Bonus Short Stories
Wait For Dawn
Gwendendorogahbrazdajin was a goblin who’d spent a long time living in the Old City of Damuro. He used to be called Gwende a long time ago. Then he came to be called Gwendendo, then Gwendendorogah, and finally Gwendendorogahbrazdajin. There had probably never been a goblin in the Old City who’d lived as long as he had, so Gwende’s name had gotten to be just as long as his life had been.
Gwende had been exiled from the New City, like all of the other goblins in the Old City had been. He had survived all this time despite not being particularly big or strong because he was deeply cautious, but also acted without hesitation. In addition to this, he made careful note of all the humans and goblins who came to the Old City and remembered them. The goblins of the Old City looked at Gwende as a wise elder, but he was aware of how dangerous it would be to let that go to his head and make him overconfident. All he had going for him was that he had lived for a long time. He had never left the Old City to see the wider world. Somewhere in his heart, he longed to explore, but the cowardice that came part and parcel with his caution kept him from doing so. Deep down, Gwende mocked himself as nothing more than a foolish goblin who just happened to have survived this long.
When he heard from another goblin named Wadamudd that the black ones had pushed into the Old City, Gwende remembered a prophecy.
The black ones will come and swallow the world. Lie in wait in the deepest depths until the black ones depart. A new dawn awaits us after the calamity brought by the black ones.
The seer Togorogo, pride of the goblin race, had left these words for them. Gwende had heard them back when he had still been living in the New City, and he still remembered. The black ones were going to swallow the world.
The Deepest Valley had been dug in the New City. He couldn’t flee there. Gwende immediately told Wadamudd and all his other acquaintances they had to flee. But where would they run to? The New City? No, he told them. Outside. They had to leave Damuro. The goblins pushed back, saying they couldn’t leave. But if they didn’t, they would die, Gwende scolded them, and then went to where the women were. There were few women in the Old City. They were the only ones who could give birth, so it was customary for the strong males to secure many women for themselves. Women were never exiled from the New City, but on rare occasions they would flee from there. The men of the Old City took care to protect such women. If they fought to monopolize the women, and the women died as a result, the harm would be irreparable.
The Old City had a house where the women lived. The men would go there and do various things to try to get their attention, and if it went well, they would be allowed to mate and have children. It had been a long time since Gwende had last mated with a woman, but he visited their house often. Ensuring the women were living comfortably was one of Gwende’s important duties.
Gwende told the women to get out of the house and leave Damuro. To ensure that as many of the women with large bellies and suckling infants would survive as possible, Gwende brought a number of trustworthy goblin men with him. He told them to protect the women with their lives. The future of their race depended on them.
One of the women asked Gwendendorogahbrazdajin what he would do. Gwende answered that he would stay. The woman clung to Gwende, begging him to come with them. That woman had birthed thirteen of Gwende’s children in the past, and one of those children was among those he had brought to guard the women. Gwende wanted to go outside, as he had desired to do for his whole life, but he still had things to do. He had to speak to as many goblins as possible.
Gwende had lived a long time. A very long time. He knew he wouldn’t live to see the future of his race. That was why he told them to survive. To live to see the new dawn, and pass their blood down to future generations.
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