[The Z]

The landscape was charred and barren, but Konig ignored it. Destruction was something he’d grown oblivious to. War had recently reared its head in his homeland universes away and the consequences had hardly been appealing. Things had been lost that he could not replace, not even through the most powerful fusions of magic and technology. But that was the past – something he’d already spent enough hours dwelling on.

Wasted time, He thought.

Yet, the past always caught up with him. Running from it brought it hurtling from the heavens. He was cursed to live an oath that he himself had never sworn. Blood had brought him to this land, not his mind or his spirit. With his throne came the knowledge that he could never find tranquility; death would only come on the battlefield for him, the Gods had ensured that.

Gods I never believed in until they themselves revealed their existence to me.

Early in the history of his ancestors, the Gods had chosen his line for a cruel, but utterly necessary role. Like all holy rites, this came at a time of war, or more specifically just after his family had barely overcome the Pilgrims of Da’Nogra – a Black Orc empire. This unholy faction had pillaged and twisted any lands not in their possession into monuments to celebrate their power. In other words, using slave labor, they built dark cities with shrines to Orc Gods and towering spires that housed their war machines.

At that time, no one had ever seen such an evil. Orcs were thought to be brutish and not capable of such organized terror. Yet, it only took one foolish villain to unleash the most devastating epoch upon the world. A sorcerer who desired an army at his fingertips, spawned a battalion of Black Orcs – intelligent, agile, and powerful warriors.

But he had underestimated the limit of his legion’s intelligence. After a short period of doing his bidding, one particular general eliminated him and furthered his own personal agenda: a conquest of the world, genocide of the other races, including their own lesser brethren (the green and grey orcs). This general was the center point of a holocaust. Without him, there would never have been an uprising. Black Orc blood is bound to their maker, but he was of slightly different origins. This general was only half Black-Orc, free from the magical bonds that shackled his brothers.

The Gods had bequeathed this never-ending quest upon Konig’s ancestors and now onto him. Destroy any half Black-Orc and prevent such an evil from overtaking any world. Do nothing more and nothing less so as not to interfere with the natural path of the world. A simple, yet draining task.

That was Konig Maka’s goal. Kill the one named Erudish who is with the humans. Avoid confrontation with the humans unless attacked by them in which case, they were to be eliminated. Like a shadow he glided upon the trail of his quarry. The paths had been trodden upon multiple times as if they’d been wandering in a circle.

Excellent. They’ll be worn down and lost. Easy for me to deal with and easy for me to get out of this wretched place.

The sound of voices drew nearer as the trail grew fresher.

Thank the Gods that this time the portal brought me out near the target.

Konig cast a spell that rendered him invisible and strode over to where the voices were coming from. Two humans stood before him. One was undoubtedly a warrior. He had a natural calm about him; despite his joking around, he had a full grasp of his surroundings. Instinctively, Konig knew this man was dangerous and made note of the face. The other looked to be exhausted and from the totems nearby he figured she was a druid, which meant that there were likely summons around and about (hence the fatigue), but for the moment he couldn’t detect any. It was a situation in which he had very little interest in getting embroiled in, especially since his prey wasn’t with them. There was no point in making further observations so he turned to go.

Two humans, but no half Black Orc. Damn it, I must have the wrong trail. Or he could be hiding

Just as he was on his way, an axe fell from the sky and landed in between the two humans.

Now that’s something you don’t see every day.

In his hurry to return to his post, Konig made the most elementary mistake in thievery: don’t bring attention to yourself. The warrior had stepped on a branch. He stopped short and held his breath, but the pair was too engrossed with the weapon to notice. Just as he blew his air out, thinking he was safe, a snort from behind him jolted his senses. Taking a peek behind him, the half-elf saw a horse that was not only large, but very angry as well. It nudged him towards the other two. Konig knew beyond a shadow of doubt that it would be easy for him to slay the horse; his training was much too extensive for him to ever find himself in an awkward situation. But at the same time, preservation of life was the long-term goal, one life to save many. Cursing himself, he let the horse guide him into the clearing.

It's times like this that I abhor my bloodline.