Snak's Arc

Chapter 4 of 6

Snak sat on a stone bench near the recovery pool and watched the steam rise. The compound was finished. Every wall stood solid. Every weapon rack waited empty. But something felt wrong. He had built a place for warriors to train, yet no warriors walked these grounds. The silence pressed against him. Young orcs wouldn't just stumble onto his training ground by accident. They needed to hear about it first. Word would have to spread through the clans—stories of a place where fighters could become something more. Snak stood and walked toward the tavern. Maybe it was time to leave the compound and find the first students himself. He stopped halfway across the yard. A ruined structure stood in the distance, its brownish burgundy stones scattered across the ground. The broken walls reminded him of old territorial battles, the kind his father used to describe. Warriors had died defending that building. Snak walked closer and ran his hand across a fallen pillar. The stone felt cold and rough beneath his palm. This ruin held stories that young orcs needed to hear. Stories about what happened when warriors weren't properly trained. He could bring students here during their lessons, show them what failure looked like when it was carved in stone. The walk back took longer than expected. Darkness settled over the compound as Snak approached the main gate. Golden light traced the pathways ahead of him. He crouched down and examined the vines growing along the brownish burgundy pillars. They glowed with a soft luminescence, their tendrils coiling around the stone. The light was strong enough to see by but not harsh enough to hurt his eyes. Young orcs would need these pathways lit when they trained after sunset. Snak tested his grip on the pillar. The vines held firm and didn't tear away. They would last through seasons of hard use. He crossed into the training yard and looked up at the dark canopy stretching overhead. The thick material hung from posts he'd driven into the ground weeks ago, providing shade during the brutal afternoon sun. Snak sat beneath it and felt the temperature drop. Young orcs would push themselves too hard without proper shade. They would collapse before learning anything useful. He had built everything they needed—protection from the elements, light for night training, and reminders of what happened to unprepared warriors. Now he just needed to walk into the settlements and tell them about it. Tomorrow he would leave at first light.