Page 67 of Orc's Pride
I’m blown away.
Protheka is but a distant memory by now, a time long since forgotten about along with the Great Rift that had brought our kind here in the first place The Great War had been a cataclysmic event that had given us salvation from the dark elves and the other creatures that resided in Protheka that seeked to hunt us down.
No one—at least that I know of—even remembers Protheka. Its stories have been passed down through our generations but none of which are first hand accounts.
“How do you know, Malik?”
When he looks up from the paper, he smiles at me. “I can read it.”
My eyes widen. “You… how?”
A small laugh escapes him. “Because I’ve been there.”
I’m stunned. That had to mean that Malik is much older than he seems.
“What’s Protheka?” Dana asks.
Old Malik answers for me. “It’s where our race originates from. It’s a land of all sorts of creatures, not just dark elves and orcs.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh.”
Shaking my head clear, I nod to his hands. “The letter. What does it say?”
Glancing down at it again, Malik reads it carefully to himself, his mouth moving along with the words that I can’t seem to read from his lips. If they’re in one of the old languages from Protheka, then it’s no wonder that I can’t understand him.
Since coming to Earth, orcs have adapted to the culture here, and that means the languages too.
“Monsters…?” He mumbles.
Dana leans into me, a worried frown on her face that I can’t help but want to mirror. If the dark elves have correspondence with those still in Protheka, then there’s no telling the lengths they go to to wipe us all out.
“It seems they’re bent on bringing creatures to Earth to destroy it.”
“Who are they bringing?”
“It’s hard to say. This letter refers to them as ‘monsters’, but that could mean anything. The dark elves consider nothing but their own kind lower class citizens, so for all I know, they mean other orcs that are still in Protheka.”
Dana shifts slightly. “Would those other orcs fight the ones here? Why would they want to?”
Malik looks up from the letter again. “Our race has been historically mistreated. It wouldn’t surprise me if the dark elves tried to trick them by promising them freedom in exchange for taking all ofusout.”
Unfortunately, I wouldn’t put it past the dark elves to do such a thing, as horrible as it is to think about our own kindslaughtering us like that. The idea isn’t far-fetched anyway, now that we have a list filled with orcs that have already done such a thing.
“It’s safe to say that the dark elves already here are more than likely being used as scouts. Tracking down the clans here and making note of them.”
“You think they’re making a map.” I clarify.
Malik nods. “Why else would they need to be everywhere? Why not concentrate on one area and work from there until all of the orcs are cleared out before moving on.”
I sigh. “This is horrible news.”
“Maybe so, but we still have time to figure out a plan of attack. I’ve only seen one dark magic-infused human so far. That doesn’t mean they’ve perfect their technique, that simply means that one of their experiments worked. If this letter is any indication of what our future holds, we’ll need to be prepared for war. We have enemies all around us now, we all need to unite together to stop the threats from escalating.”
I’m glad I have Malik here to calm me down from losing it and going to the dark elf encampments to try and wipe them out. As a former Chieftain, he knows what it’s like to have to lead people and take care of them from outside dangers. He isn’t a stranger to facing enemies that seem to be hiding on all sides.
“We’ll need to be prepared for anything.” Malik goes on.
“How will they get the Rift open again? The dark elves here don’t have that kind of magic.”