Kefka Scorchstone
Spirit-speaker apprentice Kefka Scorchstone
Kefka was born at 13:13, on the 16th day of the 3rd month (the Moon's own Month) in the 373rd year of the Paloran calendar.
Kefka is a half orc in the Scorchstone tribe in The Bonebreaker Camp of The Wild Valley. She is a passionate cook, helper, and now a reluctant adventurer as they set out on a mission given to them by Chronesthia, to find someone called "Von Rythmann" and kill or otherwise stop him from using the powers he stole from her, before she dies and her curse preventing him from using them expires with her.
She is apprentace to the tribe's Shaman, and has learned how to oversee religious rites, care for spiritual wellbeing, and some magic.
She helped establish a trade route with the kobold tribe in part due to her culinary interests, gaining access to spices.
She is nervous about alcoholic drinks she hasn't prepared herself, due to the Mourner wine prepared by Isk Chrona
Kefka has obtained:
A reloading heavy repeating crossbow (it reloads automatically with phantom bolts)
A Staff Of Power.
An Instant Fortress of Daern.
Kefka has also had some interactions with the Deck of Many Things, resulting in the following effects:
During a card game, her focus on the game prevented the cards from effecting her. -------Editing from here down-------
When first given the mission by Chronesthia in the Temple of ChronesthiaArwel chose three items from her hoard to aid them in the mission. One of these was The Pen, one was The Armor of the Sun's General, and the last was a spear only known as "The Spear of Destiny".
Before leaving the temple, they spoke with Chronesthia about her life, and got to know the platinum scaled kobold tribe who worked for her.
The group departed for The City of Valkour after Chronesthia passed into her Twilight slumber, predicted to last a year before she dies.
In Valkour, Arwel found that the busy rush of bars was a bit overwhelming, but they stuck with the group and on the first night played some cards, unknowingly playing with the Deck of Many things. This caused Majestat Walcroft Rythmann the 8th to trip and fall in his protected palace in The island refuge of Von Haven.
Arwel then, late that night, discovered The Rootweavers and joined their organization.
Arwel also quickly discovered the odd effects humans have on nonhumans, as they are one of the first members of the group to encounter a human of Palora. Soon after that, the group took a quest to kill something in the woods which was killing hunters, which was discovered to be the last Dire Boar (though the party did not know it was the last). They killed it and then encountered the troll tribe of Gabbuk Leafsnaggle who is Zilli Mot'zron'drak's husband. Her daughter Drak was also there, and the group spent the night with them in exchange for the boar meat. In addition, the trolls cleaned the skull and hide, and now due to the extra meat none of the tribe will starve in the winter.
After this, the group returned to Valkour, where they found many people discussing winter housing, and the incoming first storm of winter. The group decided after some discussion that they would not stay in Valkour, wanting to pursue the main mission without staying through the winter in one place. But they wanted to have winter traveling equipment and some money before they set out.
Selling the skull at first seemed difficult, as the blacksmith nearby didn't value it much, but she did value the hide and purchased it, as well as bartering the price down with a shield for Arwel and some wolf harnesses for Zilli Mot'zron'drak.
During that conversation, the blacksmith's wife mentioned the secret undercity of Valkour, as the party were plainly not humans. The group figured the skull would be best sold in that area and ventured into the undercity.
The party had to locate and speak to Kurbarar to gain access, after which they explored the undercity, the true dwarven city of Valkour. They met with The collector and sold the skull for a high sum and trades.
Arwel also obtained a Ring of Improved Flight which allowed them to fly despite the heavy armor they wore.
During this time, they also experienced a startling moment when Zilli drew Snicker-Snack, prompting Dauntless and Zilli to both reenact an ancient scene of conflict between Chronepsis and an Orcish god. The moment seemed to be just before Chronepsis was killed, when an Orcish god was professing that he or she would fight to the death to defend their family, and that they would be sure to make sure their family would live on. Chronepsis called this Orcish god a betrayer, an abomination, and warned they were going down a dangerous path.
After this, the group visited other shops and locations in the undercity, including a branch of the Husbandry Guild, where Arwel had a conversation with a giant eagle and her injured mate, advising them of the quartz cliffs as a safe destination before leaving, gathering their things and staying the night in the Deepwoods Monastery.
