The World of The Gunny

The Wasted World of Gunnery Sergeant DeShane
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 Post subject: Trials of the Soul
PostPosted: 14 Aug 2006 01:25 
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This is my story of an orc. It is how he views the world and how his view is different from everyone and how becomes a beacon of light in the face of a swarm of death and chaos. I know this isn't of the same ilk as a lot of the other stuff around here, but I hope it fits in well enough.

---PREFACE---

My name is Ovarg. I am a fully blooded Orc of the Craglands making my way in the world of man and elf. My story is long and this is how I came to be who I am.


After nearly 13 years I was finally of age to leave this place, I was finally an adult in orc custom. I spent more than half my life dealing with the massive brutality and unending disgust and I had enough; I was finally ready to take it upon myself to leave my brethren and seek out a better way of life. I hate to even call them brothers, but we are all orcs and that makes them my brothers in blood alone. I never knew what was wrong with me at the time and why I had a conscience and morality when no one else around me seemed to. They got a kick out of destruction and suffering. They thrived on the anger that I struggled to control, it still gets the best of me sometimes, but usually only when I am dealing with my fellow orcs. My problem is that I can feel what their victims are going through, some call it empathy, but words don’t do it justice. I just know I want to stop the pain and torment. I didn’t know what any of this meant, and I am learning even now. My brothers think of me as a lesser being, inferior if you will, because I have this ‘weakness’. I don’t consider it a weakness, but that is something you will have to determine for yourself. So I went off to find my own way in life, a better way.

There was a time, I tried to fit in with them; I used to partake in their cruelty, but it tore me up inside. Eventually, I couldn’t feign it anymore and my revulsion was a spectacle for all to witness. I have been a joke among my brethren, ever since; they knew I didn’t enjoy the same things they did and they could tell the ruthlessness bothered me. They had even gone so far as to torture a family and prevented me from stopping them just to see me cringe as they continued to hurt the family both emotionally and physically, but that is a tale I care not to relive. That was the final straw though; that was the reason I finally left. It wasn’t the constant fights I got into, or the beatings I got when I fought back, it was the utter contempt they had for life that made my decision easy. It wasn’t enough for me to be different; they enjoyed making everyone suffer, even another orc, though I would hardly consider myself one of their own.


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PostPosted: 14 Aug 2006 01:39 
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Chapter One!

Not sure where to go or what to do, Ovarg just knew he had to get out. He had heard of a large city named Tardesh to the east. It is a city of mixed races so he thought they should be more tolerant then those small-time human or elven towns around here. Ovarg’s brothers had talked about one day razing that city, but he knew they could never get organized enough to succeed. He decided to head east directly through the forest of the elves towards the city of Tardesh.

Ovarg was worried about going through this forest, he knew elves hated orcs probably more than orcs hated elves and they were known to live and lurk in this forest; heck that is why the orcs call it the forest of the elves. More though, he knew that he would run into none of his brothers in this forest, they would never dare enter the forest, unless it were for a full scale raid. He would rather run into a troop of elves than a single orc at this point, that and going around the forest would have also added several weeks to his trip, something he did not relish.

He supposed that remaining off the main road would allow him to avoid most contact and provide for the easiest and safest trip, despite possible run-ins with any elvish-types. Ovarg figured he should stay near or behind the trees and bushes along the road, just so it would be easier to remain hidden. He admitted to himself that all of these forest and nature sounds had him pretty jumpy; bugs, animals, who knows what else is out there? He was really on edge. This was unlike the wide-open Craglands that he called home all of those years. Many nights he spent alone in the wilderness avoiding his brethren and enjoying the soundless nights and the beauty of the stars.

Still behind the bushes and keeping the road just within sight, Ovarg heard someone approaching from further along the road than he could see. Being near dusk, didn’t help either. These weren’t your typical travelers he realized. He could clearly hear the solid heavy footfalls of a man in bulky full plate armor. When he finally caught a glimpse of the two, he saw that one was wearing some sort of hide armor that covered most of his body. This one had a bow strapped to his back and a short sword at his side. Less noticeable were his unkempt hair and disheveled and worn clothes. Not to Ovarg’s surprise this individual was an elf, and a feeling of anger filled the orc’s blood. He had been told since birth how much his kind despises elves and how bad elves were; this inner hatred was born and bred into all orc-kind. The elf’s companion however, had round ears and was much sturdier; that could just be from the thick metallic armor he wore that glistened in the setting sun. A bastard sword at the armored figure’s side hung low to the ground, combined with the large metal shield strapped to his back this individual was a formidable sight and would have caused a lesser being to cower. But Ovarg was brave, even in his emotion-filled state. The setting sun caught the shiny full plate mail or the shield just right as the armored figure walked in Ovarg’s general direction and it shone in his eyes almost blindingly.

