A Paladin's War Ch. 01

Inside the building was one massive, circular room thick with the haze of sweet, spicy smoke from dozens of small braziers resting on stands, as well as torches that burned in different places along the walls. Thick furs covered most of the floor, and in many places, Orcs writhed in the throes of mating, sometimes in groups of two or more. Aran was not surprised to see this; he had felt it clearly some time ago, but he noted Evoni's shock at what she was seeing. Shock and curiosity, and a tinge of excitement. The smell in the air was heady; sweat and sex as heavy as the smoke.

In the centre of the room was a raised area holding a chair upon which an Orc woman sat. As naked as the others in the room, she was perhaps the roundest specimen Aran had seen yet, though it would be remiss to call her fat. Plump of bosom and hip and thigh, Aran could think of no other way to describe her than 'fertile.' Her skin was the palest shade he'd seen today, though more heavily painted. The runes on her skin, sometimes curling and sometimes angular, covered her from toes to hairline, even her tremendous breasts and the smooth skin just above the cleft between her legs. She stood as Aran and Evoni approached, large, dark eyes watching them from a stunning face framed by lustrous midnight hair that flowed down to the tops of her thighs.

Aran's mind lit up with sensations as he delved into the woman standing ahead. She was shining like a bonfire beside the other candles in the room, almost the same as an arohim would, though she did not have the gift. Wisdom, kindness, love, compassion, courage all flowed from her, radiating outward in waves. If this Orc was not some kind of leader, Aran would sell Oroth for two pennies.

A firm hand on Aran's shoulder told him he should be kneeling. He did so, still amazed at what he was sensing. Beside him, Evoni did the same. His vala tugged at him almost frantically now that he was in this woman's presence, trying to pull him closer. Words were exchanged between Aran's captor and the one on the dais, and the former spoke with deference to the latter. Aran could feel the respect in her tone; he didn't need to speak Orcish to know that much. After a short exchange, the braided-haired Orc turned and left and the voluptuous one descended from her dais and approached.

"Rise," she said in a low, throaty voice that exuded command. It was the first time Aran had heard an Orc speak the common tongue. Aran and Evoni stood silently as she walked a slow circle around them much as the other one had earlier, though this time there were gentle caresses instead of pokes. She was tall enough to look Evoni in the eye and topped Aran by a full head. Evoni inhaled sharply as the Orc cupped one of her breasts and squeezed firmly. Aran felt surprise from her, and also a spike of arousal. He was having to watch his own responses to this environment; his body wanted him to join the Orcs in their expressions of passion, and Evoni's mounting excitement was difficult to ignore through the melda. "You are strong, Norothi," the Orc said to Evoni. "Though still young." Her eyes glanced at Aran briefly before returning to Evoni. "You are connected in some way I have not seen before." She came to Aran, then, and wasted no time in putting him through the same inspection as Evoni, even palming his privates! Aran had seen some of the world by now, but never had he experienced such a greeting. He found himself wanting to touch her, too, but restrained himself.

During the inspection, the big Orc from before appeared, still carrying the bundle of Aran and Evoni's things along with Oroth. He eyed Evoni with interest before putting the bundle down on the floor. "Masha," he said with hand to chest before turning and leaving. Aran had heard that word earlier. He thought it might be an honorific, or her title. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted Oroth's hilt jutting from the bundle of bags and clothing, and she squatted, studying it intently. She did not reach for it, and Aran did not say anything; his instincts were telling him to wait. Something was about to happen. Something important. To his surprise, she reached out and grasped the sword by the hilt, her large hand swallowing something made for a Human hand. Aran tensed for a moment, then relaxed when her hand remained unburned. She drew the blade from the scabbard carefully, stopping just before it was fully unsheathed. Rising from her squat, she held the blade horizontally and studied it carefully, her dark eyes occasionally flicking to Aran over the sharp upper edge.

"This blade is yours," she said. It was not a question, merely a statement of fact. "And yours alone."

"I forged it," Aran replied, speaking for the first time since entering Sen'dara. "It is a part of me, and I it." She nodded slowly, still running her eyes over the blade.

"It sings a strange song," she mused softly. "One I have not heard before. What is it's name?"

"Oroth," Aran answered truthfully.

"Yes," the Orc said definitively, as if Aran had confirmed something she was already thinking. "That is her name, though she has changed. As have you." Her eyes met his for longer, then, as if she could see into him. Aran found himself wondering what a meeting between this woman and Amina would be like. She slid the blade home slowly, the steel whispering against the leather. "I am Masha," she said as she offered him the sword. He took it, and she watched him expectantly until he offered his own name, and Evoni's. "You keep strange company, for a Human, Aran Sunblade," she remarked as she glanced at Evoni. "Though I think you have chosen well in this woman."

"She is mine, and I am hers," Aran said simply, offering Evoni a brief smile. She returned it, though she appeared distracted by something. Her cheeks were flushed, and her breathing was a little laboured. The melda was telling Aran that her arousal was increasing by the minute. Why would that be? Surely not just because Masha had touched her. "Are you the leader of your people, Masha?"

"I am," she replied. "If it could be called that. The Ash'goth need no leader, want no leader, though they come to me for wisdom and healing. Guidance." She waved her hand around at the bodies on the floor, all grunting and moaning softly as they took their pleasures. Aran saw no wild rutting as one might expect from Orcs; this was gentler, more peaceful. Sorla had sometimes spoken of her people, but now Aran was wishing he had asked her about them more. "They are experiencing the effects of the gar'ji smoke; a herb that opens the mind and transcends the world of flesh and earth and sky."

"One mind," Evoni whispered. She took a deep breath and shuddered as a wave of pleasure rushed through her.

"Yes," Masha said. "Gar'ji is 'one mind.' The sooner you succumb to its aroma, the sooner you will See." The capital was clear in her words. Was this what Aran's vala, what Aros, wanted him to do? He felt a little fuzzy, but otherwise alright, perhaps because his vala was protecting him from the smoke. He glanced at Evoni. Her eyes were lidded, her mouth slightly open. At her sides, her fingers were curling, and her toes were wriggling against the fur beneath her feet. Through the melda, he felt rising joy from her, like a bubble beneath the surface of a pond, slowly working its way to the top.

"It's wonderful, Aran," she breathed as he watched her. "I've never felt this way." She moved then, turning to embrace him and kissing him fully on the mouth as an explosion of lust roared from her end of the melda.

"No," Masha said firmly, stepping behind Evoni and pulling her away. "Not yet, Norothi. First, he must surrender." She eyed Aran over Evoni's shoulder as she held her by the waist, and Evoni's eyes watched him too, with a hot, fiery need he had not seen in her before, even in their most passionate lovemaking.

"Will I lose myself?" He asked Masha as he dropped Oroth to the ground with a soft thud.

Masha shook her head. "You will find yourself."

"I do not doubt your word, Masha, but why do I need this?" He asked. "My path is set before me. My purpose is clear. I have accepted the mistakes of my blood and I will atone for them, even though it was not my hand that doomed the world. What more is there to learn?"

"You are not your purpose," Masha said softly. Even spoken so quietly, her words seemed to reverberate inside his head. "You are not your path. You are not even your powers, Son of the Sun. Who are you, beneath all this? Do you know?"

Aran stood stock still, but in his mind, he reeled. He felt more complete now than he had ever before, but Masha's words cracked a facade he had not realised he'd created. In his shock, his control slipped long enough for the effects of the gar'ji to wash over him. The last thing he felt was Evoni in his arms and Masha holding them both close to her bosom, and then there was darkness.

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END OF CHAPTER ONE

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