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Francesca
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With a tremble in myhand and my heart pounding in my ears, I dive back in, eager to turn the pages.
If you're reading this letter, two things may have happened: either you haven't reached the egg part yet, or the egg has cracked.I hope it's the former.
If the egg has broken, you are not in danger.Please finish reading this letter.Also, you are not dreaming.This is real.
If the egg has broken, you may find yourself staring at three giant green creatures.They are orcs.I know it's easy to say "don't panic," but it's okay to be alarmed.Have a complete hysterical episode, then come back here because, yes, I said orcs.
Kraukug is a parallel land to Earth in a different dimension, linked only by a portal, existing long before humans ever did.It is home to the Kraukugian orcs—over seven feet tall, warriors built in a beautiful shade of green, and exponentially faster and stronger than any human.
I pause from reading the letter and glance at the three sleeping mountains, questioning my own sanity.These are the supposed superhuman species?I have a small laugh and continue.
An evil warlock cast a spell on Kraukug that, in twenty-three years, when Kraukug's bloodlords—bloodlords are warriors of noble birth and protectors of the land—would reach their prime and become unstoppable, the lush land of Kraukug would be turned into barren rock, its purple sky a dreary grey, and every living Kraukugian destroyed.
But an elder foresaw the devastation during a magical episode.Unable to save everyone, he managed to cast a spell that would save the bloodlords just moments before the warlock's spell went into effect.
The elder's spell involved incubating the bloodlords' spirits in an eggshell, but that also meant they would lose their tusks.(Don't ask me how; apparently, you can do all sorts of illogical things with magic.Also, forgive me if I'm going about this in a roundabout way.
A bloodlord without his tusks is not a bloodlord.This is a massive blow to them.They are vulnerable, which makes their enemies more confident in defeating them.They're still strong and noble, of course, but against other forces, they will be crushed.That's the sad truth.
So, in a nutshell, the warriors were saved but tuskless, and only a ritual of copulation would grow back their tusks.However, with no female orcs saved, all seemed lost.Except the elder discovered that an adult human female could successfully mate with the bloodlords.
The elder then crossed the portal and scoured the Earth for a suitable mate.Really, he just popped off to the nearest maternity ward and picked a baby girl who, in twenty-three years, would become their mate.
Me?I was the one he picked.How do I know?He left a mark on my chest—a ring with a single line in the center, like the hand of a clock.Yes, the same one on your arm you're trying very hard not to scratch right now.
Anyway, just after I turned twenty-three and my life was going nowhere, plus I was on a hit list (you'll see the significance of that later), I woke up to three orcs in my house.Their eggs cracked back in Kraukug, and they came to find me.
I tried to exorcise them with lavender (don't ask), and then I tried to run away.They caught me and brought me to Kraukug.
So I used to think of that mark as my own personal doomsday clock.It literally moves, and the closer it gets to twelve—well, if it hits twelve, I would die.And no, I'm not being dramatic at all.
I'm their chosen mate; a spell was cast, and it's irreversible.We're all cooked if we don't mate, basically.Well, I'll be dead, and they'll remain tuskless, which makes them unfeared as warriors against some of the more dangerous elements and enemies in Kraukug.
So, well, we mated, my clock stopped moving—hurrah, I live, and they have their tusks.All good and well.Also, fundamentally, the most amazing thing that has happened to me.
Now, as to why you have an egg: see, the elder's spell failed with the second egg.Once the hand on the human female's mark was close to midnight, the egg was supposed to break, and the orcs would then step over and claim their mate.
But nothing happened, and so the egg started to disintegrate.The same fate awaited the third egg.
I couldn't let that happen.I love my bloodlords, and Kraukug is my home now.
So I came up with an idea after extensive reading of the elder's books.I figured out how to do the spell to create the mark—maybe it helped that I have the mark myself; I'm not sure.
Anyway, I gave you the mark.I left the egg with you.(It's not foolproof that it's going to work, but the egg was going to die in Kraukug anyway.However, there is a chance it would survive on Earth with you.It's all just hope and a prayer right now.
We have nothing to lose but everything to gain if it works.So basically, you have a heartfire brand on your arm.There are possibly three orcs within your sight.You are their mate.They need you to survive and grow their tusks.I hope you will do whatever needs to be done.
Oh, and if you're wondering why you were chosen.
My heart feels like it's going to strangle me.I take a breath, dying to know why I was chosen but also a little afraid to find out.
