Orcs are a group of rough and straightforward fellows; they don't have any malicious intentions... at least not within the several hundred miles around these orc tribes.
Originally, the meetings of the chieftains were as usual, loudly complaining and cursing the black hearts of humans. They were bullied and insulted by those damn adventurers, mercenaries, and even children in the human villages. The hard-earned harvests were priced extremely low by humans, and any complaints might even lead to beatings, but they dared not speak up. ...In the past, there were orcs who couldn't bear it and rebelled, only to be cruelly killed by humans, and then a group of belligerent fallen warriors immediately rallied a large group of drunkards, grave diggers, and desperate adventurers to enter the gravel wasteland. If Shaman Norman hadn't appeared in time and paid a sufficient price to persuade the humans to leave, the tribe of the killed orc would have been wiped out.
So, since then, Shaman Norman had strictly ordered not to provoke the cold-hearted humans, unless it was to sell ore or purchase necessary food items, otherwise, they were not allowed to enter human villages.
Although Shaman Norman felt uncomfortable in his heart, what could he do alone? The orcs were too weak, and the humans were too powerful. Even though he was the strongest orc in the surrounding area as a shaman, he could only withstand an ordinary low-ranked human warrior. If there were two of them, he could only flee unless he stood under the totem pole. In this embarrassing situation, besides enduring, what else could he do to avoid being slaughtered?
Fortunately, there was finally going to be a change for the better. The child from Bata's tribe could sense the spirits of nature. As long as he taught him shamanic arts, they would soon have two shamans, which would alleviate their plight to some extent.
After listening to the chieftains' complaints, finally, Norman suddenly said something pleasantly surprising, "I have seen a young man who can sense the spirits of nature. I will teach him shamanic arts. If nothing unexpected happens, we will soon have a new shaman!"
The chieftains became excited, "Respected Shaman Norman, is what you said true? Who is that young man?"
"This is great! We will have another strong tribe member to bear the oppression of humans. Who is he?"
"We have too few shamans. If every tribe had a shaman, those damn humans wouldn't dare to oppress us so wantonly."
The chieftains were very excited, shouting and clamoring. With a smile, Norman looked at Bata, who was full of expectations and anxiety, "Bata, did that child come with you?"
"Yes, respected Shaman Norman."
"Let him in, and let us all meet our future new shaman."
It turned out that the young man was from Bata's tribe! The chieftains couldn't help but feel envious and even jealous. This weakest tribe was about to flourish.
Soon, Balok followed Bata into the orc tent. The tent was not large, and a group of tall and burly orcs made it seem very crowded inside. He even saw an orc man who was half a head taller than Bata, who was two meters tall, so even sitting down, he stood out from the crowd.
"Respected Shaman Norman, may the spirits of nature bless you!" Balok calmly bowed and said to the group of chieftains, "I am Balok, and my chieftain is Bata. I am delighted to meet the strongest warriors of our gravel wasteland and may the spirits of nature always protect you, respected chieftains."
Having lived two lives, and whether on Earth or in this current body, Balok's character remained silent and indifferent. So, Balok felt no nervousness or anxiety, only curiosity about the outrageous bodies of the orcs!
If it were a boy from his own tribe, faced with the wise shaman and so many chieftains, he would have been scared speechless long ago. Yet, this young man named Balok remained so calm that the orcs immediately liked this daring boy. They showed what they thought were friendly smiles (though most of them were rather grim), walked over to pat Balok's shoulder, and praised him a few words. This was how orcs expressed goodwill.
Balok responded to each one, showing a respectful expression. Remembering the appearance and names of each chieftain was not too difficult for him. Norman Shaman had a smile on his face as he watched Balok conversing with the orc chieftains. First of all, this child was not foolish, and he was very clever and composed. A few days ago, during their meeting, he had already seen him clumsily communicating with the spirits of nature... and even gained the approval of the spirits of nature. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so surprising. Perhaps it was related to the totem pole in their tribe.
