The orcs defeat.

It was a cold day, but the heat of the upcoming battle warmed the spirits of the wolvir army. My father was leading the elite warriors of the wolvir kingdom, and he wanted me and my whelps to act as the vanguards in the **** on the stronghold. The orcs final bastion was this stronghold that housed the orc chief, with his ****, it would signal the defeat of the orcs, and the victory for the wolvir.

The briefing from my father told me that the orc chief went by the name of Bone-crusher. He was a large orc, battle scarred and an experienced fighter, with many lives taken by him. He would be a formidable and fierce opponent if I met him in combat.

We managed to transport our siege weapons into range without any conflict or trouble. The enemy’s numbers seemed to be holed in the safety of the stronghold, with no patrols around the territory. They did expect us though, as a large group of orcs were stationed at the walls, ready with bows to fire on any approaching attacker. This stronghold was the best that the orcs were in possession of, as it had fortified ballistas on two of the towers. Those weapons would cause us trouble, and to make sure that our own numbers were not to be killed by it, we would have to destroy the ballistas first.

My father faced the army of wolvir and addressed us all with a stoic look, his voice booming across the assembled wolvir forces.

“Today, we do not fight merely for victory, but for the future of our kind!” He roared, his eyes blazing with determination. “The orcs have plagued our lands for far too long, and now, they will pay for their trespasses. Bone-crusher, their so-called chief, will fall by our claws, and his stronghold will burn as a beacon of our triumph! And as a tribute to the gods!” The warriors growled and howled in unison, their spirits lifted by his words.

The preparations didn’t take long, the siege weapons were stationed far enough from enemy archers, but still in range to fire upon the stronghold.

My father gave the order and the siege weapons fired upon the target, the first ones being the ballistas on the battlements. One of the trebuchets shot true and made a direct hit and destroyed one of the ballistas. The orcs other weapon was lucky and managed to sustain from any contact, the boulder that was used had flown just over the intended target. Wolvir quickly loaded up the trebuchets again to carry on with the ****. An orc that manned the ballista tried in vain to fire at us, but missed due to being too far out of the weapons range. Another builder was loaded and fired again, this time, it hit the ballista, destroying it and killing the orc stationed on it instantly.

We didn’t have many trebuchets, as the preferred method was to completely surround the stronghold. The strategy to be used was to stretch the orcs forces to defend the walls, by firing on as many points as possible to create multiple entry points for when the walls would be breached.

The army of wolvir were eager and rearing to advance into the stronghold to properly start the war. It took just over an hour in the day for a continuous onslaught on the walls to be broken and breached. Once a couple of openings had been made, my father signalled for the vanguard to make their way through the destroyed structures and attack. I rallied my whelps and lead us forward towards the enemy, with shields in hand to defend against the incoming barrage of arrows that would soon be sling upon us. With our added genetic speed of being a wolvir and shields, the orcs found it difficult to land a hit on us. I ran ahead of my warriors, leading by example the prowess and might of how a wolvir was supposed to act. Only one of my group had taken an arrow in the shoulder from an orc, but besides that, we reached the opening in the wall unscathed.

Orcs tried in earnest to defend the breached wall passage, coming at us with weapons at the ready, hefted high above them to strike. But with our speed and agility, we quickly dispatched the orcs. Our own weapons, slashing and piercing at the unprotected flesh due to the orcs preferring to fight with little to no armour. And thanks to the dwarves, the orcs had not been supplied with food, and it showed. They seemed more sluggish and slower than usual, finding it difficult to swing their swords and axes at us. Leaving themselves fatigued and open for fatal attacks. We managed to kill a small band of orcs that met us at the opening, and we had now progressed further into the strongholds courtyard, and gaining a better advantage. We proceeded on, not giving the orcs a chance to regroup or organise a counter to our infiltration.

We ascended the battlement steps, killing more orcs on the way. Blood and viscera began to stain the walls and ground, creating a gory sight and the stench of **** filling the air. Once the archers had been dealt with on our side, more of the wolvir numbers could advance and make their way inside. I took it upon myself to take my whelps along the battlements to take out more of the orc archers, to make it an easier time for my brethren. Myself and my whelps killed even more orcs, their corpses littered around us, their weapons now useless to them. Once we secured the courtyard, we regrouped with my father near the main gates to the keep.

The gates, reinforced with iron bands, loomed before us like the maw of a beast. My father let out a low growl, signaling the next phase of our ****. With a chorus of snarls, our warriors surged forward, battering the gates with makeshift rams fashioned from fallen trees. The wood creaked and groaned under the relentless pounding, each impact echoing through the courtyard.

The gates finally gave way with a thunderous crash, splintering into shards of wood and twisted iron. The wolvir surged forward, a tidal wave of fangs, claws and weapons into the dark, musty halls of the keep. The air inside reeked of rot and decay, the stench of orcish filth clinging to every stone. My whelps and I carved a bloody path through the corridors, our weapons slicing through the sluggish orcs with ease. Each strike was precise, each kill swift, our movements a deadly show, honed by wolvir warfare. The orcs, weakened by hunger and desperation, could hardly stand against our ferocity.

