The Emerald King

Nara watched as the old orc named Grak disappeared in a vortex of flames. His howls of pain and rage ringing in her ears like the wane of a large war horn, blown with a soldier’s final breath. The flames subsided revealing him again, body black and red and skin crisp. He dropped to his knees but did not fall. In his hand, the small emerald glowed bright blue, and Nara saw him raise it out in front of him, clearly reeling from the pain it took to do so. It glowed brighter and brighter, but nothing came of it.

“Why…” The one-eyed orc wheezed as he choked on the ashes within his throat. He dropped dead with a thud, as his lifeless body landed on the charred earth beneath him.

Nara could see sadness in Gala’s eyes, a pain as if she had lost someone close to her. She wished to ask her why but felt too shaken to speak.

“Grak…” Gala said the old orc’s name solemnly. “What happened to you?”

The air was still, the heat from the charred earth causing her to sweat. Nara found herself out of breath, even though she had done nothing to contribute to the fight. She felt a chill run down her spine, hugging herself tightly trying to calm down. When she looked to her grandfather he seemed calm and collected. A man who had just slain several foes as if it were just another day. She never could understand how he could kill and feel nothing one way or another about the lives lost.

Don walked toward them as Gala scooped her up and walked to meet him. She lay in her arms like a baby in a cradle, as if she were her own mother. Her arms were strong and yet so gentle, taking care to make sure her child was comfortable. This calmed Nara greatly, she had wished deep down that her new friend would carry her forever, keeping her safe and comfortable.

When she looked over her grandfather more closely, it was clear now that he was more worn than she thought. He was sweating and his eyes were sunken in. What little hair he had a mess and breath heavy. He ran his fingers through his messy white beard, attempting to straighten it out.

“Are you girls okay?” he said gruffly, breath still heavy.

Gala naturally couldn’t understand and at first, Nara had forgotten to translate. Upon understanding the question the orc nodded her head in confirmation. Yet her eyes still remained sad. If her grandfather noticed this he didn’t show it. Instead, he turned and walked over to the old orc’s body. He knelt down to inspect it and started fiddling with his hand. From it, he pulled the small emerald that had summoned the horse from before. Gala came up behind him to get a look for herself, setting Nara down beside them.

“Now what do you s’pose this is?” Don asked, scratching his head.

Nara translated and watched as Gala’s face twisted in confusion.

“Tell him, I do not know.” She said, voice still solemn. “But I did know the orc carrying it. He was one of my brother’s warriors, and good friend to our father.”

Nara gasped, “your brother?”

“Yes, the oldest warrior of his army, and the most loyal orc you could ever meet. He practically raised us when our father was busy ruling his city.”

Nara was confused, she had never heard anything about a city before. It made no sense from what Gala had told her in the cave.

“Ruler of a city?” Don questioned. I thought you were from a small village?”

Gala brought her gaze to the ground once Nara finished translating. She had clearly become uneasy, showing a face full of guilt.

“Something isn’t right,” she said. “I will tell you the truth.”

Nara stared her down, feeling hurt that Gala had lied to her about something. Tears began to well up as she tried to speak.

“Y-you… you lied to me? I th-thought we were friends?”

A knot formed at the pit of her stomach and she felt ready to puke. Gala patted her gently on the head and spoke as sweetly as her thick voice would allow.

“Only because I had to be sure.”

“Sure of what?” Nara replied.

“Please forgive me, Nara. I had to be sure that I could trust you. You came to my lands with an army. My people were murdered, my sisters imprisoned and raped. For all, I knew you were trying to trick me. I had to be sure.”

Nara felt herself give in to her emotions and began to sob, hot tears streaming down her face. She tried to wipe them away with the sleeve of her robes to no avail. Eventually giving in and covering her face as she cried.

“I know it’s not your fault little one, but I have a duty to my people. I hope you understand. I’ll do what I can to make it up to you, and it starts with telling both of you the truth.”

She could feel the embrace of her grandfather as she continued to cry. After a time he began to make exaggerated crying noises, mimicking her. At first this upset Nara even more, but as it continued she couldn’t help but begin to laugh. Her grandfather always did this when she was little, and for whatever reason, it always cheered her up.

Finally managing to wipe her eyes clean, she looked up at Don and Gala. The orc gave a sad look, knowing she hurt Nara, while her grandfather gave a toothy smile, trying to hide his annoyance with Gala for upsetting her.

“I know I hurt you, little one,” Gala said. “But I wish to make it right, and that starts with the truth.”

She sat down in front of her, legs crossed. Nara felt Don release his embrace and followed suit, clearly showing interest in what she might say. She knew full well he couldn’t understand her, but he had always been good about reading body language. To Nara’s surprise, and yet unsurprisingly Don had figured out what was going on.

“It sounds like the orc has something to tell us,” he said with a curious tone.

Gala looked to both of them before settling her gaze on Nara.

“I am the lord of a great city,” She said, waiting for Nara to translate and see her grandfather’s reaction.

