Both Sides of the River

A collection of essays, interviews and stories, written and collected by Singleton Stratford. Mostly unremarkable in prose or in prowess, however what might remotely interest someone in reading this book is it's unique subject matter.

The collected entries comprise not only Stratford's journal and recollections about his travels with The Unveilers,an adventuring party that acquired rare books and tomes for the newly reestablished Library of Alexia in Nia Agliare but later goes into his own youth as a conscript into the Covngton Pikemen and later as an auxiliary member of the Bog Wraiths and later as a Ventenar in the New Alexian Guard, all of his life experiences as a Half Orc living among humans.

Here the collection finds its through line, as in later entries the focus shifts to other Half Orcs Stratford meets, befriends, fights and all other interactions. As well as lots about his wife and children and how as he and his wife are both Half Orcs their children are also Half Orcs and their fears and hopes for their futures and them wondering if having children is responsible given how the world may treat them.

Stratford is a devote and devout believer in the Neo Alexandrian revolution in Nia Agliare and credits it with ending the corruption and open violence that had become a norm in this once great city. As such Stratford's thoughts are generally from a strongly Pro Neo Alexian pov. He writes with absolute certainty.....

That Nia Agliare , was a vile den of pirates, bandits, mercenaries and smugglers, all rumored to be ruled by a unseen cabal of the living dead. A place of literal unholy evil.

Now?

The city is clean, there are no dead bodies rotting in the streets, there are no beggars or orphans without a place to live.There are no more mysterious disappearances in the dead of night.

There is now housing, for all. Food, for all. Education, for all.

In fact Stratford's children are legally required to attend temple each day, here all children are taught to read and write and basic educational skills before they are assigned a trade when older.

Stratford and Bolen, learned to read and write from their own children.

Theres also a large amount of content on the Stratfords' parenting "stratagems". Their very elaborate system for parenting Half Orc children.

It is also noteworthy that there is little other focus on Orcs or humans except in how they connect to the Half Orcs stories we are given.

Thus the reader gets varied accounts of the diverse range of experiences, attitudes and points of view among Half Orcs of all stripes, however the commonalities are clear in how they are often abused and victimized in both human and orc culture, which s the clearest "message" of the book as a whole.

"We are all born on one side or the other of a great, great river. On the shore where we are born we are hated but hated less so than on the other shore. So, what do we do? We do what we have to to survive. If that means men, then we fight to prove ourselves as more human than men themselves. If that shore be Orc then we fight and strive to be the most Orcish of all. We are at war with our very natures. Our own urges and drives twisted and at odds with each other.

Only the Avatar offers us salvation and hope and a place where we simply can just..Be. Not as men, not as Orcs..but just as living beings"-

Singleton Stratford-1516