Disclaimer: I do not own Overlord, or any related series or titles, this is solely a work of fanfiction written for the enjoyment of myself and others.
The Tale of Gnarl
Prologue
The Masters
Few know the tales of the Dark Ones. The elves do not speak of them, and many of the mortal races have forgotten they even existed. The story is a dark one, but it must be told.
Roughly about ten thousand years ago, a split occurred between the elves of the Evernight Forest. The details themselves were insignificant, merely a small camp of humans cutting down a few trees on the outskirts of the forest for firewood. But it was the spirit of the argument that was important.
One side argued that the humans should be left alone, that the offense against elven-kind was minion. The other said that if the humans were left alone, they would multiply like rodents, and eventually drive the elves to extinction. Therefore, they proposed that the humans be killed, and effort made to keep future bands far away from Evernight.
Like many arguments, this one got nowhere and solved nothing. Tempers frayed. Some went as far as to claim that the Mother Goddess expected them to be civil and kind to all of her creatures. Still others went even farther to claim, that because of the humans' casual disregard for their effect on the earth, that they must not be creations of the Mother Goddess, but rather abominations sent by the Forgotten One.
The dispute was never settled, and actions concerning the humans never taken. Those that demanded action against the humans, left Evernight in disgust. While the exodus itself was small, its impact on the world was anything but.
No one is sure what happened during the Dark Exodus itself. But there are many stories dating back to that time, which talk about entire villages being destroyed and their inhabitants tortured mercilessly.; all supposedly done by pale elves dressed in black. Another story, this time from the frozen regions of the north, tells of similar characters awaking a race of demons that lived beneath the ground.
Anyone who has ever had dealing with one of the "Overlords," knows exactly what kind of demons are referred to in the story. How those exiles managed to bring such savage creatures under their thrall, no one knows. But it is thanks to their minions, that those same elves became what they did. For, after their journey ended, those elves were no longer denizens of Evernight. Their hatred for humankind had twisted their minds. Thus, it was the Dark Ones who settled deep in the mountains, and who devoted their whole existence to the extermination of humankind.
A minion let out a laugh of delight. He threw aside his pick-axe and rummaged around in the rubble, finally he let out a cheer of joy as he produced a glowing rock.
"What you got there, Scab?" two of his fellow minions asked, putting aside their tools and coming over.
"Pretty rock!" cooed the minion. "So shiny!"
The two minions glanced at each other. "Can we see rock?"
"NO!" Scab screamed, clutching the rock to his chest, "MY ROCK!" and he took off running down the mountain.
"HEY! COME BACK HERE!" the two minions chased after him.
"Haha! You not get my rock!" Scab yelled as he leapt over piles of rubble, and discarded tools. "I'm too fast! GAACK!"
A rope snapped into the air in front of the path, catching Scab at throat level. The minion chocked, the stone flying from his grasp and landing at the feet of another minion.
The new minion chuckled to himself, as he let go of the rope his had strung across the trail, and picked up the glowing stone. He looked up to see the two who had been chasing Scab come to a stop.
"Gnarl!" one snapped. "Give us stone! Or we break your ears!"
"You couldn't break ears off a gnome!" Gnarl taunted back.
"You ask for it Gnarl!" the two minions charged ahead, intent on beating Gnarl into a pulp. Gnarl grabbed a rope and gave it a yank. A trip wire sprung up across the path, sending the two attackers tumbling comically down the mountain.
"My rock now!" Gnarl laughed. He turned around to go back to his digging.
"You! Minion!" someone yelled. "Come here!"
Gnarl spun around to see an elf wearing a black cloak with the hood pulled up over his head. One of the masters had called him! He rushed down the mountain to the waiting elf. "Master wants rock?" he asked, holding the glowing rock like an offering.
"No," the elf snapped. "Come with me." He turned around and headed down the mountain. Gnarl followed eagerly. One of the masters had just asked him to do something!
The trail wound its way down to a small plateau which hosted a number of small silk tents. Gnarl glanced behind on habit, taking in the sight of the giant tower, which he and his minion brethren had been carving out of a mountain top.
The elf lead Gnarl into one of the tents. Pieces of parchment with strange writing on it hung from the canvas walls of the tent, a bed roll was tucked into a corner, and a table stood against a wall, odd devices resting on its surface. The Dark One pulled a stool out from under the table and sat down. "So, minion, why did you set up that trap for Scab?" he asked.
Gnarl thought about it for a bit. "Scab run fast," he answered. "Rope make him stop."
The elf grinned from beneath the depths of his hood. "And the trip rope?"
"Makes minions roll down mountain," Gnarl laughed. "Then they hurt too much to break ears."
"Good good," the elf muttered as he began digging around for something. He produced a small vial of black liquid from a box and handed it to Gnarl. "Drink this, minion."
The young minion took the vial, popped the cork, and downed the black liquid without a second's hesitation.
His body immediately exploded with pain. He collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath as spasms jerked at his body. Through blurred eyes he saw the tent open, and another black-cloaked elf enter.
"So, you think this one will live?" was all Gnarl heard, before his world went black.
Authors Note: A short side-story idea, that popped into my mind. A way to explain how Gnarl became the second in command over the minions, and how he is so much more smarter than the other minions.