Thralls of a Dread Lord (1.63T)
Welcome to my weekly serial. This is a rough draft that I am working on, for your reading pleasure.
It is a fairly grim tale, so be warned.
Here is the first post from this series.
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The night after the Dread Lord’s Kaasukak was troubled. Retaak woke fitfully several times. His dreams were filled with fiery eyes, and the terrible reminder of that Dread Presence. He hated the way it made him feel; weak and helpless, nothing more than quirky fodder for a master who care for nothing but his own power.
After the fifth time he started out of his sleep and he saw that Dawn was still far off, he moved to relieve Uyage of her watch. The Orc woman did not protest, which was a sign of her distress. It weighed heavily on all of them.
The forest around them was abuzz with night activity. Frogs sang a chorus from some distance away, indicating a pond or swamp nearby. Owls hunted mice while bats chased moths. He caught sight of a small forest drake taking flight, silhouette against the moon alarming him for a moment and he mistook it for a dragon. The night was peaceful and yet the Desolation to the East and the memory of the Dread Lord pressed on Retaak, filling him with self-loathing and fears that all his plans and dreams were as nothing before the cruel reality of what it was to be a Thrall of the Dread Lord.
When she came to him, appearing almost soundlessly, it somehow drove those thoughts away. The way she moved, letting her see him before she approached, the scent of her as she moved close. Something primal, pure and vital welled up in him, and he smiled as she sat down beside him. She did not laugh or mock him, or press him for what he was not ready to give. He felt her body against his as they watched the stars above and the opera of the forest at night unfold around them. He put his arm around her and she laid her head on his shoulder, hair flowing over him.
It was perfect. The best kind of magic. When dawn came Retaak was refreshed, even if he had to endure hard looks from Uyage and Uyaashie.
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