Still staring at the strange symbols, Orion remained keenly aware that the creature’s gaze remained firmly fixed upon him in turn. A fact that he found profoundly unsettling.
“You musst choosse...” The creature hissed with a hint of irritation, signalling its mounting impatience.
“I...I don’t understand what it says...” Orion admitted nervously.
“You undersstand enough...” The creature’s irritation faded, amusement taking its place. “I wonder if otherss would hessitate...Forfeiting ssuch power...Wallowing in weakness!...”
The creature’s words struck Orion with a near physical force, driving back the thoughts that had begun to stir due to his inaction and indecision.
“Change comess for you!... For your people!...Their ssurvival...Their future!...Dependss upon thiss moment!...” The creature pressed, emphasising each statement with a wet crunch and the death cries of dying Beasts below them.
“Erastus has not failed us-” Orion insisted, but fell silent as the tree trunk groaned with distress.
“Yet you doubt him!...” The creature accused with an air of absolute certainty.
Orion made it seem as if he wanted to rebuke the accusation, only to find that he could not.
“Erasstuss dessiress control...” The creature commented disdainfully. “Even at the cosst of your livess...” The creature leaned in close once more, its mouth only a fraction of an inch from his right ear. “You know thiss...Why continue the lie?...”
Orion tried to speak, struggling to clear his throat and speak out in defence of his chieftain’s honour.
“Erasstuss ssent you to die...” The creature stated coldly, as if it were pronouncing the death sentence and intending to carry it out itself.
All the same, the creature’s words had struck a chord in him, and Orion realised that the creature had spoken the truth.
While Orion had never been openly critical of Erastus’ leadership, nor that of the late chieftain, he had bad relations with several members of the clan who had the chieftain’s ear.
Was that enough for Erastus to seek his death?
It took Orion only a handful of seconds to come to terms with his wilful ignorance and naivety.
Of course, it was enough.
Competing for the hand of the woman that was now his mate, had earned Orion a considerable degree of enmity from his rivals at the time. Even after so much time had passed, that enmity had endured. Festering and growing just shy of outright hostility.
While Orion had never been able to provide conclusive evidence of foul play, he was convinced that there had been several attempts on his life already. Instances where other hunting teams had seemingly accidentally led rampaging packs of Razormaws through the designated hunting zone of his team and the undeclared traps that had appeared on the trails.
Blame had been laid at the feet of inexperienced youths. Conveniently ignoring the fact that their escape from the Beasts was too perfectly timed to be a coincidence and the craftsmanship of the traps requiring the expertise of experienced hands...
“I...” Orion felt his misgivings melt away, replaced by a cold determination to protect his mate and their children. “I...accept this burden...for my people...and...and for my family!”
The darkness and strange symbols disappeared, and in their place Orion was gripped by an intense and dizzying wave of weakness and nausea. However, through it all, he remained keenly aware of the creature-SENN-
Orion hissed in pain as a thought not his own imposed itself within his mind.
“I...understand...” Orion muttered breathlessly.
Senn retreated a short distance and nodded.
The certainty of purpose that had filled Orion only moments earlier was replaced by doubt.
A string of symbols briefly flickered before Orion’s eyes and then disappeared.
Senn repeated, pointing more insistently.
A wounded Howler was dragging itself toward the base of the tree, its powerful forelimbs and claws ripping at the grass and earth with savage fury.
Gripping his spear tight, Orion took a deep calming breath and forced his mind into a state of calm. It was time to hunt.
Stepping off the branch, Orion aimed the tip of his spear and tightened his grip in anticipation of the impact.
The Howler looked up just in time to witness the spearhead bore through its right eye socket and into its brain, killing it almost instantly.
With his spear now firmly planted into the ground, Orion was briefly blinded by more of the strange symbols. As he made to draw his backup knife, he paused.
The nails on his hands had thickened and grown into sharp-edged claws. Furthermore, vibrant blue scaly skin now covered his fingers and ran halfway up his arms.
A throaty roar from the underbrush to his right immediately drew Orion back to his senses.
A small horde of Soulless came charging through the bushes. Upon spotting Orion, they changed course, raising their crude bone axes, clubs and knives in anticipation of a speedy kill.
Suppressing his fear, Orion took a fresh breath and widened his stance, lowering himself closer to the ground and hurling his backup knife all in a single fluid motion.
