Fate of Aorullu, A Warhammer 40K Fan Fiction

Post 16 - Chief Nrell'har

His ears picked up the commotion, as a faint roar coming from somewhere outside. He forced his eyes open and waited for some time for his senses to shake off their grogginess. Inside his hut was spartan, without much decoration, not too different from the other houses in his village. He could maybe only boast  about the clear cut stone walls of his house, as would befit a chieftain of his tribe. Nrell'har was not married, all his time was dedicated to his people, or he liked to see it that way. True, being a leader demanded a great deal of his time but his bachelorship could not be totally blamed on that. He was just not a family person; headstrong, eager for adventure and some would call him even reckless. Thus, his hut did not show any woman touch, either. The few cups and plates he would use to eat his snacks would generally be piled up in some corner, waiting for one of the wenches to pick them up for cleaning. Not that he would care, he could use the same plate several times before declaring them dirty anyway.

That commotion outside was not subsiding. Curious, usually not much happened in their world, thanks to that outworldly witch,  let alone this early in the morning. He scratched his belly, got up from the bed and donned his leather armour. As he was tightening the straps his door banged open and a red faced, breathless villager stood at the doorway, trying to catch his breathy. So much for respect and courtesy to your chieftain!

- Chief! Chief!

- I'm here man! Spit it out, what's going on out there?

- It's... They... oww, so bad, so bad....

Now he was getting angry. He moved through the door without waiting for the man to properly vacate the threshold, walking with purposeful strides towards the general direction of the roar.

As he approached, the commotion got analysed down to its elements: He heard some women wailing, kids, clutched to their moms, crying out loud, men cursing and swearing. Just as he was about to shout and force everyone into silence, he saw the reason for all the hurdle. There in the center of the crowd, lay two corpses. He was used to seeing corpses, every now and then a hunter would be killed by a savage animal, but these bodies were crushed beyond recognition. No animal would have done this....he could not find a proper word for the intensity of the violence enacted upon these two unfortunate men. The bodies in front of him were like two sacks of bones, crushed and grounded bones. It was impossible to recognize them.

- They're the boys of Krulghar, Chief. They went out hunting two days ago and when they did not return, we sent a couple of me boys to check on them. Here's what they found, half a day out in the forest.

Tosunru was his right hand, helping him with the everyday routines that a chieftain was supposed to do. As far as Nrell'har was concerned, Tosunru was a reliable man, not overly ambitious and someone you could give your back in a fight. Well, there was also the fact that they had grown up together.

- For the Gods' sake, Tosun, what happened to these boys?

- I wish I knew, Chief. I wish I knew. It sure isn't the usual wild animal thing. They don't mangle you like this. No part of theirs was bitten off. I didn't see any claw or tooth marks, either.

- All right, gather up the council but first see those poor boys get buried decently and shut those women up will ya? I can take cryin' but this wailin' of theirs gets on my nerves!

The council hall was in a state of riot. Nrell'har sat in his seat, his head supported on his right hand, exasperated by the utter uselessness of the council member's bickering. Years of complacence had dulled their wits, that Mentor witch had all but taken their vigilance, suppressing even the smallest of aggression between the tribes with merciless efficiency. Here's what came out of depending on others to keep your peace for you. Without the need to practice politics and strategy, his people had become sheep. For several lifetimes that Nrell'har was told by his elders, there had been no conflict, no threat to their people and now when an unknown threat was at their doorstep, nobody knew how to react.

His eyes sought Tosunru and found him looking back at his Chief. Tosun looked as much troubled as him due to the inefficient gathering of the council. There did not seem to be any hope of a consensus nor a resulting course of action to be coming up anytime soon. And Tosun was burning with the need to do something, like his Chief. Very well, though Nrell'har, let them talk and bicker and whine all they want. He nodded to Tosunru and stood up to get out of the council hall. The voices stopped suddenly, all eyes on him.

- Do you have something to say, Chieftain?

asked one of the council members.

- Well, as you esteemed councillors are busy assessin' the case from all possible angles that would and would not be apparent to the types of me simple fighters, I wanna go out and check on our warrior stock. I'd like to be ready for any adverse possibility and I believe it is time that I create a sumthin' of a proper fightin' force from among our able boys.

- Chief, I'd like to remind you that any such act that carries a possibility of aggression is forbidden by the Elder Mentor and we don't want to cross any lines without her consent.

- Oh, don't worry esteemed councillors, I don't intend to cross any such lines but I'm sure you'll all be happy to have someone guardin' you when whatever bastard creature which did that to those two hapless boys comes to your doorstep.

With that, the Chief left the council hall, Tosunru following close on his heels. As they left the building, the farce inside resumed. "Fart on you and your council!" thought Nrell'har.

- Tosun. Gather the boys outside the longhouse. Fart on their council! I'm not gonna wait doin' nuthin'. We go huntin', old pal, we go huntin'.