Throughout all of history, the orcs were often seen as warriors who bring only destruction. Though that stereotype has been proven incorrect during almost every era in history with some orcs even establishing themselves in higher society without the need of violence such as becoming high esteemed scholars or even working in mage colleges across the continent. Despite these contributions, society still labeled these folk as barbaric and would often force tribes to rely solely on acting as such so they could avoid dying out.
Whereas many groups did their best to avoid such stereotypes, there were still a great many other groups who couldn't escape from them. As such, these tribes played into the stereotype as bringers of destruction. Often, these tribes were hired as mercenary soldiers for any noble willing to pay enough or become bandits. The lives of these orcs tended to be short lived as many die before they hit forty. Despite their short lives, these orcs lived in the moment and thrill of battle, tearing apart the other army with the most brutal methods.
The children of these orcs pick up a sword by the early age of eight, or at least I did, and take to the battlefield with their tribe that they refer to as family. Most younglings don't make it far but those who do tend to always stand out and become the strongest within their group.
This is the life of many orcs and the one I've grown accustomed to. I have survived the most hellish of battles and have come out on top, surpassing the strongest of enemies and being labeled as a wild card of my clan. Destruction is all I've known and I live for the thrill of vanquishing my foes.
This battlefield was no different from any other I've fought on. The smell of blood filled my nostrils as I stood amidst the ongoing battle. Although some would call this hell on Vgard, to me this was paradise. The sight of those fighting for a purpose striking down those with their own reasons made my blood scream in excitement. The fallen, those who fought, those who were frozen in fear, these were the sights that I called paradise.
The sight of iron tearing through flesh could be seen from anywhere. My fellow orcs ripping through the shields of the elvish army as if they were nothing and cleaving them into pieces. These elves weren't much of a fight but there were standout soldiers that caught my eye. Those ones didn't last long though as eventually enough orcs would surround them and take them out.
As I stood amidst this beautiful landscape, three elvish warriors stepped towards me. All three of them carried themselves differently from any other warrior I'd seen on this battlefield so far. These ones reeked of experience with death and close encounters. More so than any other elvish warrior I've encountered in all my thirteen years of fighting.
"Interesting" A grin appeared on my face, flaunting the giant bottom fangs I had which protruded from my mouth.
"You're all a bunch of savage monsters! You seem like the most important one so we'll take you down and end this battle in one fell swoop!" The soldier in the middle shouted, pointing his steel broadsword at my chest before continuing his speech.
I remained quiet throughout his monologue, not paying attention to anything that came from his mouth. Part of me wished to cut it short and attack him right now but I've seen how fired up some of these elves can be after talking.
"Now prepare to face the wrath of our fallen comrades!" The elvish warrior charged forward, using his sword as if it were a spear.
A pity, truly. As the warrior charged towards me, I raised my axe to prepare myself for a cleave attack. With how fast the elf was moving, there was no way for him to dodge my attack unless he managed to hit me first. The look of terror he gave me as he saw my axe begin to swing down on him just before I could enter his range gave me chills.
"You're fast. Unfortunately I've faced quicker foes."
My axe cut down on the elf, spraying blood against me and his remaining allies as his lifeless body dropped to the floor. The two elves stared at their fallen comrade with an emotion I couldn't quite explain. It was like a mixture of horror, grief, anger, and shock all at once.
"So what now? Are you gonna attack me all at once or do you think you have what it takes to take me on one at a time?" I wiped the blood off my face and flung it to the dirt. I raised my chin and glared at the two of them.
"You… you bastard!" The elf on the left shouted, charging towards me!
The other elf reached out, "no!"
The third's elf's' shout went on deaf ears as the second elf continued to charge towards me in a blind rage. The elf thrusted his spear towards me but did it so far back I was able to side step it. The elf's eyes widened as he saw my axe get closer to his neck. Right as it was about to make contact, a chain suddenly wrapped around my axe, preventing it from moving any further.
"Hm?" I turned my head to see who had stopped my attack.
Standing there was an elf who looked to be around the same age as the current elves I was fighting. Telling an elf by age wasn't a very good idea though as with how long they live. Some types of elves are practically immortal but those ones are rare and usually avoid constant combat.
"I see he killed Donovan… do not let his death blind you. The three of us will take this demon on together!" The elf pulled back on his chain, ripping my axe straight from my hand.
I looked down at the mark the chain left on my hand before looking back at the elf, "I've never fought someone who uses a chain as a weapon before. Should be fun."
The elf with the spear thrusted it towards my head, "is this all just some game to you?!"
"A game you ask? No… this is a way of life for me!" I raised my fist and went to slam it down on the elf.
The elf's eyes widened before he jumped back towards the elf he originally was with. He was visibly shaking, holding back the rage he felt for the loss of his comrade.
