Lanek opened his eyes and once again found himself in a foreign place. Instead of the mountain range where he had spoken to Invidros or the black space where he had chosen his new race, he was sitting next to a campfire in the middle of the plains. Seated across the fire from him was a large creature, possibly 5 meters in height if he were to stand up.
His appearance was an odd combination of features that looked very familiar. He bore the sharply pointed ears of a goblin and the distinctive tusks of what he imagined the orcs had growing from their mouths. Unlike the descriptions he had read about orcs, this figure was not as heavily muscled and looked more balanced in his build, like the hobgoblins. He even had patches of fur sprouting from his body, much like the hobgoblins and bugbears.
“Good, you’re awake. I need to speak with you before you can return to your friends.” The large figure rumbled. “My name is Wurgoth, but my followers call me the Hordefather.”
“Another god? You guys are just popping out of the woodwork at this point, aren’t you?” Lanek said in exasperation, not really caring about possible blasphemy at this point. He was just so sick of running into unfathomably ancient and powerful creatures that made him feel utterly insignificant.
Wurgoth looked surprised for a moment, before laughing harshly. “Fair enough, you have been dealing with a lot of higher powers. You are wrong though, I am not a god, despite my followers’ beliefs. Maybe a demigod would be a better description, but I guess no believer wants people to think their deity of choice is anything less than an actual god. In fact, you’ve not met an actual god.”
“What about the Primordials?”
“Nope, they are definitely as powerful as some of the gods, but they only really have power over their own domain where the gods are not limited by a domain. If you came face to face with an actual god, you would be a gibbering mess on the ground from their presence. You know, with the power at their disposal, it would be nice if the fuckers actually helped out on occasion.” Wurgoth winked at Lanek, startling the man.
“Anyway,” Wurgoth continued, “I need to talk to you about your plans. My people are dying and I would rather they didn’t. This is where you come in, you and that city you are planning on conquering. I need you to swear an oath to me that you will allow my people to join you, they’ve been betrayed too often.”
“Very well. I swear to you that the Night Arrows and any of your people that are willing to coexist peacefully with the others I invite to Caelis are welcome.” As soon as Lanek spoke those words, a blinding pain filled his mind, causing him to cry out in alarm and anguish.
“Good. I would have warned you about the pain if you hadn’t immediately taken that oath. That was the feeling of the oath being branded on your soul. I’m pleasantly surprised that you didn’t negotiate for something in exchange for that oath. Why didn’t you ask for anything?”
“Because I already promised Ograch and Talwarg. Also, it was always my intention to welcome anyone into the city as long as they could live in peace with the other inhabitants. I want Caelis to be a sanctuary for people as well as a bastion to protect them.”
“Excellent. We will get along just fine. Consider this a thank you for being willing to accept my people as friends rather than the monsters so many of the other races in this world see them as.”
Title acquired: Khan of The Hordefather (Caelis)
[Khan of The Hordefather (Caelis)]
To be a Khan of the Hordefather is to achieve one of the highest ranks in Wurgoth’s service. In ancient times, the plains of this world were dominated by numerous khanates before falling before the expansion of the other races and infighting. Wurgoth has tasked you with building a new khanate, the Caelis Khanate.
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Gain +5 CON, +5 STR per level.
Seeing Lanek’s stunned look, Wurgoth gestured for him to relax. “Calm down, this was the easiest way to help you with my people. This title will make sure that you are treated with respect and civility when you come into contact with other tribes. Let me be clear, though, this will not force or compel them to obey. However, simply seeing that you have this title will let my people know that I trust you and will make them more trusting of you as well. Also, you are pathetically weak in your strength stat. While my people have come a long way from being mindless barbarians, they still respect strength and I can’t have a khan of mine be so weak.”
“I’m not complaining, but this still seems like a bit much…”
“Lanek. What I am asking of you is no small request. I’m asking you to save my followers from extinction. A request of that size requires a payment of great value. In other words, shut the fuck up and take the title. I have much more that I wish to discuss with you and I know that you have questions, but the Night Arrows will soon be under attack and there is another waiting to speak to you. If you wish to speak with me in the future, just tell Nerek and he will be able to arrange it. Go, and thank you. For the first time in a very long time, I am hopeful for the future of my followers.”
Lanek started to respond when his vision became blurry. As his sight returned to him, he found himself still seated at the fire, but the landscape had changed. Rather than grassy plains, he faced a snow-covered landscape of mountains, forests, and even the ocean in the distance. However, despite the landscape being about as close to his ideal environment as he was likely to ever find, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the massive white bear regarding him from the position previously held by Wurgoth. It was easily as large as the Hordefather had been.
“Fear not, Lanek. I mean you no harm and I am approaching you for similar reasons to the Hordefather. I am Harad, called the Great Bear by those few clans that remember me in the north. Like Wurgoth’s followers, my children face extinction. I am approaching you rather than one of my own people because Eldros and Invidros came to me and told me of your plans. I know not what your chances of success are, but you have a trait that my own followers do not after all these years of devastation. My children are brave and will fight to the bitter end, but they don’t have any hope in anything better. How could they? All around them are monsters and the ruins of civilizations much stronger than their own clans that failed to hold back the enemy.”
“The gaunts?”
“And others. Now, I will not make you swear an oath as Wurgoth did, I can see in your mind how that went and I trust you to protect and welcome my people as well. All I ask in return for my gift is that you get to my people as soon as you can.” Seeing Lanek nod in agreement, the bear breathed out heavily. “Thank you, please keep them safe. Considering Liv is the only one of my people near you, we will likely not speak again until you reach her clan. I can still reach out to you, but without a priest or seer of my followers, you will not be able to contact me. Good luck, dranrid.”
Title acquired: Jarl of the Great Bear (Caelis)
[Jarl of the Great Bear (Caelis)]
Harad, the Great Bear, has chosen you to speak in his name and given you the authority to lead his people, should they choose to join you. The clans of the north were once renowned for their proud warriors and hardy people but were eventually brought low by the raiders of the Frozen Sea and their monstrous allies. Harad expects you to restore his people to their former glory in the kingdom of Caelis.
Gain +5 STR, +5 RES per level.
Lanek looked around for a few moments, half expecting another demigod or some other higher power to show up. Damn, that’s a lot of responsibility. Yeah, I wanted to reclaim the city and look for people to help me do it while helping them out as well, but I wasn’t expecting literal damn demigods to set me on a holy mission to keep their followers alive. Good lord, I wasn’t even remotely religious back on Earth and now look at me!
He felt his eyes growing heavy and the world around him growing dark. A single message came into being before his eyes before he passed out once more.
Evolution complete.