10 years later,
The town of Ravenhill, the southern border of the kingdom of Byjorn,
It's early in the morning, and the orcs have just woken up from their dreams and begun to ponder what they should do for a new day. The traders gather their wares and start to carry them to the town square while the farmers pick up their hoes and head out of the town walls to their farms. On the watchtowers, new soldiers appear to replace the night watchers, who are exhausted from their shifts. On the streets, we can hear conversations between the civilians:
-Hey, Asley, what is the price for boar meat today?
-How's the war going on?
...…
In a house located close to the town gates, there is a child woken up by the sunlight. 12 years old, long black hair tied with many knots, and eyes of blue and green color is Abutai – our half-orc main character. Abutai jumps off his bed, which is covered by the skin of a tiger. He has grown much taller, from the figure of a 7-year-old human child into a 1.8 orc; however, unlike other male orcs whose bodies are large, Abutai's body is just a little bigger than the body of a female orc, but his muscles show that he has been through training and a formidable opponent to be reckoned with.
Abutai feeds himself with the leg of pork hung on the top of the house alongside many other types of meat for breakfast before moving into the basement. The basement is large, and decorated with many animals and skins hung alongside the walls. However, these skins are not what make us amazed but the blacksmith equipment inside the basement and a variety of weapons and armor lying all over the place that a careless person could hurt himself.
Finding himself a suitable place to sit, Abutai picks up a breastplate and starts to polish it. His skills are decent as the equipment is cleaned, sharpened, and put into order one after another at a speed that only a master in the art of smithing could do. Orcs are famous for their incredible skills in smithing; as such, their weapons and armors are often top tiers and the Orkish heavy infantrymen are always a force that makes their opponents tremble to face on the battlefield.
Rẹjuvating equipment in his house has become one of Abutai's habits after waking up. King Burmand the Humanslayer, the founder of the Kingdom of Byjorn has a saying that every orc must know how to forge and rejuvenate his own equipment as they are the only thing useful to avoid stepping into the Hall of the Death. Abutai's the fostered child of Brutan the Red, the bloodiest berserker in the town of Ravenhill, appointed as the captain of the Jarl's champions. With his large battle axe, Brutan is known for having chopped down the head of more than 100 human swordsmen in a battle 5 years ago and earned his name.
Unlike his foster father who has great possessions over heavy weapons, Abutai prefers lighter weapons such as swords or spears as his figure is smaller than a normal male orc so using heavy weapons like others might slow him down. Finishing the rejuvenation, the young half-orc stands up, grabs a spear, and gets out of the basement. Abutai then makes his way to the garden, where we can see some coins tied to the branches of a tree.
Getting in a fighting position, Abutai starts to thrust his spear, which smoothly goes through the hold in the middle of each coin. The wind created from the force of the spear massaging the air makes the coins swing around faster, creating harder chances for Abutai hit his target perfectly. However, the small warrior does not stop, his speed of thrusting becomes faster and faster, sweat drops from his face and back; his muscles tighten to the utmost, and his concentration is put to the highest.
Suddenly, there is a sound of something whistling in the air. Abutai jumps backward a step just a moment before an arrow hit the ground where he has just stepped in. Abutai looks to the roof of his house, where he sees a female orc around his age standing and holding a bow. Her height is around 1.6 meters; her long hair is tied into a ponytail behind her back her purple gleaming eyes widen while she is smiling mischievously toward Abutai.
- Good job, half-breed! Try to dodge the next one. " The girl yells before knocking another arrow and firing it.
This time Abutai just simply uses his spear to block the arrow, he yells back to the female orc:
-"Alina, come down here and fight me. Don't be cowardice like the goblins."
-"Don't be too cocky, Half-breed. See how I beat you" Alina drops her bow and jumps off the roof. Throwing several knives at Abutai, Alina draws two swords and charges at him. Swinging his spear in a circle, Abutai manages to blow off all the knives and then utilizes the length of his spear to keep Alina at distance.
