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Post by
Adamsm
“I wish to fight him, father,” Rufus announced. The youth had been staring at the young gladiator orc — Thrall — for the entire evening. Several of the mercenaries who were spectators for the spectacle spat out their drinks. “Don’t be absurd!” Morgan snapped at his son. “He is an orc and you are high-born!”
Thrall, standing alone in the pit, stared back at the unexpected challenger. There was a look in the boy’s eye that he’d never seen in the faces of the drunkards and shady dealers that his master regularly brought to Durnholde. It was a look he could respect. Thrall smiled slightly, even though he didn’t understand the emotion.
“I want no damage done to my property!” Blackmoore shouted. “Not that your runt would stand a prayer against my Thrall, Morgan!”
The spectators laughed, but Morgan responded to the boast with a snarl and almost drew his sword. The young Rufus grabbed his father’s shoulder and, aided by his father’s inebriated state, managed to hold him in his chair. Morgan glowered in response, but Rufus returned the expression and cowed him. Then the youth stepped forward, untied his purse and threw it at Blackmoore’s feet.
“Five gold should suffice for a fee,” the youth barked. “There does not need to be any blood or injury, only combat. Wrestling or battlesticks, let it be his choice.”
“I will not have my son wrestling with an orc like two brats rolling around in the straw!” Morgan said.
“I would know, as my grandfather knows, how an orcish heart beats when battle is upon him,” Rufus answered. “If I should be called upon to make war against their breed, I would know their spirit.”
One of the merchants sighed. “Morgan, that’s what you get when you tell your offspring too many war stories!” The captain chafed at their laughter. “Let the boys fight,” another mercenary added. “It will be entertaining. Such impudence deserves its reward.”
Blackmoore handed each of them a quarterstaff with slightly padded tips, ignoring young Rufus’s request to let Thrall decide the battle. “Don’t bore us or I might not pull him off you.” Rufus removed his cape, hat and tunic and jumped down into the pit. Thrall, sensing the drama of the moment, snarled slightly. He knew that it pleased his master.
Rufus bowed — Thrall thought it was an odd gesture — and stepped back into a combat stance. Thrall charged. The two clashed near the center of the pit, grinding their sticks together in a test of strength. Thrall was immersed like a sunken ship in battle, but he still managed to admire the fire in his opponent’s eyes.
Thrall muscled Rufus down to one knee, but the human rolled out of the way of Thrall’s attempted finishing blow. Rufus caught Thrall with a hard smack to the back of his ankle that swept the orc off his feet, but Thrall blocked a downward followup, countering it with a blow to Rufus’s arm that tested the strength of the bone. The human howled in pain, spun, and went back to his fighting stance. He was smiling slightly. “Try that again,” he said. Thrall grunted in response.
The fight continued with the exchange of numerous blows. Thrall was clearly the stronger, but his opponent was no weakling. Rufus was clearly the quicker, but the orc was no sluggard. The combat lasted for a minute, then two, then three. Both youths fought at a dizzying pace; sweat covered their bodies, lending a red torchlight glow even to a green-skinned orc. Finally, Thrall managed to back Rufus into a corner, and made his move. When Rufus tried to spin away from him at close quarters, Thrall anticipated the move, spun and drove the butt end of his staff upward, landing it squarely in the human’s solar plexus. Rufus gasped for breath. His knees buckled. Thrall spun again, and landed a solid blow to the side of the head that would have cracked the human’s skull had it not been for the padding. Beaten, Rufus fell to his back. The merchants cheered. Morgan and a few of his mercenary friends silently scowled.
Thrall stared at his opponent, who moaned as he got to his feet but strangely smiled once he had regained his footing. Thrall, realizing that the battle was over, allowed himself to relax. Rufus extended his hand. “Well done, savage,” the human said. Thrall had no idea what the gesture meant, and wasn’t sure how to put his emotion into words. He had never been taught to express respect. He reached for the hand. “What foolishness is this!” Morgan shouted. “My son will not shake hands with an orc! Get him out of that pit at once!” he demanded.
The bodies of Admiral Proudmoore’s forces lay scattered over the battlefield. Although most of the bloodshed had been averted, not all of Proudmoore’s knights had surrendered upon his death: A few were fanatical in their hatred of the Horde, a few were fanatical to their duty. Thrall allowed Jaina to accompany him in the grim task of inspecting the battlefield, so she could identify her father’s most cherished knights, and allow their corpses to be tended with honor.
In a field of tall grasses, a handsome red-haired knight lay dead upon the ground. Two arrows were lodged in his back, a half-score of wounds marked his body, but his face was unmarred. Four orc soldiers, all of high rank, also lay dead within six paces of the corpse. Here the battle had been particularly fierce. Though dead, the battlelight had not completely dimmed in the eyes of Sir Rufus Montaine. “Sir Rufus,” Jaina sighed, recognizing the fallen by crest and reputation. “A heavy loss,” she added. “His grandfather fought alongside my father in the Second War. Rufus’s father had gotten into shady dealings, so he left home in his youth and pledged his service to my family. His honor was….”
“Without stain,” Thrall said admiringly. “He grew into a great warrior.” Jaina wondered at her ally’s turn of phrase. “Did you know him?” “Yes,” Thrall nodded as he bent over the body. “He taught me about respect. He was a very good teacher,” the great orc said. He closed the dead soldier’s eyes.Heh, found the full story about Rufus that someone said he was the reason as one of his favorite heroes.
Post by
355559
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Adamsm
Wow that's great. Where was it at?
