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''Orcs: First Blood'' (variant title: ''Orcs'' (2004)) is a series of books written by Stan Nicholls. It includes: ''Bodyguard of Lightning'', ''Legion of Thunder'' and ''Warriors of the Tempest''. The books focus on the conflicts between a group of orcs and humans, but through the unconventional view of the orcs. The trilogy, first printed in the United Kingdom by Victor Gollancz Ltd, has become international bestseller, with over one million copies sold and the first two books, ''Bodyguard of Lightning'' and ''Legion of Thunder'', received Best Novel nominations at the 1999 British Fantasy Awards.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Stan Nicholls )〕 The sequel of ''Orcs: First Blood'' is ''Orcs: Bad Blood'', which includes ''Bad Blood: Weapons of Magical Destruction'', ''Bad Blood: Army of Shadows'' and ''Bad Blood: Inferno''. ==Background and release== Asked why he has written about orcs, Nicholls has answered with "When I was thinking of writing about orcs, my mind turned to the well known adage about how it’s winners who write the history books. Orcs have featured in European folklore for hundreds of years, and they’ve popped up in various works of fiction from as early as the 15th.〔" The first volume, ''Bodyguard of Lightning'', was first published in the UK in February 1999. The second volume, ''Legion of Thunder'' appeared in October 1999 and the third, ''Warriors of the Tempest'', in November 2000. The books were published by Gollancz (Victor Gollancz Ltd).〔 The novel was published in other countries, in the form of 3 books or omnibus, including: The United States of America, Bulgaria, China, The Czech Republic, Germany, The Netherlands, France, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain and Romania. Audiobook versions of trilogies ''Orcs: First Blood'' and ''Orcs: Bad Blood'', read by John Lee, are being released by US company Tantor Media in 2010/2011.〔 == Plot == The story follows the adventures of a warband of orc soldiers, the Wolverines, led by Stryke, a Captain in the Orcish Horde. His lieutenants are Haskeer, a foul tempered orc, Coilla, a clever female orc, who is also the warband's newest recruit and Jup, a Dwarf mercenary, who is disliked by Haskeer due to his race (and the fact that Dwarfs fight for both sides), and Alfray, an old and wise orc who also acts as the warband's standard bearer and medic. The setting of the story is the mythical world of Maras Dantia, which is populated by Humans, Orcs, Elves, Dwarfs, Trolls, Dragons and many other staple creatures of the Fantasy genre. There is a war raging between the polytheistic Manis (who worship "many" gods) and the monotheistic Unis (who follow a religion analogous to Puritan Christianity). The orcs dislike humans, who have brought farming and industry to Maras Dantia, as well as the Uni religion. The presence of humans in Maras Dantia is also killing the land, every year the glaciers advance further from the north, and the magic is literally draining out of the ground itself. The story begins with the wolverines having been sent on a mission by an evil queen, Jennesta, (to whom they have been enslaved) to recover an ancient artifact from a human settlement. Along with the artifact, the orcs discover a stash of pellucid, a potent narcotic, and after the battle, Stryke, their leader, allows them to use some of it to boost morale. During the night, he dreams that he meets an orc female in a world where only orcs live, without humans or dwarfs. Due to their delay, the impulsive and insane Jennesta becomes convinced that she has been betrayed, and so she orders another group of orcs, aided by a dragon, to hunt them down and capture them. Realising they are now being hunted by both sides, Stryke decides that the group must capture a similar artifact from another settlement to use as a bargaining chip for their lives. They set out to infiltrate a human settlement run by a Uni fundamentalist named Howbrow. Using a member of the group who is a dwarf to gain access to the town, the orcs are able to steal a second artifact, which they call "stars" due to their pointy shape, at the same time, they foil Howbrows plot to kill off all the non-human races in Maras Dantia using a poison created from plants being grown in the town's greenhouse, causing him to chase them with an army of his own. Soon, the group learns that there are five "stars", that they can be fitted together so perfectly that they cannot be taken apart and that they grant those who possess them great power, although the nature of the power is not known. Stryke continues to have dreams where he meets the same orc female, and sees more of her world where orcs are the dominant species. The Wolverines decide that, to survive, they must acquire all the artifacts. One is in the possession of a Mani settlement, where it is revered as a religious artifact, another in the hands of a group of subterranean trolls, while yet another is owned by a group of centaurs, who agree to trade their star, or instrumentality, the name given to them by their creator, for the tear of Jennesta's equally evil sister, Adpar. This is due to the healing powers it would bestow, as the leader of the centaurs was crippled by Adpar's magic. The group's quest to steal all the "stars" and evade capture by all sides, takes them across the land of Maras Dantia, with Jennesta's forces in hot pursuit. Eventually, after much hardship, and with many of the group killed, the orcs acquire all the artefacts, and learn that they will open a portal to many alternate versions of Maras Dantia, in each of which, the dominant species is different (dwarfs, humans, orcs), and that the fact that all species occupying a single plane of existence is due to a magical accident, as a result of which, the land itself is "dying" and magic is draining away. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Orcs: First Blood」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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