Suddenly filled with worry, Ovarg’s natural reaction was to find a place to hide. He looked around for the nearest brush and dove in head first. Upon landing and gaining a hiding stance, he thought to himself that jumping into the brush was probably the worst thing he could have done. He immediately stopped moving and tried to listen to see if they noticed the noise he just made. Hoping against logic, he heard them talking in the Common tongue, though he recognized an elven accent. That sent another surge of anger down his spine and he didn’t understand it either. They only spoke for a moment as one of them hushed the other, probably in response to the noise Ovarg just made. As irrational as it was Ovarg held his breath hopeful they would move past him. At this point all he could hear were foot steps approaching him, even the sounds of nature seemed to stop. The problem was they were heading right towards him, they definitely knew he was there.

Unsure what to do, with only seconds to act, he hesitated. A mistake he would not soon forget. A cloaked figure approached Ovarg from the corner of his eye. He looked up just in time to see the tracker bearing down on him. Managing to raise his battle axe in an effort to defend himself, Ovarg avoided an early demise. After successfully deflecting the sword Ovarg rolled backwards and stood up yelling in his best common tongue, “I not want to fight.” Oh, how he wished he could speak better common tongue, though most of his brothers can’t speak even the simplest phrase in common.

"An orc in an elven forest, sneaking around...you're up to no good," the tracker screamed as he lunged at Ovarg again, trying to get an advantage.

"Damn it!” Ovarg yelled as he deflected the attack. “Leave me be! I not want to hurt you!" He exclaimed, trying to restrain himself; just then he was knocked aside by a blow from a large sword into his ribs, but it didn’t pierce the skin or go through his leather armor. It struck him at an angle, as if the blow wasn’t meant to be deadly.

"ARGH!!!" he yelled as he sprung at the armored figure, splitting the knight’s shield down the middle with the deadly blow. Ovarg laughed to himself, but his celebration was short lived as the tracker then thrust his short sword right into Ovarg’s gut. The feel of cold steel piercing his abdomen was more than enough to infuriate him. After losing control of himself the pain from the wound merely made him flinch. He looked up, turned his attention to the tracker, and aimed for the least protected part of his body, right below the chest area. His axe swung with more than enough force to slice through the flesh of the now critically wounded tracker. In his ire he forgot that the hide armor the tracker wore wouldn’t protect him very well from his blow, maybe he didn’t forget so much as didn’t think of it. Regardless, the tracker fell limp to the ground, his midsection nearly cut in two. Ovarg would have rather restrained himself, especially dealing with the delicate elf, but again his anger got the best of him. Still unable to control the rage, he turned towards the armored figure and blocked the feeble strike aimed at him with his greataxe.

“That is enough bloodshed,” Ovarg yelled in orc knowing no one understood him. After he averted the knight’s attack, Ovarg slammed into the knight and knocked him stumbling to the ground. He stood over the knight with his greataxe in hand, reached into a belt pouch and the armored figures eyes grew larger with fear. "I said I not want to fight! Heal your friend and leave me be," He declared as he threw a cure potion at the knight’s feet. The knight just stared at Ovarg and didn't move.

Ovarg put away his greataxe, turned away from the armored figure, and yelled at them both, “Go!” After a small jog Ovarg turned to check on their status and saw the armored figure pouring the potion in his friend’s mouth. Ovarg began to bandage his own wounds as he slowed his hustle to a walk and continued on his journey to Tardesh.

The next two days were pretty uneventful. Ovarg managed to stay out of sight and avoid everyone else he found traveling. After that second day though, he heard an interesting sound. Someone running in heavy metal armor; that isn’t something you hear very often, which is probably why this caught his attention. Ovarg poked his head out and saw the armored figure running right towards him. It was at that point that the knight yelled "Orc! Orc!"