Only a handful of wolvir fell in battle, but this fuelled our rage and persistence to carry on killing our foes. With my whelps and my father at my side, we made it to the most heavily guarded room of the keep. This must be where the orcs leader, bone-crusher must be. We killed the orc guards with ease, as they were easily overwhelmed by a small battalion of wolvir warriors.

“This must be where the leader has holed himself up in.” My father spoke out. We approached the door cautiously, expecting an attack.

“This is where we end this war, and I want you beside me as we do it.” My father said to me.

As we burst through the heavy doors, the stench of decay hit us like a palpable ****, mingling with the metallic tang of blood. The chamber was dimly lit by flickering torches, casting eerie shadows on the walls adorned with the skulls and bones of past victims. Some corpses littered the floors, some human, some wolvir and even some were orc. Chunks were missing from the bodies, bite marks and clean cuts on the flesh, it looks like the orcs had resulted to eating corpses and even succumbed to cannibalism to feed their appetite.

Bone-crusher, the orc chief, sat atop a crude throne carved from black stone, his massive frame barely contained by the seat. His tusked mouth twisted into a snarl as he hefted a colossal war-hammer, the end of it stained with the blood of countless battles. Four more or a stood near him, acting as his bodyguards, they held great-swords and axes in hand.

Bone-crusher's voice boomed through the chamber, a guttural growl that echoed off the cold stone walls. He used his weapon to point at us.

“You think you can kill me, wolvir? I have killed many of your kind for years, and now you dare challenge me?”

He sneered, baring his yellowed tusks, his eyes gleaming with an intense glare.

“You will kill no more wolvir today.” My father proclaimed.

“You will join the others.” He spat, his voice dripping with malice. “Your bones will decorate my walls, and your screams will be music to my ears.”

Bone-crusher looked around the chamber nervously, seeing that he was outnumbered, even with his body guards.

“Let’s make this interesting, seeing as you are so confident in yourself.” Said my father. “A one on one fight, winner takes all.”

Bone-crusher furrowed his brow, trying to make sense of what was just said to him, my father continued to speak.

“If you win, I swear on my gods that we will retreat, and you will live to see another day. But if we win…well, you’ll die of course, and your people will know that you were killed by the wolvir.”

“And you are to be my opponent?” Bone-crusher said.

“Not me, but my son.” Father clapped a hand in my shoulder so that the orc would know who I was.

Bone-crusher's laughter echoed through the chamber, a deep, guttural sound that sent vibrations through the cold stone floor. He rose from his throne, his massive frame towering over us, the war-hammer resting on his shoulder. The orc bodyguards stepped aside, forming a semi-circle around the edges of the room, their eyes fixed on us with a mixture of curiosity and hunger. My father placed a firm hand on my shoulder, his grip tightening as if to remind me of the weight of this moment. I could feel the heat of his breath against my ear as he whispered.

“Show him no mercy. Show him the power of a wolvir.” I nodded.

As I walked a few paces forward, I looked Bone-crusher in the eye, I grinned as he stepped forward to meet me before our battle.

“My name is Fenrin, know this as the name of the warrior that will soon kill you.” I told him.

“No wolvir has bested me, and I will feast on you and your father after this.” Bone-crusher directed to me.

I gripped my great-axe with a form hold, I knew that he was stronger than me, but I am faster.

Bone-crusher raised his hammer high above his head and quickly swung it down towards me. I stepped back and out of the way, causing him to miss me. I shifted myself at him, slicing my weapon to make contact. I hit his arm with my axe, creating a deep and gushing wound there. Bone-crusher yelled in pain, but this did not deter or frighten him. He regained his composure, and wildly swung his hammer at me, making large arcs of movements, and making it difficult for me to get close. One of his strikes only just missed me, almost making contact with my head. I kept dodging, keeping distance between us and trying to read his movements, but he swung his hammer in an unpredictable manner.

He eventually left himself open on his side, and I took advantage and sliced at a tendon so deep, I rendered his bicep useless. He tried to push through the pain and harsh and gushing blood that drenched his arm. Bone-crusher swung haphazardly with the other arm, but his weapon required twin functioning arms to successfully wield it.

Once he swung high, I went low to attack his leg, doing my best to de-mobilise him. I slashed at his thigh, opening more serious wounds on his body, and giving him a more difficult time to defend himself, let alone attack. His yells of pain and frustration could be heard throughout the chamber. Blood was running down his leg and arms, he was growing tired and looking woozy from the amount of blood he had lost. This would be my best chance to seize victory over him.

He swung his great-hammer at me again, I was too fast for him and evaded the attack with ease, he didn’t know this was the last offence action he would make. I swung my own weapon at his hand with such ****, it knocked his hammer from his grasp, and making another wound. I didn’t stop there, before giving him a last chance to keep on fighting, I slashed at his knee. The sound of bone and metal rang out loudly, the crunch and wet noise showed the aftermath of my attack. His knee was obliterated and left him ****.

He tired to gurgle and growl out some words, but I didn’t make sense of him as hefted my great-axe and buried it deep into his skull, killing the orc chief, and ending the war.