In the Monastery, Arwel had a long and engaged philisophical and theological debate with the head monk into the early hours of the morning.
The next morning as dark clouds gathered, the group bid farewell to the monks. Before leaving the city completely, Zilli gave Arwel a container of polish for their armor and shield, to help keep them clean and bright.
Within the tower, strange things were discovered. The names of past users, the skeleton of a mage near the fireplace, and due to an extensive search of the tower by Kefka, a secret chamber in the basement where a spell circle is inlaid on a small table with spaces for spell components and scrolls.
Later in the travels on the night of the 15th, Dauntless was overtaken by a spiritual lycanthropy possession, as Ruberylith took over and (with some physical changes, including wings that stayed after Dauntless took control again) stalked up to Zilli's room and demanded she hand over Snicker Snack. Arwel defended Zilli and was ready to initiate full combat if needed, but a magical solution was found.
A sleeping spell gave Ruberylith more control, but Heroism cast by Arwel put Ruberylith into a slumber, and the group was able to put her into the secret chamber, where eventually Ruberylith woke up and clawed at the door, screaming and trying to bother everyone else. To continue making noise without hurting herself, she pried the inlay out of the table and scraped the door with it to continue pestering them.
The next morning, Arwel woke rested thanks to Zilli's lullaby spell, and when Dauntless fled out into the snow, Arwel pursued her to ask her to come back.
Arwel also spotted footprints in the snow, someone had observed them and left without getting closer.
That evening, Arwel flew up to try and find any spots to place the tower, but they were shot at with arrows, which indicated a possible threat nearby,
The group was more cautious and found a bridge had been sabotaged, leading to a tense standoff where the group knew they would soon be ambushed, but trying to figure out the best way to handle it.
When fighting did break out, Arwel used the enchantment of their armor to bring down a strike on a spot where a kobold shaman had been hiding. The shaman got extremely lucky and got out of the way, before the rest of the fight engaged.
As the tides start to turn, Zilli used the mask of Olidamarra to channel the god, who appeared in a feminine form and chastised the shaman leader of the group, Kikishi. She said that she'd let things play out and then give her a second chance.
In the following round the shaman, two kobold archers, and the tribe's Champion were slain, which Olidamarra undid, and the kobolds surrendered.
The kobold group is: Kikishi (the shaman) Ranas (the Champion), Kafe and Kore (sisters), Maro, Shaki (which means "Something will happen"), and Orn.
That night Dauntless fought off any influence from Ruberylith, focusing instead on the group, Isk, the new kobolds, and her new wings.
On the night of the 17th, Arwel tries to help Dauntless when she first taps into the might of Ruby voluntarily, overcoming a Protection from evil spell they had cast, but protected from Ruby's influence so they are able to talk to eachother instead of a complete take over of control.
Chronepsis, Ruberylith, Victory, each are considered to be born from the death of the last, and their great fear of the blade Snicker Snack is born from this, it being the thing that killed Chronepsis.
The Protection from Evil spell wore off as Dauntless tried to meditate, and their thoughts grew dark. Dauntless witnessed Ruberylith burning her trade contracts with Everwill, and abandoning Chronesthia to her fate when the time goddess asked for aid.
At this time, Arwel was a steadying influence, helping keep the dragonling from losing control
On the 18th, the group decides on their disguises and they enter The City of Hinterweil.
Arwel wore their armor, brightly polished, and stood proud as they faced the gaze of the humans.
One of the first things they hear of was the plague in The city of Pepirra which concerned them greatly, finding that travel to that city is currently banned.
The group found a cheap enough inn, called "Mel's Greathall" where the half-orc hostess named Charlotte welcomed them. The group got rooms, one for Victory and all the kobolds, one large one for Zilli and the wolves, and then two normal rooms, one each for Kefka and Arwel.
Arwel left the inn,
(description of Arwel meeting the captain of the air guard, visiting a church, talking to a priest, then returning home)
At dinner, Victory was troubled by the careless actions of Arwel and Zilli and retired again to her room quickly.
During the following days, the group sought to earn more money to finance their journey.
Arwel was guided to the manor of Lord Martrel Crick and met Olive the Angel there as they transcribed two old books. One was an Elven text on herbology, the other was The Nature of Kobolds which they gained a lot of knowledge from.
