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A Soldier's Life - 292 - Exiled Elder (Final edit 7-1-25)
🕑 Added 2024-11-09 19:43:10 +0000 UTCChapter 292: Exiled Elder
Mynasha found herself riding next to me as I devoured some salted candied nuts. It was taking a fair amount of aether to heal from the potion, and my ring of sustenance had not dulled my appetite. I wasn’t sure if my convergence spell form to get the most from essences also extended to the strength potion. There might be some truth in that speculation, given how much aether I gathered from dungeon aether restoratives. Maybe it was just dungeon potions, as I don’t think the effect carried over from alchemist-brewed potions. I couldn’t recall if dungeon-brewed potions worked better on me than alchemist brewed.
Mynasha interrupted my wandering thoughts, “It was an impressive victory.”
“He was too aggressive in his first attack. He should have tested my defenses and speed before committing,” I said dismissively. My strength was so ridiculous that it wouldn’t have mattered, but I was still used to analyzing the fight and putting myself in my opponent’s shoes.
She didn’t have a response, and we rode in silence. She didn’t even offer to continue our Orcish lessons. Before we were about to cycle pairings, she said, “I find you acceptable to serve as my First.” She paused for a breath. “I would be honored to have you stand with me through the Trials.”
I didn’t have time to respond before she cycled back to ride with Benito, who quickly tested her patience with the stories of his entertaining exploits. I should have been paired with Blaze next, but Glasha maneuvered her pony to take his spot, and he didn’t object, staying where he was at the front.
I didn’t have to wait long before she revealed her purpose. I thought it was going to be pressing Mynasha on me after she had just begged me to help her. “I know an old cleric a few miles off the road ahead where we can stay.”
I shook my head thinking that it would give her enemies more time to place obstacles in our path. “I would rather we push through. A few miles would add hours to the journey.”
Her jaw clenched a little. “It would be beneficial for Mynasha to talk with Cleric Tarnasha before the Choosing.” At least she hadn’t made it sound like an order and more of a request.
I had apparently earned the respect of both clerics. “Is that how all clerics are named? Adding -asha to the end of their names?” I asked, not committing to the detour.
“When we are recognized, we choose our own name. Usually, it derives from our birth name. Asha means spiritual guardian of the people. Before I was recognized as a cleric, my name was Glorza. It basically means runt of the litter,” she laughed to herself at some private joke.
I nodded at the information, as it reminded me other religious orders allowed name changes when promoted. I let out a slow breath. “How important is meeting the cleric to her success?”
She looked back to make sure Mynasha was occupied with Benito before continuing. “Tarnasha was an Elder and also went through a Choosing himself as a candidate long ago. He can give her wisdom and what to expect of the Elders.”
“I am guessing he wasn’t chosen to be the Supreme,” I said rhetorically.
“No. He was expelled from the Elders as well. Or I should say, they didn’t accept him back. He was not the strongest candidate, but I do believe he was the wisest and had the people’s interest at heart, much like Mynasha, so he can be an ally.”
“Power and influence will always prevail in the Caliphate. Mynasha has the power but not the influence.” She looked back at Mynasha again. “But she will put our people’s interests first as Tarnasha would have. That is why I am helping her. I didn’t think she stood a chance until I stumbled upon you.” Her grin looked more feral than happy with her tusks.
“I have to consider my companions,” I replied dismissively, but I was considering how much I really cared about the orc nation. Glasha looked about to say something to press her case, but stopped.
Before sunset, Glasha directed us to a worn game trail. I didn’t like how narrow and overgrown it was, so I handed the Ginger’s reins to Mateo as I scouted ahead on foot. I pulsed earth speak, only picking up small animals in the dense woodlands. The woods were full of towering evergreens hundreds of years old, their dark green needles creating a dense canopy overhead. As I ventured deeper along the path, the crisp, invigorating scent of pine needles surrounded me.
As I approached a wide stream a few miles later, I decided to pause and wait for the rest of my group. On the far side of the stream, a well-worn path wound its way up a gentle rise, where wisps of gray smoke curled upward, hinting at the presence of a nearby dwelling. When my companions finally emerged from the dense woods, they allowed the eager horses to drink.
I sensed something and turned to see a bald, older, gray-skinned orc standing on the rise. Two impressive white wolves flanked him. A few of the horses got skittish at the sight of the wolves and pulled on their reins. The trio had appeared almost silently and had been out of range of my earth speak. Glasha yelled up to him over the rushing water, “I wasn’t sure you were still alive, Tarnasha.”
