“The history of magic is a bit… scattered. It’s been so long since the first war, and ever since, we haven’t really kept any written records of it. We mostly tell stories, and they aren’t always the same, even from the same teller.”

Parker sat, wide-eyed, grinning ear to ear. It took all his will to stop himself from giggling like a schoolgirl. He was about to hear the orc creation myth, from an orc! Of course, scholars had guesses about deities and traditions, but no one wanted to find research expeditions into orc-infested areas.

“So, what does this have to do with the origin of magic?”

“I’m getting there! Are you gonna listen or not?”

Parker raised his hands to his chest. “Right, right, I’m sorry. Continue.”

The orc waited for a moment, glaring at him.

“Alright. There you go. Quiet.”

Parker rolled his eyes at the orc. She was always so dramatic.

“Back before the first war, there was no such thing as what you call a “monster.” We could all live freely, roaming the world wherever we wanted. We weren’t stuck in forests, or near temples, or anything. We were free to go wherever!. One day, a chieftain happened to set up his camp near some humans, and a kid wandered in. They tried to talk to them, but they spoke a different language, so they couldn’t. When they tried to bring them back to the town, they started fighting, and then the Chieftain had to fight them, then all the humans came up, and the orcs had to call for backup, and-”

“Whoa, whoa, slow your roll there. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Didn’t you hear this story all the time as a kid?”

The orc turned away and scratched her head, an awkward grin on her face. “Well, yeah, but we don’t really tell them like this. We would, well, um… I wouldn’t be able to do it right anyways.”

“I bet you’d do it just fine. Besides, what’ll happen if you do it wrong? I already didn’t understand what you were saying, so what’s the harm in trying?”

“Well, uh... I just don’t want to, ok? I’ve never told the story before.”

The story? Was there only one story? Parker turned to grab his notebook and saw a very confused and scared Sparky looking at all Parker’s sketches of him. He decided that taking back the notebook was a bad idea. Besides, the orc had told him not to record the story anyways.

“Why not? You were willing to tell it to me before. Did I do something to make you change your mind?”

“No, it’s not something you did already, it’s what you will do.”

“You already told me not to take notes, so I’m not doing that.”

“It’s not about your stupid notes, its different!”

“Well then, what is it?”

The orc looked down and twiddled her thumbs.

“Well, it’s…”

“If I do this, do you promise not to laugh at me?”

“Of course I won’t laugh at you! There’s no way I’d laugh at such an important historical story!”

“Alright, whatever. I’ll do it. I don’t even care what you think about me anyways.”

The orc pulled a strange-looking box from her pack, strapped it to her stomach, and stood up. Then, she did something Parker never even considered possible for her.

She started playing music. She sang, beating the instrument along with the rhythm. As she beat it, the small carvings placed on the front of the box released a light, buoyant note that rang through the woods.

Within moments of the song starting, the smoke from the fire began surrounding their camp. When Parker looked closer, he saw it wasn’t just a formless mist. The wispy clouds took the shapes of people! The cloud’s form became more apparent by the moment. Parker turned in all directions and saw a whole orc society surrounded him! It was a nomadic tribe of orcs, all carrying their supplies and tents with them, gleefully chattering amongst themselves. Parker was no longer surrounded by a misty view of figures. Instead, his entire world had changed. It was no longer night, but a bright and beautiful day, and rather than this dense forest, he was in an open field. As he turned around to view his surroundings, something caught his eye. In front of the group, he saw the leader playing the same instrument as his orc “friend.”

All of a sudden, the scene changed, and it was nighttime. An orcish feast surrounded Parker. There were children running, people singing, and dancing, enjoying the spoils of their hunt. The lights of the fire and smells of the food were intoxicating, making him dizzy and nearly pass out. When he finally regained his composure, the sun was rising, and amongst the sleeping orcs was a human child! It stood in dirty, tattered clothes, and couldn’t be any older than six! The child started crying, waking the nearby orcs.

The scene changed to inside a tent, as orcs rushed to the child, offering food, blankets, toys, anything they could find to console him. With every offer, the child refused, returning the same phrase. No one could understand what the child said, and eventually, they gave up.

Then, Parker watched as the sun raced across the sky. Three days passed, and the child was very ill. The orcs came across a human village and entered. The Chieftain lead, with the sickly boy in his arms. Wherever they went, they were met with closed doors, and shutters slammed shut. Once the Chieftain reached the center of the town, a lone human approached. The orc chieftain gently placed the boy onto the ground, leaning him against a tree. The man rushed over, but rather than helping the boy, he pulled out a knife and rushed the Chieftain.

In an instant, the air turned red. The Chieftain looked at his side as blood; real, thick, red blood poured down. When the Chieftain collapsed, the man took the boy in his arms and ran away.

Rather than giving chase, the rest of the orcs surrounded their dead Chieftain. The air turned cold, and Parker felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Rather than fighting, the orcs took their beloved Chieftain’s body and brought it outside the village. There, they buried him and mourned. A spirit flew out of the fresh grave, and another from the sky. They spun around, wrapped tightly together in an embrace, before flying off into the sky.

Above the grave were three young children, two twin boys, and an older girl, alone together.

Another day passed, and the orcs rushed int the village, smashing down walls, burning down crops, and ruining fields. After the siege, the town lay in ruins, filled with ash and corpses. In the chaos, only one human managed to escape.

The little boy ran and ran as fast as he could, watching as those who had been so kind to him only the day before burned and slaughtered all surrounding him. Parker felt as tears streamed from his own eyes, mirroring those of the child.

Running and running as far and fast as he could took a toll on his already sick body, and the boy fell. Everything around him turned black. Inside the void sat a king in a golden throne, facing the boy. The boy begged on his hands and knees to the king.

