K TIME FOR NOTES
First off I'd like to point out something about Elves and dwarves…
They are not reaching ridiculous lifespans of like 400 or 700 years in my stories. That just seems a little odd to me, so I've bumped it down to 125 for Dwarves and 150 for elves, for those of you who don't like it, shrug sorry.
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The young boy yawned loudly. Sitting up in his bed, he glanced out the window his bed was situated next to. The sun had just risen up and cast a gentle glow over the landscape. He slid the covers off his body and climbed out of the humble bed. His room was much like his bed, being that it was rather humble. The room itself was quite large, maybe 15 by 15 feet or so, the young boy did not really bother to find out.
The walls were a dull brown, they had no tapestries or other decorations, instead the walls stayed as they were, bare lumber. His bed rested in the corner, just above him a window which would allow the warm sunlight into his room, waking him up nice and early in the morning. At the foot of his bed was a dresser filled with some simple tunics and leggings, in the top drawer were his common clothing, but below that his mother had reserved a clothing drawer for his one good pair of formal clothing.
It was a white silk uniform lined with blue trim. He honestly hated it, it was so uncomfortable! Next to his bed was a nightstand which currently was holding his only toy, a small wooden sword. The other side of the room was rather bare, holding only a desk at which he did his schoolwork and the doorway to leading to the living room.
Despite the rather bland layout of his room, his family was actually quite rich. His mother was married to a rather prominent soldier who made lots of money, and could afford a nice house.
Yet the boy received little in the line of riches, he was no fool. He knew it was because the man was not his father. It was okay however to the little boy, he hated the man just as much as the man hated him. Since he could remember the man his mom called husband had looked upon him with distaste and sometimes even revile. It drove the little boy insane at times, wondering what exactly his mother saw in him. Nevertheless, he opened his drawer and picked out a pair of simple clothes, some brown cloth leggings and a dark gray tunic. He slipped them on and opened the door to his room and into the living area.
This room was much different then his, the walls were lined with numerous tapestries and works of art, it was well lighten with candles to give it an extravagant feel. In the center of the room was a large rug from the eastern lands and some finely made furniture rested in the corners of the room. Just in front of the couch was a fireplace with a portrait of his mother, her husband, and several of his relatives on it. Even at the young age the boy was, he found it rather embittering that his mother was included in the picture but he was not…he wasn't even asked to pose for it. Not that he could, or even that he would want to be in it. He sighed and walked to the front door, leaving the house which he'd come to dislike…even if the jerk was not there at the moment.
The village he lived in was a rather large village, recently getting a burst of economy and business. It was not quite large enough to be a city yet, but was rather large by the standards of villages. Outside of his house on the corner were all the little children he'd come to call friends…that is they were the only kids who would allow him to play with them.
The "leader" of the group was Darin. He was a little human boy who always was covered in cuts and scrapes from various dangerous acts. Next to him was Tomi, Tomi was also a human, he was tall and skinny…not as tall as the he was of course. The last person to round out the group was Lina. She was an elf, and was older then all the kids he played with, she was 12 years old, but looked and acted like a 7 year old. Compared to most girls she was really rough and a tomboy, from what he knew it drove her parents nuts.
There was however, a new face in the group. The little boy looked at the new member with curiosity. He was really short, probably about 3 feet tall…but was built like a brick house, his eyebrows were bushy and thick, and he had a somewhat dour look about him. Tomi looked up to acknowledge him.
"Hey Carth." He said simply, Carth waved at his friend and then looked down at the new arrival.
"Who's he…?" He asked. The little boy stepped forward.
"I'm Gauli!" He said proudly, pointing his thumb into his chest. "And who are YOU? And why are you big and green?" Carth was slightly dumbstruck by this assertion. It was true, he was much taller then any kid he'd met before, and he was green. He'd always been told by his mom that it was because he was special…he opened his mouth to voice this opinion when Lina spoke.
"My daddy said its because Carth is a ba…bastard, yeah that's it." The boy blinked in confusion at this word, he'd never heard it before. Apparently none of the other children had either. Darin scratched his head.
"What's a bastard?" The young human asked. All of the children looked at the elf, curious as to if she knew what the word met. She fidgeted nervously under their gazes before shrugging slightly. The group passed off the comment and continued about their devices.
