1 001

I walk on autopilot, the sensation of seemingly opening my eyes for the first time distracting me from all else. How could you focus on anything but? It's like my consciousness was just realized for the first time. It's odd. Especially when you know you've lived life before this. I'm not a baby. Why? Amnesia? What's going on with me? I feel like a stranger in what is supposedly my own body. Like a foreign entity that just inhabited it. I know things I shouldn't and yet I don't know what I should. My name? My name... My goblin name, Ko-ga. My other name--

"Shade! I'm glad you--is something wrong?" My friend calls out to me.

"It's nothing, Red."

Right, it's Shade. I know this person... Red. He's my closest friend and only confidant. That's right. He's an outcast within the tribe--within the Gi-go tribe--but our friendship keeps him protected. I'm the chief's left hand, taking care of all the dirty work, and the name Ko-ga possesses a little influence here. Little influence, true, but enough to protect Red. He gave me my second name, Red did. Told me I'm the Shade in his life, an oasis in an otherwise barren land for him. Without me, he'd have burned up by now. Red is like a brother to me. He was a slave goblin working for humans, but we took him in after ambushing a merchant caravan. Sort of. I quickly grew fond of Red and his unnatural wit. He taught me to speak like him--to speak with a human tongue. To think like him, too. I am who I am because of Red and I consider myself but a poor imitation of him. Were he blessed with a healthy body--were the bonds of slavery not so heavy--he'd be our ideal leader. Intelligence is an unnatural trait for a goblin and he's proven right time and time again. I always listen to him.

Red smiles. "I know that's not true but I won't push it." His smile turns to a stern frown. "The chief is calling you. Shade--"

"Thank you, Red. We'll talk later." I return his smile before turning around and leaving his tent. I say his but it's actually a slave tent. I aim to free him from the chief but I don't think that'll ever happen so long as Red remains within Chief Gi-go's grasp. I have to do everything chief says just to keep Red fed. Do all the dirty work that needs doing. I'm not great at fighting but I'm a little smarter than your average goblin. A little sneakier. My fellow gobs value strength above all, the chief being a proper brute and his right hand marginally less so. Someone like me--thin, unassuming, weak--would normally be low on the totem pole but I've a reputation for succeeding. I get things done. Thanks to Red.

As I stride towards the chief's tent, I hear someone calling me from the distance . I turn to look when pain suddenly assaults my head. My breath catches and I'm forced to lean on the nearest wall. It eventually subsides and I look around. There's no sign of who was calling me. Oh well. Maybe a symptom of whatever is going on with my memory. Pushing my issues away, I enter the chief's tent.

Furs litter the ground, cover the walls, and skulls rest upon spikes. Dangle, even, with various other bones from strings. Entering is a noisy affair, bones clattering. The chief sits lazily atop a poorly constructed throne. He's large for a goblin--might not even technically be a goblin--and the throne accentuates an already domineering presence.

"You late. Me call you."

"Me sorry. Me hear you call. You need me?"

The king scoffs. "Don't push luck. You know me no need Red. Come sooner. Red no get food." Well, that just means I have to give him my rations. Not a huge issue. The chief likes to hold Red's share of food over me. Red is considered a slave and shouldn't get as much food as he does but I have an understanding with the chief. If I do anything that displeases him, though--or sometimes just don't please him enough--Red is always the one to suffer.

"Me sorry."

He scoffs. "Be faster. Few gobs try flee. Make own tribe. They go east. I want you track. Make example. Go." I turn to leave the chief's tent but he stops me.

"Wait." I wait. "Be quick. I have more work. Now go." I go, bones rattling as I leave. Fuck the chief.