Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) (161 page)

“Was for good, Gnak chief, make Orcs better,” Gnak said to the small creature before he brushed at it through the bars of the cage and removed his father from the beast.

The beast again fell into the odd trance, unmoving as Gnak located the animal’s original essence within him and returned it to its rightful owner. This time, as had happened with his very first experiment, the animal recovered quickly, almost as if nothing had happened at all. Gnak was beginning to understand.

“Was Gobgob?” Bota asked.

“Yes. Want Gnak dead,” Gnak replied with a smirk.

“Worked, yes?” Bota asked.

“Yes, worked. Gnak think animal different Orc, but work. Is more hard for Orc in animal. Is less hard for animal in animal. Very not same.”

For hours they discussed the uses of Gnak’s discoveries. Using Orc minds in animal bodies to infiltrate enemies, or saving an Orc from the clutches of death by restoring it to life within another animal or man. This of course led Gnak to want to bring Jen back, but he knew there was still much to learn, and he could not fathom putting her inside a beast. No. She deserved better. For now he would keep her where she was safe. He had tried bringing her back once and had failed her tremendously. This time he would make sure he knew how to properly use his power.

Even with so many possibilities, there were two more tests Gnak wanted to perform, though he doubted either would have immediate results. First, he swept his hands across one of the foxes within its cage, and removed the essence from it, simply leaving it in a trance-like state. The second, he untied the top of a cage and quickly reached inside, snatching one of the foxes up by its neck. Holding the beast up off the floor he squeezed its throat, pinching off the air it needed to survive. It was a foul deed, and Gnak knew it to be so, but reminded himself that for many to live, some would need to die.

As the fox perished, Gnak held it to his ear, listening for its heart and feeling for its breath. The fox was still. Gnak placed it back in the cage and waited. Out from the corpse came the essence and, snatching it from the air, Gnak returned it back to the body, feeling it bind back into place as the animal coughed. Rising as if nothing happened, the fox began to stir as Gnak secured the lid of the cage once more.

“Now wait,” Gnak said, turning his attention back to Bota.

“No yet,” Bota replied, and reached into a cage himself. Gnak watched as his second in command pulled the fox from its cage and freeing his blade from his belt he stuck the small animal in its chest, watching it bleed out in seconds. Then, seemingly without remorse he handed the small corpse to Gnak.

“Bring back. Is test. Like human girl. Gnak learn fix?” Bota both asked and suggested.

Gnak took his meaning. There was more to learn, and one lesson needed to be a lesson of his previous failure. Like Jen, this body was injured. But unlike Jen, this one had
just
perished. Gnak watched, waiting for the orb to leave the body, and as soon as it released its hold he put it back in place where it belonged. Within moments the fox was moving again despite the hole in its chest. And with its apparent recovery Gnak rose back to his feet. Night was again near, and though he had not rested, they would soon be on the move again. All he could do for the foxes was wait and see what toll his manipulations had on them.

CHAPTER FIVE

It was near the middle of the night two full days later when the commotion arose from the lines of Orcs following Gnak’s lead across the desert. Hearing the shout of one of his captains, he called a halt to their progress, and turning he strode back the way he had come. There, near the rear of the line was a gathering of Orcs, including several of his captains. Clearing a path between the congregating men and women of his tribe, he found that between them stood the cart containing the foxes he had experimented upon. He had given order that if anything occurred with the beasts he was to be notified immediately, and they had done well to do as he ordered.

Needing to witness as much as possible himself, he rushed ahead as his clan mates spread wide, creating a path for him. He well expected the fox with a hole in its chest to have expired once again, and was not surprised when he found that his thoughts had been true. The animal had deteriorated quickly with the previous day’s hot sun and flies, and now it seemed it had met its end.

Laying in its cage, the beast did not move, as maggots crawled about its wound and mouth. It was a sick bloated thing, the skin so inflated that it moved independent from the muscles and sinew beneath. Even so, Gnak could see the spark within it and caught it as it moved to depart. Holding the tiny ball of light in his hand, he again pressed it to the beast and felt it bind there, though the sensation was weak. The disgusting animal’s mouth moved, its swollen tongue lolling about as its milky eyes wandered this way and that. It was alive again. If you could call it that. Only this was not the only issue requiring his attention as two of his captains quickly pointed out

Beside the first cage sat another of the same crude construction. Within the cage was the fox that Gnak had removed the orb from and left in a trance-like state. Though it remained in an upright position, having not moved in days, it had stayed that way when it had died. Though none could be certain
when
that had been, as it appeared still to be living, with eyes open and in an upright position. Its orb of light was gone, having left sometime prior without his notice. Lifting the cage, the fox tilted to one side and fell over, stiff as the wood the cart it was carried upon was made of. Tossing the cage back into the cart, Gnak then looked at the third fox he had performed a test upon. This was the fox he had choked to death and then restored. Though it was also not in the best of shape, it remained alive. It was beginning to show signs of bloat, proving to Gnak that it too was no longer living, but without an actual open wound it at least lasted longer than its peers. Even so it acted unnaturally, its head jerking this way and that while its ears moved about, independent from one another. Turning, Gnak strode away from the cart to resume his position at the head of the line. Time was ever running shorter, but at least he had learned something new.

