Mantle of War Ch. 01

Much could be heard from the orc encampment below the dragons lair as the angel and demon D'gon Ra summoned entered. Curious as to why his love was there the demon asked: "Do you suppose we were called in by chance or random? I know we have to sneak around a lot but dragons are far too perceptive sometimes. Especially D'gon with his prophecies."

"I know Amun, though if he does know, he has no reason to out us. If anything, he does know but wants something from us, else we would not be here." The beautiful Lailah replied.

The cave the dragon called home was warm and humid, with a faint blue light coming from where the dragon rested. "Welcome! We have much to discuss you two." Bellowed the dragon.

"We do?" the pair replied in unison.

"Yes. I know about you both, as do all the dragons."

"Damn, What do you want of us then D'gon." Hissed Amun. Lailah, not to be outdone crossed her arms under her bust while staring at the Cobalt menace in front of her.

"I will be no slave to you, beast. better to slay us now or out us if that's what you want."

Initially stunned, the dragon deafens the pair as he laughs a hearty chuckle that rumbles the cave. "Oh my dear, how little you all must think of us dragons. If we TRULY wished to have you cowed for any of us, there would be nothing to stop it from happening." Both Lailah and Amun shuddered at the memory of what dragons had once done to defend their homeworld during the last rampage of some demigod some millennia ago. "What I, no, what we dragons, need of you both, is to keep what you're doing up. or have you forgotten the tales of old that speak of my prophecies?"

"And what prophecy would require an Angel and Demon who are in love?" yelled Amun.

"So you admit it, you love me?" asked a stunned Lailah.

"Settle down children and I will tell you. As you know, dragons love a good story, and nothing is as great a story as a prophecy yet to unfold." A weary demon watches defeated as he knows what prophecy the dragon now speaks.

"Surely you can't mean its coming, do you? By the Maker, we're done for. War is coming..." The angel, as if having just been woken up to the chaos of the end times just runs from the chamber screaming as she goes to vomit in a corner.

"There there my love, War may be coming but that's not how all prophecies end, Remember the Cataclysm? they said it would end the world and it didn't, the dragons stood their ground against the horrors of the other side. Let's hear him out, maybe there's some good in our future after all." D'gon smiled as apologetically as he could towards the angel for making her react that way.

"My dear, I am sorry for dropping that on you both. But you need to hear this prophecy said true. Not the lies that have been passed around by the humans who never heard the original."

"The child of angel and demon, with the heart of a dragon, raised in lands not his own, taken in by orcs upon his return, A friend to death, will save the Orcs or spell Doom for us all."

There was a stunned silence from the Angel and Demon, the air vibrated raw power from the gravity of the situation.

The demon, Amun, shook his head, "And why would our son need the heart of a Dragon? other than to fulfil this prophecy of yours."

D'gon just stared, waiting for the demon to calm, "Because you and I both see the look on Lailahs face when he breathes, the Rattle in his chest because his heart isn't working right, the Warring of his Angel and Demonic sides. His heart is not strong enough to fight it off. He needs mine."

"SHUT UP! YOU KNOW NOTHING DRAGON, MY CHILD WILL GET BETTER, LITTLE ABBADON WON'T DIE LIKE YOU SAY, HE DOESN'T NEED YOUR FILTHY FUCKING HEART, HE. IS. FINE!" Screeched Lailah. Amun went over to his love, wrapped an arm around her and whispered sweet nothings into her ear to calm her, to assuage her of the lies she tells herself when her child sleeps in her arms.

"My dear, my sweet beautiful angel, you and I know that is a lie... I see the pain in your eyes as you remember what happened to Lucifer, You saw how mad he went trying to keep up and he was a son of God. We need the help of a Dragon, not just any, THE dragon, the one who warned God himself and was forever locked out of Heaven with his fellow dragons for having the gall to offer help."

Lailah just glared at both of them. Refusing to accept the help, even though she knew of the lies her God spoke of the dragons and Lucifer, Since she gave a gift to the dragons, to combat their low mating cycle they would be able to always have a child. "Bring me your child, dear angel, and I will repay the gift you gave us all those years ago. It is the least I can do after You gave me my child.

