Aengellania shares a fire with Nuklib, the Weirdnob Shaman that had made sure the Ironjaws welcomed her into their tribe. She likes him, she had eventually decided. He was good company to be in, a far more engaging teacher of Waaagh! magic than any of her Zaitrec tutors had been. But this time she wasnโt practising orruk magic with him. They had spent the last ten minutes talking about the Ironjawsโ next destination, a town called Titanflint-Upon-Ghur, and what theyโll do when they arrive.
โYou canโt just attack Titanflint, Nuklib.โ
The weathered old orruk, still physically powerful enough to break Aengellania with one hand, looks down at her curiously.
โAnโ why not?โ
Aengellaniaโs hands flutter upwards, trying to communicate her desperation.
โBecause think of the chance you have right in front of you! You wonโt need to keep travelling to survive, if you ally with them and live with them youโll have a safe haven to be in.โ
โAnโ why do we want dat?โ
Aengellaniaโs jaw hangs open for a second. Nuklib chuckles at her surprise and shakes his head, reminding her of the tutors that she had given painfully incorrect answers to.
โYooโve been finkinโ about us wrong, Anjy.โ
Nuklib grins down at her, displaying his broken fangs.
โYouโve been finkinโ about us like weโz โumies, or pointy-ears or stunties. Weโz ainโt. Weโz orruks. We fight, we kill, we Waaagh!.โ
Even whispered, the Orruk battlecry echoes in the dark, as if a hundred other throats spoke it in sympathy.
โDatโs life. Fight, kill, Waaagh!. We Orruks know it best, cuz weโz best at it. But uvvas can figure it out too.โ
He lifts up his staff and pokes the end of it into the fire. A cloud of ash blossoms out of the embers, abruptly expanding at the end to form a symbol that makes Aengellaniaโs eyes widen.
Nuklib turns his red eyes back to her, still grinning as Ghal Maraz hangs in the air.
โSigmar, โe almost knows da troof of it. Eโ dunโt like ta admit it evva since โe put on dat shiny hat of โis, but in โis โeart โe knows โe just wants ta krump โard, wevver itโs Godbeasts or da spikey lads, or all da gits dat turned der backs on โim jusโ when โe needed dem most. Datโs why Gorkamorka likes Sigmar best of all da uvva gods.โ
โDonโt y-you mean liked? I thought they fell apart just before the Age of Cha-โ
Aengellaniaโs nervous interruption is cut off by howling laughter from Nuklib. He stamps his staff on the ground as he rocks back and forth on his seat.
โDere ya go again, finkinโ dat jusโ because deyโve been fightinโ means that dey โate each other, like deyโz some โumies!โ
Finally his laughter dies down to a low chuckle, rumbling through the air. Somehow it disturbed her more than his full-throated laughter.
โGorkamorka luvs Sigmar. Not ya poncey love wiv da flowers anโ stuff, โe luvs Sigmar like a choppa luvs a basha. Dey โunted Godbeasts tagevva, ate up da land tagevva, even fought each uvva. Sigmar wuz one of da few gods dat could give Gorkamorka a challenge, anโ dereโs nuffinโ โe luvs more den a challenge.โ
Nuklib looks back up at the ashen hammer, and grins all the wider.
โDa โumies, pointy-ears anโ stunties forgot dat evva since Sigmar started kallinโ โimself da God-King. But we orruks remember when โe wuz da God-Barbarian. Gorkamorka remembers, an โe misses โis mate.โ
He stirs the fire once again, and the flames rise up to devour the hammer.
โBut โeโll tear inta Azyr wun day, and โeโll make Sigmar remember too. Deyโll get inta da biggest Waaagh! da Realms โave evva seen, wiv da uvver gods, wiv da Chaos lads, anโ wiv each uvva. Jusโ as it shud be.โ
Aengellania has long ago broke into a cold, trembling sweat listening to the Weirdnob Shaman. The intensity in his voice scares her, imposing its will upon the world until she feels that what Nuklib spoke of was the absolute truth that she couldnโt ignore. Seeming to sense her fear, Nuklib leans over and pounds her on her back in a friendly manner, for Orruks. She already knows that itโll leave more bruises on her skin.
