[Queen of Orcs 02] - Clan Daughter (39 page)

urkzimmuthi
noun and adjective—The orc race, also the plural of orc. As an adjective it means “orcish.”
(children [of] mother)

urkzimdi
noun—An ancient orcish term for humans. It translates as “second children” and is based on the orcs’ belief that Muth la created humans after she created them. The word fell into disuse after the washavoki invasion.

vash
verb root and noun—1. To bless, blessing. 2. To marry, marriage.

vata
interjection—Good-bye.

vathem
noun—A stone retaining wall used to create a terraced field. After the orcs occupied the Urkheit Mountains, such fields were used extensively.

Velasa-pah
proper noun—The name of a human who was reborn before the washavoki invasion and became a great urkzimmuthi wizard. He tried to warn the orc queen of the invasion, but she failed to comprehend the danger or act upon his advice. He was residing in Tarathank when it fell. The orcs tell differing tales about his fate and the nature of his prophecies

velazul
noun—Lover. Unlike the human term, it is used only in the chaste sense.
(give love)

wash
noun—Tooth.

washavoki
noun and adjective—Human, either male or female. The word translates as “teeth of dog” and refers to the whiteness of human teeth.

washavoki invasion
The first contacts between humans and orcs were peaceful, but that era was ended by the onslaught of human invaders from the east. At that time, orcs were ignorant of warfare and they were easily overwhelmed despite their superior size and strength. Although orcs quickly learned how to make arms and became ferocious fighters, they never acquired the strategic skills required for victory. They were driven from their lands and survived only in the inhospitable Urkheit Mountains, which they named
Blath Urkmuthi
because they sheltered fleeing mothers.

washuthahi
noun—A black, pea-shaped seed that is mildly narcotic and stains the teeth black when chewed.
(teethpretty)

weapons
Orcs did not make weapon before the washavoki invasion, and their arms are adapted from human designs. Swords, axes, and maces are primarily used for combat, but orcs also carry daggers and sometimes hatchets. All their weapons are strictly utilitarian in design. They reflect the orcs’ strength, being larger and more massive than those humans carry. Spears and pikes are not unknown to orcs, but they are rarely used. Although orcs use bows and arrows for hunting, they do not employ them in combat.

wind
noun—Human word for
foof Muthz la
, which translates as “Muth la’s breath.”

wife
noun—Human word for
muthvashi
.

Wise Sons
—See “military ranks and units—orc leaders.”

Wise Woman
noun—A human woman skilled in the healing arts. Wise Women also practiced midwifery.

woman
noun—An orc female is called a
muth
, but the term is not commonly applied to human females. There is no specific term for them in Orcish, although “woe man,” a corrupted pronunciation of “woman,” is occasionally employed.

yes
adverb—Hai.

zim
noun—Child.

zimmuthi
noun—The singular form of “orc.”
(child [of] mother)

zul
verb root and noun—To love, love.

Read on for an excerpt from the final book in
the Queen of the Orcs trilogy

Royal Destiny

Morgan Howell

On sale September 25, 2007

Dar awoke, both surprised and puzzled. “Mer lav?”
I live?

A mother knelt before her. She bowed her head and replied in Orcish. “Muth la has preserved your life.”

Why?
thought Dar. She had returned to pass on Fathma, the Divine Mother’s gift that bestowed sovereignty over the orcs. In her near-death state, she had been able to see it fluttering within the shell of her body, a thing of spirit like a second soul. That vision had departed. Dar could no longer see her spirit or any other’s. The world was solid again. It was also unfamiliar. “Where am I?” she asked in Orcish.

“Your hanmuthi, Muth Mauk.”

Dar realized that she was still queen. Muth Mauk—
Great Mother
—was not only her title; it had become her name. Dar tried to raise her head and look about, but found she couldn’t. She recalled the mother’s face, but not her name. After Dar had been reborn, every Yat clan member had formally introduced him or herself, and the parade of visitors had lasted days. “I know you,” said Dar, “but I forget your name.”

“I’m Deen-yat, clan healer.”

“I thought I was dying.”

“You were,” said the healer.

Dar thought she should be relieved and joyful. Instead, she felt daunted.
I returned to pass on the crown, not rule!
In her still-fragile state, that task seemed overwhelming.
I don’t know what to do!

Deen-yat smelled Dar’s anxiety, but mistook its reason. “You’ll live, Muth Mauk.”

“Then I have your skill to thank.”

“Your recovery is not my deed. That herb’s magic is deadly.”

“I was only scratched by blade.”

“Such scratches have slain sons, and quickly too. Your life is Muth la’s gift.”

Dar knew Deen-yat’s words were meant to comfort, but they didn’t.
Muth la has her own purposes
. While Dar thought she understood why she had become queen, she couldn’t understand why she remained so.

“How long have I been here?”

“Sun has risen thrice since your return.”

“I wish to see my muthuri and my sisters.”

“And you will when you’re better.” Deen-yat smiled. “Even queens must obey healers.”

The healer stayed by Dar’s side and tended her throughout the day. Toward evening, Dar found the strength to sit up and gaze about. She was in one of the numerous sleeping chambers of the largest hanmuthi she had ever seen. Even the sleeping chambers had adjoining rooms of their own.
Many families could live here,
she thought. She peered through a carved stone archway into the spacious central room. As with all hanmuthis, it was circular and featured a hearth in its center. The room was empty, as were all the other chambers.

