I Read Stories: In The Saying, Make This True by Aimee Ogden

 

In The Saying, Make This True by Aimee Ogden in Frivolous Comma

Hen-Of-The-Woods is a goblin living in the wet forest. Goblins are one of the Broken Peoples, cursed to speak a Broken Tongue. There are no words for warmth, for affection, for attraction. And they can’t share language with other Broken Peoples. Things are hard, finding and scavenging, and when the Smooth Folk, the elves and humans, catch them in their woods they come in and attack. Still they get by.

There are rumours that another Dread Lord has risen, another army on the march. And if that’s the case there might be a war tithe, not just food and supplies but goblins conscripted in the army. Ma, maybe, or Hen-Of-The-Woods might be grown enough.

Hen meets a Strongarm in the woods. A powerful beast with a halberd. But one who doesn’t know how to gather. They can’t speak, they have different tongues, Broken Tongues. But he gives her an egg, then more eggs and together they gather much better. Together they’re stronger. Though they can’t speak, and their words are hard and insults.

What if a goblin could be in charge. What if they decided when they went to war, or if they went to war. What if goblins and strongarms worked together. And maybe when the war tithe comes again things will be different.

Read This: A poignant story of surviving and making friends when you’re a despised broken goblin
Don’t Read This: Even now the goblin dreams in his heart for lordship