Don raised his eyebrows, giving off a look of shock, and yet something in his eyes told Nara he wasn’t surprised in the least.

“Do go on,” he said.

“I am the lord of a great city, and I was visiting one of the villages within my territory when your army attacked. You killed my guards and the males of that village, and took the rest of us as prisoners.”

She waited again for translation, eyeing Don as she did so.

“With that said, I am concerned. For that emerald has great significance amongst the lords of our people. Each of us wears one around our necks, showing those below us of our status. But I’ve never seen them create a creature from nothing, nor have I ever seen them heal one’s wounds. Yet here we are, my old friend dead, carrying this emerald with him.”

Nara felt terrible guilt now for the things her people had done, never having truly understood what they were doing. Her grandfather had lead her to believe that they were liberating Gala and her people, saving them from some illness. A supposed plague that they were snuffing out before it could spread; thus the reason they had to burn everything down. She began to feel betrayed now, more by her grandfather than she had by Gala before.

Nara translated again, trying her best to keep her composure, as much as she wanted to cry, she knew what Gala had to say was important. However, she couldn’t hold it in, upon finishing what Gala had said she lashed out.

“Why grandpa? Why did you kill them, why didn’t you stand up to lord Arley and his men? You let them kill Gala’s people! You lied to me!”

Don showed great pain in his face as if he had just been stabbed in the heart.

“I know, Nara,” he said in almost a whisper. “But even I didn’t know the true nature of this invasion. I’ve always been loyal to the crown, and orders are orders. I never thought of these orcs as anything more than savages… but I see now that I was wrong.”

Nara wanted more than anything to slap her grandfather but instead found herself burying her face in Gala’s chest, weeping.

“I’m sorry Gala, I’m so sorry! I wish we had never come here, I’m sorry!”

She looked up to Gala, half hoping she would be angry, but instead all she saw were the soft green eyes of a woman consoling a child.

“Your grandfather loves you, little one,” she said softly. “His mistakes were grave, and we cannot bring back those who were lost, but I see in his eyes a deep regret. As well as a deep love for you. I know he will want to make things right if given the chance.”

Nara wiped her tears just to have more take their place, she sniffled and buried her face again.

“He protected us, not just you, but me as well. If he didn’t regret his actions and if he didn’t love you, do you think he would have done that?”

“N-no,” she said, her voice muffled.

“Then give him a second chance, he’s wronged me more than should be forgiven, but he’s shown me he has some sense and wants to make it right”

Nara sniffled some more, again trying to wipe the tears away, this time with some success. She sat back down, doing her best to collect herself, trying to let Gala’s words sink in. she looked back to Gala and nodded, letting her know she was ready to continue. She could see even she felt the pain from losing so many of her people.

“Nara,” Gala said, her eyes glassy from holding back tears. “Do you remember what Grak said when he appeared?”

Nara thought for a moment, her mind was racing and she was too panicked at the time to remember anything that had been said. All she remembered were flames bursting from the ground and Gala carrying her away from the battle.

“No,” she said blankly, still feeling numb. “W-wait, I remember a name, but that’s it. Kulg.”

Gala nodded in acknowledgment, “When Grak appeared he spoke of the lord of lords, as God amongst all orcs. One chosen to lead my people to enlightenment. At first, I thought he was crazy, and that perhaps whatever power was within this emerald had poisoned his mind. But he spoke of my brother. Saying that this was a gift, a piece of his power.

I don’t know what’s happened, but it sounds like I’ve missed much in my absence. I find it hard to believe. My brother is a proud leader and cares for his people more than any other lord. This doesn’t sound like him.”

“It’s a man like that which could succumb to such temptations. So what do we do?” Don said.

“I’m not entirely sure, I wish to see my brother… but perhaps it’s best we continue our journey to my city. At the very least it sounds like my brother is in trouble, and we’ll be needing backup.”

Don stood up, patting down his robes and stretching his back.

“Then let’s get going, no time to waste.”

Gala stood up as well, as Nara followed suit.

“First,” she said. “May I see that emerald?”

Don looked down at the emerald and twirled it between his fingers before holding it out before Gala. When she reached for it blue light began to shine from it once again. Its glow became blinding for mere moments before it was snuffed out. Don had acted quickly, whispering small flames into an orb that covered the gem, hardening into an amber casing.

“Seems this little beauty reacts if your kind gets too near. Maybe I’ll just keep it locked up, for now, don’t want any more trouble.”

Gala looked down at him, meeting his gaze.

“Perhaps you’re right,” she said.

With that, the trio continued their journey. Nara still felt a little upset with her grandfather but was ready to make things right as best she could. She wanted to help Gala and all the other orcs as best she could. She wanted to help Gala and all the other orcs.

“Oh, and Nara,” Her grandpa said. “We’re going to train you up a bit more on your spells, just in case. You may need to be able to better protect yourself if we’re not around to protect you.”