"Sorry, Leo. Charging in solo would just get me killed, I understand that now. So let's take this monster down together!" The elf pointed his spear at me and glared daggers into me.
The elf I'm presuming was named Leo nodded, "yeah. The three of us can't possibly lose. Engel, let your spear guide us to victory."
Leo and Engel charged right at me, aiming to piece their weapons through my stomach. Using the little gap in time available to me, I turned my head over so I could see what the other elf was planning. The elf had readied his chain and was waiting for me to make any sort of attack, that way he could prevent it.
"I guess that makes you the most dangerous one here right now!" I fully turned the rest of my body before charging at the elf, leaving Leo and Engel to chase after me.
The elf quickly jumped back to create space and threw his chain out to grapple onto me. I tried to side step the attack but with a quick flick of the wrist, the chain jerked to the side and wrapped around my torso. The elf grinned as he slung me around the battlefield, covering my body with bloodstained mud.
"You might be physically stronger than us but you should never underestimate your opponent!" The elf shouted.
"Who said I was underestimating you?" I stomped my metal boots into the mud, putting a complete stop on his attack.
I raised my leg and stomped on the dried mud in front of me, slowly making my way over to elf. By keeping myself stuck in the mud with each step, the elf couldn't pull me as he lacked the strength to do so. All he could do was watch as I approached him.
"Don't forget about us!" Engel charged in, thrusting his spear towards me.
Knowing I had no real way of dodging, I let my instincts take over. Waiting for the perfect time, I violently shook myself over just in time for the chain to take the full brunt of the attack. With a loud crack, the chain snapped.
"Crap!" Engel shouted, trying to back away to no avail.
Right as the chains fell off, I slammed my fist into Engel's face, shattering any teeth that were directly hit by my punch. The strength used in my punch was enough to cause him to stagger back and drop his spear, an opening I was fully willing to use to my advantage.
All Engel could do was watch as I grabbed his spear and ran it through him as if it were nothing. The sound of the spear effortlessly going through Engel's flesh made the area seem to go quiet. Of course that wasn't the case but I was so immersed in the battle that nothing else was even registering for me.
"Leo stay back!" The other elf tried wrapping what remained of his chain around me.
I looked back at the elf for a moment before grabbing the chain. With most of it being destroyed, he wasn't able to do anything special with it. I pulled the chain forward, dragging the elf towards me and slamming him into the ground between me and Leo.
"A pity that someone with your strength ended up using it for destruction." The elf used what remained of his chain and grabbed onto my axe, flinging it next to me.
The elf's comment caught me off guard. This was always the way my tribe used strength. We used it to gain power and take control of places as we saw fit.
"Master, what are you doing?" Leo asked, giving the elf a confused look.
I cautiously looked at the elf as I went to pick up my axe. Despite the situation he was in, he seemed… happy? As if he was satisfied with something he had been working hard to earn.
"Leo, these past years have made an old man such as I feel like life was worth living. I know I can't beat this opponent, but allow an old man to be the wall that shields you from harm one last time."
I raised an eyebrow at the elf's words. Becoming a wall that protects others? Preposterous. Such a thing would never last in my tribe or even any other orc tribe similar to mine.
"Come, orc. Allow me to show you what years of experience can do for someone!" The elf dropped his broken chain and raised his fists.
I readied my axe, "your name."
The elf let out a chuckle, "Vanburgh. Though Van will do just fine."
I nodded, "very well, Van. I'll make sure to remember that."
Van stood there, raising his guard so he could counter any attack I would dish out. This fighting style was the exact opposite of mine which is built on destroying before the opponent can even make their first move.
I tightened the grip I had on my axe and rushed down Van. When it comes to fighting styles like his, I had heard that faints would work unless the target was well trained in keeping their composure. Considering who I was fighting, feints probably wouldn't work that well but it was the best idea I had at the moment.
I raised my axe to make it appear like I would swing it down, in actuality the plan was to deliver a right hook to his ribs. That plan shattered to pieces when he grinned and twisted my arm before kicking me down.
I let out a huff, "alright, no feints then."
I jumped to my feet and swung my axe again, this time going for a side swing. Van quickly ducked underneath my attack and landed an uppercut, slicing my chin. Doing my best to stay focused, I continued my axe swing and sliced Van's side.
The two of us continued our assaults, with many ending in equal damage being exchanged on both sides. No matter what angle I came at, Van was always prepared to counter me. For the first time in what felt like forever, I had found someone who could go blow for blow with me. I could feel my excitement level rising as the fight continued, all while Leo stood back and watched. With how fast we were moving, he knew that if he joined it he would only create problems for Van.
Right as I felt like the fight was about to enter its peak, Van stepped back. I had forgotten that he was much older than the other elves here which was made apparent by how exhausted he looked. Still, he kept a grin on his face as he looked at me.
