Fated To The Orc King

Chapter 10

▪️I Z A R A▪️

Everything happened so fast.

One minute, I had been enjoying the feel of Baldur's thick arousal grinding into my lower back. Which then led to us exchanging a bit of banter that slowly headed towards flirting, at least that was what I thought we were doing. However, before we could really get anywhere, Gnarg started making a fuss, seeming to demand that we got off him.

Upon dismounting the angsty Vharg, I quickly looked around, trying to take in our surroundings. I did not get much time to really process what was going on before we heard a loud sound which reverberated throughout the forest.

It was unlike anything I had ever heard before and I felt a chill run down my spine.

Baldur shouted for me to run as the ground beneath us began to shake and the next thing I knew, the edge of the cliff gave way, taking the Orc King with it.

"Baldur!" I screamed.

Seeing his large body disappear down the side of the precipice caused a gut-wrenching sensation to come over me. It was as if everything around me slowed down, the air in my lungs suddenly sticking in my throat.

My eyes immediately filled with tears and I ran as he had instructed. I hated leaving him, but there was nothing I could do and I also hated feeling powerless.

Taking off in the direction we had come from, I ran back down the pathway.

I quickly tried to remember what my father had said our ancestors used to do during the great tremors. They would stay away from tall trees, cliff edges, and rocks. Basically, move away from anything that could fall on you.

Unfortunately for me, I was surrounded by everything that had the potential to do so, my neck craning back to look at the mountain ridges and trees that were surrounding me.

Running into the nearest clearing, I dropped my rucksack and crouched down.

To my surprise, Gnarg came by my side and curled his body around mine, forming a sort of shield to protect me. The feel of his fur was rather soothing and his actions warmed my heart, temporarily taking my mind off of the disaster that was all around while I hugged his fluffy body to me.

The Isle of Wrobel had not had a great tremor of such intensity since the era of the fae.

Such quakes were a natural occurrence and they happened every so often. However, the fae would often use their magic to amplify the tremors, taking great pleasure in terrorising the humans on the isle as the ground would shake, destroying many of our homes.

Was this a natural occurrence?

Could the fae be getting their magic back?

My mind began to race with so many questions while the ground continued to rumble beneath my feet.

From the idle chatter among some of the drunk Orcs during dinner, I knew that Alaric would often try to attack smaller Orc parties. Even though some fae seemed to possess trace remnants of magic, they were few in number and definitely no match for the Orcs.

But what if over time those residual traces had begun to get stronger?

The Orcs did not think it possible. However, if there was one thing I had learned in life, it was to never take anything for granted and to always leave a small place for the impossible. When I had voiced my concern to Khagra one evening, he had told me not to worry and that I was safe within the castle and that nothing would ever harm me.

But as I glanced up at the sky, the colours of the setting sun made it seem as though the heavens were on fire. Coupled with the violent shaking of the forest, I felt as if the world was ending.