o Amear may raise a weapon against another Amear. It is a truth I’ve lived with all my 30 years, and never have I wanted to.

Until today.

Our Weagra led us into battle- warriors and braves and others alike. It is what our people do- the orcs hunt and kill us, and we return in kind. They are savage and kill our children. And yet Toroc the warrior will not let us kill them.

It was a fierce battle. Our braves, new to battle, fell. Beomere and I faced an Orc with magic I’ve never seen before, and hope to never see again. Erik killed her with an impossible arrow. We held the rest of the orcs- some helpless, some brave- captive.

They killed my brother, Celyn. He was 23. Am I not to have revenge on those who killed my family? Toroc’s own family, as all Amear are The People.

He let the filth go free. His years in captivity have made him soft, unwilling to do what we must to survive.

And I could do nothing.

There will be a reckoning for this day, between Toroc and I. I fear it, for I do not wish to find myself facing him, but I will not let Celyn have died for orcs to live.