Overture Chapter

"Once upon a Moonful Night... There was a girl, who was an Orc... "

“ I’ll Tell the tale, as it’s been told to me.

Just listen close … and picture

Purple Trees … ”

NA’LA SAGA

Trilogy One

Book One : MOONTHREAD

* * * * / * * * *

MOONTHREAD
~ Overture Chapter (English) ~

Once upon a Moonful Night…
There was a girl,
Who was an Orc.

She had gold slitted eyes, & dark green skin.
Her black hair, when light tried to touch it,
Drank it in.
& when she turned eleven, she…
Began… to have… True Dreams.
Bad Dreams.

Day-mares.

Hhhh…

* * * * / * * * *

Orcish Language : Pronouncing Sounds

Written = Spoken
“j” = “y” sound, as in fjord / “ee” in peel
“i” = “i” sound, as in this
“a” = “a” as in all
“ae” = “a” as in that
“u” = “u” sound in clue
“uh” = “u” sound in cup
“uu” = “u” sound in put

“zh” = “soft g” sound in mirage
“g” = always “hard g,” like in drag
“dd” = “th” sound in that
“th” = “that” sound in think

Apostrophes separate syllables in The Orcish Language.

Writing in Orcish is done from bottom to top, right to left.

* * * * / * * * *

Sa’guh Ot
Ur’ddj’jaer’j

MUL’THREN

Odd aeg’rap ok Gath Mur’gul…
Aeg’muk’ra ok uu’uh njnj,
Ba uu’uh zhuh ok Urg.

Aeg’ja’rj zhal uu’uh slid’ddj tsitch,
Nguh aeg’ja’rj zhal uu’uh se’ga’nj grj,
Nguh aeg’jarj zhal uu’uh lag’ledd nul.
Vel aeg’shezh zhal uu’uh lag’ledd gul’jl zal’vuu,
Aeg’gjl uu’uh U’GRU dzhj. Nguh…
Vel aeg’dur o uu’uh nj’nj u’aj’gha o’gan’a,
Aeg’ju’mjr uu’uh zhuh suh RA’JU.
RA’JU.

RA’JU.

Hhhh…

* * * * / * * * *

Hhhh…
Now, the darkness dissapates.
It’s day, it seems.
(Thump-THUMP), she dreams. Hhhh…
…hhhhhhalf dreaming, half awake, she sees a…
Boy.
Her age.
Her age, to the moment.
He’s racing in between tall, barren birches, & his—
(NO!) she thinks.
(…I don’t see him.
I am him.
I’m seeing through his eyes, like always.)
Feet pound. (Thump-THUMP)
Trees flitting. (Thump-THUMP)
His heart is racing in her ears.
Breathless.
He’s hungry.
Hhhhis eyes are colorblind, & hers…
Are not. Tonight, he hunts.
Tonight,
He’s playing
Hunter.

(Thump-thump)

(Thump-thump)

His skinny hand holds onto a pale dagger,
A dagger all of bone. He grips it,
So tightly that it hurts. But still…
It’s better than letting it slip…
Out of his sweaty, slick grip. The thing,
& what’s within the bone
Both agree on…
Something.
He doesn’t know what. (& neither does Na’la.)
The colorless bushes scrape at him, but still, he runs.
He sprints. Shin splints. Trees…
Flit on by, those grayscale trees, until…
The hush of fresh water!
A creek! Meek rushing. A blush of hope.
He stops &—!
SHHHHH, hisses the dagger.
He obeys.
…Hhhh…
(…listen for it…)
Hhhh?
Hhhh…
The moon hums, mmm?
Shhhh!
…hhhh…?
Shhhhuka-shuka Shoo!
In the brush! His eyes… pursue it!
NNNNG!
He—! Goes after! Chases! Fast feet!
Something furry. (Thump-THUMP) Where…
…is it? (Thump-THUMP!) Too…
Too fast! There it—! (THUMP!)
There it goes! But— (Thump-THUMP)
Wait, it’s gone! “I just had it! I—!” (THUMP)
“I just had it! It’s—” (THUMP)
Now it’s—!
The sound of broken twigs,
Then grasping silence. Dry day’s light.
…Gone.

Idiot.

(No you’re not), she thinks.
Slow. Too slow. Clumsy.
Hunger’s clawing. Stomach turns.
The dagger scolds him. Hhhh!
The grayscale grass is poking up
Through every hole in the poor boy’s boots.
The grass is wet, but not alive, so it’s a greasy wet.
The wasted grass is sharp as nettles.
Hhhh! the angry dagger whines.
The boy keeps going,
Teeth gritting,
Feet pounding, running,
Running fast. Running…
A little too fast, through flitting trees,
On greasy grass, then—
SLIP!
He falls. A hasty step. Too careless.
Slow…
Motion…
Fall. Here comes
The ground, then she feels the breath get
(HHH)
Knocked out of him as he falls,
Onto big, braided roots. Only then…
Does she feel his pain…
Bloom.
Hhhhe wants to scream. But he can’t yet.
& even if he could, who would hear?
(I would), she dreams.
He scoffs, then writhes, & rolls onto his back.
He wants to give up. The dagger won’t like it, but…
He lets himself anyway. Let it punish me.
He braces, but…
But it doesn’t.
To his surprise, it goes quiet in his hand.
For just a moment, the dagger
Lets him
Lay there.

