Jasmine, once again covered in her fur robe, stood in front of Vrk’shryk with her arms folded over her chest. The younger orc was fuming, pacing back and forth in front of her with such fierceness that Jasmine worried he might dig a rut into her stone floor. She had sent Rocky back to his home in the Plains. She had to stand between the two young men as Rocky made his exit, because Vrk’shryk was being his usual aggressive self and Rocky, as usual, couldn’t resist getting the final word. Now, in the silence that followed his departure, Jasmine just stared at her son, following the trajectory of his pacing without moving her head.
Vrk’shryk threw his hands in the air, waving them around as he spoke at length about dishonor and weaklings and interspecies commingling. Jasmine wasn’t really paying much attention to what he was saying, in all honesty. She was too distracted by memories of him throwing similar tantrums as a youngling. He was always a bit dramatic, but she supposed that was a more or less ubiquitous character flaw in most of the males of her species. She meant to let him tire himself out just as she’d done when he was a child, but his stomping suddenly ceased. He stood there, looking at his feet as though he were contemplating what they had been doing.
“Why?” he asked, without looking up. “Just…why? And most of all, why him?”
“I’ve told you, Vrk’shryk: it’s none of your business who I allow in my chambers and certainly none of your business who I allow between my thighs.”
Vrk’shryk made a gagging sound.
“Oh, grow up, child,” she said as she rolled her eyes at his childishness.
“He’s human, mother – an under-leveled one, at that! You are a matriarch, maybe the strongest in the history of our clan. What in the infinite hells could you possibly see in him?”
“He’s kind to me, Vrk’shryk.”
“I’m kind to you,” he objected. “Lazryk Bloodbane is kind to you. THE ENTIRE FUCKING CITY IS KIND TO YOU.”
“You’re my child,” she explained, calmly. “Lazryk wants to combine our clans to gain power for himself. The city shows deference to me because of my power. Rockland has no familial allegiance to me. He has nothing to gain politically from showing me kindness. And, as you have said so many times in the last hour and a half, he is human – which means he is not a resident of this city who understands my position here. He is kind to me because he wants to be, because my happiness is important to him. Because that’s who he is.”
Her demeanor softened and she let her arms drop to her side.
“Vrk’shryk. I know you love me. The love of your child is a wonderful thing, but a woman needs more. Do you not want me to be happy, as Rockland does?”
He let out a long-suffering sigh, as though trying to release his anger in a single breath.
“Of course I do. The problem isn’t the what, but the who. This…Rockland – which is a stupid name, by the way – is known to me. He has been a constant irritation since the moment I met him a few days ago.”
Her eyebrows raised slightly at that.
“Oh? So, you know each other?”
“Know is a strong word. I would say it’s more akin to being aware of his existence, in much the same way that I am aware of a gnat as it flits around the room. He is the one who interrupted my proving hunt.”
That’s when it clicked for Jasmine, and she almost laughed at the absurdity. Vrk’shryk had some sort of altercation with Rockland, stole his weapon and brought it back to the city in an attempt to pawn it off as a replacement trophy to the council. Rocky naturally followed him to try to take back what had been stolen, and eventually, through some odd twist of fate, found himself in her quarters. Vrk’shryk had put the pieces together, as well, she knew – and he was blaming himself for the whole ordeal. She was wise enough to know, however, that the animosity he felt toward Rockland was not going to fade simply because Vrk’shryk was aware of the causal chain. She knew her son, and she knew that she needed to nip this in the bud before a petty rivalry blossomed into something more dangerous for them both.
“Is that what this is really about? Your proving quest? You know that you can do another one in a few months.”
The young orc stood silently for a few moments and then looked up at her with a tear-streaked face.
“I am the first in our clan not to pass his proving quest on the first try. I’ve disgraced our ancestors and he is the reason for it!”
“Vrk’shryk…you’re going to have to let this go. What’s done is done. The only path forward is the path forward.”
“And what path would that be, Mother?” he growled. “I’ve failed the proving test. Warriors who require second and third attempts are sent to inferior teams. What forward path is left for me that doesn’t involve degradation and humiliation? None. He took that from me. He brought disgrace to our entire clan…and you rewarded him for it.”
“If I rewarded him for anything, it was for treating me as though I were a normal woman. A sentient lifeform who deserves kindness and companionship, rather than a monolithic idol requiring nothing more than respect and obedience,” her own anger was rising within her, now. She tamped it down as best she could, knowing it would only cause the situation to spiral out of control more than it already had.
“You should command respect and obedience! You. Are. A. Matriarch. Maybe you should start acting like one.”
Her eyes narrowed and her aura flared. She’d had just about enough of this young pup telling her how she should be living her life. The sudden shift in pressure brought young Vrk’shryk to his knees with so much force that the floor cracked beneath him. Jasmine stepped toward him and every step she took forced him further downward. By the time she was standing right in front of him, he was in a kowtow position. She looked down upon him, her face set in a mix of fury and motherly love.
“You want me to act like a Matriarch? Fine.”
“P-please,” Vrk’shryk wheezed.
“You know, it’s funny. The human you think so pitiful was able to withstand much more of my aura than this. He stood before me and my fully unfettered aura…and his knees didn’t so much as buckle. Does that change how you see him? Somehow, I doubt it.”
