Through the Gate

It began with a low hum.

A deep, resonant sound that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. The very air around them shimmered, then trembled, as if reality itself were trying to hold something back.

Then the gate tore open.

A vertical slit of blinding white light split the air a dozen paces in front of them. Lines of glowing energy licked outward like tendrils. The scent of ozone burned in their nostrils. The hum rose into a throbbing pulse, almost musical--deep, vibrating through bone.

Sophie and Kimberly flinched back instinctively.

Before either could speak, Shagrat stepped forward.

He didn't look at them. Didn't say a word.

His heavy boots carried him toward the swirling light. The storm of energy parted for him without resistance, as if it recognized him. For a brief moment, he turned his head slightly, just enough that Sophie thought he might say something.

He didn't.

And then he vanished into the light.

Kimberly was on her feet before the echo of his footsteps had faded. "What the fuck was that?"

She took a step toward the gate, jaw clenched. Sophie rose more slowly, eyes wide.

"Should we--?"

"No," came the rough voice of the older orc guard nearby.

He stepped in front of Kimberly and held up a hand. His accent was thick, words halting, but his tone was firm.

"Wait. He... come back."

Kimberly blinked at him, incredulous. "Are you serious? What if something happens to him in there?"

The orc didn't answer. He simply crossed his arms and stood between them and the gate, as immovable as a wall.

The sisters looked at each other. And then, with no better choice, they sat down on the smooth stone floor of the ritual chamber.

The gate continued to shimmer and pulse, soundless now, the light growing softer around the edges. It looked almost beautiful--like a tear in the world that offered passage to somewhere unspeakably distant.

Minutes passed.

Neither spoke for a while. The tension in the air made speech feel sacrilegious. Eventually, Kimberly exhaled.

"So..." she began, her voice lowered. "They're not from here. Not from our world."

Sophie nodded slowly. "Another dimension. That... changes everything."

"Understatement," Kimberly muttered.

They lapsed into silence again. The humming of the gate was gone, but the silence it left behind felt heavy.

Sophie curled her legs beneath her. "Do you think this is what he wanted to show us?"

"Yeah." Kimberly's eyes were fixed on the gate. "It's a test. A risk. Maybe a gift."

"Or a trap," Sophie said, softer now.

Her sister glanced at her.

"Do you still want to go through with this?" Kimberly asked.

Sophie hesitated.

That question had more weight than it seemed. It wasn't just about stepping through the gate. It was about the entire pact they were making--surrendering themselves to a culture, a people, a power they were only beginning to understand.

But Sophie didn't hesitate long.

"Yes," she said. "I trust him."

Kimberly didn't argue. But she didn't agree, either. Instead she picked up a small stone from the floor and rolled it between her fingers.

Sophie continued, "They've kept this secret for who knows how long. Centuries, maybe. This gate... this magic... it's more advanced than anything we've ever seen. They're not just warriors. They're scholars. Mages. Explorers. This explains so much."

Kimberly sighed. "It explains how they appeared so suddenly in our world. Why they're immune to some of our spells. Why no one has ever found where they came from."

"They weren't hiding in our world," Sophie said. "They came through it."

That thought sent a chill through her, despite the warm light of the gate.

"Do you think we'll be allowed to come back?" Kimberly asked. Her voice was quiet now, serious.

Sophie hesitated again.

"I don't know," she admitted. "But... I think Shagrat would never take me somewhere I couldn't return from. I believe that. I have to believe that."

Kimberly looked at her for a long moment. "You love him."

Sophie flushed. "I don't know if that's what it is. Not yet. But I trust him. That's enough."

Time passed strangely.

Sophie couldn't tell how long they sat in that cave--only that the gate still shimmered with that slow, otherworldly pulse. Like a heartbeat held in suspension. She and Kimberly didn't speak much after the initial shock wore off. Their whispers had faded into silence. Neither of them moved from their place on the stone floor, backs pressed to the wall, waiting.

Then--at last--the gate rippled again.

The swirling light condensed and parted like a curtain, and Shagrat stepped through.

He looked unchanged, yet there was something different in the set of his jaw, the tension behind his eyes. He scanned them quickly, nodded once, and said, simply, "It is time."

The orc guard who had stood watch this entire time shifted his stance but did not follow.

Shagrat approached the sisters and spoke in his heavy accent. "Close eyes. No matter what. Keep closed until I say."

Sophie nodded slowly. Kimberly hesitated--then followed suit.