It appeared that after life, the will he restored to a beast did not linger long, lasting only as long as the body lasted. But so too was the opposite true. Without the will he had the ability to remove from the creatures, the body no longer desired life, and so too would perish in little time. There had to be more to it than this. What use was the power the goddess had given him if only to make the dead linger long enough to rot? Then he realized it. It might not be all she had intended, but was at least some small part of what it was the goddess had given him.

Ishanya had told him to unite his people and guide them into her worship. She told him to create for her an army unlike anything ever seen before upon Thurr. And she had given him the key he needed to make it possible! It was his own stupid Orc brain that had missed the obvious!

To take over an Orc clan was as simple as challenging and killing its chief, just as he had done with his own clan. Sure, there would be those among the new clan that would likely try and kill a newcomer to take the role themselves, but Gnak no longer had to fight them. Not really. All he had to do is touch the chief of any given clan and pull from the Orc his will. Then, when he was without the will to do anything, stuck in the trance Gnak had seen several times already, he could be killed with ease. All Gnak had to do was get close enough to touch anyone who stood in the way of his plans.

Of course he would have to make it
look
like a challenge. Perhaps he would insult those he planned to kill just as he touched them. It was the simplest solution in the world. He knew there had to be more to his power than just this, but it was enough to do as Ishanya wished. It was enough to unite his people and possibly save them from themselves. Excited, Gnak strode through the sand the remainder of the night, only half alert to what he was doing. To share his excitement with her, knowing now that she at least had some connection with the world, Gnak reached inward and stroked the essence that was Jen within him. They were finally a step closer.

The third night after his experiments, the last of his test foxes died after it had bloated so far that its belly had ruptured during the day. After that it did not last long. Sending out a pair of his captains to scout ahead, Gnak waited impatiently for their return. He knew that their destination grew near. The Orc camp they were supposed to join with the gathering Orc army could not be much farther. It was only four hours before his captains returned.

Gnak watched them come rushing over the dune ahead, and halted his clan’s march as they raced to meet him. The looks upon their faces told him much about what lay ahead, but even so, he listened patiently after asking them what they had found.

“Gathos clan march, next night reach big chief,” the first captain stated.

“No many miles to camp,” the second added.

Gnak realized that he really needed to learn their names. He owed them as much.

“Big chief, many clans. Have scouts. Scouts find Gathos,” the first added.

So that was it. Time was up. Just miles ahead lay their destination, and with it the big chief and many clans of Orcs. Not only were they less than one night’s travel away, but there were scouts out and about who would surely note their approach. Gnak needed time to think. Time to plan. With nothing better in mind, he gave the order to set camp and strode off into the night, waving off his captains who sought to follow in case he needed a guard.

Nervous, he sought out Jen and began caressing her, hoping to rouse her. It had been days since he last heard her voice and he felt alone, even
knowing
that her presence was still with him. He wanted to discuss his predicament with her, and see what she would suggest. Jen always knew the smart thing to do. He was too new to her ways to fully understand, but she could help him and he knew it.

Over and over he called out to her in the night, whispering her name into the wind. All the while he summoned her power to his hand and held it there, stroking it lightly. He watched as the night grew brighter and finally the sun broke the horizon ahead. Still he tried to summon her.

It was a full two hours into the day when he again pleaded into the air for her to answer him when she finally responded.

“Jen, Gnak need help,” Gnak begged.

“Well hello, Gnak. What seems to be your trouble?”

“Jen! Thank gods, you come!”

“Not gods, Gnak. Ishanya. I couldn’t be here talking to you if it hadn’t been for her.”

“Yes. Yes. Thank Ishanya,” Gnak agreed.

“Why are you so anxious, Gnak?” Jen asked inside his head.

“Big chief close. No time finish plan.”

“Close enough to see you?”

“Much close. Scouts see.

“Have they seen you yet?”

“Not know.”

“Why not just turn around and go back until you have had enough time?”

“No run. Is no honor. Clan no…” Gnak paused, seeking a word to convey his thought.

“Understand?” Jen suggested.

“Yes. Clan no understand run.”

“Then stay where you are. What will the big chief do? Will he come to you?”

