Once we arrive at our destination, two older orcs motion for me to step behind a privacy screen, saying “Zuk, ash.”
“They want you to get behind the screen and strip to your underwear,” Na’Tia translates.
“What!? Why!” I protest.
“Because, dumb-dumb, they finished making a dress for you.”
“A-a dress?! For me?” I ask in surprise. I never got to wear one when I was human, and I’ve always been curious…
Stepping behind the privacy screen, I slip out of my belt and skirt. Before I can undress the rest of the way, they toss my new duds halfway over the screen, allowing me to grab it. Once I’m fully disrobed I inspect what I’ll be wearing; a fur trimmed, long sleeved white dress with a long flared skirt. It has a strange red symbol sewn onto both of the shoulders:

Careful not to damage it as I put it on, I’m amazed at just how right it feels. Dresses are amazing! The closest thing I’ve ever felt to this has to be a bathrobe, and that doesn’t come close!
Stepping back into view, I am immediately presented with a ceramic cactus flower pin.
“They want you to put that in your hair to complete the look,” Na’Tia grumps.
Sensing something’s amiss, I comply, reaching up and pinning it to the left side of my head.
“Okay, you’re dressed and have the stupid pin. Let’s go get food already!” she growls, growing more impatient by the second.

Following Na’Tia out of the building, I soon find myself at a large banquet area set up between the kitchen and the Chieftains’ yurt. I also find myself dragged away from my translator once again, this time to be seated near the council of chieftains. La’Borra’s sitting nearby, and Na’Tia walks over to sit next to him, so that’s a relief at least. Despite there being only around a hundred people here, I feel like I have a million eyes watching me right now…

I suppress a shudder and focus, turning to look at the chieftains.
The one on the left has to be the youngest, no older than forty…and he isn’t wearing a shirt, just a madder red headband trailing down from where it’s tied, decorated with fangs. Well, at least he’s wearing pants, and I guess dressing like that does show off his muscles!
The chieftain in the middle is more androgynous, and a bit older looking, but honestly the best part is that hat! It’s the coolest thing I’ve seen so far since coming here; a bear head with boar tusks and what appear to be bison horns coming out of it. I can barely tear my eyes away to take in anything else about them, but they’re…honestly indistinguishable from most of the orcs in the village. Aside from that awesome hat!
Lastly, the chieftain on the right is easily the oldest - I’d place her over seventy. She’s wearing well-worn, pale leather clothing with various bones adorning her outfit. She seems like someone people might underestimate at first glance, but something tells me that wouldn’t be wise.

Honestly, I don’t know what I expected, but none of them miss the mark of “orc chieftain” in my mind.

Chefs come around and begin serving, heading to the chieftains first, then me, then everyone else in an orderly fashion based on who is seated next to whom. Next the chefs bring out tankards, which are placed next to our plates, as well as pitchers which are already full of water; these are placed at equal distances between each of us. Na’Tia translates for me that I shouldn’t drink alcohol and pours some water for me, and I try not to scowl at the missed opportunity.
Looking at my plate I see several kinds of meat, steamed greens, chilled berries, some farmed goods, and some pasta. I reach for what is obviously a fork, only for Na’Tia to snatch my wrist and hold my hand down.
“Wait until the chieftains say!” she whispers urgently.
It takes a moment, but after everyone has a plate and drink, the center chieftain gets up.
“I duzo bek zerik la'rebon ur Mosh’Gwyr mash!” they boom, before sitting back down as the crowd begins eating. Then, they turn to me with a smile. “Okay, Godsend; now you may eat.”
“T-Thank you, chieftain,” I blurt out before grabbing my fork and knife.
I begin to dig in to some of the meat. As the perfectly tender cut just melts in my mouth, I let out a low noise. Is it seasoned with honey barbecue sauce? There’s all kinds of herbs and spices in there; too many to describe, really! Delicious. As I work my way through my plate, I eventually come to the pasta, and note that it has a distinct fishy flavor, so I politely ask La’Borra what the noodles are made of.
“Ah, that, yes…It’s made of briar vine and cattail roots, kelp and egg, as well as mesquite bean and yucca seed flours. We get the kelp from a neighboring clan near the ocean.”
“And what is the meat? It’s so rich, yet I can't place it...” I ask.
“Ruibahk.” Na’Tia says between bites. “You’d know it as impala.”
“Impala?! Oh dang, never had that before!” I can barely contain my excitement.
“Yes, we hunt it from time to time,” La’Borra says before taking a drink.
I finally get around to my berries. The yellow ones have a distinct flavor, and a refreshing crunch when compared to the desert rose apples. I pick one up and ask Na’Tia what it is, curious if I can get more of them for later.
“Woad.” Both she and La’Borra respond in unison.
“Huh... never had woad berries before either,” I say, popping this one into my mouth.