Bring him to me and he will live, but it must be soon. Is he still with Gabriel? I always liked him." 'will be fitting when the boy reaches age and has to come home, after all, the angel of revelation revealing his true home to him.' the Dragon thought to himself. While he spoke aloud of his admiration, the Angel and Demon both knew he was hiding something, though neither could read his thoughts, they knew he was not telling the whole truth.

"It is done, Gabriel comes our way with the child." Hours later the Orcs looked up and saw a white glow come towards the top of the peak at the end of their proving course. all went back to training bar one, the Ogre, Shatterfist Stonehammer, he wanted to know what was happening up there, knew the only way to know would be to win the Omega run and get his boon, If he spent less time looking up, he could have avoided the hit to the head that put him on the ground. "What're you doing you big fool, Just because you da shagged a goliath doesn't mean you can muck about like a whelp, How will you protect your woman if you're distracted and someone beats you?" his uncle barked at him, trying to get him to be the Warchief he knows he will one day be.

---3 Months Later---

"Alright nephew, I will see you atop the mountain, where you will be an Omega among Orcs, next in line for the Warchief." Gul Rib grunted at his nephew.

"Aye uncle, and I know what my Boon shall be, how many can say that before getting to the peak?" Shatterfist, the strongest of the orcs running the Proving Gauntlet this day said, though being an Ogre, the orcs still consider the half-orc half-goliath offspring orcs from the parentage, standing at an imposing eight feet tall, he towers over the other orcs and could punch a hole clean through a tree trunk, and once pulled an ox head clean off for a bet, was most likely to survive the final leg of the course.

"My Alpha, we will see you back at camp, Now, how was my namesake the morning? the runt still unruly? I may have to teach him how to AVOID his mothers' eyes for some fun!" Ughat, Shaterfists second laughs out, one of the few non-family he trusts with his wife and children.

"Brother, if you teach him half of the things we got away with, my wife will kill us both and you know it, so make it a quarter of that, then I can get her to get you in my place!" Shatterfist laughs back.

"Quit your jabberin' you whelps and form up, We have a proving to finish." the oldest of the Shamans snarled out, withered and craggly, the shamans know more magic than the rest, and while they oversee the proving, they never interfere, death in this course is what weeds out the weak and the stupid from the warpack, they also keep an eye on their Patron dragon, ensuring that no harm falls his guardians.

"Only the one running this time? Shame, I wanted to see Ughat fail this part. One less troublemaker that way." Vuthru, shaman alpha snarled out.

Standing on the line, Shatterfist stares down the final part of his proving, surviving means safety and power for his wife and 3 runts, failure is death. "BEGIN!" The Shaman shouts. The ground shudders from the impact of Shatterfist sprinting off into the jungle towards the peak.

"Tell me Witch, Will he live?" Gul Rib asked of the shaman, As an answer, she touched him with the end of her staff and threw him backwards.

"Get up there and find out yourself."

The warchief grumbled as he walks up the Shamans path to the end of the course to wait for his nephews inevitable finish.

'Must keep moving, can't stop, need to finish, get my answers from the dragon.' were the only thoughts going through Shatterfists' head as he ran the gauntlet, few orcs ran this leg of the course, fewer still survive the trial of true alphas. Like his father before him, he had a plan, though he does not wish to shag a goliath like his father, he wants to know the fate of his children, if they will live happily or if like he sees for his eldest child, being a right mess of anger and rage until it leads him to an early grave. So in his head as he was, he nearly missed a corner that would have led to his death if he didn't stop in time. "FUCK, Gotta focus, this is the ONLY Time I need to do this, let's not fuck it up like some have..." he ground out through clenched teeth.

Finally, after many scrapes from tripping over the deceptively hidden branches and roots of the course, "Never, EVER, will I run that damned course again... Fuck my arm hurts." Shatterfist said as he stumbled over to his uncle while cradling his arm and dropping down onto his backside to rest.

"Good thing you lived and didn't call out for the Shamans then. You, my boy, never have to run it again, unless someones stupid enough to challenge you as unfit, and they have to do it as well. Doubt anyone would be that stupid though. To many places to trip each other up for a quick death and an easy win. Let's get you to the Dragon for your prize then."

"I need a moment uncle, I am exhausted." the now laying down ogre breathed out.

"C'mon, you're not dead yet, looks like Vuthru is coming over to give you a boost to get back down."

