[Slii Arhem]

Originally Posted by Morty

Alright. I haven't felt much inspiration for Inherit the Earth lately, so I'll make an intermission. It will also get futher parts, but after I finish Sophie's story. I hope it'll explain some stuff Dipsnig and my other goblins say to a degree.

Rise of the Prophet

Spoiler

Hundreds of years before a goblin notoriously lacking in cheer and known in the Nexus as Dipsnig Razortooth was born, his homeland looked nothing like it does now. Instead of inhabitning massive colonies dug deep into the mountains, goblins were scattered in caves all over the northern mountain range... or in Imperial slave mines. Back in those days, mankind ruled supreme, and the Empire stretched all over the continent. But it was changing; the Empire was standing on feet of clay and shaking. As wars and uprisings raged, noone really took the goblins into account; they were vermin and cheap labour, who cared that they did? They underestimated what a truly inspiring leader can do to even the most downtrodden.

The massive cavern on the lower slopes of the Dragonbone Mountain bustled with activity. Thousands of goblins filled it, having been called there by the new chieftain of the Dragonbone Tribe. They arrived in secret so as not to draw attention of the humans who, while busy with the war in their borders, would certainly not look favorably upon such a large gathering of creatures they regarded as vermin and a nuisance. They sat and stood upon every available surface and whispered frantically to each other.
"They say he's crazy."
"They say he has a plan."
"They say a riding wolf accepted him without being broken in."
"They say he liberated a labour camp and beat an orcish chieftain."
"They say he no longer has a shaman."
All the whispers were cut short - with abruptness that was shocking for goblins - when the one they'd been talking about came up onto a platform raised in the centre of the cave. He was a skinny runt, even for a goblin in that day and age. His skin was pale gray and he didn't have much hair. He looked at the throng of goblins before them, the pale eyes glistening in the faint light of muck lanterns. Finally, he spoke.
"Brothers and sisters in the dark. I brought you here today for a purpose. I know you were afraid, afraid of what humans would do to you if they thought you were being uppity. But I want to tell you that we need not be afraid anymore."
A murmur went through the ranks of goblins.
"Some of you may know me. I am Hultznim of the Dragonbone Tribe, which now consists of all goblins in this area. You may wonder how I managed to unite so many of us under one banner, and I will tell you - it is because I have aid from a higher power."
An even louder murmur. At that time, goblins worshipped petty gods of earth and rock under the guidance of their tribal shamans. Deep down, they felt like more powerful spirits or gods wouldn't listen.
"Yes, you have heard right. While hiding from a human patrol in the caves, I heard a voice. It came from below, from the roots of the mountain. It belonged to the Lord Below."
Now there was just stunned silence from the goblin crowd.
"He is the lord of depths and darkness, sovereign of the deep places. He had seen our suffering and hear our cries. Noone else would listen, but he did. He wishes to make the goblin race his children."
There was a burst of agitated discussion from the listeners before Hultznim's voice once again cut above the din.
"I know what you're thinking - 'what's in it for us?' I wouldn't make you agree to anything if there was nothing to gain. If we let ourselves be led by the Lord Below, we will finally get back at the humans for what they're done to us."
Hultznim paused and when he spoke again, his - precisely controlled - voice was filled with venom.
"We've never had much, but when they came, we lost even that. Right now, thousands of goblins toil for the benefit of the fat, pink-skinned humans in the lowlands. Thousands more are treated like vermin. We are not vermin!" He roared, and there were shouts of approval and agreement from the crowd. In his head, Hultznim breathed with relief. Looks like his method of motivating his kinsmen was working.
"I won't stand for this anymore. Now that I have my new god on my side, I will show the humans what "vermin" can do."
More silence. Fight the humans? How?
"Lord Below has shown me the way. The humans are fighting amongst themselves and against dwarves. Their Empire is crumbling. If we strike now, we'll hit them at their weakest, hit them where it hurts. And there's five of us for every one of them at this point. What do we have to lose?"
He could feel the growing enthusiasm among the goblin ranks. There wasn't a single one there who hasn't lost family or friends to humans. There was a lot of desire for vengeance there, lots of bitterness and venom. All he had to do was to unleash it and send in the humans' direction.
"I say this to you - tomorrow I will begin gathering an army. Each and every tribal leader is welcome to swear fealty to me and bring his tribe to the horde. We will begin by liberating slave mines. Who's with me?!" He yelled, thrusting his fist upwards.
The cave resonated with the closest thing goblins can get to a battlecry.

Soon enough, tribes from all over the northern mountain range began to flock under Hultznim's and Lord Below's banner. The goblins were eager to fight for a cause, looking back only to a lifetime of slavery and fear. Those who were reluctant were... persuaded to do so anyway by the growing horde.
(To be continued.)

So, yeah. I'm basically flexing my world-builder muscles. Hope it makes a shred of sense.

Also, @Happy's latest story: Poor Missy. It's a wonder she hasn't renounced her faith again. And life just keeps throwing rocks at her.

Well, besides a little blip with inhabitning in the beginning and perhaps a poor choice of words later on (seriously, what kind of ancient goblin prophet says "uppity? ) it was fairly decent.

A few things though.

The speech seemed effective, and well written, but I would have liked to see more dissent and reaction from the other tribes, perhaps in the form of another tribe leader saying "what's in it for us" instead of the Prophet.

I just think hearing more voices would have made the story more natural feeling.