"I suppose I've reached my limits. An old man such as I can't possibly match up to the endurance of a young orc such as yourself." Van grinned.
"Then I guess this last one is it then." I said, disappointment escaping my lips. This fight was starting to get fun too.
The two of us charged at each other one last time, letting out our battlecries as we got closer. Once more, I went for a side swing to attack but Veo saw through it and attacked the weapon from its underside, knocking it in the air. Van quickly dealt two devastating blows to my ribs, making me cough out some spit before taking a step back.
Van went in for one last punch and in that brief moment, time seemed to slow down. I moved my eyes over and saw my axe had fallen perfectly in place for me to grab it and deliver one final hit to Van. It only lasted a split second, had one blinked they would have missed it. I had grabbed onto my axe and swung it into Van's chest before he could deliver his punch, the impact causing him to freeze up. Van took a step back before coughing out blood. Still, he remained standing.
"Master!"
Van shook his head, "Now's not the time for that Leo. Leo, you're the shining star of our village and must live. So go. Run. Get as far away from here as you can. Become someone stronger who can vanquish evil with ease."
Tears began forming in Leo's eyes as he saw his master's head droop. My battle axe remained lodged in his stomach as all signs of life had vanished from him. The Van had died standing. Leo slowly began to get up, the look of anger flaring in his eyes as he looked at me. His eyes screamed of the desire to kill me and yet that fire seemed tame somehow.
"I'll kill you. You took everything from me so when the time is right, I'll do the same to you but tenfold." There used to be an optimistic look in his eyes when I first saw him, but now, that color had faded away.
I nodded, "I welcome the challenge."
Leo turned away from me and ran into the battlefield, grabbing onto a corpse's weapon as a way to defend himself. As he ran, I decided not to follow him after retrieving my axe from Van's corpse. My axe had been covered in blood, similar to how I looked right about now. Using a cloth I carried on my belt, I quickly wiped the blood off my axe as best I could.
"Now then, who should I fight next?"
The area around me was still in combat, it didn't seem like much had changed since before my encounter as both sides seemed to be doing equally well against each other. With the act of power I had just displayed, many elves nearby gave me horrified looks and stayed away to fight another member of the army I was fighting with.
"Vylan!"
I turned my head, expecting to see another elf with hatred in his eyes. After all, I just heard someone call me a villain so it would check out. Instead, I found the chief of my village. I wasn't called a villain by an elf, I was called by my name.
"Did you need something?"
Chief Orbos nodded, "aye, the noble family we're fighting for has requested to speak with you. They didn't say what they were going to talk about though."
I looked back at the battlefield, "to draw back would make it seem like I'm fleeing. I can't do that especially when I'm in such a fun place."
Chief Orbos put both hands on my shoulder, "you're not fleeing, you're following orders. Now get going!"
I wanted to protest but I had no right to. Orc law has it so the strongest orc leads the village and gives commands. Gender and age play no factor in who the leader is either. Chief Orbos here was stronger than me by a longshot so I had no choice but to listen to him. I hated the idea of leaving but I had a duty to follow the chief.
I grit my teeth and let out a giant exhale which Chief Orbos was more than familiar with considering our past together. He let out a small chuckle before patting me on the back and pushing me forward.
"Fine, but you better make sure you win."
Chief Orbos smiled, "of course we will. Just who the hell do you think I am? Now get going, I ordered the troops to clear a path for you so you could get there safely."
I stared at him for a brief moment before nodding my head. He was absolutely right. This was Chief Orbos! There's no way he could lose a fight even if he was up against a hundred men. With a deep breath, I began running off towards where the nobles had stationed themselves at. Hopefully it would be worth leaving such a beautiful place for.
As I walked away from the battlefield, my comrades opened a path for save travel. I wasn't a fan of this but I was fully aware of how nobles never liked to be kept waiting so this was probably for the best. Forward and onward. For this was the life my tribe chose to live.
I marched back, the feeling of mud sticking to the bottom of my boots as I darted through the battlefield. My tribe held back any would-be attackers with ease, allowing for an almost too easy escape. No, I wasn't a fan of that word usage at this moment. I wasn't escaping from the battlefield, I was ordered to leave. This action made my very blood boil in anguish as each step made me hate this course of action. Despite my personal feelings, I pushed them aside to follow my orders. For that was the way of my tribe and it will remain that way until we eventually all fall. Though I couldn't see that happening anytime soon.
"Get a move on, Vylan!" An orc shouted, slashing an oncoming elvish warrior.
"Right…"
I pushed on, the smell of blood remained strong no matter how far away I moved. The sound of iron clashing against other iron echoed even further out, reaching my ears even after I managed to leave the battlefield. The bright green grass was a stark contrast compared to the bloodstained mud of the battlefield. I took one last look at the battlefield before turning away.