Chapter 114

AN: unedited, and very late. But it's here. Enjoy!

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The Creator, Atlantis, The Kalenic Sea

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In the depths of the experimental chambers on the seventh floor, a dozen Children milled about the ritual circle. They checked the integrity and quality of the ruinic carvings, the flow of mana through the room, and a dozen other little things that needed to be perfect. Masters of their crafts, with analytical minds nurtured over months, these scientists assisted me in my most ambitious endeavour yet;

Imbuing a monster with the ability to evolve into pre-set forms, on it's own cognizance, with no intervention from me.

In the centre of the ritual circle was a pedestal, upon which rested a crab. A Brawler, to be precise. It's hulking 'pincers' were scarred and pitted from dozens of fights with other males over mates. This crab was chosen from among all the hundreds of options because... to be honest, he won a raffle. All the Crabs had wanted to be chosen for the ritual, but we only needed two; a male and a female. They'd all been assigned a number, and this one had been the lucky crab. He was envied by all the male Crabs on the first, as was the female.

I wasn't sure if what I wanted to achieve here was even possible, and I was worried my intent might not come across perfectly in the process, thus the ritual circle. It was needed because it contained instructions. Four circles interrupted the runic script that described the flow of mana. Each held a mana crystal, all imbued with separate portions of the magical programming I'd been working on the whole week since I'd begun looking into the idea.

We'd tested the whole thing on a monster core the day before, and as far as we could tell it worked, but there was only so much we could do without moving on to testing on a living subject.

Thus, the Brawler shifting nervously on the pedestal. I did my best to comfort and reassure him, and he calmed quickly. His absolute belief in 'The Creator' led him to believe my reassurance wholeheartedly. Honestly, what is with the crab line and their ridiculous devotion?!

"We're ready, Creator," a Drake-kin Life Shaman, Gaian, announced. His green scales were mostly covered by his white woollen 'lab coat,' with delicate moonsilver-framed glasses perched on his snout. "Everything has been triple checked."

The Evolution Core? The Mana Discerner? The Threshold Limiter and The Catalyser?

"All carefully inspected and in their correct positions," Gaian answered promptly, gesturing to the four mana cores floating in their positions above the circles in the ritual. The Evolution Core contained the genetic and magical template for each evolution the crab line could undergo. The Mana Discerner monitored the monster's mana intake, and took a portion of the mana it collected to fuel the transformation. The Threshold Limiter prevented any evolution from taking place before reaching the second threshold, the point where the monster had enough mana to fuel the entire transformation itself, or until they activated an Evolution Crystal after reaching the first threshold, when they had enough that the addition of a crystal was enough.

The Catalyser was the activator; It could only be triggered by the monster itself, and only when the Mana Discerner had enough mana to fuel the process, and the Threshold Limiter confirmed an evolution was possible. Like how the offspring of monsters were also monsters, possessing a mana core, this 'genetic enchantment' would also be passed on. It would need to be the mother, not the father, but that was a different experiment entirely, to be performed when this one was successful.

Then, lets begin. Activate the ritual.

"Of course, Creator. Positions, everyone!" Gaian ordered, and the Children quickly moved away from the circle. They moved to slabs that displayed illusionary holograms, plugged into the ritual to monitor it. Gaian pressed a glowing rune next to his monitor, injecting a little mana, and it began.

The ritual was silent. At least, in terms of noise. To my vision it was a riot of colour and lights. In turn, each mana core was drained of it's mana, and the enchantment within them. In turn, each was impressed upon the Brawler's core, with enough time between each for the enchantment to fully settle. The excess mana that came with them was enough to push the crab over the first threshold. only after the ritual reached it's conclusion and the mana had settled was I able to look deeply at the monster's core.

As far as I could tell, it was a success. Move on to the next stage, Gaian.

Gaian took the Evolution Crystal from the small stand on a desk nearby and placed it on the pedestal with the Brawler. He nodded at the crab, and the crab nodded back. After Gaian had retreated back to his own monitor, he addressed the monster. "Whenever you're ready."

The Crab took a deep breath, then picked up the crystal between his two bulbous pincers. The crystal didn't activate immediately, which was a relief. That meant the Catalyser was working properly. After a moment of inspection, the crab activated the crystal. He was enveloped in a rainbow of scintillating light, as was the crystal. While all the Children had to look away, lest they potentially blind themselves, I watched closely as the crab morphed... into a baby Scorpan.