Their hands found his. Warm, rough, grounding.

Together, they stepped into the gate.

It was like falling into a dream.

There was no motion, yet everything moved. Their bodies twisted and stretched, but without pain. Light burst behind their eyelids. A deep pressure closed around Sophie's chest, and she heard whispers--distant and echoing, too fast to understand, yet oddly soothing.

Then, with a suddenness that made her knees buckle, it stopped.

Solid ground returned beneath their feet.

Cool, damp air brushed against their skin.

"Open," came Shagrat's voice.

Sophie blinked her eyes open. Kimberly beside her did the same.

They were in another cave--but this one was not the same as the one they had left.

The stone here was darker, almost black, and wet with condensation. Pale moss glowed faintly from the ceiling, casting the space in a low green light. And waiting in the shadows were orcs--more than a dozen, armored and silent.

Their armor was unlike anything the sisters had seen before--interlocking black plates with silver inlay, shaped for mobility but ornately decorated. They didn't speak. But their expressions were guarded.

Tension lingered in the air.

Shagrat made a short, clipped gesture to one of the guards and said something in Orcish. The reply came just as quickly--low, cautious, but not hostile.

Then Shagrat turned back to the girls. "Come. We go."

They followed.

The tunnel system beyond the cave entrance was a winding maze. The further they went, the clearer it became that this was not a natural formation--it had been carved, long ago, and reinforced with shaped stone. There were occasional torches, burning with clean green flame, and the floor bore worn symbols, too faded to read.

They walked for what felt like miles, steadily descending.

Then the tunnel ended in open air.

They stood at the edge of a high cliff.

Sophie gasped softly.

The night was thick around them. A vast sky spread overhead, dotted with stars--thousands more than she had ever seen back home. There was a moon here too, pale and crescent-shaped, casting a dim silver light over the rugged landscape.

Below them, nestled between crags and forests, was a small village.

Pinpricks of warm yellow light marked houses. Smoke curled from chimneys. Paths between the structures glowed faintly from lanterns hung on crooked poles.

"It's night," Kimberly whispered. "They... they have night here."

Sophie nodded, transfixed. "Of course they do."

A soft wind blew up from the valley. In the distance, they heard a bell ring--a deep, sonorous tone. Dogs barked. Somewhere, a baby cried. Life.

"This world is like ours," Sophie said softly. "But not."

They made their way down the cliffside on a narrow stairway cut into the rock. The descent was steep, and Sophie's legs ached by the time they reached the base.

There, waiting for them on a dirt path, was a carriage.

It looked... familiar and alien at once. A solid, wheeled frame crafted of dark wood and reinforced iron. The wheels were massive and thick with treads, clearly designed for rough terrain. Runes had been etched into the hubcaps, and faint blue light glimmered beneath the chassis.

But there were no horses.

"Where...?" Kimberly began.

"No horses," Shagrat said, patting the front of the vehicle. "Runs on mana crystal. Same as gate. Collected from monsters."

Indeed, there was a glowing crystal mounted in a bracket at the front, pulsing with a steady light.

Another orc stood near the driver's seat--taller than Shagrat, with a braided beard and a scar across one eye. He gave a curt nod to the sisters and climbed into place.

Shagrat opened the carriage door for them.

Inside was a bench seat on either side, thickly padded and surprisingly comfortable. The walls were paneled in dark wood, with small glowing stones embedded at each corner, giving the interior a soft ambient glow.

Sophie sat first. Kimberly followed, still wide-eyed.

Shagrat climbed in after them and closed the door.

The carriage jolted as the wheels engaged, then rumbled forward with a low, rhythmic clatter.

Outside, the forest passed slowly. Lanterns marked the path like stars fallen to earth.

Inside, the sisters were silent, staring out their windows.

They were in another world.

A living, breathing one.

The realm of the orcs.

And this was only the beginning.

The village disappeared behind us, swallowed by the hush of night and the shadows of tall, unfamiliar trees.

But the carriage didn't stop.

Its wheels hummed over the earth, gliding so smoothly I barely felt the bumps beneath us. Magic radiated from the core beneath our feet--mana crystals, Shagrat had called them. I watched the soft blue light pulse beneath the carriage floor and then glanced out the window. Moonlight flickered through the canopy above. The wind whispered across the trees, cool and strange.

"It's faster than horses," Kimberly murmured beside me. "Feels like we're floating."