โBut yoo dunโt โave ta worry about dat yet. Yooโve still got sum time yet ta decide.โ
โD-decide on what?โ she asks, massaging her back.
The red glint in Nuklibโs eyes deepens and grows as Nuklib stares down at her.
โWevva ya want ta join da Waaagh!.โ
Silence deafens Aengellania, only interrupted by the crackling of the fire and the ambience of an Orruk camp at rest.
โS-Surely though I canโt. Iโm an ae-aelf and a Lumineth one bes-โ
Nuklibโs chuckling reverberates through her chest again.
โAnjy, yoo ainโt been lisseninโ again. Da Waaagh!โs fer a lot more den Orruks. Eโen grotsโve got a place. Itโs fer all dose dat wanna give up da fings dat dey โold themselves back wiv.โ
He taps a gnarly claw against her chest.
โAn yooโve got a lot datโs โoldinโ ya back. Unlike yoo, Iโve been lisseninโ ta ya. All ya stories yooโve been sharinโ, of all da times ya stopped anโ โelped out wiv sumwun elseโs problems.โ
Aengellania looks up at the Orruk looming over her, fear of the shaman she thought of as a friend paralysing her.
โW-what do you mean?โ
His lips ripple out into an even more inhumanly wide grin.
โYooโs afraid.โ
โI-isnโt that a little o-obvious?โ Aengellania manages to say, after summoning up a little courage that she hadnโt thought she possessed.
Nuklib throws his head back and guffaws aloud.
โHa! Course yoo are!โ
He settles down again, but his stare doesnโt relent.
โBut yooโs not just scared of me. Yoos scared of gettinโ โome, ainโt ya? Scared of gettinโ back ta Hysh and seeinโ what โappened ta it while yoo were gone.โ
โโฆ A little.โ Aengellania admits, remembering the stories sheโs heard of this โSpirefallโ. Just the thought of them makes her cast her eyes down and hug her legs close to her chest.
โAn dat ainโt it, either.โ
The young aelf looks back up at him, surprised.
โWhat else are you talking about?โ
The old orruk grins and begins beating the end of his staff against the ground in a slow rhythm.
โYooโs scared of sumfinโ inside of ya.โ
The pounding gets taken up somewhere else in the encampment, likely by a Warchanter. Aengellania almost asks Nuklib what he meant, when she hears her own heartbeat.
It pounds in her chest, in a way thatโs alien to her. Before she had heard it beat when she was afraid, or when Ylthe had kissed her, but like thisโฆ
โYooโs afraid of lisseninโ ta da drums. Yooโs afraid of wut yoo might do if ya did.โ
Aengellania blinks, and she sees her Binding dead in front of her, lying together in a way she knew they hadnโt fallen. But it sets her blood alight regardless.
โWh-whatโs going on?โ
More images flash past her eyes, of those sheโd encountered during her exodus through the Realms trying to get back to Hysh. The village predated on by those sea-aelves, the tribe of Twinform Wolfpacks she had spent an entire generation with, the Ghyranite resistance to the Maggotkin scatteredโฆ All people she cared about, all in danger.
Her hand curls up into a claw, desperate for a weapon.
Nuklib nods approvingly at her.
โYoo dunโt need ta be scared of it. Yoo can let it out, let it Waaagh!โ
In her mindโs ear the battlecry is taken up by the entire camp around her, swallowing her whole and making it a part of her. She wants nothing more than to scream with them.
A booted foot begins erratically beating out the rhythm surrounding her on its own accord.
Aengellania looks up at Nuklib. She wants to hit him, she realises. Smiling knowingly at her but saying nothing, as if she canโt tell that heโs manipulating her heart. Somehow she summons up enough control to bring the winds of Hysh and Ulgu to her hands.
Nuklibโs smile just keeps widening and widening, until it seems that itโs all thatโs left of him.
