The Dragon Sorcerer

The Snow Born

After a succesful hunt, the women of the Tulgatz tribe slowly retreated to their village, hidden deep in the northern forests. Where their fellow sisters welcomed them with a warming fire and the earthy red wine, that's been maturing over the year to save them from the ice cold winter.
The chief of the clan was carrying a stout boar, it's long tusks broken from it's mouth and blood dripping down it's spiky furr.
Killing a wild boar with bare hands was a hard task for most species, but not for orcs.
She pushed the heavy creature off her broad shoulders and placed it next to the large campfire where the other women already skinned the prey to dry their meat for the winter.

"This year we shall feast day after day!"
A wave of defeaning cheers went through the crowd of the young folks, followed by amused laughter from the elderly.
The chief couldn't help but smile at the scene, her pierced tusks curling up with her lips.
"When the first flowers are to be seen, we shall feast again." She spoke calmly, chuckling at the calls of disappointment and frustration that were mocked right away by the clan's more experienced warriors.
She didn't expect the young to understand the dangers a winter could hold for a tribe. The fall has been too short and the cold has come too quickly to their lands.
It was different from all the previous winters their tribe had survived, she could smell it in the air.
But as long as they were prepared, there would be nothing to fear.

"Khadi!"
Her pointy ears twitched at the sound of her name and she turned towards the familiar voice.
Yula, one of the youngest in their tribe, rushed through the gates with shock in her eyes.

The chief's demeanor changed immediately and her crimson red eyes grew dark.
"What happened?"
The young warrior stopped in front of her and pointed to the gate.
"We found something." She panted. "A child!"
Khadi's eyes widened in surprise.
"That can't be. No human has ever dared to cross our borders."
Yula shook her head firmly. "It's an infant. And," she hesitated. "We don't know if it's human."
The female chief listened to her words with growing suspicion as the other orcs had gathered around them in curiosity at this strange event.

One of the warriors, black haired and dark skinned, with her axe hauled over her shoulder and her gaze stern, raised her voice to the murmuring crowd.
"Human or not. No infant of any species could survive the cold. Whatever you found, it's dead."
"Tehly is right. The cold would have killed it after one bloody minute." Kalra agreed, slipping off the last bit of skin from a deer as she spat on the ground in a derogatory manner.
"But we saw it! Fura and I both saw a child wrapped in a blanket, but we didn't get any closer to see more." Insisted the young orc girl, her hands balling into fists.
"Maybe it was an illusion. A trap of some wizard who thought could make some money with an orc's head." Tehly considered with a thoughtful gaze.
"Or maybe those goddamn bastards from the Gotark clan seek revenge for their lost territory and use some dead brat as bait." Grinned Kalra amused as she stretched herself with her sword in her hand, causing her muscles to bulge prominently. "I say we just kill that kid and be done with it."
Tehly shook her head after a while.
"Why use a child to confuse us?"
"Well it seems to work." Mumbled Khadi under her breath and looked at the gate for a while. As the leader of their tribe, it was her responsibility to do anything to keep them safe. And that was exactly what she would do.
"Show me the way." She decided, her voice firm. "Kalra, Tehly! You come with me."
The two warriors looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
"What exactly do you mean to do, Chief?" Asked Kalra at length.
"I mean to see this child for myself." Khadi replied. "We won't solve anything if we sit here, wasting time. We need to find out what it is, and how it got here."
She grabbed her sword swiftly and turned back to Yula.
"Have you seen anything else? Is the child still alive?"
The young orc girl shook her head again.
"We didn't come any closer after we found it. Faru stayed and kept the guard as I left to tell you. Something about this child is.. strange."