No Dreams In Darkness by cuarthol

Fanwork Information

Summary:

An Orc of Morgoth - just one of the many masses that were bred for war and slaughter.  But what happens when an idea of self beyond that of slave begins to form?

7-prompt path for the Matryoshka challenge.

Major Characters: Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s), Orcs

Major Relationships:

Artwork Type: No artwork type listed

Genre: General

Challenges: X Marks the Spot

Rating: Teens

Warnings: Violence (Moderate)
Chapters: 7 Word Count: 2, 354
Posted on 22 October 2022 Updated on 22 October 2022

This fanwork is complete.

Table of Contents

Thangorodrim

Prompt: It comes in threes.

Angband

Prompt: Under_____
A Starless Sky

Anfauglith

Prompt: Splendor lost

Taur-nu-Fuin

Prompt: Never laugh at live dragons

(warning for somewhat gruesome references in this chapter)

Nan Dungortheb

Prompt: Weaving a tangled web

Pass of Aglon

Prompt: Not a lot of options

Nan Elmoth

Prompt: An unexpected visitor

Comments

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This was a beautiful piece! The imagery was excellent, I was having all kinds of visuals throughout, and of course you kept pulling on my emotions. What a fascinating perspective on the Bragollach (I assume)!

But the whips at their backs were worse than the bright-eyed creatures before them, and so onward they went.

This is so good. 

One benefit - or perhaps downside, she was not quite certain yet - was the fires had cooked some of them nicely and when no whips drove them from behind, some stopped and feasted on the dead.

Yes, this is gruesome, as you warned, but what an interesting detail. The way she mentions it in such a removed way, as if this is just a practical thing to do, is raw and real. Well, I guess it's cooked... eerr.

Roots curled up and hindered her path, branches grasped at her, tearing what little remained of her shirt.  The branches shuddered in anger at her passing, but still she pushed on.

This is some of my favourite imagery. The idea of Nan Elmoth fighting her, even after Eöl is gone... I actually felt bad for her, being rejected no matter where she went, but pushing on.

And the ending pinched at my tear ducts.

A vivid group of ficlets, cuarthol, with wonderfully grim details that fit the prompts so nicely and illustrated the plight of the orcs, bred as war fodder.  I appreciated poor Kurn's dilemma, caught between the hammer and the anvil (At her master’s hands, death may well become a mercy withheld) and nothing to look forward to but an occasional full belly (even though, yeah, the food), and successfully avoiding pain or death, all of which could happen in so many creative ways. I loved her theft of the lock of golden hair and found myself rooting for Kurn and hoping she could find a better life.  

Actually, some 18+ months ago, I wouldn't read a story like this. I mean, I was like, "Orcs?!?! Who would like to read about those creatures?!" :)

What changed? A year and a half ago the idea come into my mind, for a novel that happens in Mordor and the characters are orcs, and the idea just didn't want to go away. So I started writing :))) (It is a big project, and real life is not merciful, so it will take a long time. But I *will* finish it. Currently I am doing the first editing.)

So, I dove deep into orcs' world, and I am very interested in everything about them. So, to find a good story about the orcs, is now a real pleasure for me :)

A long and winding road to freedom, but she made it, with a great deal of luck and stubbornness! And by the end, I'm really rooting for her to make it to those mountains and survive.

That prompt "Not a lot of options" describes her general situation so well, but she copes as best she can.

Great use of all those prompts and so many convincing details!

First being driven ahead of the whips and then the fairly visceral descriptions of marching over bodies and eating the cooked ones with relish should have been more off-putting, but Kum is quite a likable character. I hope she finds the freedom she seeks.