-" Don't think that I will be easy on you just because you're the chief's daughter " Abutai whispers as his opponent has to keep her distance to avoid his thrusts. With two short swords, Alina is overwhelmed and can get close to Abutai; Every time she manages to dodge a thrust, she delivers a blow to Abutai's spear but it's no use to stopping Abutai's fast and accurate thrusts. Slowly, in order to dodge Abutai's attack, Alina has to move backward; her back reaches the garden's wall, meaning that she has no more space to run.
A light smile appears on Abutai's face, thinking he has won. Suddenly, Alina wields her swords and deliver a strong blow to his spear, breaking the spear in half instantly. From the beginning, she has been aiming at a single spot on the spear. Abutai loses his balance for a moment and Alina rushes toward him, intending to finish the fight. However, Abutai's eyes turn red; with incredible speed, he lowers his body and kicks Alina's legs. Alina falls to the ground hard from her momentum, dropping her sword.
-"I win" Abutai speaks with a wide smile; his eyes turn back to their normal color.
-" YOU CHEATER!! " Alina yells before rising from the ground and grabbing Abutai, throwing him onto the ground followed by a series of punches, and kicking, leaving him yelling sorry while covering himself with his arms. Abutai pulls Alina to the dirt too and they soon do the best they can to hit the opponent.
A long sound of the horns on the watchtowers can be heard, stopping the two from fighting. When the sound is over, we can hear a shout from the gate:
-"THE JARL IS BACK"
The two children look at each other before getting up and start running toward the gate.
The gates of Ravens, the citizen of Ravenhill calls them, as there are hundreds of ravens that come here every day to feast upon the corpses of the Raven Clan's fallen enemies, hanging high in the watchtowers and gates as war trophies. The gates are made of wood, reinforced by iron; it is wide enough to fit 5 orcs walking side by side and tall enough to cover 3 orc standing on the head of each other. The drums start echoing in the air as the gates are slowly opened, the citizens stand 2 lines alongside the road, clearing their way for the incoming Jarl.
The gates are fully open and the Jarl gets in; he is a large orc with a height of nearly 2,5 meters; a scar runs across his face and two fangs can be seen crawling out of his mouth. He wears full plate armor decorated by lion's furs; he wears a helmet made from the head of a lion. Following him is a group of Orkish heavy cavalry; like their lord, they all wear heavy armor with the sigil of a raven embroidered on their chest. Jarl Umber "The Black Raven" of Ravenhill, is one of the mightiest Jarls fighting under the banner of the Kingdom of Byjorn. Their mounts are large boars three times the size of a normal
Alina yells "Father" when she sees the Jarl and runs toward him. Seeing his daughter, the Jarl opens his arms and receives her with a wide smile. Abutai becomes anxious as he doesn't see his father, which could mean that he has died. Some citizens notice the disappearance of Brutan the Red and become anxious as for a long time, Brutan's bloody axe has become the sigil for the strength of the town.
The Jarl's host continues to march to the town hall, where the Jarlkona, a woman who shares many common figures in terms of appearance with her daughter is already standing to welcome the army of Ravenhill to come home with her Warmaidens, a group of fierce and bloody female fighters.
-" The Valkyries were on your side, my love. We have heard about your great victory over the humans." Abiga, the wife of Umber " The Black Raven " says strongly, her voice is like a fire that touches the heart of everyone watching.
-" I have come home, my love " Umber gets off his mount and hugs his Jarlkona. Not like human noblemen who often practice polygamy, the orcs claim marriage is a sacred union and only separated by death; as such, the connection between an Orkish couple is beyond everything.
After a few seconds closed with her husband, the Jarlkona asks him:
-" I do not notice the presence of our bravest warrior, Brutan the Red. Have the Valkyries abandoned him and his soul now rest peacefully in the hall of the death, my love? "
- " We will talk about that in the feast, my love. And summon that half-breed child whom Brutan's been fostering, we need him to know about his father. "