Dance of the Nothrem

The Dance of the Nothrem is an Orcish tale commonly told by word of mouth.

Summary

In Dance of the Nothrem, a land was stricken with a dreadful illness. Animals were found dead and rotting, plants withered. People starved. One day, one young boy went out to fix this. He sought out the ant-like Nothrem, keepers of the land. It took him three days, during which he was not able to find food due to the illness, but eventually, he found a Nothrem hive. He pleaded with the Nothrem to return his land to prosperity, but they explained that this was a punishment to the people living there. One of them had killed a Nothrem and taken its soul. After arguing for two hours, it became clear that the Nothrem would not change their mind. Instead, he decided to give them his own soul in exchange for the wellbeing of his home. They accepted, and killed him. He never returned, but the land continued to prosper to this day.

Historical Basis

While the Nothrem are fictitious, evidence shows that there was an abundance of plant and animal deaths at that time. This illness that plagued the land may be real.

Variations & Mutation

Nothrem are not always ant-like in tellings. They have been described as spirits, earth creatures, and even gods in different clans. In some retellings, the boy comes back alive, or comes back merely with a part of his soul missing.