Children of Krug

[Samoblivion 532]

 

Spoiler

 

 

Stargush'stroh stretched out before her and her ancestors beckoned. There was her mother and unknown father, and the unknown clan with whom she was a sister to by blood. There were the Braduk ancestors, honoured Mokrag, namesake of her firstborn, and next to him the namesake of the clan, the mighty Braduk; for these spirits welcomed her too as sister for her soul was one with the great rhinos. Behind them were the heroes of legend. Gorkil, Lur, Azog, Dom, whose story had so delighted her as a cub. And above them all was Krug, magnificent on a throne of submitted foes, enslaved spirits and legendary weapons. She strode to them all, the cries of those she sent to the desert of Enrohk announcing her coming-

 

An eruption of pain woke Lukra'Braduk from her coma. Not a familiar ache from her wounds, but a fresh burn as a number of them re-opened from a light but determined kick to her ribs. "Oi, Lukra. Wayk ub." She growled, eyes still closed and somewhat sealed shut with dried blood, the growl stretching into a moan. A fresh kick elicited a further grunt, and the weedy, somewhat sarcastic voice came out again. "Latz ain't flat, bub'hozh warbozz. Ztop whining lyk azh twiggeh *****."

 

Lukra's eyes snapped open, her hand flying toward the source of the annoyance only to falter halfway due to tendon damage. The decrepid old goblin Larty Wun Eye, faithful servant of the Braduk clan and probably the most brazen of his race in existence, leaned against the side of the crater they found them both in, fixing her with a disapproving look. "Ukke, da way mi peep id - azh artillereh blazt hit latz flanking tunnel while latz wuz ohn da way tu charge wiv da rezt ub da bruddaz agh latz got dogged by pinkzkinz. Dat abowt right, klan mommo?"

 

Lukra shut her eyes again, taking a mental inventory of what exactly hurt in her body and came to the conclusion that she hadn't lost any limbs. Opening them again she saw Larty leaning over her. "Did dem knoks tu da hed mayk latz evun muur zkah minded den before?" She stared daggers at him and attempted to get to a sitting position. "Zkah off, gobbo." Where he any other goblin, she would have severely maimed him for these insults; but this was Larty Wun Eye. Practically a father to Kahn'Braduk, Lukra's occasional mate and the Wargoth of the Braduks, indeterminably old and immeasurably skilled at organising the day to day affairs of the clan, as well as having a role in delivering both of her cubs safely. The curmudgeonly old bastard had more than earned the right of begrudging tolerance for lip.

 

Her mind clearing somewhat, she took greater stock of her surroundings. It was dusk, with sunset nearing, and the fading light played across a panoply of chaos and death. The crater in which she sat was near the siege camp of Oren's alliance and what she saw brought no end of delight. Warmachines crushed and flags ravaged, the stench of charred flesh, death-ushered soiled smallclothes and the intoxicating scent of blood. The cry of carrion birds caught her ear but what kept her attention was the shouting of voices, their accents not those of Oren, but the hearty tongue of the dwarves, the coarse and diverse speech of Dunamite mercenaries and the deep rumblings of her brother and sister orcs. Victory.

 

Lukra's eyes moved back to her more immediate surroundings. Her attempts to sit up had been hampered by the veritable mass grave of bodies in the crater in which Larty had found her. Among them were her brethren, taken by surprise by the sudden breach in their tunnel but who, along with her, had valiantly taken down their equal in number from the armoured Orenians who had rushed forth into the breach. Lukra looked back to Larty. "Yub, latz akkownt wuz abowt ryt. Azyd frum mi taykin down gahk pinkiez befur dey dogged mi. Ged latz faktz ztraight."

 

Larty scoffed but nodded with a smile. "Az latz blah, Lukra. Kum ohn, ged owt ub deyur. Mi've alreadeh dun enough liftin tu reech lat, lat kan du da rezt." After a while, she was free from the crater and stood on its lip  survey the battlefield. A great and bloody tally had been reaped on the fields before the fortress of Dunamis. The castle itself was in reasonable shape, barring a few holes, but it was nowhere near the state Oren had left a dwarven fortress in the Valley of Flowers some years before. Larty nodded along at the sight "Bubhozh view, ain't id? Kahn zent mi tu peep how da battul went." Lukra nodded. "Weyul, id went bettur den zkahin bubhozh. Deyur runnin' ain't dey? Hurr. Firzt tik in yeyurz, Oren iz aktualleh zkahin beaten in azh ztrayt klomp." Larty's face didn't give away his thoughts on the matter. "Zeemz zo."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Spoiler

 

 

2 Days Later

 

Much had come to pass in the two days following Oren's retreat from the lands of the Horde of Dunamis. Emperor John I Frederick had been swept to the bottom of the Eroch River in the rout, and strife now gripped the once united Holy Oren Empire with talk of civil war. Oren's momentum was shattered, its armies in full retreat across the High Elven held channel between the Human continent and the South. Its garrisons held up in its southern territory, but no answer was given to raiding parties scouting out these secluded outposts. It was a victory beyond imagining for those opposed to Oren's march of conquest across the world. But for the Orcs of the deserts there was grief as well.

 

In the fighting, a poisoned arrow had pierced the mighty hide of the legendary warrior and standing Rex Ubba'Ugluk and he had died on the field. The prolonged siege had scuppered attempts at a Rex Tournament this year already, and so a new interrim leader was required. It was Ubba's will that the title of Rex be passed to Snoop, wargoth of the recently returned Azog clan. Snoop'Azog was an acclaimed warrior whose skill at arms and tactics non-disputed, but the Azogs were a clan mistrusted by many. While open warfare had died down to tolerance and then acceptance, tension remained and there would be voices who would question the ascendance of a clan so steeped in controversy to the seat of Rex clan. It was Ubba's will that Snoop remain as Rex, and this will was affirmed by the pledge of loyalty of the Ugluks to the Rexdom of Snoop. Despite this, a Rex Tournament remained scheduled a year hence. Whether it would come to pass, and what the response would be to it, was in doubt.

 

But high politics was not a primary concern of Lukra's, not on this day. It was noon when she arrived back on the field of battle, astride her rhino, Lohkar, and carrying with her her youngest cub, the four year old Durakhan. Here, she let him go off to run amongst the ruin of the battle to see what came after the glory of combat and perhaps to find some keepsakes. Very quickly, the boy found a discarded axe amongst the rotting carcasses that the Dunamis men had not burned or buried and set about chasing the crows that still lingered over the fallen, much to the amusement of his mother. As she had seen with her eldest, again she saw an orcish mother's visions of her child charging a worthy mass of foes with sword or axe held high with the names of Krug and Braduk on his lips.

 

She thought back to the many new blood orcs who had joined her in the charge that day, whose thirst for blood and valor matched her own. Rare amongst them was also the ability to follow orders when given, making the orcish contingent a hammer in the hand of its commander of the day, Drokon'Ugluk. A whoop of delight broke her from her reverie as he son snarred a rat with his new axe. Smiling in encouragement, she looked forward to the future. Whatever it may bring, the children of Krug stood ready to face it, strong and in numbers.

 

 

((Would just like to give a big hand to our rally today. 35-40 orcs attended the warclaim, our best result in well over a year. Congrats all.))

 

http://i.imgur.com/dPsFzl6.jpg

[the 1 bow 1112]

Larty informs the barely conscious Kahn of the events of the battle. The large Wargoth would semi-prop himself up in his bed, a scarred brow raising before he'd slump back down.

[Smaw 2376]

Fantastic post.

[Angmarzku 1251]

Moved to the Archive. It shall be sorted into the appropriate category shortly.