He spat heavily on the ground, looking over our eight members. In an unpleasant tone, he yelled down at us. “Glasha, is that you? I hope you brought something delicious for dinner. I am not feeding all your friends.” He walked away, disappearing over the rise, and the wolves went with him.
“Don’t worry, he grows on you in time,” Glasha said reassuringly. “He is probably upset I haven’t visited him in over two years.”
After the horse’s thirst was satiated, we led them up the slope. Glasha was first to enter a small clearing with a single-room cabin. A tripod suspended a large cast iron pot suspended over smoking coals. The two wolves flanked the fire pit, protecting their master’s dinner. Log seats surrounded the fire. I signaled for the others to care for the horses while I approached with our charges.
Tarnasha had already sat, and his eyes looked unfocused. He wasn’t blind but definitely had difficulty seeing. “Why are you disturbing my rest Chronicler?” He asked as he stirred the coals.
“Rest? I thought you came here to die?” She said with a teasing tone.
“I will when I get around to it.” He retorted with a chuckle.
“You always say that when I visit, yet you are still alive when I come back.” She joked, and the two orcs had a laugh between themselves. “This one is going to The Choosing as a candidate,” Glasha said more seriously. Mynasha straightened her back some, presenting herself to the old orc.
He squinted at Mynasha through furrowed brows, frustration etched across his face. “Damn it! Heal my eyes, Glorza! Why do I even have to ask anymore?” His voice was tinged with impatience. Glasha approached the timeworn orc with a playful snicker, her fingers outstretched as she reached for his head. As her hand rested on his head, his eyes gradually cleared, allowing his appraising gaze to fixate on Mynasha.
“Don’t waste your time going to the Choosing,” he advised, his tone heavy with caution. “It should be called the Already Chosen.” A swift slap from Glasha to the back of his head caused the nearby wolves to lift their heads in concern. Their ears perked, but their bodies remained still and watchful, waiting on the pleasure of their master. My hand instinctively moved towards my blade as I prepared to defend the cleric. “Isn’t that what you wanted me to say?” He said, rubbing his head.
Glasha chastised the old orc. “No, I changed my mind. That is why I brought her here. Help her prepare!”
“Prepare her?” He asked, baffled.
“Yes, for whatever trials the Elders plan for them. You were one once after all,” Glasha said impatiently.
He growled unhappily at Glasha, “I was part of two Choosings in my lifetime, one as an Elder and one as a candidate. Neither were enjoyable experiences.” He stopped talking and stared at me like he was seeing me for the first time. “Is he a human?”
“He will be her First, once we convince him,” Glasha said with a wink before I could object.
He laughed aloud, “Oh, I would love to see the Elders’ reaction to that! I can see Kytasha breathing fire and Loliasha having a stroke at the arrogance of it.”
“It has been done before,” Glasha said calmly and trying to give me a reassuringly nod.
The old orc laughed, his wrinkles disappearing as he grinned while he did so. “That is why a Chronologicaler can never be the Supreme. How long ago was that? I assume he didn’t survive.” I looked at Glasha questionably.
Glasha pursed her lips, “He wasn’t killed, he just never exited the Demonic Lair.”
“Same difference,” the old orc dismissed with a wave of his hand. He sighed, seeing he wasn’t going to convince the women to abandon their quest. “Fine. I will talk with her and tell her what to expect.” He indicated to me, “By his dazed expression, you should talk with him and tell him what to expect. I might even come with you just to see what dragon shit you are dropping on the Elders.”
The old orc stood, cracked his back, and straightened, and I could see his eyes looking around, acclimating to his improved sight. “Come, child. Let me tell you how to survive the Choosing. Mind you, not how to become the Supreme but just how to survive it.” Mynasha looked uncertain for the first time but followed after getting a nod from Glasha.
The wolves looked to their master, but he never gave a command for them to follow, and they lowered their heads between their paws in disappointment. I looked at Glasha for an explanation with an agitated expression.
While she gathered her thoughts, a strip of bear meat I had prepared for Baldo appeared in my hand. The two white wolves immediately perked up, sniffing the air. They didn’t leave their spots guarding the kettle, though. I tossed the meat to the one on the left. It landed on pine needles within reach, and he sniffed it before consuming it greedily. The other wolf looked at me like I had somehow betrayed him by giving it to his brother. I tossed the pleading wolf a second piece, and it snatched it out of the air. Both wolves slowly shook their tails in a friendly manner but remained guarding the pot.
