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

by Laszlo,Jeremy

  Like Daku, both of his captains had a small inner light within them. He could see it plain as a beam of sunlight through the clouds. Though he did not know how it had happened, or what had brought about the change, Gnak knew that this would define everything he did from this day forward. Raising a hand, he called for his captains to relent in their butchery of Daku. Then, with naught but curiosity and confusion, he rose from his bed of furs and walked out of the tent, blood still dribbling from his neck wound which was luckily little more than a scratch.

  Though it was still day, it was just barely so. Most Orcs remained in their tents, yet there were a few that wandered about the camp seeing to minor tasks or personal needs. Each of them had an inner light. Each of them glowed like Daku and his captains. Though it took his heart near an hour to finally calm in his chest, and just as long for his mind to slow back to a reasonable level, eventually he was able to think more rationally. He recalled the entire attack over and over, and only stumbled upon one conclusion. His vision had changed when he had touched Daku. His attacker had been the first living person he had laid a hand upon since he had spoken with the goddess weeks ago. Sure, he had touched Jen, but she had not truly been alive. He had touched his father too, but only after having severed his head. It had to have been the physical contact that had triggered this change in him. Gnak wondered what else might have changed. Now he really needed to experiment. Once again, Jen had been right.

  It was shortly after sunset when the tear down of camp was completed, and took only minutes this time to form his clan into ranks and begin across the sand once more in the direction of their destination. Gnak had his captains send nearly a dozen Orcs out into the dunes to capture as many of the small desert foxes common to this region as they were able. They were instructed to not harm or kill the animals. He wondered if the Orcs would be able to manage such a task. It was against their nature not to kill their prey, and even Gnak was uncertain how best to manage capturing the nimble beasts.

  It was only three hours after they set off, when the first of the Orcs he had sent out for test animals returned. Rushing towards Gnak the Orc came, but his captains were taking no chances. Stepping to guard him, they guided the Orc slowly before the chief where it presented its catch. In the Orc’s rough hands were a trio of the foxes he desired. The largest had been struck in the leg, breaking the bones there, enabling the beast to be captured. The others were a pair of young that had remained with their injured mother and were said to have given little trouble once she was bound and subdued. Gnak congratulated the Orc, happy to have that which he needed to learn more about his gift. With swelled pride, the Orc returned to the lines of marching Orcs, and the foxes were placed in a cart that had been altered into a series of makeshift cages.

  Only two more foxes were brought to him over the following hours as all of the hunting Orcs returned, but it was near midnight when Bota noted a trail in the sand that brought the clan’s procession to a halt, and Gnak to Bota’s side to investigate.

  In the sand were a collection of Orc footprints, broken only by two pair of deep ruts in the loose grains of sand. Two heavy carts had passed here, and recently. Gnak grinned to his second in command.

  “They get what Gnak send them to,” Gnak grunted.

  “You think Orcs safe, no Gnak take self?” Bota asked.

  “Gnak think good. Orcs say know Gnak, Orcs be safe.”

  Though he believed the words he spoke, he hoped they were true. He had sent out the pair of captains with extra handlers for both muscle and security, in hopes of retrieving any weapons and armor that had remained in the mountain pass where just weeks ago he had helped in the slaying of the giants who held the pass as their home. He had used the knowledge of the deceased giants to his advantage when hiring the goblin king to capture a sand giant for him, but he did not know if the goblins would collect all of the items in the pass, or just the gold that the goblin king sought. Here in the sand was the answer he needed. The carts his Orcs pulled were heavily laden. But this was the easy and safe part of his plan. Now the Orcs he had sent to retrieve the items would have to put themselves in harm’s way to complete their task. He hoped he judged their circumstance correctly.

  With nothing to do but wait and see, he gave the command to continue the march, though again he purposely slowed their progress in hopes of buying yet more time. This night his captains had been instructed to press the clan into a tighter and more precise unit as they marched, and again it had been difficult at first, but looking back Gnak was impressed with the clan’s progress. Though too, he found himself looking back just as frequently at the small spheres of power floating within each of his clan mates. He felt an odd draw to them, and simply could not help himself. He was anxious for day to come, and as such he felt within himself and stroked Jen’s essence to calm his anxieties.

  With the arrival of morning a halt was called, and in half the time of the previous day the camp was constructed. When he told his second in command that this day he would need privacy without disruption, Bota assured Gnak that no intruder would enter his tent. Gnak was getting the hang of being the chief, and his captains and clan seemed to be growing more accustomed to the changes as well. This day, as the day before, two captains stood within the center of the camp, but not wanting a repeat performance of the previous attack, two more guarded the back of Gnak’s tent. The guard was dual purpose, providing both security, and privacy to the chief. Needing the day hours to experiment while the rest of his clan rested unaware, Gnak invited Bota in to witness the event.