When it was all over, the light died down and left the bewildered looking Scorpling perched atop the pedestal, his legs hanging off the edges and turning his hands over as he examined them.

The room burst into cheers, and I did my own mental dance.

It worked! It really worked!

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The Port, Atlantis, The Kalenic Sea

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As the one and only Obsidian Scorpan, Paladin Skitters-Across-The-Sand had become well used to being thrown wary looks and avoided. She was far more intimidating than other Scorpans, and that was saying something, considering how much the humans were intimidated by ordinary Scorpans. Her chitin, a purple so dark it was almost black, made her a moving void that was easy to spot in the light of day. Thus, easy to spot and avoid.

Today, she was experiencing something entirely different and unexpected. Humans approached her, though it wasn't because of her that they'd broken their previous distance.

"They're so cute! How old are they?" A woman inquired, one of six humans cooing over the two scorplings riding on Skitters' back.

When The Creator had asked if she'd be willing to take in a couple of scorplings, Skitters hadn't hesitated. Her confusion over where they'd come from was swiftly answered, and only reinforced her already steely faith in The Creator. He had researched into and succeeded in creating a method for His Children to evolve and grow without intervention from him. These two scorplings were the first successes.

Though they'd come to her nameless, but that wasn't too much of a problem. She had no doubt they'd do something to be named after soon enough.

She'd just collected the scorplings from the Seventh, and had been expecting an easy trip through the town to reach her rooms at the Voice's fortified mansion. The first part of the journey had, indeed, been easy. Navigating hidden tunnels that promised swift travel most of the way to the surface. There'd been some glances her way from Guilders when she reached the shared portion near the entrance, but most recognized her and were well aware of the consequences of attacking Children.

The few that weren't were quickly educated by their more learned compatriots.

The entrance was, again, easy. She was recognized, acknowledged by the guilders guarding the entrance, and allowed to pass through to the surface. There were some odd looks at the scorplings as she passed the line of curious adventurers. She now realized the looks on the female guilder's faces matched the woman currently cooing over her charges. The men were more inscrutable, but the double-takes and thoughtful looks spoke wonders.

None of them had realized that Children had young of their own to care for. They'd never seen a juvenile, kid, or calf of any of the Children before. Only those fully-grown had been allowed on the surface previously, and this was their first confrontation with that fact.

While the Guilders had been respectful, the ordinary woman of the town were, somehow, less fearful. She didn't know why, but seeing the scorplings, or 'babies' as they'd called them. It's like all sense left their minds. Instead of being more wary of a 'mother' and her 'young,' they'd collectively come to the conclusion that a mother is somehow inherently trustworthy.

For the average monster, it was pure madness. Monsters and the animals they came from were, most of the time, fiercely protective of their young. To be fair to the humans, though, the Children had done much to prove they weren't monsters.

As for the woman asking questions, it seemed she realized that they couldn't be answered a moment after she'd asked, and started apologising profusely. Skitters waved her off, but stopped when she saw an approaching Capriccio. A gentle mental touch from The Creator conveyed that she was here to translate.

It took another hour before Skitters was able to extricate herself from the conversation, but by the enthusiastic waving of the group of women and her scorplings, it was well worth it. If she was honest with herself, Skitters felt better than she had for a while now.

The walk from the town up to the fortified mansion was short, and she was met at the gate by a certain smiling Scaleborn. A glance over her shoulder confirmed what she'd been feeling the past few minutes. Both of her charges had curled up on each other and fallen asleep on the wide platform her lower half provided. She left a soft grin play over her features, and her heart softened. She'd missed having scorplings to take care of...

Her smile twisted into a grimace as she was reminded of the reason she didn't.

Damn Plays-With-Fire for running off down to the Eleventh to chase a fucking manabeing. She didn't know if he'd played a role during the invasion, but she didn't really care. They weren't mates anymore. He could do whatever he pleased. 

"You okay there, Skitters?" Kata asked, jolting the Obsidian Scorpan from her thousand-yard stare.

"Fine," she answered. "Would It be possible for me to move to a larger room? As you can see, The Creator has charged me with protecting and raising these scorplings." Kata approached, and daw'd over the sleeping scorplings in much the same manner the human women had, though quieter.

"Oh they're adorable," The Voice of the Creator cooed "I saw a few back on the nineth but didn't stay long enough to get a closer look at any of them. We don't have many rooms bigger than the one you're already in. Maybe we can knock a wall down and add another room. Do you need anything else?" Skitters shook her head.