Glasha moved to check the pot, and the wolves growled at her. She grunted, “Those beasts never liked me much.” She returned to her seat rebuffed. “While they are talking, we should talk about your duties. The First’s duties are to stand by their candidate.”
I interrupted her, “I never agreed to be part of The Choosing.”
“Well,” she said heartily, “consider this information in case you do decide to help Mynasha.” I shook my head but let her continue. As she talked, I alternated tossing dungeon bear meat to the two white wolves.
“As I was saying, the First stands by their candidate. Usually, it is one of the more popular and powerful warlords who is backing them—to signify the warrior caste is willing to obey. When a candidate cannot find a First, they can always enter The Choosing alone, but will certainly fail.”
Maveith interrupted, asking for food to prepare for our group. I gave him some dungeon bacon and potatoes to go with what he had in his pack. The wolves sniffed the air, their eyes following the retreating goliath. I tossed each some cooked bacon, and their tails resumed swaying, showing their happiness. Glasha shook her head, maybe upset I didn’t toss her some bacon before she continued, “The Elders—there are five currently—will offer challenges to the candidates until two remain.”
“You mentioned it before, but what is the nature of these challenges?” I asked, willing to listen.
“They are tailored to eliminate the unwanted candidates.” She smiled tuskily, “For instance, if one of the candidates had an earth affinity that the Elders wanted to assume the Supreme seat, they would bury objects in a mountain a few miles away. Only those returning with one of the objects in a predetermined amount of time would advance.”
“Do the candidates fight each other? Are candidates killed during these challenges?” I asked.
Glasha chewed her lip. “It does happen. However, violence on another candidate disqualifies them from The Choosing, and could see them exiled.”
“But no restriction of violence against their Firsts?” I said, filling in what was not said.
“But not against their Firsts,” she confirmed seriously. “Do not worry. We are not as petty as the First Citizens of the Empire. It is deeply frowned upon and a great loss of individual honor to kill another without reason. And no, winning The Choosing is not a valid reason to kill.”
“Would me being a human be a reason? Or a Telhian?” I asked. Glasha pursed her lips, her jaw tight, but did not answer. I pressed further, “How was the Supreme killed then? Your edicts make no sense to me.”
I caught something briefly in her eyes before it disappeared—guilt or something else. Glasha got uncomfortable on her seat. Prehaps it was me questioning her people’s ethos. “The Supreme was not attacked directly, but he was guided to his demise. And no, I was not a party to his departure.” She inhaled deeply and let out a long breath. “But I could have prevented it and I chose not to.”
She was waiting for me to judge her. After some thought, I said, “Everyone is righteous in their own mind. Only those who write the history will determine who was, in fact, righteous.”
Glasha looked at me in disbelief and burst into loud laughter. The wolves grew alarmed and finally moved away from the fire, getting behind me. “And because I am a Chronologicaler, I can determine whether I am, in fact, righteous or not in my own actions.”
It was not what I had been going for, but it had broken the mood somewhat. A massive explosion thundered in the woods. The wolf on my right tucked its head under my arm, seeking protection. The other one cowered behind a log. I stood on alert, my companions rushing from where they were preparing dinner.
“There is no danger!” Glasha said, stopping us. “Mynasha is just demonstrating that she does have the power to become the Supreme to Tarnasha.” Another explosion rocked the woodlands, and I covered the wolf’s large ears as I did for Oscar during thunderstorms when I was little.
I noticed a flash this time before the explosion. Was she using lightning? More explosions followed, and soon, splinters were raining down in the clearing around us. A shiver ran through me as I comforted the wolf. Mynasha was exploding trees with powerful lightning over a quarter mile away, and the debris was reaching us. How powerful was she?
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Comments
Marnie
I assume Tarnasha calling Glasha Glorza is purposeful
Marnie
Why are you disturbing my rest *Chronicler? Spelling Chronologicaler
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Thaabit Rivertree
Another thing is, he is letting Glisha latch onto the idea he will participate. He should just tell her "no, I will not participate. There is no benefit for me/you havent convinced me". I mean its not hard to use the actual word 'no' to let her know he's serious about needing a good reason. And threatening her if she manipulates events. As it is he's saying no with his mouth and mind, but yes with his feet, which is entirely new for Eryk and not that fun to read.