His knife struck the lead Soulless in the throat, causing it to stumble and slow the other Soulless coming up behind.
Seizing the initiative, Orion charged, battering his horns into the chest of another Soulless. The sensation of the Soulless’ ribs shattering passed through his spine before being absorbed by the supporting muscles in his neck and shoulders.
Muscles pumping hard, Orion continued forward, driving the breathless Soulless’ back several steps before their momentum was abruptly terminated by colliding with the trunk of a nearby tree.
The wounded Soulless's chest collapsed, its lungs shredded and spinal vertebrae pulverised by the force of the impact.
The remaining Soulless were slow to react, but Orion could see one of the closest was already bearing down on him. Already committed to his charge, he knew he didn’t have enough time to avoid what was coming. All he could do was do his best to dodge in an attempt to mitigate the blow.
Orion threw his weight to his right, preparing to roll and build fresh momentum to buy distance between himself and the enemy.
Just as he had predicted, Orion was not fast enough to avoid the Soulless’ attack. The head of its spear struck his chest hard throwing Orion off balance, compromising his retreat and lessening the distance he had hoped to gain by a considerable margin.
Before he could right himself, a throwing axe smacked into Orion’s left thigh, delivering a glancing blow before flying off into the underbrush.
Hissing in pain, resisted the urge to look away from the enemy and assess his injuries. There would be time enough for that later, assuming he was alive to do so.
Embracing the pain, Orion performed a countercharge at the last possible moment, catching the closest Soulless by the throat with his right hand and cracking its head into the face of the Soulless coming up behind it.
Pivoting hard to avoid becoming impaled upon a spear, Orion attempted to throw the Soulless and have it take his place. Only to have the throat of the captive Soulless part from its body before sailing bloodily past his intended target.
Thrown off balance, Orion grunted in pain as a club battered his right shoulder blade.
Before Orion could find his footing, a flurry of blows came in rapid succession, driving him to his knees as he attempted to shield his vital organs from the onslaught.
Chin pressed hard against his chest to protect his throat, Orion discovered a patch of thick blue scales had appeared where the spear had struck him only moments earlier. Looking at his thigh, he was shocked to see scales beneath the fur.
Senn hissed within his mind.
Orion abruptly became aware of several things all at once.
First and foremost, the sensation of freshly spilled blood running down his arms and across his back. Only, that should have been impossible, given both his arms were preoccupied with shielding his chest.
Second, was the feral cries of the Soulless.
Third, was the unexpected reprieve that allowed Orion the opportunity he needed to break free of the encirclement and face down his enemies.
Only to lose as many seconds upon noticing the gore-drenched claws reaching around his torso.
Concerned that one of the Soulless had outflanked him again, Orion fled, pivoting several times to rapidly change course in an attempt to place distance between himself and the enemy. However, for all his speed and agility, his pursuer remained on his tail, claws grasping and fumbling mere inches from his chest and exposed abdomen.
Orion’s luck turned from bad to worse as a Gorehowler lept at him from its hiding place amidst the branches of a nearby tree.
Too late to dodge, Orion braced himself against the pain that was soon to follow, pulling his arms in tight to protect his stomach from the Gorehowler’s tusks and vicious hind claws. However, the pain didn’t come.
His pursuer surged forward, throwing Orion off balance as it no doubt bodily tackled him from behind. Only, instead of anchoring its claws into Orion’s chest or throat, they seized the Gorehowler’s skull, arresting its descent and forward momentum and for reasons Orion didn’t understand, drawing him back and knocking him to the ground.
For a moment, the Gorehowler stared down at Orion, pain and confusion flashing in its eyes as if it was trying to comprehend the chain of events that had caused its ambush to fail. Then, true to its namesake, it released an ear-bleeding howl, the claws anchored in its skull ripping its head apart and spattering Orion with gore.
In an attempt to lose his pursuer, Orion rolled hard to the side. However, it proved ineffective. His pursuer had recognised his intentions and acted just as quickly, wrapping its bloody arms around him and pinning Orion’s arms against his chest.
Panicking, Orion’s confusion grew when his pursuer’s arms released him a moment later without any sign to explain why.
