His father had been wounded — hurt by the vicious humans. They wanted to steal the Biter Clan’s land, their stomping grounds in the Red Desert.
“You’re too young. You wouldn’t understand.” Scorch had rebuked him, when Whelp had asked what the humans wanted, before she ran off into the fray. Scorch was dead now, her body laid out with the rest, and Whelp’s father could be the next to go.
Something about the Red Desert was important to the humans, and now Scorch would never be able to tell him what it was. Whelp had to trust that Conquer was strong enough to survive, though the body being worked on by Cut and Heal didn’t have the same power that his father had when he was awake, commanding the Biter Clan, beating their foes into brutal submission. The muscle was there, but the brute force of will was gone. Whelp had seen the body as it was getting dragged into the tent. Its spine had been wrenching, its arms spasming up and down, sending blood spattering as the two surgeons worked.
Whelp was scared. He was scared that this father was gone. He was scared of the power of the humans, of their greed, and of the lengths they would go to to get what they wanted. They were terrifying; an endless, teeming horde that bred children faster than the orcs could deal with them. An existential threat to all of orckind.
Whelp would never be able to trust a human.
The situation had become so thoroughly ridiculous that Learn had given up on trying to figure out how and why anything was happening. First, an endless trek through eternities, then meeting two divinities. Now Celeste was here, acting like this was an everyday conversation?
“Can we get some privacy?” Celeste asked the two imposing gods.
“This is our domain,” Know answered, “a combination of our essences. There is nowhere you could go where we would not be present.
Celeste sighed, and massaged her forehead.
“Fine. Can we get the illusion of privacy? Is that too much to ask?” Then, under her breath, so quiet that Learn could barely hear. “Fucking gods, the worst.”
Know cracked a smile and a nod, and the cathedral was empty, save for Learn and the small Human. She looked at Learn, and the worry that she had kept hidden furrowed her brow. Learn kept his face slack, letting nothing show. She was familiar with gods?
“Ok, what the hell is happening, Learn?”
Learn carefully sat, crossing his legs beneath him, then motioned for Celeste to do the same. She kneeled next to him, squatting backward onto her feet. Though he had agreed to be bound to the human, that didn’t mean he trusted her. There were still things she was hiding, and Learn didn’t know enough about Tasked Mages to know if what he was experiencing right now was real, a particularly vivid dream, or some malicious working, meant to trick him into divulging some secret. What that secret would be, he didn’t know, but he wouldn’t give it up if he had a say in the matter.
“I’m dreaming.” The Orc said simply.
“Yeah, I know that already,” Celeste said. “I took the first watch tonight, and I saw you fall asleep. I think the binding is interacting weirdly.” She took a deep breath, and let it out shakily. “Why are The Scholar and The Warrior here?”
Learn shrugged. “Giving me a choice. Be an orc, or…” he trailed off.
“Be something else.” She placed one hand on top of Learn’s closed fist. “There’s one question you have to ask, when dealing with divinities. What do they want out of you?”
Learn noted that she was talking with experience. Whether this all was a figment of his imagination or not, that was something to follow up on later. Right now, he was tired. Tired and annoyed.
“I think…” he started, then paused to think through what he was going to say. Know had said that she had planted him. She did something to him, something that made him different from other orcs. But he already knew that he was different, it was why he had left the Biter Clan’s lands in the Red Desert.
The thought sent a surge of anger through him, and the emotion sparked a chain of ideas that led to one conclusion.
“I think… Know gave me my Name. My Command.” She had stolen the mantle that would have been rightfully his, from birth, usurped his position among the orcs. Maybe if she didn’t, he wouldn’t have to be different, be an outcast from his people. He could have had an orcish Name, or he could have related to his in a normal way. His fist clenched, nails digging into his palm, and his tusks unsheathed slightly, an instinctive response to the anger he was feeling.
“The gods are bastards,” Celeste said, “everyone knows that.”
Learn didn’t respond. Free hadn’t been acting how he would assume. In fact, he had been doing quite the opposite. The god reminded him of Conquer, and the similarities made him bristle. All that talk of ownership, as if Learn’s people were property, tools for Free to command and use. And Know —
“Know took everything from me.” He growled. “I lost my chance at a normal life. I didn’t get Free’s blessing. Because of her.”
