The siblings Narzakii

Today was a rainy day. I sat outside in the empty town square, reflecting on my actions and future. Yesterday, I had wronged my tribe and caused nothing but misery and instability by crushing important public servants in one-sided duels.

I want to see people thrive, flourish, and prosper through my deeds and leadership. I want to see people smile in happiness and contentment by my own actions. I want to shape history, like so many others have done. That is the purpose I was born to fulfill. And yet, here I was playing nothing but the villain. Convinced of asserting my dominance over others, I picked on those weaker than me, ignorant of my own power. I was ashamed.

I saw a group of hunters, their hoods drenched in rainwater, carrying game into town, clearly struggling with the weight and sizes thereof. I decided to put my body to use, and offered to help carry the load. I wanted to rectify my bad reputation. I did not have any malice against anyone; I just wanted to be given a chance at the throne. Mistreating people is not the way I want to achieve that.

The hunters hesitated at my offer. Their group consisted of three male and two female Hobgoblins. By now, I had learned how to distinguish different stages of goblinhood with ease: the greyer the skin, and the taller the height, the higher ascended you are. These folk were around two heads shorter than me, maybe around the 155 centimeters. The only one who has come close to me in height was Baldrenraz, but even he had to look slightly up when speaking to me. I felt dominant being taller than everybody, but also distant.

The three male Hobgoblins each carried some sort of deer on their back, while the two Hobgoblinas carried two bows and two spears each. The deer did not have ears, but possessed two extra eyes instead.

The five gave each other uncertain looks. “W-well, we had a lucky hunt, so…” one of the huntresses spoke up.

“I guess you can have it,” a bearded Hobgoblin grunted. He handed me the deer on his back, and nudged his group to continue walking. To their horror, I followed them. The Hobgoblin who handed me his deer squared up, glowered, and reached out for a spear carried by one of the Hobgoblinas.

I lowered my head in humility, distraught at the precarious state of my standing. “I just want to help,” I said.

The bearded Hobgoblin’s glower turned to a frown, and then into a stare. He turned back around, grabbed a deer from the other hunter in his group, and threw it over his shoulder.

“Lobnar. Help your half-brother with that deer,” he said to him.

The hunter, now empty-handed, glanced at me, and back at the one who spoke. “If you say so, Ragnulf.”

They marched off. I did not know where they were heading, whether home or the market, but I followed suit nonetheless. I walked at the back, Ragnulf in front of me, while the rest of the party walked a distance from us, leading the way. The mood was strained as everyone remained mute with their gazes fixed to the direction we walked in.

After a minute of walking, I faced Rangulf, determined to break the ice:

“You guys are hunters, huh?”

“Yeah,” Ragnulf said.

“So, what’s your proudest hunt?”

He nodded to his empty shoulder, the one without an animal corpse on it. It was mangled with a brutal scar that extended down to both his back and upper arm.

“A dread lynx. Defeated it by myself,” he said as his mouth formed a grin.

“You know, I don’t know if it counts as hunting, but I once killed a lagsrik in the forest,” I stated.

“Lagsrik?” He intoned with confusion.

“Yeah. That dark, lanky creature with a HUGE smile full of bright-white teeth. That thing was absolutely terrifying, I’ll tell you that.”

“A grimder?” He asked. ”Serious?”

“Yeah. I mean, I guess? I was taught a different na—”

“Impressive,” he interrupted, “I can only hope to beat such a beast.”

I gave a proud chuckle. “There’s a trick to it. Want me to teach you?”

We continued to chat for the duration of the walk as the conversation gradually turned to our personal lives. He told me his family was known as the Narzakii, a family that has produced huntsmen for generations. Ragnulf led a hunting party consisting of his younger siblings, and they just came back from an extremely successful hunt of three catches. One of the deer will last his family of eleven for a week, and the other two will be sold to their neighbor who’s a butcher.

“If only I brought my son with me today. With the good hunt and all,” he trailed off. His faint smile turned into an indifferent look and he sighed.

“Show him the way of the Narzakii, right?” I asked.

He chuckled. “Yeah. Like my pa taught me. And his pa to him. If not for those damn lynxes coming in, and…” he paused. “Ah. Whatever,” he mumbled to himself.

“Tell me about it,” I said.

He gave me a surprised look. “You don’t mind? I go all-out when I rant.”

“Heh. I’m all ears. Go ahead.”

Ragnulf chuckled as he launched into a tirade about the current state of the tribe. Apparantly, regional trade has plummeted since the arrival of a new pack of dread lynxes. Harassing merchants, and driving off prey, the dread lynxes disrupt the stability of the community, leading to a food shortage in the tribe. Rangulf has to delay teaching his son the ropes of hunting, since the lynxes make it too dangerous to be out in the forest. Not to forget that, with a food shortage, food suppliers need to work extra hard to provide sufficient stock.

“So why not hunt the lynxes and eat them instead?” I asked as if it was the simplest matter in the two worlds I’ve been in. “It’s two birds with one stone.”

“Two birds, what?”

“Nevermind that!” I said and gave a laugh.

“Listen,” he said, “you can’t eat the flesh of meat eaters. It’s full of poison. At least, that’s what the healer told me.”

“Healers, huh? My uncle called them snobby charlatans who sell cow dung and tell you it’s medicine.”

Ragnulf burst out in a deep laughter. “By Anz…,” he continued his laughing, occasionally swearing or repeating a part of the punchline. “May Anz bless your uncle, friend. He knows what he is talking about,” he said as he settled down.

I was overjoyed to hold a casual conversation again. I missed the feeling of making small talk with classmates, and bantering with Maxim, so I felt soothed chatting. Ragnulf caught on to my comfort, and eased up, losing all the tension we started off on. I glanced at the rest of his party up front, and they seemed to be chatting amongst each other as well.

By the time we reached the front door to their house, the rain had eased to a drizzle. Water dripped from their thatched roof as Ragnulf’s siblings entered their home. They glanced back at me, their wary expressions loosening into cautious curiosity. They brought in the one deer for their family, and we set out to deliver the other two to the next door butcher. I carried mine with care, its weight a small penance for my wrongdoing of yesterday.

With one of his sisters leading the way, Ragnulf slowed his pace to match mine. “You’re not what I expected,” he admitted, his voice low. “Thought you’d be… bigheaded. Like the stories.”

I looked down in shame. “I don’t blame you,” I snickered in self-deprecation.

He studied me, his scarred shoulder twitching as he adjusted the deer. “Put your strength to use,” he paused, then added, “and help us with hunting. It’s not every day you catch three deer, you know. Someone of your caliber can come in handy.”

My heart lifted at the offer. Here was a chance to prove myself, not through dominance, but through service. “I’m in,” I instantly replied, raising my head, a hope-filled smile adorning my surprised face. “Teach me to hunt, and I’ll show you how to overcome a grimder.”

“Aye.”

We reached the butcher’s stall, where we began unloading the game. Ragnulf’s sister, who had opened the door for us, shot me a faint smile of relief—a small step to redemption. As I set the deer down, I felt a spark of purpose light my heart once more. I wasn’t a brute or a villain. I could be something more.

I walked the two siblings back to their home, and then made my way to my own. I looked up, the clouds dispersing as a dim beam of sunlight brightened the heavens above. I saw therein a path to the throne, not paved by force, but with trust earned through action.