Read Locmire's Quest: Book One A Tales from Calencia Novel Page 8

  The Brazurkins of Morgorath resided in the northwestern borders of Calencia. The Brazurkins overtook Morgorath Valley from the Cold Hearts, the snake people who occupied the territory for many years. This was a tremendous feat, as it was believed Morgorath Valley unconquerable. The valley sat between two mountain ranges, the Arplasia Mountains and the Pizenchaffe Mountains, and the only way into the valley came by way of a large wooden gate in the middle of a narrow pass. The gate itself was nearly ten feet thick and over fifty feet high. Over the years, many different groups attempted to drive the Cold Hearts out of the valley with no success.

  After their coastal home unexpectedly broke off into the Zanasee Ocean, the Brazurkins decided to lay siege to the valley. They charged the main gate with great numbers. It took the Brazurkins five days to finally destroy the front gates. Once the gate fell, the Cold Hearts met them head on with great resistance. Many Brazurkins and even more Cold Hearts died during the battle. After the end of the skirmish with the Cold Hearts, the Skullsplitter clan seized control as the head of the Brazurkin kingdom. The former head clan perished during the battle with the snake-like men.

  The Brazurkins were, for the most part, a peaceful race and well respected throughout the continent. Peaceful as they appeared, they did not retain control of Morgorath due to the elaborate fortifications and naturally defensive topography alone, but due to their hardened army. The Brazurkin army maintained Morgorath's peaceful atmosphere.

  The Brazurkin army consisted of the first born male from each family of every clan of Morgorath; there were fifteen clans of Brazurkins. Beginning their training at birth, the young Brazurkins never knew freedom or family. They never had the pleasure of experiencing love or partnership. The only way one could become discharged from the army was through death. The Brazurkin army motto roughly translates, “Only the weak lie down to die. True warriors do not lie down. True warriors fight until the last fragments of life leave the body, and then they fight some more.”

  The average Brazurkin measured seven feet tall. They were massive beings and due to their rigorous strength training, their muscles looked as if they were about to explode from their light green skin. The Brazurkins had large ivory horns that grew from their head, in no predictable pattern. Every Brazurkin’s horns took a different shape and size, but one thing could be said about the size of their horns: the bigger the horns, the meaner the Brazurkin. Their horns would continue to grow until the day of their death, or until they met defeat in combat. If a Brazurkin was bested in battle, his horns would immediately be broken off at the base of his head to forever remind him of his failure. Golden hoop earrings decorated their ears to mark every season of active service in the army. Their most intimidating feature was the two large canine teeth that protruded from their lower jaw and curled up past their top lip. The large canine teeth, along with their horns, gave them the resemblance of a wild beast, rather than that of a peaceful and prosperous race.

  Due to their colossal size they became masters of two handed combat. The Brazurkins preferred battle axes, war hammers, great swords, and pole arms, with the elite warriors wielding a large kite shield and a three-balled flail.

  The green skinned warriors had only one job in this conflict of good versus evil, a job they were bred for; total annihilation of anything that stood in their path. Their most valuable skill was their ability to topple larger enemies, such as the Cold Hearts and Goops.

  The Goops were even more menacing than Cold Hearts. The slimy, bulbous creatures came from the depths underneath the Arplasia Mountains. The Goops became known for their aggressive behavior and would attack on a whim. The Brazurkins had no trouble driving the Goops back underneath the mountain when they decided to occasionally emerge.

  The Brazurkin army, mighty as it was, fell short in the final confrontation with Hasbarie's forces, becoming slain like livestock fattened for the table. They killed a few thousand of the Dark Wizard’s forces, but they ultimately proved no match for the numerous beasts that Hasbarie commanded, the Gargantuans in particular. The last living Brazurkin, King Orgwak Skullsplitter, was said to have been lying atop a pile of his fallen brothers, broken and bleeding with a dagger clenched tight in his hand, stabbing at any enemy who passed. It has been told that from this position he slayed the last of the Gargantuans, the giants found in the mostly uninhabited lands to the west of the mountains of Arplasia. As the last remaining Gargantuan stomped the life out of him, with a final desperate effort, Orgwak flung his dagger upward, piercing its large juggler vein, bleeding the creature out within minutes.

  “True warriors do not lie down. True warriors fight until the last fragments of life leave the body, and then they fight some more.”