Norman had studied the totem pole in Balok's tribe a long time ago. It was an item left by some shaman from the past, much better than his own totem pole. Unfortunately, his totem pole communicated with the spirits of the earth element, maintaining the power of a level one magic beast, the Sand Python. But the totem pole in Balok's tribe was of the water element, seemingly maintaining the power of a wolf-shaped magic beast, which Norman couldn't recognize. After all... there were several types of wolf-like magic beasts of the water element, and Norman had hardly seen any of them in the gravel wasteland, so he was quite ignorant.
"Respected chieftains, please allow me to talk to this child. Moraga will host you well. The orcs of the gravel wasteland are all brothers, and we must watch over and support each other." Norman finally said, indicating that they were dismissed.
Moraga, the chieftain of the Lizard Tribe, was the largest and most robust orc, who first bowed to the shaman and then led the chieftains out of the tent, leaving only Balok and Norman. Neither of them spoke, just looking at each other. Balok remained as calm as ever, waiting for the shaman to ask questions.
"What is a totem?" After a long silence, Norman suddenly asked.
Balok was startled for a moment, lowered his head, thought for a moment, and replied, "It's worship, it's faith. For orcs, it is both the spirits of nature and the souls of ancestors."
Norman was greatly surprised; this answer was almost completely correct. The essence of orc shamanism was to communicate with the power of the elements, worship the souls of ancestors, and make their own souls friendly with the elemental powers of nature, gaining the recognition of the elemental powers, and then using that power. The relationship between the two was equal. Just like humans practicing magic or qi, they all utilized and communicated with elemental powers. The spirits of nature, another term was elemental power!
"Balok, have you ever studied shamanism?" Norman asked, which was quite incredible. If Balok's answer was indeed what he understood himself, then this child's talent was terrifying, almost impossible among orcs, making the old shaman cautious. But there was also some expectation, hoping to hear the best answer.
Shaking his head, Balok replied, "No, I have never studied shamanism. I have never learned shamanic arts." After a pause, he added, "There is a totem pole in our tribe, Shaman Norman, you should know. In the past few days, I have gained something from that totem pole, but I don't know what it is, and I'm puzzled. I want to get answers from you."
"Can you see the totem of light and shadow?"
"Yes, and more. In the past few days, every night, there would be a wolf-shaped light and shadow running around the totem pole, then turning into a huge wolf head at the top, leaping into my chest. At that time, I felt as if my whole body was freezing, and soon I fainted. But when I woke up the next morning, there was no discomfort on my body. On the contrary, I felt very comfortable, and there was a mysterious power swimming in my body. Sometimes I even had the illusion that I had turned into a wolf."
"Born shaman, lover of nature spirits! The light of the orc... " Norman murmured, his expression somewhat dazed, not reacting for a long time.
Balok couldn't hear what he was saying clearly and couldn't help asking, "I want to learn shamanism and understand the mysteries of the spirits of nature. Can you dispel my confusion and be my teacher?"
"No one can, at least not within thousands of miles of the gravel wasteland. No one can be your teacher. I can be your guide and lead you into the path of shamanism, but no one can predict your future, you need to explore it yourself." Norman's voice was somewhat intermittent, forcing himself to calm down the surging emotions.
He first solemnly admonished, "Balok, don't tell anyone about this, not even your closest tribesmen. Discard any possibility of leakage because once humans know, it will bring great disaster to you and even bring disaster to all the orcs in the gravel wasteland."
Balok was startled, thinking that the old shaman was lying, but seeing his solemn expression... even fierce, he quickly nodded in agreement. He could somewhat understand Norman's emotions... after all, if an orc appeared as a powerful shaman, it would not be a good thing for humans. They would surely want to kill him in advance.
"Respected Shaman Norman, I sincerely obey your words. Before having the power to protect myself, I will not tell anyone." The old orc became excited again, and Balok was afraid that the blood vessels bulging on his head would burst, so he hurriedly said.
Norman finally relaxed slightly, "From today, you will stay here. I will teach you everything I know."
Balok was finally about to start learning the shamanic arts he had longed for, but the noisy outside of the tent interrupted them again. Many orcs were cheering and shouting outside, and an orc rushed in directly—
"Shaman Norman, we have found a new mine, and the ore is extremely rich...!"