33 Favored by the World?

"Well, the berries help, but they don't usually bridge a gap so wide like this... Most orcs that have visions have some type of spiritual training..." Midka added as it seemed she agreed with Demze.

"Oh..." Hellie rubbed her head in confusion.

"If it was the berries, then every orc would be hitting visions left and right, hmmm?" Demze spoke, as she laughed at the concept.

"No, no..." Jukzuk made a point.

The three sisters quieted down, as they looked to their uncle, "I think Hellie might be on to something. I mean it's obvious, but at the same time, it's not... But perhaps we just need to look at it differently. It's not the time, place, or berry that's the thing... Maybe it's the orc." Jukzuk concluded as he cast his vision sideways to his adopted son.

Xa'Gun grunted in confusion.

"I'm not sure, but I'm almost positive it's got something to do with your ancestry," Jukzuk spoke looking to Xa'Gun

"I still think we should set him on fire..." Hellie got up to get another tankard of mead.

Xa'Gun perspired, as Demze laughed.

"...I can arrange that..." Midka smiled widely.

"Stop that... All three of you," Jukzuk shook his head, knowing the girls were poking fun at Xa'Gun. He wasn't sure, but he felt there was some dark secret his son held that included fire... Did it have to do with the Burningfist Clan, in some way? Doubtful, Jukzuk shook his head again to clear his thoughts.

Jukzuk turned in his seat and grunted to Hellie with his tankard in hand. She got the hint and refilled his. As she stood, she also refilled Xa'Gun's and returned to her seat with her own.

"Let's focus on not the why, but on what to do," Jukzuk spoke, after downing half his tankard and wiping his mouth.

"What do you mean?" Demze didn't follow. It was just some fevered dreams, what difference did it make?

Midka furrowed her brows, as she picked up on the snarkiness laced within Demze's question, "I know you disdain that which you can't see, dearest sister, but it's there all the same."

"It's not that I disdain it, it's that I can't rely on or trust in it."

"It's that you can't bend it to your will like everything else you so wish."

"You act as if 'guarantees' are a forbidden clan rule." Demze folded her arms.

Midka opened her mouth and then closed it again, as she shook her head at Demze. She then quickly turned to face both Jukzuk and Xa'Gun, "If Xa'Gun here was a shaman, I would say that his dreams or visions, what have you, indicate he's favored by the element of earth. The world spirit named itself to him. In all the works of the clan, I've never heard the name of the world spirit... Which leads me to ask again... Uncle... Just how did you come across the name, and why were you looking for it... As far as I know, dear uncle... You're no shaman."

"..." Jukzuk became silent at the direct question for a moment before speaking, "In my travels..."

Midka knew for sure that such occult knowledge was not just found simply by traveling, but by seeking it... Why her uncle refused to speak... She would ponder later for herself.

Jukzuk slapped Xa'Gun on the back, "Son, this is good. If the elements favor you, you could become a Shaman!"

"At his age?" Midka questioned.

"Well, Middy, it's not like he was here to start at your age." Jukzuk laughed.

"Ha... The best he could do now with the favor of the spirits is to become a Shamanrai, and earth isn't seen as the best element to be favored to be a Shamanrai."

"Hoy? What's a Shamanrai." Xa'Gun asked the table.

Jukzuk nodded, "Rai as in smith. Shamanrai lack the fierce magicks that Shaman can wield, but they are able to forge weapons and armor that are imbued by the elements. Powerful Shamanrai can use their elements to not just bestow different powers, but enhance different aspects of the wielders."

"Like Enchanters among the humans?" Xa'Gun couldn't help but compare.

"More or less. At the end of the day, it's the same, but the way and how are different." Jukzuk concluded.

"Well, We have to know for sure he's favored before bothering a Shamanrai to take him as an apprentice." Midka pointed out.

"...That's true... Could you perform the test?" Jukzuk asked hopefully.

"Honestly... I could, but I don't know how accurate it would be... I would have to refer to my master."

"Uvog is always so busy with clan matters... Is it possible to ask Uloth to assist?" Jukzuk probed.

"I can ask, but you get no guarantees," Midka added.

"Just like everything with you Shamans," Demze spoke, as she stood up.

"I'm going to go lie down." As she staggered out of the cooking area. It seemed that the mead had taken its share of her mental faculties.

"Yeah. Let's eat a bit, and then call it a night." Jukzuk nodded as well, as he downed the rest of his mead. He got up and checked the food locker, and decided to cook up the blood sausages that were gifted to him during the midday.

*******

Fire... It illuminated the night... That night so many years ago... The fire spread fast and without regard... It cared not for who or what it consumed as long as there was fuel to feed.

Phillip heard the news after finishing his day of work in the fields. His pulse quickened, air filled his lungs, and blood pumped throughout... His limbs obeyed, if not without some protest in the form of searing pain in his side and blurred vision.

His home... In flames...! All the homes! All of the slums! Burning! With all of his weight, he slammed into his home of flames. The door busted open to his two-room home of him and his sister... But...

It was too late... It was always too late...

The fire had consumed and did not give pause... It did not care that it ate wood, cloth, or... flesh, though it seemed the fire spared bone.

Seeing the remains... A small half-charred skeleton within the remains of the burning home...

He retreated from the burning abyss that became his home, coughing and in horror. He must go back... He must save her remains...! If nothing else, but to spread the ashes among the flower fields! He must! He must go back!

"XA'GUN! WAKE UP...! DAMN IT, WAKE UP ALREADY!"

"WHA!?" Xa'Gun nearly jumped off his couch in the foyer of his burrow. His heart still pounding with the sound of the ocean in his ears.

He could barely hear something about her head hurting so early in the morning and never again.

His vision slowly came into focus, as he saw Hellie's face. He reached out and grabbed her and held her in his arms as if she was going to get away. He just wanted to hold something that reminded him of his sister...

Demze was suddenly pulled into Xa'Gun's embrace. He held her tenderly as if she was the most precious thing in the world. Her hangover didn't seem so bad, as she hesitantly closed her eyes and hugged him back.