Glancing over his right shoulder, Orion was momentarily stunned into inaction upon discovering a second muscled shoulder extending from behind and below the first. A heavily muscled and all too familiar-looking arm continued from the shoulder, leading to a gore-spattered forearm and claw.
Several increasingly intense moments passed before Orion was able to overcome his shock and acknowledge that the arms he had thought belonged to an unseen pursuer, were, in fact, his own.
The surviving Soulless had rallied. Their numbers bolstered by a wave of new arrivals.
Already out of his depth with those that had come before, Orion prepared to retreat deeper into the forest. However, the collective focus of the Soulless horde's attention abruptly shifted as the ground began to shiver and shake underfoot.
Huge hulking shapes were approaching in the distance, and for a moment, Orion feared the Humans’ brutes had returned. However, his fears were quickly proven unfounded as the newcomers drew closer and revealed themselves to be significantly larger and more intimidating in almost every respect.
An irrational and unexplainable sense of kinship bubbled to the surface within his mind. Convincing Orion that whoever or whatever the newcomers were, they were first and foremost his allies and intended him no harm.
This irrational camaraderie was put to the test when the largest of the hulks casually backhanded a tree in its path, splintering its trunk and sending the remainder crashing into an approaching Beast, killing the Beast on impact.
Without the tree obstructing his view, Orion was privy to his first clear look at one of his approaching allies.
Easily twice the height of the tallest human Orion had ever seen, the newcomer wore a shell of stone plates that covered most of its body, leaving only its face exposed. The features of its face were masculine and blunt, leading Orion to conclude that the newcomer was very likely a male of its Species.
The other newcomers were slightly smaller but wore the same armour. Armed with spiked metal clubs and thick cleavers, they hacked and bashed at anything that came within reach. The Beasts and Soulless that survived the first strike were left crippled and mangled to the point that they would have begged for death if they had been given time to do so. Unable to retreat before being trampled and crushed under the massive bulk of the hulks’ feet.
Nearly twice the size of the largest of the Ogres, the shadow of the Tyrant moved with an almost unnatural grace, all the while radiating an aura that demanded immediate and unconditional obedience.
The shadow faded and Orion was given control over his senses once more.
The largest of the Ogres approached Orion directly while the move behind him fanned out into the woods in a crude screening formation. Intercepting the Beast and Soulless’ with brutal sweeping strikes and crushing blows.
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There was no art and precious little skill in their approach, relying on brute strength and their massive bulk to win out over their smaller foes. Whether this behaviour was a reflection of their lack of training, or from underestimating the enemy, remained unclear.
“You!” The largest Ogre had closed the distance between them and now towered over Orion, casting him in shadow. “Wha?” The Ogre paused, blinking with an almost comically exaggerated look of confusion on his face as he made a show of looking around about himself.
It took Orion a few moments to realise he was what the Ogre was looking for and that the Ogre wasn’t putting on an act. Concealed as he was by the Ogre’s prodigious armoured belly.
Orion took several steps backward and loudly cleared his throat to draw the Ogre’s attention.
“Huh?! Oh! There you is!” The Ogre released a deep sigh as his small beady eyes peered over his gut and down at Orion. “Me, Mugdug!” He slapped his chest several times to belabour the point, perhaps thinking that Orion might have trouble understanding him. “You is?” The Ogre came just shy of jabbing a meaty finger into Orion’s face. He awkwardly settled into a low squat, bringing them closer to eye level with one another.
“O-Orion...” Orion replied awkwardly, stammering slightly as he retreated a few steps to avoid being poked.
The Ogre’s face scrunched up in intense concentration, “Oh-Oh-Ryan?” He repeated, his heavy brow wrinkling as he considered the name.
“My name is, Orion,” Orion clarified, making sure not to stutter, lest he confuse the Ogre further.
“Oh-Ryan...Ore-Iron...Orrr-ion, Orion!” After several attempts and finally pronouncing the name correctly, the Mugdug’s face lit up with joy. “Orion!” He repeated joyfully, “You is, Orion!” The Ogre looked to the other Ogres and waved at Orion, “This Orion!” He called out happily with a big grin plastered on his face.
A chorus of greetings rumbled from the surrounding forest as the Ogres each introduced themselves and attempted to pronounce his name, failing just as Mugdug had done and repeating the effort until they got it right.