Vuthru shambled over, stamped the ground with her staff and shambled back down the mountain, telling them to get on with it.

"Ahh, Welcome Shatterfist, I have been awaiting you for some time." D'gon bellowed through the cave, startling the baby in its mothers arms, though it did not cry out in fear, just gazed at the green titan and smiled at it, Shatterfist smiled back at the small human and proceeded to the dragon, missing the faint glow behind the childs eyes.

"Dragon, I have complete the trials of my people, my question is, what will happen to my children in the future?"

"Now, that's a question that has no one true answer. Your eldest, Ughat will die sometime after your Daughter finds her mate in an outsider, one who will ultimately kill him for treason, he will be one that will run the gauntlet as you just have, while he may not look like much, being human, he will be the one to save you and your daughters' lives and grant you many strong grandchildren. Your other son will also be the outsiders' servant, as is orc custom on losing a challenge, though he will find his mate in a different orc camp when they come for peace. Ughat, no matter what you do, will betray your family, love him while you can, and don't do anything to harm him, that may ruin everything."

"Tell me dragon, what is the name of this Outsider, that will have my 3 children enslaved to them?" he snarled at the dragon.

"Deakon Ra, though he will also go by D'gon or Abaddon." Lailah whipped her head up to stare at the dragon as he said that last name, knowing part of her childs future will be rife with both good and bad things to come.

"He will use your name? He would be lucky enough to survive the fight with my daughter alive, no way would he defeat all 3 of my children in a fight. Not with their freedom on the line." The ogre states to the room.

"Believe what you will Shatterfist, I speak the truth. I know the future, you will see when it happens. Now, you have a Party to attend. Begone now."

"Is it true? Will my Abaddon sire children with an orc? Please tell me you're telling the truth, I need to know my babies future, I know we won't get to raise him, we know the laws, I just hope he will be a happy child without us..." the angelic beauty sobbed out, sadness marring her near perfect face.

"I'm afraid that he won't be on this world much longer my dear, Gabriel, I need you to come take the boy, there is much you need to do now."

Gabriel, standing an imposing figure as an angel of Protection "What do you require of me D'gon? Lailah, He will be fine, I will die before I let anything happen to him, Go, you have been gone too long, they're starting to wonder where you have been for the last year." he soothingly told his sister.

"Goodbye my little angel, may you find this letter helpful one day, when you're a strong little orcboy." she whispered to her son, before kissing his forehead and handing him to Gabriel.

"Now, Gabriel, I need you to take Abaddon and head to the gateway, your magic should survive over there, but you will need to be careful, they're a mageless world that has this thing called technology, lightning runs through there cities and towns and powers their things, I don't know if its true or not, but their technology works fine over here, they just don't get the signals for things here because we don't have the things here they do. He is a lucky child, he will have friends over there, but he will be gifted by the wolves with a Pup, I will see to it that it will find you when its time for the boy to have it, You will need to mask its looks so it looks like a dog and not the wolf it is, his friends parents wont trust it with their children otherwise."

"Will I see my sister again? this feels like I won't be coming back again." Gabriel asked.

"I do not know, Truly I do not know, once you return and have the wolf guard your gear, you and the boy go towards the orc hunting grounds, it is hazy, and after that, it is just, unknown to me. I hope you live but that all depends on what is true death for celestials."

---18 Years Later---

"Deakon, get up, time for your last day of school here." Gabriel shouted up the stairs.

"C'mon Deakon, last day of school, then it's your last rugby game before going home to that mythical land uncle Gabriel says is home." The young man says as he swings his legs out of bed to go to his bathroom.

After his shower, he stares at his cobalt eyes and jet black hair that has a blueish hue. "Damn regular people sized mirror heights, hafta fuckin' bend over to look at my face, fuck'n bullshit tiny people making houses." he grumbles as he shaves the stubble from his face.

As he leaves the bathroom, he walks over to his dog that, as his uncle would say: "Is your guardian dire-wolf, rare gifts for few in our home." He never believed the lie as its just an unusually large and old Labrador, though his uncle CLAIMS it will die when he does, that's why its spent the last 18 years alive and not long dead.

"Morning Deakon, You excited about the game tonight or better yet, returning home tomorrow? THEN you will see I haven't been telling lies about Raiko. Then you'll believe me that magic and orcs are real."

