The winds howled over the Ashen Expanse, carrying dust and whispers across its lifeless terrain. The land had always been desolate, a place where nothing grew, nothing thrived. Yet tonight, beneath the ghostly light of the moon, it felt different.
It felt alive.
Tyrell's scouts moved carefully, tracking the strange footprints they had discovered days earlier. The prints were massive—larger than any creature they had seen before, spaced in a way that suggested an intelligent, organized force.
But what disturbed them the most was the sheer weight of the tracks.
Whatever had left them was heavier than a warhorse, heavier than a wagon.
The scouts pressed deeper into the Expanse, following the trail through the barren wasteland. The terrain was harsh, the air dry and stale, but they moved with purpose. Then, they found something even more unsettling.
Buried beneath the dust and cracked earth were the ruins of structures long forgotten. Some were nothing more than weathered stone slabs, while others still stood, their shapes barely distinguishable against the endless horizon.
Tyrell knelt beside a half-buried skeleton, brushing away the dirt with his knife. The bones were thick, denser than a human's. The skull was elongated, the jaw lined with sharp, tusk-like protrusions.
He exhaled sharply. "These aren't human."
Another scout shifted uncomfortably. "Orcs?"
Tyrell had heard the stories. Beyond the frontier, beyond the Ashen Expanse, there were whispered tales of other races. Some were merchants' rumors, others the drunken boasts of wanderers who had claimed to see creatures that didn't exist.
But this? This was proof.
He stood, gripping his spear. "We return to Emberhold. Alexander needs to see this."
As they turned back, the wind carried a distant sound through the desolate land—a deep, guttural howl that sent a chill through every man in the scouting party.
Something else was out there.
Tensions in the Kingdom & Rising Conflicts
Back in Emberhold, Alexander sat in the war tent, studying a different kind of battle.
Silas had gathered intelligence on a rising conflict within the Kingdom—one that had nothing to do with Vale or the frontier. A neighboring kingdom, long seen as a secondary threat, was beginning to escalate hostilities.
Skirmishes along the border had turned into full-scale raids, and the King was preparing for war.
"It's only a matter of time," Silas said, rolling up a report. "The King won't tolerate direct attacks on his lands. If this keeps up, by next year, they'll be marching to war."
Alexander considered the implications. A war between the Kingdom and a foreign power could change everything.
Vale, already hesitant to attack, might be forced to divert his attention elsewhere.If the war escalated, nobles across the region would be called to provide soldiers and supplies, weakening their grip over their own lands.If the Kingdom turned its attention away from the frontier, Emberhold would have the freedom to expand without interference.
"Does Vale know?" Alexander asked.
Silas smirked. "Oh, he knows. The question is, how much does it worry him?"
Alexander leaned back, steepling his fingers. The war might work in their favor. But at the same time, if the war dragged on, it could bring unforeseen consequences.
For now, it was just another piece of the puzzle. A war was coming, but how they used it would determine their fate.
Tyrell's Report & the Orcish Remnants
The scouts returned by nightfall, moving swiftly through the gates of Emberhold and heading straight for Alexander's war tent. Their expressions were grim, their silence heavy with the weight of what they had seen.
Tyrell wasted no time, rolling out a rough sketch of the ruins and the bones they had uncovered.
"We tracked the prints deeper into the Expanse. We found remains—ancient ruins, and bones that don't belong to men."
He placed a large, curved tooth on the table. It was thick, almost like a boar's tusk, but larger, stronger.
Silas exhaled sharply. "Orcs."
Alexander ran a finger over the relic, his mind racing. If orcs had once lived in the Expanse, what had happened to them?
Had their civilization collapsed?Had something wiped them out?Or were they still out there?
Elias frowned. "Or they're still out there."
Tyrell exhaled. "We heard something before we turned back. A sound… not human."
Silas exchanged a glance with Alexander. If orcs had survived, what had kept them hidden for so long?
Alexander tapped the table. "Then we need to know more. I want a second expedition, better equipped. No unnecessary risks—we gather information and return."
Tyrell nodded. "I'll handpick the team."
As the meeting ended, Alexander stared at the orcish relic in his hands.
The Ashen Expanse was no longer just a dead land.
It held secrets—secrets that could change the future of The Maxwell Dominion.
Conclusion & Next Steps
As the night deepened over Emberhold, three major shifts were unfolding:
Vale was growing more hesitant to attack, his nobles questioning his leadership.The Kingdom was on the brink of war, which could change the political landscape entirely.The Ashen Expanse was no longer empty—it was waking up.
Alexander had more questions than answers, but one thing was certain:
The war against Vale was not the only war that would define the future.
Because beyond the Expanse, in the lands that had been abandoned for centuries…
Something was stirring.
And it was watching.