'Star People' & 'Orc' by Himring

Orc

An orc escapes from the fall of Angband at the end of the First Age

'Run, you idiot!' bellowed his mother and dealt him a heavy blow across his shoulders that sent him stumbling forward and, as the Great Mind faltered in its battle against the Host of Valinor, loosening its hold over the Pits of Angband just a little, the impetus released him into flight, striking out at anyone who came close enough to be within reach, but onwards, onwards, through fire and water, leaving his mother behind to die, running as the earth sank beneath his feet.

Panting, he climbed the slopes of the Blue Mountains and, as the Dark Will slowly faded at the back of his mind, succumbing to the final onslaught--as Thangorodrim tottered and fell, crushing whole armies beneath its weight--for the first time he glimpsed the green land of Eriador lying serene beneath the stars. It was then that he first sensed his emptiness, like a physical ache, unable to be filled.

There were others who had escaped, like him. They banded together for survival. Their language was snarls and blows, all hands against them and their hands against all. It was all they had been taught, and that teaching held them still. But he did not quite forget--not that moment of freedom nor how it had hurt.

Sometimes, alone in the night, he would bare his teeth hungrily, longingly at the stars.