stabbed it through the back of the Orc’s neck feeling the steel slide through the man’s flesh, severing those most vital connections to the head. Then, pulling its will from it once more, he let the man fall again to the sand.

  “No die easy,” Gnak repeated and bending the power to his will once more, locked the Orc’s will in place yet again, as the large Orc rose yet again. This time, Gnak kicked its knee and stepping around it as it fell, he grasped his blade still impaled through its chest, and yanked it free as he once again summoned the man’s will and let it fall lifeless.

  “Now who new chief?” Gnak asked the crowd, and listened as they replied just as he hoped they would.

  Within two hours Gnak watched as the last tents of the camp were torn down. He had claimed three clans in that one fight. None of them were large clans, but each added to his power. And better, two of them had shaman. Asking questions of those he now ruled, to save him precious time, he gleaned where the next two clans he would visit were located.

  Having the thrice dead Orc bound and shackled, Gnak called the body to life yet again as he left the campsite and continued on to the next clan. Guiding it along with a length of rope, he hoped that by displaying it to those within the other camps he planned to encounter that he could avoid having to kill more and more Orcs each time he went to claim one of them for his own.

  Over the next two days and a night, Gnak located and collected nine more clans without killing a soul. Displaying his ability to freeze a chief in their tracks, and kill and resurrect what the goblin king was calling his pet, he managed to gather nearly another five thousand Orcs to his cause. It wasn’t until he returned back to his own clan that he was forced to again spill blood.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Climbing the dune just before his camp, Gnak could hear the clamor beyond well before he could see it. Rushing to the top, he scrambled across the surface of the windswept sand to find something he could not have anticipated. Below, surrounding his camp, was a ring of soldiers nearly ten thousand strong. A force comprised of both Orc and goblin, led by none other than the big chief himself.

  With moonlight reflecting off the man’s skin, Gnak spotted the blessed Orc who towered thirty feet over those of his kind. Though it was apparent he was just toying with them, Gnak looked on as his captains attempted to battle the behemoth in his absence. It sickened Gnak to know that nearly three quarters of his race stood down below watching this single event play out, thinking that this was how things were supposed to be done. The biggest brute beating the smaller and weaker into submission.

  It had been their culture since the beginning of time, but Gnak knew that just because it was their past, did not mean that it was meant to usher them into the future. He saw a different future for his people, and he wanted to bring it to reality, but one Orc stood between him and that possibility, and it would not be easy to bring him down. No. This one would be different. He could not simply rely on his magic, though he intended to display it. The big chief would have to be put down, never to rise again. He would have to fight the Orc. And he would have to win. There was no way around it.

  Reaching inward to calm himself, Gnak brushed against the will that was Jen and grinned oddly into the night. It was she that had altered his course in life. Her words had changed him. He could see a future where Orcs did not slaughter each other by the multitudes for pride. It was a future desired by both he and the goddess he served.

  Calmed, he shook the thoughts from his head and focused on what lay ahead. Stretching his arms out before him, he flexed his fingers of bone several times, grasping the air and testing their strength. Gnashing his teeth, he gave the order to those who followed him to remain atop the dunes, and turning, he alone bounded down the sandy slope.

  It was only a minute or perhaps two, before sentries placed by the big chief spied his approach and repeating the call, his presence was alerted to all. Though much of the crowd silenced their jeering and cheers over the ensuing fight, the big chief himself sought to strike fear into Gnak.

  Watching the behemoth turn towards him, Gnak ignored the multitude of Orcs who parted before him, his eyes locked on the battle ahead. Bounding this way and that, the big chief lashed out with his immense fists and feet, clobbering those captains sworn to Gnak, bashing them away before snatching them up and hefting them into the air like so many scraps of cloth. Over and over the blessed giant grasped a screaming Orc in his immense hand, crushing bones between his fingers before tossing them straight up into the air to tumble from the sky.

  One after another his captains began raining down, some even falling amongst the crowd of the big chief’s clan, to be kicked and spat upon by them. Still Gnak strode forward.

  His show finished, the big chief turned to face Gnak as he approached and, leaning low in his direction, the huge beast released a thunderous roar of rage before he spoke, his enhanced voice carrying out across the sand.

  “Big chief strong. Big chief no be killed. You no big chief. You no pray Orc gods. Big chief think you no Orc!”

  Nearing yet further before he responded, Gnak could see ahead the severed heads of several Orcs impaled upon spears stuck in the sand. Each of them had different markings. Each of them was a chief. It seemed the big chief had much the same plan as he did.

  Gnak knew he didn’t stand a chance of fighting the blessed warrior. One blow from the big chief would kill him. Brawn would not win him this battle. He would have to take a different route. Looking up to the big chief, Gnak grinned as he grew yet nearer, snapping his tusks twice before he spoke.

  “Yes big chief powerful. So powerful must use god power, fight Orcs with no power. Big chief so strong, why no fight honor?” Gnak shouted.

  Immediately those Orcs parting for him rushed to be as far from him as they were able, all of them obviously expecting the big chief to end his life right where he stood. But instead the big chief roared, shaking the ground as he stamped his feet.

  “Big chief hear Gnak have god power. No trick big chief. No stop god power fight Gnak. Is fair. Is honor!”

  Gnak grew nearer still, passing the last o
f the Orcs surrounding the large clearing around the big chief. Though there were thousands surrounding them, the night was suddenly filled with an odd silence as Gnak stepped onto the makeshift battleground. The behemoth of a man stood towering before him. Gnak was within his reach, yet stopping, the big chief did not react immediately. Gnak had a plan, though he had no idea if it would work. He had never tried such a thing before, and knew if he was wrong, then he would lose the battle. But without any other choice, he looked up to peer into the massive orbs of the big chief’s eyes, and issued his challenge.

  “Big chief, many clans, Gnak say you weak. Gnak kill, take clan. Gnak new big chief.”

  Without a moment of hesitation two things happened simultaneously, as Gnak dove directly ahead as the big chief surged forward. Rolling beneath the big chief’s legs, the Gathos chief drew his blades, plunging one into the massive ankle of the big chief before rising to sprint further behind the giant. Though the huge man roared in anger as he spun, the blade had no noticeable effect on a man so large.

  “One Orc, no matter, big or no, is one Orc!” Gnak shouted, diving aside as the big chief moved to smash him with his fist. Rising again, he kept moving, and continued with his words that he hoped the clans under the big chief’s control would hear and understand.

  “Many Orc more strong, one Orc.”

  Reaching out he felt those orbs of his fallen captains, each of them now dead, strewn about the crowd and the clearing he now inhabited with the big chief. Summoning them to him he dove again, and slashed with his remaining blade as he again passed the big chief’s leg. His luck wouldn’t hold long.

  “Gnak mighty. Gnak god give big power. Gods no happy with Orcs. Give Gnak power teach big chief lesson!”

  Sending the orbs of will back into those who had recently fallen on his behalf, he saw as several in the clearing with them began to jerk and press up from the sand to resume the fight.