“Mother, please. I-I can’t breathe.”
“Let this be a lesson, my son: be careful for what you wish. Now, since I am performing my Matriarchal duties, I will issue a few commands. Understand that these are the mandate of Jasmine Irontusk, Matriarch of the Irontusk Clan…and are therefore not subject to dispute nor recalcitrance. Is this understood?”
“Yes, Mother” he gasped into the stony floor.
“First, Rockland Azariah Hall is mine. You are not to touch him in anger, nor cause any harm to befall him. Is this understood?”
“Y-yes, Mother.”
“Second, I am assigning you to assist Rockland in his training. He indicated to me that he has a blade but has had no schooling in the art of wielding it. You will teach him. Is this understood?”
“Mother, I-” Vrk’shryk started to protest, but was pushed even further downward as Jasmine increased the pressure of her aura on him.
“Is this understood?” she repeated, and this time it was all the boy could do to nod his assent.
“Good.”
She pulled in her aura, releasing the pressure from her son and he took a deep, wheezing breath, feeling as though he’d been trapped on the ocean floor and had finally breached the surface. Jasmine let him catch his breath and compose himself before squatting in front of him and putting a gentle hand on each side of his face. She guided him back up to his knees and smiled at him, softly.
“There. Much better,” she said, before kissing his forehead. “I swear, I have no idea where you got this hard-headedness from.”
“Father, probably,” he said, his tone hushed.
“I suppose that would make sense. Do you know that he once chased a Colossal Caudipteryx for three weeks straight, just to get a few feathers to decorate his spear? It just had to be Caudipteryx feathers, for some reason.”
Vrk’shryk grunted.
“That sounds like him.”
“But then, feathers were in vogue for orcish weapons, at the time. Armor, too. Even some swords had them. Come, sit down. I’ll make you some tea, and tell you about the time he kept saying that he’d met Orvx Fistbane in a dwarvish tavern and no one could convince him otherwise.”
Vrk’shryk’s face scrunched up in confusion.
“Wait. Orvx Fistbane? As in the GOD Orvx Fistbane? Why in the world would an orc god be in a dwarf tavern?”
“For the mushroom ale, apparently. Go. Sit. I’ll tell you all about it.”
I arrived back at my camp in the Plains around sunrise, again, as was swiftly becoming my wont. I had planned to shoot Jasmine a message, but I thought better of it. She might have needed some time to herself to deal with Shrek, and I wanted to give her that space. So, I just slinked into my sleeping bag and drifted off into a blissfully restful sleep.
“Rocky. ROCKY!”
I awoke late that morning to Juniper shaking me around excitedly and yelling at me to get the hell up. Her little ghostly fingers were like ice on my shoulder. I grumbled and propped myself up on an elbow as I wiped at my eyes with my free hand.
“Mm? Whash gon on?” I slurred, still trying to pull my brain and my body back into the land of the living.
“Orcs! There are orcs in the Plains!”
That hit me like a triple shot of espresso pumped straight into my veins. I shot up and immediately looked at my mini map. Sure enough, there were about fifty gray dots right there in my safe zone near the foothills. They appeared to be congregated together, but I couldn’t tell what they were up to. It didn’t really look like they were in any sort of militaristic formation. Plus, the dots representing them on my map were the gray color which always indicated a neutral party…so they weren’t enemies.
I stood up and walked outside. I could make out movement by the foothills, but not much else. I’d have to go and investigate, it seemed. Juniper walked with me, which surprised me a bit, given how scared she was when she woke me – but, on the other hand, there was something entirely new happening within range for her to experience it, and she was nothing if not starved for novelty. There was no way she’d let an opportunity like this slip by without snooping at least a little bit.
As we approached, it became clear what was happening: construction. I stopped once Juniper and I were within viewing distance and just watched for a while. A couple of the orcs waved at us when they noticed us. I waved back tentatively as Juniper half-hid behind me while flickering in and out of view. Why were these orcs able to even set foot on my land? What in the world were they building? Why are they willing to risk coming so close to the Eidolon? I had so many questions…and there was only one person who may have the answers.
The message box closed, and I was left to deal with the fallout of that revelation for the rest of the day. I just stared, blankly, at the construction crew as they went about the business of setting up Jasmine’s new outpost. After a few moments of silence, Juniper couldn’t take it anymore and gave me a nudge.
“Well? What is all this about?” she asked.
“You’re getting new neighbors, apparently. And some new stories to tell your bee friends.”
“That’s a bit cryptic, Rocky.”
I looked at her and just shrugged.
“I don’t have any real answers for you, Juniper. All I know is that tomorrow I will introduce my best friend to my wife.”
“Wait, you’re married??”
“Apparently so.”
“When did this happen?”
“Last night, I think.”
“Huh. You really do move fast. You haven’t even been here a week.”
“I know.”
“So who’s your best friend that you’re introducing to your wife?”
I smiled and started to walk toward the construction zone to have a look.
“You are.”
Juniper stared after me in silence. She didn’t follow. Didn’t say anything else as I walked further and further away from her. The only indication that she’d even heard me came in the form of a system notification.
Tomorrow was going to be a hell of a day.