“Archers! loose your arrows!” a volley of flaming arrows left the hands of their owners, they flew high enough to create shade from the sun. They then fell like rain, pelting the ground. The way the arrows fell came in waves. Orcs screamed as the bolts ripped through their ranks. The mixture of iron and leather armor provided little protection against any airborne attacks. The torrents of arrows would eventually find spaces in the metals to penetrate. They whined and roared as their black blood flowed from the newly formed orifices.

“Don’t let them escape!” A female cavalier raised her lance into retreating orcs. She raised her weapon to the sky, and a stray lightning bolt struck it. Multiple soldiers were confused where the lightning came from as there wasn’t a single cloud. Her lance was now a catalyst for electricity. Its unstable form arched small bolts from her weapon to her gauntlet.

“Ngh!” She grunted. Her horse gave her the stability she needed to throw the weapon with all her might. The velocity of the blinding spear was too quick for the average eye, blink and the projectile went unseen. The increased amount of electrons floating around the air made her hair float as if it was underwater, as soon as the weapon left her hand her hair dropped to the side.

The lightning infused weapon clipped the side of a fleeing orc, and his arm flew from the socket. Blood burst out violently looking like it emptied out by the gallon. The creature was merely staggered. Orcs had often become revered for their adrenaline during combat. It was also their best means of escape as well. If they couldn’t feel the pain, they would be able to continue running away and deal with it later.

The orcs stumbled behind the shrubbery disappearing into the forest. Few stayed for a few seconds to give roars of promised returns.

“Tch, bastards.” The Cavalry woman clicked her tongue with ire as there was still a portion of the orcs left in the raiding party. She tugged on the reins to turn the horse around.

“Are we not going to pursue, m’lady?” One of the cavalrymen accompanying her asked. His armor was similar to hers. Steel with golden edges. His helmet was sleek with only a slit for his visor.

“Nay, If we follow we’d be playing to their advantage. Orcs may be savages, but they know their territories.” Her face was stern; she tugged once more on the reigns to get the horse to a trot. Her companion stayed for a moment before joining her on the journey back home.

The orc panted, out of breath. The orc started to slow down. The amount of blood loss was too significant for the orc's body to handle. He watched with a blurry vision as the rest of his clan left him behind. The whooping and roars of the defeated orcs faded the further they left him. He laid his back against a tree. If he were to die, he’d at least die comfortable and not sprawled out on the ground like an animal after a slaughter.

His eyes began to grow heavier and heavier. In between blinks, he could see a black object moving closer when his eyes were open the object looked frozen in time as it didn’t move. At first, it was nearly impossible to make out any details since the object stuck to the shadows of the trees. Before he knew it, the object turned out to be a creature. Being confirmed by the fact that it was right next to him ripping apart his flesh. The open wound where his arm opened further. If he could feel pain right now, he’d most definitely be clawing and roaring at the small creature. Although, the orc could feel his muscles being chew by the creature’s mandible. It was an odd feeling, not painful but precisely like a ‘feeling.’ He glanced away from the creature eating his shoulder. He knew this wasn’t the orc way; the orc way was to die in combat, not finished off by a scavenger. He knew when he had to meet his gods they’d turn him away for dying the death of a coward. He then looked to face the creature that was killing him. It had the appearance of an oversized beetle with crystal blue eyes. If memory serves him right, this was a creature that fed on magical energy, and since orcs had been born through the slight help of magic, the insect must have been keeping him alive to prevent the dissipation of the magical energy.

The feeding felt almost like an eternity as he sat there allowing the insect to drain his life. He’d much prefer to have died at the hands of the gilded bitch. At least then he’d be allowed into the after-life. The snapping of twigs and the crumbling of dry leaves came from behind some shrubbery. His mind raced with thoughts; perhaps his clan must have noticed his disappearance and came back to him. He slowly turned to the direction of the noise. A silver-haired child was re-entering the vicinity. Black blood streaked across her small, pale face. She contained the same crystal eyes as the bug that was next to him, looking to the side he noticed there was nothing there. She approached him, dropped to her knees and licked his neck. Black blood and saliva were left in the place she was using her tongue.

He tried to struggle his way out but, his strength had become depleted. She stopped licking and put both her hands on his face, the hand no, her entire arm looked like it was made from the same material as the beetle’s carapace. More noise came from the same direction as she emerged.

“Shhhh.” She commanded. She stepped over his body digging her feet and claws into the bark of the tree that he was laying on. She disappeared out of sight as she climbed higher.

Two orcs bearing the same clan identification walked from between the trees into his view. He tried to warn them; he wanted to get them to run away. He only managed to let out grunts and moans. The tiny woman must’ve done something to paralyze his muscles. The commotion just lured them closer in. Once they stood directly in the path of the tree, she dropped landing on one of the two orcs backs. She didn’t possess enough strength to cause him to fall but, she grabbed hold of its neck. She dug her claws into the front of his throat and pulled, his carotid artery sprayed black blood all over the downed orc. As the orc was falling, she impaled the next one’s chest. She began pulling her hand out revealing pieces of the orc's heart. She indulged herself in taking a sample of the flesh. She smiled back at the orc leaning on the tree. The black blood trailed from her mouth and onto her child-like form. She wasn’t just going to let her first meal get spoiled. She returned to him; the others could wait.

She licked her claws clean from the blood. Her hunger was not satisfied. Orcs could provide enough magical energy to keep her from starving to death. But, she came to find out only every third orc had enough to magic to allow for her to mature further, but then again she could have just gotten lucky at finding an orc with a large enough capacity.

She looked to the north were the other orcs came from, maybe she could test her theory about how much magic an orc can provide her.