After finishing the meal I accidentally belch. Oops, that isn’t polite behavior…
I look around in embarrassment, yet nobody seems upset. On the contrary, several other guests let out triumphant burps of their own. It seems not only is it not impolite, it may actually be a sign of respect to burp after a meal here…? That’s going to take some getting used to!
During my look-around, I spot Billy at one of the tables, chatting away. I wonder what he’s been up to?
“Dugga mog cho buti I!” the central chief exclaims.
At their words, the chefs bring out small, dark, purplish cakes with a marbled gold, green, and purple fruit jam frosting on them, topped with a dollop of light pink cream with black flecks. I’m instantly paying attention, as these are only the size of a muffin or cupcake, but way more decorated than either.
Once again, we all sit and wait patiently until told to eat. Then, the word.
“Hurog!”
I tear into mine with anticipation, and my eyes go wide. “OH! This is GOOD! What is this made of?!” I ask the folks around me.
The eldest chieftain pipes up, wagging a finger. “I’m afraid we can’t tell you that, Godsend or not.” She sticks out her tongue at me. “You’ll have to stick around a while if you want to earn enough trust to be told our baking secrets of this level!”
I feel my face flush with embarrassment. “Of course, chieftain. I’m sorry.”
“No need for apologies,” the youngest chieftain says jovially. “We just can’t go around handing out all our best baked goods! Who would visit for our food, then, hm?” He winks.
I nod and continue stuffing my face with cake.

As soon as I finish, I hydrate like I’ve been stuck in the desert for a week with no water. Well, I guess I am in a desert, so I’m not far off…
The water itself seems to be mineral water, which shouldn’t surprise me, but it does anyway. I just haven’t had good mineral water in ages.
“I hope the feast was to your satisfaction, Godsend,” the younger, shirtless chieftain says.
“It’s *URP* fantastic!” Another accidental burp. “Most of it is just like what I used to eat before coming here!”
“I’m glad that it is to your liking,” he says.
“Godsend, may we talk with you in private for a moment?” The elder chieftain asks, and without waiting for an answer, all three of them get up and return to their yurt.
After washing up I head over there myself, stopping at the entrance, wondering what this could be about. With my mind buzzing like a beehive, I step inside.

