Ula Ular, Who Bled The Sea
The Tale of Ula Ular is a legend told by coastal Olona, particularly the Blue Claw Clan. Variations of the tale have been known to be told by certain Braithstrom groups as well as sects of Dracorex worshippers, including a few dragon cults and religious pirate bands. The story describes a dragon by the name of Ula Ular, who was so big and heavy that he could not fly. The legend also tells of the first Olona Shogun, though of course who that happens to be depends on which clan is telling the story. The following is a shortened rendition of the traditional Blue Claw tale, which in it's entirety requires three nights of storytelling and many tangents, weaving together all of Orcish myth to fit this one story.
How the Olona Came Together to Defeat the Great Dragon Ula Ular, and Created the World From His Hide and the Sea From His Blood
There was a time when all the Orcs were of Olona. We lived together with neither man nor Elf in the other world, the one the gods made just for us, for they knew in all their wisdom that the world of Elves nor of man could contain our inborn fury. This world was also Olona, and it was the sky above the worlds of the others. A great rainbow ran as a path between them, so Orcs could visit and trade with the other worlds, and we alone knew the secret of borrowing colors from the great rainbow by asking politely. Such good friends were the first Orcs and the great rainbow that it gave us it's green as a gift, long before the other worlds were even brought up from the great voids the gods take their tools from. But we were not alone on Olona, the Orcs needed a challenge to satisfy them, so Dracorex who is uncle of Orcfather Phoenix made dragons so we might have a fair fight. Ula Ular was the largest creature the gods ever saw fit to put upon any of the worlds. He was so big he could not fly for fear of knocking the world down when he landed. Each of his many spines was a mountain with forests growing on them. His wings covered so much of the sky that they blocked out the sun over all the world and some of the next one, so daylight only came when the beast slept. Ula Ular's teeth were as a shark's, many and jagged and always growing, and his claws rent the earth in his passing so much that no Orc ever had to work a plow in those days, only wait for the beast to pass by. All of these things were true of the dragon Ula Ular, but the most true thing about him is that Ula Ular was always hungry and always thirsty, for the gods did not put enough food and water on our world to satisfy the beast. Ula Ular was said to drink entire lakes at a time, and eat entire tribes as an appetizer if they did not pay him proper tribute when he passed his mighty head past their houses. He ate and drank so much that there was no food and no water any more in the world, precious little at least, and the Orcish clans were forced to fight each other for their supper and scatter across the world in search of more. The Olona say that each tribe that walked away from the mighty dragon passed along a great rainbow from their homeland, down into the world of Elves, and they walked for so long along the rainbow that they kicked up the colors and stained their green skins forever the stolen hues. This went on until there were no longer any colors in the great rainbow, and it faded from the world in embarrassment for it's lack of luster, and now only appears when it rains to wash itself of filth, but it is still shy so it runs away from those who chase it. When the rainbow went away forever, it left the Olona with no choice but to find a way to return what was stolen from them by the great dragon Ula Ular. The clans of the Olona came together and chose for themselves a a single leader, a mighty Shogun who would lead all the clans against this greatest of foes, the dragon Ula Ular who was so large that all the Orcs among the land of all the many worlds could not together cover his entire head if they stood at arm's length apart. This Shogun was the very first Ro'Karax, not because he was the strongest Orc or the largest or even the wisest, but because he refused to fight the other clan leaders for the title when they would clearly need every strong warrior at their best in order to fight the dragon. There were many more clans back in those days, for in the coming battle whole families would disappear into the maw of the dragon Ula Ular, or be crushed under his massive bulk, or simply be thrown off of the world to die by the force of his hurricane breath. These Orcs and their clans have had their names erased by this, the greatest of foes, but forever shall we honor them in spirit. Those clans we know today, all of them were present. The Red Tooth brought with them their great numbers, the Black Dog their ferocity, the Purple Moon brought magic to battle, and of course the Blue Claw were there with their axes and their great round shields, for Ro'Karax led the Olona then and his clan would shame him to not be among the first warriors to strike the dragon. Ro'Karax who was Shogun knew that there was no dishonor in fighting with trickery, not against the greatest foe, not against he who was Ula Ular. They waited until the day time, when Ula Ular folded his massive wings to sleep in like blankets, letting sunlight back into the land of the Orcs. The beast, Ro'Karax knew, was slow to rouse, for it was always hungry and a little weak for lack of water. There was no sense in trying to flank the beast or find a weak point, as a journey from one side of Ula Ular to the other might take many days on foot, and the Orcs were just as hungry and tired as it was. Ro'Karax, who was made the first Shogun, led them against the dragon Ula Ular by running right at his massive head. The battle lasted for days and then weeks and then years. Luckily in those days Orcs could live on nothing but the rush of battle and the spice of their anger, so they did not die for thirst or even grow tired as the fight went on. Slowly, day by day, hour by agonizing hour, the Orcs led by Ro'Karax made progress against the beast, cutting it open little by little. It ate many thousands of Orcs in that time, entire clans and families and even shades of green lost forever with their names. The warriors and the dragon were so caught up in the battle that they did not realize that each step of Ula Ular's feet, each mighty roar, each shudder of pain from the great dragon was breaking the earth itself little by little. Eventually, the great dragon Ula Ular collapsed under the many thousand thousand cuts and bruises the Orcs had given it over their battle, for it was mighty but not itself an Orc who can ignore such things. The weight of the dragon striking the weakened earth broke the world the gods had made for Orcs, that Olona which was above all the others. The Orcs clung to Ula Ular as the dragon breathed it's last and fell to the world of Elves, for their own was now lost, and the force broke the world of Elves. Many of these clung to the dragon in desperation as it fell again into the world of men, and the world broke again. This continued until what remained of the dragon fell into the void where the gods get their tools, smashing itself upon the anvil of Tilanos, and all the peoples the gods had made were clinging to the hide of the dragon as it had fallen, even the Orcs who had left before and stolen the rainbow's colors. When the great dragon Ula Ular finally hit the anvil of the earth god, it broke. The hide of Ula Ular, all stretched and deformed from the ordeal of falling through a dozen worlds and then some, was dirty enough to grow crops on. The blood of Ula Ular leaked out in places, and where it pooled on the anvil of Tilanos became large enough that ships had to be built to cross it, and today we call this the sea. The Blue Claw and especially Ro'Karax were honored then, as they had slain the great dragon Ula Ular and brought the Orcs all back together and made all the worlds into one, even if that was by accident. In all their wisdom, the gods forgave the Olona for smashing up the many worlds, and decided to return all the food that Ula Ular had stolen from the Orcs. The gods turned the tiny scales of the great dragon into the very first crabs, and it was the Blue Claw that were granted the first harvest. To this day, the Blue Claw honor the gift the gods gave us by thanking them for each meal, and retelling this story time and time again, and remembering those that died in the battle against the great dragon Ula Ular.
Related Ethnicities
Related Locations
Related Organizations
Comments