Rise of the Warrior of Everfen

Chapter 1: My Name Is...

"Get up, Garonessa!" The sharp hiss startled her awake and she sat up in one smooth motion, ready in case Nukbrik attacked her like he often did. Sometimes it was with a pale of cold water, sometimes it was his fist. Hard to judge with that one.

"I'm up, I'm up." She muttered in orcish. She'd long ago learned their tongue, being raised amongst them. He'd opened the door and left, but she knew not to waste time. She sighed as she rolled out of bed and spotted a bit of uncovered wood underneath her bedroll with small scribbles carved into it.

My name is Erinne. My name is Erinne. My name is Erinne. She carved it deeper and deeper almost every day. If Nukbrik found it he'd whip her for it, so she quickly recovered it. She didn't even take time to stretch, she just stood up and walked out of the room so she wouldn't upset him by taking her time. He was waiting in the barn a short distance away.

"Go up to Gra Mahrat. She needs assistance. We're going to town after breakfast." He ordered immediately, his lip curling, showing off a second set of tusks that had begun to grow. Some older orcs grew a second set, the males always had larger tusks than their females. She'd never seen a female with a second set, no matter her age. All of them had skin of varying brown shades, in stark contrast to her paler skin, though she vaguely remembered humans with skin darker than the orcs. She hadn't been around many humans in a long time though.

"Yes, Gru." She replied and wandered out of the barn. The sun wasn't quite up yet, though the land around her wasn't dark. Already she could see smoke filtering out of the house on the hill. Though what they called houses were more like dens to humans. They were surprisingly compact homes, big enough for them to get in and out of without a problem, big enough to move around in, but no extra space. A kitchen and eating room, and bedrooms. Nothing like the stone or wooden walls humans built up for their homes.

She reached the house and opened the door, disappointed to see their guest was already awake. The only positive about Turook's visit was that he brought Gwin.

She rarely had contact with other humans, mostly because humans and orcs had been at war for as long as she could remember. Any human she came across in these parts were just another slave, but orcs taking on human slaves wasn't a common occurrence. In fact, she'd been hearing rumors that the new Great Chieftain forbid it. It gave her a higher hope of one day being freed of this life on a chain.

"Ah, Garonessa," Mahrat was sitting at the table with their guest. All of them except the human slave Turook often brought with him. The older woman was already working on breakfast. "Get over there and help Gwin with the meal."

"Yes, Gra." Her name was Erinne, but that never stopped them from calling her garonessa. Slave. She didn't correct the Gra though, that'd earn her a swift lashing, especially in front of her guests.

Erinne turned and walked to the fireplace where Gwin kneeled, cutting up some leaves for seasoning on the hearth. "Good morning," she said quietly and Erinne snorted. It would be a good morning the day she didn't wake up here. "We could use some more firewood if you're not too sore?" She jerked her head up and blinked at the older woman. She gave her a soft smile and added, in the human tongue, "They never treated me the way they treat you. I know what happens to you when they take you to Everfen."

She stared at her, heart rate suddenly rising higher in her chest. Turook didn't always come here to visit when Nukbrik took her to the Everfen. Sometimes they went to him. Never, in all these years, had she told Gwin about it. "How do you know about that?"

"They talk about it. You're their favorite sport."

She pressed her lips together, but she wasn't mad or offended. Gwin had never been the fighter she was. She was soft, gentle, she bowed to submission when the orcs barked at her. Erinne had never had it in her to bow to their every whim.