All the while, the Ogres all but ignored the Soulless and Beasts that attacked them. Not that they appeared to suffer any injuries because of the distraction. Their armour proved nigh impregnable, shrugging off claws, teeth and weapons without so much as leaving a scratch upon it.
Only one Ogre was injured, receiving light scratches to his face and the dome of his bald head when a Leaping Shadow dropped on top of him from a nearby tree. The Leaping Shadow had died horribly only moments later.
Despite sharing a similar appearance to the humans, this Ogre had shown that they were something else entirely. Something far more savage.
With the Leaping Shadow anchored to his face, the Ogre simply slapped at it with his free hand, crushing its spine and likely paralysing it. However, instead of pulling his hand away and allowing the Beast to fall away and leaving it for dead, the Ogre had increased the pressure. Pushing the crippled Leaping Shadow into his waiting jaws, shearing through its flesh and crushing its bones before swallowing it in one gulp.
Ugdug rested a massive hand on Orion’s shoulder, “Orion follow Ugdug!” He stated self-assuredly and waved toward the direction of the human village with his free hand. “Big Sarge, want talk. We go now.” Taking Orion’s compliance for granted, the Ogre dragged as much as guided him toward the human village.
Orion would have put up a stronger resistance, were it not for his increasingly intense curiosity and the safety the Ogres’ presence and numbers provided.
Searching for signs of Senn, Orion was somewhat unnerved to find that she was gone. He wasn’t certain when exactly she had left, but he had the uncomfortable feeling that she was capable of watching him from wherever she had gone.
Muted hissing laughter in the back of Orion’s mind served as confirmation, of a kind.
If he closed his eyes and concentrated, Orion could see Senn’s bright blue eyes staring back at him with an unsettling intensity.
The Ogres' foray into the forest had left a trail of devastation in their wake. Broken and brutalised corpses became increasingly frequent as they drew closer to the human village, and more corpses were added to their ranks as Soulless and Beasts harried their retreat.
Crossing from the shadows of the forest and into the deforested lands that surrounded the human village, Orion was momentarily aback upon realising the village was gone.
Or rather, a colossal stone wall and fortress had taken its place.
On its own, the change would have been cause enough for alarm. However, it was the occupants of the fortress that filled Orion with dread and anger in equal measure.
Humans...
There were hundreds of them, perhaps even thousands. Swarming over the walls and loosing arrows into the Beasts launching suicidal charges across the open ground.
Hastily checking the Ogres for signs of the collars the humans had used to control the brutes he had encountered earlier, Orion only felt marginally better when he failed to find any signs of them.
Ugdug had noticed Orion’s distress and raised one meaty arm into the air, “Stop!”
Given their immense bulk, the Ogres took a few moments to disperse their built-up momentum.
“Orion scared?” Ugdug asked in the tone one would use to address a child. However, there appeared to be no signs of malice or disrespect behind it.
“Concerned...” Orion corrected, fighting hard to keep himself from panicking.
Ugdug frowned, his eyes growing unfocused and his brow wrinkling into deeply set furrows.
After a moment, Orion realised the poor brute hadn’t understood him. “The humans...” Orion motioned toward the wall and fortress ahead of them. “They worry me...”
Ugdug’s eyes came back into focus and the wrinkles grew less severe but did not disappear entirely. “Why?” He scratched at his bald head and considered the distant humans with unabashed curiosity.
“They betrayed us and attacked my people!” Orion growled bitterly.
“Oh...” Ugdug shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, causing his armour to clatter and scrape noisily. “Orion know Human tribe?” He asked after several long moments of deep contemplation.
It took Orion just as long to determine what the Ogre had said. “They have more than one tribe?” Orion asked warily. He had never really thought about it, but it made sense when compared to what he had learned about humans over the years.
Ugdug nodded sagely. “Many many tribes,” he replied and began a silent tally on his large fingers. “Asrus, Sem-men-novs and Not-Slaves, with us. Serve Tyrant-” Ugdug gulped dryly and nervously eyed the sky before pressing on. “Ugdug no remember this-” He stated in a thoroughly dismissive tone and waved at the surrounding area. “This tribe is prisoners. This tribe bad, no follow Tyrant’s rules...” Ugdug nervously looked to the sky again and was joined in the strange activity by the nearest Ogres that had overheard their conversation.
“You took them all prisoner?!” Orion demanded incredulously.