Aengellania lifts up her hands towards himโฆ
And stops.
In her memoryโs eye she can see Tyriana Bladebroken reach out to her, the Cathallar moving with a quiet strength and dignity that belies her years. Her hand touches Aengellaniaโs cheek, smoothing down with Hyshian magic a cut she had gotten from a fight, centuries prior to this moment.
โWhat happens when we lash out without thought or care?โ The old aelf asks her student, her voice gentle and understanding.
โWe succumb to anger.โ Aengellania whispers to her mentor.
Tyriana smiles and nods, pride for Aengellania beaming out like Hysh itself.
โAnd what happens when we succumb to anger?โ
Aengellania hesitates, and lets out a deep breath.
โWe stumble into Cathartia.โ
She focuses on Tyrianaโs smile, blocking out Nuklibโs. Tyriana, who had been the first to see any worth in her.
โWhy did you choose me to become a Cathallar?โ
Tyrianaโs fingers lightly tuck away an errant hair behind Aengellaniaโs ear.
โBecause you love those around you more than they know, Heartmender.โ
Her teacher leans forward and gives Aengellania a soft kiss on her forehead that spreads across her like a soothing balm, fading away as she does so. But her memory remains. The knowledge that she is somewhere in Hysh, waiting for Aengellania to return, remains.
Aengellania forces down the roar of rage building within her, even if it requires all of her Cathallar training to do so. Agonising seconds pass as her heart slows down, but she masters it nonetheless. She owes Tyriana nothing less.
Nuklib comes back into view. His staff is at rest again, and this time he idly examines Aengellania rather than pierces her with a penetrating stare. He nods at her when he sees her eyes focus on him again.
โYeh, I can see why ya scared oโ lettinโ it out.โ
Aengellania lowers her hands, letting the magic in them dissipate.
โI canโt stay with your tribe, Nuklib. Iโm sorry.โ
Nuklib grunts a laugh.
โYa dunโt need ta be sorry. Sโnot for everywun.โ
He tilts his head to the side slightly.
โSo ya goinโ on ta Hysh den?โ
Aengellania nods.
โYes. Iโฆ I need to return to someone there.โ
โFair enuf.โ
Nuklib idly scratches at on scar, his knowing smile returning.
โYa know, I โeard dat dem Titanflint โumies know where ta find a Realmgate ta Hysh.โ
The casual ease that he delivers this information is counterpointed by Aengellaniaโs burst of excitement, the object of over a century of travelling suddenly seeming so close to her.
โThey do?!โ
Nuklib nods, but lifts a hand up before she can speak again.
โBut da boyz wunโt be happy ta let dem live. Ya gunna need ta find a way fer us ta convince dem.โ
โUs?โ
Nuklib nods again.
โWut, ya fink deyโll listen ta a grotty fing like yoo? Dey like ya lots, but yoo ainโt der shaman, Anjy.โ
The grin splits his face once more.
โOh, deyโll lissen ta der shaman alright.โ
Aengellania feels gratitude flood through her. That she had come so close to attacking him was the only cold shadow in her heartโฆ
โThank you, Nuklib.โ
โAinโt nuffinโ, Anjy.โ
Her mind begins to wander, to plan. An idea pops into her head as her eyes catch on Grunta dung, surrounded by fliesโฆ
But before she loses herself to the plotting, a question lodges itself in her mind.
She looks up at Nuklib again, curiosity overtaking her.
โHow are you so wise, Nuklib? You just seem so moreโฆ Worldly than the other Orruks.โ
โWut, ya fink weโre all fikk?โ
He waves down her embarrassed apologies with a laugh.
โNah, I get watcha mean.โ
His red eyes glow in the dark, and Aengellania realises for the first time that theyโre not reflecting the fire before him.
Nuklibโs grin widens further as he sees the realisation spread on her expression. His low chuckling reverberates across the camp, like the echoes of the footsteps of a god, while his eyes burn with inner fires.
โYa ainโt da only wun dat got a yellinโ from Gorkamorka.โ