Takarn was awoken with a kick to the side, his eyelids fluttered apart and he felt a massive pressure on his chest.
“Dig yourself out, they’re deciding the Bogdans.” Said a feminine voice, he looked up at her. She had tanned skin, a snub nose and long ears.
He tried to rise but was unable to, he then looked around and found that he covered in a layer of unconscious bodies.
He pulled them off him one by one and then attempted to stand, Arrrrgggghhh! An immense pain shot up his left leg as he put weight on it.
The female orc held out an arm for him, he just looked at it like it was the plague. Takarn was a lone hunter, he needed no help.
“Come on you big baby we’ve got to get to the address.” This spurred him on, no matter how hard you fought, and if you weren’t at the address then you had no chance of becoming Bogdan.
He grunted and put his arm around her and used her to limp toward the crowd of assembling orc’s. He took this time to ask a question that had been in his mind for a while.
“Why did you help me?” He spoke, it just made no sense, if she left him there than there was less competition and more chance of her becoming Bogdan, it made no sense.
“Respect, I was the orc who commanded our encirclement of you.” She grunted back in response and they were both silent for the rest of the journey.
The handsome orc once again walked out of the line of Khans.
“Good work, you are the survivors, the fighters, the warriors!” He yelled the last word and we gave a dispirited tired yell in return, everyone was hurting.
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“Each Khan will now take their turn to choose their Bogdans.” He said while stepping forward and examining a few orcs until he finally choose 50 of the biggest orcs, Takarn was not one of them.
The next forward was a wily looking thin orc who chose the shifty looking orcs, the ones more liable to put a knife in between your ribs than to fight you fair and square.
Khans came out one by one and choose their Bogdans until only 2 Khans were left to choose, and Takarn still stood, with the slowly falling sun shining over his shoulder.
The next Khan to approach was older than the rest, battle scarred and had a face covered in laugh lines which spoke of a long life lived well, he walked right up to Takarn and stood in his face before speaking to him.
“Greetings.” Said the man in a voice as smooth as butter.
“Greetings.” Rumbled Takarn in response.
“You fought well, I watched you.” Takarn was about to respond before he was cut off.
“But you are too reckless, you take to many risks, if you had a squad with you in that moment you would have broken the encirclement and fought to the end. But oh well, some things can’t be helped just know I am looking forward to how you fight with your new unit.”
When Takarn heard that he couldn’t believe his ears.
“Does that mean?” He asked in disbelief.
“Yes son, I Khan Kelshar declare you Bogdan, you entered this field as…” He trailed off the last few syllables of the word before Takarn realised the Khan didn’t know his name.
“Takarn.”
“You entered this field as Takarn, but now you shall leave it as Bogdan Takarn, chosen of Kelshar.”
Takarn was about to jump for joy before he remembered his leg and just satisfied himself with swelling his chest in pride.
“After this go get yourself healed at the shamans son, you look like you need it.” He said while looking at Takarn’s mangled leg. And with that he left, to choose his remaining Bogdans.
When the choosing was done Takarn still stood supported by a Bogdan chosen by Sheera, the sun set on his previous life as a plains hunter and tomorrow it would rise on his new life, Takarn Bogdan of Kelshar. He smiled.
“All of you who were chosen as Bogdans you are expected to assemble a troop of fifty orcs, go collect a crest for all of them for all of them and yourself and then train them until further notice, dismissed!” Yelled the handsome orc who told them of their new responsibilities.
Takarn limped to the healer and then went to sleep, he would find his men in the morning, and it would be on their backs that he would ride into eternity.