They were paid a significant amount for the work and then returned a second day to talk to Olive again and make a copy of The Nature of Kobolds for themself.
Over the following week, Arwel had a chance to talk to Pavira , a Cleric of Fharlenghn, and copied down the holy book to that god which they have been reading.
They also got to know several people at the bars and taverns, and was introduced to Monsus, a Pegusi, through the man who runs the stable she came to for the birth of her daughter. Monsus assented to becoming Arwel's mount.
On the 3rd day of Roots in the year 392, Hinterweil was having a Lunar Festival where the group joined in.
Arwel found that they couldn't play any of the festival games with wings, so had their wings bound and participated anyway!
They did quite well but didn't end up winning any of the contests.
The festival moved on to watch the sailing of the ceremonial boat, and the group went out to the shore of the lake to watch.
The boat unexpectedly blew up when it was lit on fire, instead of burning slowly. In the same moment, a being identified by Zilli as a Holocaust Disciple was summoned.
This creature threw four Salamanders to the shore to slaughter the festival attendees, and the group immediately went forward to defend them.
In a moment of determination and focus, Arwel took flight and summoned Monsus. Together, they struck the Salamanders again and again, even when they suffered for it.
Arwel used The Pen to deal the final deadly blows on the Noblemost of the Salamanders present, gaining the knowledge in The life of Knychiko.
Kefka is a half orc in the Scorchstone tribe in The Bonebreaker Camp of The Wild Valley. She is a passionate cook, helper, and now a reluctant adventurer as they set out on a mission given to them by Chronesthia, to find someone called "Von Rythmann" and kill or otherwise stop him from using the powers he stole from her, before she dies and her curse preventing him from using them expires with her.
She is apprentace to the tribe's Shaman, and has learned how to oversee religious rites, care for spiritual wellbeing, and some magic.
She helped establish a trade route with the kobold tribe in part due to her culinary interests, gaining access to spices.
She is nervous about alcoholic drinks she hasn't prepared herself, due to the Mourner wine prepared by Isk Chrona
Kefka has obtained:
A reloading heavy repeating crossbow (it reloads automatically with phantom bolts)
A Staff Of Power.
An Instant Fortress of Daern.
Kefka has also had some interactions with the Deck of Many Things, resulting in the following effects:
During a card game, her focus on the game prevented the cards from effecting her. -------Editing from here down-------
When first given the mission by Chronesthia in the Temple of ChronesthiaArwel chose three items from her hoard to aid them in the mission. One of these was The Pen, one was The Armor of the Sun's General, and the last was a spear only known as "The Spear of Destiny".
Before leaving the temple, they spoke with Chronesthia about her life, and got to know the platinum scaled kobold tribe who worked for her.
The group departed for The City of Valkour after Chronesthia passed into her Twilight slumber, predicted to last a year before she dies.
The City of Valkour
In Valkour, Arwel found that the busy rush of bars was a bit overwhelming, but they stuck with the group and on the first night played some cards, unknowingly playing with the Deck of Many things. This caused Majestat Walcroft Rythmann the 8th to trip and fall in his protected palace in The island refuge of Von Haven.
Arwel then, late that night, discovered The Rootweavers and joined their organization.
Arwel also quickly discovered the odd effects humans have on nonhumans, as they are one of the first members of the group to encounter a human of Palora. Soon after that, the group took a quest to kill something in the woods which was killing hunters, which was discovered to be the last Dire Boar (though the party did not know it was the last). They killed it and then encountered the troll tribe of Gabbuk Leafsnaggle who is Zilli Mot'zron'drak's husband. Her daughter Drak was also there, and the group spent the night with them in exchange for the boar meat. In addition, the trolls cleaned the skull and hide, and now due to the extra meat none of the tribe will starve in the winter.
After this, the group returned to Valkour, where they found many people discussing winter housing, and the incoming first storm of winter. The group decided after some discussion that they would not stay in Valkour, wanting to pursue the main mission without staying through the winter in one place. But they wanted to have winter traveling equipment and some money before they set out.
Selling the skull at first seemed difficult, as the blacksmith nearby didn't value it much, but she did value the hide and purchased it, as well as bartering the price down with a shield for Arwel and some wolf harnesses for Zilli Mot'zron'drak.
