Dink-dink-dink

Garrun's pickaxe crashed against the cave wall. A rock chunk shattered, sending fragments raining down to the floor. He grunted and swung again. His mind buzzed with the memory of last night's visions.

Those two visions - his mother's death and his father's death - why had the Whisper shown them to him? He was well aware of his father's death at the hands of his mother, before he was born, and of his mother's subsequent death as punishment at the hands of the elders. He was also aware of his mother's Merfolk heritage and powers - though no such powers had been passed onto him.

So, again, that begged the question: why?

Garrun's mind raced, searching for answers but coming up short. He glanced across the cave at Volh'gaag, who had been moved to the cave wall opposite after he and Garrun's altercation the previous day. Questions about the Whisper's involvement in the Great Betrayal had also plagued Garrun's mind, and he wondered if it could at all be linked to last night's visions. Either way, even if there was no link, Volh'gaag had been one of the elders present at his mother's execution - or murder, depending on how you looked at it - and could provide more information.

'You okay?' came the grunt from his left.

Garrun turned to face Vax, who had paused his mining to look curiously at him. He nodded. 'Yeah. Just thinking.'

Garrun swung his pickaxe. Dink! It lodged itself firmly in the rock. He tried to pull it free, but it wouldn't budge. Giving up, he threw a pleading glance Vax's way. The big Orr'un harrumphed, reached for the pickaxe, and easily pulled it free.

'Thanks,' Garrun muttered. He paused. 'Yesterday, you said I "saved" you. What did you mean by that?'

Vax shrugged. 'You saved my life. It is custom of my clan to remain loyal to those who have saved us; I will be loyal to you until my death.'

'Right.' Garrun frowned. 'But...when exactly did I save your life?'

'Gallacag War,' Vax replied, rubbing his bald head. 'Krennoans had joined the war with the Gallacag Alliance and were preparing a fleet to ambush the Gall'a orbital station. My unit was stationed on the Gall'a moon; had the attack gone through, we would've been slaughtered. But luck was on our side. Dagger unit - led by yourself - hijacked the fleet's flagship. Delayed the attack by long enough that we could get everyone off the station - including my unit. You saved the life of everyone in my unit, and for that I am eternally grateful.'

Garrun nodded. He remembered that mission - Operation Vaw Strike. For Dagger unit, it had just been another run-of-thd-mill mission...not that he told Vax that. Instead, he smiled and thanked the big Orr'un before returning to mining. They dug for the rest of the morning and spoke little thereafter.

When it was time for their lunch break, Garrun attempted to talk to Volh'gaag. But if the old Orr'un had been reluctant yesterday, he was even more so now: Garrun couldn't get a word out of him. It wasn't until after they had returned to the fortress when Volh'gaag dragged him aside to talk.

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The old Orr'un cast a quick glance about the darkened corridor, checking for guards, before turning back to Garrun. 'I'll tell you what you want to know, fine. If that's what he wants.'

Garrun frowned. But before he could speak, Volh'gaag answered his silent question. 'The Whisper,' he said. 'I saw him in my dreams last night. He said to tell you everything or the Orr'uns would be doomed. I thought he was being a tad melodramatic, I can't lie, but-'

Garrun cut over him. 'How was the Whisper involved in the Great Betrayal?'

At first, Volh'gaag frowned, confused. Then his confusion faded to a tight face and sad eyes. 'Ah. "Great Betrayal". So that is what you have come to call it. A shame...' His eyes seemed distant, as if not fully seeing what was in front of him. 'We never meant for all this. We were only doing as he commanded. He promised us honour and glory - for the whole Orr'un race.'

Garrun frowned. What had the Whisper been talking about? Why had he set into motion the Orr'uns' slavery to the Imperium? And what did last night's visions have to do with it - if anything?

'My mother's death,' Garrun began. 'What happened?'

Volh'gaag hesitated. 'Your mother, Ki'on, or Ellesst - however you knew her - died in the Halls of Radiance on Ethara VI.'

Garrun nodded. 'I know this - what else?'

'She was executed for the murder of your father, Stymio de Tiorne,' Volh'gaag continued. 'But it was a lie. She didn't murder your father.'

Garrun frowned. How could this be? Ever since he was young, he had been told two things, two things that he had taken to be unshakeable truths: his mother had murdered his father with Merfolk magic and she had been executed by the elders as a result. He'd seen these truths firsthand in the visions the Whisper had shown him last night. But what Volh'gaag was suggesting was that those truths were wrong.

'How?' Garrun grunted, staring down at the old Orr'un. 'Explain yourself.'

Volh'gaag nodded twice in quick succession, close to trembling beneath the big man's stare. 'Your mother did kill your father, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't her fault. She was cursed, cursed with the Water Rage. How she got it, we don't know, but we are sure she had it. The Water Rage is a strong and deadly curse capable of driving any being into a maddening rage - on contact with water. It is most potent with Mer magicians, who have an affinity for water. For some reason or another, the curse was triggered in your mother, and in a fit of Water Rage, she killed your father. By the customs of the elders, that would make the person who cursed her responsible for your father's death.'

Garrun froze, blinkng dumbly. No, it couldn't be. But as he thought about it, it made sense. It aligned with last night's vision, for starters; when his mother had quickly become incensed before eventually killing his father, it had been because of the curse.

'Ordinarily,' Volh'gaag continued. 'your mother would have been spared by the elders. The curse, after all, was not her fault. But the Aged Elder - the leader of our order - proclaimed that she had to die.'

'But why?' Garrun asked. 'Why?'

Volh'gaag shrugged. 'I do not know. I doubt I will ever know. But still, I and many others followed our ancient leader's command. Only days after your father's death, your mother was brought before us for her own execution. I remember it well; as she died, the curse escaped her body, emitting a foul and rancid wave of magic so vile we elders were forced to recoil.' So in the vision that had been when the elders had fled to safety, either up on the ceiling or behind the marble pillars.

Volh'gaag sighed. 'I wish I could tell you more, but that is all there is to say.' And with that, he made off down the dark corridor towards the living quarters, his silvery skin reflecting the orange light of the flaming lamps as he passed them.