Post by frankthetriviaman on Jul 14, 2019 0:12:36 GMT -5
Chapter Zero: Prelude
The Great Hall of the Colormen: March 1, 1202
76 year old Albert Erdagovern paced up and down the foyer of the Great Hall... his comrades should have been back by now, and yet they were running quite far behind. It wasn't like the Man In Blue to nervously pace as such... and yet tensions had been quite high these past couple decades. It was times like this he wished he had his father and grandfather to guide him... and yet, here he was, the third Man In Blue and only living Man In Blue at the present. Well, unless you count...
"Father, is everything all right?" A voice said as he was joined in the hallway. It was Blake Erdagovern, Albert's son and respected Ordosian scholar.
"I wish I could say so... we have been trying to resolve this conflict for goodness knows how long. The Elves were fairly straightforward... but I just can't understand what has gotten into the Orcs as of late"
"Grandfather [Elias Erdagovern] did often speak of his and Great Grandfather Matthew's work with the Orcs in the past... that coordinated repelling of the 1102 invasion of the vikings... Warriors of Odin, correct? If I am not mistaken the centennial of that victory is coming up" Blake pointed out.
"Yes, it is. But I don't like the direction these new chiefs are going in. Anti-human is the only way I can describe it... why throw away a system that works to their benefit? Why it just makes no..."
Then at last in that moment, the door opened and in stepped Marvin Adelrod, the third Man In Red.
"Ah, at last! Man In Red, how went the talks?" Man In Blue said with hope.
"About as good as we could have hoped... the Utjen Tribe said they would honor the invitation, they will attend the King's meeting next week" Man In Red assured.
"At least the Utjen are willing to honor the old agreements... the Fegron though, I fear for Man In White's safety" Man In Blue gulped. As if right on queue, Jeffrey Smith, the Fourth Man In White, came through the door, a look of confidence on his face.
"The trade off was enough to strike a deal; 50 head of cattle in exchange for their chief attending the meeting and hearing out the King. Our fields were getting awfully clustered anyway, so this should help prevent overgrazing" Man In White explained.
"That was still about 10 percent of our cattle heard Tyler... I hope the long term pay off is worth it" Man In Blue stated.
"The mountain tribes could be harder to deal with... they never were ones for "neighborly relations" Blake pointed out.
"The Kelmet I think won't be ones for listening, but I have faith in our messenger... damn their "Might Makes Right" outlook though. The Demwal Tribe though... this will be different, surely." Man In Blue said with hope.
And at that moment, Sir Lancelot Blackson, the fourth Man In Black, entered the door. "Sorry I am late; the horse grew tired and was forced to camp the night" he stated.
"It is quite all right; how did the Demwal talks go?" Man In Blue asked.
"You were right to send another warrior to talk with them; they are untrusting but the Warrior's Honor shined through. They agreed to come to the meeting to show gratitude for our ancestors joint operations in dealing with the ogres. If they weren't so stubborn though I would have negotiated another alliance since the ogres remain a problem to them" Man In Black explained.
"That is not a priority at this moment; but at any rate, we must discuss more pressing matters" Man In Blue began.
A while later the door opened yet again, revealing Carrick Eskal, the Third Man In Yellow.
"Did the plan work?" Man In Black asked.
"Yes; I challenged their finest warrior to a Futru mara, a traditional Orc Duel of Honor. After he lost I offered a proposition, in lieu of the traditional fate of the loser, accompany his Chief to the King's meeting next week and hear out what he has to say. They agreed as proved mightier in the duel" Man In Yellow explained.
"So then that leaves the Northern Orcs. Do we have anything to worry about there?" Man In Red asked.
"The Foglag not so much. The Dennok though, could be another story." Man In Yellow pointed out.
Indeed, on queue entered Kelvin Gridlon, the third Man In Cerulean. "Did my plan work?" Man In White asked.
"Indeed it did. I hate having to take a break from dealing with the hydras around the island, but your suggestion worked perfectly. By showing my latest "trophies" as proof of my "warrior's might" they were willing to hear me out. The chief will attend the meeting next week, but he said he doubts this will change anything" Man In Cerulean explained.
"Right, so then that leaves..." Man In Blue began, but was interrupted by the arrival of Adam Criddleton, the Third Man In Gold. "I'm glad I was able to go, Albert. I never did get to leave the archives much during my time so this was a most refreshing change of pace. But anyway, the Foglag tribe thankfully doesn't have a chief with the "Anti-Human" views you were telling me about a while ago; their chief said he will come to the meeting and looks forward to the negotiations." Man In Gold finished.
"Thank goodness Dravnim is one of the Orcs with intelligence comparable to humans; reasoning with him shouldn't be too hard" Man In Black noted.