During that conversation, the blacksmith's wife mentioned the secret undercity of Valkour, as the party were plainly not humans. The group figured the skull would be best sold in that area and ventured into the undercity.
The party had to locate and speak to Kurbarar to gain access, after which they explored the undercity, the true dwarven city of Valkour. They met with The collector and sold the skull for a high sum and trades.
Arwel also obtained a Ring of Improved Flight which allowed them to fly despite the heavy armor they wore.
During this time, they also experienced a startling moment when Zilli drew Snicker-Snack, prompting Dauntless and Zilli to both reenact an ancient scene of conflict between Chronepsis and an Orcish god. The moment seemed to be just before Chronepsis was killed, when an Orcish god was professing that he or she would fight to the death to defend their family, and that they would be sure to make sure their family would live on. Chronepsis called this Orcish god a betrayer, an abomination, and warned they were going down a dangerous path.
After this, the group visited other shops and locations in the undercity, including a branch of the Husbandry Guild, where Arwel had a conversation with a giant eagle and her injured mate, advising them of the quartz cliffs as a safe destination before leaving, gathering their things and staying the night in the Deepwoods Monastery.
In the Monastery, Arwel had a long and engaged philisophical and theological debate with the head monk into the early hours of the morning.
The next morning as dark clouds gathered, the group bid farewell to the monks. Before leaving the city completely, Zilli gave Arwel a container of polish for their armor and shield, to help keep them clean and bright.
Traveling
The group left Valkour and into the first winter storm. Thankfully though it was cold, it was not as heavy as it could have been, and the group was able to use Kefka's instant tower to sleep each night, making the travel much less risky.Within the tower, strange things were discovered. The names of past users, the skeleton of a mage near the fireplace, and due to an extensive search of the tower by Kefka, a secret chamber in the basement where a spell circle is inlaid on a small table with spaces for spell components and scrolls.
Later in the travels on the night of the 15th, Dauntless was overtaken by a spiritual lycanthropy possession, as Ruberylith took over and (with some physical changes, including wings that stayed after Dauntless took control again) stalked up to Zilli's room and demanded she hand over Snicker Snack. Arwel defended Zilli and was ready to initiate full combat if needed, but a magical solution was found.
A sleeping spell gave Ruberylith more control, but Heroism cast by Arwel put Ruberylith into a slumber, and the group was able to put her into the secret chamber, where eventually Ruberylith woke up and clawed at the door, screaming and trying to bother everyone else. To continue making noise without hurting herself, she pried the inlay out of the table and scraped the door with it to continue pestering them.
The next morning, Arwel woke rested thanks to Zilli's lullaby spell, and when Dauntless fled out into the snow, Arwel pursued her to ask her to come back.
Arwel also spotted footprints in the snow, someone had observed them and left without getting closer.
That evening, Arwel flew up to try and find any spots to place the tower, but they were shot at with arrows, which indicated a possible threat nearby,
The group was more cautious and found a bridge had been sabotaged, leading to a tense standoff where the group knew they would soon be ambushed, but trying to figure out the best way to handle it.
When fighting did break out, Arwel used the enchantment of their armor to bring down a strike on a spot where a kobold shaman had been hiding. The shaman got extremely lucky and got out of the way, before the rest of the fight engaged.
As the tides start to turn, Zilli used the mask of Olidamarra to channel the god, who appeared in a feminine form and chastised the shaman leader of the group, Kikishi. She said that she'd let things play out and then give her a second chance.
In the following round the shaman, two kobold archers, and the tribe's Champion were slain, which Olidamarra undid, and the kobolds surrendered.
The kobold group is: Kikishi (the shaman) Ranas (the Champion), Kafe and Kore (sisters), Maro, Shaki (which means "Something will happen"), and Orn.
That night Dauntless fought off any influence from Ruberylith, focusing instead on the group, Isk, the new kobolds, and her new wings.
On the night of the 17th, Arwel tries to help Dauntless when she first taps into the might of Ruby voluntarily, overcoming a Protection from evil spell they had cast, but protected from Ruby's influence so they are able to talk to eachother instead of a complete take over of control.
