"No, he wouldn't have the courage to attempt such a thing!" Ayıboğan cut off his son's speech, snapping. Kaplanyürek, seeing his father hesitate, continued to speak, increasing the intensity.
"Warriors reported that he met with those two in his tent the night before the hunt. How else could those traitors, who were struggling to breathe just a week ago out of fear, suddenly find the courage to attack two warriors on duty, Father!" When the scenes from the naming ceremony flashed through Ayıboğan's mind, his expression grew even grimmer. He had witnessed Domuzkuyruk throwing himself forward to save that scrawny orc from death and the other massive orc breaking Kalındiş's hand.
"Could it be? After all these years, has he decided to rebel against me?"
From the moment Kaplanyürek entered the tent and knelt to speak, the tribe could no longer be the same. He recounted to his father, with various lies, that the two orcs Kalındiş took to the cave for execution had ambushed him, provoked Kızgınboğa, and tried to drag all the other orcs to their death along with them.
"How can he not know why we sent them to Lofty Mountain? Using the grudge these two orcs hold against Kalındiş, he is trying to cut off our lineage. As if allowing him to live wasn't enough, you let him have a son too! Father, I beg you! We need to settle this matter completely before sunrise!" Kaplanyürek continued his speech, shouting as if tearing out his lungs.
As Ayıboğan looked at his son, who was putting on a great dramatic display, his mind went back to that night eighty years ago. There were certain important rules that Orc Chiefs had to follow to perpetuate their lineage. The Chief could only have children with a female orc qualified to give birth to his lineage. Their species had an immense ability to reproduce. For the security of the throne, Chiefs had to stop having children after the first male child. This was the most important rule they had established when they began to rule the orc steppes along with his four brothers.
In a hundred years, there was only one instance where the rule was broken. Not five breaths had passed since Ayıboğan's son was born when the tent groaned with the sound of another cry. Ayıboğan, who should have killed the younger of his twin sons, succumbed to his emotions. While keeping the firstborn son in his tent, he sent the other to be with the newborns. No one else knew this secret for years, until the meddlesome healer told Kaplanyürek in an attempt to increase his own prestige. Kaplanyürek, standing up against his father under the impact of what he heard, would never forget the pain of the slap he received that day for the rest of his life.
The healer's execution was very silent, and the appointment of the tribe's star hunter Domuzkuyruk as the head of the supply section surprised everyone. With the change in circumstances, Kaplanyürek, who ran out of options to kill the brother he hated, had been letting his hatred grow day by day in his heart until now.
"When the moon reaches its peak, let all Section Heads be in my tent. Kalındiş must also be present!" Kaplanyürekwas ecstatic as he walked toward his son's tent. When he entered, he hastily sent out the healer who was continuing the treatment and began making Kalındiş memorize word for word the lies he had told his father.
The Section Chiefs, having received the news of the meeting, began making the necessary preparations. The news that went to the Chief of the warriors was slightly different from the others, which is why he arrived at the tent first. The outside of the tent was surrounded by dense teams of warriors, and unlike normal, those entering were asked to leave their weapons.
Domuzkuyruk had learned about the daytime events before many others in the tribe. As an experienced orc who had witnessed countless injuries and deaths as a former hunter, he couldn't figure out why the situation was being blown out of proportion, even though it involved the Chief's grandson. After all, once you went out hunting, you could never know what might happen to you.
Domuzkuyruk, entering the tent with these thoughts, saw that the Section Chiefs and their aides inside were wearing war armor. The tent, like the outside, was invaded by many warriors. A great unease overcame him before he and his aide sat down in their place.
Once everyone attending the meeting was in their place, Kaplanyürek stood up and commanded: "Quickly arrest the traitors!"
The warriors, following his orders, literally tore Domuzkuyruk and his aide from their seats and brought them before the Chief. The pair, surrounded on all sides, looked around in astonishment from where they knelt.
"Two traitors set a treacherous trap during today's hunt, trying to kill my son Kalındiş. They struck my son, who went to kill the murderous Lord of Lofty Mountain with the guards he brought, from the back!" Kaplanyürek paused his speech, which he began shouting, and continued, adding a hint of sadness to his voice.
"You all know Kalındiş; his brave heart always beats for his tribe. Despite all my warnings, the love for the tribe within him weighed heavier. He tried to take revenge for the countless brothers killed on Lofty Mountain, where they went to provide food for their kin!" The Section Chiefs and aides in the tent struck their chests hard and cried out in pain at these words.
Kaplanyürek, bringing the atmosphere to the desired fervor, continued to attack mercilessly. Pointing at Domuzkuyruk, Kaplanyürek said, "When my son and his heroic warriors charged to kill the cruel creature in his cave, the female orc saved by this traitor during the naming ceremony treacherously attacked from the back. Our warriors, seeing their commander wounded, were torn apart by the cruel creature while rushing to help!"
Domuzkuyruk could no longer contain himself; he lost his composure against this slander and shouted, "Lies, slander! I have absolutely no involvement in this!"
"Silence! How dare you speak like that in this sacred place, before our great Chief! Let's see how you can deny what you've done once Kalındiş arrives!" Kaplanyürek had specifically asked his son to join the meeting a little late. He would prepare the setting with a swift entry and finish with Kalındiş, who would draw an image of being in great pain from his wounds and barely able to stand.
"You will feel the pain I have suffered. You will understand what it means to see your son mortally wounded!" The individuals serving as aides to the Section Chiefs had to be their own sons. This rule both reduced the risk of the Section Chiefs being betrayed by their subordinates and kept the Section Chiefs under threat of their son's head potentially being cut off at any moment.
Domuzkuyruk, seeing Kaplanyürek walking toward them, tried to rise up in fury but was slammed face down onto the ground by the surrounding warriors. Domuzkuyruk could do nothing as Kaplanyürek approached his son step by step.
"Everyone out!" Ayıboğan, whose voice hadn't been heard since the start of the meeting which had turned into a trial, finally spoke. As his voice echoed inside the tent, all the orcs felt the blood drain from their bodies.
"Everyone leave the tent, except those two!" Ayıboğan spoke once more, pointing at Domuzkuyruk and his son on the floor with his hand. Kaplanyürek wanted to object, but he knew that any move he made against his father would be to his detriment. After watching everyone leave, he slowly exited the tent, muttering to himself, "You retarded child, I told you to be a little late; where the hell have you been hanging around all this time?"
"Lift your head!" In the suddenly deserted tent, Ayıboğan spoke, looking at his son on the floor. After seeing Domuzkuyruk's eyes, Ayıboğan stood up and continued his speech as he walked toward the duo.
"Was this to be the result of me breaking our family's biggest rule to keep you alive? Is attempting to kill my lineage your way of showing gratitude?" This slander, the humiliations he suffered, and the attempt on his son's life had long passed Domuzkuyruk's breaking point.
"I have done everything you told me to for many years; not once have I made a move that would put you in a difficult situation. Now, with no proof, do you not believe me either? FATHER!" After the final word left his mouth, a cold wind seemed to blow inside the tent. He had finally said the word he had made taboo for himself for years. Under the astonished gazes of his father and his son, he felt a burden lift from his shoulders.
At the same moment, the entire tribe groaned with a thunder-like sound, and the strange atmosphere inside the tent was completely dispersed by this shout from outside.
"Ayıboğan, come out! I've come to sever your treacherous head from your cowardly body!"