The Orc who led the 500 strong troop was infamous in the realm of men. Grock, the King Killer, he had earned such a title for how many human kings he had defeated, the stubs of slain kings’ crowns decorated both of his ears like piercings. Even by Orc standards his hatred for mankind was immense, he was one of the cruelest beings the world had ever seen. After laying waste to a human city he was known to find the king and queen, where he would nail the king to a large piece of wood and force him to watch as Grock ate the Queen alive, piece by bloody piece. He was more human like in stature than most other Orcs, yet seemed more monstrous than most.
The two sides merely stood staring at one another for the longest of moments before Grock spoke. “This fear tactic won’t work humans, it is too absurd to believe…two dozen men killed this many Orcs?” A smile came upon his wretched face, he was fully aware of just how many Orcs would be attacking Ebulon, he was confident that by nightfall every human would be wiped from this world. Quickly he looked to the borders of the clearing, making sure there was no possible way an ambush party was waiting to attack his troops. He then scanned the faces of each of the humans, they were silent but not because they stood strong, he could see the fear in their eyes and it was so potent he could even smell it through the stench of death.
Then his eyes rested upon those of Cada Varl’s and instantly he narrowed his vision, he had never seen a human with red eyes before, not counting the bloodshot eyes of the many he had strangled. Even more so, Cada Varl was the only one who didn’t show fear. He studied his uniform, at one time or another Grock had been apart of an assault of every human city in the realm and yet no kingdom bared such a uniform.
“You!” Grock demanded with a pointing finger and horrid tone. Cada Varl slowly looked him dead in the eye, showing not an ounce of fear. “Who are you?” he asked. Juruz felt an urge to warn Cada Varl about Grock, certainly Cada Varl was powerful but Juruz knew the horror Grock was capable of. Cada Varl merely stared for a moment before turning to face the Orcs.
“I am Cada Varl,” he said simply. Grock snickered, humans had such stupid names and this man was no exception. “I am the one responsible for all the dead Orcs you see before you.”
Grock scowled at such words and after a moment of silence he joined his fellow living Orcs in a chorus of cackles. They sounded like a murder of crows squawking at some sick joke. Grock suddenly stopped laughing and instantly the others became silent.
“You really think I am that much of a fool? What stupid magic did you humans use to change this man’s hair and eye colour? There is an outside chance we would have believed you if you had bothered to paint yourself in the blood of the fallen. It is hard to be afraid of someone who is too squeamish to make their lie convincing.”
Juruz quickly glanced to Cada Varl before looking back at Grock. It was very rare for him to be bewildered, but in that moment he had no idea what to do. Grock smiled at Cada Varl, waiting for his façade to crack, but Cada Varl remained stony faced.
“Very well,” Grock stated as he slid off his Warg, which was the largest in the pack. As he did so every Orc smiled a wretched smile. They enjoyed the cruelty Grock was known to inflict. Grock took several steps into the field as he said, “If you’re so powerful you should have no problem killing me? Isn’t that right?”
“Cada Varl,” Juruz tried to whisper.
Cada Varl heard him but without hesitation walked into the clearing. The two of them met in the center as the Orcs continued to smile while the humans watched in silent fear. From under his black cloak Grock took in hand a foul blade, forged from the blackest of steel, it possessed jagged edges like a saw, with the head of a mace taking the place of the sword’s guard. It was brutal in every way, a weapon of utter cruelty known as ‘Nurok Bezul’ literally meaning ‘a thousand terrible deaths.’ There was hardly a single person in Ebulon who didn’t know of its disturbing power to cause agony and death. Grock was use to seeing men and women tremble in fear upon seeing the blade, so didn’t know what to think of it when this Cada Varl showed no change in his expression.
“Are you not afraid human?” Grock asked.
Cada Varl waited a moment, allowing the tense silence to fill the air. “It will take a lot more than a poorly made sword to fill me with fear monster.”
His words didn’t anger Grock as much as the look in Cada Varl’s eyes. This human hadn’t even bothered to raise his sword. To Grock this kind of arrogance was the ultimate insult. This Cada Varl would suffer like no human before him. The Ebulon soldiers had seen what Cada Varl was capable of, but Grock was one of the most skilled swordsmen in the history of both man and Orc. He could do things with his blade that men were simply incapable of.
Juruz looked beyond the two of them and could see an Orc staring directly at him. It too possessed a horn at its side; its grubby hand loosely grasped it. If Juruz called for help it would too. Juruz could now only rely on hope, that this Cada Varl was capable of defeating Grock, something no other human had ever been able to do.
Grock didn’t wait a second longer, his blade was hungry. He moved forward, proving incapable speed. In the eyes of the Ebulon soldiers he seemed a shadowy blur as he attacked Cada Varl. The smiles that had once been on the faces of the Orcs then vanished and a great clash of steel thundered in the air. Grock stood dumbfounded, his weapon had not only been blocked, it had been blocked with ease. Cada Varl stood with his sword slightly raised staring into the black eyes of his enemy. Grock shook his head, unable to accept what he was seeing.
“Unbelievable,” Torin gasped. “He blocked his strike like he was blocking the cane of a crippled 90 year old man.” He may have whispered these words but the silence was so great every single Orc and Human heard his words. No human had ever blocked Nurok Bezul before. Grock increased his speed and replayed the attack, determined it was some lucky fluke. Yet it wasn’t, Cada Varl blocked the second strike just as easy. Grock heard the gasps of his fellow Orcs all too well as they began whispering their disbelief. Grock could feel the rage rise inside and he unleashed it in a series of attacks, so fast and brutal that the humans couldn’t keep up with his movements. While Grock seemed a blur Cada Varl kept his sword in one hand, blocking each strike. He didn’t even appear to be paying attention, like this was a game he had played a thousand times before and had long grown bored with it.
After delivering another failed attack Grock leapt back as his rage showed itself in very heavy breaths. Cada Varl remained silent, as Grock demanded of his mind to explain what was happening. His state of rage quickly gave way to bewilderment. He had fought against some of the most legendary human warriors in the realm and each had died painfully and swiftly by his hand. Yet this Cada Varl had blocked all of his attacks and wasn’t even breathing heavily. His instincts then came to his rescue. He took a strong whiff of the air, his motions were that of a foul beast. “You’re not human are you?” It was a question that every single human and Orc desperately wanted answered.
“Not anymore…” was Cada Varl’s casual reply.
Every Orc and human watched in tense silence, all wondering and fearing what would happen next. Grock raised his sword and was still annoyed that Cada Varl kept his lowered. This red eyed man wasn’t taking him seriously. The answer only created more questions. Something was a miss, striking Cada Varl’s sword felt like punching a mountain, there was no budge there. He possessed strength greater than even an Orc’s.