Entering the yurt I see all three of them sitting on cushions in the exact formation they were in during the feast.
“So... what do you want to talk to me about?” I ask warily.
“First things first, is our village to your liking?” the right chieftain asks.
“It’s good. Nothing that I’m not used to.”
“A O nur mukka wur omlarn?” The middle one asks.
“I am sorry, but I don’t speak the Orcish language yet…” I sadly say.
“Hmm… Just like what the stories say about elder Na’Tia…” the center chieftain says, nodding sagely.
“Elder Na’Tia? She doesn’t look that old-”
“Not her, Lar’Ra; we mean young Na’Tia’s ancestor, the previous Godsend,” the left one corrects me.
“Wait, little Na’Tia, La’Borra’s granddaughter, was named after her great great grandmother?”
“Yes, it is not uncommon to name our children after important people,” the right chieftain answers.
“So after a few generations someone else will be named Lar’Ra?” I ask dazedly.
“We’re going off the path here; let’s get back to the matter at hand,” the left chieftain says.
“Right… Lar’Ra, elder La’Borra has told us much about you,” the middle one says.
“Nothing bad, I hope…”
“No, nothing untoward. In fact, he has only good and interesting things to say about you,” the right one says, all smiles.
“What we wish to talk to you about is the matter of your summoning to this world,” the middle chieftain finally explains.
“Namely, to see if you will be a good fit for our village,” the left one says.
“And to see if you will be of use to our Goddess,” the right one says.
“Wait, back up! What’s this about a Goddess?” I ask in confusion.
“Back during The God Wars, our Goddess, our very creator, was struck down…but not killed. Instead, she has been slowly dying since the blow was struck, and ever since, she has been bringing people from your world to find a suitable champion. Unfortunately, with much less frequency as of late. We fear that her time has just about come...” the elder chieftain says with sorrow in her voice.
“So you three are going to test me and see if I am up to the quality your Goddess is looking for in a champion?” I ask in an honest tone.
“Basically? Yes.” the androgynous one answers.
I give it a moment of thought. I’m pretty used to working hard for recognition, so this shouldn’t be too different…
“Alright, I’ll do it. Where do I start?”
“Your first test is with me!” the masculine chieftain proclaims as he gets up from his madder red cushion. He walks up to me and pats me on the shoulder. “I shall see you at the axe first thing tomorrow morning. Get some rest, you’ll need it,” he says as he leaves the yurt.
“If you pass his test, you will leave the village…” the middle one says grimly, “and do my test; gathering all four of the items that I ask of you.”
“And my test has already started,” the elder chieftain chimes in with a smile.
“Great, no pressure I guess,” I say, dreading what may come…
I see myself out of the yurt and take a deep breath, followed by a long exhale to calm myself. Okay, no pressure, I can do this. I just need to meet the first one and do his test, then gather all those items, and then do a third unknown test. I just hope that none of the tests are things like reciting their history or math tests...

As I walk back to Na’Tia’s private yurt from the chieftains’ yurt, I bump into that masculine chieftain.
“Oh hey, so what is the test for tomorrow, by the way?” I ask the chieftain.
“Fighting! I wish to see how well you do in hand-to-hand combat,” he proudly exclaims.
Oh this is going to be EASY! All those years of learning Taekwondo, Jiu Jitsu, Krav Maga, and a few lessons in Kickboxing (darned metal horseless wagon interrupting that) are going to finally pay off tomorrow morning! Thank you mom and dad for signing me up for all those grueling classes~! I might not be a master in each of those, but I know enough to have this in the bag!
“Do not worry, we will not kill each other- why are you smiling like that?”
“Ohohoho, you’ll see~!” I say with so much glee in my tone. “Best I get some rest now,” I add, ending with a yawn.
The chieftain leaves me with a confused and worried look on his face. The poor fool…

As I get ready for bed I hear Na’Tia’s tiny footsteps.
“Okay, I guess you can stay with me. But not a moment longer than it has to take!”
With a big yawn I say, “That’s okay, I’ll be out of here for a while when it comes time for test number 2.”
“Tests? What tests?”
“The chieftains want me to show my strength in combat, gather some items, and I don’t really know what the third thing is, but it’s happening now. It’s to show that I am good enough for the village and stuff…” I say as we make our way back to Na’Tia’s yurt.
“Huh… Anyway, here are your clothes that you left when you put on the dress.”
“Thank you, Na’Tia.” I sleepily mumble as I make my way over to a freshly delivered bed.
“They just delivered that bed from the storage building next door.”
“How thoughtful…” I mumble some more as I crawl into bed and begin to drift to sleep.
“Well, sleep well then, Lar’Ra.” Na’Tia says.
“You too…” and with that I was out like a… candle…?