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Urmugh

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Ever since I left my tribe, I had been wandering and going through enormous lands. I didn't dare to approach any city because I had learned that people hated orcs. I wanted to tell them that I was different, but I couldn't understand a word of the common tongue. So all that I do is walking, hunting small animals and gathering fruits. If I could speak the common tongue, at least... I sighed, and these thoughts continued. Perhaps death was the only option left, but... I wanted to see the world, and I wanted no more pain. With these things in mind, I sat beneath a huge tree, but in that forest there were many.

[Note: Urmugh reached Falwood]​
 
It was not really possible to call Arethil an alien world, and it had not been conceivable for more years than she could recall. For her, that was saying quite a bit.

The woodlands of the Falwood were not her home, not anymore than the savannah or the desert, the mountains or the sea. All were reminders of things that had gone long, long ago. Home was where she tread in these uninhabited lands, typically far from any habitation beyond village or small town. Such were the majority of her people on this world, except perhaps for those born of it, not stranded on it. It was the subject of many long hours of contemplation in the silence of an empty world, a silence only broken by the soft whicker of her horsey companion. She had worked her magic on the beast, and what was once a ridiculously oversized mount for her had shrank to something more resembling a pony, although this pony had the build of a warhorse.

She paused by a stream flowing through the heart of the gentle hills in this part of the forest. The horse took the opportunity to run a wet nose over her shoulder, a single liquid eye fixing on her as the beast stood over her. Intelligent eyes, far more intelligent than a beast of burden should have. The diminutive fae grinned helplessly at her mount, wondering for a moment what Drae was up to. They had parted ways for a time, to attend to their own things with an understanding to meet up again before too long had passed.

There was no rush, or at least there seemed to be none. He had a few hundred years left, at least - more if she could do anything about it - and she herself, well...

Best not think about it too much. The trouble with remembering such human sentiments as love and affection came with their own pathos, pain-in-waiting that would strike eventually. Time flowed one way, after all, and while she could not remember every lover she'd had over the immeasurable span of her life, the pain of each remained, duller as millennia passed but never completely forgotten.

The horse heard it first, of course; Respite had been altered through subtle use of the Art to be much more than a simple beast of burden. So long in the wilds, she had need of something that could protect her in the event the sorcery was not enough (a horrifying thought, but the reality of this world had long since been acclimated to). The head of the not-war-pony turned and looked into the trees without so much as wavering, and Seska cast pale amethyst eyes in the same direction and saw what it was that Respite had found so disturbing.

The ancient sorceress stood impassively, and observed the orc from afar, neither trying to hide nor approaching. It was rare to encounter anyone out here, and so her curiosity was piqued - a little, at least - but she also was wary of that particular race of people. Most memories faded as years grew longer and longer, but she could still recall pitched battles against hordes of the like, whole cities sacked and burned to slake the thirst of some ancient God that was now long gone.

If he was friendly, well, conversation was always welcome. If not, well, it might well serve her better to slip into the woods like a wraith and vanish.

Urmugh
 
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Thinking. Always thinking. It was false that we didn't have intelligence, but we were more inclined to fights than anything else. Well, not for me. That's why I didn't notice a very strange thing at first, but the scent was faster. It was a horse. Oh, a proper meal at last!

Then I saw it. It was a horse, indeed, but it was like a newborn horse. And at the same time, it looked like a fully grown one. "What strange things there are in the world!" I thought. I noticed that it was saddled. Hum, its owner was nearby. It would be rude to eat it, and I would probably get problems. But who on Earth would ride such a strange animal? "The owner must be small," I thought. Not a problem. But seeing that strange horse, a newborn and an adult... that was a deity's thing. And I would never offend a deity, be an orcish or a foreigner. Unfortunately, I was raised in a very different way, but my thoughts were mine.

Instead of eating a sacred animal (the mere thought scared me) offerings were more appropriate, so I took out some local berries I had gathered earlier from my pocket (I wore furs, so it wasn't exactly a pocket) and left them on the floor.
 
