The young orc wasn’t sure how long Vell worked on him. His world was consumed by what felt like hell itself, rising up beneath his skin and boiling his blood. The orc’s voice went hoarse from screaming, but Vell’s work never slowed.

When sanity started to creep back into his mind, he could tell that something was profoundly wrong. Fuzz had filled his mind, making it difficult to form a thought. Strangely, he was calm. There was no more anger or fury. There was just acceptance.

He blinked, groaning. Vell’s face appeared in the sky again.

“Ah, you’re awake. Good. You’ve got to be conscious for this last part. After all, we’re deciding your name,” Vell said.

The orc tried to say something, but all that came out was a garbled grunt.

“No speaking yet,” Vell said. “The runes are not complete. They must be whole to function properly. Luckily, I have decided on a name. You shall be named in the old tongue. From this day forth, your name is Vaugh-Arek.”

There was no pain this time. Instead, a wave of freezing air erupted from Vaugh-Arek’s claws, traveling down his arms and spreading through every inch of his body. He drew in a ragged, choking gasp.

“Can you understand me?” Vell asked.

“I… I can,” Vaugh-Arek said, blinking. The human tongue, which he’d only known a few words of before, now came as naturally to him as breathing. What was more surprising, was that he felt no disgust in speaking it.

“Brilliant!” Vell exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “In that case, I should tell you the meaning of your name. Vaugh means warrior or killer, while Arek means passionate.”

“Warrior Passionate?” Arek asked, still trying to shake the fog from his mind. The man speaking to him seemed quite reasonable. All the memories of raid he’d participated in the previous night seemed tarnished and twisted – why had they attacked the humans, anyways? They’d just been passing through the fields. The party hadn’t done anything to deserve being killed.

“In the literal sense,” Vell said, nodding. “The old runes put the noun before the verb. In modern common, it would be Passionate Warrior.”

“I see,” Arek said slowly. “It does feel fitting. But… what have you done to me? I am not even sure if I’m the same orc I was last night. I feel empty. Hollow.”

“I have simply freed you from the grips of the orc battle rage,” Vell said. He paused. “And then some. But your personality and thoughts are your own. You are the same orc from last night – I have simply calmed you.”

“Why? You killed my tribe without a second thought,” Vaugh-Arek said. There was anger and bitterness behind his words. Evidently, Vell hadn’t taken away all of his natural emotions. Vaugh-Arek found this somewhat reassuring, even as the deaths of his friends lingered on his memory.

“They were trying to kill us,” Vell replied, shrugging. “It was self-defense. You were spared because I sought to practice my skills.”

Vaugh-Arek instinctively knew that Vell was right. The humans had been defending themselves. Somehow, the death of his friends was already starting to fade within his mind. Vell spotted the pained expression on the orc’s face.

“You might find it that you’re unable to properly mourn your companions,” Vell said. “I apologize. You likely feel anger due to their deaths, and my runes have suppressed that. As you age, the power of the runes will acclimate to your mind and your emotions will become your own again.”

“I see,” Vaugh-Arek said. “You speak of getting older. Does this mean you don’t plan to kill me?”

“Why would I do something like that?” Vell asked, affronted. “I spent hours creating y– the runes on you. Killing you would waste all my hard work.”

Vaugh-Arek tried to sit up, but the restraints were still on him.

“Then, what will you be doing with me?”

Vell frowned. He scratched his chin.

“I don’t suppose you’d want to go back to your tribe like this.”

Vaugh-Arek considered his words for a few moments. To his surprise, he realized that Vell was right. He didn’t want to go back. Not yet, at least. The thought of rushing into another pointless honorable battle just to die… it was no longer something he desired.

“Would you like to travel with us?” Vell asked. “We’re what humans call adventurers. We clear out dungeons and protect villages from monster swarms. We could use a fourth member.”

A flicker of phantom pain shot through Vaugh-Arek’s claws, bringing up the recent memory of Vell’s concentrated face as carved the runes into the orc’s claws.

“It’s just more fighting,” Vaugh-Arek said, frowning.

“It’s fighting for a purpose. To make the lives of others better,” Vell said, raising his hands. “The greatest calling any man can take. Adventurers protect the normal people of the world from, well, monsters. We let everyone live in peace at the cost of our own.”

Vaugh-Arek mulled over the man’s words. Then his moved in the smallest nod that the restraints would allow him to make.

“Very well,” Vaugh-Arek said. “I will join you.”

“Brilliant!” Vell exclaimed. A series of pops rang out as the restraints holding Arek down popped open. The orc slowly sat up. His head still spun slightly with every motion, but it improved with every second that went by.

“Remain seated. I will go get the rest of the party to properly introduce them,” Vell said, smiling at Vaugh-Arek before heading out the door.

Now that he could sit, the orc took advantage of his time alone to look around. He’d been set up on a thick plank of wood. The restraints were pieces of metal covered with runes. He could see the tents around him, and the ground was still muddy. Vaugh-Arek sniffed slightly. The metallic smell of iron and feces filled the air.

It couldn’t have been long since the battle if the ground was still wet with blood. He sighed and swung his legs over the edge of the board. Vaugh-Arek stood up slowly, half expecting his legs to give out from under him.