Dar’s chamber was especially magnificent. There was a huge window glazed with panes of sand ice. The floor was a mosaic of a flowery meadow. The meadow extended to the stone walls, which were carved with a low relief that depicted a landscape. The foreground was filled with delicately rendered wildflowers. In the distance was an orcish city. “It that Tarathank?” asked Dar.

“Hai, Muth Mauk.”

“I’ve visited its ruin,” said Dar, recalling her night with Kovok-mah. Deen-yat’s expression underwent a subtle change, and Dar realized that the healer had smelled atur—the scent of love. Good manners precluded Deen-yat from mentioning it, but orcs seldom hid their feelings.

“Washavoki brought me here on horse,” said Dar, “but there was son who helped him. He gave me healing magic on way.” Dar glanced down at the star-shaped incision beneath her breast. It was surrounded by dark, discolored flesh. “Did he come here also?”

“Do you mean your muthuri’s brother’s son?”

“Hai. Kovok-mah.”

“He came here, but he has returned home.”

Dar’s heart sank. In her weakened state, she feared that she might start weeping. “I wish I could have seen him. He helped save my life.”

“His muthuri forbade him to be with you,” replied Deen-yat. “Once he learned you would live, he couldn’t linger.”

Dar’s despair deepened.
So the word is out. Even Deen-yat knows
. “What of washavoki who brought me?”

“It has returned to its own kind.”

So Sevren’s gone too,
thought Dar.
At least I have my family
. “I’d like to see my muthuri soon. And my sisters, especially Nir-yat.” Dar surveyed the empty rooms about her, already missing the lively atmosphere of Zor-yat’s hanmuthi. “It’s too quiet here.”

“Perhaps tomorrow,” said Deen-yat. She felt Dar’s brow and sniffed her wound. “Hai, you should be well enough to see them.” She gave Dar a sympathetic look. “It would do you good. It’s lonely being great mother.”

It was long after nightfall when Kovok-mah arrived at the hall where his parents lived. As he shook the snow from his cloak, his aunt greeted him. “Sister’s son! I’m surprised to see you. Kath! You son has returned from Taiben.”

Kath-mah emerged from a sleeping chamber, still rubbing the drowsiness from her eyes. “Kovok? Why are you here? You were sent to kill for washavoki king.”

“King is dead, Muthuri. Another rules washavokis now.”

“Doesn’t our queen wish you to kill for it also?”

“We have new queen.”

“This is news indeed! How is that possible? Our queen lived apart.”

“She found someone to receive Fathma. Before she died, queen passed it to that mother.”

“But mothers no longer visit Taiben.”

“This one did.”

Kath-mah regarded her son irritably. “Who is she? Why don’t you tell me?”

“She was Dargu-yat. But since Fathma changes spirit, she’s Dargu-yat no more.”

Kath-mah stared at her son, momentarily dumbfounded. Then her expression hardened. “And because I forbade you to be with Dargu-yat, perhaps you think I’ll change my mind.”

Kovok-mah bowed humbly to his muthuri. “That’s my hope.”

“When Dargu was reborn, magic transformed her spirit but not her body. She was still as ugly as any washavoki. Now that she’s great mother, has that changed?”

“Thwa.”

“Then her body won’t bear me granddaughters.”

“Although I wish for daughters, I think other things are more important.”

“That’s because you’re young. Daughters give you standing. Look at my sister and me. Who greeted you to her hanmuthi?”

“But Dargu is great mother!”

“And her hanmuthi—however grand—will always lack children.”

“Then you won’t change your mind?”

“Thwa.”

“When I saw Dargu-yat in Taiben, she said you would bless us.”

“Where would she get that strange notion?”

“Perhaps from her muthuri. Didn’t you two speak together?”

“We did. And Zor-yat knew my mind in this matter. She sympathized and even warned me of Dargu-yat’s power.”

“What power?”

“Your attraction to her is unnatural. That’s magic’s doing.”

“Dargu knows no magic, though Muth la sends her visions. My feelings come from Muth la.”

“Don’t speak foolishly. Sons don’t understand such matters.”

Kovok-mah summoned his courage, and for the first time in his life, he refused to submit passively. “My chest is strong in this.”

“I know,” said Kath-mah. “Air is heavy with your atur. Whether it is due to magic or Muth la, I remain firm and withhold my blessing. Do nothing rash. Our laws are strict, and even great mothers must bend to them. Heed my wisdom, or your feelings will destroy our queen.”

Praise for
King’s Property
Book 1 of the Queen of the Orcs

“An unusual tale…Howell’s depiction of orc culture is fascinating—these orcs are as big, strong, and dangerous as any in fantasy, but they also have moral and ethical issues of importance. This is not a book to read for fun on a rainy night—it’s a book to think about.”

—E
LIZABETH
M
OON
,
Nebula Award–winning author of
The Deed of Paksenarrion

“Dar never loses our admiration and compassion—qualities at the heart of any struggling hero.
King’s Property
tests your own presumptions of ‘the other’ and brings to mind the cultural prejudices and wars born from betrayal that are so sadly evident throughout our own history.”

—K
ARIN
L
OWACHEE
,
author of
Warchild

“In a crowded field, Howell has succeeded in creating an original and vivid fantasy. [The] characters display unexpected depths of humanity—even when they’re not human. I was captivated by Dar. Highly recommended.”

—N
ANCY
K
RESS
,
Nebula Award–winning author of
Beggars in Spain