Once upon a time in the vast lands of middle earth, man, goblin, elf and ork lived in peace. This was not a tense kind of peace brought about by treaties and agreements, but a transparent peace, where one could argue that they were truly unaware of their differences.
It was in this time that a young ork fell in love with the maiden of elves. For years they enjoyed a happiness that was as pure as it was unlikely. This pair was cut from the same roll, the only difference being that she is an elf, and he, an ork.
Now legends had spoken of a terrible evil, a faceless enemy that would one day seek to destroy the very fabric of peace in middle earth, or at least to alter it forever. Let’s just say kids, that this evil came upon middle earth and turned man from troll, troll from elf, and elf from ork. Middle earth was divided into factions with treaties, diplomacies and worst of all, tensions.
These tensions did not spare the young couple, and despite the all-encompassing nature of their affection, they were soon thrust into a demonizing cycle of expectations, disappointments and preconceptions. The darkness had begun to descend… but the legends also spoke of one other thing…
Andoral – the name of the mightiest sword in all of middle earth.
Andoral. A sword whose very existence is bathed in myth, marinated in rumor, wrapped in mystery and influenced by culture and the changing times…! The mere fact that the ancient texts would describe this weapon as being the only hope for middle earth, to many, this seemed a death sentence already delivered.
And so it was, many an ork and elf saw the better days of their union lost to bickering and contempt – the warmth of every heart was lost to a coating of ice. In fact, so deep and wicked was the plan of the faceless enemy that in just a matter of months, orks, elves and humans could barely remember what the peaceful times felt like, nor could they understand why they had even sought peace to begin with! The foundations of compassion, friendship, love and forgiveness had been eaten away, never to be restored.
But our young ork, despite the hardness of his heart towards the elven maiden, despite the endless conflicts rising daily in the heart middle earth, despite not feeling loved by the one he cherished the most, our young ork would never deny the profoundness of the bond he shared with this maiden. Surely the world had gone mad! And though his heart and body screamed injustice! Though his anger lashed out with such ferocity that he might as well have been the mindless barbarian described in the hottest of insults… our young ork had his memories, and would never deny the sincerity of his maiden in those moments.
Unknown to him, across the middle earth on the other side of the dark veil set down by the faceless one, the maiden fought a similar battle within herself. The basis for things she loved about our young ork had suddenly become grounds for crimes – crimes that diminished his worth in her heart. On one hand she loved that the ork cared much for her, but ever since the tensions began, the very existence of these tensions alongside their affection felt more like a betrayal of trust and nonchalant possessiveness. Indeed these were dark times, but she would never let herself forget the memories… the trueness that they had once felt.
And that was when it ROARED! The faceless enemy lurched forward out of the nether and into the heart of middle earth! For the first time the truth behind this even creature was revealed – it’s cunning! It’s manipulation! The ability to mislead by misinterpretation! Truly this was a creature unlike any ever seen!! It was always present, always awake, searching for a casual shrug or side-eye to embellish with the most convincing exaggerations of contempt! Middle earth was oblivious to its presence… all except 2 young warriors… one young ork, and his elven maiden.
The ancient texts had spoken of Andoral as a sword that is summoned by its wielder in a time of great need… and now the ork understood. Of course the legendary sword Andoral existed! There it was right in his hand, where it has always been! A sword of flames that burned brighter than anything else he’d ever seen! These flames slowly melted the ice around his heart, and equally unrealistically, began to melt a portion of the beasts’ face that faced the ork.
In that same moment, right next to the ork, but separated by dark clouds so he could not see, the elven maiden had discovered her Andoral as well as was standing up to the beast! And as her sword burned brighter, the ice around her heart began to melt, as well as the portion of the beasts’ face that faced her directly.
It was in this moment that the unthinkable happened! The dark clouds lifted and the young ork, together with his maiden found themselves side by side… holding on to their Andorei (that’s like plural for Andoral haha). They look up, just in time to see the double headed beast standing calm as portions of its many heads melt away. But what they saw did not surprise them – this couple understood - they had already figured out the ancient teachings… they had found peace again. This time would be different. This time, this was a peace they would fight for, together, a peace they would protect together until the end. And with these last thoughts they charged towards the beast! The ork to the head of the beast that was the image of himself, and the elf to the head of the beast that was the image of herself – an eternal battle to protect their union, yet at the same time, finding the peace they once knew in the fight to protect it.
And so they fought for many eternities… protecting one another, in love, in peace, and in duty… And they were not alone. Some others joined in the fight against the beast that is themselves, to protect their unions…
Andoral – A sword that pierces only its wielder… in a bid to preserve all that is precious.
Unfortunately, many are still unable to face themselves to protect those they love the most. I write you today because I know you are not one of these people… but more importantly because I want this to be yet another memory: The day we began to fight ourselves, for ourselves.
Sincerely,
Your Ork.
Akin Ogunsola | 2012