“Look, Learn. It doesn’t matter why you are the way you are. All that matters is what you do now. Forget the past; it’s unimportant. When the gods offer you a choice, you have to pick an option. Think about it — if you pick one, you’ll have one god angry at you and one happy. But if you don’t pick either…”
“Have to pick.” Learn conceded.
The situation was sharp, no matter how Learn looked at it. Know’s gift had stolen his life, and he would never forgive her for that. But who he was now, his curiosity; was that truly from her, or was it innate to his being? And more importantly, if he hadn’t been forced to push harder, further, would he know that he was capable of more? Already, the things he had seen were astounding. Buildings of wood, built so tall and so strong that a person could stand on top and it wouldn’t fall. Weapons, of a metal so sharp that they could cleave through bone without the full strength of an orc behind them. Books, and magic. He would never know for certain if he would have stayed with his Clan had he been gifted a different Command.
His clan was not at the peak of the world, as he had once thought. No, his people weren’t even close to the summit. Learn could see now, they were distinctly far behind the other races in the Spread Lands.
On the other hand, Free was god to all orcs. Even now, he appeared to Learn in Conquer’s guise. That was a far more blatant attempt at control than Know’s gentle prodding. And what the god had said, how he claimed to own Learn. The freedom that Free offered was a gilded cage, a pair of bracers linked together with wrought iron chain. He could join his clan, but then he would be as far behind as they were.
The orc stood suddenly, back straight. Celeste followed him in the motion, her rise a fluid movement.
“I’ve made my choice!” Learn called.
—
The gods were there, without fanfare. Just as they had disappeared, they were back, and it was as though they had never left. The building, split into two down the central divide where Learn stood, accompanied by Celeste. Free’s half being of red sand and wrought iron, cracking black marble; Know’s being pure white palisades, soaring buttresses. One passionate, furious, the other cold, calculating, logical.
Neither option would sate Learn. Not who he was now. Possibly if he knew less, but those days were long since past.
“Offering a choice.” Learn started, “I take issue with that.” He looked at the statuesque elf.
“Took my ability to make a choice far before I had a say. Commanded me, right?” Know tilted her chin down slightly in acknowledgement.
“Was turned before I had a say. Who knows what my choice would be if you didn’t interfere? But,” he paused, taking a shaky breath, “gave me a chance to be more. To help my people in a way that I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. Will not thank you, but will not condemn you. And you,” he said, turning to Free. The fiery orc looked at him, and Learn had to fight his every instinct not to be cowed before that visage. For that, he silently thanked Free for appearing in a guise resembling his father; Learn had experience standing up to that form of strength and power.
“Orcs are because of you. We didn’t have a say there, either. We are as you made us. Failed. ”
The red sand behind Free erupted, flames and smoke pluming from underneath. Free’s tusks spread outward further, and he let out a deep growl that shook Learn to his core. But he would not back down, not now.
“Look around the world. See more than I have seen. Orcs have nothing, nothing but warfare. Live in tents because we will be attacked, by our own kind, if we stay in one place. Don’t have enough children, not enough to replace those who die in battle!”
Learn was shouting now.
“Weaker, because we fight each other! Weak, because we don’t trust! Each strong by themselves, but pathetic as a whole! You failed!”
Learn was finally, finally putting into words how he’d felt for the longest time, and the act of doing so crystallized the thought in his mind. So long as outside forces interfered, mortals wouldn’t truly have free will.
He faced the gods.
“This offering of yours? Fake. I never had a say in my fate. And yet…” He looked at Celeste, who looked worriedly back at him, eyes flitting between him and the two gods imposing.
“Will Learn. I set myself on this path. I will travel to its end. No matter how difficult it may be. You may have set obstacles in my path, or cleared a different one, but I am the one deciding my fate.”
“Will Learn, and I will bring what I Learn to all orcs. Can make us so much, so much more than you will allow. I will bring us out of the Red Desert. I will give us homes, tools, books. Knowledge. You hold us back, Free, but I will pull us forward, one at a time, if I have to give up everything to do so.”
Breathing heavily, he was finished.