"He prefers to eat from the hand when he can," she said as she stepped around the bole of a tree that had apparently hidden her from his view. She was indeed a small woman, round face framed with silvery hair that accented the pale violet of her eyes. She wore a dress, blue slashed with white. Despite the fact that she wandered in the woods as a matter of course, it was as pristine as if it had been laundered just the day before. She paused beside Respite, one finely boned hand resting on the beasts' flank, which twitched at the touch.

She looked the stranger up and down (mostly up), and cocked her head to one side. "You seem out of place, here. The woodlands do not often support many of your kind," she said without mentioning that it was much the same for her. "A traveler?"

@Urmugh
 
A voice shocked me, but I didn't understand what it said. It was a childish voice, that was sure, and its owner went beside the horse. Despite being tiny, she was a Deity, because only one of them would do such powerful magic to a horse, and only one of them would be so fair, and as such I spoke to her in my limited Common, a little bit ashamed (I knew some words, at least, learned here and there, in shadowy corners as I watched. Some orcs belonging to different tribes taught me too, only after telling them about my story.): "Deity Great, forgive please Urmugh. Urmugh not want do bad." I stood and knelt before her. "Urmugh understand not Deity Great words. But Urmugh understand last word. Yes. Me traveler, oh Deity Great".

(Seska the Dragonslayer)
 
She cocked her head to one side, and searched her memory. It was difficult to recall everything, with so much to sift through and so much lost to the sands of time as it was. She was versed in most every language on the world through nothing but time.

"I am not a deity," she replied to him in orcish. The dialect was probably incorrect, but all of the various dialects were based on the same root language, and so he should be able to understand most of it. "The Gods have been gone for quite some time, at least the ones I ascribed to."

She patted Respite on the neck, checked that the carved staff was still in its place. This one did not appear to be violent at least. "I said he prefers to eat out of your hand. And I also said you seem out of place here," she continued in orcish.
 
"You say you're no deity, but you seem like one if you are talking to me in my mother tongue! And very well, I might say." I replied, impressed. "I see... well, a mortal can't question deities." I wondered who she was, if not a deity, because everything in her was... well, hardly relatable to mortals. "Oh, sorry." I gave her horse berries as she said. It ate them. "Would you like some berries too?" I said. It was not okay to feed one and not the other.

"About that question," I said, sitting on the floor. "you're correct. I was raised in a tribe where war was everything. Those who couldn't fight were killed or enslaved, and the same applied to other species. I didn't agree, but couldn't say that... one day I got my leg injured, and knowing my fate, I fled. Then I went to several villages to earn a more honorable life, but people ran away scared... I only wanted to tell them that I wasn't like others. And so, I've been hiding, learning a few words in Common from friendly orc tribes." Even though, despite how difficult everything was, I was still fearful of my own death. "And what about you?"

(Seska the Dragonslayer)
 
An unsurprising tale. It differed from tribe to tribe, of course; some were far more warlike than others, some far more honorable than others. It had always been so, since time immemorial. She shook her head at the offered berries - she did not need to eat, as such. The Prim had been kind enough to see to it that she - and her kin, if it came to it - could survive on other means.

"I never really liked orc much," she said truthfully. "As a people, anyway. Too violent for my tastes." She eyed him up and down again, and offered a faint smile. "Although, sometimes a member or two crops up that is not driven to the madness of war."

She motioned with a hand, and the air took on a charged feel, smelling of burning tin. The flow of the Prim was like light and life through her flesh and mind; she opened herself to the boundless power between worlds as easily others breathed. It was a chaotic force, and so it was hers to give it shape and form. Leaves and sticks, loose dirt and other detritus stirred around her feet, and then scooted across the ground as though propelled by a broom, except one pushing out in all directions at once. The circle of clear earth was only a few feet across, and once created the feeling of unseen power vanished as the Sidhe closed herself off to the Prim.

