The choking fog that had blanketed the battlefield slowly dispersed, revealing the destruction beneath—bodies of both green and purple goblins scattered across the ground. The air smelled of iron and smoke.
Through the thinning mist, a figure emerged. Her skin was a pale lavender hue, marked with tribal tattoos that glowed faintly in the moonlight. She wore an intricate battle dress stitched from monster hide, crowned with a small pink circlet set with a single, jagged crystal. Her lips curled into a sharp, almost playful smile—a predator savoring the moment.
Zatana, leader of the Purple Goblins, stepped forward with the confidence of someone who feared nothing.
"As expected from a half–black orc," she purred, her voice smooth yet dripping with venom.
Gargi's emerald eyes narrowed. Her hands tightened into fists. "So you're the one behind this rampage? But
why?"
"Why?" Zatana tilted her head mockingly. "Because you weak, pathetic lowborns don't deserve what you have. Food. Territory. Safety. All while my people starve in the caves. You should be kneeling—working for us as slaves. That is your rightful place. Bow now… or be slaughtered."
Gargi's voice was ice.
"Do you… not know who I am?"
Her body moved in a blur. She launched herself forward, muscles coiling like a spring, fist swinging toward Zatana's smug face.
But before the blow could land—
CRACK!
A massive wall of jagged ice erupted from the ground between them, frost spreading across the dirt like veins. The temperature dropped instantly. Gargi skidded to a halt, her punch striking the ice with a sharp thud, leaving spiderweb cracks but not breaking it.
Her eyes widened. "Ice…? No. It can't be…"
Zatana's smirk deepened. "Did you think you were the only hybrid? I am Zatana—born from the blood of Blue Goblins and Purple Goblins. I command the cold as easily as you command your strength."
Backstory:
The Warrior's Oath
The sight of the ice pulled memories from Gargi's past.
She had been just a little girl when her world had already decided she didn't belong. Neither side accepted her; the green goblins called her a "tainted blood," and the black orcs saw her as weak.
It was on one of those cruel days that she had witnessed true horror. Human warriors had raided the outskirts of the village, torturing and dragging away young female goblins. Gargi watched from the shadows as the male goblins were cut down.
Something inside her snapped. She grabbed a rusted axe and tore into the humans. Rage guided her hands, fueled by the injustice. When the battle was over, she stood alone among the corpses, the only survivor.
But word traveled fast. The humans who escaped ran to King Drakheart. Days later, the King's elite unit descended on the village, led by Sir Arthur, The Iron Sentinel—one of the Eleven Great Warriors.
The clash had been brutal. Gargi fought like a cornered beast, bringing down several soldiers before Arthur's blade cut deep into her side. As she knelt, the King himself arrived. Through clenched teeth, Gargi told him the truth—of the women they had tortured and the men they had slain.
The King studied her for a long moment. Then, to everyone's shock, he ordered his troops to stand down. The guilty soldiers were executed, and in an act that would change Gargi's life, he pledged aid to the Green Goblins.
From that day forward, Gargi swore an oath: no one would harm her people while she still drew breath.
Back to Present
The frost around her boots snapped her out of the memory. Zatana was already moving, her hand outstretched as spears of ice materialized in the air and launched toward Gargi in a deadly hail.
Gargi ducked, rolled, and burst forward, smashing through one spear and sidestepping another. Her fist slammed into the ice wall, shattering a section into glittering shards. She leapt through the opening—
But Zatana was ready.
With a flick of her wrist, she froze the ground under Gargi's feet, sending her sliding off-balance. In that split second, Zatana spun her staff in a graceful arc and slammed the blunt end into Gargi's side, sending her crashing into a fallen tree.
The impact rattled her bones, but Gargi forced herself up, spitting blood. "You'll pay for this.
"Big words from a half-breed about to be frozen solid," Zatana sneered.
Purple goblins began to close in, surrounding Gargi with snarling faces and drawn blades. The air shimmered with cold, the breath of every enemy visible.
Gargi exhaled slowly, centering herself. Her eyes burned with the same fury from the day she saved her people.
She tightened her grip on her axe.
"Come. Let's see who freezes first."
Zatana's crown pulsed with an ominous light, the ground trembling beneath them. Ice cracked and split, revealing a massive, shadowy figure rising from below—a creature of frost and rage, its roar shaking the battlefield.
And Gargi realized… this was only the beginning.
To Be Continued…