Thaabit Rivertree
For what reason does Eryk have to get involved in nation level orc politics? This makes no sense. He has the power to rescue Maveith's sister regardless. There is no benefit in this for him, and it feels like he has been made stupider to go along with it. Particularly Glisha. She has manipulated him at every turn try to force him to support Mynesha, but he continues to make naive escuses for her behavior. She has pushed him to delve, slept with Mateo for info, omitted critical/life threatening information, and tried to implicate him within local orc politics to force his hand... yet he just continues to let her do it. At this point, I'd expect him to cut ties or make a threat. It honestly feels like he's being led around by the nose and who wants to see that? This whole situation has been frustrating.
Greasypeanut
“showing their happiness. *Mynasha* continued, “The Elders—there are five” Change Mynasha to Glasha
Andrew Crews
The Supreme ❌[not attacked] directly—but ❌[guided] to his demise. And no, I was not a party to his demise.” She inhaled deeply and let out a long breath. “But I could have prevented it and chose not to.” Edit: The Supreme was not attacked directly—but was guided to his demise. “And no, I was not a party to his demise.” She inhaled deeply and let out a long breath. “But I could have prevented it and chose not to.”
Silver Beard
I don't see Eryk getting into world building; but mutual respect would be a useful bargain chip in the future amongst Orcs. He'd have a foot the door of their society which could pay some big dividends depending of the job/mission. He'd gain some infamy or fame or both... if he was First to the next Supreme.
Silver Beard
You obviously are single in RL? No manipulative women running around telling you how to live, ignoring anything you say different, and certain you'll come around if they dangle the right bait in your eye. And make damn sure to remind you that only they made it happen- and that you happened to be there to see it happen.
Silver Beard
All this predicated on that she's even alive. Nice twist if she's 5 years dead. Then Eryk will have to Stash away Mavieth to avoid a vengeance killing.
Pope Yoda I
Just add some humanity. * Roman soldiers played boardgames in their free time. Have a member who always wins just turn out to be really good at cheating. * Orcs find strength to be just as attractive as humans do. His first fight at the meeting occurs because a hoochie starts flirting with MC. Her husband takes exception to that. * Have them tell stories. Have MCs REAL reason for being drafted come up (i.e. caught butt-naked in someone's barn). This brings up everyone else's increasingly exaggerated renditions of their own. * A certain group member turns out to have been writing an extremely spicy orc/human erotica and now has to bribe the guy who found out to keep his mouth shut. The book will go on to sell blindingly well, spawning sequels plays, and, eventually, a record-breaking opera. * The griffin, much like his owner, is a pyromaniac. Only without the restraint years of maturing bring. * MCs Earth Sense finds what might be awesome treasure. Only it's at the bottom of a millennia-old latrine filled with unspeakable horrors and fermented titan-bergs. The group negotiates the pros/cons of just saying fuck it and moving on. * The next titan artifact found is a series of cave drawings depicting crude acts of bestiality. Your story, while technically well-written, is desperately missing a lot of little details that breath life into the world. I'd strongly encourage you to slow the pace a bit. Unless you're rushing to end this story completely, too many have been ruined by trying to rush to a certain event only to find out that the foundations have rotted away.
BubblyGhost
Technically we don't know what state Maveth's sister is in. What if the warlord doesn't want to part with her? What if helping Mysha is the only way to get her freedom? As of yet Eryk has made no promise to help and really they're just escorting them till they actually have more information on the sister.
BubblyGhost
Helping Maveth find his sister and explore a cool fantasy world. How are you confused.
daniel dantas
Focus on raelia and eryk in the next chapter, have them ride together, mavith will be in the spotlight as soon as they get there, so it's okay to leave him out for a bit, although it would be nice for him to have a few more dialogues at least once more on this trip talking about his sister. Glasha and Mynasha, it can be fixed with a conversation about rewards for the mission and her talking about the dungeon ecosystem and having some monster that eryk might think will drop some essence he needs (water, earth, air, you name it). The only problem is developing raelia/eryk, Mynasha and a bit more glasha on this trip, it's going to be a challenge
Erick Thiemke
prob not time - healing affinity with a slow aging effect. time affinity is too rare. prob not going to delve into Glasha's past too much in the story....as for her age...I am going to say 80ish...any older then she couldnt have a brother warlord
Salvo
Interesting, she has a time affinity and a recorder of history too. Her laughing about being proven right by historians is even funnier if she can defend her case ‘personally’. She also knew 507 years since the elf first, did she know him personally?