Chronepsis, Ruberylith, Victory, each are considered to be born from the death of the last, and their great fear of the blade Snicker Snack is born from this, it being the thing that killed Chronepsis.
The Protection from Evil spell wore off as Dauntless tried to meditate, and their thoughts grew dark. Dauntless witnessed Ruberylith burning her trade contracts with Everwill, and abandoning Chronesthia to her fate when the time goddess asked for aid.
At this time, Arwel was a steadying influence, helping keep the dragonling from losing control
The City of Hinterweil
On the 18th, the group decides on their disguises and they enter The City of Hinterweil.
Arwel wore their armor, brightly polished, and stood proud as they faced the gaze of the humans.
One of the first things they hear of was the plague in The city of Pepirra which concerned them greatly, finding that travel to that city is currently banned.
The group found a cheap enough inn, called "Mel's Greathall" where the half-orc hostess named Charlotte welcomed them. The group got rooms, one for Victory and all the kobolds, one large one for Zilli and the wolves, and then two normal rooms, one each for Kefka and Arwel.
Arwel left the inn,
(description of Arwel meeting the captain of the air guard, visiting a church, talking to a priest, then returning home)
At dinner, Victory was troubled by the careless actions of Arwel and Zilli and retired again to her room quickly.
During the following days, the group sought to earn more money to finance their journey.
Arwel was guided to the manor of Lord Martrel Crick and met Olive the Angel there as they transcribed two old books. One was an Elven text on herbology, the other was The Nature of Kobolds which they gained a lot of knowledge from.
They were paid a significant amount for the work and then returned a second day to talk to Olive again and make a copy of The Nature of Kobolds for themself.
Over the following week, Arwel had a chance to talk to Pavira , a Cleric of Fharlenghn, and copied down the holy book to that god which they have been reading.
They also got to know several people at the bars and taverns, and was introduced to Monsus, a Pegusi, through the man who runs the stable she came to for the birth of her daughter. Monsus assented to becoming Arwel's mount.
On the 3rd day of Roots in the year 392, Hinterweil was having a Lunar Festival where the group joined in.
Arwel found that they couldn't play any of the festival games with wings, so had their wings bound and participated anyway!
They did quite well but didn't end up winning any of the contests.
The festival moved on to watch the sailing of the ceremonial boat, and the group went out to the shore of the lake to watch.
The boat unexpectedly blew up when it was lit on fire, instead of burning slowly. In the same moment, a being identified by Zilli as a Holocaust Disciple was summoned.
This creature threw four Salamanders to the shore to slaughter the festival attendees, and the group immediately went forward to defend them.
In a moment of determination and focus, Arwel took flight and summoned Monsus. Together, they struck the Salamanders again and again, even when they suffered for it.
Arwel used The Pen to deal the final deadly blows on the Noblemost of the Salamanders present, gaining the knowledge in The life of Knychiko.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
The child of the orc woman Grenda, and the human Anthony Kolcrux. Her father had moved away from the tribe long before she a point in her youth that she would remember. A handful of stories of Anthony persisted in the tribe, but not enough to satisfy Kefka's curiosity.
As a half-orc, and believed to possess a special connection to spiritual realm, she was brought up in the shamanic traditions.
Education
Mostly through mentorship, and trial and error. Basically nothing in the way of formal education.
Has been trained formally under the Theurge Verr.
A young half-orc, and apprentice to her tribe's shaman. Had a passion for the work, but always dreamed of more.
View Character ProfileNotable achievements:
Chosen by the Automaton. Killing the Dire Boar of Valkour.
Alignment
Neutral
Age
19 years old.
Birthplace
Scorchstone Tribe
Children
Gender
Female
Eyes
Green
Hair
Dark brown
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Grey
Height
5' 10"
Weight
155 lbs
On the Future
I've been doing a lot of thinking recently. It's weird. Not the thinking, but focusing so much of the thought on the future. I never really thought about my future. My people always kind of had a place for everyone to fit in into the tribe. Sometimes that place got to change, but the actual thing you would be doing would be dictated by the position you were placed, but now... I'm free. I don't have a place. I'm wandering.
I guess now I get to choose my place, or if I even have a place at all, or if I just get to keep moving. I am always going to carry my past skills forward, but now... I need to decide if I double down on my old skills or draw in completely new skills, and that choice is going to shape my future path and future place in the world. It's not an easy choice... I am going to sleep soon, but I am going to pray for a sign.
