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
Chapter 1
The Death and Birth of Gnarl
The Dark Tower is the Dark One's legacy for the world. In their lifetime it was their fortress; their impenetrable base of operations, hidden so deep within the mountains that the rats dared not enter. In it's lifetime it housed every single Dark One to ever exist, and the hundred thousand or so minions that made up their army.
The tower was carved out of a mountain top. The mountain terrain surrounding it made it impossible to set up siege machines, and the only path, was a small goat trail that wound its way up a sheer cliff face. These factors made it next to impossible for an army to march to, let alone actually siege the Dark Tower. A small band of professionals might have been able to actually enter the tower, but then they would have found themselves face-to-face with the Dark Ones themselves, and their minion army.
The Dark Ones also fortified the entire two with a complex array of magical traps and wards. It was rumoured that if a fly didn't have a pass through the wards, it would be vaporized without a second's hesitation. To power this massive magical defence, along with a teleportation, communication and scrying systems to boot, these dark elves created what is called the Tower Heart; a massive battery that absorbed the dark aura of all in the tower, and then used it to power the Tower's magical systems.
The details of how this horrendously powerful artefact came to be created are largely unknown. But it is known that the Dark Ones kidnapped and killed over a thousand human wizards, in order to have the magical energy to form this dark device. It is said that the mere aura, radiating from the heart is enough to break the laws of physics, and give any newborn near it a boost to their magical potential.
Ironically, the Dark Tower did little to protect the Dark Ones in the end. A fortress is perfect if you need to defend against enemies. But, the Dark Ones never planned to defend against anything. They were planning on attacking the human race head on.
Gnarl groaned as he began to regain consciousness.
"Amazing, he's actually alive."
A pounding ache echoed across his skull, an after-effect of the potion.
"What did you put in that potion anyway? It's stained his skin grey."
Slowly his vision stared to clear. He could see the cloaked forms of at least three of his masters. "Ugghh… My head hurts," he muttered.
"Oh look he's waking up. You owe me five gold, Hestia."
"Will you idiots shut up!" One of them spat. "Minion!" Gnarl snapped to attention, swinging around to face the voice. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Three," he answered at once.
"He can still see and hear at least," the elf muttered. "Now buzz off you morons, while I see exactly what that potion did."
"Yeah, yeah, I still have two hundred gold resting on the likelihood, that this one won't be able to remember his name." the other elf muttered as he and his friend left the tent.
"Idiots," the last one hissed. "Minion, what is your name?"
"Gnarl," the minion answered. "I have not forgotten anything Master."
The elf's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "Hah, looks like you are already more articulate. What number do you get when you add five to seven?"
"Twelve," Gnarl answered at once.
"Didn't count his fingers," the elf muttered. "That means he's at least doubled his average cognitive speed. Alright, get up and walk around the tent!" Gnarl carefully pulled himself to his feet, and walked a circle around the inside of the tent. "Good, good. Now, I want you to rejoin your comrades, come back at dusk and tell me what you noticed."
"Of course Master." Gnarl bowed and moved to exit the tent.
"Oh, and before you forget," the elf reached down and took something off his desk. "Take your stone. It's magical, so take very good care of it." He handed the glowing stone to Gnarl, who took it carefully.
"Thank you Master," Gnarl said, he bowed again and exited the tent.
The Dark One turned back to his desk, and began writing in his notebook. "Finally," he mumbled. "One of the potions has finally produced useable results."
xXx
"Hey Gnarl, you back from the Masters!" one of the minions called, the moment they saw Gnarl. "What happen to you? Your skin is grey!"
"The Masters gave me a potion," Gnarl told him. "That's why my skin is grey."
"Wow, Masters must really like you to make your skin grey."
Gnarl glanced at him strangely. "Why do you think that?"
"You not dead." The minion pointed out. "So they not mad at you."
Gnarl hefted a pick-axe and began chipping away at the hard stone. "Shutter." He finally asked. "What's five added to seven?"