Ugdug shook his head. “No. Many many Humans outside. Big big village,” he threw his arms wide as a scale of reference, but with nothing for a direct comparison it was largely a wasted gesture.
Looking back toward the humans, Orion slowly recognised a sense of companionship toward them that was difficult to justify. It felt similar to the feelings he had toward members of his clan, except instead of a feeling in his heart, it was a persistent thought in his mind.
The more Orion focused on these thoughts, the more he came to realise that they were not his own. They didn’t originate within his mind, but somehow came from without in a similar means to the Bond Orion shared with his Mate.
An image of the Tyrant was imprinted into his mind. Armoured just as the Ogres were, the Tyrant was impossibly large but bore closer proportions to the humans and their brutes. With the peripheral vision the imprinted thought allowed, Orion discovered that he was not alone. He stood upon an open field as just one amongst uncountable others.
As the memory faded, Orion was left keenly aware that while many of those he had seen were human, there were also entire clans of Species he had never known existed.
After worrying over the intrusive thoughts a short while longer, Orion relented and decided that the Bond had protected him thus far with the Ogres, so he would continue to trust it a little longer. If the humans were planning some sort of ambush or were hostile, he would just have to do his best to escape.
Continuing their approach, Orion was somewhat relieved, and more than a little surprised when the bowmen atop the walls shifted their focus. However, it was not the ambush he had expected. Instead, the bowmen now targeted the Beasts and Soulless on the wings of the Ogres’ flanks.
Which was just as well. Moving into the open had made them a far more tantalising target for the Beasts and Soulless than the warriors on the sheer stone walls, and while none had managed to make it past the Ogres so far, his escort was coming under increasing pressure.
Even with the assistance of the bowmen, the Ogres had been forced to change tactics. Forgoing personal defence entirely, the Ogres battered and bludgeoned with reckless abandon, relying on their size and armour to see them through the ever-growing horde.
Without weapons to spare, and unable to engage in the melee without risking injury from the wide swings of the Ogres, Orion could only match the pace set by the Ogres leader and keep an eye out in case something slipped past the escort.
Drawing closer to the walls, Orion began to notice other Species amongst the human bowmen. He also realised that the keen vision he had developed over many cycles of hunting in the wilds, had deteriorated to a significant degree, which had caused him to overlook them in the first place.
Initially somewhat distressed by this discovery, Orion had to remind himself that there was a price for the power he had gained. He was less agile than before, but his skirmish against the Soulless had shown Orion that he was considerably stronger and more durable as well. A welcome trade in the circumstances he had found himself in at the time. However, only time would tell if the exchange was worthwhile in the long term.
A huge gate made of overlapping metal with fist-sized spaces between them was slowly sunk into the ground to allow their entry.
The team of bowmen stationed behind the gate had to press themselves to either side of the short passage beneath the wall to allow the Ogres to pass them by without risk of being knocked over.
Expecting animosity from the humans, Orion was surprised when those he made eye contact with seemed to make a point of smiling in a welcoming manner and knocking the brow of their metal helmets in greeting. They appeared genuinely glad for his presence amongst them.
On guard against a second betrayal, Orion was almost disappointed when the humans within the space beyond the wall paid him the same attention as those he encountered before. Making a show of being friendly before returning to their other duties.
The non-humans among them were more reserved. Demonstrating a wary curiosity and speaking quietly to others of their own kind.
Suspecting they were under the humans’ control, Orion failed to find signs of the metal and leather collars and had to accept that their reactions were both genuine and justified. Given he was staring back at them in much the same manner.
Orion had visited the old human village several times in the past and now found it strange that the buildings could be destroyed and replaced so quickly. The imposing stone fortress was particularly baffling, appearing to be carved from a singularly large piece of stone. However, there were no chisel marks or signs that it had been moved from elsewhere. As if both it and the accompanying walls, had simply sprung from the earth fully formed and ready to fulfil their purpose.
Orion didn’t have to wait long to find out how.
A stone tower had begun growing from the ground and merging with the wall a short distance from where Orion was standing. At its base was a group of small, stocky, scruffy-bearded males with pale skin and large dark eyes. Grunting and huffing as if under immense strain, the short males slowly raised their arms, their efforts matching the slow ascent of the stone tower and radiating a strange yet all too familiar energy.
