Gorof turned to see it as well, tightening his grip on his axe and embraced death as it came and with Nava. The group of opposing warriors attacked and encircled them. The Trolls made a last stand swinging their mighty axes cutting down Aldor’s minions until, eventually they had succumbed to their blows and were overpowered by superior numbers of gargoyles and Goblins, for Trolgar it will be the last time for him to see and remember the parents he was loved so deeply by.
The casket containing little Trolgar, floated down the river and into the Stunt Sea. Helm Stiller, a farmer from Stunt Valley saw this mysterious casket stuck between a cluster of rocks, this peaked his curiosity and he went forth to check what the casket contained, to his surprise, it was a baby Troll, its adorable and innocent eyes pierced his soul. He smiled and picked this creature up in his arms. “You poor thing, it’s freezing cold out here, let’s take you in and get you warmed up” said Helm. The village knew him as Stiller the friendly, he was a kind-hearted man of many words. He adopted this orphaned Troll and called him Trolgar after the necklace he was wearing, the Troll’s name never changed. The village of Stunt Valley was unlike any other, its inhabitants were racially diverse, including a handful of Orcs, Goblins and Trolls who have been peacefully co-existing with the Human population for centuries. The village was self-sustaining as the entire population focused on farming and hunting, producing skilled farmers and master hunters. Its location and its little to no contact with the outside world allowed it to be undiscovered, most people and beasts were there by accident, yet they have learned to work together to survive and live in peace. This was paradise to those who lived there, no war, no problems, just living the life all were at first meant to live. Stunt Valley will be where Trolgar will grow up under the watchful eye of Stiller the Friendly.
Aldor learns of the deaths of Nava and Gorof but when one of the raiders tells him they failed to locate the child, he becomes furious and has the messenger executed. The other beasts begin to see a change in Aldor, he is becoming mad and lashes out at everyone around him. After this incident, the Orc king instigated a reign of terror. In the dead of winter, he marched to each of the beast homelands, killing whoever opposed his rule. Most submitted for fear of death, respecting Aldor’s eligibility to lead but those who refused to bow to him, he slayed on the spot, he took no pity on age, race, rank nor wailing childhood.
He would return to his base for operations, the now ruined city of Maredos, just southeast of the city of Ohith, with even more troops and arms fresh additions to his already huge army, now armed with standard siege equipment such as ballistae and stone throwers. Their armies were upgraded and ruled the skies thanks to the winged beasts, Wyverns, and Gargoyles.
Henriet had been preparing for the final battle from the start, finely forged Unodite weaponry were used to arm all Human soldiers as well as volunteers, these troops were well supplied with food and materials from the Kingdom of Diamonheim and the troops were well cared for by the skilled medics of the Kingdom of Koros. King Henriet was greatly impressed by the newly found quality of his men, who were far from the men they used to be. Two months have passed, both sides have been preparing well for the battle, yet neither was excited.
This battle was not a long awaited one, both sides knew this battle would bring the greatest losses as they were both fighting for high stakes, the beasts were fighting for total supremacy and the Humans, their survival, and the future of their race.
However, not all the Humans were willing to fight alongside Henriet, a man known as Lumbre Redwood was in the Human army. To him there was nothing worth fighting for, he was without a family and he didn’t have a place for a home. He has not had a good life, when he was born, he was taken from his parents and was left on the roadside to die. A local Human criminal took pity in the child and decided to raise him. However, at the age of four he witnessed his guardian being arrested by soldiers of the king, he retaliated and one of guards in self-defence, struck him with his arm, that dark incident scared him so deeply, nothing in the land meant anything to him. He had grown up on the dusty streets of a town in Unodos. A hard childhood made him grow into a criminal. At the age of seventeen he had assaulted a soldier. Afterwards he was sentenced to life in prison, then at the beginning of the Great Tri War, he was conscripted into the army and sent into the Kingdom of Hetheil’s service as a mercenary from Unodos. Lumbre Redwood has had a dark life, he has grown away from Humanity and he has pledged allegiance to no one. Darkness has clouded his mind and he will come to betray his fellow soldiers because he knows they will just put him back in jail later.