On Family
Family is such an odd concept to some people. To me, growing up, family was everyone. I knew my mom, but overall everyone raised me as much as everyone else. The tribe was my family, not just those I was related to. Maybe that's why everyone felt as close as anyone else. Why my friends feel as close as family, but... also as far as family? It means more to some people...
I wish I knew more how to help Zilli... but she has... like a real family? Like they are close, and their relationships feel more exclusive in some ways? She even has kids! That's not a thought that has even crossed my mind. But she seems to want it, but to... also not want it? Maybe the not wanting it is because she is in this weird situation with all of us... To me it doesn't feel unusual... I mean, it does, but... some part of me has wanted something like this. (Yes, mom. Human side, I get it!)
She wants something different, and... I'm not sure what it is or how to help. But if it's family she needs, then I will get her family. It's the least I can do, and she needs at it.
On Tapped Power
After some training under the Grand Magus Verr, I decided to embrace the power I've been given, and that which I've found but... is it enough? My first opportunity to even try was at the disaster at the lunar festival. All this power at my disposal, and I felt so... powerless. Like nothing I could do was enough. Like it couldn't be enough. So many people died because I wasn't quick enough or strong enough to save them.
Even after all that, people were still praising me. Talking about everyone I saved... should that make me happy? What if I could have saved more? What if I had been less of a coward? Maybe if I had leaned into this power from the start I could have done something to prevent the disaster. Maybe even predict it. I didn't summon Verr during that fight. The thought didn't cross my mind... I thought he would be there. I didn't think to use it in the city where he was... Did I doom more people to die because I wasn't quick enough?
I can't hesitate when it comes to power. Maybe things won't go well, but failure from trying feels better than failure from doing nothing... Am I crazy to think like this?
On Human Cities
It's been a while since we left on this quest to save the world. At the time, I was excited to get out into the world to see and experience more of it. I used to dream of having a reason to go out into the wider world. Not that I was ever unhappy as a part of my tribe, but my mom said that was just the human in me: they were not very good at simply staying in one place.
I used to think the idea was silly. Humans have cities, don't they? Clearly some of them are happy to sit in one place. Maybe I was just being foolish. Maybe it's not fair for me to say I understand human cities even after being in one for weeks... I have an understanding, at least. I have never felt more trapped in my life. At first, I thought humans were simply naturally oppressive, but there's more to it than that.
Humans are just as much the oppressed as the oppressors. There are people in this city who would love nothing more to leave. There are people on the outskirts of the town who barely make a living because humans have decided that their society is not designed to take care of the people. I'm not sure what the point of human society at this point. Some people are definitely thriving, and others are struggling. For some reason they don't seem to all see this as a problem. For some reason they have accepted it at face value.
Part of me is still fascinated by humans... But right now I want nothing more than to leave an never come back. I hope... I hope it will be better once we fix things.
On Orcs Part Two
There are different classes of Speakers in the Tribe, though some of the names are just used for convenience rather than them being official titles. All of us are generally called shamans or speakers, but I think other people use different titles if they have other preferences.
Treespeakers are one of the most common, and they can commune with more than just trees. They have a stronger connection to nature, plants, and even animals, and most of the time they assist with the harvest as well as the health of the local ecosystems. If prey animals become to populous we assist the hunters in thinning their numbers, or if their numbers wane too much we seek out older predators and remove them from the ecosystem. They use their magic to intervene during bad cropcycles, and are generally in charge of crop rotations. They are also surprisingly skilled at tilling the soil for us. Occasionally we experience a bad crop, and through their magic the tribe has been saved countless times.
Though they are not in charge of the training, they often assist when it comes to training animals in the tribe. We didn't really keep much in the way of pets, but we had a handful of beasts used in hunting. Though we had a fair amount of pack animals, and others livestock animals used for milk, eggs, and eventually meat, and bones. Additionally, healing comes under their purview and various applications of herbalism.
Earthspeakers tend to turn their talents to the area of nature spirits. Earth, wind, water, and fire are their specialties. When the weather was out of balance, like when the rains hadn't come for too long, and the tribe was too busy to bucket water from the nearby rivers. They also oversaw occasional forest burns as needed, and helped make sure it was performed safely. Tilling and soil health are also things that are tended to by earthspeakers as well.