"No. I actually know how to raise scorplings this time, so it should go smoothly." Kata blinked at Skitter's admission and looked up at her.

"You're a mother? I didn't know. You never talk about yourself."

"It is what it is," Skitters answered. "They're all grown and no longer need me. Most live on the Eleventh. I haven't heard anything of them since."

There was a brush on her mind, and she opened it for The Creator to speak.

Did you want to know how they're doing? He offered, which she immediately agreed to. Information flooded her mind, details on her Scorplings and what they'd accomplished since leaving the Ninth. I can relay messages to them, if you wish. 

Skitters was quick to deny even the thought of having The Creator reduced to a messenger. 

Woah! Calm down, there. Fine. Write a few letters, and I can have someone deliver them.

The Creator withdrew, and Skitters started walking to her room. She had some letters to write. What was Sprints-Into-Danger even thinking, becoming a Pirate! And shame on Looms-Over-Others for indulging her!

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The Wilderness, Near the Road to the Old Capital, Theona

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Tamesou Akio eagerly drank the soup handed to him, basking in the warmth of the fire. Crickets chirped and chimed in the night, the moons overhead providing enough that it was easy to make out the trees and bushes at the edge of the clearing. The last few days of travel reminded him of the short trips between the dungeon towns they'd done last month, though given they had another month of travel before they reached the east coast, he had a feeling that'd change soon enough.

Akio, Bruce, Sophie, Heliat and Jinasa were traveling with a merchant caravan. Bruce's mentor- Akio had actually forgotten his name- was busy at the Holy City, and couldn't join them. They'd been hired on through the Guild to act as guards. They were only paying enough for silvers, not two platinums and three golds, but the pay didn't particularly matter to them. It was more convenience and for the experience than actual work.

But since they'd taken a job instead of joining the caravan as ordinary travellers, they were expected to do their job. At night, each of the teens was expected to stay up for at least one night watch a night. In the morning, the one with the last watch slept in a caravan for a few extra hours before joining the others in guarding. Akio had the first shift tonight, and Sophie would be taking over around midnight. By mid-morning, the two adults had split the three teens between them to show them the ropes.

Akio quickly found that guarding caravans was a surprisingly intense job. He'd expected it to be boring but there was always new things to see, and treelines to scan for potential threats. It was a decently sized caravan, with two other parties hired alongside the young heroes and their mentors. The older guilders were full of stories that helped to pass the time, and joined in on their training sometimes. 

Akio tilted his head back as he drank the last of the soup directly from the bowl, then placed it down on the ground before him with a thud and a satisfied expression. "That tastes like Miso! It was delicious!"

"Mee-so? Never heard of it," The cook answered, a greying guilder with a friendly smile. "This here is me own recipe. Made it to help keep a man awake for night watch." The cook took the bowl Akio held out with a chuckled and refilled it for him. "I gotta admit, you're the youngest Golds I've seen for a while. Takes unreal dedication and effort, not many make it before they reach adulthood and you three are what, seventeen?"

"Sixteen, actually," Sophie answered for him, and Akio was thankful. He was too busy drinking this delicious soup! "All three of us." The cook shook his head.

"Incredibly. Never thought I'd meet actual prodigies." Akio swallowed the instinctual need to clarify their situation with another gulp of soup. Heliat and Jinasa had both asked they not reveal the truth of their nature as heroes to anyone. Apparently there were many conflicting opinions on their existence, and most people just didn't need to know.

Akio burped loudly, then blushed, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth. Sophie had this disgusted looking grin, Bruce was openly laughing and complimented him. The guilders around the fire joined Bruce in laughter. Akio placed down the empty bowl and let himself fall backwards, looking up at unfamiliar stars.

it was incredible. No light polution meant he could see thousands with the naked eye, rather than hundreds. He made up constellations, drawing figures in the stars for fun. There was a bear, and that was a dragon. And that one looked like a penis!

But the sky was dominated by what the locals called the 'Ring of Light' Supposedly it was the realm of the gods, but Akio knew what it really was. A galaxy. This world, wherever it was, sat above the elliptical plane of their galaxy. He imagined this is what the humans of his world would see when Andromeda got a lot closer to the milky way.

But despite it's beauty... It made him sad. He was a long, long way from home.

Sophie poked him. "C'mon idiot. Don't fall asleep, you've got first shift on the night watch."

Yes, he was a long way from home, but at least he wasn't alone.

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