  Setting the small makeshift cages upon the sand floor of his tent, Gnak gestured for Bota to take a seat with a grunt. Settling himself upon the sand among the small cages, Gnak admired the small animals. They were light in color, somewhere between the golden yellow sands of the desert and the red muddy earth of the mountains beyond. Their long hair made them appear larger than they actually were, and large pointed ears atop their heads darted this way and that, listening to every sound. He had no measure of the creatures’ intelligence and so could not judge them in that manner, though he doubted they were very smart.

  Choosing to first use the mother fox with a broken limb, in case something went wrong, he picked up her cage carefully. Untying the knot holding the top secure, he flipped it over as the small animal began to growl and snap at him. Without fear Gnak reached in quickly and brushed against the animal, feeling its essence. Pulling his hand away he tore free the glowing orb of light with it, and watched as the animal settled instantly. It still breathed, though its growls and snapping ceased. Its ears did not twitch like the others’. It did nothing besides stare ahead blankly, its eyes unblinking. Gnak brushed the animal again, releasing his hold on the orb and watched as it rejoined the animal. Again the beast began its ruckus and Gnak removed his hand quickly, flipping the top over to close the cage once more.

  “Bota see?” Gnak asked.

  “Animal no move. You magic hold still?”

  “Gnak think no. Gnak take animal power. Animal no move. Give animal power, animal move.”

  “Humph,” Bota grunted.

  Together they pondered the discovery for a short time, and Gnak realized that it was not the life he took from bodies, but something different. Something like will or ambition. It could not be life, because the animal lived when he took the orb from it. Stroking Jen’s essence within him he discussed the discovery with Bota, and the two agreed that it was not life he held power over. They also decided that he should continue with something different.

  Pulling the tops off of two more cages, Gnak released the two young belonging to the mother he had just worked with. Tipping the cages, he allowed the two out from their confines and immediately both pups happily bounded free of their small cells and converged upon their mother’s cage. For many minutes Gnak waited as the pups whined, unable to reach their mother, and the mother licked her pups through the makeshift bars of her cage. It was not long, however, before the pups’ curiosities got the be
st of them.

  Wandering about the tent the two fox pups sniffed and licked, bounding around excitedly, even going so far as urinating upon the sand that made the floor. Still Gnak and Bota watched in silence. It was not until the pups began wrestling about the floor, tugging upon one another’s ears and tails with their teeth, that Gnak reached out and brushed one.

  Like before he could feel it within the animal, and like before he pulled it away with him. As expected the pup froze, unmoving, as its sibling continued to yank and pull at its ear. Gnak watched as the other pup realized that something was wrong and backed away slowly half growling, half whining. Gnak reached out and snatched the essence from that pup as well. Then, without delay, he released the second essence he had captured into the first pup, and the first essence into the second pup, switching the power from one to the other.

  Immediately both pups began moving, but not as he had thought. Instead they jerked about the floor in fits of spasms, their eyes flitting around in their sockets as their tongues lolled out the sides of their mouths. This had certainly not been what he had intended. Reaching out to retrieve their power once more and switch them back, he paused as the pups’ behavior began to change.

  Where before they were wracked by fits, now the fox pups began to calm, and each rolled once more to its belly, shaking its head groggily before making as if to rise. Gnak continued to watch as each pup arose on what seemed to be wobbly legs, and within minutes both animals were again bouncing around and playing with one another. So he could switch them! But what did it mean?

  “Gnak take power one fox, give other,” Gnak explained his experiment to his second in command. “What think you?”

  A long silence ensued as Bota pondered, but when he responded Gnak listened intently.

  “Pup is pup. Take one power, give other, no difference. What if Gnak take power from man and give animal? What if take animal, give man?”

  Gnak did not even wait to discuss the idea further, reaching out instead to open a fourth cage and brush against the fox within. Stripping the animal of its glowing power, Gnak quickly replaced it with another and watched.

  Just as before the fox began to jerk and convulse, this time taking longer than the previous. Bouncing off the walls of the small cage the animal foamed at the mouth, odd sounds escaping between its teeth as its neck and back bent at odd angles. It was near an hour before it relented, but Gnak never made move to stop it.

  When it finally did stop, the small beast lay deathly still for a moment and Gnak feared a failure. Turning the cage upon the sand floor he watched as the small beast opened its eyes, blinking several times and panting as if exhausted. When its eyes focused it peered back through the makeshift bars into Gnak’s eyes before it started barking, growling, and snapping with a rage that poured from the animal. It seemed his father did indeed live within the essence Gnak had stored. Apparently he was still angry about being set up and murdered by his own son.

  “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!