Kaius the Fierce by Cara Wylde
Chapter Two
Grace started going to classes the next day. She didn’t feel like it, not ready to get out of the bed and function just yet. But Carol and Fiona dragged her to breakfast, then the three of them joined the history class on orcs. The subjects were organized in such a way that anyone could join at any time and not feel like they had to catch up. Her roommates already knew most of what the teacher was presenting, so the middle-aged woman ended up asking questions and only adding something here and there, where her students didn’t cover everything in their answers. There were seven more girls in class, which meant there weren’t currently many orc brides at the institute.
“Can anyone tell me the names of the war chiefs in the orcs’ home world?”
Fiona raised her hand, and the teacher gave her a nod.
“Sogar and Hagan. In their home dimension, they only have one continent, surrounded by the ocean, and the two war chiefs constantly fight over it, each wanting to become the sole ruler.”
“Good. Can someone else tell me about their ranks?”
It was Carol’s turn. “The war chief is like an emperor in our world, and there are just two of those. Then there are the slayers, who are like lords. Fortunately, no war chiefs and no slayers crossed into our dimension. The slayers own lands and the command of two or three hordes. Maybe more.”
“Yes. There are some details we’re not yet clear on. Turns out the orcs are not very generous with information about their home world, their society, beliefs, values, principles... What we teach at the institutes is mostly our own species’ observations about their hordes, customs, and traditions.”
“Right. Then, there are the captains of the hordes, who don’t own land and live on the lands of their slayers. The captains have raiders and grunts under their command, and each horde has at least one mage.”
“And how can we tell who has what rank?”
A blonde girl sitting in the front raised her hand. “By their tattoos. The captains have tattoos on their backs and arms, the raiders, who are like knights and advisors, have tattoos around their necks, wrists, ankles, and middle, as if to show that they’re owned by someone with greater influence, and only the grunts have tattoos on their faces and necks. This last rank is like the rank of normal soldiers.”
“Exactly. Not much responsibility on their shoulders. They just have to do as they’re told and not ask questions.”
Grace noted everything down. She knew she could find this information in the few books the library held and also online. The problem with the Internet was that she wasn’t sure she could believe every article and study she came across. There was a lot of misinformation and fake news circling around. What was said in class was sacred. She hadn’t finished school, and she regretted it now. Back then, when she was a rebellious teenager who was grieving the loss of her parents in a car crash, she detested the teachers and all her colleagues. She had no respect for the institution or the education system. She’d matured since then, and she’d learned her lesson. Not doing her studies when she was supposed to had cost her dearly.
“We all know how the orcs got into our world,” the teacher said. “Maybe our new student, Grace Adams, can remind us?”
Her heart jumped in her throat. She stole a glance around her and blushed when she realized the other girls were looking curiously at her. She hadn’t introduced herself yet. She’d always liked to keep to herself, and even if this was the beginning of a new life, that wasn’t probably going to change. Carol nudged her gently.
She cleared her throat and tried to keep her voice even. “Y-yes... erm... I heard that our scientists were working on the theory of alternate dimensions and building a machine that could open some sort of inter-dimensional tunnel. It was all over the news back then... I don’t know, four-five years ago? Anyway, they thought they discovered a parallel world that was just another version of ours and used the machine. It all went horribly wrong. For one, they didn’t open one inter-dimensional tunnel, but many, all over the world, except Australia, for some reason. And two, they didn’t discover a world similar to ours, but a world that is entirely different from ours. Hordes of orcs were pulled through the portals, against their will, and that was how the war started and lasted for two years. Our scientists, in a panic, destroyed the machine and the plans for it. Now they’re trying to rebuild it from scratch hoping it might be the key to sending the orcs back.”
“Good, good. You heard right.” The teacher gave her a smile. “Yes, it was all over the news. Books have been written about this massive failure of the human race. I think there’s a movie in the making.”
Grace cocked an eyebrow. “There is?”
But the teacher moved on to tell them that even though the hordes of Sogar and Hagan had been enemies in the orcs’ world, they joined forces here, against the humans. Then they all made peace and agreed to live in relative harmony as long as the humans offered them brides as tribute and their scientists worked on rebuilding the machine. That didn’t mean that the hordes of Sogar and Hagan had completely put aside their differences. The key was to stay away from each other, which wasn’t too hard given that the world of humans seemed to be significantly larger than their home world, and orcs naturally liked to be isolated in the mountains.
Next, Grace joined the other girls in a class about orc magic. Here, Grace took even more notes, since she didn’t know anything about how the orcs used magic, or whether it was even real or not. As it turned out, only their mages could use magic, and mostly in battle. They enchanted the warriors’ weapons, healed their wounds, cast glamours and shields to protect the horde, and cast tracking spells. The more she learned about magic, the more stressed she was.
“I’m sorry,” she raised her hand timidly, “I have a question.”
The teacher, who was younger than the one who taught history, gave her a nod.
“Can orc mages read minds?”
The teacher smiled indulgently. “No.”
“Well, maybe... not that we currently know of?”
“No, we’d know. Mind-reading would be a pretty impressive skill. Their mages are not capable of it.” Grace didn’t look convinced, so the teacher continued. “Here’s what we know about the magic they practice. It is based on plants, the seasons, and the elements.”
“Glamours and protective shields don’t sound like they can be achieved through making plant teas and concoctions.”
The teacher laughed. “True. And we’ve also heard that mages can use some sort of telekinesis to restrain their enemies. But I assure you, there were never any reports about the use of telepathy or mind-reading.”
“Okay,” Grace said.
Deep down, she still wasn’t convinced. “I’ll keep my thoughts as guarded as I can,” she promised herself. “I won’t think about what I left behind. Better safe than sorry.”
After lunch, which consisted of two courses plus dessert and lasted a little under two hours, Grace went to a class about orc psychology. This one was based on speculation more than the others.
“All orc brides are encouraged to call, send emails, or even letters after their join a horde, and keep us posted about their well-being. We encourage them to tell us about their life among the orcs and about how they’re treated, in hopes that this way we’ll learn more about these beasts. And I say ‘beast’ in the most respectful manner. They’re not like us, and that’s why we need to learn about them. If you ask me, the peace we have now is fragile. Something could go wrong at any moment. The more we know about them, the better we can prepare you, the orc brides to be.”
Grace leaned towards Fiona. “You said your friend called.”
“Yes, but she only wanted to speak to me and Carol. Not even Mrs. Kirby knows about it.”
“Why? Why don’t orc brides want to share what they learn with the institutes? It would help everyone!”
Fiona shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe once you get there and you’re accepted by a horde, there’s no point in it anymore.”
Grace frowned. She didn’t get it at all. She promised herself that if she was chosen by an orc and joined his horde, she’d reach out and help her species in understanding the orcs and their psychology. As things were, the only traits she managed to glimpse from what the teacher was saying were: violent, possessive, protective of their hordes, mates, and children, and merciless if the people and things they held dear were threatened. They also liked to be in nature, to hunt and grow their own food, and to live isolated from the rest of the world. That last detail in particular didn’t sound so bad to Grace.