The void surrounding Parler opened back into a field. This time, the field was not empty. In one half was an army of orcs, the other of humans. Leading the orcs were the three siblings, now much older. Leading the humans was the boy, now a man, wielding a shimmering white sword and wearing a crown. The two armies charged at one another, and right before they met, the orc stopped playing, and the mist fell, dispersing throughout the forest.

Parker was shot back into his body, memories of the story flashing across his mind. That had felt like hours, even days, had been mere minutes of music. The half-moon stood just above the trees, the same place as before the song.

“Oh… oh wow… that was…”

“Stop! Stop it, don’t say anything. I never even should’ve shown you that.”

The orc sat and grabbed her head.

“I’m so stupid! What was I thinking? Why did I think that was ok?”

“No, wait! That was amazing! What are you talking about? How could I laugh at that?”

The orc pulled her head from her arms and looked to Parker.

“Really? You’re serious?”

“Yes! How did you do that? It was like… It was like I was there! I’ve never felt anything like that before!”

The orc pulled the instrument off and put it back into her bag.

“Yeah, well, the storytellers back in my tribe do it way better… I didn’t even get to the part where magic comes up…”

“It doesn’t matter. You can just show me some other time.”

“Well, then, it’s too bad you’re leaving tomorrow.”

Parker turned away.

“Oh, yeah… I forgot about that…”

The orc got up from her seat and composed herself.

“Well, it’s getting late. You need to watch in the morning, get to sleep.”

“Right, right. You’re right, I should.”

Parker slowly rose from his seat and tried to find an even looking clump of land to lay down on, using his notebook as a pillow. He thought about how tomorrow night, he’d be sleeping in his soft, warm bed, instead of on the cold hard ground.

Parker was woken by little taps on his back. He rolled over to see what it was, and a quiet yelp erupted from under him. He shot up and looked below him. He had rolled on top of Sparky!

“Ah! I’m sorry buddy! Are you ok?”

Parker reached over, and to his surprise, wasn’t met with a growl. Instead, Sparky just laid there as Parker pet him. After a few moments, Sparky decided he had enough and walked away. Parker grabbed his notebook and got up. He had dreamt of that orc village, but the memories quickly faded. As he turned to find the orc, Sparky ran over and rammed his leg.

“Hey, what was that for?!”

Sparky stared at him, giving Parker the time to remember.

“Oh, yeah. I guess I deserve that.”

Sparky shook his head, turned, and leaped into the air. With a few flaps of his wings, he was airborne. He flew around their camp, making tight banks and curves, and even made a little loop in the air. Parker the aerial show with a smile. To prove his new skill, Sparky flew through Parker’s legs, looped up, and landed on top of his head.

Parker reached up and grabbed Sparky, bringing him to eye level.

“So that’s why you woke me up, huh? You little show off!”

Sparky wriggled free, and instead of crashing down like usual, he righted himself in midair and landed on his feet.

“He’s been practicing that all morning.”

“I guess you weren’t good enough of an audience; he needed me to see too! Maybe he likes me more than you think.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. Now hurry up. We have some walking to do if we want to get out of the woods by noon.”

“Alright, alright, I’m coming.”

As they walked through the forest, Parker and the orc were silent. After the show the night before, Parker had so many questions, but couldn’t bring himself to ask any. They would just open up more uncertainties, and he would never get the answers. His leaving was for the best, though. He could share his findings of dragons with the academy and continue his important research on magical creatures. Luckily for him, classes wouldn’t start for another few months, so he hadn’t missed any teaching sessions during his escapade.

It seemed the orc shared in his silent sentiments. Not a word was spoken until they reached the treeline at the edge of the woods.

The orc spoke first.

“So, I guess this is it.”

Parker sighed and looked off into the distance. He could barely see the form of buildings off in the distance.

“Yeah, I guess it is.”

Sparky stood between them, confused.

Parker knelt down and patted his head.

“I’m sorry, I have to go now. I have to get back to my life at home.”

Sparky didn’t take the news well. He cried out and latched onto Parker’s pants with his claws.

“Aw, come on, please don’t do this. I have to do this! I can’t just wander around with you forever.”

Parker tried grabbing him off his leg, but he was stuck on tight. Finally, Parker pried him free and handed him over to the orc, who quickly took him from Parker's arms.

“Wow, I guess he really did like you.”

The orc held Sparky tight as he tried to weasel his way out of her arms, barking and crying in protest.

She caressed him and turned over to Parker.

“It looks like he’ll miss you… Is there really no new research you need to do or anything? I mean, he just learned how to fly. Isn’t that important?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure.”

They stood at the treeline in silence for almost a minute, just staring out into the field. Parker decided it was his turn to break the silence.

“Well, I’d better get going. Goodbye.”

“I hope I’ll see you later.”

Parker finally walked past away and headed towards the distant city. He only made it a few feet before Sparky escaped from the orc’s arms and ran up to him. Parker snatched him up before he could latch onto any more articles of clothing.

“You can’t come with me! If anyone sees you, they’ll kill you on sight! Not to mention what they’ll do to me for hiding you!”

Sparky cried out in protest and gave Parker a wide-eyed stare when the orc ran over and recollected him.

“Sorry, he got away and ran right for you.”

“It’s alright. Just… Try not to let him do that again. I’m not sure if my heart can handle it.”

“I won’t.”

The orc turned and walked away. Just before Parker did the same, he realized something.

“Hey, I don’t think you ever told me your name. I’m Parker.”

The orc stopped for a moment to reply, turning her head slightly before walking away.

“Lasair.”