Виктор Фон Стыценкофф
Still.. why this is so passive plot - if next chapter we will see dragon/daemon who will say - you need to stop and raise three kids - Eric will do that without asking twice, other people will also become peasants, I don’t understand his motives..
Aaron Weingrad
One way to give him motivation to go through with this is if he thinks certain essences will drop from the testing dungeon.
Aaron Weingrad
One possible way to make this appealing is if the dungeon at the end of this political hubbub spawns creatures that drop rare essences. He might do quite a bit to increase the right rare stats. The Demons whatever dungeon might be something really useful to him.
Silver Beard
If I was Eryk- my first question would be if spell forms were off the table for everything but the Dungeon?
Carnaza
Srry for bad english: Make the owner of maveith sister be the first of the probably next supreme. Next supreme would be extremely racist or pro slavery and would make freeing her imposible únless Eryk helps her.
daniel dantas
I agree that we don't have to like them, but at the very least they need to present a case worthy of consideration, all we heard from glasha to try and convince eryk was cheap sentimentality for a person that the readers and Eryk don't have any kind of affinity for and that's vital to make this arc work, just make glasha offer something worthwhile and make sense at the level of difficulty and danger rather than trying to make eryk feel guilty, 90% of the plot problems will disappear. Mavith's sister isn't enough because eryk can go and talk to the warlord in person and simply convince him using something I mentioned above. As long as eryk is offered something, helping Mynasha will be easy, even if he doesn't like her that's what eryk is now, a mercenary, create a tempting reward and everything will unfold naturally until konstantin
Salvo
I think you skipped over what clerics DO for the people. In the rush of towns, no one healed the sick or gave funeral rites or name days to the young. You had a few chapters about screening for affinities in the empire, which in hindsight made it look like an efficient draft program, that did things like healing, taxes and sentencing justice. This is a huge blank spot right now for the caliphate. Why are clerics valued? Spell-casters sure, but is there more? Also, zero pathfinders this whole time is bizarre.
Erick Thiemke
it hasnt been revealed other than her 'brother' being younger
Ivan Kanewske
Cool, I didn't catch that, if you expand on that some, would help sell the situation, or make that slap make more sense, The setting, it appears she is going to an older orc,
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
Glasha has a slow aging spell form...she is older
Erick Thiemke
fixed
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
how did that get past my eagle eye
Erick Thiemke
changed to predetermined
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Ivan Kanewske
“Would me be a human be a reason? Be to being Maybe “Would me being a human be a good enough reason?
Ivan Kanewske
“But I could have prevented it and choose not to.” Choose to chose
Ivan Kanewske
Only those returning with one of the objects in a determined amount of time would advance.” In a predetermined ???
Ivan Kanewske
Both wolves slowly shuck their tails in a friendly manner but remained guarding the pot. Shuck to shook
Ivan Kanewske
I wolves looked to their master, but he never gave a command for them to follow, and I wolves To The two wolves
Ivan Kanewske
The old orc stood, cracked his back, and straightened, and I could see his eyes looking around, acclimating to his improved site. “ Site to sight
Ivan Kanewske
swift slap from Glasha to the back of his head caused the nearby wolves to lift their heads in concern. I understand the banter you have here, but a younger coming to an elder, really doubt she would slap the back of his head, even playfully, Back of throat rumble of irritation, or some facial expression of and crossed arms, giving off a sense of irritation??? Those action could still set the wolves off since she mentioned they never liked her anyway
Ivan Kanewske
The two wolves flanked the fit pit, protecting their master’s dinner. Log seats surrounded the fire Fit pit Fire pit
Ivan Kanewske
When my companions finally emerged from the dense woods, the allowed the eager horses to drink. The allowed To they
Erick Thiemke
he would loose his spell forms if he got the tattoos
Erick Thiemke
yes this trip was supposed to build the Eryk/Raelia relationship and I dont feel it as developed enough. Mateo and Benito are teh comedic support while Blaze is the voice of reason. Maybe Maveith hasnt had enough screen time with the episodic-style chapters
Erick Thiemke
it is presented as a different culture/thought process. I don't think liking the orcs is required for the story, but trying to present their viewpoint is. world building a religious state is somewhat difficult. he has not agreed to be the first and right now is just using them to get closer to their goal. As an author, I am still searching for a valid reason for helping Mynasha, and i might run out the clock as it would be 3-4 chapters away now, and so it might not happen. The plan is still to have Konstantin finally catch up and say, "Just what the hell do you think you are doing?" on a side note. the original plot had the MC learning the dimension door spell form and then a few chapters of them fleeing the Caliphate. Why I didnt go this route was the spell form itself and I didnt like the idea of being "on the run" inside another nation. with all the resources available, it seemed implausible of a successful escape
