Page 9 of Mountain Orc Daddy

6

UZUL

“You don’t even know about the Veil?” Blair seems very surprised. I guess ‘the Veil’ must be a big deal.

“No, my tribe keeps to ourselves as much as we can. My father always told stories of how humans would react if they saw us. He warned against even expanding too far into the forest, let alone going into a city.”

That’s been my whole life. Making sure the Broken Maws tribe stayed safe and protected. Up until now, that has always meant keeping to ourselves and avoiding humans. But, so far, this human family doesn’t seem so bad, Blair especially.

“Oh wow, where to even begin,” Blair looks up at the stars as she thinks. “So, the Veil was this magical barrier, essentially, that separated the humans from the supernatural. It allowed us to live alongside them without being exposed. If a normal human saw something supernatural, the Veil would magically convince them that it was fake. But then, it was worn down over time, especially with photography and videography capturing everything. The magic couldn’t change that. Eventually, it was too thin to repair and it fell. Suddenly everyone knew about the supernatural world. It was crazy… Am I rambling again? Do you have any questions?”

“No, no please go on.” It’s nice that she checked like that. With orcs, if you don’t understand something, you’re likely to get left behind if you don’t figure it out.

“Well, the Veil fell about ten years ago, when I was fourteen. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was just a normal day, then boom!”

“Boom?”

“Boom! The Veil was gone and everything was exposed.”

“What happened after? What did humans do?”

“It was chaotic for a while. The regular humans were afraid, many of them are still afraid, but back then they wereterrified. Mobs begin to form to hunt down anything deemed supernatural. There was fighting in the streets. Neighbors turned against each other.”

Now that sounds like the humans father told me about. Angry and scared creatures that will attack anything they want. Sounds like it was a good thing we were hidden away when this Veil fell.

“Eventually, the fighting died down,” Blair continues. “I don’t exactly remember how that happened. My parents did their best to shield me and my siblings from what was going on outside in the world.”

“Is there still any fighting? I don’t know about witches or any one else, but no orc would ever give up the fight.”

“Oh yeah, a lot, believe me. There are tons of groups on both sides that are constantly fighting. But there are some that chose to fight in different, less violent ways now.”

That doesn’t sit right with me. There must not be a lot of orc tribes out there. From a young age we are taught to never give up, to fight until our last breath. I know if the Broken Maws Tribe was out there when the Veil fell, either we’d have the humans surrendering or we’d all die trying.

“It was actually my ancestors,” Blair says with pride. “Who created the Veil. They did it to help the world. To protect our kind.”

“So, this Veil protected anything supernatural? So, even someone like me would be able to walk among humans?”

“While it was up. Now… Well, they’d see you, but I don’t know how much attention you’d draw. But yeah, witches, all kinds of shifters, anything supernatural could simply exist without fear.”

This Veil was up for most of my life, all of my father’s. Did he know about it? Has anyone from my tribe? How much have we missed out on to keep ourselves locked away. There is so much I don’t know, luckily, I now have Blair to teach me.

For generations, my kind could’ve been walking among the humans. Experiencing more than our small little area. I’m a decade late to be able to explore the outside world and I didn’t even know it.

Is that even what I want, what I should want for my tribe? I don’t doubt the Broken Maws Tribe could face any enemy we come across but my father must have had his reasons. He was no coward, but what was he trying to keep us away from?

“But,” she adds. “I feel like I should mention it’s not all fighting and danger. Many are able to live normal lives. Some are open about their connection to the supernatural, others not so much but still. People like my family, or shifters, that are not physically different fare much better.”

The whole world is opening up to me so fast. I have so much information to bring back to my tribe. I’m not even sure what to do with it all yet. It’s starting to sound like my tribe would be in danger now.

“So, I’d be in trouble?”

“Um,” Blair shifts uncomfortably. “I think you’d definitely surprise a lot of people. There are not a lot of orcs walking around. But a lot of people have come to terms and have accepted what was revealed when the Veil fell. Yes, there are still a lot of terrible people who might try to hurt you. But in time, if surrounded by the right people, I think you could do well out there.

That is reassuring. I know I’ve only been talking to Blair for a little bit, but I feel inclined to trust her. She seems like she knows what she’s talking about. The tribe is looking to expand, to change our ways. Maybe, despite how difficult it is, it could be possible.

“Besides, I think shifters turn into creatures much scarier than you or any other orc, and they mostly walk around just fine.”

“Shifter,” I question. "You keep saying that, what is it?”

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