Ophuthis: Unfaltering Fidelity

Chapter 11: The Demihumans' Cataclysmic Quandary, Part I

  "Hey! Just in time, come here sit with us," a creature who sits on one of the many chairs displayed across the scene, shouted loudly, but with the ambience, he somehow isn't the loudest.

The recipient and the one who talked are not alone; they are in fact with many others. In this small hut, there are many inside. Dwelling, visiting, eating, it is truly a large celebration.

The creatures in which they identify themselves, are Orcs, part of a broad classification natural philosophers call Demihumans. It is clear from how they classify these species and many more, that the people who call them "Demihumans" are humans themselves.

They name them that way because of their resemblance to humankind. Face or looks may not be, but similar as bipedal and body structure. These natural philosophers could have called them "Demielves," or "Demilorrieans," but preferred to identify them as a different class from humans. Palpably setting the race of man above all other races; humans as superior to all, and that similar looking races from them, are just a lower, more inferior people.

"Bon, enjoying the mead I see, I'll dig in later, you all just enjoy yourselves," said the recipient.

"Oh, Rei, you're missing out."

"Ah! Rei, come honey, let us dance," an Orcan woman approaches, undoubtedly already drunk and are in the older generation.

The gathering in which this whole tribe—called Iisha—is of high spirits, are due to them celebrating the new chief of the village, Rio Guran.

Rio was elected as the chief of the village because of his brute strength and his capable skills in combat. In the Demihuman tribes, unless you have strength you cannot be at the top. He also possesses a great weapon that rumored to have numerous powers and grant the user special abilities.

The tribe in which Rio oversees is composed of many other different Demihuman species, not just them Orcs. However, most of those species have a lower intellect than the Orcs, who themselves have a lower IQ than most humans.

"Sir Bon, where's brother?"

"He's busy dealing with the ladies," he laughed very cringely. "He must be at the other room over there," he pointed at Rei's right, to which a doorless room is situated, only a curtain.

"Dealing with the ladies? He's married!" he argued.

Bon laughed once more, exaggeratedly spilling his drink all over the place, "I know your brother, he's probably not doing some business. He's got morals."

"Goodness, has he been drinking?"

They live in unity just north of the Eastern Elven Empire and over to their west are the Qroxottvoan River that separated the Eastern part of the continent to the Western part.

Inside one of the huts the tribe had, they prepared a celebration; the main table is filled to the brim with a range of cuisines that are available and native to them. The roasted Chicken, the Temono soup, and the Perchnit salad are only amongst what the table has to offer.

It has been a while since they had this much food, all of this was supposedly due to Rio himself for his selflessness and superior planning and scavenging for food and other materials heavily needed in their tribe.

Rio's tribe is also the biggest amongst the five tribes they compete against, both population and land size wise. Due to the over 190,000 Orcs who live and prosper under his command, it is a blessing answered for a leader who excels at food-finding be the one who will rule over them for the next years.

Surprising at first, these five tribes are once united 150 years ago, but because of food scarcity and many other smaller problems, they parted ways and began establishing independent tribes.