"Damn it," Ovarg said to himself in orc. "Why don't they just leave me alone?"

Here we go again, he thought to himself as he pulled out his greataxe, raised it and yelled, "Leave me, knight. I not wanted to hurt your friend and I not want to hurt you. I defend me!" Again, Ovarg was reminded at how much he needed to work on his language skills.

As the knight approached, Ovarg noticed that he wasn’t wielding his weapon; in fact his hands were up in front of him. Ovarg wasn’t sure, but he thought this might be a gesture of non-aggression. That is what villagers had done to show their surrender…just before his brothers would cut them down. "I just want to talk,” the knight said breathing rather heavily.

“No!” Ovarg said in common. “No one just wants to talk, everyone wants to fight!" he mumbled to himself in orc with a scowl.

Surprisingly, the knight answered in fluent orc, “I only want to talk. What is your name, good orc?" He said still trying to catch his breath.

That sounded like an oxymoron to Ovarg, no one had ever said that before. A good orc! Ovarg laughed to himself, wondering what this knight was trying to pull, but he decided to play along. "Ovarg."

"Well, Ovarg, I am Sir Kenneth and I need to apologize, both for my friend’s actions as well as my own. I have never met an Orc that wasn't riddled in cruel intentions before and we just assumed you were up to no good. It doesn't help that he is an elf and has dedicated his life to defending this very forest against your kind. It wasn’t until you gave me that healing potion, and spared my life, that I realized you are no ordinary orc. I am sorry for everything. I hope you are okay." He explained fluently in orc.

"Just leave me be,” Ovarg yelled feeling a bit more emotional than he liked.

"I want to make amends; to make things right." He tried to convince Ovarg.

"You can't! There is no way to fix things,” He bellowed back at Sir Kenneth.

“Of course we can,” he argued, not understanding what Ovarg meant exactly.

“I have tried. You can't bring back the dead and you can't undo what’s been done. Apologies and explanations don’t bring people back and don’t fix anything," Ovarg clarified, trying to make him understand; what’s done is done.

“Hmm, I think I understand. You regret your past…Instead of trying to undo what has been done why not strive to prevent bad things from happening,” Sir Kenneth said.

“You do realize you are talking to an orc; right? An orc protector is a pretty absurd concept.” Ovarg said, with a chuckle in his thoughts. “You don’t get out much, do you?” He asked sarcastically. Now this is how orc was meant to be spoken.

“I am a Knight of Veryskos von Yuru, the Holy Protector and Great Guardian of Presbos. I have dedicated my life to protecting the innocent. It would be an honor to teach you the way of the Holy Protector.”

Ovarg had heard of this Veryskos, a minor god dedicated to the protection of others, especially the weak. He probably fought some of his soldiers in one of his many raids. Ovarg hoped this guy wasn’t one of them, but was pretty sure he wasn’t. “Are you serious?” Ovarg asked with a smirk. “An orc protector? That is a funny prospect. Orcs are good for only one thing and that is destruction.” He said quite forcefully.

“Well, my orc friend, I firmly believe that your fate and purpose in life are strictly up to you. The only guidance you need is that of a deity and the only help you need is that of a friend. You handing that cure potion to me proved to me that not all orcs are brutish thugs of pure destruction.” He said still trying to convince Ovarg.

Ovarg smiled, which was quite a feat with those tusks he has, “That was just because I didn’t want your wrath upon me for killing your friend,” he tried to convince Sir Kenneth, in truth though the violence and pain Ovarg caused others repulsed him to the point that he could no longer stomach it, even in self defense.

“I do not believe that, and I don’t think you do either. If you have some time I would like to take you to our temple and have you speak to our high-priestess.” Sir Kenneth insisted very politely in orc, which was quite a feat itself, as the orc language was never meant to be spoken in such a polite manner.

“So you are serious” Why would a human want to try and make a protector out of me?” Ovarg asked quite confused at this point.

"I sense that evil may have created you but it does not rule you and in that it will allow you can help others, of course." Sir Kenneth said convincingly.

“This is intriguing, I think I will speak to your high-priestess, but I do not make any promises,” Ovarg answered, sounding fairly polite himself. This knight seemed to have quite an insight; maybe Ovarg was too obvious about his feelings. They do often get the best of him, especially his anger. Maybe this high-priestess can help him gain control of his anger.