daniel dantas
The biggest problem with this arc at the moment is a valid justification, but it's difficult when everything points to NOT getting involved, so far it seems more practical to get to the warlord himself, offer some exorbitant sum or offer a trade, a challenge, anything than to interfere in the orc police for a person who isn't worth it and at the request of another who ignores your words and doesn't offer anything substantially worthy. So far I haven't liked the orcs or this trip, it doesn't seem fair or right to follow Glasha or Mynasha and do so much for them, I feel it seems out of place, for the sake of comparison, I would feel much more comfortable and it would seem more right to get involved in elven politics for Raelia even if the rewards weren't as substantial than these two, they haven't done anything as characters to deserve our trust or support
daniel dantas
Honestly this arc has points that are bothering me a lot, it involves glasha and mynasha, they are receiving undeserved faith, glasha treats eryk as if he had already accepted the mission and constantly ignores his disagreements and eryk for some reason isn't bothered about being led around by the nose like the good soldier/slave he desperately ran away from being, besides, her using this speech to make eryk feel guilty is annoying, she can say that Mynasha has had the most miserable life ever and it still won't be a valid reason for eryk to get so dangerously involved in politics. Mynasha is simply boring, she doesn't have any redeeming qualities that would motivate us to even consider making the effort for her, she's a mixture of raelia and the talent of that human mage (that eryl slept with) only interior and boring, I mean "are you acceptable to be my First?" Wtf,come on, eryk is going to get involved in politics again risking his life and what will he get in return? A thank you? Congratulations?
Dominic French
Yeah the MC doesn't really have a clear long term goal for himself right now. With no clear goal for himself he seems to have latched on to helping his friend. Honestly he seems to have enjoyed his life the most when he was in the city learning anything and everything he wanted. I do think that he should be asking for more of that as a reward since he seems to enjoy it and it is also practical. Knowledge, exploration and the power to do so. He just needs a moment to realize he's actually free now.
Andrew
Thank you!
Salvo
Eryk’s goal is autonomy, and he should be up front about that. He never had that as he wasn’t a first citizen. He’s still keeping secrets from everyone out of fear of enslavement. If he becomes her first, he could become a caliphate warlord: basically a first citizen, and that could mean he could buy slaves back. It could also be a benefit of dual nationality. He could seize Telhian lands as a warlord, and maintain the cooperation of Telhain citizens. But, I don’t know if he wants city build. Maybe capture the shimmering labyrinth for himself? hard to say. Anyway, you called one of the elders ‘Loli spiritual guardian’ and I wanted to be the first to poke fun at that!
PatronTurtle
I think the idea of ending slavery will be the cause that pushes him to stick around
PatronTurtle
So the book 4 cover is Mynasha!
Filip
This duo will be unstoppable
Alex
Anyone in MC’s spot will be thinking of getting Orc tattoos for himself and his companions. MC would be also trying to figure out how to control Clerics if he is threatened. Hell , i would ask a clerik to read the history of my black blade and scare the willies outta her. These would be the only worthwhile things beside Maveth sister
Pope Yoda I
I wonder how feasible a decapitating strike against the orcs at the gathering would be. That said, MC hasn't really been given a reason to stick around yet. You're having him take a very large amount on unearned faith from an orc who's deliberately withholding information and another who's treating him like crap. Construction of interpersonal relationships between the various cast members has noticeably suffered (either as part of the plot or accidentally due to rushing the plot). The orcs are just kind of... there.
Jordan
“Would me be a human be a reason? Would me ‘being’ a human…
Ghost
I'm not sure what he will gain from this, other than Maverith's sister for essentially helping her become their own version of the Telhian Emperor. It seems like Erik will play a big role in this and not really receive a big reward.
Erick Thiemke
1st of 4. Next will hopefully be tomorrow, but we have a World Sphere and Town Builder to publish. World Sphere is over half-written, so it will be out tonight. I am bending the plot in a new direction. Hopefully, it doesn't feel forced. I already rewrote this chapter once. Biggest hurdle is still getting the MC to Mynasha without it feeling scripted