"Hey, let's play war!" Tomi said, breaking the ice. The rest of the group nodded. Carth liked playing war really, usually it would come down to all-out wrestling. The boy dominated his friends in wrestling, and could beat all three of them without much difficulty. Sometimes however, Lina wouldn't participate out of fear of getting hurt. Not that he blamed her, the girl was really small and skinny, and sometimes he worried about accidentally harming her. "Okay, teams can be me, Darin, and Gauli vs. Carth and Lina."
"That's not fair to Carth!" Gauli piped up again. "She's an elf…elves are weak." The little dwarf commented, getting a sour look from Lina.
"Hey! I'm not weak!" She protested. Carth was beginning to truly dislike this boy, he seemed loud and obnoxious.
"Alright, alright whatever." The dwarf said quickly, just wanting to get to the game.
And so the childish game of war began, it was a rather simple and playful game. Carth and Lina attacked the "fort" that the other 3 children held (this fort was an old abandoned wagon cart.) All went as expected with the mock sword fighting and pseudo battle plans, ya know the kind of things little kids do. This was of course until the three boys tipped the wagon over and hid under it. Lina ran up to the wagon, attempting to lift it up. She pried and pulled, but could not get the wagon back up. The little elven girl folded her arms over her chest, pouting.
"That's no fair, you're cheating!" She shouted. Carth walked up behind her and looked on with a frown…they were hiding.
"No we're not! This is a strat…strategeric base!" Came one of the boy's muffled voices. Carth looked up at the sky, they'd been playing for a while…he'd have to go home soon. Mom probably wanted him back for dinner or lunch right now…
"Whatever guys, I've gotta go home soon." He said in a somewhat frustrated voice.
"Okay fine! We're coming out now." Came another voice from underneath the wagon. There was a long pause accompanied by an awkward silence. The large boy crossed his arms. "What's taking you?"
"…We can't lift it!" Came the panicked voice from underneath the wagon. It was indeed rather large, from what Carth could tell, it was a loading wagon pulled by oxen and the like…albeit the wagon was quite small compared to others he'd seen and seemed to be slightly rotted away. By now the boys underneath it were throwing an all out fit.
"I'm sufficationing!" Came another cry, followed afterwards by "We're gonna be in here forever!" Carth's common sense told him this was not that dire a situation…but being a small boy he allowed himself to be wrapped up in the drama like all the others.
"Hang on!" He shouted, his mind racing as he tried to think of something he could do to aid the other three. Reacting on sheer reflex he grabbed the bottom of the overturned wagon and lifted with all his might.
Low and behold…the wagon rose up off the ground, the young boy's arms throbbing from the force they'd exerted to lift the wagon. The three little boys crawled out from under their former hiding place as Carth let the wagon drop to the ground with a loud thud. He panted heavily, and slumped against it, exhausted from the exertion. He looked over at the other four children, who were looking at him wide-eyed.
"…What?" He asked, did he do something weird?
"You're really strong!" Tomi shouted in awe. Carth blushed slightly, and smiled. Gauli didn't seem amused however the little dwarf looked at him with a scowl.
"You have to be an orc!" He said with excitement. Carth paused in confusion.
"Orc…what's that?" The little dwarf boy jumped up and down in frustration.
"They're big and mean and monsters!" Carth felt a churn in his stomach. He wasn't a mean monster!
"Then I'm not an orc." He said quietly. The little dwarf looked at him oddly for a minute, stroking his chin, as if he were planning his next attack.
"I dunno bout that…" He said slowly, looking the large child over. "Hmm…mom says that orcs are big…you're big. He also said orcs are green….you're green!"
This lead to a series of hushed murmurs amongst the children. Carth's red eyes were wide, he looked at his arm. His skin looked quite green actually, but he could not call it pure green, that was an exaggeration. He looked at the other three in desperation, they'd all just been cheering him on and now they'd abandoned him! He'd have to defend himself.
"Hey! My skin isn't green…its just kinda greenish…" He said quietly, knowing he was fighting a losing battle. Gauli paused and frowned.