Later that winter in the Human army camp, just outside of the city’s southern wall, Lumbre came out of his shared tent and peered out into the camp. It was nightfall and all were asleep in their tents, no one wanted to be outside during the harsh cold of a winter night. He used the winter night to his advantage to leave the camp. His objective was the beasts’ camp, to him the Humans were going to lose the war and eventually their lives, so Lumbre decided to see if he could strike a deal with the beasts if he offered them his services. Once he left the camp and covered a fair distance he spotted smoke from a predictably large fire coming from the northeast. He trailed it and found the beast encampment, he hid behind a bush to observe the camp. The camp was far larger than that of the Human’s, obvious given the beasts were larger in size and in their numbers. There was a long fence that faced the path to the Human camp, after every four spikes, there would be a severed head of both a beast and Human mounted on the spike, side by side. Lumbre brushed away his fear and tried to approach a beast on the outskirts of the camp.
He saw an Orc patrolling along the wall, armed with a club, he looked viciously ugly even for an Orc. He quietly moved down the hill to approach the beast. “Hey ugly” whispered Lumbre, the beast got startled and immediately turned to face him. “A Human? This is not where you belong I will bring your head to Aldor!” yelled the beast as he raised his club. In response Lumbre drew his sword and he blocked the incoming club before shouting “Stop! And listen to me”, “okay Human, talk and then I will smash your skull” said the angered Orc. “Let me speak to Aldor, bring me to him, I have no bad intent on you, ugly” said Lumbre. “I am not ugly, Human filth, I am actually the best looking in my town! Also, King Aldor says that all are to bring death to messengers, there is no need talk to them they are the enemy” responded the Orc. “No, I’m not a messenger, I do not wish to serve the Humans anymore, I would prefer to help you beasts win and be alongside you when you do after my help” said Lumbre as he lowered his weapon. “Human filth is to betray his own people, well if it benefits us, follow me I will bring you to see Aldor”.
The two entered the camp and proceeded to Aldor’s tent, along the way the Human was shouted at and attacked, but he managed to get to the tent with the help of the Orc. “Brother Orc, why did you bring this Human into my tent, it’d better be a good reason, if he is a messenger I will kill both of you, I will find out myself, leave us” said Aldor as he sat on his thrown. “Come and sit at the table Human and tell me why you have brought yourself here” said Aldor as the “ugly” Orc left the tent. “I have come to join your cause against the Humans, I cannot serve Henriet and the Humans anymore, let me serve you as an informant and a fighter” said Lumbre. “You would betray your own people?” asked Aldor. “They are not my people, I have and I am considered nothing, there is nothing worth in fighting for something that would never fight for you” said Lumbre in distaste for being an outcast to his own society. “I will not kill you because you are a human. I will accept your help because we see eye to eye on humanity ”.
The long winter had finally ended, on the first day of spring Aldor summons his armies and marches towards Ohith with brutal haste. King Henriet who had gotten very little sleep the previous night rallied his newly armed and well trained forces to meet the beasts, just outside of the city, so that his archers would be in range of his enemy while safely perched on the walls. The Humans knew th
eir enemy well now, for having battled with them before, they now know of the beasts’ strengths and know of all their beast types. Two devastating defeats were still not enough to break the Humans. On the plains of Ohith the two armies faced each other, an eerie silence fell, even the beasts did not taunt as they normally did. King Henriet and Aldor locked eyes, each knowing either one or the other would walk out of this battle alive and victorious. Both sides stood idle for a full hour, mentally preparing themselves for the battle.
The great king of Hetheil addressed the soldiers that stand ready to defend Ohith. “We stand before our beastly foes today to do battle, a battle that will decide your fate and the lives of your people, win and go home to your wives and children as proud men and see them again, die and you would have died trying, you would have died among your brothers in defence of your homelands and in the future of us Humans, honour your people and fight, I will fight alongside you my brothers, together we can triumph!” Fire began to burn in the hearts of the Human soldiers, they