Spiritspeakers are said to be the rarest, and they are charged with the spiritual health of the living people and creatures in the tribe. They help ensure that those who pass on, do so comfortably, and that their belongings are divided up among the tribe where they can do the most good. Any wayward spirits, whether from members of the tribe or not, are dealt with by them.
Although they deal with various forms of the undead, they harbor no hatred towards them. Their goal in dealing with them is simply to make sure that the dead pass on to where they belong. That being said, if a particular undead is persistent, and refuses to move on, especially if they pose a danger to living beings, they will do their best to remove it by whatever means necessary.
It's strange though. My connection to the magic the other speakers channel feels different than what they describe. I'm not even able to duplicate some of the same effects they can, though I have tried my best. Maybe it's just because I was chosen on basis of my heritage, rather than innate talent. Or maybe my human half is interfering with the kind of magics that orcs tend to delve into. I hope, with time, I'll discover the secret.
On Untapped Power
It's weird to me... how easily my friends slip into the influence of such strange powers. Deities, and dead things, and weapons, all communing with them on a regular basis...
Am I wrong to be afraid of the staff I got from the hoard? To hold myself back from it? Maybe even the crossbow, it felt like it called to me back in Valkour. Is it cowardice that keeps me back from them? My friends are all changing, are they really okay with it? Is it a good thing?
Should I just give in?
On Orcs and Other Things
https://twitter.com/AbsintheOTL/status/1150746654246604800?s=20
Orcs can be a very colorful people. From what was said in my tribe, it mostly depends on region, and the diet of the people who live there. The Scorchstone tribe tends to trend toward greens and blue-greys. Half-orcs, like me, tend to come more washed out than their purebred families. That is why my mom said my skin is more of a grey than the other members of the tribe.
Despite my best and various efforts to look into it, I haven't found the exact correlation between specific food and different colors. Perhaps it is simply that my human physiology prevents my skin from noticebly changing to a more insteresting shade. Or perhaps, it is simply that I hasn't indulged in as much raw root vegetables (yuck) as the rest of the tribe. Maybe, one day I'll unlock the knowledge.
Most young orcs have to show some aptitude in spiritual matters before they are taken on to apprentice under the tribe's shamans. I was a special case, though I didn't find out until recently. I was chosen because I'm a half-orc. My people were hoping that my human blood would allow me to tap into the same power that humans seem to have over us, and perhaps I could master the ability to some extent and help learn a way to protect against it.
I can't say if it worked or not. I'm not exactly sure where my powers come from. The source... feels different than the other orcs. At least, the way it feels is different than how the other shaman apprentices described their magic working. And some of the abilities they showed, I don't seem to be able to do. I'm not sure what it is exactly that's holding me back, but it's also on my list of things to look into.
I think my mom always expected me to leave. When I was growing up, whenever she mentioned my dad, she would talk about how humans are affected by an incurable wanderlust, and that's why he left. Though, humans in this town seem pretty settled, but maybe that's too broad of a generalization. I'll have to try and observe to take more notes.
https://www.worldanvil.com/media/cache/cover/uploads/images/7449b946b6ca5a48eb625b71b62b826b.jpg
Birth of Scorchstone
year 382
Legend holds that the Scorchstone Pass earned its name when an irate dragon sought an enemy who hid in the mountain. The dragon dug its claws into the rock for hours, carving a passage from one side of the mountain to the other. Finding no sign of their quary, and in frustration, unleashed a flaming breath so volatile that it melted the very rock. It smoothed most of the walls in path, creating an obsidian path, and even forming pockets of diamonds in the natural coal veins contained within.
Some tellings of the story say the dragon channeled all its life force into that flame, and died on the spot, their body unable to handle the strength of the flame they were producing. Some say the dragon was satisfied with their hunt, or was so tired of it that dragon left.
In the Scorchstone Tribe, it is said that the dragon took some of the fresh obsidian and diamond and formed the first orcs, and breathed life into them. The orcs were then charged to live near the pass, and to guard it on the dragon's behalf, on the off-chance that their enemy ever try and emerge from the mountain.