It was the same energy the clan hunters and warriors used to enhance their abilities and perform supernatural feats of strength, agility and marksmanship.
Directing his focus inward, Orion was shocked to find that the small well of energy he had diligently worked at filling since early childhood, had grown by several orders of magnitude. The well was more akin to a lake and was being fed by a small stream.
Following the stream to its source, Orion was stunned to discover a body of energy so massive that it defied his ability to fully comprehend its true depths. Despite this shortcoming, he had no issues identifying who the tremendous source of energy belonged to.
Hissing laughter echoed in the corners of his mind.
A will not his own seized control of Orion’s senses and dragged them further afield. A second, considerably larger body of energy came and went, lingering only long enough so Orion was made aware of its relative size.
Then, there was nothing.
The metaphorical sky was cast in darkness, storm clouds swelling and rolling across the endless expanse. Within their depths, a massive serpentine Beast surged this way and that, every flick of its tail generating a deafening boom of thunder.
The clouds had gathered into the simulacra of the Tyrant’s face. His eyes stared down at Orion as if he were nothing more than a child playing at being a hunter or warrior for the clan. However, there were traces of arrogance or derision in the Tyrant’s countenance, only a grim sense of responsibility.
As Orion considered the Tyrant’s visage, Senn’s words resonated within him, taking on new meaning.
As the scene faded, Orion was startled to find he was still staring at the Tyrant's face.
A stone statue of the Tyrant’s likeness stood before the large doors to the fortress, forcing anyone who approached to pass beneath his watchful gaze.
Urging Orion forward and toward the fortress, the Ogres fell eerily silent, their eyes firmly fixed on the ground with nervous expressions on their faces, like guilty children afraid to draw the attention and ire of their parents for their misdeeds.
Curiously, the Ogres weren’t the only ones that behaved differently around the statue. While the humans appeared capable of passing the statue by without issue, the other Species in their midst exhibited a whole range of reactions. From fervent worship and gratitude to grudging respect, and everything in between.
The brutes especially were prone to overt demonstrations of respect, stoically saluting the statue by slamming their fists against their chests with pride fiercely burning in their eyes.
Upon reaching the entrance to the fortress, the other Ogres awkwardly retreated past the statue and all but fled toward the gate. Leaving Orion alone with Ugdug.
“Is he truly so terrifying?” Orion muttered under his breath. Confused by the inconsistent range of reactions and impressions he had witnessed thus far.
Ugdug stopped abruptly and stared at Orion in horror. He furtively glanced back toward the statue. More specifically, its legs, since the rest was no longer visible. “Orion, no say that!” Ugdug warned sternly. “Tyrant give food, give home! Tyrant no scary!” He wagged his finger disapprovingly in Orion’s face for good measure.
“I don’t understand...” Orion admited, trying and failing to suppress his frustration. “You won’t even look at a simple statue.”
Ugdug glanced at the statue again before returning his gaze to Orion. “No same...” He insisted somewhat weakly.
“Help me understand then,” Orion pressed, wanting the matter settled.
“They don’t want to accidentally issue a challenge,” a male human warrior with dark hair interjected, conversationally.
“Big Sarge!” Ugdug suddenly straightened his back and slammed his fist against his chest.
“At ease, Sargeant,” the human male replied evenly, unperturbed by the Ogre’s intensity or intense volume of his voice. “Lieutenant Higgs,” he stated warmly, perhaps assuming Orion was interested in learning his name. “Vice-Commander of the hundred and fourth United Expeditionary Forces.
“Orion...” Orion replied dryly.
The corner of Higgs's mouth twisted into a wry smile. “I have been apprised of the Legossians’ activities and cannot fault you for doubting our intentions.”
Orion scowled, unwilling to trust the human at his word.
“I can only hope that our actions will demonstrate what makes us different to the humans you have known up until now,” Higgs continued in a placating tone. “You can be certain that the Slavers will face a reckoning for what they have done. Once the integration is complete, they will face Spymaster’s tender mercies...” He shivered and then tried to cover the act by making a show of clearing his throat.
“When will you leave our lands?” Orion asked bluntly, scanning the human’s face intently in anticipation of the deception he knew would follow.
