A/N- Another short chapter but we meet most of the characters of this instalment of Orc Empire I in this chapter. I like the concept of out of sequence encounters in some stories, especially Time Travel stories as I generally always like the character dynamics. In fact, I have thought about doing an out of sequence story involving other Harry Potter characters but I won't do it for a couple of years yet.
A/A/N- I forgot to say this in the last chapter but I don't own Warhammer or Harry Potter. I wish I did but I don't. They belong to their respective rights holders.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the following chapter.
Chapter Two – The Derareen
Harry felt his head pounding and he placed a fist on his head in a attempt to relieve the pounding in his head. "Bloody hell, where am I?" He asked himself before opening his eyes, sitting up and looking around. It almost looked like a courtroom but it seemed more ethereal. Wisps of black and white smoke appeared to radiate from the walls and doors. "Bloody hell, where am I?" Harry asked himself again.
After what may have been a few minutes, the smoky doors opened and several ghost-like beings entered the room. Harry couldn't believe what was in front of him. "Harry Potter?" One of the ghost-like beings asked. It seemed to Harry that the ghost-like being speaking to him was a female, although based on their current appearances, he couldn't be certain. Harry nodded slowly in reply to the voice. "My name is Varanakind and I am a member of the Derareen race." Harry's eyes widened in recognition. "Next to me is our race's chief prosecutor, Goliant."
"Hi...?" Harry said, uncertain of what to say or do.
Varanakind noticed Harry's shocked and confused expression and she changed her form to one that closely resembled a human. "Perhaps you might be more comfortable talking to a more... physical form?"
"Oh I don't mind if you're in a physical or incorporeal form. I'm used to intangible people. I just never thought I would meet a member of your race. I've read the history books and they said you had passed into myth and legend." Harry replied rapidly.
"Well, believe me, we are very real." Varanakind said to Harry.
"I can see that." Harry replied, more flippantly than he meant to be.
Goliant then changed into a physical form and it was evident to Harry that, based on physical form, Goliant was a male. "Do you know why you have been summoned here?"
"No... But I get the feeling that I'm not going to like the answer." Harry replied. Harry already had a feeling it had something to do with the voice of Samgon he had heard inside his head prior to appearing here. He didn't want to presume though, not did he want to alert anyone else to his thoughts.
"Perhaps not..." Goliant said wryly.
"Many weeks ago, we apprehended a known war-criminal and brought him here to our realm. We immediately began a trial to determine his fate." Varanakind told Harry.
"Most of these weeks have been spent with him presenting evidence to try and persuade us not to execute him." Goliant said in a tired tone of voice.
"What is your opinion of his 'evidence'?" Harry asked. He had no clue what evidence had been presented to the Derareen but he could only imagine that it was presented in an overly positive way.
"We don't trust it. We felt the first two pieces of evidence he gave were... believable but unconvincing." Goliant answered. It was clear that Samgon, or whoever it was they had in their custody, was trying to escape a potential death sentence.
It was also clear to Harry that more evidence had been presented. "It sounds like there's more evidence that was presented."
Varanakind nodded. "You're correct. The suspect did indeed provide more evidence."
"We began noticing oddities in the evidence he provided. His third story, his third piece of evidence, had some similarities with the first. It's led us to conclude that his evidence is... unreliable at best, although I think that he's manipulated the evidence." Goliant added, his tone betraying little of his thoughts or feelings.
"We've brought you here to be a witness for the remainder of his trial. You may be allowed to converse with the prisoner and you will be expected to provide evidence and testimony during the trial." Varanakind told Harry.
"If we find you trying to hide evidence or being otherwise uncooperative, we will make sure you share a cell with the prisoner." Goliant said.
It was clear to Harry that he was going to have to walk a very tight line between being cooperative with the Derareen and saving the life of who he could only assume was Samgon. "Would you mind if I spoke with this prisoner of yours?" Harry asked Varanakind and Goliant.