I didn't respond. My thoughts were still with the gate. The cave. The moment we'd stepped into a world not our own. A place beyond maps and stars. I looked up. The sky above was unfamiliar--brighter somehow, with more stars, sharper edges, colder colors. The constellations were wrong. Beautiful. But wrong.

Time passed. An hour? Two?

Then I saw it: a glow on the horizon.

At first, I thought it was a trick of the eyes. But the light grew clearer. Steady. Multicolored. Not firelight. Not a camp.

A city.

My breath caught as the view opened before us.

Thousands of lights scattered across rolling hills, like a shattered necklace of stars. The city walls loomed--massive, ancient stone etched with glowing runes that pulsed softly in the dark. Beyond them, towers rose in silhouette, domes shimmered faintly, and the distant glimmer of magic cables webbed the skyline.

The carriage slowed as we reached the gates.

Two orcish guards stood at attention, tall and broad in armor that reflected faint violet hues. They didn't speak when Shagrat stepped down. But they reacted. I saw the flicker of recognition in their eyes. One straightened and placed a fist to his chest in salute. The other bowed deeply.

Shagrat spoke to them in low Orcish. I couldn't understand the words, but I could feel the weight of them--calm, commanding, respected. The guards nodded, then stepped back. One tapped twice on a rune-covered panel, and the gates creaked open.

Shagrat returned.

Kim leaned forward. "They bowed to you. That normal?"

"They recognized me," he said simply. "I've led warriors. Earned respect."

She raised an eyebrow. "So... you're a big deal?"

He gave a faint smile. "Respected, yes. But not one of the elites. There are others far above me."

Kim crossed her arms. "Uh-huh. That sounds like a practiced dodge."

Shagrat didn't answer.

The gates closed behind us with a low boom, and we entered the sleeping city.

The streets were wide and paved with smooth black stone. A gentle green glow came from gutters lined with glowing moss. The buildings were strange--tall and curved, carved from wood and stone, with arches that looked like rib bones and windows shaped like eyes. Most were dark. The few lights that remained glowed soft and low, like embers beneath a blanket.

"It's asleep," I murmured.

Shagrat nodded. "The city rests when the moon is high. We live by its rhythm. Hunt, trade, train by day. Dream by night."

A few orcs moved through the streets--guards on patrol, a lone figure with a heavy cloak, and two elderly merchants snoozing beside a cart. It wasn't dead. Just quiet. Peaceful. Like it was breathing.

Kim gave a small snort. "Weird. But... weirdly nice."

We passed over a canal where glowing orbs floated on the water's surface, casting slow waves of light against stone bridges. Ivy draped from balconies above us. Tapering towers rose into the night sky, blinking faintly with embedded runes. Overhead, magical cables linked rooftops together in a web of silver, like constellations hung between homes.

"You built all this?" I asked quietly.

Shagrat looked out the window. "Over centuries. We build slowly. With care. We grow our cities as much as we shape them."

Even Kimberly stayed silent after that.

The carriage turned and began climbing a hill, winding slowly upward. The higher we went, the more of the city I could see--sleeping beneath us like some vast creature curled into itself. It was beautiful. Strange. Alien. But beautiful.

Eventually, we reached a quiet district. The road here was lined with lanterns suspended in midair, glowing with golden warmth. The homes were larger. Polished stone, dark wood, flowering vines. Banners marked with silver ink fluttered softly in the night breeze. It was wealth. Obvious wealth.

Kim raised an eyebrow. "Rich orcs. Go figure."

We passed beneath an arch into a private estate. The gates were already opening, responding to our approach. Inside was a large courtyard lit by moonlight and enchanted lamps. The air smelled of night blossoms. At the far end, a palace stood--angular and elegant, with towers like horns and silver-veined windows that shimmered under the stars.

The carriage came to a stop.

Shagrat climbed down first and turned, offering his hand. I took it. So did Kimberly. We didn't speak.

"They're expecting us?" Kim asked.

"Yes," Shagrat said. "Everything is prepared."

Three orc servants waited inside the palace doors. All were tall, male, dressed in deep blue robes with one shoulder bare. Their hair was neatly braided. They bowed as Shagrat approached--silent and formal.

He said nothing in return. Just led us past them.

We walked down a long hall of smooth stone, lit by glowing glass sconces. The walls were lined with tapestries--some embroidered with gold thread, others painted with sweeping murals of mountains, beasts, and runes. I couldn't read them, but they felt old. Important.

Shagrat stopped at a carved wooden door and opened it.