“The hundred and fourth will move on in the late evening on the morrow...” Higgs's brow furrowed sternly and he considered Orion for a moment. “However, that isn’t what you wanted to know. Or rather, if you understood our primary objective, you might have asked a slightly different question. While we may be leaving, it is important that you, and your people, understand the change that is coming. When this battle is over, this land will belong to the Tyrant-”
Orion scowled and snorted in anger. “This land is not yours to take!”
Higgs sighed and slowly shook his head. “You don’t understand...The magic that binds this land to the Labyrinth and the world beyond, is governed by rules beyond our understanding. This battle is more than just mindless bloodshed. It is a grand ritual. A ritual that wrests control of the land away from the Labyrinth and allows the Tyrant to move it beyond the reach of the Slavers and the petty kingdoms that would seize this land for its natural resources...”
Ugdug nodded emphatically in open support. “Tyrant protects!” He rumbled, narrowly avoiding Orion’s horns as he slammed his fist against his chest.
“The Tyrant protects,” Higgs repeated, if somewhat more eloquently while snapping a firm chest strike of his own.
“And if we refuse?” Orion regretted his words the moment they left his mouth.
Ugdug’s demeanour changed almost instantly, growing deathly serious. “Obey Tyrant, or...or?” The Ogre’s ominous aura faded with his lost momentum.
“Variant communities, such as yours, are given two choices,” Higgs interjected calmly with an air of warning in his tone. “Integration, or exile-”
“EXILE!” Ugdug barked with a dopey grin, nodding contentedly to himself all the while.
“Exile-” Higgs eyed the excitable Ogre warily, perhaps expecting a second outburst. “-would leave your people more or less as they are now. Left utterly alone to live your lives within the confines of this territory. I have a vested interest in the alternative, but I would regret not urging you and your people to seriously consider the alternative. Integration.”
Orion continued to scowl but said nothing. To his knowledge, the human had not lied to him so far, and it cost him nothing to hear him out. Besides, the decision was not his to make anyway.
“I know it might be difficult to believe, especially coming from a Human. However, it was not too long ago that we were in a similar position to what you are now,” Higgs stated with absolute conviction. “Two of our rivals joined forces to steal our land and Enslave the survivors. We were outmatched and our defeat appeared inevitable...” He cringed and looked away for a moment, his eyes burning with shame and anger. “We were prepared to go down fighting, to make the enemy pay dearly for every inch of ground they intended to take from us. Many brave men and women died...It was only a matter of time before we would join them, or worse...”
Orion wanted to remain sceptical, but the pain in Higgs' voice made it increasingly difficult.
“I was posted at Laine when the orders came to hold the city...Morale had already gone to hell and you could feel the despair and desperation that had taken hold of the city growing worse by the hour...” Higgs paused and took a few moments to recentre himself, taking several deep calming breaths. “Imagine our shock when a monster came to our aid. From what is known, the Tyrant had every reason to just sit back and watch us destroy each other. We had shown him our worst, and our enemies had gone further still...Between you and me, I think that was a part of it. The reason he intervened, took control...To put an end to the senseless killing and violence...To...To bring order...”
Ugdug nodded in agreement but remained silent.
“Heh, you don’t believe me,” Higgs observed wryly without judgment. “Seek out the Orcs serving on the wall. Some of them were there and were amongst the first the Tyrant liberated during the siege of the city.”
“I will do that...” Orion replied warily. As much to buy time to consider what he had learned, as to observe the humans from within their encampment. If there was an elaborate deception at work, he was confident that of the hundreds of humans in the vicinity, one of them was about to slip up sooner or later and expose them all.
Allowing Ugdug to lead him out of the fortress, Orion was surprised to find one of his clansmen waiting for him beneath the statue of the Tyrant. Glad to find he was not alone while surrounded by potential enemies, Orion took on a burst of speed. However, as he drew closer, Orion realised that he had made a mistake.
While he was similar enough to pass for one of his clansmen at a distance, the stranger had several key features that set him apart. These differences only became more obvious as the distance between them lessened.
“Hello, cousin,” the stranger waved his hand in greeting with a smile on his all-too-human face. “You perhaps thought me to be a blood relation?” The stranger guessed with a shrewd grin while fondling his shaggy beard. “Alas I am not,” he shrugged apologetically. “Kin we may be, however, it is of a most distant kind.”
Orion made no effort to hide his disappointment and prepared to leave.