And then she settled down, sitting cross legged. She adjusted her skirts just so.

"I have no home, and have no destination," she said, calmly. "The full story would take weeks to tell - assuming I could remember all of it, of which I cannot. Regardless, you have no need to know of all of that." She paused, cocking her head to one side while regarding the strange specimen of orc before her. "You could say I am a ghost of a kind, from a different time and a different place. I wander the world, but I seek nothing." There was a bleakness hidden beneath that, but it was very faint. Long enough spent trying to deal with anything made it commonplace.
 
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"I can understand that. I wish I was raised by a more peaceful tribe, but... that was my fate. When I first went to a battlefield, however, I fully agreed with my family's world views. Growing up... not so much."

After what seemed to be a long and complex magic spell, and thus, reinforcing the idea of the divine gift bestowed upon that tiny woman -I would not ask about its details, for I knew that I wouldn't understand a word about it-, she sat down.

"Full weeks? You must have gone through many things... no home nor route. I see..." Everything was getting more mysterious, especially when I learnt about her being a kind of ghost. Dead souls with no right to rest or assist their deities. "Hearing your words, I think that you've met with a terrible fate, haven't you? I won't ask about it. Wounds can be deep."
 
"Wounds fade with enough time," she replied. "My fate is not the terrible one; it is the ones that came before me, and all the millions that have perished in my wake, that suffer." It was not an entirely truthful statement, but she owed this stranger nothing. Likewise, he owed her nothing either.

"Enough about me, though," she continued. She fiddled with her skirts a bit more, an idle tic perhaps. "I believe you will find people much more receptive to you in the larger cities, for the most part. The people in the country are...sheltered." A pause. "Anywhere except Vel Anir, anyway."
 
"Larger cities, I see. Not going to Vel Anir. I wonder why, but I will remember it." I didn't ask about her first statement, clearly, she was not in the mood for talking, especially to a stranger. "And thank you for the advice. May you have a safe journey, wherever you go." That being said, I stood up, ready for taking my own path. At least that day was different, and I had somewhere to go and try new things. It was a new beginning for me, and I hoped that fortune smiled upon that complete stranger who had opened new ways in my life.​
 
She stood up as well, a trifle hastily. It would have taken a careful eye to see it, but there was something in the way she moved and spoke next that echoed some desperate need, though for what it was hard to say. "No need to part ways yet," she said quickly. She stepped forward, graceful despite that unspoken need. "It is hard to travel alone, with no one and nothing to lean upon." She winced a moment, and cast a look back to the horse.

"Sorry, Respite. That was thoughtless of me," she said suddenly. The horse whickered as though it understood what she had said. His tail swished, and he walked so that he was on the other side of the orc, pressing his head into the larger beings' hip, as if to seek attention. The Sidhe sniffed delicately at the stallion, and turned away for all that there had been some conversation that was yet unheard that she had had her final say on.

"Travel ye which way," she asked politely.
 
She could notice my intention to continue on my way, or so did I think. "Is that so?" I thought that your advice was a farewell. Indeed, that is true. And dangers may decrease when traveling in groups. We could, if you want to do so, travel together for a while. Which way?" I said. Well, it did not matter. "I do not know. I don't even know the name of this forest, so where to go... it does not matter. Kind of, if Vel Anir has to be avoided.
 
"It does not matter to me which way," she answered hastily. And it didn't. One way was often as good as another, in her mind at least. She had seen all of the world many times over, but no matter how many times she had been to a place, it was often different the next time she visited. The world moved on and changed, and it was she who remained unchanging, a relic of some forgotten time.

"This is the Falwood," she said. At least, it was the Falwood right now. It had not been a thousand years before, and likely would not be a thousand years hence. A bleak reminder of the flow of time. "it all depends on what you want to do, my fine green friends," she added, "as to where you want to go. There are many interesting places in this world!"