Long time ago, far away, in the dimmest corners of the universe, where stars blink as if they might disappear at any moment, there exists a tale of one of the most unlikely heroes in the endless war between chaos and order. His name was Trog, and he was a Gretchin.
Trog was no ordinary Gretchin, even by the low standards of his kind. He stood a mere three feet tall, with a perpetually crooked grin stretching from ear to ear beneath his large, bulbous eyes. His skin, a sickly green, was mottled with scars and dirt, and his ears flopped down like the wings of a long-dead bat. But what set Trog apart was his heart - a strange thing to say about such a lowly creature, but one that would soon prove true.

In Krot society, dissent is a rare and suppressed occurrence, as their leaders maintain a strict hold on order, leaving little room for questioning or resistance.
The Gretchin, for those who do not know, are a race of small, goblin-like creatures. They are known throughout the galaxy for their servile and cunning nature, bound to the will of the larger Orks who lord over them. They are often slaves, toiling endlessly for the Orks in their campaigns of violence and destruction. Yet, the Gretchin have a knack for survival, a talent for sneaking around unseen, and a thirst for something better than their miserable lives.
Trog's tale begins in a place known as The Scraplands - a barren stretch of scorched earth that sat on the edge of a once-thriving Ork empire. This wasteland, now inhabited only by the scraps of forgotten wars, was home to countless Gretchin who worked tirelessly to salvage whatever remained. Amidst these ruins, Trog had once found something rare: a friend.
His friend was a fellow Gretchin named Shak, who was unlike the others in the Scraplands. Shak had been a wanderer, a dreamer, who believed in something more than servitude to the Orks. Trog and Shak formed an unlikely bond, helping each other survive the dangers of the Scraplands and escaping the Ork patrols who would often take their friends for sport. They would laugh together, dream together, and even schemed for a better life - one free of the Ork tyrants.
But one fateful day, Shak disappeared. Trog was certain that his friend had been taken by the Orks, perhaps to be used as cannon fodder in their latest battle, or worse, to be thrown into the jaws of the great beast the Orks used to terrify their foes. Trog, heartbroken and enraged, could not bear the thought of losing his only true friend. Thus, a quest began.
Trog embarked on a dangerous journey across the Scraplands, hoping to find any clue that might lead him to Shak. The terrain was treacherous - filled with deadly traps, hostile Ork patrols, and mutated creatures that had once been the remnants of a great war machine. Yet, Trog was determined, his tiny body darting between rocks and wreckage, as he followed every whisper of Shak's name carried by the winds.
Weeks passed, and Trog's resolve never wavered. His small size and cunning made him adept at evading the attention of the Orks and their terrifying warbands. He found broken remains of vehicles, discarded weapons, and the occasional abandoned Ork fortress, all signs that the great war had once been fought here. But none of these led him closer to his friend. The days turned to months, and Trog's hope began to dwindle.
It was during one of his many wanderings through the ruins of a crashed spaceship that Trog encountered something strange - a flickering light in the distance. It was soft, like the glow of a distant star. Following the light, Trog soon discovered a hidden cave, concealed beneath a tangle of overgrown vines and debris. Inside, the walls glittered with strange, ancient markings, long forgotten by time. And there, sitting atop a pile of old books and shattered tech, was Shak.

Hiding for too long comes with a price: hunger and malnutrition threaten Krot's survival when they cannot venture out for food.
Shak had been waiting, not captured, but hiding. He had found something during his wanderings, something so important that he dared not tell Trog about it until now. Shak had come across an ancient artifact buried deep beneath the wreckage, a device that could turn the tide of any conflict - a relic of the forgotten gods that once walked these lands.
The artifact was a small, spherical object, pulsing with a strange energy. It was said to possess the power to bend reality itself, to open portals between worlds, or even change the fate of the future. But it was also dangerous, and its power had been long lost to history for a reason. Only the most desperate of souls, like Shak, would dare seek it out.
But there was a catch. The artifact could not be used without great sacrifice, and Shak had already paid part of the price. The artifact had bound his very soul to its power, and unless he could return it to its resting place - deep within the heart of the Scraplands - his life would slowly fade away, consumed by the artifact's insatiable hunger for energy. He had been waiting for Trog, hoping that his friend would find him in time to help him finish what had been started.
Together, the two Gretchin ventured deeper into the Scraplands, searching for the ancient temple where the artifact must be returned. Along the way, they fought off hordes of Orks, encountered strange and terrifying creatures, and uncovered secrets long buried beneath the rubble of forgotten battles. As they neared the temple, Trog realized something profound: the journey had not just been about finding Shak or the artifact, but about understanding what friendship truly meant.
The temple, standing silent in the heart of the Scraplands, was an ancient structure of jagged stone, adorned with carvings that depicted forgotten gods and creatures of legend. It had been built long before the Orks or even the Gretchin had walked these lands. At its center, beneath an altar, the artifact pulsed with a vibrant, otherworldly energy.
As they placed the artifact upon the altar, the temple shook with a violent force. Trog held his breath, feeling the air shift around them. It was as if time itself had stopped. And then, in a flash of light, everything changed. The artifact had completed its task, and the power that had bound Shak's soul to it was undone.

Ocean currents, a force of nature, travel across the planet, generating energy and shaping the ecosystems around them. These unstoppable flows are vital to both marine and global climates.
But the price had been paid. Shak, now free from the artifact's curse, smiled at Trog one final time before fading into nothingness, his body disintegrating into dust. The friendship, the bond they had shared, had been eternal, but their journey had reached its end.
Trog, standing alone in the ancient temple, understood the true nature of sacrifice. The Scraplands would continue to be a place of war and ruin, but for Trog, the journey for his friend had shown him something more. The greatest treasure was not the artifact, but the courage and love shared between two Gretchin who had, against all odds, defied the cruelty of the world around them.
Thus ends the legend of Trog, the Gretchin, whose heart was bigger than any Ork warlord's and whose friendship transcended even the darkest forces of the universe.