“Don’t be so hasty, cousin!” The stranger raised his furless arms and moved to block Orion’s path. “We have not even had the opportunity to introduce ourselves!”
“Ugdug!” Ugdug rumbled and pointed at himself.
“Yes, I know, Ugdug, we have been introduced several times,” the stranger commented with an amused grin.
Ugdug smiled and nodded happily before pointing to Orion. “This, Orion,” he declared proudly.
“Yes yes, thank you Ugdug,” the stranger replied somewhat condescending.
If Ugdug noticed, he made no signs of it.
“Orion, is it? You may call me, Titus,” he bowed with a fluid seemingly effortless grace, demonstrating a flexibility and range of motion in his legs that generated a pang of jealousy in Orion’s chest. The glint in his eye made it clear that it had not escaped Titus’ notice either. “Simply a matter of practice, cousin. I have no doubt you could accomplish similar acts of dexterity if you put your mind to it.”
Orion grunted noncommittally and made as if to leave again.
“I was there, you know?” Titus stated coldly, the abrupt shift in his tone forestalling Orion’s departure. “Naked, starving, and all but stripped of the very will to continue living...” He stared at Orion with an intense, almost hateful, jealousy. “I was their Slave for more than a decade! Do you even know how long that is?! An eternity to dwell upon everything that was taken from me! An eternity of torture as they took everything I had left!...” Tears welled in Titus’ eyes, but his anger remained. “Do you know what it is like KNOWING you are the last of your people?! No! You don’t! Because HE-” Titus pointed animatedly at the statue of the Tyrant, “-has spared you from that nightmare! MY nightmare!”
“Tyrant protects...” Ugdug mumbled, awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other, seemingly intimidated by Titus’ intense outburst.
Titus stared up at the ogre for several moments before seeming to come back to his senses. Anger giving way to shame and regret. “That he does, Ugdug...” He agreed quietly before shifting his attention back to Orion, the embers of his anger still flickering in the depths of his eyes. “I need you to understand, that my story is far from unique, and it is not restricted to our kind...Slavers will shackle a human just as readily as any monster-” He released a pained bark of laughter and shook his head, “They have Enslaved more of their own kind than all of our ancestors combined!”
“Which is why it makes no sense that you would trust them!” Orion snarled. “You have only convinced me that deception and torture are par of their very nature!”
“They are no different from us,” Titus replied coldly. “The evil that lurks within their hearts beats just as strongly within your chest as mine. So does their capacity for compassion...The Tyrant has shown me this, a world where what is good and innocent can thrive.-”
“Which he controls...” Orion interjected, making no effort to hide his suspicion and distrust.
“He does...” Titus admitted somewhat grudgingly.
“Then what will stop him from turning on us like they did?!” Orion snapped.
Almost immediately, Orion became aware of the deadly silence building beside him.
Ugdug had grown deathly still, his small beady eyes boring into Orion’s soul with a withering gaze. “No. Say. That,” the Ogre warned, his voice barely above a whisper. A deeply unsettling change from the almost childlike simplicity he had demonstrated until this moment. Bloody tears began welling in the corners of his eyes and running down his eyes.
“Ugdug! He didn’t mean it!” Titus leapt forward and seized the Ogre’s hand, tugging on his arm to draw his attention. “He doesn’t know any better!”
Ugdug scowled, his gaze unwavering.
Titus released Ugdug and rounded on Orion instead, “Take it back! You’re going to kill him!”
“I did nothing to him!” Orion barked defensively. Confused by how Titus could somehow blame him despite the Ogre’s obviously hostile intentions.
There was a weighty pause as knowledge of the Oaths were imprinted into his mind.
Recognising the weight of his actions, Orion felt profoundly troubled. “I...I take it back...I didn’t mean what I said...” He grunted. Despite his misgivings regarding the Tyrant’s present and potential future intentions, Orion was not willing to have the Ogre’s blood on his hands. “I...I didn’t mean it...”
Ugdug had been nothing but friendly up until now, a fact which made swallowing his pride marginally more bearable. However, the silent danger presented by the Oaths was immensely unsettling and only served to fuel his doubts regarding the Tyrant’s intentions. There was so much he didn’t know, and far too much at stake for his people to justify taking such risks.
Of course, that was assuming they had a choice.