"Fifty Seven," Shutter answered immediately.
"No," Gnarl shook his head. "I mean, you have five rocks and then you get seven more."
Shutter paused. He put down his pick axe and began counting his fingers, muttering heavily as he mulled over the question. "Fifty Seven!" he finally answered.
"It's twelve," Gnarl answered.
Shutter blinked at him. "Wow! When you get so smart? Was that from Masters' potion too? You never this smart before."
Gnarl paused. "So smart?" he had not thought it was a difficult question. Shutters comment about him not being smart before, nagged at him as well. "Would I really have found such an absurdly simple question so difficult?" he wondered.
"Hey Shutter, Gnarl!" another minion yelled, coming up behind them. "What happen to you Gnarl?"
"Masters gave him potion!" Shutter answered. "That why his skin grey!"
"Lucky Gnarl!" the new comer stated. "Want to hear joke?"
"What is it, Choke?"
Choke laughed to himself. "What happens when birdie hit tent?"
"I don't know?" Shutter stated.
"Masters make birdie go boom!" Choke answered, bursting into mad laughter. Shutter joined him, laughing so hard his body shook.
Gnarl looked at them both strangely. "What's so funny?"
"You not find it funny Gnarl? You laugh at other jokes!"
Gnarl shook his head. "Don't know why. I just didn't find it funny."
"Maybe Masters' potion kill funny side," Shutter suggested. He picked up a rock and tossed it at a scaffold. The rickety construction swayed dangerously, before collapsing on top of a unfortunate youngling.
Shutter, Choke, and Gnarl all burst out laughing as the new-born struggled to get himself out of the rubble. "Nope, still can laugh," Gnarl stated.
"Masters not laugh at my jokes either," Choke added. "Say they are stupid. Maybe you becoming like Masters Gnarl."
"Becoming like Masters?" Again, his comrade's simple statements had surprised him. It was obvious, at least to him, that the Dark Ones had had a goal in mind when they had given him the potion. But, what was that goal?
Gnarl picked up his pick-axe and resumed work, his mind whirring with ideas, for once in his life.
xXx
The sun set behind the mountains, staining the sky a bright orange. Minions put down their tools and headed back to their pits for some relaxation. Gnarl instead headed down the mountain to the collection of tents. He could see the cloaked forms of various elves leaving a large center tent, and heading off to their own personal units. Gnarl quickly made his way to the correct tent.
"So what have you learned," the Dark-One asked, looking up from his desk.
"That they are all idiots," Gnarl answered at once.
The elf burst out laughing. It was a loud manic cackle that shook his whole body. "An excellent observation Gnarl, and why do you think you noticed it now?"
"Because of the potion you gave me," Gnarl answered.
"And why do you think I gave you such a potion?"
"I… don't know," Gnarl admitted. "I cannot figure that out…"
"What does you kind do when they are not following orders?" the elf asked.
"Drink, fight, play "Whose scabby body part is this,"" Gnarl listed.
"Nothing of great importance, right? I'll tell you something, your kind needs leadership in order to put their great potential into action. Now we do that, but we cannot always. So we need someone to keep the minions in line when we are not around. Someone smart enough to know what to do, yet that they respect as an alternative master."
"So, you mean…"
"We're making you an extension of our will. The one who manages the minions on a day-to-day basis, and who has the observational skills to know how we might best deploy the various tribes of your kind."
"I am honoured Master," Gnarl stated, bowing.
The elf snorted. "There is still lots you have to learn before you can take on such responsibility. That potion may have boosted you mental capacity, but it did not magical add knowledge to your brain." He looked Gnarl in the eyes. "Until your training is complete, you will answer only to me. Every day you will receive training from me, and you will return to the spawning pits at night to learn about your kin."
"Of course Master," Gnarl answered.
"Address me as "Teacher" Gnarl." He replied. "Forget all that you were. Today you are a new being."
AU: The second chapter of Gnarl's Story… I of course took a lot of liberties with history here… but hey 10,000 years is a long time