"Alright, I'll give ya that." He said, pausing to remember what else his parents said about orcs. "They also said orcs are mean…but you're not mean." A slight wave of relief rushed over Carth for the moment, he felt like he was being tested. "Oh yeah, and red eyes! HEY! You have red eyes!" The little dwarf pointed, bringing that churning feeling in Carth's stomach back.
"S-s-so?" He stammered. "That doesn't mean anything!" Gauli stopped, and continued to think.
"…Orcs are also ugly…are you ugly?" He looked at him for a minute. Carth waited with baited breath for the answer. "Nah, you're not really ugly…kinda weird looking though."
"See! I told ya I'm not an orc!" The little boy said in triumph. He could see the other three nodding. They were the jury, his fate rested with them…
"Hold on! There's one more thing orcs have, and that's sharp teeth." Gauli stated. Carth felt his stomach sink at that moment…his teeth were really sharp. Sighing loudly he opened his mouth, getting a gasp from all his friends. "HA! He's an orc!" The children chanted orc, as Carth squirmed in anguish, why wouldn't they stop?
"Stop it!" He said in defiance. Yet they did not. They continued to circle him, chanting the word orc. He felt like crying, and normally he would have. Yet this time something different happened, he let out an ominous growl. "I said stop it." He said fiercely. The tone of his voice brought the chants of the others to a halt. His friends backed off…but this new kid looked at him with contempt.
"Why? Its true. You're just a big old orc." He said plainly, as it were a fact. Carth felt his blood beginning to boil, it was unlike anything he'd felt before.
He'd been angry before. Yet this…this was so much more powerful then any anger he'd felt before. It wasn't just plain frustration or being upset. It was almost overwhelming. The little boy felt like his blood was sizzling, screaming inside his veins.
"You take that back." Carth said again, his voice still calm and angry. Gauli did not back down however.
"Why? What're you gonna do?" Gauli said in defiance, pushing Carth back. That was the last straw.
"I said STOP!" He shouted, swinging his fist forward. CRACK! Carth's balled fist connected with Gauli's jaw, sending him to the dirt. Immediately afterwards Gauli began sobbing and got up, running away from the scene. Carth felt guilt hit him hard, as he looked to his other friends. "Guys…" He began, but it was too late. They'd all ran away. He stopped, and slumped over, he hurt him…turning around he walked back to his house in silence. What made him do that? He'd never ever done anything like that before. He'd never even felt that before…his mind went back to that anger. He was also called orc, what was an orc? He decided then and there he'd ask his mom about it. He walked back into his house and saw his mother sitting one of the couches with her arms folded over her chest, she had a look which clearly displayed anger.
'oh no…' that little voice in his head said slowly.
"Did you get in a fight today?" She asked sternly.
'Don't lie! Don't lie!" His mind screamed at him.
"No…" He said slowly. He watched the frown on his mother's face deepen.
'Stupid, stupid, stupid!' He fidgeted nervously under her gaze.
"Really? Then why did I see you knock that boy down just a few minutes ago?" Carth felt his stomach do a back flip, he was in for it now! He paused, his mind racing for an explanation.
"He was calling me names…" He said slowly. "And he pushed me." He added for good measure, wanting to give himself as much grounds for hitting the kid as possible.
"What'd he call you?" His mother replied sternly.
"…Orc." He said quietly, wondering what exactly the term meant. From what Gauli told him, they were large and scary, but he wasn't sure of that just yet…
He expected a harsh slap from his mother but instead heard a gasp escape her lips followed by a deep sigh. He looked up at her with confusion, and she returned his gaze with sadness.
"Come sit by me Carth." She said calmly. The little boy complied, slight confusion having replaced his dread and fear of punishment. His mother let out another sigh, before pausing. "An orc is…well…orcs are a group of people who aren't very well liked by the rest of the world." Carth nodded, that's what Gauli had basically told him.
"Am I an orc?" He asked, fearing the answer.
"…No Carth, but your father was." His mother's reply was slow and somewhat sad. Carth himself was speechless, not really sure how to react to this statement it was all so much. Come to think of it, he'd never ever heard about his father. Does this mean his father was a bad man? His mom then explained how he was born…everything from him taking her, to when the soldiers came and killed him, of course she sugar-coated it a bit, some of it too brutal for the little half-orc. After the story he stopped and sat there, totally speechless. His mother began to feel uncomfortable at her son's silence. "…Are you okay Carth?"
