Intent part 1

[Third POV]

From time to time, you could hear fighting sounds in the forest. You could see green figures either battling between themselves or trying to survive against powerful beasts.

In a small cave, two orcs were talking.

"Phew, that was close, brother. This night panther nearly got us !"

" It's because you didn't follow the plan ! If you didn't flee like a coward, I would have been able to pierce its heart."

" Are you joking? I would have died."

" I would have killed it before. Are you afraid to die?"

" I'm not, but I don't want to die by acting as the bait."

"That's what it means to be the bait."

" You bastard, you forced me to do it," he said accusingly.

" Idiot, there is no one else to do it."

" You could've done it !"

" And who would have killed the beast ? You ? Don't joke with me !"

The two brothers were lucky to find each other only three days after the start of the trial.

" I'm strong !"

"No, you lost against that girl," said the older one, who regretted saying what he had just said.

" You too..."

"I know. That's why we need to get the chief reward. We need to get stronger so that we can challenge them again and get our honor back."

" So what's the plan ?"

" We will, of course, hunt those foolish orcs who decided to pick a fight with our tribe. And I know the perfect place to lay an ambush."

Thus the two young orcs returned to the forest. They soon found a huge rock and decided to climb it. From there, they could see a big part of the valley.

" It would be easy to locate the others from here. We only have to wait now."

Several hours later, they spotted a lonely orc and decided to investigate. Unfortunately, after coming closer and spying on him, they recognize him as part of their tribe.

They return to their rock, waiting for a new one to appear. And not an hour later, that's what happened. They came closer. However, this time they couldn't recognize him.

" Perfect, this orc is quite big. He can't be coming from our tribe. Let's kill him." Whispered one of the brothers to the other.

Soon they laid in ambush not too far from their target. The burly orc confidently walked without knowing he would soon have to fight for his life.

The orc walked closer when suddenly his instinct was screaming for him to flee. Unfortunately, it was too late. The brothers jumped out of the bushes and impaled him. He couldn't do anything. The next second, all life left his eyes.

The brothers were overjoyed.

"That was easier than I thought !"

" Fighting beast is far more dangerous." This first kill gave them a big moral boost. They felt more confident in dealing with more of these enemies. They could already see them standing before the chief collection and choosing their future weapon.

They return to their rock, waiting for the next one to show up.

...

Two days later, they succeed in killing two more. They only met lone orcs, but this day would be different. They spot a group of three.

" Should we go ?" Asked the youngest.

" Of course, if we want to be first, we'll need a maximum of head. And with this group, the first place will be ours for sure. We'll kill two by ambushing them, and then for the last one. It would be two against one. It's a sure win." confidently answered the oldest.

The second orc was easily convinced. After all, didn't they already kill two easily?

So they moved and took position. They waited for the group to get in range, and they attacked. However, they weren't facing simple orcs as before. The three had already found the two hidden in the bushes, but it didn't prevent them from going straight to it.

When the attack began, they were ready to receive them. The brothers were surprised when the two orcs repelled their attacks. They weren't expecting to fail. The third orc, who wasn't targeted, took this opportunity and wounded one of the orcs. This woke them up. They tried their best to defend themselves, but soon the wounded brother succumbed to his two assailants. The second brother didn't hesitate and tried to flee. But the three orcs wouldn't want to miss getting some contribution points and chased after him.

...

[Yalak POV]

The ceremony ended, but none of the brothers came back. I learned from Vae that there was a bit more survivor than last year but not that much. What was different, however, is that half of the young orcs came back with heads of other orcs.

' It feels like things aren't getting better. We might enter into war sooner than we think. We should make some preparation. But what can we do ?'

Neeg and Kruhd's case was unfortunate, but none of the orphans really cared for them after what they did.

But the prospect of a war is worrying. We are still weak. In front of tattoo warriors, the orphans won't be able to put up a fight. Ushha and Vae will most likely have to fight in the front. And while Zala and I have a tattoo, we are still not the match of an experience tattoo warrior. We'll only be able to stall for some time.

'We may have to go through the ceremony earlier than planned. But let's observe for now. The enemy seems to be very wary of us. They are only targeting the young ones for now.'

I was currently at Baruba's house waiting for him to finish his experimentations. Today, he will teach me the exercise I need to do to develop my intent. Then, I'll be able to make my first mask.

" Oh, you're already here, Yalak ?"

" Yes, I'm here to learn the intent thing," I said.

" Oh yeah, that's true. I nearly forgot."

He sat in front of me.

" You already know how important the intent is in the creation of a tattoo, but do you know what it is exactly ?"

" Well, the intent is the will we have behind an action of ours ?"

" Yes, you are partly right, it comes from our will, but you don't always need an action. It can be a wish. But more than that, they are a result of our thought, of our desires. And for drawing an ovzgûn symbol, you need a pure intent of what you want it to do. If you have any disturbing thoughts or a will too weak, you will fail your draw. That is why all professionals who use ovzgûn must train their minds to a high level. We, orcs, are lucky because we have incredible concentrating capabilities, which make it easier to get a better intent. Know that some who have trained intent to an extreme are able to do incredible things. Have you already heard of sword intent ?"

I nodded, which seemed to surprise him greatly.

'Shit, did I make another mistake ?'

"Hmmm, well, it's the result of an intent coming from their faith, will in swords. At this level, the intent can materialize itself through ovzgûn."

I frowned.

"If we can materialize our intent, what is the use of tattoos ? If we have a powerful intent, wouldn't it do the same things as a tattoo does ?"

"Hehehe that's a good question, but you'll naturally find the answer after you're done with my exercise."

Baruba took a stone out of his pocket.

" I want you to make this stone shine. The brighter it is, the better. Don't come back before you can light up the entire room with it."

'What the hell !'

I was about to complain, but he was quicker.

"Now go out before I ask you to make it shine as brightly as the sun !"

I subconsciously got out, not wanting to increase the already sky-high difficulty.

' F*ck, this bastard is crazy. Does he want just ridicule me? Make a stone shine, no less ! You can at least give me some advice !"

I came back to egghead wondering how to make this damn stone shine.

' This is so frustrating !'