“Not know. Maybe send captain. Maybe no.”

“Then what do you have to lose? Wait and see what happens. Sometimes the best plan is to do nothing at all.”

“Jen smart.”

“Why thank you, Gnak. You’re not too bad yourself,” she replied with a giggle.

Gnak realized he had not heard her laugh since she was alive.
Really
alive. The sound made him feel lighter, as if his problem was already diminished.

For hours Jen remained with him this time, and Gnak spent more than half the day sitting atop a dune speaking with her. He described the plan he had made to collect the armor from the mountain pass, along with the gold he had stashed in the crack up on the wall of the pass. He explained how his men would then take both the armor and the gold to the goblin king that he had dealt with when capturing the giant. Using the gold as payment, his men would have the armor altered to suit as many of his Orcs as possible. That of course was if the goblins did not simply kill the Orcs and take both the gold and the armor.

He told her of his experiments with the foxes, and his discoveries that were a result of those experiments. Though to his disappointment, she did not sound overly excited when he told her that he one day hoped to find her a suitable body and restore her to life yet again. Perhaps the two deaths she had already experienced were yet too fresh in her memory. Gnak had no way of knowing, and did not wish to upset her by asking.

They discussed his ability to easily dispatch other chiefs in order to claim their clans and unite the Orcs, and this she took interest in, though warned him to be cautious when choosing the moment to strike. Such an attack could trigger a larger battle and many could die.

Jen made several suggestions, and warned Gnak about several ideas he had and what future implications they might bring if he did not think his actions through. She encouraged him to continue to test his abilities, and maybe even use them to infiltrate the big chief’s own clan. It was devious. Every bit of it. But she showed him that every path she spoke of would save lives in the end. Lives he could then teach and guide to Ishanya. It was the end she told him to focus on.
Plan ahead
, she reminded him, but also told him that a plan did not always involve action or force. Gnak weighed her every word carefully, and when he finally decided that it was time for him to return to his people he told her goodbye in his own way, and promised he would talk to her again soon.

Returning to camp, Gnak found the place in a commotion. Where he had expected to find most in their tents resting for the day, instead there was a surging mob. Below he could make out a small group of unfamiliar looking Orcs surrounded by his own clan, and it appeared as if things were on the verge of violence. As of yet, only his captains and Bota knew of his desire to kill as few Orcs as was possible. The rest of his people had yet to subscribe to such beliefs.

Feeling as the sand gave way beneath him with each powerful stride, Gnak rushed to the edge of his camp, the midday sun hot on his neck and shoulders. Nearing the crowd of Orcs, they noted his approach and made way for him, as he walked straight up to the first Orc who did not belong to his people. Poking the brute in the chest with one large finger, he scowled at the man, gnashing his teeth menacingly. The Orc, who had been right in the middle of an insult, froze, his words caught in his mouth. Gnak leaned towards the Orc and, pressing both of his huge hands to the man’s chest, he shoved with all his might, throwing the Orc backwards as its two fellows watched on in shock. The Orc landed without so much as a grunt, its limbs still positioned as if it stood, making it appear even more frightful than Gnak had intended. Even so, he puffed out his chest and jutted out his jaw as he turned to face the remaining two.

“More Orc talk bad Gathos clan?” Gnak demanded.

“What Gathos chief do?” the bigger of the remaining Orcs demanded in return, gesturing to his fallen clan member.

“Gnak take puny Orc’s life. Give back if Gnak want. No for now. You talk. Tell Gnak why come!”

Gnak felt more than saw as the whole crowd around him leaned forward, listening intently. His clan had done well not to harm the Orcs. Gnak knew well already what their reason for coming was. But he was playing safe. Being smart. Gathering information.

“Big chief send us talk. Tell Gathos come,” the remaining Orc that until now had been silent said.

“Gathos does come. We no hurry. Have much carry. Is heavy,” Gnak sneered.

“Then Gathos weak. Big chief no ask. Is order. Gathos come now,” the larger Orc grunted, then spat in the sand at Gnak’s feet.

It was all Gnak could do to restrain himself at the insult. His life as an Orc, and Orc mentality, told him to draw his blades and kill the Orc, but he knew it was not the way. He did, however, intend to teach the Orc a lesson.

In one swift movement, Gnak lunged forward and dropped into a roll as he swept his leg out, tearing his opponent’s legs from beneath him. As the Orc’s legs shot out from under it, it flipped backwards in the air as Gnak regained his feet just in time to punch the Orc full in the face, driving it forcefully to the ground upon its back. Without sound or motion the Orc lay, seemingly lifeless in the loose desert sand. Grunting and rising to his full height, Gnak tucked away the orb that was the Orc’s essence.