"Ugh, I hate that broad generalization that humans as a species are smarter than Orcs as a species" Man In White groaned. "Though... I cannot argue that in my experience it has been hard to get the orcs to understand more beyond the way of the warrior" he conceded.
"Maybe its a choice?" Man In Yellow shrugged.
"Then why is their English so bad?" Man In Red pointed out.
"I always figured Orcish was grammatically simpler compared to English to true translation is difficult" Man In Gold theorized.
"Ahem" Man In Blue said, gathering everyone's attention. "Now, I'm not going to lie... these past couple decades have been rough for human-orc relations. The long held agreements we put in place with the Foglag and Utjen tribes have worked, but trying to put in place similar agreements with the others has been difficult. The hunting and fishing quotas put in place were for their benefit; not detriment. Hopefully this meeting will set the record straight that we are trying to guarantee a long-term supply of food for them, and at the same time we are trying to prevent population collapse" Man In Blue went on to explain
"The orcs should still be held accountable for their slaughter of our livestock, and in the case of the Mountain Orcs, pillaging of human settlements" Man In Red argued.
"One hurdle at a time" Man In Blue pointed out. "At any rate, the time as come" Man In Blue continued.
"For what?" Man In Black asked.
"Passing the torch. Or rather, the spear. For you see... this was my last assignment as Man In Gold" Man In Gold explained.
"Wait, do you mean?" Man In Cerulean asked. At that moment, Addison Criddleton, son of Adam Criddleton, walked in the Foyer and proceeded to join his father.
"I've had a good run these past 15 years. But I'm 72 and ready to retire" Man In Gold declared.
"Well I'm 76 and still got a couple good years left in me" Man In Blue quipped, prompting laughter.
"71 years old and going strong" Man In Cerulean declared with dignity, with more laughter in the room
"68 years old is nothing to be ashamed of" Man In Red declared proudly, as the laughter kept up
"Guess being 50 years old makes me the baby here" Man In White said with a laugh of his own
"The devil are you talking about?! I'm 24 years old! I only took over from my father two years ago, remember?" Man In Black interjected, with everyone now enjoying a good laugh together.
"Jokes aside, I am ready for the ceremony to begin" Man In Gold stated. Everyone nodded as the assembled group dispersed to assemble the Council of 12 and all present Colormen. It would be the last calm they got to enjoy before a major storm would roll in.
The Great Hall of the Colormen: March 1, 1202
76 year old Albert Erdagovern paced up and down the foyer of the Great Hall... his comrades should have been back by now, and yet they were running quite far behind. It wasn't like the Man In Blue to nervously pace as such... and yet tensions had been quite high these past couple decades. It was times like this he wished he had his father and grandfather to guide him... and yet, here he was, the third Man In Blue and only living Man In Blue at the present. Well, unless you count...
"Father, is everything all right?" A voice said as he was joined in the hallway. It was Blake Erdagovern, Albert's son and respected Ordosian scholar.
"I wish I could say so... we have been trying to resolve this conflict for goodness knows how long. The Elves were fairly straightforward... but I just can't understand what has gotten into the Orcs as of late"
"Grandfather [Elias Erdagovern] did often speak of his and Great Grandfather Matthew's work with the Orcs in the past... that coordinated repelling of the 1102 invasion of the vikings... Warriors of Odin, correct? If I am not mistaken the centennial of that victory is coming up" Blake pointed out.
"Yes, it is. But I don't like the direction these new chiefs are going in. Anti-human is the only way I can describe it... why throw away a system that works to their benefit? Why it just makes no..."
Then at last in that moment, the door opened and in stepped Marvin Adelrod, the third Man In Red.
"Ah, at last! Man In Red, how went the talks?" Man In Blue said with hope.
"About as good as we could have hoped... the Utjen Tribe said they would honor the invitation, they will attend the King's meeting next week" Man In Red assured.
"At least the Utjen are willing to honor the old agreements... the Fegron though, I fear for Man In White's safety" Man In Blue gulped. As if right on queue, Jeffrey Smith, the Fourth Man In White, came through the door, a look of confidence on his face.
"The trade off was enough to strike a deal; 50 head of cattle in exchange for their chief attending the meeting and hearing out the King. Our fields were getting awfully clustered anyway, so this should help prevent overgrazing" Man In White explained.
"That was still about 10 percent of our cattle heard Tyler... I hope the long term pay off is worth it" Man In Blue stated.
"The mountain tribes could be harder to deal with... they never were ones for "neighborly relations" Blake pointed out.
"The Kelmet I think won't be ones for listening, but I have faith in our messenger... damn their "Might Makes Right" outlook though. The Demwal Tribe though... this will be different, surely." Man In Blue said with hope.