So Sir Kenneth and Ovarg headed to this temple of Veryskos in the nearby village of Icarough.

Neither one of them spoke very much, it seemed they were both trying not to offend the other or maybe neither one of them had anything to really say. Upon nearing the village of Icarough, Ovarg started to feel a bit nervous. He didn’t think it was a good idea to walk around a village looking as he did. “Shouldn’t I cover up before we go into the town? I mean most humans aren’t very tolerant of orcs,” he suggested.

“No, good orc that will not be necessary. The townsfolk are very open-minded, they will have no problems with you,” Sir Kenneth assured Ovarg.

“Okay, if you are sure,” Ovarg reluctantly responded, still quite unconvinced.

After walking for what seemed like a half an hour, Ovarg saw the top of the entrance sign for Icarough between the trees. It was still a ways off, but he could tell it was very worn. It looked quite dilapidated and much like many of the towns he raided with his brethren. He remembered watching his brethren impale the villagers on the poles holding up the sign, spreading their intestines and other innards across the welcome sign, and even playing street games with their body pieces or heads as their children or parents watched. “Oh, I don’t feel so good, I need to sit somewhere.” Ovarg said trying to change his thoughts to something more pleasant.

“Of course. Are you okay, good orc? What’s wrong?” Sir Kenneth asked politely.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Ovarg responded unable to convince even himself, as he struggled to remain standing long enough to not hurt himself while plopping down.

After about a minute, Ovarg told Sir Kenneth that they should keep moving and he helped Ovarg up as he was still a bit queasy. How pathetic, Ovarg thought, an orc getting uneasy over mere memories and images.

Soon after that and out of nowhere a childish screech was heard. “A Monster! HELP!? A little girl yelped as she ran towards town. How Ovarg wished not only would a child not mind the sight of him, but would look up to him, to think of him as something more than a monster. But his face is his own and he can’t change what he is. Even orc children look down on Ovarg, simply because his emotions are considered weakness.

As Ovarg watched the girl run away, unable to do anything, someone suddenly jumped on his back and pulled him backwards with an arm around his neck. As he staggered trying to get his footing a dagger was plunged into his chest. The sting of the cold metal washed over him and he couldn’t breathe. “You will not hurt anyone here, you beast” A female voice was heard yelling, barely audible to Ovarg as he fought to stay conscious. All he could do was try and breathe and feel the shiver of death creep up his spine.

With that Ovarg dropped to the ground. He struggled to remain conscious but he was still unable to breathe. Terrorfied he looked over at Sir Kenneth, while Sir Kenneth yelled “Angel! No!”

The world quickly grew dark and cold. Sir Kenneth ran over to Ovarg and before he even fell all the way to the ground, Sir Kenneth laid his hands upon Ovarg, said a quick prayer, and positive energy transferred from Sir Kenneth to the unconscious Ovarg. With that Ovarg started to awaken, he was sitting next to Sir Kenneth, still unable to focus. A pretty, wide-eyed, young woman stood up and looked at Ovarg with a hint of innocence in her eyes. “Wha?” She stuttered.

The first thing Ovarg saw when he regained consciousness was Sir Kenneth’s big ugly face in his own. He jumped up and pulled himself clear of Sir Kenneth. Ovarg started to ask what happened. A woman was standing behind Sir Kenneth staring at Ovarg. “Whoa there, my friend. She did not know who you were,” Sir Kenneth proclaimed, apologetically.

“But Sir Kenneth, I don’t understand. Why would you protect an orc?” This woman asked disconcerted.

“He is not just any wicked old orc. There is something different about him. He knows what it means to care for others and to sympathize. He is a good…man. Trust me.” Sir Kenneth exclaimed.

‘A good MAN?’ Ovarg thought to himself. What was that supposed to mean? Was he calling Ovarg a person and not a monster? Ovarg felt uncomfortable every time this knight spoke of him as ‘good.’ This Kenneth was a strange man, indeed. Maybe this is some sort of ruse, Ovarg thought.

“I trust you, you know that. If you say this orc is good hearted, I will back you up,” Angel said, though she didn't sound fully convinced.

“You know I can see many intentions,” Sir Kenneth reminded her.