The pair of them turned to each other and appeared to have a mental discussion inside their heads. After what seemed like a few minutes, they turned back towards Harry and Varanakind spoke to him. "We will let you see him. We may be able to get the answers we want and reach the best conclusion to this trial."
Harry was led by Varanakind and Goliant through the Derareen's realm. It seemed that they had captured many prisoners over the millennia and many looked antsy. Some kind of drone flew around in great quantities which Harry did not recognise but could tell that the drones were a hybrid of being physical and ethereal constructs. "Where is this prisoner you speak of? Is he not here amongst all your other prisoners?" Harry asked Varanakind and Goliant, not really bothered by who answered his question.
"No. We felt he couldn't be trusted to be with the other prisoners. We didn't want to take the chance that he might start an uprising amongst the prisoner population. Therefore we keep him somewhere more isolated." Goliant replied.
Harry could understand why they did what they did. If it'd been him, the prisoner, who he assumed to be Samgon, would have never left his sight. "Do any of those... drones keep an eye on this prisoner?"
Varanakind immediately knew what he was talking about. "Ah, you mean the Prison Sentinels? We have several in the vicinity of the prisoner but this prisoner we believe is too dangerous to be left guarded by the Prison Sentinels alone. No, we have Sefravine being the prisoner's keeper, so to speak."
"Is this... Sefravine another member of your race?" Harry asked.
"No, she is not. We adopted her but she's the last of her race. She has great telepathic and mental abilities and they have proven to be a boon for us. Thanks to her, we can force compliance with our orders, sense intent and keep track of our prisoners even when we lose sight of them, which is very rare." Varanakind answered. It was clear that she, Goliant and the rest of the Derareen were appreciative of this Sefravine person but Harry was aware that, if the prisoner was Samgon, then he could manoeuvre or brute force his way out of his predicament.
"What's this prisoner been like since his incarceration?" Harry asked.
"When he's been in his cell, he has been very calm. Sefravine says he spends most of his time meditating, only stopping to eat, drink and do some light exercise." Goliant replied.
Harry frowned in suspicion but they soon arrived at the prisoner's cell before he could ask anymore questions. "Sefravine, we've got a visitor for the prisoner here. You can leave the cell for a few minutes but keep your abilities focused on the prisoner at all times."
The person known as Sefravine emerged from the prison cell and it appeared as though she was but a young girl. 'An orphan. I know what that's like all too clearly, even all these years later.' Harry thought to himself. "Thank you, Varanakind. The prisoner has been acting as he has done the last several weeks until a short while ago. It was almost as if he sensed the arrival of his... visitor." Sefravine told Varanakind and Goliant.
Varanakind nodded in acknowledgement of what Sefravine said and turned her head towards Harry. "You can enter the cell when you're ready, Mr Potter."
Harry nodded, then took a deep breath as he prepared to face the seeming inevitable. Harry noticed Varanakind and Goliant leaving the corridor and Sefravine standing next to the cell door and, without further hesitation, he walked into the prison cell. His fears were confirmed when he saw the prisoner in the cell. It was Samgon as he was in this time period, when he was in exile and hiding although he looked a bit more... weathered than the first time they had properly met each other, although he was dressed smartly in a suit consisting of a white, long sleeved shirt, a black waistcoat and a brown jacket and trousers.
"Hello Harry. I appreciate you coming here. I apologise for this room not being more spacious but it's not like it's a hotel or a house, is it?" Samgon said . "We have much to discuss, don't we?"
A/N – So, we've finally met Samgon in this instalment of Orc Empire I whereas he was the first character to appear in the first instalment. If it wasn't clear by now or by the author's note at the start of this chapter or the end of the last chapter, then our main characters, Harry and Samgon (The Orc Emperor) are meeting each other out of sequence and this will be made even clearer in subsequent chapters of this story.
Until next time, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and please review.