--The Broken Lands, or Ork Lands, lie at the heart of the Known World. They are rumoured by some to have once been covered in lush forests, with giant trees housing magical beasts. No fossils or written records have been found that would support these stories over the ages, and they were dismissed as naught but idle tales of peasants with too much time upon their hands. Today however, these lands are home to the roaming tribes of Orks, colloquially known as “The Horde”. No one really knows where they came from, or why they settled here. The Orks have no villages or cities to speak of. Instead, their nation consists of a single, gigantic caravan that snakes along the crevices of this harsh landscape, staying hidden amongst its vast caverns and canyons. The Orks were nomads.

--The terrain in this region is barren and holds little game or edible plants, so the Orks must resort to looting in order to survive. They raid any and all foolish enough to encroach upon their domain. In fact, this is the prime reason why this area remains “no man’s land”. None of the neighbouring kingdoms dare to try and make it their home, or even to formally claim reign over it. Bluegill village, near the south border of the Broken Lands, was in fact recently the target of one such attack. Dozens of souls perished in the Orks’ raid, leaving behind many wounded hearts. Some still burning for revenge.

--Such was the case with the ten souls who now scaled its perilous cliffs, their will ignited by an insatiable thirst for vengeance. There used to be twelve of them, but two had already plummeted to their deaths due to bad footing, or a moment of carelessness. Led by the shifty former army scout, Styx, they wandered in search of the Horde. Styx had become an expert at tracking people through hazardous terrain during his service in the Fanelian army, and he was putting these skills to good use now; by tracking the Orks who had raided his home, and slain his little boy. Among them was also the hero of the raided village, Aidan, who had single-handedly slain 4 orks during the original assault, enraged after seeing what they did to his mother and sister. This kind of feat was unheard of. Orks were infamous for being as strong as ten men, and actual combat records supported these tales, albeit with four to six human casualties per one Ork slain in battle. Having a man of such prowess among them bolstered the villager’s morale. There was also Howell, a proud soldier of the Fanelian army, who had returned to the village during his leave only to find his fiancée torn to shreds by the Ork raiders. Howell sported full plate armour, which was unusual among Fanelian servicemen, who favoured light armour which didn’t inhibit their fancy swording. Howell favoured a more patient approach to combat, sometimes even letting his enemy make the first move, while Howell sat safe in his defensive stance. This method has apparently been most successful in the past, as his sword had been etched many times along the blade, each notch marking a slain foe. And last, but not the least, Ravi, a charismatic youth whose passionate pleas had gathered these men and gave them the push needed to embark on this quest. Ravi was looking to dole out vengeance for his parents, who were no longer of this world. The others bore their grudges as well, but they were mostly unremarkable peasants, with no prior combat experience.

--With dwindling supplies and hopes running low, each climb seemed all the more insurmountable. Yet they somehow endured. Things were looking bleak though. They hadn’t seen any Ork tracks in days. At one point, the numerous tracks of wagon wheels and footsteps left behind in the dirt all went straight into a cliff wall. The tracking party was stumped. Were the Orks leaving false tracks as a precaution? Was there still a chance of finding the Horde? On the other hand, even if they were to turn back now, their supplies wouldn’t last long enough to escape these winding canyons, assuming they didn’t get lost on their way out. They had that talk a while ago. Five or so days maybe? Passion was still driving them back then, so when they reached the point of no return, plunging in deeper was a no-brainer. But now, they were lost in this labyrinth, and the winds running wild amongst the stone walls were constantly beating on the weary men. Just when Ravi felt his spirit would have been broken, just as he was about to regret his decision of coming here, a subtle humming noise in the distance interrupted his spiral of depressing thoughts. They heard nothing similar since they ventured into the Broken Lands. Excitedly, Ravi alerted the rest of the party to the sound. They all pricked up their ears, trying to hear it... There was no mistake about it, it was the sound of a waterfall!

--This was major news. A waterfall could possibly be a source of fresh drinking water for the party. And what’s more, edible plants could be growing around it. Invigorated by this discovery, they made their way towards the sound’s source, as hastily as they could. Some nail breaking effort later, the waterfall was finally in sight.

--It was beautiful. The water cascaded down a cliff into a small pond. The whole oasis was shaded by the tall, wet cliff covered in moss, and carved into jagged shapes by the merciless pounding of the warm stream. The sun’s reflection in the pond danced on the stone walls, creating a spectacle of light, and lush vegetation crowned its edges. Alas, to the avengers’ dismay, someone had beaten them to it. A silhouette could be seen behind the drapes of steam, enjoying the waterfall’s charms. Peasants and warriors alike, they huddled behind a bush, on a small plateau just above the pond. The plateau was similar to a terrace overlooking this sanctuary. Who was this person, in the middle of nowhere, taking a casual bath?

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--Thank you for reading and sorry for the late update. Next one will most likely be on Tuesday, maybe Wednesday. I'm going to slow down the updates so they can remain more lengthy, but without sacrificing quality.

--If you're reading this, and you too are thinking about writing, avoid using too much exposition. It's been bothering me in this story for a while now, but the beginning of this chapter is really the peak of this issue. It's boring for me to read due to too much exposition. I'll try and rewrite parts of it into scenes or dialogue.

--If you liked my work, please rate, follow or favorite, to support my content. Also, there will be a nude next week, so hide anyone who's underaged so they don't get corrupted by the obscenity. :O Scandalous!