Know smiled, and walked toward Learn. She placed a hand on his head, and Learn was overcome with a sense of enormity. The goddess was so much more than this image she was projecting. With a touch, she gave him a glimpse of her power. That glimpse was nearly too much to bear. If she let the dam break, if she let her being flow into him, he would be gone in an instant.
“You have chosen well, child. Seeking knowledge in all of its forms is the most noble pursuit a mortal can seek.” She held out a hand. Within it was a fruit, small and white. It wasn’t anything that Learn recognized, but he took it nonetheless. The fruit’s flesh was cold to the touch, and though he palmed it tight, it did not grow warmer.
“Take my gift with you, and know that you have my aid. Your capacity will increase, your Command will grow with you. I ride with you, from now until the end of your days.” The goddess retreated, two small steps backward bringing her much further from Learn than they should have. Collectively, the three beings looked toward Free.
“But —” she continued, “Remember your place. You have gotten away with much, today, but I am endlessly forgiving. Not all divinities are as such. You have righteous cause to anger, but your mouth could land you in trouble, my seedling.”
The red smoldering within Free’s skin grew more intense, like magma bubbling up to the surface. He growled, and more of the smoke escaped from between his teeth. He took a step toward Learn, and as he did his form grew larger. But Learn refused to be cowed earlier, and refused to do so now. He stood resolute, his back straight.
The god was in front of Learn, the smoke obscuring his vision. When the god spoke, Learn felt it as a rumbling in his bones.
“You have chosen poorly, Whelp.” Free spat. “Seeking knowledge is folly, the waste of a short mortal life. I will free you from your obligations as one of my people. You will be different. You will be separate. You are no longer orc, from now until the end of your days.”
He stepped forward until he was face-to-face with Learn.
“My sister is right,” he chuckled, “your mouth will get you into trouble. Let me help with that.”
“Learn!” Celeste shouted, and she sprinted toward him. But she was too far.
The god reached for Learn’s face. Learn flinched backward, and reached his arms up to push back, but space didn’t work the same for the god as it did for him. Large, molten fists gripped the tips of Learn’s tusks, and before Learn could stop him, Free ripped them out of his mouth.
Overwhelming pain. Learn woke.
—
Learn noticed three things when he woke up. The first was that it was still dark out. The second thing he noticed was Celeste. Unlike everyone else, she was uncovered by blanket or bedroll, simply laying face-down on the ground, like she had fallen from a standing position.
The third was that he was in tremendous pain. His jaw was on fire. He gagged, coughed, and blood sprayed on the ground next to him. Shakily, he reached up a hand and prodded his jaw, letting out a hiss when his fingertips touched tender flesh. Something cold fell from his palm, his grip loosening with the pain.
His tusks were gone. Nothing left but open, bloody wounds. That meant…
It was all real. The dream, the endless eternities. Free — this meant that he had betrayed his entire species. He was no longer an orc. And Celeste; was she really there with him, or had that been a trick, a cruel play by one of the gods, seeking to turn him to their side?
If his tusks were gone, then the cold thing he dropped, was that Know’s gift? He would have to find it. He looked down around his feet, and a sharp pain from his mouth nearly knocked him off of his feet.
Alvin. Alvin had that, that amulet. The dwarf would be able to help. Learn fell down onto his hands and knees and blindly groped for the small, mystical fruit. Blood poured out of his mouth and flowed into the dirt, but he couldn’t lose that fruit. He had given up everything to get it, to get Know’s blessing.
There! His hands closed on the white, cold thing, and an understanding of what he would have to do crystallized. He knew what he had to do with it, and it would be terrible.
Trembling, aching, nearly blind with pain, Learn brought the fruit to his mouth. He opened his maw, and with his last bit of strength, crunched into the hard exterior of the fruit. Cold blossomed from within it, and swiftly expanded throughout his body. Where it went, the pain dispersed, until all he could feel was the chill. The sudden dissipation of the pain brought a clarity of purpose to his mind. It was as if his Command was echoing through his mind, from all of those years ago when he first understood it. Though he recognized the voice now. It was Know, telling him what to do. Allowing him, changing him, removing him.
The cold faded, and as the pain returned, Learn lapsed again into silent unconsciousness.
This time, thankfully, he did not dream.