And at that moment, Sir Lancelot Blackson, the fourth Man In Black, entered the door. "Sorry I am late; the horse grew tired and was forced to camp the night" he stated.
"It is quite all right; how did the Demwal talks go?" Man In Blue asked.
"You were right to send another warrior to talk with them; they are untrusting but the Warrior's Honor shined through. They agreed to come to the meeting to show gratitude for our ancestors joint operations in dealing with the ogres. If they weren't so stubborn though I would have negotiated another alliance since the ogres remain a problem to them" Man In Black explained.
"That is not a priority at this moment; but at any rate, we must discuss more pressing matters" Man In Blue began.
A while later the door opened yet again, revealing Carrick Eskal, the Third Man In Yellow.
"Did the plan work?" Man In Black asked.
"Yes; I challenged their finest warrior to a Futru mara, a traditional Orc Duel of Honor. After he lost I offered a proposition, in lieu of the traditional fate of the loser, accompany his Chief to the King's meeting next week and hear out what he has to say. They agreed as proved mightier in the duel" Man In Yellow explained.
"So then that leaves the Northern Orcs. Do we have anything to worry about there?" Man In Red asked.
"The Foglag not so much. The Dennok though, could be another story." Man In Yellow pointed out.
Indeed, on queue entered Kelvin Gridlon, the third Man In Cerulean. "Did my plan work?" Man In White asked.
"Indeed it did. I hate having to take a break from dealing with the hydras around the island, but your suggestion worked perfectly. By showing my latest "trophies" as proof of my "warrior's might" they were willing to hear me out. The chief will attend the meeting next week, but he said he doubts this will change anything" Man In Cerulean explained.
"Right, so then that leaves..." Man In Blue began, but was interrupted by the arrival of Adam Criddleton, the Third Man In Gold. "I'm glad I was able to go, Albert. I never did get to leave the archives much during my time so this was a most refreshing change of pace. But anyway, the Foglag tribe thankfully doesn't have a chief with the "Anti-Human" views you were telling me about a while ago; their chief said he will come to the meeting and looks forward to the negotiations." Man In Gold finished.
"Thank goodness Dravnim is one of the Orcs with intelligence comparable to humans; reasoning with him shouldn't be too hard" Man In Black noted.
"Ugh, I hate that broad generalization that humans as a species are smarter than Orcs as a species" Man In White groaned. "Though... I cannot argue that in my experience it has been hard to get the orcs to understand more beyond the way of the warrior" he conceded.
"Maybe its a choice?" Man In Yellow shrugged.
"Then why is their English so bad?" Man In Red pointed out.
"I always figured Orcish was grammatically simpler compared to English to true translation is difficult" Man In Gold theorized.
"Ahem" Man In Blue said, gathering everyone's attention. "Now, I'm not going to lie... these past couple decades have been rough for human-orc relations. The long held agreements we put in place with the Foglag and Utjen tribes have worked, but trying to put in place similar agreements with the others has been difficult. The hunting and fishing quotas put in place were for their benefit; not detriment. Hopefully this meeting will set the record straight that we are trying to guarantee a long-term supply of food for them, and at the same time we are trying to prevent population collapse" Man In Blue went on to explain
"The orcs should still be held accountable for their slaughter of our livestock, and in the case of the Mountain Orcs, pillaging of human settlements" Man In Red argued.
"One hurdle at a time" Man In Blue pointed out. "At any rate, the time as come" Man In Blue continued.
"For what?" Man In Black asked.
"Passing the torch. Or rather, the spear. For you see... this was my last assignment as Man In Gold" Man In Gold explained.
"Wait, do you mean?" Man In Cerulean asked. At that moment, Addison Criddleton, son of Adam Criddleton, walked in the Foyer and proceeded to join his father.
"I've had a good run these past 15 years. But I'm 72 and ready to retire" Man In Gold declared.
"Well I'm 76 and still got a couple good years left in me" Man In Blue quipped, prompting laughter.
"71 years old and going strong" Man In Cerulean declared with dignity, with more laughter in the room
"68 years old is nothing to be ashamed of" Man In Red declared proudly, as the laughter kept up
"Guess being 50 years old makes me the baby here" Man In White said with a laugh of his own
"The devil are you talking about?! I'm 24 years old! I only took over from my father two years ago, remember?" Man In Black interjected, with everyone now enjoying a good laugh together.
"Jokes aside, I am ready for the ceremony to begin" Man In Gold stated. Everyone nodded as the assembled group dispersed to assemble the Council of 12 and all present Colormen. It would be the last calm they got to enjoy before a major storm would roll in.