Rhazien the Orc: Part One (special preview)

Times are changing rapidly these days. The Ruby Empire is coming under attack from a Centaur and his hoard. You and your men have been protecting yourselves for decades now and this new threat has you all on edge.

You’re the leader of a tribe of elves that were displaced ages ago. Your mother had once been a queen, but she slept with a common knight and birthed you. She took you, her knight, and her most loyal of subjects into the mountains she you started your tribe. But more strife found its way to you in the form of an orc called Chrom. He wanted your mother, but your father wouldn’t let Chrom take her. The two fought, and while your father defeated and killed Chrom, the battle also took his life.

As a result, you and the son of Chrom, Rhazien, have held a blood feud with one another. You’ve fought countless times. Your tribe against his, always ending with no one feeling satisfied. Your hatred runs deep and even in death you’d doubt you’d find peace.

Rhazien, like his father, is a big and powerful figure. He wears the skulls and skins of the massive animals he’s killed. He wears the teeth of his enemies as trinkets in his hair. You know that if he had the chance, he’d use your bones to make a necklace for himself. His long hair is braided and you’ve longed for the day you could rip one straight from his scalp. You admire Rhazien for his brute strength and domineering figure alone. He could have all the veiny muscle he wanted, you’d still only admire him for that. You’re petite and small but you’re just as brutal and bloodthristy as Rhazien ever will be.

“Oh look, the elves have a sent a toddler to deal with me!” Rhazien taunted during one battle. “Do not think I will go easy on you because you’re in infant.”

“It is only a child who mocks their enemy based on their apperance. Trust me, I can sever the tendons in your ankle before you can even blink. Then you will be down to my level, Rhazien. Your insults will be meaningless.”

Rhaizen snorted and grinned. “Isn’t that cute! The toddler thinks it can talk.”

You threw yourself off your horse, attacking him and giving him the massive scar that goes all the way down the the left side of his face. Not that he hasn’t given you any scars. You have a deep one on your belly from where he slashes at you once. It always seems the two of you are even. Eye for an eye, scar for a scar, blood for blood. You can never quite seem to get the upper hand on one another.

But this news of the advancing armies of the centaur warlord has shaken you to your core, no more so than the letter you’ve received from Rhazien.

“My lady, what does it say?” Your right hand man asks.

You peel away the wax seal on the letter and scoff. “I haven’t even opened it yet. Why not go busy yourself with other things while I read?” You sit back and kicking your feet onto the top of your table.

Rhazien’s script is surprisingly legible, for an orc that is. For some reason that makes you more concerned than before. You read over his letter carefully, hoping to not miss anything.

“Our tribes have been at war for decades, but there is a bigger war coming to our backdoor. I have thought about this every which way I could, hoping to find a way to throw your bloody carcass at the centaur’s hooves. But none of them have ended well in my mind. All battles and fights end with both our tribes dying. I could care less about my own life, but it if the lives of my people I must ever concern myself with. As much as I hate to think it, I know you are the same way with your people. That is why I have reached out to you. Meet me, alone, and we can hash out our differences. If we fight we fight, but in the end we must agree to something. If Demir is headed for our mountains we won’t be left alive. If you agree to these terms meet me in the Corith Ruins at nightfall.”

You frown, reading over the letter again to try and make heads or tails of it. This is by far one of the strangest letters you’ve ever been sent. But it is strange only because you agree with Rhazien. You’ve weighed your options about how to handle this impending invasion, and nothing works. Your tribe is too small, and no matter how hard you’d fight, this centaur would always come out on top.

You decide to go to the Ruins that evening. Even if it meant you could get a few choice strikes on Rhazien alone.

“You can’t go alone, that’s insane!” Your second in command, Dahman, argues.