The room was large and circular, with a domed ceiling and a massive round bed piled high with silken furs and deep-colored sheets. A misting basin glowed faintly in the corner. A second door led to an adjoining washroom, where I glimpsed the edge of a bathing pool carved into the floor. Runes glimmered above it like stars caught in steam.

Kim let out a low whistle. "Well, this is... something."

Shagrat glanced between us. "I thought you might feel safer together than apart. This room was chosen for that reason."

I nodded. "Thank you."

He inclined his head, then turned slightly toward the window, where sheer curtains drifted on the breeze.

"The Orcish Council has been informed. They'll convene at noon. You'll be summoned."

"So soon?" Kim asked.

"The gate was opened," he said. "That changes everything."

He paused for a moment, then added, "You should rest now. You are safe here."

I believed him.

As he turned to go, I spoke his name. "Shagrat."

He looked back.

"We trust you."

He didn't smile. Just nodded--firm, solemn--and left us alone.

The door slid shut behind him with a soft whisper.

I stood in the silence for a while, listening to the faint hum of distant magic, to the wind against stone. Then I sat at the edge of the bed, my fingers curling into the furs.

Kim let out a slow breath. "So... we're guests now. In orc royalty."

I shook my head. "No. We're just two strangers. In someone else's kingdom."

And for the first time in a long while... I didn't feel afraid.

Shagrat

The city slept beneath the stars, wrapped in a hush that only deep night could bring.

Shagrat stood alone on the balcony of his private chambers, the wind tugging gently at the braids in his hair. Below, the estate gardens shimmered with the glow of nightflowers and soft rune-lights. Beyond the walls, the great sprawl of Ur'Zhu stretched to the horizon, its towers silhouetted against the starlit sky.

He should have felt triumphant, returning home after weeks on the far frontier. A champion of the Moot. The five-time victor. The only one trusted enough to scout the forbidden gate, the one their ancestors had sealed two centuries ago.

Instead, he felt the slow churn of doubt knotting in his gut.

What have I done?

Bringing a human here--an outworlder, and a princess no less--was the height of madness. Worse, it was from a realm the council had forbidden. The gate to her world had been closed for generations. Their historians claimed it had been too violent, too greedy. Something about that realm had sickened the council enough to turn away forever.

And yet Shagrat had not turned away.

He exhaled slowly, his breath fogging in the chill air. He could still see her face in his mind--wide-eyed, wary, proud. And beneath that pride, the pain she tried to hide. Sophie. A strange name for a woman who wielded power like a blade and yet looked as if she'd never truly been held.

He hadn't meant to bring her here.

He hadn't meant to want her.

But from the moment they met, something inside him had shifted. Something primal, ancient--older than council laws, older than the empire of rune and stone. He'd looked at her and seen not a threat, but a calling.

He wanted her.

Not as a trophy. Not as some fragile guest to be coddled and forgotten.

He wanted her in the oldest way their kind remembered. In the deepest way his instincts understood.

As his.

His mate. His slave. He wanted her for the orcs. He wanted her naked in front of everyone as he took her to the heights of pleasure and pain.

But even now, the thought felt dangerous. Foolish. He was no boy drunk on his first victory. He was the Champion of the Moot--five years undefeated. Son of Uzur, High Seat of the Orcish Council. He had scaled the ice cliffs of Gorran'tu, killed a sea drake with his bare hands, and bled in a dozen realms.

And still, he was afraid.

Not of death. Not of dishonor. But of her--of what she represented. A crossroads. A break in the old path.

She had looked at him as no one ever had. Not with fear. Not with worship. But with trust. That cursed, beautiful trust.

And he had not lied to her.

If the council rejected her--as he knew they would--he would find a way to return her safely. Whatever it cost. Whatever bridges he burned.

But what did she have left, back in that ruined kingdom? A dead father? A fallen empire? Her people scattered or enslaved?

He didn't know.

And worse, he suspected she didn't know either.

He clenched his jaw and looked up at the sky. The constellations of his people watched him in silence. He felt none of their comfort tonight.

His father would call this a failure of discipline. A soft heart in a hard body.

But Shagrat had survived too much to mistake his own desire for weakness. No, this wasn't softness. It was certainty. Something deep, and real, and sharp as a hunting fang.

He didn't just want Sophie in his bed.

He wanted her at his side.

Naked. Unmasked. He wanted her in her purest form--the soul beneath the robes, the magic behind the eyes, the pain under her crown.

He had never believed in fate before.

But perhaps tonight, for the first time, he would.