The boy squirms in irritation,
At the dreaming voices in his head.
He looks up & sees (So near) a mountain.
A mountain the dreamer knows, but he
Does not. (Hey wait!) dreams Na’la.
(Is that…? Mount Wraithwood?
I know that place! How did you get all the way over—?)
“Shut UP!” he screams out loud.
She does.
Even the wind joins in terse silence.
“…I’m sorry,” he says meekly.
She wonders if he means it.
Neither of them notice
The strange thing at first.
But the dagger does.
& it hisses.
Hhhh! snaps the demon, like a viper.
Na’la’s spirit flinches, & backs away.
As his pain begins to flower, he squeezes
The bone dagger. But the dagger can’t…
Hhhh? Haaahehehehehhhh…
They both know :
The dagger can’t heal ’til it drinks.
It glows. It glows. The bone dagger glows,
As red as quenched revenge.
Hhhhis mind goes to…
That furry thing that got away.
Everyone knows
What happens
Next.
(No), thinks Na’la.
But the boy says, “Fine.”
He says it out loud. She feels his eyes close,
As (please) he lets Hhhh… the Demon (don’t.) in.
He lets the Demon… in.
hhh
hhhh
hhhhh
HHHH

He moves with new speed. He’s on his feet. The dagger will be drinking tonight. She blots it out, but thhhHHHE SUN! The Sun is out. Its brazen light turns every blade of greasy grass into a knife. He finds the thing. No shadows. He finds the thing, & grabs it. (Where’s the moon?) (No shadows.) The world leans red. He gets lightheaded, & so does the dreamer. Each shadow flinches, recoiling away from red day’s touch.

Within a dozen hateful, hobbled breaths, he
(No) he pins some furry thing
(Don’t) Raises up the cackling dagger,
& all of everything is cackling!
& red! as the dagger begins to
Flay the fl—

* * * * / * * * *

Na’la’s eyes snapped open.

Both of them.

She stared up at the ceiling.

It was mostly dark in the den, though day’s fingers were prying at the edges of the thick curtains.

Three curtains hung up. They were like masks the room wore, to keep out the day’s light. A triptych of black fabric, as heavy as Na’la’s eyes felt.

Each curtain bore the symbol of two moons : one full, & one empty. Half dreaming, half awake. It was her family’s symbol, the symbol of the House of Dag’mur.

Surrounded by moons, Na’la thought.

They yawned wide, like 6 thirsty cauldrons.
(Thump-THUMP)
The sigil of her Mama, & her Gran…
& her Gran… & so on, back
To the very first Daughters of U’gru.
That’s what her Gran said, at least.
(Thump-THUMP) It’s…

Just a dream, she thought, & tongued her tusk.

Na’la didn’t know how to still her own heart.

They’d sewn the curtains by hand, for whatever reason.

Na’la wondered why they still did things by hand. Both her Mama & Gran could do magic.

Na’la half remembered, half made up a memory, of when she’d watched them stitch those sigils. The cottage had been smaller back then. The orchard had been, too.

The empty moons were sewn from thread of solid black.

Although it was the darkest black they had, even that was not as black as Na’la’s hair was. Na’la’s hair drank in all the light that tried to touch it.

As for the full moons, those had been sewn out of one of one of the best things in Orc’shire…

Moonthread.

Moonthread was grey in the day, but at night, turned all colors. It was a simple delight, a mundane kind of magic.

Nothing deep, just fun. Still…
It was one of the few things
That could quell Na’la’s pulse.

(Thump-THUMP…)

(Thump… Thump… Thump…)

Sometimes she stared at those curtains all day, studying the colors as they changed instead of sleeping.

Sometimes, moonthread changed quickly, like hummingbird wings.

But tonight, all the colours went slowly, like soil that breaks to give way to a little spring sprout.

(Thump… Thump…)

Na’la’s hair fanned out all around her, like tendrils of a dark halo.

(Thump…)

Mmmm… the curtains seemed to hum.

Na’la’s eyes felt sudden-blooming heaviness.

Little rays of day’s light tried to pry their way in. But they couldn’t get through, to the girl in the den.

She heard the wind hiss at the curtains…
(Hhhh…?)
Mm mm mm, the curtain-moons smiled.
Na’la let her eyes…
Just a dream.
…relax, &…
Just a…
…& hoped she wouldn’t…
…dream…

* * * * / * * * *