"Uncle Gabe, Your stories might have fascinated a 6-year-old me, that was 12 years ago, we all know Magic's a lie told to keep fantasy alive, to sell books about wizard kids or games of all kinds" Deakon groused.

After breakfast, Gabriel went off to do whatever he does while Deakon went for his last day of school. "DEAKON, MY MAN! Your party last week, my gods that was rad." Deakons best friend and rival for tallest player on field for the rugby team Frank called out.

"You ready to win my final game tonight?" Deakon yelled back over the crowd.

"Where exactly ARE you going anyway? You're always saying, you're gonna go home after your 18th, and that party last week would imply that was happening soon, So, where is "Home" for you? My money would be on Europe with your looks but who knows with those teeth!" Frank joked back.

"Something like that, See you at the game later!" Deakon yelled back one last time as he rounded a corner into his first class of the day.

Once his final day was done, Deakon said his farewells to all his teachers and friends, though many would be at the game for his final game. "You ready Son?" Gabriel asked, knowing how important this game was for Deakon, his last time to enjoy the simplicity of his home on this world.

"Yep, Gears all packed and loaded in the trailer with that monstrosity of a motorbike you got me, seriously, 2 cat tracks on it?" Deakon asked with a hint of awe in his voice.

"It fits between the trees better than an ATV, that's why I had them custom build it for you."

"Right, well, let's go get me my final win then." the younger of the two said.

"Deakon has the ball and he is charging the line, though at this point in time the Dragons have a win, either way, the Ravens have no way to possibly get the ball from so far behind. Deakons really going all out for this win today, wouldn't you agree Jim?"

"That he is Paul, We've watched him all year, and he has gone above and beyond carrying his boys to a near perfect season, with only a few hiccups at the start of the year!" The announcers commentating on the game spoke.

"Here he is, coming up on the goal line and, Oooh, Tackled right on the Siren, Shame, that would have been a Ripper of a goal to win on. Tracy, are you able to get down there for the Last interview with Deakon Ra, This was his last game and we all want to know the lads final words for us all before he leaves." Paul asked through the headset to the Young and Bubbly on-field reporter for the Rugby Field.

"Jesus, I forgot how tall you are Deakon, seriously, what's it like being 7 foot tall?" The 5'5" Blond asked.

"Well, Its a nightmare to look at myself in a mirror in the bathroom, that's for damned sure, gotta hunch over like an older gentleman." Tracy just stared at him with a dreamy look on her face, when she's prompted by Paul in her headset she jumps from her daze.

"So, we all know this was your last game with us, what's next for D'gon Ra of the Dragons? Hey, I just worked out that your Nicknames Dragon!" She giggled,

"Huh, I've honestly never noticed that before." he lied convincingly on that one, he worked it out when he was 14 one time. "Anyway, My uncle keeps telling me that once I hit 18 we were gonna go home, from what I can gather, its somewhere in Europe, so I may come running home at some point if I hate it there."

"Well, if you need a place to hide out, I'm sure there are PLENTY of people who would help hide you out" she hinted.

"So sorry, but it looks like I gotta go, my Uncles waving me over, If I don't see you again Tracy, it's been a Blast!" he said into the microphone, right before pulling her into a heart-stopping kiss. "Been wanting to do that ALL Season!" he said to her before running off.

"Was that wise? You know she's gonna be waiting forever for you to come back for another kiss like that." his uncle admonished him.

"While I do regret that, It was oh so worth it, I have wanted to do that fpr years. And when this whole thing falls through and we're still here next week, I WILL, in fact, go see her again." Deakon shot back.

"Oh, ye of little faith. You know you're looking forward to meeting an orc, you can't hide it from me. Surprised you can actually lie to yourself as hard as you are, what with the reactions I KNOW you get to them like I do." As they both got in Gabriels truck to go to the Park where they're going to go to the 'portal home' in the woods.

"Alright Deakon, we're here. Grab your gear and load it onto the Bike, Raiko and I will come along to the campsite, once we cross the portal I will drop Raikos guise and finally you will see the Majesty that is a Dire-wolf."

A few hours of wandering through the woods, there was a noticeable change in the air, almost as if it Vibrated with untapped power, "You feel that Deakon, we just crossed the portal. Welcome home." Gabriel almost yelled from the feeling of freedom of knowing he was home.