Horde Player's Guide, in the history section.
Post by
Morec0
Read my newest miniseries "
Shadows of Honor
." If you like my Dark Ranger class idea, you're sure to like the story.
Post by
Adamsm
Young half-orcs can be easily manipulated into proving their courage in foolish dares or challenges. Sometimes this produces interesting results: The halforc twins who mooned Thrall during a procession at the summer festival in Orgrimmar were ordered to repeat the act at the winter festival; when they did so (in freezing weather), the amused Thrall inducted them into his guard.Lol, that is great(not lore worthy but chuckle worthy).
Post by
Orranis
Young half-orcs can be easily manipulated into proving their courage in foolish dares or challenges. Sometimes this produces interesting results: The halforc twins who mooned Thrall during a procession at the summer festival in Orgrimmar were ordered to repeat the act at the winter festival; when they did so (in freezing weather), the amused Thrall inducted them into his guard.Lol, that is great(not lore worthy but chuckle worthy).
Nice.
Post by
Adamsm
*grumble grumble grumble* Really don't want to post this here but I feel I have to... finally found the answer to the big Question in my mind: Why did the Horde let the Forsaken in.....
Soon, however, Sylvanas realized that she was unable to keep her territories safe. The newly restored Lich King demanded that Sylvanas and her undead rejoin the Scourge, sending increasingly more aggressive assaults against her capital. Furthermore, a faction of humans known as the Scarlet Crusade declared a war against all undead in Lordaeron with the hopes of freeing the continent and restoring it to its former glory. The Scarlet Crusade was unable, or perhaps unwilling, to see a difference between Sylvanas’s Forsaken and the Scourge, destroying her undead with the same fervor as they did the Lich King’s. Envisioning the fall of her race before she could achieve her ambitions, Sylvanas became desperate and sought allies. Humans were out of the question, for many reasons. Sylvanas knew that humans were irrational creatures, and would never hear out an undead ambassador. The actions of the Scarlet Crusade had also turned her people against the Alliance. Instead, the Dark Lady turned to the next greatest faction: the Horde.
The Forsaken sent ambassadors to Durotar, hoping that Thrall would receive them. Despite the destruction of some of her ambassadors (mistaken for vile members of the Scourge), her message got through. Convincing the Horde to accept them was difficult, but the Banshee Queen is resourceful. Sylvanas knew that the Horde needed the Forsaken, too, and her formidable intelligence and skillful manipulation proved their value. She persuaded the Horde that the Forsaken had much to offer as allies. I don’t know how, but Thrall bought it. Not entirely, though. Thrall and his advisor, the tauren chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof, had fought the undead for years, and were suspicious of this proposition. I asked him one day why he did it.
He told me that a council of sages, known as the Earthen Ring, asked him to. They claimed that the Forsaken battle demons that Thrall’s own race is still fighting to this day. To turn his back on the Forsaken was to forget the horrors the orc race fought for generations. The Horde was also in a rough bind. It was not nearly as numerous as the Alliance; Azeroth saw aggressions against the Horde once again. Even though Thrall explained isolated conflicts away as individual territorial conflicts and not racist aggression, he saw the truce between the Alliance and Horde tottering on the verge of collapse. He also had no presence in the Eastern side of the world, as he hadn’t yet met the Revantusk tribe (see “Forest Trolls,” below). He needed the alliance as much as the Forsaken did.
Grudgingly, he accepted the Forsaken into the Horde. Sylvanas sent diplomats to Durotar and Mulgore, to seed the Forsaken fully into the Horde. Likewise, the Horde sent an ambassador to Undercity, to keep tabs on Lady Sylvanas and see that she pursues only agendas that benefit the Horde. Thrall and Cairne remain suspicious of the Forsaken, and with good cause, might I add. Perhaps if they knew the truth of what the Forsaken were up to these days, they would order an extermination of their race, and to hell with how weakened it would leave him. Perhaps Thrall and Cairne already know, but believe the alliance’s benefits outweigh the possible consequences of forsaking the Forsaken.
Recently, I heard rumors that the Forsaken have been talking with another faction. My informants tell me that they seek new allies. Whether this allegiance is for the Horde, or if the Forsaken found another, even better ally, no one knows. When I went to verify these rumors, I found nothing. It’s disturbing, to say the least, but I guess only time will tell what the undead buggers are really up to.And yes, Brann is making a reference to the Blood Elves at the end there heh.
Post by
Patty
Well, wasn't it kind of obvious why they accepted her? ;)
They needed her lands, she needed their aid - Forsaken joining the Horde nicely does both.
Post by
Morec0
For the Hordesaken!
*Faceplam*
Post by
denjerre
Is it just me or is L&RP as dead as a maggot at the moment?
Post by
Morec0
Is it just me or is L&RP as dead as a maggot at the moment?
That happens, very often.
Post by
denjerre
Is it just me or is L&RP as dead as a maggot at the moment?
That happens, very often.
I believe we'll need to fix that.
*blows a dog whistle*
Let the Worgen come...
Post by
Morec0
Nonsense! Let's just have the Scourge ressurect all of them!
Post by
denjerre
The Maggots O.O?
Get your mind out of the gutter, Morec!
Post by
Morec0
I make threads like that all the time. I call them "The Frozen North."
Post by
denjerre
Hey, who was the guy that posted two different stories last night?
Post by
355559
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
denjerre
I had the code 'sodof' once.
I think the Mods are telling me to sod off in a very subtle manner...
Post by
355559
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
denjerre
Iknowrite?
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