“Indeed,” Angel agreed.

Ovarg was still taken back by everything and trying to get his bearings. After he regained his composure, he looked at this woman more intently and to his surprise she was beautiful. Tall and slender, unlike any woman he had ever met…outside of raids that is. He couldn’t help but stare at her as he admired her beauty.

Just as his eyes rose to hers and their eyes met, he felt a flutter in his gut like nothing he ever experienced before. His instinct was to look away, but he could not. He couldn’t do anything, he wasn’t able to think or speak; he was enthralled. She was wearing some form of light chain mail that was glistening silver and gold in the sunlight; this highlighted her features quite splendidly. Her dark red hair was tied up behind her head. This made her hair look short in the front, but when she turned to the side he could see there were oceans of it just waiting to flow in the breeze. Some of her hair had come loose in the front and was hanging down in her face. It gave her a more natural look and he thought it accentuated her beauty perfectly. Her hair was shinning in the morning light like a sea of brilliant dark silk. Then he noticed how radiant her blue eyes were. In orc society blue eyes are unheard of and these were like the untamed sky on a peaceful cloudless morning. Just looking at her was as refreshing as a summer breeze on a hot day. She sparkled like a desert flower in the morning rain. Just then Ovarg realized they were both staring at him...He needed to say something.

She leaned towards Ovarg and sincerely said, “I am terribly sorry, are you alright?”

Ovarg cleared his head and managed to blurt out, “I, uh, I'm fine.”

“I apologize for stepping out of line. I should not have jumped to conclusions. I am sorry.” She said as she bowed her head. That was the most beautiful voice Ovarg had ever heard, it was like a magical song. Just then he looked up at her hair again admiring the way it gleamed in the sunshine and then he saw it; the most horrifying thing he had ever seen. Her ears, they were pointed, like a…she’s an ELF! That influx of anger started brewing, but was overpowered but his desire for her. Not physically, though, he just wanted to be near her, to make her happy. How, what, how could this be? Ovarg was very confused and unspoken for the rest of the trip.

“Ovarg, this is Threnody, a friend of mine,” Sir Kenneth proclaimed as he glanced with a smile over towards Threnody.

“It is nice to meet you, Ovarg. I think we should cover you up with some robes or a hooded cloak,” she suggested. “So no one makes a similar mistake.”

“Um, yeah, that is a good idea,” Sir Kenneth said as he winked at Ovarg. At least he acknowledged the earlier suggestion.

Soon after Ovarg got covered up, the group continued walking into town. As they entered the town and headed for the temple Sir Kenneth started to scold Threnody for her behavior. Ovarg overheard him telling her not to sneak up on people and how holy warriors confront their enemies; they don’t sneak up on them. He continued on about how a holy warrior doesn’t set up traps or use poison, but Ovarg stopped listening. Sir Kenneth kept this lecture going for quite sometime, but all Ovarg could do was watch Threnody as she walked towards the temple in front of him. Good thing Ovarg was behind her or this would have been more telling. She walked so gracefully, he thought she must be pretty nimble as well.


Last edited by Elucidus on 14 Aug 2006 02:41, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: 14 Aug 2006 02:14 
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Pretty good, Elucidus, I'm normally not too big on fantasy stuff, but I liked this.

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PostPosted: 14 Aug 2006 02:19 
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Luc, nice to see an Orc with a conscience. And I must say your handling of a Paladin is spot on. And I must say I like the Paladin being named Sir Kenneth. :w

Look forward to more.




Cheers, Thorgrimm

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man, you gotta realise that thor and bos fell out of the patriot tree (like the ugly tree, but instills patriotism instead of ugly) and hit every branch on the way down.


"Gone now, dispersed by the brutal destruction of this one day, was the belief that the Darkman and his army of the dead were so superior as to be invincible. By attempting to destroy the morale of the Marines, the Darkman had restored it to full vigor. Dia De La Muerto had failed in its objectives."
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Si vis pacem, para bellum
If you want peace, prepare for war

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PostPosted: 14 Aug 2006 02:26 
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Thanks guys, but it needs work, especially on the convos. It was hard for me to post, I am very critical of my writing and it is never good enough. I got another one I have to post, it is a sci-fi, along the lines of the x-com games.


Yours in gaming,
~Luc


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