The little boy nodded stoically, and sat up "I'm going to my room." He said quietly, walking back into his room and shutting the door behind him. He somberly climbed onto his bed and sat there. Gauli was right, he was an orc…maybe only half-orc, but still that made him an orc. He clambered under his covers and laid there, wiping some tears from his eyes, he stayed in bed all day, only coming out to eat. The meal between he and his mom was quiet and peaceful, thankfully the one he hated was gone for the week…away on some mission or something. He could not make eye contact with his mother throughout the time he was out there once.
The next morning he awoke to the sound of voices echoing into his room. He felt himself get sick. The one he hated was back…the guy had a name, but Carth himself felt too disgusted whenever he even so much as whispered it, so he preferred to just refer to him as the one he hated or the jerk or something along those lines. He had to goto school today, so at the very least he'd be able to spend some time away from him.
He pushed the door open with caution and attempted to sneak past them. He unfortunately tripped over the rug on the floor and stumbled forward, alerting the two of his presence. The fool looked at him with a grin.
"Well now…the runt is awake." Runt was his nickname for Carth, which the young half-orc hated so much. He grunted in response and turned away.
"I have to go to school…" He said quietly, not really wanting to start a fight right now. The hated one laughed at his comment.
"Oh? You mean the schooling I'M paying for?" He mocked. It was true, his mother coaxed him into paying for Carth's schooling, for she did not want him to end up a poor peasant as she was before marrying the hated one. He just wanted to rub it, to mock the half-orc. Carth's only response was a stoic grunt as he exited via the front door. He hated him so much! Why couldn't he just leave him alone?
The young half-orc walked to his school, naturally it did not take long as he lived just mile or two away from it. He himself was not very fond of school but did his best, considering how much his mother wanted him to excel and became an educated man, Carth himself didn't want to be a scholar or whatever it was she expect him to be. He got decent grades in school but ultimately he was uninterested in such pursuits. He, like all boys his age wanted to be a soldier.
As he stepped up to the schoolhouse and entered through the doors into his classroom he was met with the concentrated gaze of the entire classroom followed by hushed murmurs and other strange noises. Taking his seat he could still feel their eyes glued to him, viewing every action he made.
Class was long and dull, with no real things of interest to report, just the typical monotone lecture from the instructor, detailing things the 7 year old didn't give a damn about. After class had gotten out he left the classroom and walked out into the schoolyard where the children were divided into their various groups and playing games or something along those lines. As soon as he got close to a group of kids they quickly moved away. The half-orc frowned, did he do something? He spotted Darin and approached him.
"Hey Darin…what's with everybody?" He asked curiously. Darin looked at him with apprehension, as if he were afraid to talk to him.
"…I-I-I don't know…sorry, please don't beat me up…" Darin squeaked. Carth's eyes went wide as he glared at him with apparent confusion.
"What? Where'd you get that idea?" He shouted, throwing his arms up. Darin merely looked at him for a moment before making a run for it. What was the deal with everyone? They were treating him like he was a monster…
"Monster." He uttered simply. Suddenly it all came back rushing to him, yesterday they called him a monster, had word spread this quickly? Apparently it had, shaking his head he slumped over onto the ground, all the other kids a considerable distance away from him.
It was much worse then usual, he was always used to most of the other kids staying away from him, but never like this! The entire class of children had separated themselves from him, even the usual group he hung out with seemed apprehensive to be even remotely near him. Some of the kids steered clear of him out of fear, others out of fear of being associated with him and sharing his fate of complete disband. The little boy let out a slight sniffle, and clambered off to sit under a tree by himself.
Things were different now…he wasn't just Carth the little boy anymore, he was Carth the half-orc.
Over the course of time, he became in increasingly isolated. No kids ever talked to him and he was left to anguish in his home, which eventually just devolved into him spending his days in his room or out in the nearby woods, away from the stares of the other children.
Eventually the day came when students were assigned to apprentices where they'd learn a trade. Some students became scholars, others became carpenters, others doctors…so many possibilities and Carth himself, was quite excited. The teacher slid his paper down on his desk, the little boy looked at it and gasped slightly.
He was going into the military.