Chapter 14

Ayla shivered when she heard the word Orc. While the human was made by Inoss to fill Aylarra, so was the Orc made by Beliar to kill the human and conquer the planet. Her eyes moved to Nordmar – the only Kingdom to have magic ore.

Normal weapons can't kill an Orc, only weapons made from magic ore. And Nordmar has plenty of it. If legends were true, then all the mountains of Nordmar have magic ore.

Her father wanted to gain control over the magic ore mines and, from there to one day, control all Kingdoms. He would have been the one to set the price for each magic ore nugget. Secretly, Ayla was glad that her father had been stopped because Nordmar always had a fair trade for the magic ore. All Kingdoms needed it because Orcs would attack village, and ill or take prisoners back to the Uncharted Lands. And while no one knew what happened to those taken by the Orcs, Ayla could only hope that they didn't suffer too much.

"What's the Black Forest?" Ayla asked.

"You haven't heard of it?" the King asked, and Ayla shook her head.

"Legend has it that the first big war against the Orcs happened two thousand years ago. The continent was different back then. Humans and elves inhabited the land back then. The elves ruled the Black Forest in those times. It has another name, but it got lost in time. The war lasted a long time, and the Orcs almost won. But a young snow elf refused to give up. He asked Inoss to give him strength, and in return, the young elf promised that he would use his sword only to fight in the name of Inoss. The Fire God heard his cry for help. The god judged the soul of the warrior and found him worthy. Strength and courage were given to the elf. After that, Inoss blessed both warrior and sword. And the snow elf became the First Paladin.

The Paladin gathered the last remaining warriors and faced the Orcs in a new battle. They pushed the Orcs to the East until they reached the Forest. There they fought for six days and seven nights. Legend claims that the Forest filled with the body of so many Orcs that the earth turned black from their blood. And from there, the name of the Black Forest. On the seventh day, the Paladin faced the strongest of the Orc – Khan, the General. They fought all day long. Even the Sun stopped in the sky to look at the fight. And the Paladin and Khan kept fighting. The General would have won if not for a human warrior that gave his life to save the Paladin. The human warrior was named Uzriel. When the Paladin killed Khan, the remaining Orcs dropped their battle axes and ran back to the Uncharted Lands.

The Paladin, gravely wounded, asked the remaining warriors to take him home to Nordmar and also to take care of what remained of Uzriel.

When he reached Nordmar, the Paladin died. For four days and nights, the planet wept for the dead Paladin. On the fifth day, Inoss took the body of the Paladin to the Eternal Gardens."

Ayla was so caught up in the story she didn't even realize she was staring at the King. It was the first time he had spoken so many words to her.

"I didn't know all those legends. Thank you for sharing them with me," Ayla said.

The King shrugged, "I only know them because my father made me read them. Ready to see something else?"

Ayla nodded, and King Rhobart showed her how the books were cataloged – from history, mathematics, magic, and astronomy to poetry and literature.

After the tour, he brought her back to her room.

"You can use the library any time you want," the King said.

Alya bit her lower lip, "Can I? Slaves are not allowed to read."

The King's face filled with anger, and Ayla knew she should have kept her mouth shut.

"Have you taken a good look around you?" he said harshly. "Have you seen any slaves so far?"

She didn't, but she couldn't be sure there was no other slave in Nordmar. All the other Kingdoms had slaves. Why would Nordmar be different?

"Have you?" he almost yelled the words.

"You can have slaves working in the mines! You could pay for your luxuries with their blood! After all, I was offered as a slave, and you accepted!" Ayla accused him.

One day her mouth will be the death of her.

His whole face transformed with hatred, "I should have never accepted. I should have killed your brother and burned your kingdom to the ground so that the other kingdoms will know what happens to those that think they can conquer Nordmar! And I should have left you there! You are as rotten as your father and brother!"

How dare he compare her to her father or brother? Anger filled her.

"Instead, you took me away from my home only to almost be eaten alive by ice wolves. And let's not forget about the fact that I was sick for a month!"

The King flinched. He looked as if she had struck him. The anger disappeared from his face, only to be filled with regret. His fists opened and closed, and he inhaled sharply.

He opened his mouth a few times, but no sound came.

When Ayla thought that the King would punish her, he turned on his heels and slammed the door shut behind him.

Her whole body shook with fear. Ayla could not believe she talked to the King the way she did, and she was still alive. Deep down, Ayla knew she should be very careful about how she spoke around the King if she wanted to keep living.