The Last Primal

Several seconds passed in intense silence, as the remaining trio of guards continued to shake and silently measure the unarmed vigorous orc from the top to the bottom.

Against such piercing, scrutinizing gazes, Roas remained silent, and simply withstood them with a cold, but the calm outlook on his face. He did not react, nor gave any micro movement, but let the three think their options over.

After what seemed like an eternity but in reality, was only just a dozen seconds, the closest of the guards, raised his halberd once more, pointing at the road, and the still motionlessly standing leaner silhouette on the road.

"[Orc] Turn back and leave with your lord from where you came from. We do not want your kind here, outsider." The guard gave his warning to the unarmed figure.

Roas, hearing their denial once again shook his head whilst clicking his tongue with dissatisfaction.

"[Orc] I really wanted to settle this peacefully. After all, you all used to be my people…" He sighed before he continued. "...but it seems that the darkness has now run too deep in your blood, corrupting your very being, your mind too deeply. You are unable to think clearly and see the big picture any more…"

Taking a step back he turned sideways and turned towards the leaner silhouette a bit further away. As he spoke, his voice no longer held any traces of coldness, but it was filled with reverence. Respect and loyalty towards that unknown figure.

"[Orc] My lord, they are beyond saving. I have done all I could, but they refuse to listen to reason. I'm afraid they need your guiding hand."

The figure in the shadows finally showed signs of life, as it slowly stepped forward. As the silhouette entered into the moonlight, a strange, never before seen figure revealed himself in front of the trio of guards. He looked vaguely a mixture between an orc and a goblin. He looked much leaner, scrawnier than an orc, but he was much taller, darker skinned than the goblins. It was a complete mystery to them, what this man actually was.

However, they couldn't lament, think about the origin of this being, as suddenly when the figure took his second step forward, a strange pressure suddenly descended upon them, forcing them towards the ground. It was a strange sensation, an invisible force, engulfing, surrounding their entire being, pushing them steadily on the ground.

Taking them off-guard, at first, they struggled against it thinking that as time went on, they will get used to it and will be able to withstand it.

Unfortunately for them, the pressure didn't seem to ease even after several seconds. As the figure slowly approached them, the feeling only intensified, instead of easing up. Their knees wobbling, they struggled to even remain standing against this strangely now-terrifying being.

"[Orc] What are your goals? What are you all thinking about? This pointless arrogance… just to end up dying without even a grave to remember you by… Is it worth it?" He stepped closer to the forefront guard, gently reaching out to him with his frail-looking hand.

Reaching his chin, he suddenly grabbed the orc's neck and with no change in his calm, smiling expression he lifted the orc off the ground with ease, shocking the other two in the process.

"[Orc] See? You are nothing. Standing against the tide will net you nothing but an early end without a grave to remember you by. Stop your pointless struggling and stand with me instead. Open the gates silently and you will be spared."

With his warning said, he simply threw the orc back to his remaining two partners and took several steps back into the darkness. As he did so, the pressure slowly eased up on the trio, giving them a momentary relief.

Although they were proud, seasoned warriors of the tribe, they weren't that clouded in their minds to not realize the clear difference in power. Whilst they thought they could probably contend against this unarmed orc that downed their fourth partner with a singular punch, they felt completely, utterly powerless against that monstrous entity behind him.

That being was not an orc, nor a goblin. Whatever it was it was not something that the three of them could ever hope to match up against. Just his mere presence almost forced them on the ground, suffocating, pressuring them into a subservient, kneeling posture.

Suddenly, they found this unarmed orc's earlier exclamations in a new light. It was no longer hilarious, it no longer felt like a joke, a pointless threat. No, it sounded truer by the second.

Looking at the lean figure at the back, they could somehow understand how he was referred to as the true lord of the orcs and goblins… It was not a joke, he truly seemed capable of such a feat.

Whatever he was, or more precisely whatever THEY were, it was not their job to contend against them. They were clearly beyond the measly warriors and guards of their fading tribe. They were probably the real powerhouses of the horde.

Thinking all this through, they all came to the obvious conclusion to not stand against them any longer. Whilst one of them pulled their still unconscious fourth partner away, the other three stood back at their posts. The other one closer to the gate, raised his right hand in the air whilst shouting at the sky.

"[Orc] Raise the gate, envoys from the Horde have arrived!"

Upon his shout, behind the walls, sedulous work began. Wheels began to be turned, and with their loud churning, the large wooden gate slowly began to open, revealing the inner grounds of the recently erected tribe of their fading but still proud Mountain Orcs.

Meanwhile, all of this was playing out, Aiden, playing the role of the 'young lord' was doing his best to find a solution to the strange aura he seemed to be incapable of controlling so far. What he understood so far, it seemed to affect all of the orcs and probably goblins and similar races who were not under his command, like Roas. It would put a sizable amount of pressure on them, continuously forcing them towards kneeling on the ground. Although this power was incredible, it would prove a significant hurdle if he were to explore the tribe grounds. Unlike these three warriors, the rest of the orcs may not take lightly against him.

Whilst he could deal with most of them, it would still raise the difficulty by a marginal amount, also turning the quest to gather intelligence impossible to complete in the process. Even though he mostly only cares about finding the entrance to the Demon Grotto, it would still leave a sour taste in his mouth if he would fail to complete such an easy quest as to gather intelligence…

Thinking back on how he managed to control his draconic abilities, he focused, concentrated on his inner being, tracing the aura emanating, radiating out from him back to its source. Slowly, but surely, he found a brimming, shining core-like object etched not into his body as it would normally be the case for other beings, but floating inside his inner soul space.

It was shining with a brilliant greenish light, something that he found similar to the energy-traces of the lording aura he oozed out from his body.

'So this is the core of this form? I wonder... Will this strange crystal stay active even after I change forms? How did it appear here?' He lamented inwardly as he scanned the crystal carefully.

Without guidance, he could only act by instinct and go carefully. Using his own reserve of soul power, he carefully guided his energy around this core, connecting it into his own inner flow and giving it a protective coating of energy. As he did so, he could finally feel the new object inside him, as it became one with him.

Even though he still felt it as an alien, unknown material was inside him, it wasn't particularly unpleasant, discomforting. There was no attached positive or negative feeling to it, it was a weirdly cold, neutral feeling. Just an object that suddenly became a part of him, that he had only very little control of.

At the very least, now he could feel he could control the power it was radiating, by using his own energy to coat it, surround it with his own Soul Power. This way, he could feel, the strange, lording aura diminish, giving him a lot more leeway once they finally got inside the tribe's grounds.

Luckily, whilst he had to constantly maintain the energy to surround the crystal floating in his soul space so the aura would not be visible, the energy consumption was minimal, Aiden would be able to keep it up for days without much problem.

Also, when it was needed, he could just simply let it out, giving him yet another weapon to contend with the currently unknown leadership of this tribe and the horde gathered deeper inside...